26 Mar 2024
James Cameron discovers one of the overlooked treasures of St Albans city centre…
The Courtyard Café is a delightful and calm presence at the top of town, next the yoga studio and near the old museum, home of the late lamented roach. It has a very community feel to it, selling local produce from the lobby and local art from the walls. Good intentions can sometimes lead to earnest and underwhelming food, but that is not the case here.
The core offerings on the lunch menu are sandwiches, the cornerstone of the British lunchtime, which are available as standard, open or toasted. Over and above this, however, are a wealth of specials that go into interesting and varied places. A couple of these were already sold out by the time we arrived, and I was disappointed to not get a chance to try out the paprika baked beans, but there were more than enough tempting options left over to trigger my decision anxiety.
I eventually committed to settling down with a Warm Goat’s Cheese Salad. Being a salad this was obviously incredibly healthy, if you ignore the massive slab of goat’s cheese dominating the dish. This was a delicious dose of creaminess, with a bubbling top like a savoury creme brulee.
Looking beyond the obvious charms of the cheese, though, there was a lot else going on with this dish. The obtuse triangles of sourdough were crispy and had a nice drizzle of oil, and took the squidge of the cheese in their stride. Hiding throughout the jungle of rocket were little treats to reward your virtue, sweet nuggets of beetroot, walnut and peppers to complete the flavour profile. The only issue with the dish was how large it was, overspilling the modest bowl it was presented in, but I definitely prefer it that way around.
There were plenty of veggie and vegan options on the standard and special menus, including avocado on toast. This could have feta but to make it vegan it was presented with hummus, and rather good hummus it was too. There were also chickpeas in their un-smushed form, baked and crispy with enough spice to be tangy without destroying your taste buds so you could no longer enjoy the avocado.
Most of these ingredients were also present in the Vegan Toasted Sandwich, not on the special menu but very special nonetheless. Once again the bread was fantastic, holding in place what are some quite moist ingredients. There were also aubergines present, which were maybe not squishy enough meaning you were never sure how much effort you were going to have to put into each bite. The chilli jam gave a pleasant sweetness to proceedings, but a more generous serving could have elevated the dish to the very top tier.
We had been lured to the Courtyard Café by the promise that they did the best Chai Lattes in St Albans, and although I have not personally tasted all of the competition yet I am happy to award them the accolade based on the evidence presented to me. They were light and frothy, with a sweet crunchy dusting of cinnamon on top and they gave us all a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
One ‘Even Better If’ suggestion is that they could maybe provide larger water glasses, or failing that a jug for the table, as otherwise you will be making frequent visits to the hydration station.
Possibly this is part of their cunning plan, though, as on each visit you are presented with the temptation of their range of cakes laid out alluringly on the counter-top.
The Courtyard Café is a real local treasure that makes St Albans a better place by its presence.
The furnishings are an eclectic blend of items from different eras, with vinyl records and Formica tabletops sitting alongside classy planters and the aforementioned art.
The staff are uniformly friendly and welcoming, and you can tell by the banter in the kitchen that they seem genuinely happy to be there. And why wouldn’t they be, providing a happy and nourishing experience to all who come through the door?
