Alley Ole

The Gen

I stood transfixed in the warm hypnotic glow of the slowly revolving rotisserie chicken. With each passing bird my addled mind seeks deeper into the welcome trance-like reverie. Time loses all meaning as my rapt attention is transfixed by the next crisp chicken to pass my hungry eye. Am I here for an hour, a day, a year? It doesn’t matter, all I see is spinning succulence. I have no further purpose. Crap, no! I’m here for Outline. I’ll pop in and give it a go!

Atmosphere

Bridewell Alley is the scene of the punderful Spanish style restaurant, a venue that takes up a long stretch of the gentle cobbled incline. A take away at one end and the restaurant entrance at the other we step inside and are shown to a table. Soft honey coloured wooden furniture plays host; we find ourselves amid white walls with splashes of colour from gaudy Spanish film posters. The feeling is friendly and easy going, a good tone to set for a simple but enjoyable menu.

The Main Event

The menu is small and split into two categories, rotisserie chicken and pintxos.

The chicken comes as a quarter, half or full bird for £5, £9 or £16 respectively. The hypnotic suggestion firmly lodged in my little brain, half a chicken was ordered straight away. A substantial piece of glorious white meat is served in a tin plate and swimming in its own juices. Cutlery is provided and I played along with the charade for as long as I could but eventually hands and teeth were called for. It wasn’t a pretty sight for other diners as I enthusiastically quested to find the best meat. Soft and tender it falls apart at the touch. It was served with a garlic mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon. Super simple but all it needed.

The pintxos are small tapas type dishes constantly replenished at the counter that you help yourself to. This and the chicken make the service here beyond fast, perfect for a quick meal out. On a busy night a constant flow of customers will keep the servings fresh but on a slower night there is a risk of something sitting there for a bit too long. My calamari rings were a little neglected and needed a squeeze of lemon to bring them back to life. Patatas Bravas are an old favourite, potatoes covered in a thick tomato sauce and the chicken croquettes were wonderfully stodgy (I will always use stodgy as a compliment). In search of some greenery we also had a walnut, pomegranate and feta salad which was a lovely contrast of sweet and bitter.

Other fun pintxos we didn’t have space for included ham and melon and a black pudding and egg creation. Definitely worth a future visit!

Pud

Triangles of rubbery cheese with quince jelly. It looked like a side dish of a 70’s dinner party but as a fan of cheese it was greedily consumed. Appearances are deceiving, it was a lovely, simple and wholesome dish that was well enjoyed.

To finish off the dinner (and the diners) we enjoyed an orange sorbet served in a hollowed out orange. It was fun presentation and a satisfyingly sharp note to clean up any cloying stickiness from the half chicken. The sorbet was an interesting balance of sour and bitter and very enjoyable. Even the generous portion didn’t last long enough.

Conclusion

Alley Ole is a casual eat out and would fit perfectly in the evening schedule before a trip to the cinema or a night out. With the selection of pintxos and chicken readily available and continually replenished the service is lightning fast. Flavours are simple, hearty and tasty and cocktails make them all slip down that bit easier. Prices are very affordable so if you’re passing and fancy a quick bite you could do a lot worse than slipping in to Alley Ole.

Venue – 7

Fodder – 7.5

Value – 8

Overall – 7