Burger & Lobster

A friend wanted to tried this place after visiting another restaurant in a different country. Despite being after Christmas, we couldn’t get a seat until 8.30pm! When I went in, it was busy but not packed but I still had to wait around the bar area and then had a choice of seats when it was 8.30pm.
A couple of our drinks was either not right or had an ingredient missing. We only complained about the cocktail as my friend was happy with his beer despite that not being the beer that we ordered.
So, we sat at our table and no one came to serve us. There were plenty of people (staff) milling around, none of them seem competent. Some were casually dressed, others had stripey aprons. We managed to get a waiter and I told her that we hadn’t eaten here before. Basically there are no menus. You either pay £20 for either a burger or lobster or the combo is £30. There is no kids menu so some adults had to share their food and I didn’t even know they did dessert until I saw the pictures on Unilocal.Even though they knew we were sharing, we didn’t get enough bibs.
We chose the lobster which was grilled and it actually tasted good and the burger was a bit of a soggy mess.
For the price we paid, especially for the burger, this review gets 2 and a half stars. Definitely will not be in a rush to come back here again. Not a great experience.

Everything has been great on two recent visits. The staff must be the friendliest in Manchester, the quality and pricing of the food is amazing — £20 for a whole lobster, a lobster roll or a burger and a drink (including alcohol) or a dessert. The venue is very popular with Manchester’s Chinese community, who really know their seafood.

Burger, lobster roll or lobster.
We came with a group of 7. Everything was ordered and everything was enjoyed! Didn’t try and cocktails unfortunately.
Recommended place. Very cool with tunes like Ja Rule on in the background.
Easy for groups as its £20 per meal — easy!

After hearing raving reviews about the London branch, i was excited to hear that they were also opening up a restaurant in Manchester.
Me & my friend decided to go for the burger & lobster combo meal which also came with a side of fries. The portion size was very generous & after never eating lobster before, i was pleasantly impressed with the taste.
The service was relatively quick considering it was a busy Saturday afternoon. The one thing that left a sour taste in my mouth was that only on our way out of the restaurant, we became aware that with our combo meal we were also entitled to a desert which was included in the price. No member of staff made us aware of this which i thought was very poor.
A nice change in terms of somewhere to eat however i won’t be in a hurry to rush back.

I am visiting for business from Hawaii and decided to treat myself to lobster so I found this place on Unilocal and gave it a try. The restaurant was nice and I opted for the smallest of the «big boy» lobsters at 2 kilos and at a cost of £88. Unfortunately the lobster, which I had half grilled and half steamed, was very tough and not sweet at all. Very disappointing.

My friend and I were eager to try this place, a full lobster for 20 quid!?! We had to give it a go.
There’s no delicate way of eating lobster when served in the shell, so I was grateful for the bib protecting my work clothes, and a hefty wet wipe for afterwards.
We both opted for the full lobster, grilled (I find steamed to be less flavourful), with the garlic butter sauce. The food is served on a tray with shoestring fries, dressed side salad, and sauce boat with your halved lobster. We were also provided with a seafood pick and claw crackers to get every morsel of tasty flesh out of the shell. As my friend has never had lobster before I was glad that the claws were pre-​cut to aid cracking, and a seafood pick is essential for getting all the tasty claw meat!
Boy was it tasty, the lobster was cooked perfectly for me, my only gripes were that I’d have preferred less dressing on my salad, and the drinks were a little pricey. Overall this place is straightforward and fun, I think £20 for a burger is a bit steep though, and there’s no vegetarian option (clue’s in the name).

I couldn’t wait to try Burger and Lobster since they opened in MCR. I enjoyed it massively when I visited in London and I was banking on the experience being the same and the food being just as amazing. I was right.
How it works:
You pay £20 and for that you get either a Burger or a Lobster. Simple.
— The burgers are a 10oz beef burger served either plain from the grill or with bacon and /​or cheese.
— The lobster is a 1.5lb whole lobster served either steamed or steamed and finished off on the grill with lemon and garlic butter.
— They also do a lobster roll — cold lobster meat dressed in a Japanese mayo serviced in a warm toasted brioche bun.
All dishes are served with French fries and a side salad.
3 of us opted for grilled lobster and my dad went for the burger.
The food was fantastic and just as I remember — the lobster was perfectly cooked, halved, in the shell and the fries were fab, especially dipped in the garlic butter sauce provided for the lobster. I fastened my bib, yes BIB, around my neck and Neil C. had to help me out to crack open those lobster claws.
The restaurant is HUGE! and the tables are really spaced out perfect for two people or equally as perfect for a large party or group. Can’t fault the staff here either! We were squeezed in for a table on a very busy Saturday night thanks to Twitter and they looked after us very well! Cocktails are amazing too

Burger & Lobster was just OK.
To start I had a cocktail which was called Ab Fab, which had rose wine in it among other things and which I thought was delicious. Other cocktails around the table received mixed reviews. All beer seemed to be enjoyed, although it was a bit steeply priced.
On to the food. It’s a pretty simple concept: you get a lobster, a burger, or a lobster roll with fries and salad. My boyfriend and I got a burger and a lobster to share, which conveniently came pre-​halved on separate plates. My first impression of the burger was that it was falling apart. This might have been related to it being cut in two, I don’t know? The meat really couldn’t hold its own against the bread though and it was a bit of a disaster. It tasted good though. It won’t feature in my top 5 but it was tasty. The half lobster was good and I managed through sheer determination to get a decent amount of meat from it. Fries were fine, again they wouldn’t be in my top 5 but no complaints.
None of the desserts appealed to me so I had a glass of prosecco instead. I think as a table we managed to order all of the desserts on offer and when they arrived they looked a bit sad to me — a bit like something you’d get at Burger King.
Overall I won’t rush back but I would happily go again at some point, mainly to try the lobster roll.

Well this was my favourite place to eat this week. I know there are similar places in the Big Smoke and the Big Apple and now in our very own king street Manchester.
So on entering you can’t help but be impressed by the array of lobster tanks with all our little mates having a nice swim about. There are some huge mo fo creatures. Very impressive. We didn’t need to book and quickly seated. It’s quite dark has a real Castro feel. There was drinks menus which helpfully had cocktails and drinks to match Burger or Lobster. Clever as that’s the name of the restaurant. There was no food menus. In fact the waiter introduces himself as the menu. In essence it was a burger or a lobster. Grilled or boiled. The lobster that is lol with fries. A small salad and a sauce. You could also have a sharing platter which included both and a desert.
I opted for grilled lobster. It came in less than 5 mins after the drinks. It was absolutely delicious. You also got a little bib. A cleansing towel and a funny little lobster digger to make sure you missed out on no meat.
Our waiter was attentive but not too fussy. Explained everything. Was helpful. And responsive.
Each meal is £20 each plus drinks. Absolute bargain. I would highly recommend this. They can also accommodate large groups and do some of the larger lobsters up to £100. To filling for me
Only thing I would watch out for is they add service and I was about to tip in cash after I had already paid by card.

The décor & everything about the place was spot on, other than a few blips of asking for a drink & it not showing up the service was excellent, everyone was very polite & well mannered.
The problem I have is you only have 4 choices, of items all of which I saw as being massively overpriced. I stuck with the burger as never having lobster I didn’t want to risk not liking it. £20 for a burger, I want it too taste absolutely amazing, this did not. I haven’t lived in Manchester long so I haven’t tried the other burger joints yet, so I can’t compared, but in my opinion this is worth £10-£12 max & that’s a push as you only get the equivilent a medium fries from McDonalds & a little bit of salad.
Drinks wise I don’t see the point in ²⁄₃ of a pint, I would of been happier paying an extra £1 or so more for a full pint which would of been about right for that sort of establishment, one of the party had a glass of wine that cost £6.50 that’s was very disappointing, you could buy better wine at Aldi for less & get the bottle.
My one big thing with upmarket restaurants is toilets, if they’re clean & always smell nice you know its a good place but they rather small for the size of the restaurant & smelt funny which put me off, I don’t know about the ladies as none of them made comments (probably all too busy taking pictures lol)
As I said overall it was an enjoyable night being in such a large party the staff was always around checking everyone had drinks & was happy, just a few members of the group felt it was expensive for what you get. I won’t be going back in a hurry but I’m sure I’ll return to try the lobster at some point

I was lucky enough to come during the soft launch of Burger & Lobster — so free food! (Actually, I was lucky to go twice but more of that later!).
There were 8 of us so we got one of the big circle tables. The restaurant is massive! I am wondering if they were be able to fill the restaurant once the initial hype has passed. I did like the décor overall though and the little features like the lobster pots and the neon lights above the kitchen — like the Joy Division album cover. Although one thing I found odd about the restaurant was to access the kitchen, they went into the «outer door» of the womens toilers.
Anyway, back to the dining experience. After we were shown to the table, it seemed like we were ignored. I expected someone to explain how it all works etc. Maybe because not all of our party had arrived they were waiting until everyone arrived? But it would have been nice if someone had said something. At the very least, ask if we want drinks.
It was 20 minutes after sitting down and one of us had to get someones attention to take drinks order.
Unfortunately, throughout the night, the drinks order seemed to be all over the place a bit with wrong drinks arriving or drinks taking ages. Soft launch teething problems?
Food wise, you had a choice of either lobster (steamed or grilled), burger, a combo (lobster and burger) or a lobster roll. Also found out later there was a lobster mac and cheese option although that may just be lunch?
I went for the combo (which you have to share with someone). I think waitress said that it would be a burger each and half a lobster. Pretty sure she asked each of us how we wanted burger cooked. However, when it arrived, we had half a burger each. It was a pretty good burger, juicy but there are so many burger options in Manchester and ones which are better. Also, even with the burger being a large 10 oz burger, can’t see many people at all ordering just a burger.
I had the lobster steamed, which I heard was the best option and it was nice and moist and tasty — although I much prefer lobster when I have it in Chinatown and its with noodles and garlic and spring onions etc.
Whether you have the lobster, burger, combo or the roll, it comes with a salad and some fries. The fries are pretty standard. Unfortunately the fries are not unlimited. Unlike Steak & Lobster — which is a similar sort of thing — actually so similar that some people ended up going there by mistake — which is why they were late ;) :)
For dessert, I went for the strawberry cheesecake mousse which was pretty nice. It was a little strange how the desserts came in cardboard or plastic tubs.
For drinks, I had the mint collins which was nice and also had some Asahi beer — one of my favs.
So overall, the food was pretty decent but the service was hit and miss. The miss mainly being the seemingly being ignored for that 20 minutes.
Now that was my 1^st experience at Burger & Lobster. My 2^nd experience was the following day. My friend texted me if I wanted to go to Burger & Lobster as someone couldn’t make it — I wasn’t going to say no! There were just 2 of us and the service was much better. The welcome at the reception was, like previous day, friendly and we were shown to our table which was actually right at the front. Within a coupe minutes, the waitress came to our table to explain the menu etc. Then after a few more minutes she came back and took drinks order.
I went for the combo again but this time had the lobster grilled. It tasted good but just not quite as juicy when it was steamed. The burger this time though, instead of being half a burger, was a full burger. Maybe it was a mistake yesterday to get half. This was the soft launch so its OK — probably they are fine tuning things. Unfortunately, like Jess mentioned, the burger bun just fell apart as you were eating it. Maybe the bread choice is wrong. Also, maybe not helped when it gets a bit soggy with the juices/​sauce and the burger patty being large? I had to resort to using cutlery to eat it — which just seems wrong!
For dessert, I went for the Eton mess. It was pretty good. The ice cream was (this sounds stupid to sell) really cold. Brain freeze! Just like 1^st time, the desserts came in cardboard/​plastic tubs.
So my 1^st experience I would have given it 3.5 (if half marks were possible) but experience 2^nd time ups it to a 4.
One final thing to mention is that their lunch deal is half a lobster with fries and salad for £10. Good deal.

I’ve been putting off writing this review as I couldn’t decided between 3 or 4 stars. Due to the food being free — holla at me soft launch lovers — I’m going with 3…
We were slightly early for our table so got asked to wait at the bar with one of those buzzers that lets you know when your table is free: very Frankie & Benny’s a la the early 2000s. The man we spoke too did seem overwhelmed and a bit lost without the support of his colleague, who was on the phone at the time. The barman was very friendly and eager to help us decide on what to drink and it was barely 5 minutes before our table was ready.
Upon sitting down, our waitress came over very quickly to introduce herself and explain our options for the evening. Here’s where you really see the benefit of going to a restaurant on a soft launch: burger; lobster; lobster roll; lobster mac & cheese; or the combo, with both the burger and half a lobster. We obviously went for the latter to really make the most of the experience — plus a side of mac & cheese on recommendation!
The burger was good but the bun fell apart almost immediately so required cutlery not long after arriving. As inexperienced lobster eaters, we started to crack in blindly and try the meat (do you say meat? Or do you say fish?) It was good — grilled, with the lemon and garlic butter — but I can’t see us taking it on as a frequent dish. The fries were good but the salad was way too bitter for my taste.
Service remained friendly throughout the meal, with drinks coming rapidly and lots of interest in whether we’d enjoyed ourselves.
It was a good experience but, in all honesty, I’d recommend Steak & Lobster — with refills on fries and salad — above returning here in a hurry.

I think I enjoyed Burger & Lobster more than anyone else I tried it with, but I’d agree with all of them that £20 is insane for a burger where you a literally 5 minutes from Almost Famous and the even better (in my opinion) Filthy Cow, the latter coming in at less than half the price. The meat did taste great though.
Lobster wise, the steamed option tasted good to me although I didn’t try that much. I actually opted for the lobster roll which in terms of lobster to mouth efficiency was definitely the best option — it’s a generous portion with substantial soft chunks of lobster. The mayonnaise was nice but overall it would be my personal preference to go for the lobster warm rather than chilled (could they make the lobster roll warm? I would pay £20 without blinking for that…). Having said all this I would have the lobster roll again and recommend you give it a go. I wouldn’t pay £20 for the burger again but would definitely consider £10 for the smaller version at a weekday lunch. Most likely though will return first for the £10 weekday lunch of half a lobster — great value!
It’s a massive restaurant and has a pretty cool décor, the music isn’t offensively loud but the servers struggled to hear our orders. They also didn’t take drink orders at the outset until we basically hurled ourselves at them.
I tried 3 cocktails which became very pricey as these are Manchester House level prices without the fabulous execution. Having said that I enjoyed the orange sherbet margarita and the pecan flip went down well with the bf too. He had a bunch of Runaway beers which he liked but not so much the tiny bottles.
Service was shaky although I was here for the soft opening so it would be surprising if it were perfect. There were several wrong drinks orders. Also the staff generally seemed a bit out of it — overwhelmed perhaps? Let’s hope they tighten it up.

During a restaurant’s soft launch, it’s difficult to provide an accurate picture of how they operate as they’re just finding their feet and getting used to serving customers.
Though the food we had was complimentary, we still paid over £130 for drinks so I’d say we were paying customers tonight and can review accordingly.
The entrance is located at the corner of Brown Street and Chancery Lane (not King Street as advertised). Inside it’s ginormous, a sprawling dining space with large bar, comfortable booths and lots of smaller tables. Word is they could cater for 240 in one go.
As you enter there’s a double rack of aquariums with a couple dozen crustaceans waiting for the inevitable. I know where my food comes from, I’d just prefer that its cousins didn’t watch me as I eat it.
The food options were full lobster, whole burger, half and half or a lobster roll. Coming with fries and salad I was really underwhelmed by how little meat there was on a ¾ lb lobster. The half burger, at a sizeable 5 oz, was juicy but rendered the burger bun far too soggy, plus it was only warm; you’ll be thankful of the plastic bibs and wet wipes. The desserts came in plastic cups which made them look like they were from a frozen food supermarket.
Service was a tad hit and miss, with some drinks taking a while to arrive and a random extra burger brought to the table, but that’s likely to be initial hiccups. Plenty of enthusiasm shown throughout the meal, though.
It was great to see local breweries such as Runaway and Se7en Brothers represented.
So would I pay full price? Alas, no. The lobster roll tasted great from the bite I had and the skinny fries were very decent, but the main offerings, the items that give the place its name, missed the mark for me somewhat. I’d give it some time before I’d return.
Tip: If I was to order the burger again, I’d ask for it to be cooked medium/​medium well, to hopefully reduce the sogginess