Knightsbridge is good at a lot of things, and lobster is one of the quieter ones. There is no shortage of places near Harrods that will put a lobster on a plate; there are fewer where it came in that morning, sat on the counter before it was cooked, and arrives at the table whole rather than picked through a sauce. That is the case for ALBA, the Amalfi-inspired Italian restaurant on Brompton Road directly opposite the store, and lobster comes two ways here, on different terms: the Lobster Linguine on the à la carte, any night of the week, and all day every Wednesday, Unlimited Lobster: steamed, in a garlic butter and herb sauce, as much as you can manage in ninety minutes.
Lobster, the Amalfi Way
Along the Amalfi Coast, lobster is not a trophy. It is what the boats bring in, cooked the way the coast cooks everything good from the sea: briefly, simply, with tomato, oil and the shells put to work rather than thrown away. ALBA's cooking starts from that coast, and the restaurant's seafood is built around it: a fish counter at the front of the room where the day's catch sits on ice, a raw bar of crudo, oysters and tartare, and a pasta section that treats shellfish as the main event. Lobster is where that thinking shows most clearly.
Unlimited Lobster, Every Wednesday
Wednesday is Lobster Day at ALBA: unlimited lobster for ninety minutes, £69 a head, all day. The offer is one dish and one dish only, fresh lobster steamed and finished in a rich garlic butter and herb sauce, and when you have finished, more of it. That simplicity is the point. Nothing else on the plate, nothing else to decide, and the most generous way to eat lobster in Knightsbridge by some distance.
Ninety minutes is more than it sounds. A first plate, a pause, and then whatever you have room for. It runs all day on Wednesdays and on no other day, so a table is worth booking ahead; details are on What's On.
The Lobster Linguine is not part of Unlimited Lobster. It is a separate dish at its own price on the à la carte, on Wednesdays as on every other night.
The Lobster Linguine
The dish to come for on any night is the Lobster Linguine. A whole lobster, served in the plate rather than hidden through it, over linguine cooked to the bite, in a bisque tomato sauce built from the shells. It is rich without being heavy, which is the trick with lobster and the thing most versions get wrong, and it comes to the table as the centrepiece it is. It is made to share, and two people with a bottle of something white from the cellar is how it is usually ordered.
What makes it worth crossing the road for is the sauce. The shells go into the bisque rather than the bin, which is where the depth comes from, and the linguine is finished in it rather than dressed with it. The lobster on top is almost a bonus.
It is the one lobster dish on the menu, ordered à la carte at its own price. It is not on the weekday set lunch, and it is not included in the Wednesday offer: Unlimited Lobster is the steamed lobster in garlic butter and herbs, nothing else.
What You Are Eating
For anyone keeping count, lobster is one of the leanest proteins on the menu. Cooked lobster meat carries roughly 19 grams of protein per 100 grams, under a gram of fat and around 90 calories, and it is a natural source of selenium, zinc, copper and vitamin B12, with a small amount of omega-3. Those are the figures for the lobster itself. The garlic and herb butter on a Wednesday and the bisque under the linguine add their own richness, which is rather the idea, but the lobster at the centre of both plates is about as clean a protein as you will find on Brompton Road.
Ordering Lobster at ALBA
The Lobster Linguine is a main-course pasta rather than a starter, listed at the top of the coastal pasta section beside the Amalfi tagliolini with Mazara prawns and the crab ravioli. Open with the raw bar if the table is hungry, or go straight to the lobster if it is not. Either way it is the plate the evening is built around, and the one worth leaving room for. On a Wednesday, the decision is already made: book for Unlimited Lobster and let the kitchen keep it coming.
Opposite Harrods
ALBA is at 70 Brompton Road, directly opposite Harrods and a few minutes from Knightsbridge station. The seafood counter is in view from the moment you walk in, which is as good a reassurance about the lobster as any. For the rest of the neighbourhood, where to eat near Harrods covers it; for the lobster, book a table through the reservations page, and on a Wednesday, book it for the lobster alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where Can I Eat Lobster in Knightsbridge?
At ALBA London, 70 Brompton Road, directly opposite Harrods. The Lobster Linguine, a whole lobster over linguine in a bisque tomato sauce, is on the à la carte, and Wednesdays are Unlimited Lobster.
What is Unlimited Lobster at ALBA?
Lobster Day, all day every Wednesday: fresh lobster steamed in a garlic butter and herb sauce, as many as you like within ninety minutes, at £69 a head. It is the steamed lobster only. The Lobster Linguine is a separate à la carte dish and is not included.
Is the Lobster Linguine included in Unlimited Lobster?
No. Unlimited Lobster is the steamed lobster in garlic butter and herbs. The Lobster Linguine is ordered from the à la carte at its own price, on Wednesdays as on any other night.
Is the Lobster Served Whole?
In the Lobster Linguine, yes: a whole lobster in the plate rather than picked through the sauce.
Is the Lobster Linguine Made to Share?
Yes. It is a sharing plate, usually ordered for two.
Is Lobster High in Protein?
Yes. Cooked lobster meat is roughly 19 grams of protein per 100 grams, with under a gram of fat, before any butter or sauce. It is one of the leanest proteins on ALBA's menu.
Is Lobster on the Set Lunch Menu?
No. The Lobster Linguine is an à la carte dish, and Unlimited Lobster is a Wednesday event.
Do I Need to Book?
Booking is recommended for any evening at ALBA, and for Wednesdays in particular, since Unlimited Lobster runs one day a week.
