Eating A La Carte At The Great Northern Pub, St Albans
I love the fact that I live in Watford as I have easy access to London if I want to go out for dinner but also to loads of surrounding areas which are just a short drive away. St Alban’s is an area I’ve spent a good chunk of time in over the year’s and I think it’s such a nice area full of plenty of independent restaurants as well as the chain’s you’ll find in most cities.
The Great Northern Pub is a fantastic example of an independent eatery which you won’t find anywhere else, located just a few minutes from St Albans mainline station it is in a prime location whether you’re London or Hertfordshire based. Sadly there’s no parking for the restaurant but it’s 2 minute’s from a car park which is free to use in the evenings so win-win.
We arrived for a 7 pm booking which is when the a la carte menu begins and the first thing we noticed was how small and cosy the pub was with a separate restaurant area off from the bar with just a handful of tables. Every single table had been booked which is a testament to the restaurant and of course, the food.
Locally sourced ingredients for the menu
One thing that I quite liked about the set up was that there was no online menu beforehand as this changes all the time depending on what fresh, locally sourced ingredients are available although there’s always a vegetarian option present. The Head Chef in the restaurant is Harry Lumsdon who won Young Masterchef of the Year in 2016 which got me quite excited about the evening’s food choices.
After sitting down we decided to start with two Gin and Tonic’s and I was pretty impressed at the vast choice of Gin’s (about six from what I remember) which for a smallish pub is good going. We started with Beef Brisket which was cooked to absolute perfect pretty much melting in my mouth as soon as it entered.
How to make a burger ‘gourmet’
For main’s, we decided to go for Cheese Burger’s because when done well a burger can be an incredible meal and I wasn’t wrong. The chips were super chunky and while it didn’t look like there were many it was a perfect amount and crispy throughout, something which is quite hard to do with chunky chips. The burger itself was so tender and well seasoned with the cheese really gooey, this definitely wasn’t your run of the mill American Slice.
The only thing which I wasn’t as keen on was the lack of choice in dessert as with the starters and mains there was a choice of three things but dessert was a ‘one size fits all’ so we ended up with Honey and Amaretto Mousse. Although the dessert itself was refreshing with a lovely sweet taste it wasn’t what I’d have gone for with a choice, especially considering we’d seen a menu which showed two other options. But I guess that’s the difference between having the Set Menu which we had or ordering directly from the menu so it’s only a minor thing.
The Great Northern Pub Review
Throughout our meal the staff were so attentive so you never waited around for anything, I think that’s one of the nice things about a bit more of an intimate setting as the staff can really be there for you. Alongside various nominations, the restaurant recently won ‘Most Improved Pub’ in 2016 from South Herts CAMRA and ‘Best Restaurant for Everyday Dining’ in 2017 from the St Albans Food and Drinks Awards and it’s easy to see why.
Considering the quality of the food the two-course set menu was only £15, with the three-course menu sitting at £18 which for the incredible quality of the food is amazing value. I’ll pay about £15 in a generic burger restaurant for a burger and chips alone which wouldn’t be a fraction as good as the Great Northern’s Pubs.
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20 responses to “Eating A La Carte At The Great Northern Pub, St Albans”
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All About Me
Rhian Westbury
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I have never been to ST Albans before but I do have some trips for outside of London that I am hoping to tick off my bucket list as there is still so much of the UK that I would like to be able to see. I like that there is always a vegetarian option available which is great news for me and I actually like the sound of dessert although like you I would prefer to make my own choice too.
Ohhh that burger looks AMAZING!! You can’t go wrong with a good burger! Shame about the dessert menu, one choice is so limited!
All the food looks great, that is one thing the UK has over the US is really great pub food. I need to get back to the UK.
yumm where do I begin, I know by licking my computer screen, food looks good lovely.
It’s really a amazing place . The cheese burger is making me drool here 😀 Wish I could have it now .Thanks for suggesting amazing place.
La-Care? So quizzical the name is to me…and that’d give me drive to go for those yummies. The cheese burger especially…I love burgers I usually can’t wait for the burger fest and quench my too much love for them. For sure, it really seems like you had such an awesome eatery experience there…I’m salivating from your description. Yummy!
My husband is a huge fan of pub food, so he would love The Great Northern Pub. I am drooling over that hamburger!
That burger looks amazing! The place sounds really great and what surprises me the most is the price, I would have expected more honestly, so it’s ever greater!
Oh wow, Honey and Amaretto Mouse sounds amazing!!! I would be happy with that as a choice 🙂
It sounds like a lovely pub and whilst I wouldn’t appreciate the food menu as I’m vegan, I’d definitely appreciate those two huge gin & tonics! I’m going to check out their menu now to see if they have any vegan friendly options! 😀
Wow the food looks absolutely incredible. It’s amazing the value you get for that quality of food. YOu expect it to be more pricier. Makes you question these chain restaurants who charge so much.
I do miss living close to saint albans {used to live in Hatfield} its an incredible town and this pub sounds lovely, the food looks amazing and the price totally affordable
We are heading to Ireland and London next year. The food looks great I love a real pub meal.
Oh wow, that burger looks epic. I usually go for a burger when it’s on the menu – I just can’t resist.
I just got hungry by seeing those photos!
Oh girl! Take me with next time! This looks and sounds amazing. I need to make my way across the pond.
Having no choice for the dessert is no fun. That burger does look quite tasty. It can be hard to go wrong with a burger.
That food looks delicious! I must head over to the Great Northern soon – just showed Steve the burger and he thinks it looks incredible!
Sounds like a good menu offering some delicious foods, pity the dessert menu was limited. It still looks like a great place to eat.
I went here I think a week after you, and it’s amazing how different the menu was when I went x