The Almeida

What a beautiful restaurant! I was actually here for a wedding reception at the weekend, and the staff we nothing but charming and friendly, and food and wine incredibly tasty. It's not the typical restaurant experience (and I have no idea of costs), but I wouldn't think twice about coming back to try out the a la carte menu.

Tucked away opposite the Almeida theatre, you're a little way off Upper Street so you don't get all the street noise. We arrived just before 5, and the staff stayed perky and upbeat throughout the evening. Impressive given that we were no doubt becoming louder and more annoying as the drinks flowed.

Food was french-inspired, with a modern twist, and you can see into the kitchen a little bit as well, I'm always a fan of that. Duck breast starter was a hit. As was the passion fruit tart which I decided to steal from my friend's plate as it was nicer than my chocolate tart.

Dancing continued until midnight and ended with my falling over outside as I left. Always the sign of a good evening when you wake up with grazed knees.

Restaurants on Upper Street are always hit and miss, ranging form the damn excellent to boring and tacky chains. The Almeida falls in very firmly into the former camp. Go.

Really liked the very stylish main room.

Exclelent service in authentic French.

Food beautifully presented. The lamb was exquisite.

We had a special meal deal via the Evening Standard and were expecting a very limited menu for £15 for 2 courses and a glass of champers. In fact, it was as good as the a la carte menu and the restaurant was filled with people on the Promotional Fixed Menu!!

The food is modern french cuisine, with to-die for’ pudding or cheeses at the end.

The wine list is extensive, but surprisingly good value.

We commented to the Manager that it was good to see the restaurant so full, especially on the day Anthony Worral-Thompson announced his closures. We both agreed that it’s better to have the restaurant full, even if people are paying £14 for 2 courses, than to stick to the expensive menus of pre-credit crunch.

Wonderful to see the Almeida moving with the times. Overall, a lovely night out, great food for the price and a buzzy, friendly atmosphere.

I went to Almeida through a special offer on toptable, which is always a good way if sampling more expensive restaurants! Less risk! And then you will no doubt return if they have managed to convince you.

Well, the Almeida certainly did that - I have been back several times. The restaurant itself is very beautiful, with nice clean lines and a minimalist feel without being pretentious. The service is absolutely brilliant. I felt looked after by the attentive waiter, without being smothered.

And the delicious food too! I especially enjoyed the cucumber jelly dish (I iwish I could remember what it was called, because my description makes it sound awful!).

Anyway, catch a show and eat at the restaurant. Do it!

I last went here before its recent refit. This is classic French dining. The restaurant is pleasantly airy with lots of space between tables so you don’t feel cramped. That’s a real plus in my book. The service was quite possibly (outside of the Ivy) some of the best I’ve had in London. It’s that kind of service where someone is always attentive and aware of what your needs but never overbearing. The food is also just quality – Steak tartare was really tasty, lamb incredible. And really, it’s not at all bad value when you compare it to venues of a similar caliber.

if it’s good enough for Cesc Fabregas it’s good enough for any of us. the food is confident without being brash and manages to exert a quiet assurance that fits throughout the entire restaurant. what one has to remember about this place is that it’s simply a local restaurant so the fact that it manages to churn out these superb meals that most places in the west end would be proud of. what i like the most is the celeriac remoulade - for some reason it has more zing than in other places. the wine list is excellent although D&D need to work more on their descriptives. theyre a bit prosaic.

Awesome restaurant (best in Islington?) with a brilliant head chef. It's a beauty too!
I had the good fortune of trying their seven-course chocolate seasonal menu (with chocolate and inspiration provided by chocolatier, Paul A Young), during the recent Chocolate Week. What impressed me most was how they managed to incorporated chocolate into all their courses without the meal being gimmicky. The bream with cocoa nibs was particularly memorable.

It's just a matter of time before I head back to this wonderful restaurant. I really look forward to trying Almeida's regular menu!

The charcuterie was such a treat, they roll a big trolley over to your table with a selection of pates, terrines and other meaty nibbles and you can either pick a couple of have a little bit of everything. Being such inquisitive souls we opted for the everything sampler plates and it was lovely. Plus it also filled us up nicely before the main course so we didn’t feel the need to venture into the desert menu (which looked fantastic but I could feel my arteries clogging just reading it!).

All very rustic Frech fare, cooked beautifully. The only down side is the slightly lacklustre decor which is match by the slightly stuffy clientele.

All I can say is… excellent! There are already some detailed reviews about the menu etc. so I’ll try not to bore everyone with too much gushing. Basically, the choice is decent (real French cuisine rather than generic dishes) but what makes the Almeida stand out is the quality of the ingredients.
My Cornish crab starter tasted as though it had been plucked from the sea a mere moment before and the mains and pudding were just as excellent and Ill recommend the creme brulee just for the amazing little madeline cake that comes with it…
Service is lovely - attentive and rather sweet. When we said we would share a desert, they thoughtfully bought two little plates as well as extra cutlery.
£25 for 2 courses and a wine list that includes with some tasty but affordable vintages (and the option of getting a carafe - about 2/3 of a bottle - just like they do in France) means the price isn’t half bad for the quality, either.

Tucked just off Upper Street, the Almeida is a long-standing Islington eaterie with a loyal clientele. The interior has recently been refurbished and now features lots of plain cream walls, oak and modern art, delivering a pleasantly unfussy and unpretentious dining space. Formerly owned by the Conran group, it is now part of the D&D restaurant chain following a management buy-out in 2006.

The food is broadly French brasserie in style, with a varied selection of meat (including offal), seafood and some vegetarian items (there’s a vegetarian menu available on request - a nice touch often lacking in French restaurants). The quality of the cooking is excellent, although the portions go for quality rather than quantity - the French influence means that main courses are low on carbohydrates, so if you like British quantities of starch it’s best to order some additional sides of veg. The upside of this is that you have room for dessert, and I for one quite like leaving a restaurant feeling satisfied rather than stuffed. On my most recent visit, the steaks, suckling pig and scallops were all very highly praised. My main - a pithivier (puff-pastry pie) of St Maure cheese with pumpkin and grilled winter salad was delicate and delicious.

A high point is the wine list, which is superb. The choice ranges from perfectly acceptable (and affordable) house wines at £14.50 to an eye-watering 1999 Burgundy at £425. The full wine list features a good selection in the £25-£50 range. The best way to sample the food is to try one of the set menus at lunchtime and pre- and post-theatre, at £14.50 for two courses: otherwise, the ‘fixed-price a la carte’ dinner menu is £25 for two courses, £29.50 for three. Service charge of 12.5% is added on top, so expect a meal for two with wine and coffee to come to around £50 a head.

The service is one area where the Almeida’s reputation is rather mixed, although I have never had any problems, and the waiter on my last visit could not have been more helpful. It’s worth booking ahead in the evening - this can be done via their web-site.

Before the Almedia refurbished - it’s now re-opened in early 2008 - it was one of my favourite restaurants. It’s just opposite the nicest part of Upper Street, the food was usually flawless, the service was attentive, and you could escape without having to take out a second mortgage.

Sadly, for a curmudgeon like myself, the refurb seems to have done nothing to dampen either the cooking or the atmosphere. It’s still a pleasant, welcoming place, if you can ignore the gruesome hunk of “art” behind my dinner companion (apparently the unholy lovechild from an orgy featuring Rothko, Pollock and a chimp). And the food is still bloody good.

We both passed over the tempting and much-vaunted plate of charcuterie to start, with my partner proclaiming the foie gras a triumph and myself steadfastly refusing to share my Cornish crab. To be fair, the portion could have been a little bigger. But my main of Anjou squab was spectacular and I barely had room to stuff down my blood orange sorbet. I’m told the suckling pig and creme brulee was excellent but you’ll have to take my partner’s word for it. I didn’t get a sniff of either.

So, still every bit as good as I remember. I know 5 stars is a bit of a stellar rating: please bear in mind that the crucial final half a star or so is awarded strictly because I’m able to walk home from this place in 10 minutes. If you live in Wandsworth, you might think the cab fare a little prohibitive for a genuine 5-star evening. To which I can only say… well, if you WILL live South of the River.