It has only been open a short time but I have been to Albion and Boundary a couple of times already.

I liked Albion – good concept and I agree with the no booking policy although this might get a bit annoying if it becomes popular. The food range and quality was good and all well priced (not sure about a glass of bucks fizz for £10 though). The service however was clearly suffering from the need of the staff to settle down and work as a team. Hopefully this will get better but we had to follow up various parts of the order (my sausage sandwich arrived when everyone else had finished) and the bill. No single person seemed to be taking responsibility for any particular area.

The decor of Boundary is great – the silver trays a good trick for reflecting the light down into a basement restaurant. The bar area is small but the furniture well thought out.

I was expecting (and indeed received) a better level of service than from Albion. On arrival the barman was very friendly and attentive. The restaurant was not particularly busy so the service was not rushed but towards the end it did become painfully slow and we couldn't understand why. There was lots I would like to eat on the menu. Snails were a popular starter as was the charcuterie with everyone choosing a roast for main course (Sunday lunch is good value at £23 for 3 courses). My roast beef was well done although if meat is going to be carved at the table a sharper knife is recommended to avoid somewhat inelegant hacking.

I had tarte tatin afterwards which was huge and could easily be shared by two, although quantity and quality are not the same thing.

Coffees arrived ages after pudding (despite being requested togehter). My espresso cup had a small silver cover on it which was a cute touch although it did not stop the coffee being warm at best so I'm not sure how long it had been sitting around.

Overall – a good atmospher and full of potential – I wanted to like it but came away thinking they need to polish their act… More