The Albion, Barnsbury

I went to a birthday party at The Albion a week ago. It�s a lovely looking �country-style� pub, with a large beer garden. I was expecting a great afternoon, the sun was shining, and The Albion has great reviews (from The Observer no less).

That said, you�d have to pay me to go back. I couldn�t believe how monumentally rude the staff were. When I asked what �St Telo� was on the menu, the barman barked �CHEESE� as though I was being offensively stupid and turned his back on me. It took three attempts to even find out where I could place an order for food, and had to ask another three waiters to actually take my order. And shamefully, it�s not just the barmen or waiters, it�s a problem that goes to the top. There were about 15 of us there so we spent a lot of money that afternoon. When we tried to pay the bill, the manager (yup, manager) repeatedly turned his back on us and walked away mid conversation. We were gobsmacked. How can a place like this get away with it? By buttering up critics from newspapers I imagine.

The true �icing on the cake� was the fact that the birthday boy�s girlfriend had made him a cake the night before. She was told that to have it on the premises, everyone in the party had to pay a surcharge of �2.50. When she said this was ridiculous considering we had booked a large meal and were paying through the nose for it, the restaurant manager eventually relented, graciously saying we could have it in the pub, but we weren�t allowed to �publicise it, let the staff know we had it, or even eat it�. Thanks a bunch. We felt so welcome we left soon after.

Having read other reviews about the service at The Albion in Barnsbury, I shouldn�t think anyone would want to go. But if you�re a bit of a sadist and want to feel like a scumbag who shouldn�t be in a pub, by all means go and meet the staff there.

25 Jun 2009 15:50