Test Driving The Albatross, the Goodman team's huge seafood-led pub in the City

Looking down at the Albatross' ground floor, this shows only about half of it, with the pub on the left and dining areas on the right. It really is an absolutely massive pub. 

What can you tell us about The Albatross?

This big new City pub (and it really is very big) is from the same team behind Wild and Goodman. It's actually the first time that the group has opened a pub and they haven't held back at all, pairing the huge space with a menu that's led by fresh seafood. 

Where is it?

You'll find the pub on Old Jewry, near Bank in the City. It's actually the third establishment they have on the street, as you'll find both Goodman City and Wild Izakaya on the same stretch. 

Looking into The Albatross. The crowds had calmed down by the time we took this photo, but just after work kicks out (and only a few days after launching) this was already heaving with good old "vertical drinking" outside. 

The Albatross has taken over what used to be the site of the old Brown's, which closed back in 2024. If you've ever been there, you'll know that it's an absolutely massive site and The Ambassador has taken over the whole thing. As such, it's immediately become one of the biggest new openings in the area.

Downstairs where you'll find the drinking-led part of the pub and there's a lot of space for dining down there. But if that isn't enough, there's also another huge dining room and private dining room upstairs:

The upstairs dining room (which was not in action yet when we visited)

With all that in mind, where should we sit?

The best seats for a meal are in the front of the room, near the huge arched windows, so grab a table there if you can. You'll also be able to see who's playing the live music, which happens on the upstairs balcony. To be fair, anywhere downstairs should be good (the upstairs dining room wasn't yet open on our visit), and if you're dining at the back, the corner tables are the ones to aim for. 

And what's on the menu?

It's largely all about British seafood, led by Head Chef Chris Piorkowski (who comes from Goodman), and that's particularly highlighted by a huge tank at the back of the downstairs dining room. Take a close look in there and you'll spy some absolutely massive king crabs alongside lots of lobster.

Yes, those are two enormous king crabs in the middle tanks. 

There are a few non-seafood dishes on the menu, but frankly you'll need to lean towards seafood if you really want to make the most of the food here. There are oysters, of course, priced £4-5 each and an impressive-looking pint of prawns served in a glass tankard (£12), that we'd probably go for on a second visit. Generally speaking, if you've been to their other places like Goodman or Wild, one thing you'll immediately notice is that everything's priced pretty well. 

Here's what we went for:

Prawn toast (£5) and Crab toast (£8) - very much bite-sized, but a good option to get while you're working out what else to order. 

Langoustines (£16) - The shellfish is definitely a strong point. Top marks to the aioli that came with these.   

Lobster roll (£19) - The same team were behind the original Burger & Lobster, so you'd expect a decent lobster roll at The Albatross. We do kind of miss the jug of melted garlic butter though. 

Monkfish, beurre blanc, potatoes (£29) - a very pleasingly simple dish that we absolutely loved, helped by a lovely piece of monkfish and great butter sauce. 

Beef medallions with porcini mushroom sauce (£33) - another delicious, not messed-about-with dish. 

Anything else to highlight?

You'll also be able to order a whole roasted lobster or a Norwegian king crab from the tank. Those are market-priced, so don't expect them to be too cheap (particularly the latter). And on the non-seafood side, the chicken or veal schnitzels or the pile of lamb chops (£31) looked pretty good too. 

What about dessert?

It's a small list at the time of writing, but we'd absolutely point you towards the first dessert below:

Rum Baba (£12) - the pricier of the desserts, but when you realise that the baba is absolutely drenched in rum, it's well worth it. Easily one of the booziest run babas we've had in years.

Stickytoffee pudding (£7.5) - a pretty good effort that's made better by an extra jug of the toffee sauce. 

And, given that it's a pub, what about the drink?

There are 12 beers available on draught, ranging from a Pillar's Pilsner from Walthamstow (£6) to a pint of Chimay Gold (£10), and all of the drinks are available in 2/3 sizes (everyone loves a schooner, it seems). A pint of Guinness will set you back £6, which is pretty decent these days, and they poured an extremely good pint. We're sure that James Dmitri will be in here sharpish to see if they'll serve him a snakebite. 

Mango Daiquiri (El Dorado 3yr, mango vodka, sea buckthorn cordial, lime, £12) and a very well-poured pint of Guinness. 

On the wine front, we had the house, which was a 2024 Picpoul at a very reasonable £36 a bottle (and there are quite a few choices under £50). Ideally, though, you'll want to take a proper look through the list which, as you'd expect from the people behind Goodman, is pretty extensive with a large Coravin section for some pricier glasses. 

Overall thoughts

We'll say it again - this is an absolutely massive endeavour, but The Albatross has landed in the City with a great deal of aplomb. It looks fantastic, has a real vibe thanks to the large drinking space and an extensive seafood menu that's pretty good value, particularly given how pricey seafood dishes can be. When you add that to a very reasonably priced drinks list, we can very much see this being an extremely popular City haunt.