Burger & Lobster, Cardiff restaurant review - menu revamp

It’s finally happened, Burger & Lobster Cardiff is the first in the chain to break away from their restricted menu of three items which all cost £20.

The writing has been on the wall for a while - I’ve had umpteen outraged comments about their awesome yet eye-wateringly expensive burger and when I visited on a bank holiday recently the restaurant was only a third full.

The £8 British beef burger

Now, it looks like Burger & Lobster have found the recipe for success with an expanded menu of lobster and beef dishes and far more accessible price points (including an £8 burger - that's more like it!).

Interestingly, the original burger, lobster & lobster roll all remain on the menu. But, the lobster and lobster roll have increased in price to £24 and £23 respectively whilst the burger has decreased to £15 - proof if ever it was needed that burger eaters were previously subsidising the lobster munchers.

On my visit I managed to put a good range of the new menu through its paces.

A B&L Iced Tea (£3) was an awesomely refreshing combination of Earl Grey, watermelon and lemon.

Onto the food and a trio of staggeringly good dishes stood out from the rest.

The smack brisket roll (£8) saw a delightfully crisp and sweet toasted brioche roll stuffed with shreds of tender 12-hour smoked brisket, lightly picked onions and gherkins (which deftly balanced the richness of the beef), and burger sauce.

The British beef burger (£8) is cracking value for money and arguably Cardiff’s finest (that is if you don’t want to pay £15 for B&L's Nebraskan beef burger). A perfectly medium-cooked juicy patty was served in a first-rate toasted brioche roll and joined by oozing savoury blue cheese, crisp bacon, pickles, salad and a slightly unnecessary sweet tomato relish.

Lobster Mac n Cheese (£5) is the kind of dish I’d happily mainline into one of my veins. The comforting pasta was bathed in a cream sauce heady with shellfish intensity and flecked with lobster meat. A layer of molten cheese completed the picture.

A seven samurai brioche lobster roll (£15) was filled with a generous quantity of lobster meat in a light wasabi mayo alongside cleansing white cabbage and cucumber. It was lush, but give me the £8 burger or brisket roll anytime.

Chunky chips with strings of melty cheese (£4) were crisp and fluffy - a decent example of their type.

Finally, a crazy blooming onion (£4) saw a lightly-battered whole onion with a potent garlic mayo.

Dessert was always Burger & Lobster’s weakest suit so thankfully they’ve revamped the offer here too. Arguably, the puddings still don’t match the very high standard of the mains.

A good almond-rich warm Bakewell tart (£5) was served with raspberry coulis and a vanilla-rich creme anglaise. However, the sponge was a touch heavy and the custard a touch too thin.

A sharing meringue (£8) was not for the faint-hearted. The ginormous meringue was served with a historically good combination of soft-serve vanilla ice cream, fragrant mint and fresh raspberries. The dessert would have been improved further with a lighter and chewier meringue.

I loved Burger and Lobster before their revamp but couldn’t justify visiting regularly to eat their £20 burger. Now, I think they’re going to have to reserve a regular table just for me.

Disclosure - I was invited as a guest of Burger & Lobster, all food and drink was complimentary

The Details:
Address - Burger and Lobster Cardiff, Unit 29-11 The Hayes Cardiff CF10 1AH
Web - http://www.burgerandlobster.com/home/locations/cardiff/the-hayes/
Telephone - 02920224044