The Lobster Pot

Being a resident of Kennington, I couldn't resist a visit to the Lobster Pot, something that I have been meaning to do for some time.

My friend and I went for dinner a couple of weeks ago and we both had the eight course tasting menu, which was excellent.

The courses ranged from pate to lobster to steak (optional - you are asked at the point of ordering whether you would like meat to be included) and the desserts were lovely.

The decor is great with a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Furthermore, the staff are excellent and the food really is brilliant.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone and I will be back.
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Sarah Dennis
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, February 14, 2008

I'm writing this as I think many of the comments below are unfair. I was not asked to write it.

The restaurant is family run by the French chef. On the night I went the service was very good - they were all French and one waitress' English was not so good, but *most importantly* her attitude was friendly and helpful. Better that then surly waiters.

I had the 8 dish taster menu and enjoyed all except one. I think that is a pretty good strike rate.

Moreover, the chef came out, checked we enjoyed our meal then ate in the restaurant when he'd finished work.
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mononoke
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 09, 2008

i completely agree with what the people who represent the lobeter pot had to say, I mean once you complain about a dish and they offer you two choices being a new free dish or two free glasses of champagne and when you choose a new dish which is FREE OF CHARGE, you cannot expect to recieve the glasses of champagne on top to make amends! and as a matter of fact, i know this by experience because i once wanted to change my mind about a main course in another restaurant and they said they had already started cooking because its less time the customer has to wait but when you ask for a dish, of course you are going to have to wait! AND they have other customers to deal with. Also if you read the review that they were arguing about, they dont specify if they paid the service charge. I in fact feel sorry for these failing restaurants as they try to make amends and keep the customer happy but they just go on and write a bad review!

I went not some time ago and it was fantastic..the service was even better than expected and i loved the little explanation about the cheeses ant their history by the manager. food was good and filled me up! (which i like!) and atmosphere although very strange at first seemed to mellow the evening out. If in my lifetime i were to ever get high on drugs i would compare that to an evening at the lobster pot.....its addictive!!!!!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Saturday, January 26, 2008

THIS IS A COMMENT BY THE LOBSTER POT RESTAURANT OWNERS AS WE FEEL THE REVIEW OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 05, 2007 IS NOT JUSTIFIED.

We have been running this restaurant for over 16 years, and I can assure you we wouldn't be writing this review if the review was justified.

I recall this customer very well as I was the manager in charge at the time.

The lobster tail salad was very good value, for the size and quality of the dish. This was a starter portion so the lobster tail would be fairly small. The dish also contained samphires (seaweed salad) which doesn't come cheap. And finally the dish also contained caviar which everyone would know definitely know doesn't come cheap. You may have noticed the customer didn't not mention the price, it was only £11.50 !!!

In regards to the bouillabaisse, we have been selling bouillabaisse (our signature dish) for the last 16 years and have received numerous reviews from professional critics commenting how wonderful the bouillabaisse is. And every time we serve the bouillabaisse we warn the customers it would be hot, and as it was I who personally who served the bouillabaisse I did warn him. He assumed the dish was overcooked even though he didn't TASTE the fish, just the fact that the dish was hot he assumed it was overcooked, personally I believe it is best to serve a dish hot and not warm/cold.

Since the chef at the time checked the dish and found it to be cooked to perfection. I personally offered one of two choices, a different dish or two complimentary glasses of champagne.

I had mentioned before he ordered another dish that the bouillabaisse is the longest dish to cook and will take approximately 15-20 minutes as we cook all our produce from fresh, and a stew is known to always take time. Whereas every other dish would take 5-8 minutes to cook. He chose to take the bouillabaisse again!!!

If he wanted his food any faster he is better off going to a fast-food outlet where food is cooked 3-5 hours in advanced.

Again he was still not happy with the bouillabaisse, YET he finished it !!!... And I didn't charge the dish to the bill. Even though I didn't charge the bouillabaisse, he still wanted to pay less for the service.

I feel that we restaurants are falling victim to people who will do anything to get away with a CHEAP MEAL!!! While at the same time ruining the reputation of restaurants.
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lobster pot restaurant - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Friday, November 16, 2007

I went here for my friends birthday and have nothing but postive things to say about this venue.

The food was great, the service was excellent and there was some fabulous entertainment.

It was a nice change to go to a venue that looks after you as a customer so well and in a such friendly fashion.

I was recommend this restaurant and can't wait to go again...
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Kerry
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

As committed fish-eaters, I'd been wanting to try the Lobster Pot for quite a while, but after our recent visit, don't anticipate going back.

We both chose the lobster tail salad, which was tasty, but I have never seen such a small , almost non-existent salad . I chose brochettes of tuna and grouper, which was fine, but nothing exceptional, and my partner chose the bouillabaisse, one of his favourite fish dishes..

His dish ( the food and the contents) were burning hot - some may see this as a plus, but he burnt his mouth, plus he was certain the whole thing had been over-cooked. A replacement was offered but he had to wait 15 mins, during which time of course I finished my dish. He wasn't much convinced by the replacement either ! But ate it ( helped by me). They could have offered us a glass of wine to make amends, ( of course we'd finished our bottle during the long wait) but didn't, so we paid and left at the end of our main course. A shame, as it was meant to be a posh night out. For over £100, there are other places we would have had a better experience. The fun decor was ok.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Monday, November 05, 2007

I don't normally write reviews for these kinds of websites but the chef asked me to as he said he had received some bad reviews from a couple of female diners which he considered unfair.

We were a big crowd (6) and so we managed more or less to eat our way through the entire menu. I concluded that this is good restaurant providing good reasonably priced fish dishes. There is enough (largely successful) experimentation here to hold the interest of a seasoned diner like myself: a crab salad served with mango, for example, was interesting and worked; on the other hand, a dish of langoustines in a bland coconut sauce with added curry powder did not. There are also enough classically conceived dishes to keep those who like their fish fresh and largely untampered with: lobster grilled with garlic butter was exactly as delicious as it should be; grilled langoustines were a significant improvement on the curried ones; a simple skate with brown butter and capers was fine. In terms of qualty, I'd put it somewhere between Livebait and Bentley's - probably on a par with FishWorks. The dishes were priced fairly: 5-9 for a starter, around 15 for a main. Lobster tracking the Bank of England as usual.

Service (which is not particularly an issue for me unless something desperately bad happens) was relaxed, helpful and came with a smile and a joke. It's not one of those places where you get your napkin refolded for you while you go to the toilet, but that kind of thing irritates me anyway. Nothing was spilled on me and no-one had any trouble understanding my English.

Décor (also not an issue for me) is unusual and a draw for some people. I understand it's a good place to celebrity-watch as well.

Enjoyed myself and can't see why you shouldn't give it a try and see what you think.
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David Stewart
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Saturday, July 21, 2007

Having heard excellent tales of this restaurant; we were overall extremely disappointed. The service was appalling and the waiter did not understand much English, not to mention being clumsy and spilling everything over our neighbours.. My fruit de mer was good, but no better than you would get in somewhere like Livebait. My companion opted for rack of lamb as a main; but was served a lamb kebab and was not told that rack of lamb had ran out. We were eating quite early and despite their apologies were not impressed with their lack of basic customer service. The chef should not have accepted the order for a dish that they did not have...! His excuse was that they had had two tables cancel and it was not a good day for him (! Not our problem.! )

The skate was Ok but too much butter .

Refused to pay the service charge and the untouched lamb kebab was not charged for.

Not returning - Bentleys next time.
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Halley White
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I'd have to agree with most reviews on here.

This restaurant is "OK" - it is unusual and very small and the atmosphere is quite good, but the food is very expensive considering what you get.

I would not recommend spending that kind of money on this place, to be honest.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Friday, May 18, 2007

I was a bit disappointed. I thought the food was OK without being anything special and certainly not good enough to warrant the prices. It's certainly a charming little venue, but the staff are a bit glum looking and the atmosphere is slightly subdued. The mussels were pretty good, the rest was only average. They had no lobster on our visit.
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Mat
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Sunday, March 18, 2007