04 Sep Restaurant review: Thompson St Albans
James Cameron visits the fine dining restaurant to enjoy a three hour, seven course tasting menu…
Regular readers of this column will know that of late it has turned into something of an impromptu awards ceremony.
So, following ceremonies for Best Pizza (La Cosa Nostra) and Best Indian Restaurant (The Alban), we have come onto the biggie, Best Restaurant of Any Kind, Regardless of Geographical Provenance or Cuisine Type (or BROAKROGPOCT for short).
Now, if anyone has already read the title of this article, or indeed has dined in St Albans, they will know that this honour has to go to Thompson St Albans. Not coincidentally they also win the award for Most Expensive Restaurant, but if there’s something to be celebrated or if we want an added layer of swank to our evening we would always go to Thompson’s.
It was the former for us, and so we brought along the children for their first ever tasting menu.
Where better to introduce them to the joy of lots of small but tasty courses? As we were family dining it meant we were there quite early and effectively had the palace to ourselves to begin with. The staff were lovely and attentive, and there was a good soundtrack of indie rock that became less identifiable as the restaurant filled up.
The furnishings were elegantly grey, although we were sure there used to be tablecloths and our table as well as being naked was also rather wobbly, though I suppose we’ve all been there. I would also like to give a shout out to the cutlery, which was lithe but with a suitable heft to it.
The focus of the drinks menu is clearly the wine, which none of us were drinking, but there were other gems if you searched hard enough. On the non-alcoholic cocktail list we went for the Tropical Iced Tea, fruity and not overly sweet, which was a shame as I like overly sweet things, and the Gorgeous, a sweet and sharp passion fruit concoction.
The beer list definitely looked anaemic next to the wine but there are some more interesting options, including Birra Moretti served peculiarly but not unpleasantly over ice.
We all went for the seven course tasting menu (an expanded nine course is also available as well as the more traditional two/three courses).
Half the group was able to have the vegan version, and they happily adjusted courses depending on our various requirements. Having ordered we immediately forgot what was on the menu, so every time something arrived it was like a lovely little surprise.
So, to give you a brief rundown of all that came our way, we started with some canapes, amazingly intense little bites of flavour. These included Parmesan Bites, creme fraiche on little slices of new potato, Panko-crumbed Mushroom Arancini with soft umami ooze inside and some small but delicious charcuterie laid out on a rock like Andromeda awaiting a sea monster. Finally there were ham croquettes, like the world’s best bacon grills.
Next came sourdough with either oil or malted butter. Although this was served separately it still fell under the first course in the rankings. The malted butter was absolutely amazing, and the portion very generous so that we were slathering it thickly onto any available surface of the bread to avoid the unedifying spectacle of eating it straight out of the dish.
Next we had a Pineapple Tomato, I’m not entirely sure what the pineapple brought to the table but it was definitely very tomatoey, especially if you factor in the tomato sauce it was served with. In fact, it would have been good to have a bit more of the sourdough to be able to mop up this delicious fresh sauce.
Round three, and topping my personal rankings, was a Birds’ Liver Parfait. This was almost indescribably rich, but it didn’t matter as the sharpness of the gooseberries it was served with made things manageable. Better even than these was the Beer and Mandarin Cracker, a strange combination of those other crackers, prawn and cream, but with a fantastic flavour all of its own.
After every mouthful you just want it to sit in your mouth as you appreciate every last iota of amazingness. No time for lingering, though, as we were less than halfway through.
After the best course was the one I probably enjoyed the least, although it was still very good. A Courgette Croustillant looked a bit like a Shredded Wheat and was slightly lacking in flavour, but the Thai green curry sauce which replaced the milk in this breakfast metaphor made up for it, with a good level of heat and a sweet creaminess. This dish really impressed with all the layers and textures.
Now we come to the main event.
There was a salty crispy Duck Breast on offer, or for the vegans a Wild Potato Terrine, but I went for the beef.
This was a lovely chunk of beef, cooked just right, with a cheeky little side dish of Steak Tartare.
My favourite part was probably the gravy, though, especially when eaten with the turnip fondant. This was rich with a hint of Japanese flavours though was maybe a truffle too salty for this stage in proceedings.
Pre-dessert was a tribute to apples, featuring a whipped sorbet and an apple vinegar to stop things getting too sweet too soon.
It was wittily served in a ceramic apple which was a nice touch although the rim made it difficult to get all the appley goodness out.
And so we made it to the end. For the vegans this was a very chocolatey and caramely dessert, offset by a tangy strawberry mousse.
For non-vegans it was all about the strawberries, with the mousse making a return joined by ice cream and chocolate as well as actual strawberries.
It had none of the synthetic strawberry flavour you associate with most manifestations of this flavour and it reminded you of why this is such a popular dessert option.
After seven courses we all felt very nicely full, but not stuffed. This format works so well as you get a great variety of flavours, and the chef gets to really demonstrate their versatility, but nothing overstays its welcome.
What’s more, my courgette and mushroom hating son consumed both very happily, although making it clear that this in no way set a precedent.
To begin with the timing was spot on, as soon as we were starting to feel ready for the next course it would appear like a delightful surprise. As the evening progressed, however, and the restaurant filled up, the tempo fell off. We had a very long wait for the main course, and again for the pre-dessert.
We had been succeeding thus far in our struggle to keep the children off their mobile phones with lively conversation, however at this point we were forced to accept defeat.
There was a large and lively party in the back room, and I have seen it before that such mass catering can draw resources from the rest of the restaurant, but I do feel that places should not take these bookings unless they can manage them without impacting on the other diners.
The whole meal took over three hours (that’s an average of 25 minutes per course for those keeping count), and it’s a shame as something that had seemed like a tight little relay at the start finished off more like a marathon.
So, is Thompson’s still my favourite restaurant? I have to say it is, each course was distinct from the one before and a delight, and there is nothing to compare with this level of cooking in the district. This was not my favourite visit to my favourite restaurant, though.
