Restaurant Review: Table Albert

Croydon may have the largest Asian restaurant in Britain, but it is the first class French bistro you should visit

49b / c South End, Croydon (020 8680 2010). Meal for two, including wine and service, £ 90

It was sheer stubbornness that sent me to Albert's Table in Croydon. Or an instinct for self-preservation. Whether the streak of snobbery that runs through me like the knotty varicose veins in the legs one's old lover. The fact is that if a seeker of truth, there is only one kind of food story in Croydon, now that I really had to cover: the arrival there of the largest restaurant in Britain. Cosmo accommodate 800 people, has a menu of 300 dishes from nine Asian countries – Why settle for sushi when you can have Rogan Josh? – 10 live cooking stations and a Bengal tiger in a cage. All this is true, except the last bit, although I would not be surprised if there was a large cat tucked into a corner somewhere. It's that kind of place. It reads like a restaurant on anabolic steroids.

What is most annoying about Cosmo is that all so bloody predictable Croydon. I do not mean this as an insult to all the good, civilized, tasteful, attractive people who live there. I mean it only as an insult to all the bad, noisy, tasteless, ugly. Maybe later in the year I will call the will. But now I could not face it. And yet I do not want to snub southern outskirts of London, so instead I went to Albert's Table, which is a solid, solid restaurant, play solid, sturdy dishes full of flavors that linger after you're done. Albert's Table is not subtle – and I mean that as a compliment. If it gives you an ingredient, you taste the ingredients. The main building is the French bistro food, with an occasional nod in other directions that do not feel forced.

A shortcrust pastry tartlet of Dorset crab is made with rust-brown and a meat pie that cracks and crumbles in the right ways. A salad of bitter endive, blue cheese and chives comes with a mustard dressing that makes its presence known. A hairy gratin of thinly sliced artichokes with hazelnut crust, the nature of the way you pluck it with a spoon.

This vegetarian dish was the last time for some serious meat cooking, which relies on the huge slicks of flavored gravy, and a lot of hot action and bake Fricassee. The socket to read Complicated, but makes sense on the plate or in the case of a deer platter for two, in large pan under the table: on the bottom, a stew of braised shoulder with turnip and parsnip Bambi, bound by the type the sauce that speaks of things long and slow cooked to their essence. On top, a few slices of the leg served riotously pink. The only off-note was quite bgereed dumplings. A mixed plate of pork, both slow roasted leg and abdomen, with a swirl of crackling, soft polenta and salsify was a deserving end for the pig in question. And that is what is most of the food here: a care and attention to detail, evident in the roast sirloin of beef with wild mushrooms and celeriac. They serve the beef medium rare. Because, as we all know, steak should be cooked no more than that. Or, as it brings the menu: "If you prefer your meat well done, we recommend ordering braised spring leaf of the local Hereford beef." Do I.

We ended with a tumescent banana souffle, a chocolate fondant leaking and a caramelized apple pie, which to my taste, the only court not to release. The fruit is polished, but there was not a hint of caramel paste your actual lip. Hey ho. There was a pokey start borlotti bean mousse and warm mince pies to finish, and the general hum and rolling the service staff happy to do what they do best. At £ 29.50 for three courses, with some supplement, it does not seem exorbitant prices for this level of cooking and the quality of the ingredients. Plus there's the added benefit of a wine list bottles £ 03.04 price below what you would pay in central London.

Albert's Table is a reason to go there to eat, Cosmo's arrival in Croydon is a reason to go there to just point and stare are.

More Source:

Restaurant review: Albert's Table | Life and style | The Observer
Albert's Table, Croydon - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor
Albert's Table - Croydon, Surrey CR0 - Restaurant Review - Time ...
Guest Review: Victoria and Albert's Chef's Table | the disney food blog

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Submited at Friday, January 14th, 2011 at 9:00 am on Restaurant by sofia
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