Burger & Lobster ends 'no-menu' policy after 1,000 customer emails

Burger & Lobster is ending its 'no-menu' policy after receiving over 1,000 emails asking what it serves.

Since 2011 the restaurant group has offered just three items, a lobster, a burger, and a lobster roll all priced at £20.

There is no physical menu and staff simply describe the dishes to guests on arrival.  

But it seems the gimmick was not clear enough to some customers.

Maisie Denning, head of marketing at Burger & Lobster, said: “Since we opened our doors in 2011, we’ve never had a menu. We do burger and we do lobster, simples. Since day one we’ve been inundated with emails and tweets asking what we serve. After receiving our 1,001th email we just gave in and thought, why not?”

She added that the group were ‘keeping it simple’ but trying to offer more flexibility in portion size and price.

Diners can now choose from two burgers priced at £10 and £16, and four sizes of lobster ranging from £19 to £54.

While the group previously offered no starters, it now serves nuts and olives for £3.50.

Managing director Simon King told BigHospitality last year that the simple menu saved time on staff training and sped up service so orders could be delivered in less than 12 minutes.

“Depending on feedback we'll also have a go at some new flavour profiles through sauces and burger toppings,” said Denning.

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The new menu

London opening

The launch coincides with the opening of Burger & Lobster’s newest restaurant in London’s West India Quay on 2 June.

In celebration of the venue - which will feature two bars and the group’s largest outside terrace to date – the group have renamed the nearby Docklands Light Railway (DLR) as the Burger Lobster Railway (BLR).

Customers who take photographs of the re-branded signs will be given free drinks tokens on the restaurant’s opening night.

It will be the group’s tenth site in the capital and 17th worldwide.

Burger & Lobster has also opened in Mancheser, Bath, Cardiff, New York, Stockholm, Dubai and Kuwait.