Admiral Codrington

I can see how people in Chelsea would like to frequent this place — although it’s a bit hard to find. Bestie and I were literally looking for this address on google maps at the same time (from South Kensington!) and for some reason it didn’t come up so we took a taxi.
It is a warm and inviting place, and definitely more upmarket than the other local pubs I’ve been to. I wanted to try the sticky toffee pudding but we had dinner reservations and needed to save my appetite.
We had a few pints (service was friendly) and enjoyed ourselves. Next time I will have to try the food when I have a craving for a good burger.

Wonderful service and burger! I went there for the infamous burgers and left there feeling satisfactory. My mate and I ordered a regular burger and duck burger, we both shared them.

Open space, lovely setting with a window roof.
Sticky Toffee Pudding, delicious. Roast beef, not bad, but a bit light on the serving. I was still hungry afterward.

I’ll admit that my main reason for coming here (and the target of this review) is for the burger. It’s been on at least one top 10 burgers in London list and I can see why.
A short primer on burgers first. At the heart of it is the classic (All-​American) burger in which the beef is in the leading role, balanced by a limited cast of supporting elements. A variation on that ideal is the grease bomb, which this pub seeks perfection in. If you don’t like that style (as some reviewers don’t) then this isn’t the place for you. Open to debate is whether one should review a food that one inherently dislikes.
Delicious this was, and the bun did soak the grease nicely, with the bacon adding a bit of salt to give it structure. The burger had cole slaw on it which seemed to add to the savoriness but I suspect there was some underlying tartness to cut the fat almost imperceptibly. The «chips» were too thick for my liking, but no major complaints.
A pint of Guiness to wash it all down, and I was more than pleased with my visit.

*Disclaimer: This review is based solely on late-​night bar menu experience.
Got a round of ales along with the burger and chips as bartender/​server suggested — burger did the job but was nothing special. Although I later found out that the meat is hand-​ground and locally sourced with a special combo of slaw, bacon, cheddar on top.
Truthfully, the bartender/​server didn’t know what some of the bar food menu items were (Welsh rarebit?) and justified this with only having been there one month.
We liked the swank yet comfy couch area but noticed a dining room that was attached that seemed more formal because there were guests leaving and getting their coats from the coat check, so it felt a bit odd.

Great spot! Awesome food and the space is cute. Their fish and chips as well as burger were delicious.

After an impromptu group outing, I showed up on a weeknight with a group of 20 and no reservation, and was seated within 10 minutes. I was told I was very lucky because they were having a slow night and usually it would be impossible to seat a party so large. That being said, the hostess was incredibly accommodating and arranged the tables for us without making a fuss. The service was great and everyone was attended to in a timely manner. Furthermore, the food was incredible, and was not too expensive.
I had the prawns, which were huge, savory, and delicious. I also tried the best fish and chips I’ve ever tasted — the fish was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Everyone said their plates were delicious, and I was so relieved that everyone enjoyed the meal. I have only passed through London for a few days at a time, and Admiral Codrington’s is definitely the best «British style» food I’ve had in the area.

I’m disappointed this spot did not live up to its potential. Trekking from East London, I was sure my travels would be rewarded with comfort and gastronomic fulfilment – unfortunately I was less than impressed.
The staff seemed largely clueless: from the bartender who put ice in my Leffe Blonde, to the waitress who asked us to move tables as we were finishing our meal, our dining experience went against the grain. There was little input from our server when we asked for recommendations but when we did place our order the food arrived promptly. The wine selection was moderately priced but missing two bottles we wanted; could have just been the holiday shortage. Two of us ordered the burger which was OK for London despite our suspicion it was broiled in a pool of grease. I give the Admiral higher marks on the quality of their food than the aptitude of their staff, but it wasn’t quite enough to translate into an enjoyable experience. I’ve certainly been to better pubs in South West London.

I had heard great reviews of this place via word of mouth, and though I tend to keep towards my central and east stomping ground for food discoveries, decided to venture out west for dinner/​drinks. What a disappointment. My friend booked the four of us a table for 6:30pm — we arrived a bit early and had some drinks at the bar. The wine/​drinks menu is quite extensive but we came to find that a bunch of it was unavailable.
Following we shared a few starters for dinner and had a bottle of wine before getting our main courses: admiral burger, fish and chips, and bream. I settled on the bream — it was a decent choice but nothing special — the appetizers as well: squid, an egg dish and a chicken salad dish were also just okay — the calamari being my third night of squid starters (and nothing on Buthsaba ethai and dishoom). The burgers, I was told weren’t bad, but given the rest of the nights experience and all the great burger joints popping up in central, not a reason enough to come here.
The low of the dinner was having our server come over at 7:30 and ask us to move to a different table in the mostly empty restaurant because of a reservation that was coming in. This was only an hour into our booked ahead dinner, we weren’t given any forewarning at the start, and every table is generally the same size so the switch didn’t appear to be necessary. We had been deciding on a dessert at this point but decided not to continue on and walked to the Goat instead for after dinner drinks. I’ve been in London long enough now to not expect a crazy level of service but of all restaurants I’ve been to this was the oddest and least apologetic Ive encountered.
So in short, step it up Admiral– what a disappointing westward venture.
From,
A less-​than-​impressed east Londoner

Best fish & chips we’ve had in London! Crispy fish. Perfect mushy peas — definitely fresh and delightfully green. Good tartar sauce.
We have also tried several other dishes from this place.
The cod with chorizo is awesome. Great quality chunks of chorizo in a nice rich broth — not heavy. Beans were creamy. Yummy pea shoots are a nice accent. Fish was perfectly cooked.
The sea bass with the citrus, fennel & olives is also delicious. Again — perfect broth & perfectly cooked fish. Citrus segments were also perfectly skinned, making them more tender and easier to eat. The fennel was also incredible — so tender & perfectly seasoned. I have no clue how they make it so nice. Olives were a nice touch, not overpowering.
Our fav dessert is the sticky toffee pudding. Definitely get it. Seriously amazing.
Tea was wonderful!
Wine choices are great too, I especially love a white from Italy, served by the glass.

The Bacon Cheeseburger at Admiral Codrington is a work of art. When it is served you’ll notice that visually it is one of the tastiest burgers you’ll ever lay eyes on. Looks do not disappoint as a tender beef patty, melted cheese, and crisp bacon all complement this flavor packed morsel. A bun that is soft and tender gives good support and texture to the overall flavor. The Admiral Codrington is an upscale pub and this burger does much to solidify that reputation.

The food is surprisingly amazing at this pub. The first time I ate there I couldn’t believe I was at a pub. The burgers are to die for but I can guarantee that every other dish is excellent.

Don’t know anything about burgers. Seems to be a seafood restaurant. Maybe it’s changed recently. The squid (calimari) was overcooked. There is a fine line between cooked and old rubber tires and unfortunately it crossed the line. However the sea bass redeemed with a very nice roasted fennel. Skipped desert because it was a long day. And maybe I am not used to UK prices, but 9 pounds for a glass of wine?!?

Aye Aye Admiral!
After a last minute change of location for book group, we came here. There’s a bit of a juxtaposition at Admiral Codrington, as when I walked in the place was packed. My first thought was, ‘Is my last minute reservation really going to be okay?’ Then I noticed the almost empty back dining area. Whew!
The front area looks like your typical British pub. Wooden bar, dark and an outside drinking area. They also have a bar menu in the bar area where they serve their delicious triple cooked chips (plus a few other things which looked amazing as well).
Then the restaurant. It’s a completely different atmosphere. A gorgeous sky light above a very posh looking dining area. Not at all like the pub inside. I had the burger. The burger at Admiral Codrington has been blogged about and reviewed many times online. (Google for it!) There’s a mix of meats done in the Heston Blumenthal method. They do something interesting with the cheese. It’s on a brioche bun. It’s a pretty damn good burger. Definitely worth stopping in for if you’re in the area. Plus the chips are fantastic. Some of the best chips in London. I asked for the Bloody Mary ketchup to go with it. (I saw it on the bar menu.) Get it. It’s quite similar to the American style cocktail sauce you would get on a shrimp cocktail. (Not Mary Rose sauce that you would get in the UK.) It’s tangy and delicious.
I ended up ordering the sticky toffee for dessert. Very well done. Not the best I’ve had, but tasty.
Good job Admiral, I can see why you’re no longer a Captain!

Damn you, diet! I wanted to try a burger so badly, but alas, will-​power prevails this once.
That being said, had a lovely roasted trout (I dare say, this was more likely pan fried) with broccolini, pickled shallots, and brown shrimp. It came with a shellfish dressing that I asked to be on the side, and I’m kinda glad I did given that it seemed to just be a whatever vinaigrette. Totally unnecessary on an otherwise lovely dish! The trout was cooked really well and the skin had a nice crispiness to it and was well seasoned. Broccolini (tender stemmed broccoli here) was cooked really well too with a bit of crunch, which is just how I like it.
I did sneak a twice-​cooked chip off Grant T.‘s plate, and I can attest that it was divine. Probably the best chip I’ve had since coming to London. It was SO nicely crisp! ARG! Stupid diet!
Service was pretty good and very friendly. I even got teased a bit that you «don’t go to restaurants to ‘be good’ you go to eat what you want!» Yes, well… grr.
The location is tucked away in a quiet corner of Chelsea and when I arrived, the pub front portion of the Admiral was super packed and loud, but the restaurant portion in the back, where we had a table booked was more low-​key and quiet, which suited our (very small) book group meeting well!
I’d love to come back on a day where I’m feeling not so dietarily motivated and get that burger with those lovely chips!

In my opinion this is the best pub in the south Ken Area. It has a lovely interior with comfy seating and a covered out door area which is perfect for the summer.
The pub also sports its own humidor making it the perfect place to go, have a pint and cigar.
The attached restaurant serves very good gastropub food, but personally to stick with a portion of chips with my Guinness
The only downside is that it is a little expensive.
So if your in the neighbourhood and want somewhere for a quiet drink, come here

One of the best burgers I’ve ever had in London. Food overall was great and definitely worth 5 stars.
Head chef Fred Smith has now moved on but is still working for the Ad Cod as consultant, so hopefully the food continues it’s previous excellence.

I’ve got a fever… and the only prescription is MORE COWBELL! Or rather, more cow. Preferably in burger form.
Hot Dinners recently reviewed the Admiral Codrington with a focus on their burger offering. Based on this, and my quest for the best burger in London, I headed there with Tracy L for a lunch time feast.
Note: £15 for a cheeseburger seems pretty high (and makes the £20 burger for B&L not too outrageous) so for that price you expect excellence without peer. And you get it, mostly.
As described by HD, the meat is personally selected by the Chef and then aged in house (I imagine in the cold cellar that seems to run the entire length of the restaurant and is accessed through door in the floor next to the bar). It is then coarsely ground and formed into 8oz patties with light seasoning in an effort to let the meat speak for itself.
The cheese alone requires a story. Legend has it that the chef infuses cream with bacon and parmesan rind. Mature cheddar, parmesan, and American cheese are then melted into the cream. The resulting cheesy mixture is chilled and sliced before being used to top the burger. So the question has to be, is it worth it?
I want to say yes, I really do. Flavourwise, the cheese has a soft smooth consistency that melts in your mouth and its heaven on a patty. It’s lost that over processed aftertaste inherent in American cheese slices, gained a silkiness rather than the slightly chunky way that cheddar insists on, and mellowed the parmesan into a deep flavour that warms and comforts without slapping you in the face. But I wonder just how much time and effort had to go in to this in order to achieve the cheese. In addition, it’s a cheese that really only suits burgers and I have a hard time imagining it on anything else (although maybe if they added a steak sandwich to the menu that could work). Finally, the bacon and parmesan infusion into the cream seems redundant as you are already adding parmesan to the cheese later and the burger comes with two (albeit very small) strips of bacon.
The burgers is simply served on a brioche bun which does the job of soaking up juices admirably and managed to almost hold together until the end. Make no mistake, this is a messy burger which will require you to grab it with both hands and tear in. The brioche is soft and fluffy and seems to melt away.
And there, folks, lies the problem. Everything was too smooth, too easily melt in your mouth, to provide any texture. The incredible quality of the meat made it like butter on warm day, the soft brioche soaked with juices dissolved faster than cotton candy, the cheese just swirled around and was gone leaving just a memory. I have teeth for a reason and they were begging for something to bite on, some sort of texture that gave substance to these great flavours my tongue swore were there. Perhaps if we had order the burgers medium instead of medium rare (they came out looking more rare than medium) there would have been a better balance or if there was more delicious crunchy bacon, but as it stood I felt a bit let down by what had all the hallmarks of a great meal.
On other bits, the chips were fluffy inside and crunchy outside but had an odd taste as if the oil had been used for frying fish or was just a tad too stale. The salmon ceviche was truly tasteless with the overdose of lime pickling out all flavour of the fish and the jalapenos failing to make a notable appearance. The garlic mash was similarly smooth and decent although I was left with the feeling I could have made a better one at home. Great ambience with very pretty blonde wait staff.
The sticky toffee pudding was fantastic though and I would highly recommend it. Soft and moist cake with rich date sauce and a tiny pitcher of cream to mellow out the sweetness. Incredible!
Overall, it’s a tad on the expensive side but a pretty decent meal. Is it the best burger in London? Tastewise it was right up there but overall it’s above average but by no means deserving of the top spot.

I’m surprised no one else seems to have written about the bloody delicious burgers at this pub. I kept hearing about the legendary double-​stack cheeseburger special this week from bloggers so I decided to make a trip and try it myself.
The meat is sourced from O’Shea of Knightsbridge — guaranteed quality beef. It might sound a bit strange, but you can actually taste the beef in the patty, whereas mediocre patties lack flavour. The cheese used is in fact a blend of shallots, parmesan, cheddar, bacon fat etc which become «cheese slices» once cooled. The melted gooey cheese combined with two beef patties, gherkins, lettuce, and the sauce that reminded me of thousand island dressing made for a brilliant burger combination. Hefty but so satisfying. The chips are very thick, textured and fried just enough.
The burger is seriously up there with the «best burgers in London». £16 for a burger and chips is steep, but it’s worth it. Burger fans, this place is a must-​try!

Very much a gastropub, they even have a posher restaurant section of the pub, if you don’t feel like eating with the riff raff. The pub wasn’t so food focused that a simple drinker such as myself would feel alienatedbut it wasn’t far off. Have I mentioned I’m not a big fan of Gastropubs? At least 100 times you say?
Nice outside area, but the day I was here was so unbearably hot that a paleface like myself couldn’t take advantage of it. Many people were and the pimms was flowing liberally. Would have been nice
Had a decent pint of Black Sheep, which I was slightly nervous of following my vinegary experience (
). No such problems here. This is soooo not my kind of place, but at least the beer was good.
Admiral Codrington was a hero of the Battle of Trafalger