Alfie's By Kee

G/F, Prince's Building, 10 Chater Rd, Central
Visited 26th April 2010 Hoisted above the cool suits of the Alfred Dunhill's Prince Building store this joint venture with the oh so grand Kee Club can't help but ooze style. While I've enjoyed my past visits to the member's only Kee Club I tend to think the whole place has been heavily dusted with a the pretentiousness brush, Alfie's on the other hand seems to be just your typical down-to-Earth Western restaurant in Central. The place looks in many ways more like a slick bar than a restaurant. I'm not normally too fussed about a joint's decor, but I really liked the look of this place; black leather sofas, black tiles, black and white prints along with a couple of things that weren't black.

The menu doesn't have a huge selection and what's there is very much traditional English fare; think sausage and mash, pie, roast chicken, steak, smoked haddock, trifle, Eton mess and crumble. We shared a sausage roll starter and then I went for the poached Scottish Salmon. The sausage roll was pretty standard; minced pork wrapped in flaky pastry. Though not overly exciting it tasted good and I thought the only negative was the accompanying homemade tomato sauce that was strangely acidic. My salmon came with lentils and a watercress salad and the whole think was a hit. The moist salmon was perfectly cooked and peppery salad leaves and tender lentils offered a perfect accompaniment. I also really enjoyed a little sample of Joey's roast chicken with mushrooms and spinach. However my friend's shepherd's pie was pretty uninspiring and no better than what's avaliable in most Hong Kong pubs. I appreciated being offered iced water, but also enjoyed a glass of Louis Latour Bourgogne Chardonnay.

The food at Alfie's is touted as "modern British fare" and while it's very British I can't really see how it's modern British (well maybe apart from the fact that it's good), but labels tend to be irrelevant and this tasted superb. Both Joey and my mains were well cooked, delicious meals; the fact that we enjoyed them in a stylish setting surrounded by attentive staff only helped to heighten the experience. While particularly a bargain the prices seem pretty fair for this style of place in Central; the chicken was $185, my salmon $225 and the starter $90. I'll admit that I went into Alfie's By Kee with a bit of a chip on my shoulder, however I walked out converted.

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