Albion Cafe, Shoreditch
In the past, I’ve been disappointed by my meals at Conran restaurants (Pont de la Tour, Coq d’Argent and Skylon, for example, seemed much more about design than about food) but the Albion Cafe has won me over, serving simple dishes at good prices. In the past two months, I’ve been there twice for lunch and once for dinner. While the Cafe’s food isn’t destination dining, it’s a handy place to stop if you’ve got friends in town curious about English nursery classics, or if you’ve just spent a sunny morning at the Columbia Road flower market.
croissants at the Albion Caff
It’s annoying that you can’t make a reservation, and expect a queue on weekends for lunch. Luckily, there’s lots to snack on while you wait. The Albion Cafe’s entrance is a small grocery which, while not useful for stocking your refrigerator, sells many of the yummy baked goods on offer in the Cafe. Pastries, cakes, cupcakes, scones and cookies prettily lined up and calling out your name (and with most items costing well under a pound, why would you resist?).
cupcakes at the Albion Cafe grocery
With all the nibbles available while you queue, you run the danger of ruining your appetite, which would be a shame. The Cafe’s space is high-ceilinged, simple and welcoming. And the food is homey and tasty. Albion had me at hello with soft, pillowy-white slices of bread that’s baked on site. Eat your heart out, Wonderbread.
cheese cauliflower at the Albion Cafe
The Albion serves the kind of food you could easily make for yourself at home, but it’s cheap and tasty enough that you appreciate not having to do all that prep and cleanup. Fish and chips, cheese cauliflower, stews, Welsh rarebit, full English brekkies – all have been well-executed. TimeOut nailed it by comparing the Albion to Canteen – the Cafe is doing what now-fallen-from-grace-Canteen used to do in its heydey.
grocery at the Albion Cafe
My meals there with a few shared starters, mains and drinks totaled about £20 a person. On my way out, I’ve always left carrying a loaf of that white bread. Now, if only Shoreditch were easier to reach via Tube . . . .
The Albion Cafe, 2-4 Boundary Street, E2 7JE; 0207 729 105; closest Tube stations: Liverpool Street or Old Street, but it’s still a healthy walk from both.
An American in London 
The cauliflower cheese looks brilliant – now I am even keener to go there.
Yum! When are you moving offices? would be a great lunch option for us!
I’d quite like to try the Albion. I’ve been to the Boundary and thought the food was good, but unspectactular. The restaurant is beautiful though.
Gourmet Chick – Welcome back from Marrakech! And yes, you can’t go wrong with fresh cauliflower topped with melted cheese, though I should really emphasize that you probably don’t want to trek across town *just* to eat at the Albion Caff. It’s just a cheap-and-cheerful (and good) place for a meal.
Jane – Office move to Liverpool Street is slated for mid-June. I’m pretty excited to be escaping the Docklands, but def excited for expanded lunch options (both in terms of company and food).
A Girl Has to Eat – Good to know the Boundary was a bit “eh” (so par for the course for Conran places, generally, don’t you think?).
I’m glad that you wrote about this. I walked past here a couple of weekends ago and added it to my list to visit. Now I want to do it sooner. Thanks!
Patrick – the Albion Cafe is definitely worth a visit if you’re already walking by. Please let me know how it goes.
Thanks for this! Albion has been sitting on my wishlist for a while, simply because they don’t take reservations and I haven’t impulsively wanted to go to that side of London. But it seems that I have a reason to go soon, from your review!
Helen, you know, the first time I went to the Caff for dinner, I was able to make a booking. So the “no booking” policy now specified on the Caff’s website seems to be a recent change. In any case, I wouldn’t make the Caff a destination, but if you’re touring the nearby art galleries or just doing something else in Shoreditch, generally, definitely give it a try.
Hi there! So I managed to get back to Albion today and posted about my experience here. Was really great!
Sorry, if you could fix the link, it should have been http://www.thekua.com/doesfood/2009/06/albion-boundary-street-east-london/
Pat, glad to hear you had a good meal there today. It was indeed perfect weather for outdoor seating.
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Terrible terrible terrible,
poncy, bad food trying to look like some sort of organic kitchen with rubbish fake decor.
orange juice was off, food was as if it had been cooked in bad roadside cafe and the service was slow.
overpriced rubbish.
Nick – Tell me what you really think! Lol. More seriously, what’s fake about the decor?
The area has been always lovely in my memories. I love some independent stores between the flower market and Brick Lane. I was very excited about the opening of Albion/ Boundary even before they officially started trading.
As Conran is the boss, the setting and the deco are met to a standard. We love the simple yet appealing options, such as the Bacon and Egg Sandwiches and a pot of filter coffee for sharing. Having said that, there are a few things from our past experiences that we find rather off-putting. To start with. Acting as the face of the house, the manager is very unprofessional, often flirting with female staff. The service style is lousy with NO attention to detail. For example. When we ordered the usual Bacon and Egg Sandwiches, the bun was so burnt that I was surprised the staff just served the sandwich. When I asked for a replacement and this one was served no apology was given. I was deeply disappointed, again. My partner and I swear not to return as there are many other lovely cafes serving uncompromising food for unpretentious people.
Ooops, the managers are both gay!!! No serious flirting with females, but could be with the males…i suppose 😉
Otherwise, nice Caff, when it’s not too busy. Merely on the weekdays. Love the Chocolate- and fresh CarrotCake!!