Lobster In London

[suzi]

A friend of mine really wants to take his new girly to eat lobster in London (!) Where would people recommend for a fantastic lobster experience?

[Tony Finch]

Well it was a lobster dish at Embassy that caused all the kerfuffle as reported in TheObserver and discussed on these boards.

They do two lobster dishes there-Newburg and American(or is it Armoricaine,I never know) I happen to think that generally lobster is  overrated and tasteless but I was sorely tempted by the Embassy menu descriptions.

Otherwise I'd stick to a specialised fish/seafood restaurant.

[Jon Tseng]

Head for the Mandarin Kitchen on Queensway

the lobster + noodle base is legendary - prices hangs around twenty five quid (which works out at about twelve quid for a lobster lunch - decent value). pls cos every other table orders it they get through loads - so you know the crustaceans haven't been sitting around in a tank for weeks.

rest of the food okay but nothing to write home about.

cheerio

j

[Simon Majumdar]

The best lobster ( although I am with tony on this ) is to be found at J Sheekeys.  Not fooled around with in any way, served simply with drawn butter and lemon.

If your friend and his new squeeze are lobster fans, then there is no other way to have it

S

(Edited by Simon Majumdar at 8:31 am on Jan. 18, 2002)

[Jon Tseng]

simon what about the city rhodes lobster thermidor? how does it compare?

[suzi]

Someone in my office has suggested Vertigo in the (we think) Natwest Tower. I have heard some dreafult hings about this place...Anyone eaten there? I know it has the best view of London (allegedly)

[Simon Majumdar]

Jon

The Lobster thermidor at RitS was superb and the lobster was in no means smothered.  I don't think it quite counted as I suspect ot would have been quite outstanding as a Haddock dish or even a monkfish dish.  The lobster added a depth to an already classic dish

Suzi - Avoid Tower 42 as if it were a pool of rancid vomit, which ironically would probably be the result of eating there

S

[Jon Tseng]

went to twenty four - the restaurant halfway up - last year (is this the same one? know there is also a bar on top floor)

fairly decent posh food ie well cooked, fancily stacked etc. convenient if you need to find somewhere 'destinationy' at short notice in the evening - as its a City place evenings should be fairly easy to book. but as its a city place pricy - for that money you could do city rhodes (if you wanna forgo the view)

[Andy Lynes]

Quote: from Tony Finch on 12:40 pm on Jan. 18, 2002

I happen to think that generally lobster is  overrated and tasteless....

You may have noticed that the "new" recieved wisdom is that crab is better than lobster, so maybe it's not so overated any more, at least by chefs who are interviewed or are on the telly. Lobster killed and immeadiately cooked will have a pronounced, rich and noticably sweet flavour. It is not something however that I would normally go out of my way to order.

[Jon Tseng]

I remembe reading (rick stein i think) the comment that if crab came out in nice easy-to-present chunks it would cost at least as much as lobster - i think there is some mileage in the argument that part of lobsters premium is that is a whole tail is a #### sight more presentable than a scruffy pile of crabmeat... personally its as down to the quality of the beast as much as its genus - a top-quality crab is going to taste better than a lobster thats been sitting around in a tank for a weak digesting its own flesh...

not that have had much chance to mess with either given the extortionate prices in the uk. still wanna go on holiday to boston and eat cheap lobster for a week.

dungeness crab was Ū.99 a pound in san fran. live. luck b*stards.

j

[Tony Finch]

Are some types of lobster supposed to be better than others,like oysters or caviar and so on?

I ask because while I was eating my 5th freshly killed lobster in a 5th seafood diner on Cape Cod last year it suddenly dawned on me that,apart from all the faff of eating the bloody things,they actually tasted of...well not much more than the melted butter and lemon they were served with.I tried again towards the end of the holiday,but I just wasn't able to 'get it'.Can anyone tell me what I'm missing?

[stephen wall]

Aren't Maine lobsters supposed to be the best?Also the ones from Brittany are supposed to be good.On the question of Lobster restaurants,Le Divellec in Paris is exceptional.

[Lord Michael Lewis]

Maine lobsters are plentiful but not good. Their reputation is based on their hardiness which makes them popular with restauranteurs. The best by miles are hens from the west coast of Ireland these are the ones that end up in the best restaurants and are a quite different variety than their US and Canadian cousins.

[Steve Klc]

LML especially but others, too--what about the famed blue lobsters of Brittany?  I've never had them, but a recent show on the US Food Network had an extensive piece on them--and the one chef in the US who can get his hands on them, Laurent Tourondel at Cello in NYC.  Have you ever had them and are they worthy?

[Simon Gittins]

I bought some live lobsters in the market at St Malo last summer and they were very fine - sweet and succulent.  But I think they suffered somewhat by being pretty moribund.   The odd lobster I have bought in England also suffers from its near-death state. Nothing still beats my experiences with New England lobsters bought straight from the sea which were fighting and kicking as they went into the pot, which is I think the most important factor.  Maybe (pace Lord Michael Lewis above) if I had every experienced a properly cared-for Eastern Atlantic lobster I would think differently.

BTW I find the notion of eating lobsters in restaurants in the various French styles (Americaine, Thermidor etc) do it absolutely no favours.  It is best eaten very simply with just butter or lemon.