Burger & Lobster: Lobster Roll

We plan ahead when it comes to food. And by planning ahead, we’re talking weeks and for special occasions, months. For instance, in May this year, I (Larissa) made a booking at Dabbous for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner for March next year. That’s 10 months in advance, a record!  This level of foresight and organisation stems from 2 things: firstly the fact that in London, where a growing population of foodies live and visit, hot restaurants are notoriously hard to book; and secondly, we are always chasing new experiences. If one of our “in the know” foodie friends or Timeout mentions it, we want to be there, try this and taste that. So when we heard Goodman was opening a sister restaurant that was going to serve Burgers and Lobsters, we were psyched. But what stood in the way of our first experience was the fact that it had a “no bookings” policy. As with all “no bookings” restaurants, you either have to turn up when the doors open or when they’ve called last order to secure a place without queuing. We have turned up at 3 pm on Saturday for lunch and 9:30 (weekday) for dinner to find ourselves out of luck. The queue was either an hour and a half long or in the case of the dinner, the wait was going to outrun the opening hours.

After some perseverance, we finally got seated last Friday when we showed up at 5:30 pm at the Mayfair branch on Clarges Street. We like the concept of a short menu that offers only Lobster, Lobster Roll and Burger, all served with fries and salad and all priced at 20 pounds. A short menu means that the kitchen becomes well versed in cooking these dishes, which means more consistently tasty meals for customers! A friendly waiter served us and our food arrived quickly. We both ordered the Lobster Roll (it is after all, featured on Timeout’s 100 best dishes in London. See the full list here http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/2584/london-eating-2012)

Chunks of lobster meat formed a mound above a lightly toasted brioche bun with a sprinkling of chives on top. It was a very generous serving of lobster, considering the price. The mayo was just right, not too much or heavy. We are very picky with bread, often peeling burger buns away if they don’t add to taste or texture, but we found the brioche here wonderful. It was light, not too thick and accentuated the sweetness of the lobster. The sides did not disappoint either. The fries were thin and crispy, the salad flavoursome. Looking around other diners, many smiling and wearing bibs like babies, tearing apart their Lobsters, we can see why Burger and Lobster has become a runaway success (they have recently opened their third joint on St John Street). It’s casual, quick and affordable. If you thought it was a hype (it’s not) or like us, you have been unlucky with table availability, make the effort to go early, that Lobster Roll is so worth it.