Restaurant review: Verdi's - St Albans Times

06 Nov 2025

Posted at 17:43
in Review

James Cameron drops in at the Clarence Park Italian for dinner with Dad…

Most St Albanites pass through Clarence Park at some time. In the morning it is the abode of commuters striding head-down as if they can make their eventual and inevitable destination disappear, avoiding dog-walkers chasing their errant charges and joggers treading their sisyphean loops.

On Saturday afternoons it fills with football fans, buoyed on the optimism of possibility then trudging back in the despair of certainty. And on summer Sundays it turns itself into a garden party when the jazz bands spring up to entertain the deck-chair crowds.

Verdi’s is a vital part of the Clarence Park community, and it is most visible in the sunshine when it dispenses ice cream to soon-to-be-sticky youngsters and where diners eat al forno al fresco. Don’t overlook it when the nights start creeping in, though. As we discovered, it still has plenty of cosy charm in the colder months. The lights twinkled as they invited us into the warm interior, and the reception we got was equally warm.

The menu is prodigious, with a wide range of meat and fish dishes on offer as well as the pizza and pasta that you would expect from an Italian restaurant. There was also a full vegan menu, rather than a couple of token options. The wine menu is comprehensive and they even have Birra Moretti on draught.

With half an eye on the eventual gelato we skipped the starters and went straight for the main courses, but bulked it up with a few side dishes to really sample what was on offer.

I was dining with my father who ordered the Salsiccia alla Griglia, which arrived like a Full Italian Breakfast, with the sausage from Napoli and grilled pork belly replacing the bacon, as well as mushroom and fried potatoes. I have to rely on his descriptive powers for this one, so the sausage was tasty, the potatoes were tasty and the pork belly was very tasty.

From the Vegan menu came the Mushroom Risotto, a generous portion festooned with mushrooms. The rice itself was slightly disappointing, though, lacking the bursts of flavour that you get when the grains have been allowed to really gorge themselves on the white wine and stock.

Similarly vegan Butternut Squash Ravioli had a good texture and was complimented by a flavoursome tomato sauce but the filling was somewhat bland and could handle a good amount more seasoning.

From the standard pasta menu they delivered a strong Carbonara, which hit all the right salty and creamy flavours though the sauce was wetter than expected. Having been bought up on a diet of Asterix books I had to go for the Wild Boar Parpadelle, and Obelix would have been proud of it. Lovely soft pasta was positively drenched in a rich and warming sauce, with big chunks of meat that offered no resistance to the fork or teeth. They were more generous with the sauce than the cheese which was restrained to a few shavings on top, a shame because when this was added into the mix the dish went stratospheric.

Pick of the sides were the fried Zucchini (or Courgette to the more frankophonic) which reminded me of the seaside with its thick but light batter. I could not really comment on the rocket salad as by the time it reached me this supposed sharing dish was almost fully consumed.

So to dessert. Visitors to the park don’t need me to tell them how good the gelato is, but if you haven’t tried it the sorbet is also fantastic. Huge scoops in a banquet-worthy goblet, it was beautifully soft with none of the crystalisation you might find in less accomplished offerings. The combination of mango and raspberry, apparently the most popular, can be strongly recommended with the raspberry sharpness bouncing amiably off the sweet mango.

The initial crunch on my creme brulee was possibly not as satisfying as it could be, but everything after that was spot on. The pudding itself was as sweet as you could wish without being overwhelming, and the blow-torcher clearly knew what they were doing as the top was perfectly cool and free of coagulation.

Proceedings were brought to a close with some lovely zippy limoncello along with instructions on how we could make it ourselves at home if we could source some pure grain alcohol.

Verdi’s has been part of the bedrock of St Albans dining since it opened in 1989, and I have many fond memories of eating there.

If the shocks of the last few weeks have taught us anything, though, it’s that we should not take anything for granted.

Verdi’s really is a restaurant for all seasons, so if reading this has brought back your own fond memories of the excellent food and even better hospitality then why not head down and show them some autumnal love.

Verdi's in Clarence Park Verdi’s in Clarence Park