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| - I feel more 4-and-a-half stars, but L'Albatros is worth rounding up.
We have been to L'Albatros a few times now, and most recently we took a friend there on a snowy March day. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted warmly, our coats hung for us, and escorted to our table with friendly courtesy. Our water glasses were filled, and bread and olive oil brought to the table for us to enjoy while we perused the extensive menu.
We had no doubt about our first course: the cheese plate. We have enjoyed the amazing variety of cheeses at L'Albatros before. The Fromager soon brought his abundant board of cheeses to the table and asked how many we wished to try, 3, 5, or 7? Of course we chose 7. He asked about our tastes in cheeses and, based on what our claims to like strong cheeses and adventure, laid out a flight of cheeses for our enjoyment, along with stone ground mustard and fig jam to clear the palate. We loved all but one of the cheeses, which is exactly as a request for adventurous cheeses should be: pushing us to the limit.
Because we were feeling extravagant, we also ordered the charcuterie platter to share. This arrived on a slate slab and ranged from prosciutto to foie gras. All of it was beautifully prepared, though no one at our table cared for the pork and veal loaf. The foie gras, though, we almost came to blows over with our formerly vegan friend. Not that she objected to it; on the contrary, we engaged in a knife duel over the last bits of it on the plate.
Already quite well-fed, we moved on to our main courses. I had the boeuf bourguignon, and it was eye-rollingly tender and delicious, and so rich after our appetizers that I took half of it home for lunch the next day. Our friend had the scallops, which she pronounced delicious and devoured. Ferrett had...he can't even remember. I know it was tasty, because he ate it all. But his memories of the evening are all about the cheese plate and the charcuterie.
There were also desserts for the two of them, but we were a couple cocktails into the evening and I finished with a glass of port, as I am not a dessert person, so I just have to take it on faith and the evidence of empty plates that they enjoyed those sweets.
Our service was attentive, and our water glasses were never empty. So where does the half-star-off come from in my mind?
Mostly, it's in the layout of the restaurant. Because the tables are wedged in tightly, and the rooms mean there are a lot of corners, the serving staff was often jostling for position in the room. I am undoubtedly being really picky here, but I felt like I was much too aware of the staff's difficulties in negotiating the space and had a couple wincing moments when I thought a diner was going to be spilled on. In a restaurant of this quality, the service should border on invisible. It's a small thing, in so much quality, that I am happy to round up.
This is a perfect restaurant for special events like birthdays and anniversaries. Go and enjoy the pampering.
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