*EDIT* December 16, 2014 - NEW MENU ITEMS HAVE BEEN ADDED - SEE BELOW!
Lobster lovers rejoice! The Lobster Bar has moved and relocated to a much bigger space in Itaewon. You can enjoy Maine and Connecticut style lobster rolls, lobster grilled cheese or a 1kg whole grilled lobster - even Chinese style lobster - all at reasonable prices with generous servings! Also, although their pop-up in Galleria (Apgujung Rodeo Station) is now closed, they are working on opening their full-time stand in the regular Galleria 494 for early 2015!
Enjoyed the Connecticut Lobster Roll (no mayo) and the Lobster Grilled Cheese. Both fantastic choices. Great to share to try different tastes!
Lobster Roll Connecticut (no mayo)
The Lobster Roll Connecticut - "Lobster chunks, butter, lemon juice, chives, lobster bar seasoning, served with fries and coleslaw."
I loved this cleaner Lobster Roll Connecticut as opposed to the Lobster Roll Maine (which is mixed up with mayonnaise and I really don't enjoy food smothered in mayo.) I like flavoured mayo like garlic or chipotle mayo you can dip some things into, but I just don't like mayo covered foods like potato salad, waldorf salad etc.
There were so many pieces of flavourful juicy lobster on a super soft roll. I couldn't believe they gave such generous portions of lobster. The meat was seasoned nicely and went well with the simple butter/lemon juice/chive combo.
Lobster Grilled Cheese
Lobster Grilled Cheese - "Lobster chunks, american and gouda cheese, arugula, lobster bar seasoning, served with fries and salad"
Delicious - make sure to eat this when it's served hot right away. The crunchiness of the toasted bread and arugula contrasts so nicely with the soft lobster meat and gooey cheese.
Well seasoned and full of flavour. If you were to eat this whole sandwich on your own, it may be a little bit too heavy. Share this with a lobster roll and it's a nice balance.
Pleasantly impressed with the generous portion of juicy lobster meat with delicious seasonings. The skinny fries were also crispy, light and delicious and although the coleslaw looks plain and boring, it has a nice vinegary kick to it which goes nicely with the sandwiches and rolls. An excellent quality meal and well worth the price of 19 000won per platter.
Enjoyed my meal with thePARKJI - a high-end jewellery designer who makes custom designed pieces. Check out her beautiful accessories at:http://www.theparkji.com/. She's holding up the Lemon Honey Ginger Beer, and we also tried the Ballast Point. The Lemon Honey was a bit too sweet for my taste, but the Ballast was a solid choice for a medium beer.
NEW ADDED MENU ITEMS!
They've only been at their new location for about a month, but already have a few new menu items which I was excited to try! I was curious what other delicious creations could be made with a lovely crustacean, so I went with some friends to find out!
At first they only had 4 menu items - 2 lobster roll varieties (19 000won), a lobster grilled cheese (19 000won) and a whole grilled lobster (49 000won). I liked how they only specialise in certain menu items. It made it easy to choose, and they do each item well. But once you've tried them all already, it's nice to also have other options.
*Added menu items for SANDWICHES are: Lobster BLT Sandwich - "Traditional BLT with lobster."
*Added menu items for the MAINS are: Lobster prepared in 3 different ways.
1) Cantonese Lobster - "Cantonese style with garlic, spring onions, and spicy peppers."
2) Black Pepper Lobster - "Black pepper style with garlic, black pepper and butter."
3) Singaporean Chili Lobster "Singaporean chili style with spicy chili sauce and spices."
ALL of the SIDES are new items as well! One of the owners/chefs used to own a Malaysian restaurant, and his speciality was his fried rice. He wanted to bring that with him, so the Bacon Scallop Fried Rice is his recommended side dish.
Although this is an American style lobster bar for the rolls and sandwiches, it's nice that they have Chinese influenced dishes that actually tastes and has sauces like Cantonese style food like we used to eat in Vancouver and when I was living in Hong Kong. It's hard to find that in Korea unless you go to a few select places which are usually a trek to get to.
SIDES
New item - "Lobster Cappuccino: lobster bisque, lobster meat served with bread.' 7000won.
Presentation was great and it came out looking exactly like a cappuccino would with two small pieces of buttery toasted soft bread.
The bread was also super soft, nicely toasted and buttered and although I normally don't like to fill up on the bread, this bread was so good it was gone in a second!
New item - "Lobster Cappuccino: lobster bisque, lobster meat served with bread.' 7000won.
I looooove soups and I looooove tomato soup and lobster bisque. *edit* I came back and they changed the soup recipe yesterday - it is now AMAZING!!! I would definitely order this one again and again! It is now full of tomato soup flavour with the right amount of cream. Now this is a great creamy lobster bisque! They gave big generous chunks of lobster in the soup which are so good. I would come and eat this again and again especially now that it's so cold out!
I'm so glad I have a "I'll try anything TWICE rule". The second time around this was SO good after they changed the recipe.
Cheesy Clam Chowder Fries - "Classic clam chowder over thick fries with crispy bacon and jalapenos. 12 000won
Wasn't anything like I pictured in my head. I liked that the fries were seasoned (they weren't thick cut like the menu says), and the pickled flavours of the jalapeños and onions cut the cheesy creaminess. This was way better than what I was picturing by the description on the menu, so I'm glad we tried it!
Cheesy Clam Chowder Fries - "Classic clam chowder over thick fries with crispy bacon and jalapenos. 12 000won
There are bits of clam in there, and it's not like they dumped a soup on fries. The sauce is very thick like a creamy cheesy sauce, so if you like creamy things and cheese fries, you will like this!
Bacon Scallop Fried Rice - "Egg FRICE with bacon and scallop". 15 000won
The staff's favourite pick for a side dish! The chef/owner used to have a Malaysian restaurant, and he brought that into his skills with this dish here. Full of flavour!
Bacon Scallop Fried Rice - "Egg FRICE with bacon and scallop". 15 000won
Nice big chunks of scallop! They don't skimp out on their portions of seafood here and that is awesome. Loved the fried bits of onion on top and this went well with their Cantonese lobster sauce (which we ordered again tonight too). Highly recommended side dish!
Buffalo Shrimp with Ranch - "Special battered fried shrimp with ranch dip." 15 000won
If you like American style deep fried shrimp, this is exactly that. Although you dip it in a ranch or chili sauce, this was a bit too plain for my liking.
SANDWICHES
New Item: Lobster BLT Sandwich - "Traditional BLT with lobster."
If you like BLT sandwiches and lobster - you will love this! No surprises here - smokey bacon, crisp iceberg lettuce and fresh cut tomatoes all in a nice buttery toasted bread. Comes with a side of their signature coleslaw and skinny fries - and KETCHUP. Yes!
I think I would great as a BLT club sandwich - to sandwich the ingredients with another piece of bread to add a different layer and texture when eating. It would also just be a nice change looks wise for differentiating between the grilled cheese and BLT. I personally love the ingredients of the grilled cheese so that is my preference (but remember, I don't like bacon/samgyupsal).
A close-up view of the BLT...
New Item: Lobster BLT Sandwich - "Traditional BLT with lobster."
A close-up of the close-up...if you want to get any closer than this, then come and get some! They're now open at lunch at dinner (with a break time in between). See hours and directions below.
MAIN - My now new favourite dish here! Chinese style lobster!
Growing up in Vancouver, every year our family would go to eat Chinese style crab for my birthday (no, I am not Chinese - I just love Chinese style crab.) I never wanted any other dishes - just different flavours of Chinese style dungeness crab. I would always get the black bean sauce crab and then rotate the second kind between cream sauce crab, ginger scallion garlic crab or deep fried garlic crab. This lobster dish here reminded me of the ginger garlic crab so much. Although I haven't done that in over 11 years!?, I think I will have to come here to continue the tradition of eating Chinese style crab (or lobster) on my birthday! I think this dish brought back a taste of "home" for me - it was either that or my comfy lululemon groove pants with their wonderful 4 way stretch luon expanding as I kept eating!
New Item: Cantonese Style Lobster - "1) Cantonese Lobster - "Cantonese style with garlic, spring onions, and spicy peppers."
An awesome new dish - lobster that was cut up into pieces and tossed in a savoury garlicky sauce with a touch of heat (spice) from the peppers. It wasn't overly spiced, but had a nice tingle to offset what could've been a bit too greasy/heavy. The bed of crispy chow-mein noodles was a surprise, but it was a perfect combo for this sauce and dish! I loved how the noodles were slightly charred on the edges with some dry pieces of noodle not yet mixed into the sauce.
Actually, I've also tried another kind of Cantonese style crab which I've only ever eaten/seen when I was living in Hong Kong - it was crab on top of toasted rice (like noorengee), but smothered, and I mean smothered in a melted fake cheese type of oozing cheese. Apparently it's very Cantonese, so I enjoyed trying it in HK, but I can't say that I ate it very often. I much prefer the black bean or garlic ginger sauce kind like this.
Most of the big pieces were already cracked for you, but they provide lobster crackers/scissors and the mini-sticks...which we discovered after we already devoured the lobster!
The noodles were so delicious in the sauce and more noodles kept appearing as we made our way through the lobster. There were some pieces of lobster already taken out of the shell amongst the noodles and vegetables - 4 of us shared this (along with 3 sandwiches and a soup) - we definitely all had our fill of lobster!
Make sure you swirl up noodles, a piece of veggie and a nice chunk of lobster with each bite!
The boys in the kitchen firing up the grilled lobsters!!! It's art I tell you - beautiful!!!
Their updated drink and cocktail menu.
A decent list of draft beers, ciders, wine and cocktails. I came here for the food, but we ended up trying a few drinks amongst the table as well.
We tried the 2 cocktails on the bottom of the menu: Long Island Peach Ice Tea and Tropical Berry Punch. These drinks are designed to share as they are about a litre of alcohol - but normally with 2 people...not 10 like the number of straws ours would indicate! lol They were both strong, but the Long Island had too much of a tequila taste for my liking, so I preferred the Tropical Berry Punch - but without stirring in the extra syrup on the bottom. I'm not a big fan of juice or overly sweet drinks in general.
Actually l loved my apple cider, and this drink went perfect along with the lobster sandwiches and food. I love ciders in general (Magners, Bulmers - which are sweet in their own way) but maybe this went so good with the food because ciders and lobster rolls are both things that I would get (from any pub and Burger & Lobster) whenever I visited my brother who lived in London, England.
This particular cider, Bruntys, has taken the traditional cider, and designed it to be exported to the expat and Asian markets outside of the UK. Read more about it HERE if you want. It was my first time trying the Brunty's apple cider - but it won't be my last! Cider is now available in more places in Korea, but before the only "cider" ever served would be the kind that starts with 'Chil' and ends with 'Seng'. Oh good 'ol Chilseng Cider!
NEW AND IMPROVED LOCATION AND INTERIOR!
Nice new interior with an open kitchen.
Lots of seating with space along the window side for a nice view of Itaewon. I loved how clean it was.
The beautiful photographs of the food displayed at Lobster Bar were taken by the one and only beauty herself: Keri from Keri Shay Photography! Click to HERE to see her website for more of her work, or go HERE to see her facebook page. Check out her other featured work and galleries for more great shots! Her pictures are just a touch better than my iphone ones - but hey, I love my iphone pics too!
Paul (UK gyopo), Chris and Yong (US gyopo brothers). The NICEST restaurant owners/chef/bar tending guys ever - all seem so down to earth, hard-working and friendly! We came for dinner and then ended up staying for hours enjoying the food and drinks, company and space! Thanks for the great evening out - we'll be back for more lobster and to try that fried rice dish you were all talking about!
Tanks of fresh lobster as you walk in! Flown in live from Maine!
You can't miss the sign for the new location. It's where the old All-American diner used to be and it's located beside McDonald's, beside Starbucks, underneath Mr. Foot Massage. Great new location.
What? Lobster Bar - a lobster joint specialising in just that - lobster everything! The menu used to only have 4 main items on it - 2 different kinds of lobster rolls, 1 lobster grilled cheese and 1 steamed lobster item, but now it's expanded it's menu to also include things like Chinese and Singaporean Chilli lobster, different sides and soups too.
https://www.facebook.com/lobsterbarkorea http://www.lobsterbar.co.kr/about.html
Who? Anyone who loves lobster - and delicious skinny fries.
When? Now open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner! Lunch goes from noon-3pm and dinner starts up again at 5pm until 10pm except on Sundays where they close at 9pm. Last orders for the kitchen are 30 mins. prior to closing.
Parking? No, but there is street parking and lot parking nearby (turn right into the alley after McDonald's (if McDonald's is on your right hand side) and there is lot parking on your second left alley.
Cards Accepted? Yes
Do they take reservations? Yes
Where? 서울특별시 용산구 이태원동 56-13. 56-13 Itaewon 1 (il)-dong
Call: 070-8225-3963
Directions: Closest subway station - Itaewon, exit 4. Keep walking down towards Noksapyung past the McDonald's but before the Starbucks. It is upstairs on the 2nd floor right by Mr. Foot Massage. You can't miss it - there is a huge new neon sign.
RELATED POSTS
The ultimate fusion dish: Lobster Ramen!