Last Updated on February 1, 2025
Who’s The King of the Castle?
Albert’s Schloss is a Bavarian-style Bierkeller with entertainment on Shaftesbury Avenue in The Trocadero site that previously housed the execrable Rainforest Café. Named after Queen Victoria’s other half, the venue opened in July 2024 and is the fourth site bearing the brand, with the first one opening in Manchester in 2015, followed by Liverpool, Birmingham, and finally London. The group is owned by a company called Mission Mars which also owns the pizza chain Rudy’s Pizza. Why is any of this corporate info important? Simply because Albert’s Schloss does what it sets out to do really well, taking a concept that could easily put the ‘ick’ into ‘gimmick’, and delivering somewhere that, dare I say it, London really needs. Mission Mars directors Roy Ellis and Neil Macleod, who cut their teeth with the Revolution bar chain, clearly know what they are doing with an eye for detail that has gained praise from broadsheet critics such as Grace Dent and Giles Coren.
What’s so good about Albert’s Schloss? Firstly, it’s an all-day and late-into-the-night kind of place. Just that gets a thumbs up from me. Opening at 10 am for breakfast in the Ground Floor Schenke Tavern (Alpine breakfast sandwiches, haus granola and coffee) it keeps going until 2 am Monday to Thursday not closing until 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays although the kitchen shuts at 10pm. On Sundays, you are kicked out at a more sedate 10.30 pm. Post-covid London is no longer a late-night city, so to have a centrally-located venue that can soak up hundreds of people with no need for a reservation without it feeling crowded, and feed, water and entertain them well until all good people and some bad should be in bed, is a boon.
The ground floor of Albert’s Schloss is more of a tavern, a place to drop in for a beer, pastries and small plates. But the downstairs is where the main gastronomic action is to be found. The ‘Cook Haus menu’ features ‘Alpine Klassics from succulent schnitzels to indulgent fondue.’ It’s self-styled ‘comfort food’ with a signature 12-hour brined, crispy Bavarian Schweinshaxe pork knuckle; a Schnitzel menu, Wurst sausages, a sharing fondue and skillet-toasted sandwiches.
The interior is ‘Bavarian Alpine style gets funky’ with a small forest’s worth of wooden beams. There are booths, long tables with benches and round marble tables providing a wide range of seating options; deer heads hanging from the walls look down their noses at the punters, Alpine wooden chandeliers and a huge disco ball add some sparkle. Behind a central white-tiled bar sit shiny copper tanks brimming with the promise of unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell. Some tables have a ‘Push For Pilsner’ button in a democratic nod to the champagne trolley bell at Bob Bob Ricard.
As well as the well-known Czech brew, Albert’s Schloss is a mecca for German beer lovers featuring the ‘Big Six’ of the Munich brewing scene – Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Hofbräu, Lowenbräu, Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu and Munich’s oldest brewery, Augustiner (1328). But before we investigate the beer offer it’s time for cocktails! The drinks menu offers Klub Klassics, Spritz Stop, Seasonal Wunders and No Alk – yes the puns are annoying – and from the former a Black Ice Margarita, a blend of Altos Blanco tequila, El Jimador tequila, Briottet rose, orgeat and lime was a perfectly executed version of a classic Margarita. A non-alcoholic Alpine Spritz brought together the sweetness of passion fruit and the bitterness of Crodino with Sipsmith FreeGlider 0%, lemon and agave to create a drink with a hint of bite and a refreshing zing.
For starters the vegetarian Bier Onion Soup used sweet Roscoff onions, the dark aromas of Austrian Stiegl beer as drunk by Mozart, and the herbal sweetness of thyme to create an umami-rich dish topped off by a pastry ‘Top Hat’. It was the perfect winter comfort food.
The Haus Pretzel was freshly baked and with its soft texture and the accompanying sweet mustard, a slightly anaemic bier cheese and pickles made the perfect dipper for the soup.
Alpine Krokette, oozing with the salty snap of smoked bacon, Gruyère and the pungency of aioli, were hot, crisp and gooey.
The Schloss Schnitzel from the Haus Of Schnitzel menu was excellent; crisp and not at all greasy with succulent chicken breast, salsa verde, aioli, and charred lemon. The accompanying fries were terrific.
For no apparent reason, I have a mild obsession with Spätzle (a Swabian take on macaroni cheese) so when I saw that Albert’s Schloss has a Spätzle menu I had to calm myself down as the excitement was almost too much. My bubble of Spätzle-infused sense of anticipation is too often pricked when a lumpy, doughy mess appears on my plate. However, the Funghi Spätzle at AS ( the menu reads ‘Swabian pasta, sautéed mushrooms, crème fraiche, truffle + parmesan’) was surprisingly light and creamy, topped with the crunch fried pasta and perfumed with truffle aroma and the gentle salty bite of parmesan. Beers were needed by this time. The Pilsner Urquell was malty, clean and fresh tasting, while the Hacker Pschorr Kellerbier from Munich which for no good reason sounds to me like the name of a German sax player, was cloudy and nutty flavoured.
For dessert, a salted caramel brûlée was the only miss of the night being dense and not very pleasant. Neil Macleod, one of the owners was breezing by our table, took one look at it and offered to replace the offending item, which we refused as we had already eaten far too much. Sometimes things go wrong in a kitchen, but having an owner on hand who clearly cares about the quality levels is unusual and reassuring. An Espresso Martini was a dessert in itself, full of caffeine bitterness, the kick of the alcohol and just enough sweetness.
Albert’s Schloss has seven days of showtime performances and each day of the week has a different theme. There is a Sunday Service, ‘which includes resident choirs, DJ’s, Cook Haus roasts, grooves, gravy and good times!’ The night the LU team were in we caught a very competent soulful trio with a keyboard/vocalist, bass player and drummer followed by a Country Rock band with a stetson-wearing singer. It all added to the fun of the evening.
How often do people ask me to recommend a reasonably priced place in the West End with good grub, beer and entertainment that you can just waltz up to and stand a good chance of getting a table? If you’re asking the question you now have the answer and it’s Albert’s Schloss.
Albert’s Schloss
20-24 Shaftesbury Avenue,
London,
W1D 7EU
Telephone: 020 8165 0000
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