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Albion at The Boundary Project
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Budget choice
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© Michael Franke
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By Guy Dimond
The big daddy of London’s restaurant revolution is back. The management buy-out of Conran Restaurants in 2006 – handing Quaglino’s, Blue Print Café, Orrery et al over to the stewardship of D&D London – did not spell the end of Terence Conran as a restaurateur, as everyone predicted. Instead, over the last couple of years, Terence and his wife Vicki have been collaborating with their former operations director Peter Prescott on the new Boundary Project. Their new company is called – you guessed – 'Prescott & Conran'.
Fittingly, its location is on Redchurch Street, Shoreditch, inside the shell of a former light industrial building; it’s just across the street from Shoreditch House, the fashionable members’ club, in what has become one of the most vogueish streets in London.
Boundary Project looks, and is, an astonishingly professional operation in the otherwise dishevelled-looking Shoreditch. Albion is the ground floor ‘caff’ (their description), food shop and bakery; Boundary is the smarter French restaurant in the basement of the same building. The rooftop bar-grill, Boundary Rooftop, opened in summer 2009.
Albion’s room is a looker, with lots of natural light bathing the white tiled interior, open kitchen, and pendulous factory lights. The food shop is at one end, though – excellent baking apart – it’s chiefly a window-dressing exercise, unless you feel the need to stock up on tins of treacle and quinces on the way out. But it looks lovely, and sends the right signals: wholesome, traditional, but also knowingly chic. There’s wit in the design too, from the stools made from tractor seats to the Brown Betty teapots covered in hand-knitted woollen tea cosies.
British nostalgia-revival menus are everywhere at the moment, but the execution of the even simple dishes such as welsh rabbit or fish pie can disappoint. At worst, they only remind us why British food fell out of favour in the first place. But not here. The little appetiser plate of crackling is the best roasted pork skin you’ll find: crisp, light, crunchy, and packed with pork-fat flavour.
The meat in a proper Irish stew isn’t browned before simmering, but this hasn’t detracted from the flavour in any way; the slow-cooked stock in Albion’s version gave a richness to the dish, yet the root vegetables were still firm, not cooked into a mush. The rice of the kedgeree was light and delicately flavoured, more like a pulao than school dinner kedgeree. Puddings include nursery favourites such as egg custard, apple and blackberry crumble, or bread and butter pudding.
None of the main courses cost more than a tenner, which is great value for such skilful cooking in such an appealing setting. Service was perky, polite, and prompt. But perhaps best of all, Albion is open all day, every day, making it an ideal meeting place when you’re in the East End and want to meet friends somewhere reliably well-run and pleasant.
Albion easily trumps the quality of British cooking and ambience at nearby Canteen, and has a less challenging menu than the champions of offal, St John Bread & Wine (dishes such as ox heart or smoked eel isn’t to everyone’s taste). Make sure you book though, because Albion gets very busy – and take note of some of the customer comments below.Time Out London June 2009
Time Out reviews restaurants anonymously and pays for meals. Of course, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or independence of user reviews.
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Details
- 2-4 Boundary Street, Shoreditch, E2 7DD
- Area: Shoreditch
- Tel: 020 7729 1051
- www.albioncaff.co.uk
- Category: British
- Travel: Liverpool St tube/rail or 8, 26, 48 bus
- Times: 8am-midnight Mon-Sun
- Services:
- Outdoor tables: Several tables outside in traffic-free Boundary Street
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been here a few times. prices aren't bad, but the service could be better. to take away is always a more pleasant, and easier option.
Went there on a Monday evening about 8.15pm, the restaurant was about half full and the two of us were seated without fuss. Our order of steak and kidney pudding, kedgeree, cauliflower cheese, purple sprouting broccoli and Greenwich Meantime beer all tasted superb - and best of all we were offered tap water.
The only thing I would correct in the review is that some of the main dishes cost more than a tenner.
I beg to disagree with some of the negative comments below - I've been to Albion for every meal (except morning tea) and think the food is reasonalby priced for the quality as well as finding the ethos and service very charming. Portions are also enormous. If you like your food plain and British I don't believe it gets better than this. Great takeaway prices on cakes as well (90p homemade doorstop flapjacks anyone?)
budget choice? there's nothing budget about £10 for fish and chips. nor for paying a service charge to adolescently behaved staff. this place is a corporate joke. the management is appalling. the waiting times hard to fathom. i tried to order a coffee 3 times before it turned up 15 minutes later, no apology. all in all, this place is a waste of good space. find a more charming, local, shoreditch-embracing independent instead.
a 4 star rating for this place is totally unfounded. i live a few blocks down so have been frequenting it since it opened. the service on an average day doesn't come close to being half reasonable. even when it isn't busy at all, you have to find a way to get the staff's attention for your order/reorder/bill. they have a very laid back attitude and if they feel emotional towards a customer, they have no fear in showing it.
i hoped things would get better, but unfortunately they never have done. eating here just increases anxiety. overpriced. overrated. i give it 1 star for the location, but frankly they don't deserve to be here. i'd rather go to pret.
An interesting idea in a lovely backstreet of Shoreditch.
You need to like old fashion UK food to enjoy this place because both the dishes and decor feel like being in a revisited British builder's cafff, BUT without the grease, the terrible toilets, the chipped crockery and loud waitresses.
The food is simple and effective: cottage pie, cauliflower cheese, bread & butter pudding, mushy peas..
They make different types of bread and they are all very tasty.
The service is good & the bill is inexpensive.
There are enough veggie dishes to please the vegetarian crowd.
I went there on a Friday night, but I bet this place must be fantastic for breakfast or Sunday brunch.
I love this place, living a short walk away it's perfect to meet the girls for tea and cakes or have a light meal before going out. They serve meantine ale which keeps the boyfriend happy and the house white actually is good.
I have never seen a line before, I once saw some smokers waiting for an outdoor table but there was plenty of room inside.
The shop is a little expensive for eggs and bacon, but they eggs are amazingly fresh and I still come back because of the quality. (The local store in shoreditch is a tesco).
P.S. the bread rocks!!
Very disappointed with the Albion after hearing great reviews. While the decor and food were good (when it arrived), the service was a total let down. There was little communication between staff as to who was doing what, not helped by the fact that most spent their time having their photos taken! Quite frankly amazed that ordering breakfast could be an ordeal instead of being a relaxed weekend affair!
Every time I have gone here... Queues. 30-40 minutes . Whether it's for late Sunday lunch, early dinner etc.
I've been twice to Albion at the weekend, once shortly after opening, then again in June, both times managed to get seated with no fuss. Service was efficient and pleasant, food is good and very reasonable, and the overall effect of the interior design (including plates, cutlery etc) is very pleasing. We may have just been lucky in not having to have suffered a long wait, but I would happily recommend Albion.