24 Jul 2023
James Cameron heads to the Ember Inns eatery for some Friday night grub.
There are a surprising number of pubs named after King William IV, 62 across the UK and second only to Queen Victoria. It’s surprising as he was a fairly mediocre monarch whose main claim to fame across his seven-year reign was that he wasn’t called George, so presumably it was a case of being in the right place at the right time when there were pubs that needed naming.
Still, in honour of the supporter of slavery and father of 10 illegitimate children we headed to St Albans’ very own King Will for a spot of dinner.
The King William presides over the crossroads at the East side of town, keeping an eye on the denizens of Sandridge in case they overstep their boundaries and make a play for the recycling centre.
Inside the decor feels open and welcoming, this is certainly a pub that you would feel comfortable bringing the whole family to. We were there on a rainy Friday night and it was reasonably quiet, enough other denizens to create a buzz but with a distinct lack of raucousness.
I was impressed with the friendliness of the helpful staff, and ordering was a breeze. There is an extensive menu, though you might feel a sense of deja vu if you were to walk into the Three Hammers in Chiswell Green as it is identical at all Ember Inns across the country.
This is not necessarily a bad thing as it supports having a large range with options for pretty much any dietary requirement or predilection catered for.
Beer choices were also good, with the usual Fullers range plus Dark Star on tap. I was excited to see an option from Salcombe brewery but the line was apparently being cleaned, and cleaned thoroughly as it failed to make an appearance for the rest of the night.
Between the four of us we managed to capture a good sample of the range on offer. From the vegan section there was a Gobi Dhansak curry, with optional poppadom. Though not in the league of what you would expect from an Indian restaurant this made a passable imitation. It definitely erred on the side of sweetness rather than depth of flavour (especially the mango chutney) but it had a good spice level and was enough to leave you satisfied.
Another of our party went for the vegan burger. This was a little disappointing on arrival, the patty was about the size of the old Birds Eye Beefburgers that used to be a staple growing up and I would be surprised if they would get away with serving a non-vegan burger of that size. It was served with a feta-style cheese, but this did not follow through into any other Greek-style accompaniments, and was presumably just the only vegan cheese they had knocking around.
The kitchen definitely seemed more comfortable in the meat arena, and the most impressive dish was the Ribs and Wings that our youngest member ordered. The chicken was well-fried and maintained its juiciness, whilst the ribs were tender. Throw in some Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and you’ve got yourself a winner.
I decided to experiment with the ‘Posh Fish and Chips’. The dish had been elevated up the class structure by the fact that the fish in question was sea bass rather than the usual cod or haddock, but I have to say that it was not an entirely convincing substitution. Sea bass is quite a delicate fish, needing subtle flavour work rather than just a splodge of batter, and it lacks the juiciness of your normal subjects.
The end result was just a bit bland, not helped by a fairly measly portion of mushy peas (surely not an expensive ingredient, even with current soaring food prices).
If there is one area that the King William should look to improve it is their chips. At the level in which they are operating chips are fairly integral to proceedings, and featured on three quarters of our meals. Get them right and everyone is leaving with a smile on their face but tonight they were on the stodgy rather than crispy side, something to fill your stomach rather than bring you exquisite joy.
We had hoped to finish with dessert but as the only vegan option had gone walkabout this was not to be. However, what we did get was very quick service in a pleasant surroundings and at a reasonable price, with dinner for four and drinks coming in at £65. There are even better bargains to be had with their set menus, two courses for £10.79 at lunch or £12.79 at dinner. Strangely these are two completely different menus, with sausages suitable for the day but after dark things move on to the lasagne.
The King William IV is perfect for the right occasion, as long as you know what the occasion is. If you want a low-stress gathering where you can spend a pleasant evening with companions at minimal cost and leave feeling less hungry than you arrived then it will fulfil all your requirements. On the other hand if food is to be the focus of the night in any way it might be worth putting in the effort to visit somewhere which places its dining experience more front and centre.
