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.
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| The £8 British beef burger |
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
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
