The world is against me lately in regards to going for food and writing blog posts about them. First I went to the new BQR Marketplace, kitchen closed. Next, I went to Wishbone, closed. Then I went to Beef & Lobster last weekend arriving at 3.15 not realising they are closed from 3-5.30. Finally, I got to go to B&L yesterday.
As you may or may not know, I’m a huge fan of Oliver Dunne (Eatily, Cleaver East). I’ve been dying to try out his new venture Beef & Lobster since it opened a few months ago. The premise is simple. They serve, you’ve guessed it, Beef and Lobster. It’s located on Parliament Street where Oliver’s Eatily pop up was.
In the evening the menu is quite small only serving 5 dishes. Beef Wellington, Lobster Roll, Rib Eye Steak, The Whole Lobster all for 22e and then Surf & Turf for 35e. The lunch/brunch menu is a bit more varied and myself and LP opted to go for that.
It took LP ages to decide what he wanted. Admittingly not a huge fan of Lobster from having some terrible experiences in the past, he wasn’t sure whether to try it or not. He previously assured me he hated calamari but when he tried it in Richmond he changed his mind as it was cooked properly. He decided to bite the bullet and order the Surf & Turf. I opted for the Lobster curry because it would have been too predictable if I got the Eggs Benedict.
The lobster curry was not what I expected at all. I thought I was getting a curry with some lobster in it. Instead, I got a half lobster with some curry flavouring on top. It was served with a mango and avocado salsa, fries and coleslaw.
I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy it because I did. The flavour was really interesting but there wasn’t much meat in the piece of lobster I was given. I was a bit disappointed by that. I know lobster is expensive and the dish was 15e but I did expect to get a little bit more lobster. The avocado and mango salsa was lovely and the slaw and chips were tasty.
Now here’s where it gets a bit disappointing. As I said, LP got the Surf & Turf with his beef cooked medium rare. If you are going to do only beef and lobster you better do them right. LP’s beef was not medium/rare. It was completely overcooked to the point of being like rubber. From the outside it looked like it was cooked properly but when he cut into it, nope.
I’m a beef snob. If there’s no blood I won’t eat it and I scoff at LP if he ever orders his steak medium. We’re both usually not one to send food back but in this case, it wasn’t edible. He was given a new piece of beef (albeit considerably smaller than the original piece) which was cooked perfectly and an extra portion of chips so it’s not all doom and gloom. If this was any other restaurant I’d be like “hey look, these things happen!” and sucked it up but not if your menu only consists of two items which is why I felt the need to write about it.
He wasn’t sold on the lobster. He thought it was nice but probably wouldn’t order it again.
We also got a portion of Fries with Crispy Beef and Pepper Sauce which I devoured because I was still hungry. They were a decent size and gorgeous.
We just got the one dessert between us. Warm Caramelised Apple Tarte Tatin, Butterscotch Sauce, Vanilla Ice-cream. Can’t really go wrong with an apple Tarte Tatin, can you?
When we initially walked in we saw a sign saying “22e minimum per person” and TBH I thought that was a bit cheeky for lunch. LP was interested in coming back and trying the B&L house tacos (14e) for lunch during the week but not if he has to spend another 8e on something he didn’t really want.
Would I go back to Beef & Lobster? I’d like to try the evening menu but I’m not in a rush to do so. There are so many other places I want to try before I’d go back to B&L.
What did I not like? My small portion and LPs badly cooked beef.
