Name: York and Albany
Location: 127-129 Parkway, Regents Park, London, NW1 7PS
Website: http://www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/york-and-albany
Contact number: 020 7592 1227
Hours: Various, check website

I suggest popping your earphones in and searching for a Sunday Jazzesque playlist before reading this blog to set the scene (I’m writing this listening to a bit of upbeat Jazz on Spotify to 1. bring back fond memories of York and Albany…even though no jazz was playing on the night (maybe it should have been) and 2. to drown out the sound of my boyfriend watching the football).

I have walked passed this restaurant on a number of occasions because I love walking around Regents Park at the weekend when it’s chilly but beautifully sunny. I know, I know…a sophisticated woman who walks on a Sunday and listens to Jazz…

We walked into this restaurant and it felt so familiar simply because the staff greeted us with such warmth and attentiveness that our guests actually thought we were regulars. Far from as this was our first time. The décor and artwork I loved which helped to create a relaxing Friday ambience.

We went for the set menu which consisted of three courses for £24 which is an absolute bargain in my eyes. I spoke to the waiter about gluten free options and he was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and what I could have. The only time he was unsure he popped to see the Chef to double check. I already thought I would only be able to have the soup but they stocked gluten free bread so I was also able to have the parfait too. On this very rare occasion I went for the ‘Celeriac and apple soup with pine nuts’ – it was deliciously creamy and full of flavour. The balance of flavour with the cream and added black pepper went together wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I then went for the ‘Sea bream with celeriac purée, samphire and clams’ – I also got a side of ‘Creamed spinach with garlic chips’. I know I like to make bold statements on this blog but this was one of the best meals I have ever eaten. The sea bream was cooked to perfection with crispy skin and perfectly seasoned. The celeriac purée with samphire just worked perfectly with the fish and then the clams just made the dish. The creamed spinach with garlic also worked so well with the dish and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this dish to anyone – it was really special.

I had the posset for dessert. I will be the first to admit that I didn’t know what a posset was and the description on Google, a British hot drink of milk curdled with wine, didn’t come close to doing this justice and it nearly put me off. The moment the waiter told me that the posset changed his life was the moment I knew I needed to give the old posset a go. Google lost brownie points because I nearly missed out on the ‘Clementine posset with pistachio, orange and passion fruit iced tea’ and that would have been a disappointment. It was similar to a panna cotta but topped with frozen iced tea – the sharpness of the orange and passion fruit iced tea with the creamy posset and crunchy pistachios was wonderful and a must try.

Overall, York and Albany was fantastic and I thoroughly recommend. The staff knew how to cater for a gluten intolerance and didn’t make me feel uncomfortable at all when asking for suggestions. The food was out of this world and the service was fantastic. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my non-gluten free guests loved all their dishes too.