Almond, The Reviews

Although the building had character and the décor was attractive, The Almond lacked ambience. The waitresses were pleasant but unfamiliar with the menu, and even though it wasn’t full, service was quite slow. When we asked for a bottle of French Pinot Noir, we were served with a Californian one with no explanation, and when we asked to check the wine list, were told that the winery was re-labelling and it was actually the same wine, which we found it hard to believe.

We started with a lovely creamy chicken and mushroom risotto, which we subsequently found out to be the highlight of the meal and bland potted pork with stale, inedible crackling. Both mains, steak and lamb, were tasty and enjoyable although the supposedly ‘teddylicious’ dessert tasted of stale, dry cocoa powder. All in all, it was quite disappointing with very depressing music being played throughout the evening.

The Almond is a great little restaurant that we came across a few months ago and have been back twice since. The steak is excellent, and my other half had the sea bream and Pavlova on Saturday and thought both were lovely. Some of the review comments below seem a bit strange in my opinion. The comment about the menu choice is just untrue - check the website - and it’s no way pretentious. We have always been looked after well and would recommend.

What a disappointment! I went there with my girlfriend for a romantic dinner and was all the more surprised that I had read a few good reviews for this restaurant before booking a table. This restaurant is obviously a familial one, and it comes with its drawbacks. The waitresses looked bored and unfriendly as early as we arrived. Besides being unprofessional, no salt and pepper on the table, they did not make us taste the wine before letting it on the table. One of them spilled sauce on the serving plate and went on as if nothing happened, turning her back on me. The menu is perfect for people like me who always change their minds at least a dozen times before ordering, because your choice is as narrow as it could get. I had the 10oz rump steak with peppercorn sauce, while my girlfriend chose the lamb rissole with aubergines. Now I must confess that my meal was good but my girlfriend's was barely edible. We felt it had too much salt, while I do love salt but wouldn't have been able to finish it up as there were two lamb cutlets sitting on what were clearly not aubergines but a preparation for ratatouille that just had been de-frozen. Our experience of the restaurant might have been unlucky since the couple of people with us seemed to enjoy their food. But it seemed to me overrated and pretentious for a familial restaurant. Another detail, the decor is nice but seems to hesitate between familial and trendy or lounge atmosphere where the two waitresses did not seem to belong and feel comfortable in.

This is a lovely, classy and intimate restaurant with excellent food and friendly, personal service. Our party of thirteen were well looked after with regular water jug top ups and prompt service. The owner and head chef was a lovely friendly lady, who personally took time to come and check if everything was okay with our meals. This place is highly recommended.