Burger and Lobster (London)

Lobsters are pretty common, and are native to UK waters, as they are to the Med, Atlantic, Caribbean, and almost everywhere i think. I know nothing about fishing, but I would assume the species must be slightly different around the world.

I haven't heard much about taste comparisons either between the different regions. Perhaps age, size and freshness are more important?

The best I had was in the Caribbean, we were snorkelling/diving with a guide and caught about 6 massive lobsters, and cooked them immediately on shore. As with any meal, part of the enjoyment was the whole experience, but no restaurant has been able to beat that yet, I think because of the freshness.

Gembellina, I agree with you about the profit issue, I bought 2 live lobsters for new year's eve and paid £32 total. Maybe their pricing is temporary whilst they work out the supply chain, demand, etc? Either way, they can only be buying from a farm. Which brings me to an issue I've never resolved, why do people readily accept farmed meat, but not always farmed fish. Obviously there are different quality farms, but given global population issues, etc, etc, clearly farming is the only sustainable way forward, and hopefully market forces would allow "good" fish farms to differentiate themselves as such.

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Burger and Lobster (London)

Good point! Apologies for dig at 6pm eaters. Have been living/working in Italy for too long, and definitely slipped into the continental fashion of eating quite late.. It's better than Spain at least, I remember working in Madrid and a lot of restaurants not even opening for dinner until 9pm.

The lobsters are Canadian lobsters, so perhaps similarish to the ones in Maine. I was actually surprised the lobster roll wasnt bigger (especially given its price) and more along the lines of the "traditional american" version of the dish to be honest, given the concept and relationship with Goodmans suggests an affinity with the american style.

Anyway, apparently the lobsters are flown live across the atlantic, and kept in fish tanks in the basement. Logistically I was curious to find out more about this (easily 100+ covers a day X 7 days a week = rather a lot of lobsters to fly/ship over the atlantic every week). Presumably they have some arrangement with a lobster farm, which they can scale up if they open more restaurants.

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Burger and Lobster (London)

The lobster was great, and was quite impressed with the whole operation. Expect to see a few of these popping up very soon as it was absolutely packed.

Difficult to argue with the value (in Mayfair that is) of £20 for a whole lobster, chips and salad. We were 4 so had the lobster 3 ways (steamed, grilled, and the roll) and 1 burger. The burger is ok, nothing special at all (I believe pretty identical to £13 Goodman's one), and would definitely never order it again here. For us, the favourite was the steamed lobster, as the grilled was a tiny bit dry in parts (it was 9pm sat night, so could be because they were busy). The lobster roll was pretty tasty too, but clearly had a lot less than a whole lobster in it, and I doubt it was how they do it back in Maine as it had a very light wasabi mayo (or butter) on it. The roll was a brioche-type roll, in that it had a subtle sweetness. Not sure my description makes it sound very appealing, but we all enjoyed it a lot. Dividing it in 4 did not give people much to try though! The lack of starters was fine, but pretty sure they could rustle up a lobster bisque without too much trouble, and given the restaurant's appeal for lobster lovers, I suspect many tables would happily order this (and I think it is a reasonably profitable dish if you are serving up this quantity of lobsters anyway). We semi-joked when we left that we should have got the lobster roll to share as a starter (between 2) and then get a whole lobster each, and on reflection, think that's exactly what we'll do next time.

They comped us 2 desserts as the waitress accidentally spilled a little wine, which was quite nice of her, as none of us were that bothered (maybe a fault of our "englishness" and not wanting to cause a fuss). The desserts were fine, one lime mousse thing, one chocolate mousse thing, nothing too memorable, and were served in paper cups, so had a bit of a mass preparation look to them, but between 4 they disappeared quite quickly.

The booking system is very annoying, but I knew that in advance, so we basically stopped by at 6pm as we were in the West End, then came back at 8.30 when they estimated the table was ready. So despite the (we take no bookings policy) this was apparently what everyone had done. I understand they have such a booking policy to maximise covers (it appeared completely full at 6pm, which to me is a weird time to eat). As all reviewers have noted, the best value, and most popular dish, is the whole lobster, and clearly both the burger and roll are cross subsidising this. I think they could easily keep the menu and pricing simple (and without need for an actual menu, which they seemed very happy with), with £15 for burger, £20 for roll, £25 whole lobster.

Having said, I shouldn't really be complaining there is somewhere charging less than they should for lobster and chips in Mayfair.

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

San Marzano canned tomatoes in uk???

An Italian deli in hampstead (NW London, so not v near Kent I realise) has cans for £1.90, which i suspect might be cheaper than luigis.

http://www.giacobazzis.co.uk

(the website's quite clunky, but it mentions them in the deli section under tomato products)

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Japanese in London

The tasting menu at Roka is pretty good actually. Not cheap though. Nobu's good too. Depends what sort of dinner/evening you're after. Sounds like you want upmarket, trendy and japanese, and these two would be top of my list in that regard.

Umu is supposed to be a similar category to the above also, and in Mayfair. Haven't been yet.

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Oxford area recs.

Should caveat that it's been c.2 years since I and my girlfriend were students there, so may not be super up to date with latest openings. Having said, these were places I liked:

Thai - Chiang Mai Kitchen

Japanese - Edamame (not open everyday)

Sandwich deli - Taylors (there are many, this is one that was near to my college, so ended up being my favourite)

Patisserie - Maison Blanc

Full english breakfast - Jericho Cafe

Country Pub - The White Hart Inn (near Oxford, in Wytham. You can cycle/drive/take a taxi); The Trout is the most popular country pub, and walkable (c.20-30mins from Jericho). Think the Clintons visited, although that doesn't mean the food is fantastic.

More expensive - Gees; Brasserie Blanc

Very expensive - Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons (in Oxfordshire, not Oxford 'city')

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Best Sushi in London 2010

Would add:

Sushi-Say, in Willesden Green
Pham Sushi ,near Old St.

Hoping to try a few of the other recommendations on here when i can.

In terms of 'upmarket/rip-off' category, for those able to go to the occasional work dinner, I'd recommend Roka over Nobu, etc. Had the tasting menu (or whatever they call it) recently and was quite impressed. Think its the same owner as Zuma, but having been to both a few times, think Roka is better.

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Any can't miss suggestions for a vacation to Koh Samui?

Heading to koh samui in 2 weeks, any recommendations would be great..(food and/or sights/beaches)

Have got a couple of names of places, curious if they're worth a visit: Zazen, the Orchid, Charming, Eat Sense, Krua Bophut.

Thanks

mattc666 in China & Southeast Asia

the square or le gavroche for birthday dinner? [London]

Tasting menus at both are excellent. I would marginally favour the square, but there's no real reason for that. Decor at le gavroche is a bit dated. Having said the square has a more contemporary interior but is hardly "fun".

mattc666 in U.K./Ireland

Food Mix week: Per Se, Di Fara's, Momofuku, Katz...

thanks, and yes, di faras was definitely going to be a midweek lunch thing, as i've heard about the queues.

love sushi, and would definitely make for a slightly lighter meal, which i think would be good given everything else is not exactly light.

mattc666 in Manhattan