Ramsay's York & Albany

[Tim Hayward]

Things are getting close to the wire here.

The lights are on. People looking suspiciously like staff have been seen wandering about.

Rumour on the street... well Parkway... is that the opening has been delayed a week and that there will be a soft opening period before going public.

According to recent press the delay is due to issues with water... which is daft... Gordo knows he can pop round for a cupful any time

[sunbeam]

Things are getting close to the wire here.

The lights are on. People looking suspiciously like staff have been seen wandering about.

Rumour on the street... well Parkway... is that the opening has been delayed a week and that there will be a soft opening period before going public.

According to recent press the delay is due to issues with water... which is daft... Gordo knows he can pop round for a cupful any time 

←

press invites for nibbles are out, didn't you get one? You don't have to nonce around standing on tiptoe peering in at the windows surely?

S

[Tim Hayward]

Things are getting close to the wire here.

The lights are on. People looking suspiciously like staff have been seen wandering about.

Rumour on the street... well Parkway... is that the opening has been delayed a week and that there will be a soft opening period before going public.

According to recent press the delay is due to issues with water... which is daft... Gordo knows he can pop round for a cupful any time 

←

press invites for nibbles are out, didn't you get one? You don't have to nonce around standing on tiptoe peering in at the windows surely?

S

←

Standing? Not exactly. I'm the sweaty fatknacker that runs past twice a day... once out... once back. I don't pay too much mind to it on the way back, I can't see through the tears and I'm preoccupied by wheezing up my ring, but, occasionally, on the way out, I take note of the great man's doings.

[sunbeam]

Things are getting close to the wire here.

The lights are on. People looking suspiciously like staff have been seen wandering about.

Rumour on the street... well Parkway... is that the opening has been delayed a week and that there will be a soft opening period before going public.

According to recent press the delay is due to issues with water... which is daft... Gordo knows he can pop round for a cupful any time 

←

press invites for nibbles are out, didn't you get one? You don't have to nonce around standing on tiptoe peering in at the windows surely?

S

←

Standing? Not exactly. I'm the sweaty fatknacker that runs past twice a day... once out... once back. I don't pay too much mind to it on the way back, I can't see through the tears and I'm preoccupied by wheezing up my ring, but, occasionally, on the way out, I take note of the great man's doings.

←

It was a fun night last night, I didnt see you wheezing past though

dont exercise, it will kill you or leave you looking like nigel lawson.

S

[Tim Hayward]

Things are getting close to the wire here.

The lights are on. People looking suspiciously like staff have been seen wandering about.

Rumour on the street... well Parkway... is that the opening has been delayed a week and that there will be a soft opening period before going public.

According to recent press the delay is due to issues with water... which is daft... Gordo knows he can pop round for a cupful any time 

←

press invites for nibbles are out, didn't you get one? You don't have to nonce around standing on tiptoe peering in at the windows surely?

S

←

Standing? Not exactly. I'm the sweaty fatknacker that runs past twice a day... once out... once back. I don't pay too much mind to it on the way back, I can't see through the tears and I'm preoccupied by wheezing up my ring, but, occasionally, on the way out, I take note of the great man's doings.

←

It was a fun night last night, I didnt see you wheezing past though

dont exercise, it will kill you or leave you looking like nigel lawson.

S

←

I was there, watching you. I was the bloke in the tinfoil hat sitting on the opposite side of the road in a pool of wee and yelling about aliens. I saw you all in there... all bright and sparkly... cocking your little fingers and eating pate made out of poor people and puppy tears. I was the one pressing my cankered stump of a nose against the windows, steaming the glass with my festering breath, until I was run off by an overseer with a whip.

Did anyone mention a 'hard' opening date? Possibly even a semi-stiff one?

[adt]

"York & Albany will offer a lifestyle experience with food at its heart"

is this sort of foul language being intentionally targetted at consumers these days?

http://www.gordonramsay.com/yorkandalbany/

not sure white balsamic jelly sounds so appealing with lemon panna cotta (then again it doesn't sound that great with strawberries)... more distinctive than old spot with couscous and apricot at least.

[naebody]

I was the bloke in the tinfoil hat sitting on the opposite side of the road in a pool of wee and yelling about aliens.

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It's Camden. You'll have to be more specific.

[tony h]

i walked past it Saturday afternoon & noticed it was throbing - so i joined the party not realising it was the soft opening. did see or hear old sweary

tried to get a reservation but they are fully booked the night I can make - probably best to wait a few weeks to allow service to smooth out

pub part looked lovely - didn't see the restaurant bit

[howardlong]

i walked past it Saturday afternoon & noticed it was throbing -  so i joined the party not realising it was the soft opening.  did see or hear old sweary

tried to get a reservation but they are fully booked the night I can make - probably best to wait a few weeks to allow service to smooth out

pub part looked lovely - didn't see the restaurant bit

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Reading the Times at the weekend and subsequently looking at the website, I must say I wasn't immediately impressed at all I'm afraid. The menu reads more like Plane Food than Petrus.

Cheers, Howard

[Jon Tseng]

Colin Buchan in a talented chef.

During his early 2000s his post-amaryllis funk he set up shop at the Old Barn in Ruislip. No idea what he was doing there (* mich food in a faux elizabethan manor in zone 6 suburbia. hmmm). However the several times I went there the food was uniformly excellent.

Good to see him back in the swing of things

J

[howardlong]

Colin Buchan in a talented chef.

During his early 2000s his post-amaryllis funk he set up shop at the Old Barn in Ruislip.  No idea what he was doing there (* mich food in a faux elizabethan manor in zone 6 suburbia. hmmm).  However the several times I went there the food was uniformly excellent.

Good to see him back in the swing of things

Hi Jon,

I agree with you that the chef is very capable.

My concern is that if you look at the menu, it's definitely not even attempting to be anywhere near M*. Nice enough, for sure, but more like gastropub grub than haute cuisine cooking. Nothing wrong in that for sure, but I can't see myself jumping on the pushbike anytime soon for that special trip.

Cheers, Howard

Starters

Game mosaic, toasted sourdough 8.00

Salad of deep-fried lamb’s tongue and mâche lettuce 7.00

Grilled mackerel with apple and celeriac remoulade, pickled beetroot 8.00

Autumn vegetable soup, cheese on toast 6.00

Smoked duck salad with charred leeks and grated hazelnut 9.00

Pumpkin risotto with 18-month matured gorgonzola 8.00

Fried duck’s egg with field mushrooms, Jerusalem artichoke and parmesan 8.00

Swordfish carpaccio with chilli and pickled fennel 9.00

Main courses

Dover sole with minted new potatoes, creamed spinach and nutmeg 22.00

Roasted red snapper with confit lemons and couscous salad 14.00

Oven-baked halibut with chorizo and white beans 15.00

Fish stew with piperade and fennel, flat leaf parsley 14.00

Roasted corn-fed chicken with bread sauce and seasonal root vegetables (for two) 28.00

Casterbridge rib-eye with red onions, wilted watercress and gratinated bone marrow 18.00

Red-leg partridge with curly kale and truffle chips 18.00

Braised neck of lamb with garlic potato purée,carrots and parsnips 14.00

Desserts

Steamed treacle sponge pudding with vanilla custard (for two) 11.00

Rice pudding with roasted figs 6.00

Prune and Armagnac tart with clotted cream 6.00

Selection of fruits with lychee and grappa granité 6.00

Manzanilla sherry trifle 6.00

Chocolate parfait with hazelnut ice cream, roasted William pear 6.00

Selection of cheeses 8.00

[Gary Marshall]

described by estimable dos hermanos as the worst ramsay outlet they have tried , and ang was there.

[tony h]

York & Albany - Sunday Lunch

Finally made it. Last time was cancelled becuase they had a flood in the kitchen.

Starters of rigatello and kidneys on toast. Rigatello came with pesto, half roast tomato, some curd and mint. Tasted great but really unhappy with portion size - less than a dozen pasta shells. Seems overly mean. Lambs kidneys tasted great - fab sauce.

Main of lamb rump on puy with roast pumpkin was superb. Veal with baked potato puree and kale also good - sauce had less punch than the lamb.

Dessert of chocolate torte was suitably indulgent. Apple and rhubarb crumble taste great but looked a bit like a car crash.

£25 for three course felt pretty good except for the mean starter portions. Looking at other tables - the pear salad really took the piss & I would have been quite unhappy if i'd ordered that. If it means charging £30 for decent portions - please do so - the local crowd look like they can afford it. It was quite full - good to see camden being able to support a decent restaurant - hopefully others will follow.

[rjs1]

Had dinner there a couple of days ago. We started with slightly hit-and-miss cocktail service - my "Polish Martini" was fine, except for the complete absence of the promised "pressed apple"; when I pointed this out they quickly offered a replacement; and they brought two Bellinis when we had only ordered one (when this was pointed out they said "have the second one on the house", so my wife did...).

Bit disappointed by the wine list - drank an indifferent Clos di Siete at £38 which our friends had oredered before we arrived, then a rather better Villa Tonino Nero d'Avola at £20.

I started with a roulade of bresaola and beef served with apple and horseradish - excellent, although the salad that the waiter said was part of the dish was absent - and then shared a very tender and flavoursome cote de boeuf with my wife and an white chocolate selection for two with her and one of our friends. My wife had salmon ravioli in coriander broth to begin; very good, but I think that perhaps this is really a meat place rather than a fish place. Our vegetarian friend was perfectly happy with her food, though.

Service was charming throughout and the few mistakes were dealt with graciously.

With three cocktails, two bottles of wine, coffee, water, four starters, mains for four, pudding for two and cheese for one, the bill including service was £271, which felt a bit high but not outrageous. We'd try it again, but probably on the £20 three course lunch/early evening deal.

[Andrew]

Went there last night. It's a 5 minutes walk from Camden Town tube on the edge of Regents Park. It was busy, the bar was nearly full, the ground floor dining room packed and the basement nearly full.

The menu is a real mix, starters at around £8, pasta (all veggie) at £8 or £11ish for a main course, pizza at £10.50 and mains from £14 - £29. Desserts are £6.50.

The food was ok, nothing special and no better than my local 'gastro pub' (the Junction in Tufnell Park). The building is nice, typical calm decoraions, although the basement is more 'swanky' with dark reds and black. It is crowded and noisy.

Starter was a nice - chicory, betroot and blue cheese salad. They needed to be a little more generous with the cheese but well presented and tasty. Mains were a squash and sage risotto (ok but far to much cheese added to it) and a tender pork chop with roasted sweet potato and cider sauce. We also had some mixed leaves which we had to send back as they came covered in salt. Not a light flavouring but large crunchy bits. They were replaced without any fuss.

The highlights were the puddings, looked and tasted much better than the prices. I guess the pudding chef may well be moved to a more up market GR establishment soon. Both the cheese cake with ginger granules and blueberry sorbet and the salted caramel parfait with peanut were excellent. The dessert portions were small which was just want you wanted. Just the sort of dishes you'd expect in a much more up market establishment.

The bill inc service was £110 for two people inc 4 generous glasses of wine (2 red & 2 white), tap water and one mint tea. Service was friendly and efficient. Worth the automatically added 12.5% (if not more).

Andrew

If you live within walking distance and want to make it your 'local' do, but don't travle to far to go to it.