The Prince Albert 85 Albert Bridge Road, Battersea London SW11 4PF
The Prince Albert
Two dogs at the door and a cow on the roof
Nice great Dane
Great statue
The main entrance
The Prince Albert is a surprising-looking pub with two big statues of dogs outside and a cow on the roof. If, like me, you like to see Meerkats at Battersea Park Zoo and feel hungry after watching them eating (the feeding time is 11am by the way) the pub is very well located right in front of Battersea Park on the Albert Bridge road side.
The counter
Another view
Inside it is spacious and there is also outside seating. It seems the pub is frequented by many parents taking their babies out at the park but we did not hear any babies screaming etc. It was fine.
We ordered chicken liver pate, apple chutney (£6.50) and onion and thyme soup with Cheddar cheese toast ($6) as starters. They were followed by a cheese burger, dill pickle and chips (£9.50) and a Kilravock pork chop, Irish black pudding and duck egg (£10). As drinks we had a lemonade (£1.60) and a pint of Stella (£3.50).
Ketchup and mayonnaise in the little cups
Other interesting meals were the Berkswell cheese, pickled walnuts and beetroot salad (£7.50), the smoked trout, green brean and soft boiled egg salad (£8), the Scottish mussels, cider, leeks and bacon (£9), the 28 day aged rib eye steak on the bone, parsley butter and chips (£18.50), the roast skate wing, brown shrimps and capers (£13) and the Welsh lamb rump, roast garlic and white bean stew (£12.50). I was interested by the Ploughman’s lunch but unfortunately it contained stilton cheese and I have not been converted to it yet despite living here for over 5 years now. I still remember the spoon of vegemite on a toast I ate in Sydney while visiting a friend. It was horrible but compared to stilton it was quite edible.
The two starters
Chicken liver pate
The chicken liver pate was quite large and thick. It came with 4 slices of toasted bread but they were still not enough to accomodate all the pate. Another slice would have been welcome. As for the pate itself, it was very rich (it was surrounded by butter-like fat on its side, if not just pure butter) but was nice and smooth. Conversely, I really did not like the apple chutney. It was like baby food and I stopped eating it after half a spoon.
Onion soup
The onion soup wasn’t too good either. It was made with a sort of caramelised onion that rendered the soup itself sweet (really not what you want with onion soup). The cheese was fine, but the toast it apparently was on was well and truely disintegrated within the soup, so hardly noticeable. Overall, a rather strange and not especially nice dish that I would not choose again.
The two main courses
Kilravock pork chop
The Kilravock pork chop was a little dry and bland. Full of fat too and little meat, and I am not a fat meat gourmet. It was well cooked at least but no taste at all. Maybe they forgot to add some salt? The Irish black pudding was good, not too strong as can happen with black pudding. The duck egg was perfectly cooked. Compared to hen eggs, duck eggs contain less water so the white looks more gelatinous which is the case here.
Cheese burger
The cheese burger had potential – but the “medium” cooked burger was rare to the point of nearly being a tartare! I could have lived with that, but had asked for it medium expecting – as is usual in the UK – to get something well done, as I wanted my meat well cooked. It also seemed a little sad that the burger arrived rather empty looking with just the meat and cheese inside the bun, with a little squirt of mayonnaise, whilst the remaining contents were outside on the plate. The chips it came with were fine and crispy, if a little floury.
Cost and conclusion: it was £37. The food was average, nothing exceptional but it is conveniently located and has a pleasant clean surrounding. The service was friendly and it is kid friendly.
Simpson’s-in-the-Strand 100 Strand, Covent Garden London WC2R 0EW
Simpson's-in-the-Strand
Although I walk past Simpsons on a daily basis, I have never before gone to this restaurant (though I have been to functions in the building). There are many tourist traps in this area (well, most of the restaurants in this area), and I feared this might be another one. Simpsons is located in the Savoy Palace building, home to the Savoy Hotel and Theatre. With one guest for lunch, who was a visitor to London, I decided to risk it (mainly for the historic nature of the restaurant – it originally opened in 1828). We had not booked, but we were quickly given a table.
The carvery
The decor at Simpsons speaks of Olde English club – which of course, is exactly this restaurant’s origin, as a gentleman’s club and chess venue. The walls are oak panelled, and the lighting chandelliers. Actually, it is very pleasant, and well worth a visit just for the experience. The service is polite and efficient, with no trouble attracting the attention of a waiter at any time. The restaurant has good acoustics too, with no risk of your conversation being magnified across the room, nor drowned out by the conversations of others.
Although Simpsons is best known for its carvery, and also offers an attractive fixed price lunch menu (£24.50 for two courses) we decided to dine a la carte. In fact we chose only one course each, as our time was limited. We ordered Roast Duck Breast served with potato dumplings, confit duck leg and baby spinach (£18.50) and Pan-fried Trout with crayfish & lobster bisque, crushed new potatoes & olives (21.00). We also took as side orders some mashed potato (£3.50) and chips (£3.50). In this case, my non-British colleague was stunned to discover that chips were fries – I had not thought to translate for him before ordering. To drink, we took a bottle of still water.
Mushroom soup
Our meal started with some warm bread rolls (complementary) which were very good. We were then served a small cup of cream of mushroom soup, which was also complementary. Both were very much appreciated, and very good too.
Great mashed potatoes
My meal was the duck, which I have to say was very nicely cooked. The potato dumplings it was served with reminded me rather of gnocchi – I wasn’t too keen on those. The (shredded) confit of duck leg was quite well done, if perhaps a slightly strong flavour, and the baby spinach was perfectly cooked. Nothing like the nasty spinach experience I’d had a few days earlier at Joe Allen! the mashed potatoes were absolutely superb. The only somewhat negative remark I would make about this meal is that Simpsons does serve a type of duck that only seems to be served in the UK – and is most unlike the duck served in most parts of Continental Europe. This is a shame, as British duck somehow seems, however well it might be cooked, to have most of its colour and flavour removed. And so it was in this case. I cannot fault the cooking, as it appeared to be perfectly cooked and was very nice and tender. But it lacked the flavour that can only come from the meat, and not from anything the chef may add to it. Considering how nicely cooked it was, I would not hesitate to return to Simpsons – and I certainly will. But in doing so, I will choose something else from the menu.
Pan-fried trout with crayfish & lobster bisque
My colleague’s trout was also beautifully cooked and nicely presented. Being his first experience of trout, he was suitably impressed and enthusiastic about that dish.
Sadly we did not have time for dessert and coffee, but considering the good quality of the rest of the meal, I would certainly have tried these if time had permitted. Well, another time!
Cost & conclusion: it was £56 and some pence, service charge included. Particularly compared to some recent experiences in nearby restaurants, I think this was very good value for money. The service was polite and attentive, but also very discrete and professional, so it was certainly worth the service charge – even if it was pre-added to our bill. Our meals came perfectly cooked, and the little touches such as the soup to start our meal were very nice. I will return for certain.
Joe Allen restaurant 13 Exeter Street, covent Garden WC2E 7DT London
Inside Joe Allen restaurant
There were four of us for lunch at Joe Allen. I had been to this place once, about 4 years ago, and my recollection was that it was not too bad (or rather, my recollection of their duck liver was that it wasn’t bad – I couldn’t recall much else). So despite some misgivings about an American chain restaurant, off we went.
The restaurant is located on Exeter Street, moments from the Covent Garden. It is a basement restaurant, so quite dark inside, but they use this to their advantage with the decor. We hadn’t booked, but were quickly shown to a central table.
Three of the four of us ordered starters – which were 2 black pudding served on a bed of steamed spinach and topped by a poached egg and hollandaise sauce (£13.00) and a pumpkin soup (£5.50). As main courses, we took a half lobster served with pasta (£19.50), 2 spinach salads (£19.00) and a chicken caesar salad (£15.00). As drinks, we just took two bottles of still water (£7.00) as we had a lot of work to get through after lunch.
Black pudding with spinach and poached egg
My starter was the black pudding with spinach and poached egg. This dish could have been quite decent, but for the amount of salt the chef had seasoned it with. I’msure I had a week’s worth of salt in this single meal! Even the spinach had not simply been steamed, but boiled in salt water. Really, I have no idea what any of it actually tasted like (texture was fine – I could tell that much) as I couldn’t taste anything much beyond the salt. Really, a ruined meal. I ate the egg, and a little bit of the black pudding, but 90% of the spinach returned to the kitchen to take its rightful place in the trash. One of my companions had the same dish – and the same problem (albeit I think her tolerance level was slightly higher than mine – she ate at least half of hers). The soup was reported by its recipient to be fine.
Chicken caesar salad
As main course, I had a chicken caesar salad. Once again though, it was too salty. Who puts salt in a salad? The chicken was a grilled and sliced breast – which thankfully had not had the salt treatment – and was edible but a bit too dry. The recipients of the spinach salads reported those to be OK. I’m not so sure about the lobster though – it looked a rather miserable dish (no photo, sorry). Its recipient did say it was fine, but I have a suspicion that he was just being polite (since I was paying). In any case, going on looks alone, its not something I’d be in any great hurry to order for myself.
Cost & conclusion: The final bill came to £88.90 for the four of us (including 9.90 already added as gratuity – no pretence even in this case that it was “optional”). Actually the service was fine, notwithstanding that a waitress spilled a bottle of water into the lap of one of my guests (for which she was very apologetic). Even so though, whether or not to tip, and how much, should be left to the discretion of the customer. As for the food, I don’t think I’ll be back. Sorry for the poor Blackberry Curve photos!
Bedford & Strand bistro and wine bar 1A Bedford Street, Covent Garden – the Strand WC2E 9HH London
Inside Bedford & Strand
There were three of us for a quick lunch at the Bedford & Strand. It is a well-hidden basement restaurant, on Bedford street just a few metres from the corner of the Strand, not far from Charing Cross tube station. The interior is quite attractive, despite the lack of natural light, and it has well defined eating and bar areas.
We ordered lemon sole (£16), steak & chips (£18.75) and a shepherd’s pie (£11.50). As drinks, we just took a bottle of water (£2.95) as we had meetings planned for the afternoon and we are in London, not in France 😉
Lemon sole
Steak and chips
Shepherd's pie
Mine was the lemon sole, which was OK, but did not come with any accompaniments, so was a bit of a stingy lunch for its price. It tasted OK, but didn’t smell terribly appetising, which was rather a turn off. My companions reported the cottage pie to be distinctly average-poor, and the Steak/chips to be no better than OK. We ended the meal with 2 double espresso (£5.50) and a cappuccino (£3.25) – these were fine, but nothing special. Cost & conclusion : The bill came to £63.75 which include the (already added) “optional” service charge of £5.80. The service was OK, but extremely slow – and there were only a handful of people in the restaurant – so I think probably more than deserved. As for the food, it’s not great and rather overpriced for the quality. The surroundings are pleasant, but that’s not a good enough reason to return.
Other restaurants I reviewed in the area: Côte restaurant, pizzeria Fire and Stone, Hazuki, Loch Fyne, Marquess of Anglesey, Terroirs, Wahaca, Zizzi and a little further: Albannach, Akasiro, Prix Fixe, Tokyo Diner.
Restaurant Le Vauban 7 bis rue Thuret 06600 Antibes France
Le Vauban
Le Vauban seemed to be the perfect place for enjoying the last evening in the French riviera before going back to London after almost a month of vacation. The restaurant has already been reviewed (first long review here) at the end of June so this review will be shorter.
We ordered 3 menus at 27 euros plus a 37.5 ml bottle of red wine (an excellent Bouverie – 13 euros) and a bottle of sparkling water (4.50 euros). The menu at 27 euros gives you the choice between 3 starters, 3 main courses and 3 desserts. They also have a menu découverte (discovery menu) with a first starter, a second starter, a fish, a meat and a dessert for 39 euros or 58 euros with 4 matching glasses of wine. It is fully a discovery menu as they do not tell you what you are going to eat. Of course you can tell them what you do not want, like if you have some restriction on foods you can eat. I will try that menu next time if I feel brave.
Melon and tapenade as pre-starters
Pieces of melon in its juice
Before the starters arrived, we were served a little glass of pieces of water melon in their juice. It was quite good and a refreshing way of starting the dinner after being out in the heat (still around 27 degrees) during the day.
Cream of potato with oysters & saffron
Tartare of salmon
Foie gras
My friends had a cold soup of potato cream with oysters and saffron, and a tartare of salmon. Both were good and nicely presented. I had foie gras which was excellent. The slice does not look big in the picture above but actually it is quite a large piece. It was smooth and nicely seasoned. It came with a little glass of strawberry mousse (at the left) and a ball of icecream (at the right).
Fish meal
Scallops with cream
Close-up of the scallops
Magret de canard
The main meals got great feedback as well. I do not remember the kind of fish as I was busy with my own plate of magret de canard. I will have to ask. The magret tasted very good and was perfectly cooked, being slightly red while the fat outside was crispy. The mashed potato between the slices was mixed with truffles. The sauce was a little sweet (not oversweet), making this dish light. I did not have the scallops but I wish I ordered them! They were served with a very creamy sauce, almost too creamy for my friend. For me, it would not have been a problem since I like anything creamy or buttery, well I am into the typical classical French cuisine
Panna cotta
Between the main course and the dessert we all got a little cup of panna cotta. It was a small and rich, with a nice texture. A good pre-dessert.
Cooked apple
Chocolate biscuit
The desserts were great, especially the chocolate biscuit which two of us chose. It was a kind of light and smooth chocolate mousse between thin and crispy biscuit. I am not really into chocolate but this dessert was truly fantastic. The other dessert was a cooked apple but looked a little like Mickey mouse with its biscuits stuck on it. I did not pay much attention to it since my dessert desserved all my attention 😉
Cost and conclusion: it was 98.50 euros. An excellent value for money, a good dinner and a nice surrounding. The service was attentive and discret. What else to ask? Highly recommended!
Next to the walls in Antibes
