Konstam at the Price Albert Konstam is a London restaurant, London in all senses of the word, home grown food - almost everything is sourced from within the tube - homegrown chef - Olly Rowe born, bred and buttered North London boy. All this is coupled with a certain special London air that mixes the best of British with the exotic delights of distant lands.
Housed in a murky old pub in an as yet un-gentrified corner of Kings Cross, you walk from the shabby street into a wonderful, shadowy, shimmering space that manages to artfully mix high design with a solid urbanity. Konstam isn’t just a London restaurant, it is also a local restaurant, that charming mix of great food and comfortable atmosphere. A bit like eating at a great chef’s own house, which, as Olly is so passionate and devoted to the restaurant, is basically what Konstam is - his house. The staff have a familial air and the service, while it can be a little slow, is always genuinely friendly. The daily, seasonal menu is firmly routed in the northern European – it is pretty hard to source peppers and bananas from in and around London! Classic dishes are often given an unusual twist and the chef has a real way with meat. I started with a dish of house smoked Essex mackerel with roasted beetroot and a horseradish dressing, a trio matched in heaven. The fish was beautifully presented and had a lovely smoky flavour, not overwhelmed by too much salt. It retained a delightful freshness that can often be sadly lacking in this dish. The beetroot had been slowly and sweetly roasted and the horseradish must have been very fresh as the dressing was both creamy and fiery – a classic dish executed with care and panache. Next, I had pan roasted Waltham Abbey chicken with a chard and barley gravy, an unusual choice for me as chicken is often very boring in restaurants but I love barley, so chicken it was. A generous mound of chicken breast and legs was smothered in a rich gravy thick with perfectly cooked barley pearls and generous chard leaves. The chicken was delicious, with a butter fried, crispy skin so tasty that even I, who hates chicken skin, ate it all up. I even gnawed the bones - I told you the restaurant made you feel almost en famille. I am rather thankful that the service can be a little slow at Konstam as it means you have time to build up a little appetite for desert. The desert menu’s only difficulty is choice. Last time I visited I had the revelation that is gooseberry sorbet – a fruit better suited to sorbet does not exist, after tasting it I can honestly not understand why ALL sorbets aren’t gooseberry – well ok, why there isn’t more of it about at least. This time, truth be told I have had an elegant sufficiency of food and wine (a natty little pinot noir from SW France), but I still can’t resist their deserts. Plus they have iles flottantes and lemon posset, I am a big fan of elegant retro deserts and these are two corkers. I go for the isles, or rather a single light-as-a-cloud isle, floating gently in a shallow pool of excellent crème anglaise swirled with caramel, like eating a mouthful of heaven. I tried the posset too, it was thick and lemony – truly scrumptious! What else can I say but it was a delight of a meal from start to (3hrs later) finish. I feel, at this point, I should admit an interest, Olly is a dear old friend and I am delighted that the restaurant is a success. However, I can honestly say that it doesn’t compromise this review, if it couldn’t be glowing I just wouldn’t have written it… Starter £6-9
Main £12-19
House wine £17 Konstam at the Prince Albert
2 Acton Street
King’s Cross
London WC1X 9NA
020 7833 5040
www.konstam.co.uk
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