29 Apr 2014

B.O.B'S & Co

London, UK

B.O.B’s & Co is a pop-up restaurant in the Rising Sun pub near St Paul’s Cathedral. Soon after we heard about it, we gave them a call, and surprisingly it was possible to book tables! They said that they get a lot of walk-ins, as people have become so used to the no-reservation policy in London. We went up the side entrance of the pub, into a warm and cosy space, which had an air of impermanence to it, due to the fake-brick wallpaper and the shared loos. We started with some drinks while looking over the menu. The cocktail list was short but good, with classic drinks such as Negroni and Old Fashioned. We ordered deep fried oysters, tuna sashimi tacos, seared scallops with mushrooms, and of course a lobster roll each. The food arrived very swiftly, and we finished it equally fast. The tuna tacos were so crispy and fresh tasting, and the scallops were perfect. The deep fried oysters were served on a bed of seaweed that the waitress told me was not for eating when she saw me starting to attack it with a fork. I wouldn’t say that fried oysters make for a very flavoursome dish, but it is fun to try as a novelty. The lobster rolls came as our main course with fries on the side. The bread roll was too charred, and they could have held back a bit on the sauce. The lobster meat itself was really good, but overall this lobster roll does not compete with the likes of Burger & Lobster in London or Ed’s Lobster Bar in New York. We did thoroughly enjoy our meal though, and I’d definitely go back. When we had cleared our plates, the friendly waitress described their two desserts of the day, neither of which sounded like our types of sweets, so we decided to have another portion of the amazing tuna tacos to finish off the meal. Our evening was complete when they kindly allowed us to take a pair of their foam lobster claws.