Laurel House (Charcoal Grill) – St Albans

Laurel House is a charming little local eatery situated on the main road of a quiet residential part of St Albans.

Run by the affable Algerian, Abdul Ghani, this Charcoal Grill is a fully Halal 16-seater restaurant, with tables outside, that’s been faithfully serving its community for coming on two years now.

While a lick of paint on the outside wouldn’t go amiss in improving first impressions, the inside is clean, spacious with a what-you-see-is-what-you-get feel to it.

The menu too is a no-nonsense affair with 34 items in total.

Most impressively, it has to be said, is the claim that this restaurant serves “Gourmet Burgers”!

Calamari Salad – with cashew nuts and an orange & lemon dressing, £4.45

An impressively presented Calamari Salad with wonderfully battered calamaris that, while being chewy in texture, had a nice tangy, citrusy dressing to ’em.

5 Chicken Wings £4.45

These were well charred and succulent wings, albeit a tad on the small side.

With a crispy and barbecued exterior, their chilli marination was flavourful providing manageable heat.

A note also on the small detail diligently maintained by the chef, Abdul Ghani, who, in order to impart extra flavour to the dishes, used a herb-infused oil to coat his charcoal grilled food.

You won’t find that at many places of a similar or even, dare we say, better calibre!

The Classic Burger with Hand-Cut Chips £5.95 + added extras for 95p (Egg, Cheese, Mushroom, Turkey Rasher) – £9.75

With hand-made patties being cooked to order, this certainly filled at least a part of the definition of the much disputed term “Gourmet Burger”.

Taste-wise though, this was better than some far more expensive and ambitious-sounding burgers we’ve had at higher-end London restaurants.

With a soft, well cooked Brioche bun and an assortment of extra ingredients including a fried egg, cheese, a large mushroom, and Turkey Rasher, this kept our interest right till the end.

Hand-Cut Chips £1.95

Not only did the thick beef patty, cooked well done, turn out succulent with just the right chewiness to it, but was well supported by the earthiness of the soft mushroom, and well complemented by the smokiness of the crispy Turkey rasher.

And while the well cooked egg didn’t really bring much to the burger (does it ever?), the thick layer of cheese along with the onions and tomatoes provided that much needed sweetness.

And a word has to be said of the Hand-Cut Chips too.

Superb! Fluffy on the inside and nice and crunchy on the out, these rustic chips were well seasoned and were, again, far better than the majority of places you might visit and be served a vapid kind.

Says a lot about how far the chef is willing to go in providing his customers with as unique an experience as possible. Kudos!

Lamb Espetadas £7.50, Chicken Espetadas £6.50, with Chips or Rice.

While we absolutely admired the thought and effort expended in conceiving one of Laurel House’s main dishes, this Lamb and Chicken Espetadas didn’t quite live up to our hopes.

This is especially true in regards to their presentation where the two kebab skewers were made to attractively hang from a bespoke contraption specifically made, it seems, for this dish and this dish alone.

Although the lamb was lightly marinated with a solid char to it, the poor kebabs turned out far too chewy indicating either a cheap cut, poor cooking, or both.

As for the chicken, then it too was dry and not very appealing.

The rice on the other hand was flavourous, albeit reheated.

A word too on the inhouse sauces.

The vibrantly deep orange chilli sauce, served as it was in a charming cork-screwed bottle, was, despite its watery consistency, a fantastic fruity flavour.

Similarly, the mayo, though far thicker, was just as rich in flavour with a light zingy edge to it.