St. Alban

If Chris Corbin and Jeremy King opened a transport café in the middle of the Hebrides the great, good and impossible would be fighting to book tables. Which is not to say that the popularity of St Alban owes its outward success to their reputations alone, but it sure has something to do with it.

Personally I loathe spaces that do not have windows but that may have something to do with past associations with submarines. That said all concerned have made the best of it, though it is doubtful if too many people will regard the décor as a big plus point.

This is fine because we are here primarily to eat, drink and relax. From a menu that is seafood-weighted look for the mussels and razor clams steamed in a well seasoned broth that is redolent of the sea. Slow roasted black pig is certainly one of the more successful dishes, and whilst the primary influences are emphatically Italian, there are enough modern trends to indicate Mediterranean and European skills at work.

Whether St Alban succeeds because of its owners, its chef Francesco Mazzei, or because people genuinely like it is largely immaterial. What matters at the moment is whether you can get to eat there at all - if and when that ceases to be an issue we shall know the answers, and my guess is that they will be positive.