Beast - The Modern Medieval Banquet

Hi guys,

Things have been very busy between my daily choirs lately but I’ve been having some cool experiences here in the UK during my free time. Friends have been showing me around their favorite spots and canteens and of course I have to share it with you here. Londoners sure know how to eat, drink and have a good time!

I’m a fan of sea dishes, and crabs are perhaps one of my favorite things to eat especially when its well done.

A friend of mine took me to a very unique place to eat crabs called Beast. The name was very intriguing to me…

Set in Marylebone, the hip chic area, you enter a small street in Chapel Place. Fairly quiet, I thought I was in the wrong place. I enter the main door and am greeted by a 3 m high black marble bear and a receptionist who tells me my friends are expecting me downstairs.

Big tanks with crabs take one side of the restaurant and opposite to that, long communal wooden tables. The structure of the restaurant is made of high ceilings, cement pillars, from the ceilings trays hold candles that makes it a intimate place to be with friends in a modern yet medieval banquet with emphasis on sharing everything that is ordered.

Beast has two best sellers: crabs and meat. As I have told you before, I am not a meat expert, therefore, I will leave that to you to discover this part:) Now, going back to the crabs…why is this place such a buzz?

I have another close friend of mine living in London. This friend and I share a common love for food since our days back in Canada. During one of my dinners here, she told me that she had the pleasure to meet the supplier of fish for Al Mahara, the exquisite restaurant that has a beautiful tank in the Hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai. By the way, its on the list of one of the top 40 restaurants in the world in this link, you must take a look (http://uk.businessinsider.com/restaurants-you-should-eat-at-in-your-lifetime-2015-7?r=US&IR=T)

Going back to Burj Al Arab and my friend: she said that the reason why it has extraordinary fish is because this supplier only offers fresh fish to 5 restaurants around the world. This supplier also supplies crabs to Beast, directly from Norway.

Why Norway? I learned that Norway has the best quality and temperature of water to grow crabs. With excitement, we ordered a 3.2 kg crab (holy crab!) for 5 people, the waiter brought the crustacean to us to take a look before it was cooked. Apparently you are also invited to look at the whole process of cooking in Beasts’ opened kitchen…

What did we order? Appetizers like shrimp tempura, olives, parmesan cheese, oysters and the famous dumplings made of crab and foie gras are a must. Then we ordered the crab, which came partially opened. A special sauce made with butter gives it something extra. We also ordered siders and to finish we had a dessert feast: 2 cheesecakes that had an informal presentation to it, but I must confess my favorite dessert was the ice-cream with almonds that came with a hot chocolate sauce to cover it!

I must say it was all a very unique experience of sharing food, however, it’s a pricey restaurant. I suggest this restaurant for big groups and for special occasions but for sure it’s a cool experience to try out.

Stay tuned for more news! Xx

http://www.beastrestaurant.co.uk

3 Chapel Place, W1G 0BG - London