I get quite emotional about food. That’s a thing, right? Feeling genuinely thrilled at the thought of consuming certain dishes, moderately overcome with bliss while eating them and quite upset when the plate is clean. On the flipside, slight letdowns on a meal can evoke equally powerful responses. I recently embarked on a culinary adventure in avocado sauce for courgetti, the result of which I nearly shed a tear over, until the antidote of pesto pasta was offered. Quite right, too.
Yes, I’ve quite an emotional investment in my daily diet – and with it comes a mental filofax of food experiences. Generally these fall into ‘EXCELLENT’, ‘AWFUL’ and ‘meh’. Those at either end are the most memorable, and equally tend to have been tried as the result of there being a buzz around them. One of these such items, was a lobster roll.
My first of these delectable (and they are delectable) creations was had at Burger & Lobster. Yes, I know – the restaurant is now not so trendy, albeit, have you ever been in the past two years and not had to queue? So popular is it now that you can still expect as much of a wait as any Shoreditch pop-up, whether you’re at the branch in Soho or in the City. They’ve got something right here, and whilst I am tempted to say it’s down to garlic butter (for your fries, in the brioche, on the brioche, etc) of course in truth it is as simple as this: lobster, for £20.
It doesn’t take long for food trends to take hold, be that in London or anywhere else. I only have to flick onto my Instagram or Pinterest feed to see that it is just that – a feed; images of the most divine bakes and dishes from the latest openings. Quality and the desire for it in our ingredients is definitely on the up, but combine that with our growing affection for street food, and it’s not an overwhelming surprise that lobster rolls, in all their buttery goodness, have taken hold.
“Lobster restaurants & shacks, like those found in Maine in the US, are springing up all over the UK,” Maisie Denning, Marketing Manager at Burger & Lobster tells me. “Our goal with Burger & Lobster was to make an inaccessible product accessible, and Smack (the new lobster-devoted hangout in Soho, discussed below) was a fabulous opportunity to create an authentic Lobster Roll shack, like those that exist back in our fishing towns in Nova Scotia. This is fast food, at it’s freshest.”
Add to that the luxury element of the shellfish, and lobster might be the most instagrammable food around right now, taking top trumps for taste, aesthetic and cool-points. It’s like the contemporary floor at Harvey Nichols; a modern bridge between high-street and high-end for the foodies. Well done lobster.
There are plenty of places in London now to get your hit of the good stuff, whether you head to the big players or pretty much any street food market. But having put in the research, there are a few recent openings that are really killing it. London, this is your lobster zeitgeist – and here is where to revel in it.
The New Favourite: Smack Lobster Roll Deli, Soho
I told you Burger & Lobster were onto a good thing. This year the chain opened a smaller deli on Dean Street, Smack, devoted entirely to Lobster wares – think five flavours of lobster rolls (we love the California, for the avo-factor), four lobster salad varieties and a lobster chowder. There are also courgette fries, which make for an overwhelmingly less guilty treat, but fail to hide that there was likely some tactical trend forecasting at play. Smack knows you’re going to want to spend money here, by my goodness, it’s worth it.
The New Hipster Hangout: Lobster Bar, Hackney
If there was ever proof for the democratisation of lobster, it’s Lobster Bar, sitting just a stone’s throw from Broadway Market in London Fields. Designed for casual all day dining, the option take-away and a twist on the traditional BBQ, Lobster Bar offers pretty much what it says on the tin. Don’t expect flair here, but do expect honest, well-sourced ingredients and excellent food in the heart of East London. Oh, and a great cocktail menu.
The Street Food Favourite
I’m a big fan of friday nights spent at street food fests, and there’s always a go-to for me: Bob’s Lobster. Some might call it unadventurous, I say, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Describing themselves as “delightfully convenient, bourgeois dining on a paper plate,” the lobster rolls are seriously good here, and are more often than not served up by and entertaining group of lads out of a VW camper van. Top tip: the crab rolls are equally on a parr.