I’ve always thought of St Albans as being the place that all my friends live. For years, it was – we met when we all went to STAGs and Verulam, and even though we scattered to attend university, we made our way back every holiday, and when uni ended, most of us got jobs in the town centre and moved back in with our parents. Gradually a few people moved to London, then a few moved further afield, and then one day I looked up and realised that only one of my friends lived in the centre of St Albans now. Even I don’t live in the centre of St Albans any more, and in a couple of months, I won’t live in St Albans at all. I’m not going far, but it’s a little strange to move away from somewhere that I’ve lived pretty much my whole life.
I’m nostalgic, though, for the years we spent all living within a stone’s throw of each other. The flats that various friends shared at different times, when we’d just pop over when we felt like it, instead of calling first. So many epic parties. One such flat seemed to house most of my friends at some point or other, and it felt like I spent every evening there after work, watching films, eating pizza and drinking copious amounts of wine. We were always very amused that this flat was above a restaurant, but none of us ever made it there. I think we always felt it was a bit too nice for the likes of us. And now, around ten years later, I can say with utmost accuracy - it was definitely too nice for the likes of us. For today I am reviewing that very restaurant, and it's really, really, really nice.
I will hold my hands up and say that I had some preconceptions about
Freddie's in St Albans, and that's probably why I've never been before. I thought it was going to be a bit old fashioned, with a nice but safe menu - meat, vegetables, potatoes... not much else. I was wrong in some ways - I really wouldn't call the menu 'safe' at all - but not in others. Freddie's is a little old fashioned, but in a lovely way - we were met by Freddie himself, who spends the evening mingling between the tables and chatting to his guests. The service is excellent - the food came quickly, and the staff were so attentive that we felt like total VIPs. The food is described as modern European influences, and that's a pretty good description, but I think it's quite hard to describe as the combinations are so unusual. You'll see.