At the weekend, we wined and dined at Dylans The Kings Arms. I’d
been looking forward to the re-opening of this restaurant/pub/bar in St. Albans
for a while. We’re certainly not short of places in our city to grab a bite or
drink but when someone you know opens a place, you can’t help but be more
excited than usual.
Also, when the venue holds happy memories of yesteryear, there’s even more of a pull. My mum used to be a barmaid here when it was a busy and popular pub called ‘The Old Kings Arms’. I was about 14 or 15 at the time and I would sometimes go along and nurse half a sweet cider at the end of the bar under her watchful eye. And, as I’m sure you can imagine, I felt very grown up being part of that scene.
Positioned on one of the oldest and characterful streets in St. Albans, it’s been a public house for the most part of its life and so for me, and I’m sure for many other residents and fans of St.Albans, it’s wonderful that Dylans will be tapping into its pub heritage again.
My other half and I had walked past the window of Dylans one afternoon a week or so ago and peered in to discover that it was nowhere near ready; still very much a dusty building site. So, when we arrived on Saturday night, I was totally surprised to see it looking very much finished, beautiful and polished. Apparently, still not fully open, but I can only imagine this is due to availability of staff rather than anything else.
From the street, you step directly into the bar area. It looks
fabulous and very welcoming. Beautiful Fired Earth green tiles and colourful
bottles adorn the bar area and the walls are papered in two stylish designs by
Robert Kime. I’m not some kind of tile and wallpaper nerd - I just appreciate
pretty patterns and so I asked Sean, the owner, who, even though rushed off his
feet, indulged me whilst I wrote down the detail of the décor.
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| Meet Alan the Ibex |
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| Voysey Trellis by Robert Kime |
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| Galaxy Blue by Robert Kime |
The Food
There are two menus available - The Snacking Menu and The Bill of
Fayre. If eating in the bar you can choose from The Snacking Menu but if you’re
in the restaurant, like we were, then you have the choice of either (or both!).
I was tempted by The Bill
of Fayre and was considering the Chargrilled Flat Iron Steak with the Butter
Fried Hens Egg. Aforementioned other half was nearly swayed by the Beer Braised
Ox Cheek but, after much deliberation, we both decided to choose and share
dishes from The Snacking Menu.
We ordered:
Braised Lamb Shoulder Nuggets with Blackberry & Mint Vinaigrette.
Crispy Green Sicilian
Olives, Hot Chorizo and Basil Mayonnaise.
Dylans Double Dipped
Chicken Wings with Pickled Celery, Hot Sauce, Blue Cheese Dip.
Slow Roast Pork Riblets
with a House BBQ Sauce and Green Chilli Slaw.
and some sneaky Triple
Cooked Chips from The Bill of Fayre.
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| Ribs, Green Chilli Slaw and Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip |
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| Lamb Nuggets, Olives & Chorizo, Triple Cooked Chips |
My favourite dish was most definitely the nuggets. Tender, melt in
the mouth lamb, gorgeous crispy crumb and the vinaigrette was perfect – not too
minty and not too vinegary.
The Olives and Chorizo were delicious. And it’s the first time in
my life that I’ve had a battered (though crumbed is probably a better
description) olive. Definitely worth trying!
The ribs were excellent. I don’t like big, fatty, gunky sauce kind
of ribs and so these were perfect. Smaller, dryer and no embarrassing saucy
moustache that nobody tells you about until you’re home! The chilli slaw
that was served with the ribs was something to get excited about. I’m not a fan
of chillies as it happens, but I picked them out and enjoyed the rest. It was very
clean tasting, crunchy and a great companion to all the dishes we’d ordered.
The chicken wings had been raved about on Facebook and so that’s
why we chose them, but for us they were too salty. Not just a little bit too
salty but quite a lot too salty. And so we mentioned it to one of the waiting
staff as we think there might have been a blip in preparation. We’ll try them
again on our next visit.
Now for the pudding! Look at this utterly delightful and creative
offering – perfectly described by the pretty waitress as homemade Oreo cookies
with a Baileys milkshake.
The biscuits melted in the mouth and the white chocolate ganache
filling oozed out as I bit into them - a thousand times better than
Oreos. The milkshake was delicious and lucky for me, my dining partner is not
so keen on puddings or Baileys so, I had the whole dish, bar one layer of
cookie (he got curious), all to myself. Other, undoubtedly fabulous puddings
are obviously available but when I go back, I want this again. Please.
What have I forgotten to tell you...?
The wine list is good - we chose an Argentinian Malbec. They have a small selection of lagers but ales are more their thing. The other half enjoyed a Brewdog Punk IPA, which I had a sip of and liked. Rather fruity and quite a high alcohol content - pretty similar to how I would describe other half come home-time!
They do Sunday Roasts too and you can find that menu on their
Facebook page.
The staff are attentive, smiley and clearly excited to be part of the Dylans team.
Oh and lastly, meet King Dylan himself. This is Sean’s rather dashing chocolate
labrador. He rules from afar and so unless you've made an appointment, I doubt
you'll see him in the restaurant!
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