Silly, silly me. I didn't do my homework before Mr. Snarky and I headed out to Blackfriars to meet one of my good friends from uni, another fellow American. I am not really familiar with that area, so we ended up walking toward Fleet Street. Of course, no one really wants to make a decision and I was thinking we should walk down toward St. Paul's because there are some nice options there. However, I wasn't sure how anyone else felt about it and knowing Mr. Snarky, there could've been a Snark Attack if he didn't get fed soon.
So across the street from us was The Albion. We walked over, menu was standard pub fare, and everyone seemed to see something on the menu they could eat. So in we went. The inside is nice, but it wasn't very busy. There was a sign that said restaurant upstairs, but you can have a meal on the ground floor as well. We grabbed menus and found a seat. None of the menus we grabbed were the same. Fortunately, I ended up with the correct menu! It wouldn't have been a huge issue, except there were just a couple of items that were different and of course... of course, both my lunch dates would choose something that was not on the weekend menu. Up to the bar we went to order. Mr. Snarky wanted the Roast Beef... they were out. Ang wanted the Pulled Pork Sandwich... he said they don't usually serve that on the weekend, but he called to the kitchen to see if they had any left for one sandwich. Of course, when he said that, Ang's first reaction was, "Will it be any good?" And the guy said, "Yeah it is good." She stuck with it.
Mr. Snarky regrouped and ordered the Piri Piri Chicken Burger and I had the Chicken, Ham, and Leek Pie with Chips. Ang's sandwich appeared way before ours and when it came out, I actually thought, "She didn't order a hot dog!" It was served in a long roll and Ang said, "This is not what I anticipated." Eventually, when she was halfway done, our dishes arrived. The Chicken Burger looked really good and I didn't hear any complaints from the peanut gallery. The pie actually wasn't half bad, but when they say gravy... they mean all over the plate and chips and none on the pie. So my chips were all soggy. It also comes with braised red cabbage, which isn't mentioned on the menu. I like braised red cabbage, but just wasn't expecting it. It wasn't the best I've had, but I did have a couple bites.
Overall, we should've known better, but we were hungry and everyone was being all British (no one speaking up for fear of being rude), so we had a mediocre lunch. I will say that if you want to catch up with some friends (or watch a football match), go on a Sunday afternoon because it will be dead quiet so you won't need to yell over music or other patrons! read more