Burger & Lobster, Cardiff - #tanktalks

Last Thursday, the lovely folks over at Burger & Lobster invited me over to sample a few dishes, drink some cocktails and find out a little bit more about them, as part of their #tanktalks series. That's not an offer a girl can turn down.

After a glass or two of prosecco and making our introductions, we got down to business.

Ben, Cardiff's general manager and our fantastic host for the night, launched into an informative chat about lobsters, and specifically, the ones they use at B&L, and how they are treated.

It's fair to say, I learnt quite a lot that night. Did you know, lobsters just keep on growing and growing until death? I've got this image of a monster lobster floating around somewhere in the North Atlantic. They also shed their shells, much like a snake, of which I had no idea either.

Many people have reservations about lobster and they way they are cooked and kept. I've got to be honest, I have wondered how ethical the practices of such a large company could be, with the sheer amount that the number of covers the restaurants demand.

 
B&L fish for their lobster generally from the Nova Scotia/Maine area of Canada/USA. This is because it would be impossible (and a sustainability issue) to fish the amount of lobster required from the UK. There are also very strict laws and regulations surrounding the fishing there, to ensure they are caught in the most ethical and humane ways possible.

The lobster are kept at a certain temperature during transit, so although they are alive, they are in an almost hibernated state. They remain at this state until they get to the restaurant, and placed back into the tanks, where they wake up from their deep slumber.

Ben assured us that the lobsters are cooked in specialised steamer ovens, which knocks the lobster unconscious before they are cooked. None of this boiling pot malarkey!

All this lobster talk had started to make my stomach grumble, and as if on cue plates upon plates of lobster came pouring out of the kitchen. Steamed, grilled, lobster nicoise salad and lobster rolls!

The grilled lobster was my favourite on the night, that chargrilled taste just added something extra. It also went extremely well with the Vinho Verde that Ben had expertly matched with our lobster. My new favourite white wine, with a hint of sparkle.

If you're undecided or new to lobster, the steamed is much purer, with a stronger seafood taste. The grilled lobster loses that seaside salty freshness and is replaced with a chargrilled smokiness, which is no bad thing either.

Trust me, that butter sauce is the absolute bomb. You can dip everything in it, and it makes it all 100% better. Dunk your rolls and chips, and pour onto the lobster, it's heavenly.

A little break was needed to let all that food go down, so we headed over to the bar to watch the master mixologist Luke at work, showing us how to create a Gin Fizz.

We were then challenged to a cocktail competition to make up their newest cocktail, 'Shrubbery' from a set list of ingredients. Fortunately for your poor eyes, I haven't got a good enough picture of my team's effort, because it was dreadful, and we came last!

We admitted defeat and left it to the professionals to show off a little...

(If you can look at this and not sing Shake It Off, we can't be friends)

 Cocktail making is hungry work, right? Time for round two...the burger course.

I've previously said that £20 for a lobster is great value, but that I wasn't so sure for a burger. I take it back, just look at this bad boy.

Medium rare beef patty, smothered in cheese, bacon, tomato, onions, pickles...the list goes on. My pet hate is burgers that you can't get in your gob in one go (I'm looking at you guys who stack onion rings on top five miles high). This one just about got in with a bit of squishing, but it was so worth it. Serious chin dribbling going on though, so you'll need the bibs.

If this one's a bit big for you, just look at these little cuties. From their new kids menu, two itty bitty (my fist sized) sliders with chips would have actually been enough to fill me up.

I'll definitely be going back soon for another burger. In fact, if you're visiting in even numbers, you can go half 'n' half with each other, which I think is the perfect answer to my indecisiveness. I really can't implore you enough to go try it out!

Speaking of which, B&L are hosting a 'Pay What You Want' week, to raise money for Velindre Cancer Care for the five days beginning 6th July. This applies to lunchtimes only, and reservation is a must, so if you want to try these guys out and help a very worthy charity, book a table now in 02920 224044 or email cardiff@burgerandlobster.com.

Not enough Burger & Lobster for you? Have a read about my previous visit here.

Burger & Lobster, Cardiff

Well I'm back! Finally feeling a little more myself after the January tax return onslaught, which is always a smack in the face after the Christmas break! And I've got one more pre-Christmas foodie trip that while I was away I realised that I hadn't shared with you yet.

I'd been pretty excited since I'd heard that the remaining upstairs space of the old Habitat on the Hayes in Cardiff City Centre was to become the home of Burger and Lobster. One of my favourite pastimes is drooling over other food blogs, so I'd heard a lot about the London restaurant, and the whole idea appealed to me so much.

I am a pretty indecisive person, and unfortunately so is Mr P. This generally means a lot of menu staring at restaurants and impatient waiting staff. Here that problem is solved, there's not even a menu. Your waiter will grab your drinks and fill you in.

There's a whole lobster, there's a burger, and there's a lobster roll. And they're all £20.

The only other variation is that you can choose whether your lobster come grilled or steamed. All items come with chips, a side salad and a butter sauce.

Mr P and I both went for the lobster, steamed as recommended by our very helpful waiter.

It arrived extremely quickly, so much so that I was both impressed and a little dubious. There was no need for the hesitation, as it was fantastic! The lobster came halved, and was both meaty and light at the same time. The butter sauce was beautiful and they both went together really well. I imagine that it'd be even better with the lobster grilled, being that bit hotter. Saying that, the chips dunked in it after the lobster had all gone were pretty good too!

The hardest bits were already pre-cracked, so it wasn't to difficult to dig around and get the best bits in the claw. It's so easy, and the staff are so helpful and unpretentious that you don't have to worry about making a fool of yourself. That's what the bibs are for anyway...

Genius idea, as no matter where I am or what I'm eating, some of it invariably ends up on my person somewhere. I thought of of grabbing a couple to just take with me anywhere.

Now, here's the thing. £20 for a whole lobster, is brilliant. Especially as it was so delicious. BUT I don't think I could ever spend £20 on a burger or a lobster roll. It'd have to be something pretty special to even make me ponder it. I suppose it keeps the menu simple, and helps their profits, but it's a little too expensive for me.

Burger and Lobster is achingly cool.  There's a very glamourous bar area in the middle to wait for your tables with a cocktail or two, and a DJ playing live music as you walk in. However, eating in the evening while it was dark outside was pretty interesting. The lighting is sparse in the eating areas, and we seemed to be sat on a table for two in the middle of the room with a spotlight right above us. I felt like I was eating in that certain clothes shop where you queue outside for five hours...

Am I getting old? Maybe. But I wasn't a fan. I'd probably change my mind completely if we were in one of the cwtchy booths at the side, but I felt quite exposed where we were. The lighting also made for awful photos, which were on the sketchy side anyway as I was using the iPhone!

Would I go back? Definitely. I love lobster and think it's great that there's such an accessible place to eat it at such a fantastic price. Not sure if I'll ever fork out for that burger though. Let me know if you do, and if it's worth it!

Cider, Tea, Rum and Crab

On our last day in St Ives, we finally ran out of luck and the clouds and drizzle crept back in. What’s one to do on a day like this?

Visit the cider farm of course!

We huddled back into coats and hoodies and set off to Healey’s Cyder Farm, just outside Newquay. Here, you can wander in and out of the small barns on the farm and poke your nose in on all the busy worker bees bottling and packing the lethal ‘Rattler’ cider.

I couldn’t help but get distracted by all the animals dotted around to pet and dote on…

But the Mr found something else to coo over…

We jumped on the back of a tractor trailer to take a tour of the orchards, and spotted a few other furry beings.

No, not those furry beings.

All that bumping and jiggling around on the tractor had made us hungry however, so we snuck back to the café to sample one very Cornish delicacy that we hadn't yet managed to wolf down.

Cream Tea!

After all agreeing that clotted cream was most definitely meant to be on the bottom, we dusted off our crumbs and headed back for a mid afternoon snooze.

Led by our stomachs once again, we headed back into town to try one place which has been on my radar ever since we decided on our trip. The Rum and Crab Shack.

The name pretty much sums it up. The food revolves around a number of seafood dishes, everything from a spicy gumbo to a whole lobster, and everything in between.

The drinks menu is unrivalled by anything I’ve seen before. There is a set menu dedicated to all the rums available, split into categories such as light, dark and overproof etc. It almost sounds like a challenge to try each one…maybe next time!

For those not quite ready for a rum, there are a number of craft and speciality beers both on tap and bottled, and of course a number of cocktails. I had to try a mojito at the rum shack, after all!

Being my birthday treat weekend, as soon as I saw the menu I knew I was going all out. Steak and ½ lobster for me please! I look pretty happy with it, eh?

Unfortunately the lighting (and maybe the rum) didn’t help my amateur photography, but just look how juicy this steak was!

Everything was cooked to perfection, I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful! The lobster was so meaty and covered in a lovely light butter, and the steak was, quite honestly, the best steak I've ever had in my life. It's going to take one heck of a steak to beat that bad boy.

Being a bit of a veg freak, I loved the fact that the salad was such a main feature of the dish, rather than being an afterthought. It's such a pet hate of mine when a really excellent dish is let down by some wilted leaves from a supermarket bagged salad. But don't panic, there were chips too.

Everyone's food was just as huge as mine, so there wasn't a lot of room for dessert, especially after the morning's cream tea. A digestif however, is always a good idea!

Cheers!

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