Number 23 in St Albans

Had my 65th birthday lunch here . There were 9 of us and I was delighted to find that we were seated in a private dining room upstairs . It was absolutely perfect . The food was very good , well cooked and good value . Everyone had a wonderful time and the staff were very friendly and effective . The restaurant is definitely a step up from say a gastro pub /bistro . But without being in the fussy fine dining end of eating out . I you have a small lunch/dinner party then having one of the private rooms makes for a delightful experience that I can heartily recommend

A lovely restaurant, great Staff, amazing food at reasonable prices. The Menu has a wide selection. Good wine. The restaurant has really nice decor. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. Highly recommend this venue.

So sorry this restaurant is closing soon. Everything just lovely, service spot on, great value. I chose this as a venue for works do and was a bit nervous when I learnt they are to close soon. If anything they’ve got better. Well done and thank you!

Small, unusual restaurant tucked away off George Street. Food is reasonably priced but I thought that the bottled beer was expensive. Four savoury dishes were enough for the two of us. The risotto balls and the fish cake were excellent. The Louisiana pulled pork was a little too sweet, even allowing for the description, and the mac & cheese was a bit dry. However, when it came to dessert the lemon posset cake was superb. Very pleasant staff. Worth trying.

Very enjoyabe, food really nice and staff very helpful. Will be going back very soon.

We had a really good meal here and the food is excellent. The only reason this didn't get 5* is because I think it is slightly over priced.The chorizo is excellent make sure you try it!

This is a great tapas restaurant in a little courtyard in St Albans. All the dishes we shared were delicious. The service is very friendly and laid back. I am already looking forward to a return visit.

This restaurant is tucked away at the back of a courtyard but is well worth finding because the food and service are excellent.

My husband and I visited for the Christmas dinner and everything was delicious. The service was great plus the atmosphere was very cosy and festive.

Nice selection of small dishes, great tasting food and romantic atmosphere. We ordered 6 dishes between us which filled us up nicely and meant we could try a few different things. My husband had the snickers brownie and and said it was amazing. Would definitely go again.

Accidentally stumbled upon it. It's tucked away in a little alley. But wow! Tapas restaurant that is intimate and fabulous. The daughter and I chose 5 dishes: pulled pork, lamb meatballs, scotch eggs, soy salmon and triple cooked chips. All were fresh and home cooked. The salmon was amazing. If I wasn't so full i would have ordered more dishes.

Went on Friday 17th whilst visiting our daughter who lives in St Albans and she picked well. Wonderful choice of food on the menu and we picked 6 different ones between 3 of us along with triple cut chips + sweet potato fries. That was enough without over facing ourselves and left room for desert. This again was tapas and there was a choice of 5 on the menu. As we were unsure what to have we had all 5 between us and very nice it was too. Nice atmosphere and great service from wonderful staff. Very popular venue as we left it was nearly full

Our son and partner had taken us to the fireworks display and had booked a table here. It's sort of off the main street but what a good choice. Every dish we had was delicious, we had lots and lots of different things as there were four of us and every one was great. The atmosphere is very relaxed, the service is very good, the prices are reasonable, all adding up to making you want to make a return visit. Unfortunately we live 3 hours away, but next time we visit our son we know where we are going to ask to go to dine!

Great, tasty food from a menu that has lots of choice. 3/4 dishes are probably enough for 2 people as although it's tapas, they are generous. Drinks menu is fairly extensive and the puddings were gorgeous. Staff friendly too - so an all round great restaurant and we'll definitely be visiting again.

Just loved this place, it is warm and friendly, we loved the music playing in the background. The food here is fantastic, we were a party of four & ordered 8 dishes plus a bowl of fries, everything was beautifully prepared, tasted amazing and was well-presented. It’s hard to pick a favourite dish as they were all so good, but the baked avocado was just awesome. The staff here hit the right balance between being friendly & making sure you have what you need, without being intrusive or insincere. We will definitely be going back.

We weren't quite sure what we were letting ourselves in for when we arrived as we'd left it late to book so we're given a table that we had made clear to us wasn't great....but they were wrong! We had an absolutely wonderful evening. Firstly we got something hugely wrong by thinking we were in for Spanish tapas....but it's British tapas and how glad we were it was! The food was out of this world, flavours and combinations just incredible. Staff were fun and friendly, we would definitely come back!!!

This is my second visit and it was just as good as the first. Didn't have a single dish that I wouldn't eat all over again. Great quirky décor, lovely staff and one of my favourite places to eat. Food arrives quickly but you aren't rushed. Not easy to find, but well worth searching out.

It was our first visit and liked this place a lot... Very warm welcoming staff, rustic and quirky atmosphere, delicious freshly made food to share... It is one of our favourite place to eat now! Well done!

What's not to like. Great food and lovely atmosphere. Staff are also very friendly.

Been here a few times and it never disappoints. Interesting tapas dishes and very reasonably priced - even cheaper if you have a Tastecard. Recommend the king prawns and the vegetable stack. Yum!

Had a wonderful night here with family on Saturday,warm welcome from the staff,with lots of chat about the lovely menu there was so much to choose from you just want to try it all,there were 5 of us 4 adults and one 11yr old young man,so we ended up ordering 16 dishes and each one was wonderful I think my fav was the boar and the mackerel pate,didn't think I could eat dessert but forced myself and had banoffe and cheese cake,and some really good wine all in all a fabulous meal.And if your good you will get some home made Jaffa cakes Thank you to the owners and staff for helping to make our night so enjoyable

Took my parents for a meal on Friday eve. Food and service both fantastic. Three dishes per person is about right- narrowing it down to three is tricky. Well worth a try :)

Delicious food with wonderful attention to detail. Lovely staff who were very attentive. Would definitely recommend.

We wanted a relaxed fun birthday dinner with myself and my wife and 16 yr old daughter !! This was the perfect venue with good food, good service and a relaxed atmosphere. I would go back.

Lovely fresh tapas, great selection of vegetarian options. We wanted a discreet, cosy restaurant to meet up and found it tucked away with a lovely exterior. Welcoming and attentive staff though they had to keep going through a back door near our table, where we caught the draught each time. However, we had such a good time the staff didn't rush us out even though we realised it was time for them to leave too!

Food tasty but a bit on the 'rustic' side. Quick service. Lacks atmosphere. Expensive for what it was.

We had a delicious meal with a wonderful choice of food and great service. Missed the baileys white chocolate and Malteser cheese cake though.

Overall, a very good experience... as it has been two times before. Wish I could give half-scores as I'd bump up food and value accordingly.

We visited for a birthday celebration as we wanted to have a nice relaxed family gathering. Food and service were both excellent. We would definitely return.

Great setting, staff and food. I would Recommendvthis restaurant to anybody for any occasion

Visited for lunch and couldn't rate it highly enough. We ate every last morsel and thought it was very delicious. The drinks were great too.

I can only agree with the majority. The food at Number 23 is cooked well, served well and very tasty. To be honest, 3 dishes each and a shared portion of delicious chips more or less defeated our no longer youthful appetites ...... but in our younger days..... Anyway, the joy of tapas is that you order what you fancy, and share if you want to. There was plenty on the menu to choose from, plus good wines by the bottle or glass, and a few beers or lagers. Service is efficient and friendly, and the atmosphere in one of George Street's attractive courtyard buildings is good. The decor is unfussy, but there are plenty of wooden beams, plus candles at the table. There was a decent mix of generations amongst the diners for our 9.15 p.m. sitting,and you could tell that people were contented, as happy chat and favourable comments about the food floated over from adjacent tables. I shall have to go back one evening to taste other dishes.I've also noticed there is a £5.95 lunch-time offer.

Great food and a really enjoyable evening. We'll definitely recommend it to other friends and I'm sure we'll be back again soon!

We went to Number 23 for lunch based on some positive TripAdvisor reviews, and I'm so glad we did! I would never have found this restaurant if we hadn't known about it and sought it out, so do check it out!The service was great - we were seated and served quickly but didn't feel rushed even though we arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes before the kitchen closed. The restaurant has a good ambiance and friendly staff.Most importantly - the food was amazing! Every dish we had was delicious, especially the sausages with caramelised onions and the rosemary sweet potato fries, which were divine.I will definitely be returning to Number 23 and if you're looking for a really tasty meal in St Albans I recommend you try it too!

Brilliant as always! Great food and service. Inventive and delicious.

My fiance and I visited Number 23 for the first time for our anniversary on a Tuesday night. We were greeted by friendly staff and shown to a table which had a really cosy atmosphere and a real family-owned feel. We chose 6 dishes to share, 5 from the main menu and 1 special and it's safe to say that every single one was delicious and full of flavour. We couldn't fault the meal at all. We can't wait to come back and try the rest of the menu!

Beautiful place, a proper hidden jem. Food is incredible, every dish is amazing, and the staff are lovely and friendly. Prices are also good especially for st albans!

Very busy but expected as it was a Friday evening. Good food... And great company just very noisy. So hearing each other talk was difficult. Even asking for our order was a challenge for the noise.

Fantastic setting, attentive staff and awesome food. Food comes up quickly and good array of choice.

Very tasty meal with a great variety on the menu. Nice ambiance in the restaurant. Friendly service. Will be visiting again.

Great place to eat, Number 23 never disappoints.. English tapas, great selection of dishes fresh and tasty... we really loved the Scotch egg, pork crackling and mac n cheese special with pancetta... with a lovely Pinot noir.. also recommend Le Gin Friendly attentive staff, this place is a real gem.

Great range of European tapas - nice variety of different things, all excellent quality. I have been here a few times now and am never disappointed. I think best to come with a bit of a group so you can order quite a few things and share them - it's too hard to choose otherwise!

what a great restaurant, amazing food, fab staff, really attentive, will definitely go back again and I will be spreading the word!

Great restaurant super food amazing scotch egg and fish cakes

Bitterly disappointed and will not be returning. Food was average and definitely not enough. The tiny bowls we were given were padded out with manky, soggy salad so what you actually get is a tiny, tiny portion of food and are being charged in the region of £6 for two mouth fulls. Absolute rip off. Party of 6 left feeling hungry and frustrated. We regularly dine out and will not be recommending Number 23 or ever going there again!!!

Didn't know what to expect but when we arrived, the place was almost empty. Smaller than I expected but nice table. Portions were very small - yes, I know it's Tapas - but even so. Very expensive and came out hungry. Don't go to the bathrooms. Didn't look like they'd been cleaned for a while. Service was ok but a bit "harvester". Won't be going back in a hurry.

Booked this restaurant for lunch with the family, wished I hadn't bothered. Over priced food that were meagre portions of averageness. 90% of the TINY bowls of food were taken up with soggy salad, so we actually left hungry. Wouldn't have minded paying the extortionate bill if the food had been nice or even enough but it was neither. If you haven't been to this restaurant before DON'T bother wasting your hard earned money!!!! Gave it two stars at a push because the staff were friendly.

Great food, good location, great music had a fab evening. A hidden gem

Brilliant local restaurant. Come here many times and still one of my favourite places to eat in St Albans. Good value, very filling and great atmosphere. Menu has a good variety, suits every taste bud brilliant. All staff are very friendly and helpful. Would recommend to everyone!

Booked on the strength of trip advisor reviews and what a lovely experience. British Tapas menu with every dish perfectly cooked and very tasty. Excellent service friendly and attentive but not obtrusive.The black pudding dish and the Chorizo dish were fantastic We will be back

Amazing service, fabulous food! Wanted everything on the menu! Great atmosphere! 10/10 would recommend.

Fantastic English tapas. All the food was really tasty and staff were very friendly. Would highly recommend this place!

Lovely ambience, clean and cosy. Excellent service, friendly staff. Food was delicious and quick. Would recommend!

Wow.....what a great find. Stumbled across this place when looking for recommendations for the local area and the reviews seemed very good......and now I see why. Venue, food, atmosphere, staff and value for money all fantastic. The concept of British Tapas intrigued me and it works really well. If you are in the area and looking for something a bit different this is well worth a visit.

We had dinner at Number 23 and the concept (English tapas) is very nice. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was nice. The service was a bit of a let down but we had a great evening overall

Wow how this restaurant can have such a beautiful location in a quaint building and serve such mediocre food is beyond me . Frozen calamari out of a freezer bag ,soggy baked avocado, limp garlic prawns that seemed boiled, 3times cooked chips that were soggy! 3stars at best because staff were friendly !

Great food, lovely atmosphere and love the sweets with the bill! Have come back lots of times and will be back again for sure!!

Wonderful evening. Food excellent - could have gone through whole menu. Staff attentive and friendly and the ambience was perfect. Lovely, lovely place.

The food was fantastic! We ordered items from both the menu and the specials...nothing disappointed! It was all absolutely delicious! We have already started recommending the restaurant to our family and friends! We cannot wait for our next date night at Number 23!

Lovely food. Mixed tapas- some Spanish, some Italian, some British, all delicious and well presented. Great atmosphere, we sat outside under the fairy lights.

Such a lovely meal !! I will definitely recommend this restaurant

A little gem in St Albans. Calamaris to die for. A quirky restaurant with a fantastic menu

Delicious food, friendly service and quite different! The dishes on offer will cater for all tastes.

My girlfriend organised a birthday dinner for me and my mates. Great host and team. Great food. Cheers Glyn!

We discovered this hidden gem while staying in St Albans for the weekend. We love tapas and this was the best one we've eaten in by far. Nice atmosphere, lovely staff and the food was delicious. Highly recommend the Brie, the wild boar and the sticky sausages.

Good restaurant with British food that can Be eaten tapas style Good service and quality food We eat our in the area a lot and like this place a lot

I have visited here twice in the last 2 weeks with my family and as a couple and have had great meals, the variety is fun and the recommended 4 dishes/person is spot on in my experience. Staff are friendly, music is funky and the food arrives quickly.We will all be going again.

Been here a few times and is a favourite of mine. Fantastic food!!!

Really good menu choice, food was delicious, place had a nice vibe and the staff were friendly, attentive and pleasant.

Father's Day lunch Good food and pleasant ambience. We sat outside as it was so hot which was nice. Would go again as the idea of British tapas was successful with the whole family.

All good, really nice different food, nice staff and good vibe.

Had a lovely meal here on a busy Saturday night, we say outside as it was warm. As always food was amazing and service fab.

Food was lovely, perfect for a girls night where you want to have a few drinks after a nice meal

We visited on a Saturday lunchtime and sat outside in the sunny courtyard. Service was very friendly and efficient and we were made to feel welcome. The food was good. From reading the excellent reviews on here, I think I maybe set my sights too high, but nonetheless it was very enjoyable. The scotch egg just missed out on a lovely soft yolk which was a real shame, but the wild boar stew made up for it and the rest of the plates we shared were enjoyable. Overall, would recommend for a relaxed lunch.

Great food and atmosphere. Decor was good. Loved the architecture

Easy to book online and really cosy atmosphere with excellent food. Staff were attentive and polite. Signage from the street was really helpful as otherwise would be tricky to find.

Really enjoyed our evening, great food and different to most restaurants. Service was excellent, complimentary drink on arrival for our anniversary was lovely.

Very nice restaurant with excellent food! Staff were very pleasant and helpful. Very nice touch with suprise sweets arriving with the bill and the small doodle competition. Great setting for a date night as it is quiet enough to talk but no so much that you can overhear other peoples conversations. Would definately recommend!

First time at No 23 following it featuring in Top 20 restaurants in Hertfordshire Life magazine...picked up online from Fb. It certainly didn't disappoint. A warm welcome backed up with great food and a chilled atmosphere considering it was Friday night at the end of the month. A gentle walk down George street from the City centre and into a quirky little side street you discover No 23. It's tucked and assuming but don't be put off because it is a real find. The food is described at British Tapas but it also has Greek and Mediterranean influences. The Lamb Rump with Aubergine and Halloumi from the daily specials was a sheer delight and cooked to perfection. We also loved the Risotto balls (Arancini?) with pancetta and goats cheese and the Garlic Prawns (without chilli) - when it's a couple just let them know it's 3 Prawns to avoid arguments ! Slip in a fourth a charge a little more ! 6 dishes - no chips or bread (we were being good - sort of!) The wine list was edited but the Tempranillo/Syrah was a perfect match for Tapas and the glass of Prosecco a lovely aperitif. It seemed liked a real labour of love for the brother and sister owners who were busy serving but happy to stop and talk.It felt like we had uncovered a little secret it surely that can't be the case? If it is it surely won't be like that for much longer!

Great good ,great service,great value .Highly recommended

Couldn't fault number 23, nice food, good service, we were lucky enough to sit outside on the cobbles looking at the fantastic building. Not posh nosh but perfect to try lots of dishes and share with friends or partners

Five of us on a Tuesday evening bloody fantastic we had quite a few of the tapas dishes which were all very tasty but had to order another two of the calamari as it just melted in your mouth the service was also very good great informal place to eat with friends

The food was lovely, I particularly enjoyed the crackling, black pudding, king prawns, pulled BBQ pork, seared lamb and the triple cooked chips' with rosemary and garlic. Between the four of us we did have a huge selection of there food and we loved it all, Looking forward to going back very soon

We came for dinner on a Friday night and were pleasantly surprised. We were a bit concerned when we arrived because the entrance area contains a couple of fridges, a heater and odd tables and crockery. However, the restaurant is in an old, quirky building and there are at least 3 separate rooms. We were in the room with the bar which was cosy and buzzy.The menu is a selection of tapas in meat, fish and vegetable sections and there are sides which include several variations on chips. Three of us started off with a tapa each and a portion of fries, and then ordered additional tapas as the first ones arrived. Everything we had was good, and there were several things we didn't try which we'll have to go back for. The triple cooked chips were very good, as was the blackpudding, sweet potato bubble and squeak and egg and hollandaise, the fish cake, the halloumi, warm beetroot salad. If there's sticky toffee pudding on the dessert menu don't miss it!Service was attentive and the staff were friendly and helpful. We'll come again!

Attentive staff, delicious food, really cozy ambience. Wild boar was incredible! Dessert on the day we were there was baileys malteser cheesecake and it was amazing. Highly recommended to everyone we know since we've been!

Absolutely delicious food, only tried a couple of dishes but would happily have tried them all! Lovely friendly staff too. Totally recommend this restaurant if you are looking for great food and a relaxed atmosphere. We had a fab evening, thank you!

Food was OK, nothing special. Lovely little place, a nice cosy feel. I enjoyed the evening, I wouldn't rave about the food though.

We had a lovely meal at number 23. We ordered 5 dishes plus triple cooked chips and bread to start for two of us. The scotch egg was amazing, definitely not one to miss! The restaurant had a lovely atmosphere with great music.

We loved the black pudding and scotch egg starter. The service was excellent and they remained polite and attentive throughout the evening - showing no sign of impatience even though we stayed very late! Thank you

Nice venue, clean and cosy. Attentive staff. Intimate but still good for a smallish party.

Fantastic restaurant, great food, great service - what more could you ask for? Oh yes the wine was good too!

Is (pretty much) what it says on the tin - "British" tapas, or at least not typical Spanish tapas. Plenty of choice including for vegetarians and enjoyed everything we had. Friendly service too.

This was an amazing surprise that we came across when looking for lunch on a busy Saturday in St Albans. Slightly hidden away off George Street but nice and busy (but not too busy) inside. Polite, friendly staff. Excellent service and great food. I would definitely recommend this. The coffee was also great.

British Tapas - what a great idea! As a party of four we were able to tuck in to a number of dishes on the menu. All served piping hot and all very delicious! No chance of getting bored with what you were eating and could always order more of the favourite dishes. Ordered 2 desserts between four of us and they were beautifully light making the perfect end to the meal. Would highly recommend and can't wait to return to sample more of the dishes.

We came here through a last minute booking via OpenTable on a midweek night and had no issues getting in but the restaurant was by no means empty. The service was very friendly and generally attentive though the food took a while to come out. Between two of us we ordered sticky sausages, black pudding and pancetta parcel, sugar and spice chorizo, chicken strips, mac n cheese with pancetta (special), scotch egg, boar pie, risotto balls, and ended with sticky toffee pudding - we were hungry but this was about right as the plates were reasonably small. The food was all delicious, particularly the chorizo, with the only exception of the chicken strips which were a little bland. The restaurant itself is quite hidden away and has a very intimate atmosphere. Overall we'd definitely return, and would recommend to anyone looking for a good date night in St Albans.

We really enjoyed sharing 12 dishes between 4 of us before the cinema, will definitely go back when we can eat more leisurely and enjoy the wine, perhaps in the courtyard in the summer

Little gem where the food was cooked to perfection and staff couldn't be more helpful. Scotch egg, rosemary sweet potato fries and five spice chicken were highlights - definitely going back

Ate here as a party of around 12/13, which necessitated pre-ordering. Simply all the food was cooked and arrived at the same time, which made for a ridiculous event. We had to stop it being placed on the table as there was no space. Tapas to my mind is a few simple dishes and a nice glass or two of wine, and then you consider more what you'd like to eat and drink. This was the opposite with plates of food just placed anywhere on the table. Surprised this is so highly rated as the wine is also pretty ordinary and could be so much better. Should have been a great experience - the food itself was generally a good standard just the presentation and overall experience let it down.

Absolutely sublime tapas. Fast and tremendous food. I can't highlight one particular dish as they were all amazing. The kind lady got me started on amaretto and cranberry which was divine and lees beers were lovely and cold. The atmosphere was lovely as the tables aren't close together so you don't hear everyone else's conversations. 100% recommend

Visited for a friend's 30th celebration. We booked in advance and paid a small deposit to secure the table. We arrived on the day and immediately I knew it was going to be great. It's down a little cute side street, to a little cute red door. Once you are inside the smell is amazing. The menu is not to huge but there is lots of selection. We pretty much had one of everything it all sounded so great. At the end I asked every one what there favourite was and no one could lock one thing down because it was all so great. I think most impressive was the scotch egg make sure you have that.