I am always amazed by how restaurants pop up with new concepts, and one of the latest provides the diners of London with the chance to feast on a true delicacy, the Red King Crab.
I am really not an expert on the fishing techniques to be able to catch what are the largest crabs, but I am reliably informed that these giants of the crab world are only found in a small section of the Arctic Ocean’s coldest and deepest waters and are very difficult to catch. I am also assured that these crabs are a prized delicacy, and the flavour makes up for all of the effort it takes to catch them.
Fancy Crab is well placed on Wigmore Street, and the building oozes class from the moment you enter, with the high ceilings giving a wonderful feeling of space, and the ice bar at the back of the restaurant housing these elusive red giants which you will be enjoying during the evening. In between the ice bar and the door are simple tables and chairs, and green leather booths against the walls overlooked by an eclectic mix of modern and old paintings. Some places just have a cool vibe, and this is one of them. Our welcome was warm and we were led to our booth where we could peruse the menu over a glass of something cold.
As the name suggests this is a seafood restaurant (although there are some dishes for the meat eaters, well two!), and the selection is extensive. For the romantics a few oysters to start would be perfect, but we passed on these as we spotted some gems from the appetiser and starter section. It was a bitterly cold evening so our first choice was a warming King Crab and Lobster Bisque (£13). Generous pieces of this regal giant were engulfed by the rich bisque which also provided a hint of the sea. Our other selections were the Grilled Tiger Prawns (£12) and the King Crab Tempura (£12.50). The tiger prawns were flavoured with tamarind and honey, and the sweetness of the honey came through without overpowering the prawn, whilst the light batter gave a satisfying crunch to the sweet white claw meat accompanied by a delicate saffron aioli.
Although there is a wide choice of mains and also a number of amazing Crustacean Stands packed with lots of goodies from the sea (priced from £19.50 to £100), the next decision, in my view, was a simple one, and rather than what to choose, it was how much of it would we order (Red King Crab £18/kg). The restaurant name says it all, and you are coming to taste this red ‘fancy’ giant, and when you do taste it you will see why it is so prized. The choice is really whether to have the crab on ice or baked over charcoal and we decided to respect the delicate taste and have it on ice. To accompany our crab we selected some truffle fries (£5) and some buttered spinach (£4.5), which perfectly accompanied the fresh and slightly sweet crab. Food of this quality shines in any situation, and to get the full experience and delicate flavour I recommend keeping it simple. There are other choices including a King Crab Burger (£23) and the Singapore Chilli Crab (£28) which is a firm favourite because of its contrasting sweet and spicy tastes, but to me this crab’s taste is so good it seems a crime to mask it with anything, even if it is a great sauce.
It was with great disappointment that when the deserts menu was handed to me it didn’t have a King Crab Cheesecake or at least something with Red King Crab in it!! Well that wasn’t strictly true, and I was delighted to be able to pick the Chocolate Fondant (£7.5) and my wife picked the Fancy Lemon Tart (£6.5). The chocolate fondant ticks every chocoholic’s dreams, and the deconstructed lemon meringue was tangy and zesty and provided a palate cleanser to end the meal.
Crab needs to be treated with respect to enable the diner to get the full benefit of its texture and slightly sweet taste, and now there is somewhere in London where you can experience this to the full.
