Londonist recently got invited over to Belgo Centraal to sample its Lobsterfest menu. In general, we're not quite sure what to think about the wacky Belgo franchise but suppose its Centraal location is innocuous enough tucked away there on Earlham Street. Besides, we’re happy to give it up for any restaurant that makes its wait staff dress up like Trappist monks. We approve the list of Belgian beers too.
As for the lobster, yeah, it’s good. The lobster and brandy bisque served with cream and chives for £4.95 is tasty and well accompanied with a basket of rye bread. The lobster salad (whole lobster salad with crisp spring onions, green beans and carrots tossed in a light port and lemon dressing for £16.95) is particularly nice as well, so much so we’d go for it again. Regarding the surf and turf (half a Canadian 1lb lobster, grilled with garlic and Pernod butter served with frites and salad for £16.95, whole lobster for £23.95), we’d advise skipping the turf and to stick to the surf. The steak was pretty mediocre (but we have been lucky lately) and nowhere near as satisfactory as the lobster. We washed our Lobsterfest feast down with the recommended Rodenbach Grand Cru (one of our faves but probably not to everyone’s tastes). It went down exceptionally well with the lobster dishes but for £5.45 seemed kinda expensive.
Lobsterfest is on at all of London’s Belgo restaurants, offering folks a chance to eat some decent lobster until the end of this month.
