Want To Eat Crab Without The Hassle? Scuttle Down To Marylebone Restaurant Fancy Crab
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Love eating crab, but put off by the fiddly process of scooping the meat out of the shell? Purists may scoff, but there's a strong argument against spending more time getting at your food than actually consuming it.
Scuttle forth Fancy Crab — a Marylebone restaurant which does offer a whole crab to crack away at for a cool £99 if you're so inclined, but also serves up its speciality red king crab in a variety of more accessible dishes.
With that promise of hassle-free crab eating, I dive in with some crab bonbons that are the right level of juiciness, even if the accompanying tomato marmalade is a bit too ketchup-like to make this dish stand out. The seared scallops, on the other hand, are a perfect blend of delicate flavours with the dusting of the parsley crumble gently counterbalancing the mollusc's squishy texture.
The Singapore chilli crab main dish brings a heat that really nips at the tongue. The taste delivers, though the chilli does overwhelm the crab at times — always a danger when mixing fiery and subtle ingredients. The king crab burger is a hefty dish, even if it's outshone by the truffle fries that are positively oozing with oil — just the way truffle fries should be.
The dishes at Fancy Crab don't come cheap, with the high prices justified by the fact that they source red king crabs — one of the largest and most valuable king crab species. However, if I compare this dinner to the crab dishes I've had in the past, the crab here really doesn't taste that different. I was expecting the king of crab dining experiences, and I've ended up with a minor royal instead.
Fancy Crab, Marylebone, 92 Wigmore St London W1U 3RD. The meal in this review cost circa £80 for two excluding drinks. We've also reviewed their bottomless brunch and that went down a treat.
Last Updated 11 December 2019
