It may be sacrilege to say it but I think I prefer crab to lobster.
So when I heard that Claw were moving to a permanent place in Carnaby, I knew I had to make a visit. Maybe several.
First I stopped by to try their takeaway crab roll. Packed full of crab, not too heavy on the mayo, it made me firm up my determination to come back for a sit down meal.
Cue one of the hottest days of the year, that I happened to have booked off with my sister, and what better to eat than some lovely, light, fresh seafood. Oh, hello Claw!
We got there after the lunch rush so practically had the place to ourselves. I chose crab beignets and crab salad, my sister had the crab on fries and the gem lettuce with nori dressing.
But we split it, adhering to the sharing plates menu ethos.
I enjoyed all of the dishes but the most disappointing was the beignets which weren't as heavy on the crab as I'd have liked. The surprise hit was the gem lettuce. Served standing up, each layer is coated in a creamy/cheesy nori dressing so you just peel off a leaf and eat. Amazing.
The crab salad was also very good - a fruity and sweet dressing drenched the greens and onion (and a few cheeky grapes too which worked well) and there was plenty of dressed crab. Likewise with the fries - enough crab to go around and they were fine specimens of fries - nice and crispy, that would be perfect with any accompaniment.
