Prom 61

Off to the Proms in the Albert Hall tonight, and for the first time ever - on account of it being a bank holiday - I had time to go early! So, given that I had no food in the house.. it suddenly occurred to me that the Albert Hall does!

Now, eating in the Albert Hall is a slightly complicated affair, if you haven't done it before. Yes, there's a Food & Drink page, which presents you with lots of options. It soon became apparent that there are a couple open to the public, but most are restricted to people with tickets to that evening's event. Fair enough - I qualified. I restricted myself to restaurants for this trip, as I wanted a main meal.. I checked the public one, Verdi, but it was booked out weeks in advance! Fair enough, and I moved to the restricted category; I could choose the Elgar Room or Coda, but the latter was described as "fine dining", so I went with the Elgar Room. (They also have a seafood bar, but I'm not mad about seafood.)

When I booked, I was given the option of "Elgar Proms". Eh, ok. That is actually the correct option - I checked afterwards, and "Restaurants" just gives you Verdi. This is unnecessarily complicated - you end up choosing the restaurant in two different fields. Never mind. Then you get a confirmation that says you're to pick up your ticket at such and such a place - but the website says that no tickets are issued for restaurant reservations. Oh, and they open two hours before performance - but the Elgar Room opens at 5, 2.5 hours beforehand. Jeez..

Well, I aimed to get there for 5 - in the event, I arrived at about 10 to, having walked from a swarming South Kensington Station - I guess everyone was headed to the museums on the bank holiday. The Elgar Room is described on the website as being "near Door 9", so I moseyed over that way, assuming that I didn't need to pick up a restaurant ticket (I already had my Print-at-Home concert ticket). The building is circular, and all doors are numbered, so all you have to do is keep going round and you should reach your destination in time. This is a side of the building I don't typically get to.. anyway, I found Door 9, with a small group of people waiting in front of it. Sure enough, around 5, the usher unlocked the door and we headed upstairs.

I took the stairs rather than the lift - the Elgar Room is on the third level, but the stairs are gentle here. Funnily enough though, they peter out at Level 2, and I found myself wandering the corridor and being rescued by a bored usher, who directed me to the back stairs. The lift is less complicated, I guess.

Once you make it to Level 3, the Elgar Room is easy to find. A lady just inside the door checked my name off the list - I got the feeling that you do have to have a reservation. And I was led to a table - along with two sets of menus. It was some time before my waiter came along and asked whether I was waiting for someone - no, I wasn't - and he took the extra set away. Not used to single ladies here, perhaps..?

Anyhoo, the room is high-ceilinged and spacious, a bar in the corner and a red baby grand on a podium in the middle - they have performances here on occasion, it seems. I daresay it fills up for those - it wasn't full today, although it was busy enough. The décor is mostly white, with splashes of red. The set menu - available on the website - comes with an a-la-carte, and I decided to splurge a little and go with that.

I do love a smoked salmon starter, so that was chosen. The steaks looked a bit pricey, so I avoided them and decided on the 1/2 roast chicken with BBQ sauce. And a side of sauté mushrooms, while I was at it - only one side, given that they were £3 each. And a large glass of white.. given that the cheapest was £8, that was the one I went with. My one mistake was, when I agreed to water and he asked, "still or sparkling", I should have said "tap". Which is how I came to pay about £5 extra for water. Never mind.

I have to say, the meal was lovely. The salmon was delicious, and the accompanying lemon slice came packaged in a little muslin bag. I ate the little slices of bread too, but wasn't mad about the dip. As for the main, the chicken was succulent - so good I didn't bother with the BBQ sauce, which came on the side. Now, they really don't serve anything that isn't listed on the menu, so apart from the sauté mushrooms - which were the best I've tasted in years - that was the whole meal. Mind you, I was stuffed after the chicken, so I don't think I could have managed much more.

As I ate, it occurred to me that I'd be finished way too early. Service was quick - the waiters prowled the room like anxious cats, waiting to pounce on anyone who looked as though they might benefit from service of any kind. Of course, I had dessert - I usually go for chocolate, but fancied something light, as I was so full, so ordered the lemon tarte. This was the one disappointment of the meal - lemony and tasty enough, but with a doughy base that I found unpleasant. I wouldn't order it again.

I would've liked another glass of wine, but not at those prices. They wanted to take an interval order, which I could have had at my table, but I don't tend to move at the interval. No, I paid, and walked very slowly - to use up time - to the toilet. Figured I needed to dispose of all of that "still water" they made me drink. The auditorium didn't even open until 6.45 and I finished dinner at 6.10.. if I eat here again, I'm coming much later.

The toilets have all sorts of hands-free stuff - flushes, taps, hand dryers. And when I'd done there, I strolled slowly along the rest of the corridor. Picked up one of their free Proms brochures. I noted that Coda was near the door to my seat. I also noted that I'd have paid even more there, from the menu posted outside the door..

After I'd done all that, and found a convenient ledge to lean against while I played Solitaire on my phone, the doors finally opened and I took my seat, right up at the back, second row from the top. Restricted view, but that doesn't matter to me for classical concerts. I could see enough. And the steepness of the steps doesn't bother me, as they have a railing system like that in the Opera House, which means you're never far from something to hold onto.

My, but I'm glad I didn't dress too warmly - it was so warm in that building! A lady in front of me had brought a fan, and it was particularly nice when, on occasion, she waggled it at such an angle that a breeze wafted in my direction. I was put in mind of how nice it must have been to be a VIP in ancient times, with slaves wafting fans over you. I'm afraid that the heat, combined with a developing food coma, meant I was pretty out of it for the first half. I roused briefly for the appearance of the pianist, who, in her long, silvery, sparkly dress looked just like a Christmas decoration.

I stayed put at the interval, as is my wont, and eavesdropped on the conversation had between the couple at the end of my row, and a lady in the next section - obviously a friend of theirs - who waxed lyrical about how sensitively the conductor did his conducting. Apparently he'd conducted last night as well, and she was there for it (obviously a member of his fan club). The house was pretty packed for the first half, but thinned out a little for the second - their loss, it was Beethoven, my favourite. Anyway, what with people leaving, for the second half I had a better view to my front, and room to my side..

Again, a great atmosphere, as always at the Proms. And they did an encore, for heaven's sake! And when we got out, the drizzle had stopped, and we were early enough that the subway to the station was still open. I had a short wait for my train, and boy, was the breeze on the platform welcome! (District and Circle lines are open-air at this station.) Walking the final stretch home, I was surrounded by trolley bags - people returning after the long weekend.

Tomorrow, I'm going to What's It All About? Bacharach, at the Menier Chocolate Factory. On Wednesday, I'm off to The Look of Silence, which is finally showing at a time I can manage. The BFI is running it, and I've booked for the early showing that day, which was already mostly sold out. It's ages since I've been there!

For Thursday, I got a cheap ticket to a classical concert at Cadogan Hall - nice and close. Then I'm back to Ireland at the weekend..