The Albion, Bankside, London

It is that time of year again, when restaurants force you to have a set menu of too much food at a price that is hugely inflated compared to the rest of the year. So this year my team took a stand. No Christmas set menu for us, just really delicious good food that we can get at all times of the year. With this in mind, we booked and decamped to The Albion in Southwark for a really wholesome and hearty seasonal menu.

 

We arrived and were promptly shown to our table for 10. We sat down and weren’t slow to order, having all keenly perused the menu on line for days in advance. We were informed of the specials which were Christmas dinner witht he works and the roast pork with crackling. This almost threw some of the party of kilter after having already decided on their meal. However, they mostly stood fast. In fact the array of dishes around the table was truly astounding. There was a traditional turkey dinner, a chicken roast, as well fish and chips, a game stew with dumplings and a shoulder of lamb.

 

The slightly less conventional all day breakfast was ordered by not one, but two of our group and I opted for the sweet potato, spinach and pumpkin seed bake with a side of green salad. I did not insist on taking photos of all the dishes as we were all ravenous at the time of our late lunch.

 

I can only really comment on my dish, but I can report that everyone around the table mmmmm-ed and ahhhh-ed that they thoroughly enjoyed their meal. For my part, my bake was very satisfying. I had though, not been prepared for the sneaky taste of some kind of blue cheese in there, which would have stopped me ordering it in the first place if known. However, it was cooked through the bake and I could not see the blue and I was therefore truly happy with my dish, which was a tad more interesting vegetarian dish than others I have come across.

So, we were all extremely thankful to the Albion for not forcing a Christmas set menu on us and for delivering excellent food and service ensuring we had a truly good and festive time together. Their parting gift to us was also a 20% off discount when dining there in January, which we have decided we will most definitely be doing to sample January’s seasonal fare.