I’m in London this week for a team meeting and as a reward for a lot of hard work throughout the week, I’ve helped arrange a team dinner in Central London at York & Albany, one of Gordon Ramsay’s newest restaurants. Chef Patron Angela Hartnett leads the new kitchen and she was warm and friendly when I popped my head into the kitchen to thank her for a wonderful meal.
I arrived about 15 minutes late; the trek from the office was grueling. But the other half of my party was there and seated, so I was in my chair within two minutes of entering the restaurant. The place was immaculate, the decor pleasant (though our corner was a bit dark), and the bathrooms well-lit and sparkling. I expected this for a restaurant open slightly over a week. Oddly, there was no signage for the restaurant anywhere outside.
Perhaps the only quirky aspect about York & Albany is their team approach to service. After sitting a while without being greeted by a server, we flagged down the hostess and asked if she could coax the server to our table. She promptly replied “I’ll take the order” and walked away for just 30 seconds to grab an order pad. At the time, I was really impressed by what I thought was a great recovery and empowerment. Throughout the meal, different members of the staff came by to deliver food, and someone completely new arrived at the end to take the dessert order. We wondered if he’d been our server all along, so I asked when the restaurant manager came by with the check. I learned at that moment we never had a designated server. The team approach works by the closest person taking care of the table. It sounds like a great idea, but in practicality, we had but one round of drink refills mid-dinner, because again, we had to flag someone down to request it. I think this negatively affected the atmosphere a bit, too, because we didn’t really have a personal relationship with someone on the staff during the meal.
For dinner, I started with the autumn vegetable soup. The presentation was an empty white (and hot) bowl. The soup arrived in an individual pot and was poured in front of me into the bowl. The clear broth was well balanced and there was small cubes of new potatoes, carrots, and kale. The vegetables were almost al dente, for lack of a better description. They were not mushy. They were not crispy. It was really, really nicely done.
Between the courses, foie gras was delivered to the table with long narrow croutons. It was warm, presented in a mason jar which popped when opened. I’d never had foie gras so I gave it a try. It was ok, but the little toasties were too few to and too skinny to really get a feel for the stuff.
My main course was a dinner for two shared with a co-worker. I was having trouble deciding what to order and he wanted the chicken for two if someone would share it. I figured, “that’s teamwork,” right? The roasted corn-fed chicken and seasonal root vegetables arrived like the soup: an empty hot, white plate, followed by a skillet with a quartered chicken. The skin was crispy; the chicken inside moist and flavorful. The neat part was I was free to scoop as much of the thick reduction from the bottom of the skillet as I could to drizzle onto the chicken. The veggies were the same as in the soup. The other dinners arrived plated, and everyone seemed to agree they were happy with their choices.
For dessert, I ordered chocolate parfait with hazelnut ice cream and roasted william pear. I also asked for a coffee, but they forgot the coffee. The chocolate parfait was very mousse-like (maybe I’m showing my naïveity and lack of formal food training because these may be the same thing). It was very, very good. The ice cream teardrop atop the parfait fit right into my spoon; I only wish they’d brought more.
We thought we were finished, but the dinner actually concluded with a single circus-style popcorn bag filled with homemade caramel popcorn. It was tasty, but a bit too sticky and crunchy for me.
The prices were extremely reasonable considering a Michelin rated chef was in the kitchen. I wrote down my selections, but not the prices. So from memory, my starter was £6.50, my main about £16.50, and my dessert in the £6-7 range.
Overall, the food was fantastic, the staff very friendly, but the service a slow and bit choppy. I politely relayed my opinion to the restaurant manager when our meal concluded. I just think they’re going through some start-up bumps. And of course I asked, but Gordon himself was not there. He had been there each day since opening (even before), but things were up and running and they mentioned he may be off to NY. He does have a few things going on between the other restaurants and TV shows.
Out of a possible five stars in each category, York and Albany scored:
Atmosphere:  | Food: |
Service:  | Value: |
My opinion: Book it!
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