adult restaurant in Sta Albans - any ideas?

[Cl]

Some friends have recently moved to Welwyn in Herts and want us to go and celebrate a birthday there with them this w/e. Problem is the only nice restaurant within striking distance that they know - Brocket Hall- is fully booked. They're not far from St Albans but don't know anywhere to eat there - just wondered if the collective restaurant reviewers of mumsnet had any thoughts/experience of nice places for a Sat night meal in St Albans or nearby area - many thanks.

I live in St Albans! I have to say that Brocket is superb, shame you couldn't get in. Buon Amici is a very nice Italian on the Colonnade, Verulam Road in St Albans. It is not ' Family Pasta Italian', but fine dining. It can cost you £80-100 for 2. Mind you Brocket cost us £500 for the 4 of us! Whatever you do, DON"T go to Sopwell House. It's CRAP, the food is awful, the service lousy and lacking in atmosphere! Nicholls Brasserie, Adelaide Street St/A is okay for a good meal. The food is excellent, but the atmosphere is indifferent, and the sevice might need chivvying!
The filet steak on Rosti Potato with green beans is ace, if we feel like a steak we go there. Good sized portions and attractively served. Wine list a bit limited.

We tend to always go into London from St Albans, as it is only 20 mins on the train. I hate coming back on the train at night so we do tend to use a driver, between four of you it wouldn't be expensive to use a driver and there is fantastic choice in London. If you want any London recommendations let me know.

Or what not just fly to over to Paris, hire a small plane and pilot of course and hey presto you're there in a couple of hours!

Rhiannon, are you serious or having a bit of fun? - My husband did just that, last Friday for his birthday. Hire an aircraft from Elstree,(he flew himself), a piper warrior, or if there is more than two of you, they have a very nice Saratoga with leather bucket seats and little cool boxes in between! - Fly to Deauville and have lunch in Honfleur or Le Touquet. He left at 11.00 and was back at 4.00 complete with a dozen oysters!

Alibubbles, your postings get more and more entertaining with each one.

Rhiannon, I don't know what you mean......

alibubbles & rhiannon, my baby's dad is here - he says that he does an exquisite cheese on toast for only £999.99. you can also have use of his personal jet pack for the homeward journey. when we've done a flyover of st albans we thought it was charming - which is your private residence - we could drop in. i don't know what he means, i think he's had too much wine (a fine drop for only £2.99). love from the other half of the population (only teasin')

p.s i accept NO responsibility for this post

p.p.s he has just revealed to me that he's been to brocket hall so i have no idea what he's going on about. he suggests a pub lunch in wheathampstead...........

I suddenly feel very sad, what started as a genuine reply has turned into something some people feel they can have a laugh at, at other peoples expense. I lay awake last night, for the first time in a very long time, not able to get back to sleep - turning Rhiannons comment over in my head, wondering what I'd said that was wrong.
If you're wondering why I'm saying this, go to the depression forum.

alibubbles, i checked today to see if you were OK but if you're down you may not believe that. i'm sure that rhiannon feels the same because she seems very genuine to me.

i'm very sorry that we offended you and it really wasn't meant that way at all. we were just being silly and now its gone wrong. sometimes in cyberspace you think you've got the measure of someone and you may be mistaken - as in this case. maybe we were jealous?

you probably know that i have some idea what its like to lay awake thinking about something and making it absolutely massive. i do it most nights and just can't stop myself.

i feel very sad that this has affected you because i know what that feels like and yet i still allowed it to happen without thinking. it was completely unecessary. i hope that on another day we can have a chat and straighten this out.

Alibubbles, I too have checked the Depression thread today. I apologise for giving you a 'ribbing', I did not know you have health problems. But when you post you must remember that piloting a plane for the day is rather out of the reach of 99% of the population, just as is a £500.00 meal at Brocket Hall and spending £250.00 per week on food.

Poor old you Alibubbles!. I can see why you are taken back given that the discussion began with a specific reference to a retaurant which you'd been to. You were only trying to be helpful - after all its not your fault that apparently the best restaurant in St Albans is also very expensive!!.

Thanks Gracie, my sentiments exactly. I thought if CL knew about Brocket, then I knew what sort of restaurant they were looking for. She describes it as a 'nice' restaurant, it is pretty special, and it was for 40th birthdays! I hope CL found somewhere good.

Dear all

Just checked in to thank Alibubbles for her excellent recommendation and was horrified that there'd been any upset - hope everyone's Ok now. For the record Buon Amici was full so we went to Nicholls Brasserie and the review was spot on by Alibubbles (eat your heart out AA Gill) The food was great, the ambience a bit loud, but fine, the service a bit slapdash but certainly friendly (we took our baby and they gave us an extra big table so he didn't have to be on the floor) and if anyone's interested it was about £100 for 4 of us - which by London standards is pretty reasonable. My friends were mighty impressed by the power of mumsnet and are extremely grateful that they now have two more possibilities for those rare nights out. They too had only been to Brocket Hall for a special occasion - her dad's 60th - and it had cost an arm and a leg (food reasonable for what it is - wine extortionate - was their evaluation - but worth it). You were right too that we did want somewhere a bit special - the husband of the couple was off to work in the States for a few days and we all wanted to have a good night to take our minds off the inevitable anxiety any of us now have about flying the Atlantic. So thanks a million Alibubbles I really appreciated your speedy response and advice. And next time your husband nips off to France I just wish he'd take us with him! PS We're beginning to think about a move out to St Albans so may be back for more advice. Hope this week's experience hasn't put you off - I say again - we were really grateful.

Thanks Cl, I'm glad you enjoyed your night out. If you go need to know any more about St Albans, please let me know and you can email me privately.
I have been corresponding with a lady I met on Nannyjob, who is moving to St Albans in October. I have filled her with details of nurseries, schools, houses etc. She came up to St/A last week for her son's trial session at nursery so I said pop in for lunch. She did, with her two children and the nanny.She says she felt so at home in the city having beeen talking to me for three months. I've set up friends with children the same age for coffee mornings for when she finally moves here.

I love the city, I have lived here for 15 years, I ran NCT groups, post natal support groups, talk to GP surgeries on returning to work, looking for childcare, trained 400 childminders, been a school governor of three schools, still am of one, run the conservative committee rooms during election times, and generally keep busy. I'm known as the fourth emergency service, if I can't help I probably know someone who can!! I love to help people!

Alibubbles

I read your comments on restaurants in St Albans with interest. This is slightly off the baby subject - I have started working just outside St Albans (I do not come from the area) and part of my remit will be to organise venues for the senior members of staff to have a monthly dinner (about 8 people, must have circular table). They normally go to Sopwell but for a change went to the Noke the other night. Apart from the two you mentioned, do you know of other good/very good restaurants?

Alli, Hi! That's a difficult one, I used to have to organise a dinner meeting once a month for Ladies Circle. Do you need to do business as well. or is it just pleasure? We held some in Upstairs Downstairs, in Waxhouse Gate, it was ok.
Nicholls have large round tables on request, I think the food is very good there. The cheapy Italian,(Casa Bianca) basic, fun, lotsa food and cheap, could probably arrange a table setting for 8, upstairs where it is quieter. We had a few there as well.

The other Italian, Buon Amici is lovely, more upmarket,good food, service and pleasant decor, a abit more pricey but well worth it.

Alibubbles - thanks for that. They want relatively upmarket so I'll suggest Nicholls and Buon Amici to them. The most senior member of staff didn't like the Noke and I think they're getting fed up just going to Sopwell. Brocket Hall is just a little bit too far, I think. Is Nicholls quite upmarket?

Alli, Nicholls is a bit like Cafe Rouge,there is one in St Albans, the service is terrible so is the food but unlike Cafe Rouge, the food at Nicholls is excellent, but probably not smart enough if you want somewhere up market. It's so difficult these days as people don't seem to dress up to go out to dinner anymore, you're as likely to sitting next to a table of people in casual wear as those in suits etc. Apart from Brocket who insist on jackets and ties.
I agree, Sopwell does get very boring, infact everytime we have been there we end up sending our food back and complaining. My food was frozen in the middle once, and it came back overcooked, it had been microwaved! Berjeranos, the brasseries is better than the Magnolia at Sopwell. I'd definately go for Buon Amici!

Alibubbles

Thanks for your advice - I will suggest Buon Amici for the next dinner and keep fingers crossed. Alli.