The Albemarle at Browns (formerly known as The Grill) has had a bit of a refurb along with a new menu and a new executive chef, but it’s still as traditional as ever.

The Venue
Based in Mayfair’s five-star Brown’s Hotel, the oldest hotel in London, the Albemarle is all about old school sophistication. Although over the last few years Browns has been refurbished (courtesy of The Rocco Forte Collection's design director, Olga Polizzi) and the most recent change is a new menu and new chef, Lee Streeton, who’s worked at The Ivy, Le Caprice and Daphne’s. An appropriately impressive CV for a location with such a similarly historic reputation.

The decor is, you can imagine, very classic. The most striking feature is the rich brown wood panelling on the walls and the wooden columns with curly tops and fluted sides – tres Greek. There are hints of modernity in the new design, though. Large, spacious tables are framed with curvy chairs in a soft green colour and large photo collages line the walls: the bottom half of a woman’s body (complete with heels) and a man holding up a digital camera. As the final stage of its refurb, the restaurant formerly known as The Grill changed its name to The Albemarle.

The Atmosphere
Given its reputation and its location, its no surprise that Mayfair businessmen make up much of the clientele. Hotel guests (including single diners) can be seen as well, and although the photo art on the walls hints at trying to attract a younger, cooler crowd, The Albemarle is still very much a businessman’s restaurant, a good spot for sealing a deal or impressing clients. Service is swift, friendly and accommodating from the moment you walk in the door, but then again you wouldn’t expect any less from a five star hotel.

The Food
The new menu focuses on what it does best: meat. You won’t find too much for vegetarians here – two out of the three egg dishes are served with fish or seafood. Starters range from about £6 (vegetable soup) to about £20 (six oysters) and desserts are about £6 or £7. Mains are all over the place, price-wise, with anything from about £7 for a Gladys-May duck egg with watercress and mayonnaise to about £30 for a Aberdeenshire fillet steak. There are also sharing options of sea bass, chicken and t-bone steak.

Streeton’s menu uses seasonal and local food wherever possible, with the names of different counties proudly displayed alongside the dish. The Romney Marsh beetroot salad comes with both white and red beetroot and generous chunks of creamy Golden Cross goat’s cheese, whilst the potted Morecambe Bay shrimps are buttery with a hint of tartness, served with slices of crisply toasted white bread and a half wedge of lemon.

For mains, the Glen Fyne rib steak is a decent portion, not overwhelmingly large but still satisfying and cooked perfectly to order. It’s served on its own, looking a bit sad and lonely on the big white plate, so a side or two, such as the creamed spinach, is recommended. The Lancashire hot pot is, like the potted shrimps, not really the trendiest of dishes, but this restaurant does it well. It’s served in a little red Le Creuset pot and densely packed with chunks of lamb, thin slices of potato and a few kidneys as well, and topped with a slightly crispy layer of potato. The ratio of meat to gravy and potatoes is definitely in your favour, with the lamb (so tender that it literally falls apart when you touch it) and the plump, irony kidneys making up most of the dish. The sharpness of red cabbage it’s served with contrasts well with the rich flavours of the dish.

The cheese platter comes with three cheeses: a sharp Stilton, a roughly cut Cheddar and a creamy and pale Gloucester cheese. It’s served with mini French-style breadsticks, garlic-y biscuits and a sweet red onion relish. For those with a sweet tooth, though, the slice of treacle tart is rich, but not overly sugary or dense, and served with a scoop of thick, cool cream.

The Drink
A very large and impressive wine list is on offer, with prices starting at about £30 and going all the way up to over £3,000. Most wines are French but there are plenty of choices from other countries and continents, as well as Champagnes and dessert wines. The house Chianti (from a choice of five house reds) is a 2004 Castello Di Ama, easy to drink but with a hint of deep, intense flavours.

The Last Word
The Albemarle at Brown’s has made an effort to update for the 21st century whilst still remaining true to what made it famous in the first place. If you’re looking for trendy, quirky dishes this is probably the wrong place for you, but for solid, traditional British cooking it definitely lives up to its reputation.

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