Theme Court, Bridge Street, Bakewell
YOU want to warm to a restaurant called Albert, don't you?
They might have called it Sid. Or Brian. Or Ralph. But chef-patron David Walker called it after his young son George Albert.
Then is it pronounced the French way, Al-Bare, or the British? I never did find out.
You'll like the look of it if you approach from Bridge Street at Bakewell. It's got one of those old fashioned shop fronts but you walk straight into a modern bar with twinkling blue neon.
Your steps take you first into a white, bright area where David's father greets you warmly and then you're plunged into a gloomy, wood panelled dining room. It's here, in the comparative darkness, that I realise we've been here before but entered from Bath Street when it was the old Prospect restaurant.
The lights are low but there are candles on the bar. Eventually my wife, wanting to see what she's eating, calls for one if they're not going to turn on the lamp above us.
We've heard that David has put in three years with feisty chef Marco Pierre White, so are hoping a few sparks will fly in our meal tonight.
A look at the menu shows crab and salmon cakes, chicken-liver terrine and tequila-cured salmon on the starters, mostly between 6-7, and half a dozen low-priced mains, from the butternut and cheese tart at 8.95 to the slow cooked lamb shoulder.
Then for men who don't want to eat fancy there is a big range of grills - steaks, rack of lamb and Barnsley chop - with a slew of sauces.
Tables are set out with crisp white cloths and napkins and a knife on each bread plate. It's only as we end the first course that I realise there's been no bread.
I ask a waiter who says he can bring it but it's charged for.
Presumably you get some if you order soup although he never thought to tell us what it was. So why put the plates out if there's a high chance they're not going to be used?
I start with breast of wood pigeon, which comes at a hefty 6.95. There are two, briefly fried, tasty and still pink. They're with a crisp slice of bacon and a small, whole, roast beetroot which is gently leaching juices across the plate. This is supposed to be the beetroot vinaigrette. That's a new presentation idea for me.
My wife has the fish cakes, both smaller than golf balls, for 5.95, so it's really one bite and they're gone. Can't say too much about them in that case.
Madame, what with no bread, no light and only a couple of mouthfuls, now has a strop on, so I fear for the unsuspecting fillet of sea bass with a tapenade (olive) crust, confit fennel and a sauce vierge (Italian, lots of herbs), which is on the mains at 11.90.
But, no, she likes the fish although points out the crust is still a paste rather than, well, crusty, and she hasn't got any starch in the way of potato, rice or pasta. That annoys her as I'm enthusiastic about my dauphinoise and we've asked our waiter if we'll need any vegetables and all he did was recommend the greens.
Well, perhaps we should have read the menu a little more closely as it's one of those which lists all the ingredients on your plate and made no mention of potatoes with the fish.
I certainly didn't because with my braised shin of beef (10.95) and gratin potatoes I've got another roast beetroot.
It's different from my starter in that it's bigger and warm this time but I've got no idea what this cricket ball sized beet is doing. Not only is it difficult to eat (if David really wants to serve it why doesn't he cube it or fan it?) but it does absolutely nothing for the dish.
Which is a pity because the shin of beef, served in a single piece, is as tender and tasty and soft and melting a piece of beef as you'd want to have. The sauce, however, is terribly oversalted and tastes strangely synthetic.
Perhaps the desserts will cheer us up but they're all variations on a theme - syllabub, burnt cream (creme brulee) and pannacotta, without the kitchen once offering to show its skill at pastry.
The pannacotta is creditable, the burnt cream inedible because it has been infused with enough rosemary for a gigot of lamb. Both 4.50.
Our bill for food with coffees is 51.80 and it's been a real curate's egg of a meal. Although I suspect if David had them on the menu they'd come with roast beetroot.
FOOD REVIEW:
Theme Court, Bridge Street, Bakewell, DE45 1DS. Tel 01629 810 077.
Open for lunch Tues-Sat 12-2.30pm and evenings Tue-Thur 7-9m, Fri-Sat until 9.30m. Sun 12-3pm. Music. Credit cards. Disabled access and toilets. Street or car parking nearby.
n My star ratings (out of five):
Food HHH
Atmosphere HHH
Service HHH
Value HHH
Middle-market category
What do you think? Add your comment below.
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