This is the only time you’ll see the food menu, because these three items are quite literally all they serve. After Hawksmoor successfully ported the America’s favourite summer roll to the El Smoky last year, it was only a matter of time before the Russians would follow. Well it took them a while, but the good people from Goodman (who are imho still the capital’s best steakhouse(s)) bring you the first lobster bar in London. With burgers. And cocktails, designed by The Soul Shakers.
If Goodman attracts the mid-week fat banker stereotype (actually, I think they entertain more Chinese tourists rocking bling Vertus than city workers) , then Burger & Lobster is where the fat banker would take his family for a weekend meal. If I was 10, I could totally see myself bibbing up every Sunday with my family at this restaurant.
No really, I love this place, it’s basically premium fast food. So, you choose either a Beef burger, a lobster roll or a steamed/grilled whole Canadian lobster for £20. Every plate comes with chips, salad, clarified butter (with or without lemon) with the seafood and in-house pickles for the beef.
Grilled Lobster, chips, salad, £20.
When you visit, ask Dave Strauss (if he’s about) to show you the lobster tanks which they have specially put together in the basement to hold … tonnes of live, swimming critters. It smells really clean, like the great lobster prison, and it’s made out of.. er, some sort of polymer I think. It is quite breathtaking seeing so many lobsters in one place like this.
They kill the lobster (as humanely as possible) with a stunning machine called a Crustastun. Thus avoiding having to boil the poor crustacean alive or the mess in slicing it down the middle of his head with a cleaver. (Every time I slice a lobster in half, and the claws and legs let go of life as the knife goes in his head, believe me, a little bit of me dies inside).
Sigh. Ok, morality aside…
… just fucking wow man. You can’t beat fresh whole lobsters finished on a grill. Aside from mild smokiness, the distinctive, purely addictive natural richness of lobster is simply brilliant. The dense, chunky muscular texture of lobster meat is unmistakably delicious of course.
Lobster is the king of seafood (erm, maybe abalone, ok no, red garoupa) , it just has such fantastic natural flavour, you can almost eat it raw (and indeed some of you do) and it’ll still be the greatest, sweetest meat you could ever savour.
Oh right, and these are Canadian, I suppose they swim in the Atlantic, which would classify them as American Lobsters, I believe. I’m not sure if these are the same species as Maine lobsters. Who knows. B&L DO have Scottish Native Blues swimming in the tanks downstairs, but I don’t think they sell them for £20 a pop. Those probably go for more, and I think you’d have to ask Dave if you want to spend a bit more moolah on something a little more exotic.
However. The highlight of the restaurant is not the lobster. It’s the roll.
Lobster roll, with chips and salad. Also £20.
She is beautiful yes? You have to see this from the other side. It’s immense.
Look at that, haven’t they just stuffed this roll silly. Kapow. It isn’t an entire lobster, it’s about 2/3s and a claw. But my god, it’s an experience. Love it to bits.
The toasted roll is very light, crispy but still soft inside. Now I don’t know how it compares to America’s darlings, like say Luke’s for example, but for what it’s worth I do like this version. The mayo and butter moistens but does not overpower the meat, so you taste natural flavours rather than butter. But that’s why they’ve provided the clarified butter (with lemon) on the side, so you can dip to your preference.
It’s just a really great lobster roll, I could eat four of these in one go easily. And in fact, that’s probably my only gripe, that it’s so easy to eat this in four or five bites, that it ends prematurely, just when you start salivating. So I recommend you try to stretch it out by breaking the roll into smaller bits and savouring each bite slowly instead… or if your pockets go deep, just order two more rolls and give the burger a pass. I guarantee it will be one of the most exciting binge moments in your life. We did that on the first visit, it was great, just great.
This would be me and Mark‘s second visit, and it tasted even better then 2nd time around. As I said earlier, its so good, that if I look back years from now, I’m sure it’ll evoke memories etc.
The chocolate and lime mousse are both very good, especially the chocolate which has a bit of coffee in it. This is what the burger looks like , also £20, it is a good burger, but quite frankly, you are probably better off queueing for more superior ones at Meatliqour or Lucky Chip for half the money.
The cocktails are fantabulous of course, they are around £8-£9 which is competitive pricing, and I would recommend the Riesling Smash, which is German white wine smashed with apricots, pink grapefruit and Kammerling’s.
Ironic how easy it is for restauranteurs to take our money these days no? Plain lobsters, a bit of butter and chips are enough to get the job done. No that’s not true, some of us still like that fancy shit, besides I like wearing ties to restaurants, sometimes.
No seriously, you won’t find cheaper lobsters of this quality in a London restaurant. Probably. But really it’s just a great place to grab a delicious and easy meal while tanking up on equally delicious booze. Who knows if this operation is actually going to turn a profit or if it’s just a generous restauranteur fulfilling his social responsibilities in giving punters what they really want. If you grew up on lobsters like me (curiously, lobsters in Asia do not have claws and they make clickity noises) GO HERE. If you’re sick of having lobster noodles at MK/PL, then this will be a welcomed change. If you’ve never been curious, now is the time to try lobsters. When 2012 opens, go here before the queues start forming (no reservation policy strikes again).
Mark and I paid £65 for this meal: One lobster, one roll and two cocktails.
Happy Christmas folks, I’ll be eating sushi on a mountain somewhere in Taipei next week, tweet you then.
The Gist of It
Burger & Lobster
Lobsters & Burgers only, £20 for each.
29 Clarges street, Mayfair London W1J 7EF
Tel : 0207 409 1699
Tube: Green Park
I appreciated the review; the language in the review ruined the whole thing for me. I don’t think it is your professional duty to speak like a 16-year-old child. Come on, you are better than that.
Thomas Moore
801.791.9918
I delighted to hear that. You have talent, and I appreciate your work. I hate to see you degrade your professional work by use of unfortunate language. You are a professional. Thanks, Tom
Lets face it, this isn’t the 50s, I for one welcome well placed profanity, fuck, i live by it!
What i do not like is poor grammar. The use of ‘me and Mark’ rather than ‘Mark and I’ bothers me much more.
However, 20 quid for a burger is a bit of bend over and take it moment no matter where you’re eating if you ask me, unless you’re pumping that bun full of 1kg of Kobe. I’d like to see there profit margins on that Lobster too.
Thomas, its the internet, its a light hearted and entertaining blog, go and read The Telegraph.
This place looks nice. Thanks for the post, I always look forward to your reviews.
I love this blog, if you start sounding like some corporate wanker it would spoil it. Its nice that you’re a real (though wealthy) person. Don’t listen to that boring tory bugger.
The £20 concept is a bit awkward: I’d feel like I was getting a decent enough deal on the grilled lobster, but being ripped off on the burger. There’s an illusion of value for money, but it doesn’t bear close scrutiny.
i’m always astounded by kang’s patience dealing with comments. Thomas – i find your tone patronising and condescending. how about you don’t read if you’re offended. personally, i always like the reviews here
on to the concept: i could see myself coming here for a fix, but i’d probably avoid cocktails and extras to stay under 50 for 2. either way, when i have a moment, a fix usually comes in the form of dim sum or a steak, so i can’t see where this fits in. like you said – expensive fast food is all it really is. i think they should borrow from relaise de venise and add to the illusion of value by giving a small (no choice) appetiser. i’d feel less ripped off i think.
Relais de Venice does spring to mind: as well as the simple starter they also come round with second helpings, which is a good touch. You get mountains of chips included at RdV – but the B&L portion looks a tad miserly. (RdV is good, I think. People knock the service, but you get very brusque service at many a traditional Paris brasserie.) From the looks of it, B&L could possibly be addiing a little bit more value than they are doing.
Little disappointed to hear you wanting to refer to them as ‘American lobsters’. I come from Nova Scotia, Canada and believe me there is a difference between our lobsters and the Maine lobsters, both in taste and texture of the meat, and slight differences on the exterior shell; and your UK lobsters whether they be from Scotland or Cornwall or wherever have nothing on ours. I do appreciate the rave review though, and as a Canuck living in the UK I williston definitely be visiting this place soon!
love places like that, very small menu that left you with almost no choice which is good! and you’re served with a quality meal in return, lobster on the menu certainly helps!
Went here on Wednesday, had to stop myself from going again on Friday as I was in town! Flipping amazing, the luxury of having a whole lobster to yourself and a good sized one too for this price is astounding. Very fresh and well cooked I even found the chips to be really crisp delicious. What’s the opinion? Some sort of dripping? Or just double cooked?
My companion had the roll and it looked really good too, but I would have had to have ordered 2.
This place is so good there is a temptation to not tell anyone so you can keep all the lovely lobsters to yourself! In fact…. Don’t go you’ll hate it! 😉
Here’s hoping that the price point is sustainable!
no such thing as a 20 pound lobster roll that doesn’t contain a whole lobster that’s good value. sorry. it may be good. but better to fly to boston and eat to your heart’s content. heck, even new york. come to think of it, there is no cuisine in london (save maybe indian and maybe, maybe british) where i don’t feel ripped off when i go out to eat in this city. at least it’s central and english-speaking, though, since new york doesn’t cut it for travel.
Thomas- your comment was pathetic…seriously get a life.
I bloody LOVE this place and I love you kang! Your writing style is witty and engaging and JESUS CHRIST your photos are FANTASTIC!!
Please keep the swearing, and the chatty writing style. I hate reading stuffy, snobby restaurant reviews, they make me want to self-harm! Thomas Moore… get a life!
@Thomas Moore – I recognise that tone – I grew up in the “801”, through no fault of my own. I left, am never going back. I know the plan is to take over the world with your version of life, little by little. You got beat back in the last election, though. Telling others how to write, how to behave, that’s not cool, and it’s called fascism – no need for it here.
This is the only time you’ll see the food menu, because these three items are quite literally all they serve. After Hawksmoor successfully ported the America’s favourite summer roll to the El Smoky last year, it was only a matter of time before the Russians would follow. Well it took them a while, but the good people from Goodman (who are imho still the capital’s best steakhouse(s)) bring you the first lobster bar in London. With burgers. And cocktails, designed by The Soul Shakers.
If Goodman attracts the mid-week fat banker stereotype (actually, I think they entertain more Chinese tourists rocking bling Vertus than city workers) , then Burger & Lobster is where the fat banker would take his family for a weekend meal. If I was 10, I could totally see myself bibbing up every Sunday with my family at this restaurant.
No really, I love this place, it’s basically premium fast food. So, you choose either a Beef burger, a lobster roll or a steamed/grilled whole Canadian lobster for £20. Every plate comes with chips, salad, clarified butter (with or without lemon) with the seafood and in-house pickles for the beef.
Grilled Lobster, chips, salad, £20.
When you visit, ask Dave Strauss (if he’s about) to show you the lobster tanks which they have specially put together in the basement to hold … tonnes of live, swimming critters. It smells really clean, like the great lobster prison, and it’s made out of.. er, some sort of polymer I think. It is quite breathtaking seeing so many lobsters in one place like this.
They kill the lobster (as humanely as possible) with a stunning machine called a Crustastun. Thus avoiding having to boil the poor crustacean alive or the mess in slicing it down the middle of his head with a cleaver. (Every time I slice a lobster in half, and the claws and legs let go of life as the knife goes in his head, believe me, a little bit of me dies inside).
Sigh. Ok, morality aside…
… just fucking wow man. You can’t beat fresh whole lobsters finished on a grill. Aside from mild smokiness, the distinctive, purely addictive natural richness of lobster is simply brilliant. The dense, chunky muscular texture of lobster meat is unmistakably delicious of course.
Lobster is the king of seafood (erm, maybe abalone, ok no, red garoupa) , it just has such fantastic natural flavour, you can almost eat it raw (and indeed some of you do) and it’ll still be the greatest, sweetest meat you could ever savour.
Oh right, and these are Canadian, I suppose they swim in the Atlantic, which would classify them as American Lobsters, I believe. I’m not sure if these are the same species as Maine lobsters. Who knows. B&L DO have Scottish Native Blues swimming in the tanks downstairs, but I don’t think they sell them for £20 a pop. Those probably go for more, and I think you’d have to ask Dave if you want to spend a bit more moolah on something a little more exotic.
However. The highlight of the restaurant is not the lobster. It’s the roll.
Lobster roll, with chips and salad. Also £20.
She is beautiful yes? You have to see this from the other side. It’s immense.
Look at that, haven’t they just stuffed this roll silly. Kapow. It isn’t an entire lobster, it’s about 2/3s and a claw. But my god, it’s an experience. Love it to bits.
The toasted roll is very light, crispy but still soft inside. Now I don’t know how it compares to America’s darlings, like say Luke’s for example, but for what it’s worth I do like this version. The mayo and butter moistens but does not overpower the meat, so you taste natural flavours rather than butter. But that’s why they’ve provided the clarified butter (with lemon) on the side, so you can dip to your preference.
It’s just a really great lobster roll, I could eat four of these in one go easily. And in fact, that’s probably my only gripe, that it’s so easy to eat this in four or five bites, that it ends prematurely, just when you start salivating. So I recommend you try to stretch it out by breaking the roll into smaller bits and savouring each bite slowly instead… or if your pockets go deep, just order two more rolls and give the burger a pass. I guarantee it will be one of the most exciting binge moments in your life. We did that on the first visit, it was great, just great.
This would be me and Mark‘s second visit, and it tasted even better then 2nd time around. As I said earlier, its so good, that if I look back years from now, I’m sure it’ll evoke memories etc.
The chocolate and lime mousse are both very good, especially the chocolate which has a bit of coffee in it. This is what the burger looks like , also £20, it is a good burger, but quite frankly, you are probably better off queueing for more superior ones at Meatliqour or Lucky Chip for half the money.
The cocktails are fantabulous of course, they are around £8-£9 which is competitive pricing, and I would recommend the Riesling Smash, which is German white wine smashed with apricots, pink grapefruit and Kammerling’s.
Ironic how easy it is for restauranteurs to take our money these days no? Plain lobsters, a bit of butter and chips are enough to get the job done. No that’s not true, some of us still like that fancy shit, besides I like wearing ties to restaurants, sometimes.
No seriously, you won’t find cheaper lobsters of this quality in a London restaurant. Probably. But really it’s just a great place to grab a delicious and easy meal while tanking up on equally delicious booze. Who knows if this operation is actually going to turn a profit or if it’s just a generous restauranteur fulfilling his social responsibilities in giving punters what they really want. If you grew up on lobsters like me (curiously, lobsters in Asia do not have claws and they make clickity noises) GO HERE. If you’re sick of having lobster noodles at MK/PL, then this will be a welcomed change. If you’ve never been curious, now is the time to try lobsters. When 2012 opens, go here before the queues start forming (no reservation policy strikes again).
Mark and I paid £65 for this meal: One lobster, one roll and two cocktails.
Happy Christmas folks, I’ll be eating sushi on a mountain somewhere in Taipei next week, tweet you then.
The Gist of It
Burger & Lobster
Lobsters & Burgers only, £20 for each.
29 Clarges street, Mayfair London W1J 7EF
Tel : 0207 409 1699
Tube: Green Park
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Comments (27)
I appreciated the review; the language in the review ruined the whole thing for me. I don’t think it is your professional duty to speak like a 16-year-old child. Come on, you are better than that.
Thomas Moore
801.791.9918
Thomas – if the swearing is bothering you, then I apologise, I’m working on trying to edit myself more often.
I delighted to hear that. You have talent, and I appreciate your work. I hate to see you degrade your professional work by use of unfortunate language. You are a professional. Thanks, Tom
Lets face it, this isn’t the 50s, I for one welcome well placed profanity, fuck, i live by it!
What i do not like is poor grammar. The use of ‘me and Mark’ rather than ‘Mark and I’ bothers me much more.
However, 20 quid for a burger is a bit of bend over and take it moment no matter where you’re eating if you ask me, unless you’re pumping that bun full of 1kg of Kobe. I’d like to see there profit margins on that Lobster too.
their*
JB – lol, yes sir. It’s Mark and I from now on. Won’t happen again.
I rather liked the review and the ‘childish’ (enthusiastic?) excitement about this place. Don’t change!
As for me, I will definitely be heading to this place when I’m next in the area.
Thomas, its the internet, its a light hearted and entertaining blog, go and read The Telegraph.
This place looks nice. Thanks for the post, I always look forward to your reviews.
I love this blog, if you start sounding like some corporate wanker it would spoil it. Its nice that you’re a real (though wealthy) person. Don’t listen to that boring tory bugger.
The £20 concept is a bit awkward: I’d feel like I was getting a decent enough deal on the grilled lobster, but being ripped off on the burger. There’s an illusion of value for money, but it doesn’t bear close scrutiny.
i’m always astounded by kang’s patience dealing with comments. Thomas – i find your tone patronising and condescending. how about you don’t read if you’re offended. personally, i always like the reviews here
on to the concept: i could see myself coming here for a fix, but i’d probably avoid cocktails and extras to stay under 50 for 2. either way, when i have a moment, a fix usually comes in the form of dim sum or a steak, so i can’t see where this fits in. like you said – expensive fast food is all it really is. i think they should borrow from relaise de venise and add to the illusion of value by giving a small (no choice) appetiser. i’d feel less ripped off i think.
Relais de Venice does spring to mind: as well as the simple starter they also come round with second helpings, which is a good touch. You get mountains of chips included at RdV – but the B&L portion looks a tad miserly. (RdV is good, I think. People knock the service, but you get very brusque service at many a traditional Paris brasserie.) From the looks of it, B&L could possibly be addiing a little bit more value than they are doing.
Little disappointed to hear you wanting to refer to them as ‘American lobsters’. I come from Nova Scotia, Canada and believe me there is a difference between our lobsters and the Maine lobsters, both in taste and texture of the meat, and slight differences on the exterior shell; and your UK lobsters whether they be from Scotland or Cornwall or wherever have nothing on ours. I do appreciate the rave review though, and as a Canuck living in the UK I williston definitely be visiting this place soon!
Oh chill out on your patriotism, you sound American WOO, WE’RE NUMBER ONE!
love places like that, very small menu that left you with almost no choice which is good! and you’re served with a quality meal in return, lobster on the menu certainly helps!
Totally and utterly 100% loved this place. Had the lobster and now cannot wait to try the lobster roll! Great review.
Fuck a duck! Fucking lobsters! Wahey!! Thomas, shall we go together? Whaddya say, you big old bastard?
Went here on Wednesday, had to stop myself from going again on Friday as I was in town! Flipping amazing, the luxury of having a whole lobster to yourself and a good sized one too for this price is astounding. Very fresh and well cooked I even found the chips to be really crisp delicious. What’s the opinion? Some sort of dripping? Or just double cooked?
My companion had the roll and it looked really good too, but I would have had to have ordered 2.
This place is so good there is a temptation to not tell anyone so you can keep all the lovely lobsters to yourself! In fact…. Don’t go you’ll hate it! 😉
Here’s hoping that the price point is sustainable!
no such thing as a 20 pound lobster roll that doesn’t contain a whole lobster that’s good value. sorry. it may be good. but better to fly to boston and eat to your heart’s content. heck, even new york. come to think of it, there is no cuisine in london (save maybe indian and maybe, maybe british) where i don’t feel ripped off when i go out to eat in this city. at least it’s central and english-speaking, though, since new york doesn’t cut it for travel.
Thomas- your comment was pathetic…seriously get a life.
I bloody LOVE this place and I love you kang! Your writing style is witty and engaging and JESUS CHRIST your photos are FANTASTIC!!
thanks for the post! paid a visit last weekend but was somewhat disappointed with the lobster roll. great new layout btw!
lobster burger. yup, that looks delicious. good prices too
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Please keep the swearing, and the chatty writing style. I hate reading stuffy, snobby restaurant reviews, they make me want to self-harm! Thomas Moore… get a life!
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Great review! Keep up the good work.
@Thomas Moore – I recognise that tone – I grew up in the “801”, through no fault of my own. I left, am never going back. I know the plan is to take over the world with your version of life, little by little. You got beat back in the last election, though. Telling others how to write, how to behave, that’s not cool, and it’s called fascism – no need for it here.
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