The York and Albany: a review

Gordon Ramsay’s York and Albany, 127–129 Parkway, Camden, London NW1

Tel. 020 7388 3344

Set lunch menu: £18

Main courses: £14–18

There are many Saturdays when I can’t afford to lunch at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, and last Saturday was yet another of those. Because, and let’s get this straight up-front, the York and Albany isn’t a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Not really. The “Patron Chef” is Angela Hartnett, Ramsay’s talented right-hand-cook, but quite what an Executive/Patron Chef actually does isn’t always clear to me. I picture her getting a menu faxed through every now and then, scrawling “fine” on the bottom and faxing it back to Head Chef, Colin Buchan. But then I’m a cynic.

Chicken with foie gras and chicken liver parfait

The Y&A opened in late 2008 in a converted John Nash pub between Camden Town and Regent’s Park. It offers what they like to call “a complete lifestyle experience with food at its heart“. For the rest of us, that’s a swanky pub with bar meals (£8–9), a restaurant, Nonna’s deli and 10 rooms upstairs.

First impressions of the dining area are favourable. It’s stylish, but not too stylish. The cool and modern upstairs room is well served by natural light. The intimate, banquette-laden downstairs, on the other hand, feels more like an upmarket Parisian brothel with an open kitchen bolted on. If you’re lunching, like I was, ask for a table in the daylight, even if the perches are a little close together.

Salad of Parma ham, chicory and poached pear

The seasonal menu puts a heavy emphasis on simplicity. There’s little in the way of French fannying about with the ingredients. They’re cooked and served in a style that retains the taste of each. It’s gastropub cooking, and then some. My set-lunch starter of Parma ham, chicory and poached pears tossed in red wine vinaigrette was light and clean, like a meaty sorbet, and set me up (but didn’t fill me up) for the main. Pan-fried, curry seasoned cod floated in a saffron and mussel sauce that was so delicate and balanced, I’d happily pour it on my Corn Flakes. My companion went a la carte: a ballotine of chicken stuffed with foie gras and served with chicken liver parfait and apple sauce, followed by a light cassoulet-style stew of halibut, chorizo and white beans. All good.

Looking around in the pause between courses, I was reminded that recessions seem never to affect a certain class of London diner. The place was packed, and while the upper crust were much in evidence, I wasn’t uncomfortable in jeans (no trainers, alas) or drinking a beer: Old Speckled Hen served, as it should be, slightly chilled (£4 pint). When I asked, the duty manager advised me that a couple of weeks’ notice is advisable if booking for a party larger than 2. If you’re dining a deux, they can usually fit you in at short notice if you’re flexible on time.

Service is perfectly pitched, and when my dessert of apple tatin and praline ice-cream arrived, I was readier than a lioness circling a limping wildebeest. The tart was soothing, and nicely alcoholic, but rendered the insipid ice-cream a bit pointless. They should have just served it with decent cream. The warm madeleine that came with the coffee was a nice touch; but not as nice as the bill. Under £70 for top-rank cooking including service (a discretionary 12.5%) and booze is value enough to tempt me back, that’s for sure.

Curry-seasoned cod in saffron and mussel sauce

There’s more in the way of (largely positive) Y&A review coverage from AA Gill in The Sunday Times, Giles Coren in The Times, the Evening Standard, the Independent, and TimeOut.