Tom Hedley re-visits Crossrail Place to find the Big Easy going up market.
Canary Wharf has produced some amazing eats in the past half-decade. At this rate it will soon be known as much for culinary hotspots as for overheated finance. This week we’re checking out Crossrail Place (the mall built around the Crossrail station that isn’t there yet), where the latest addition is the Big Easy.
The Deep South BBQ come Crab Shack is much less garden shed than one might imagine. And the clientele is hardly down-at-heel: there are festive suits hovering in abundance around the bar on a Tuesday evening.
Obligatory opulence seems to be the key to the latest Big Easy. With their first establishment opening 22 years ago on the King’s Road, and subsequent ventures in Covent Garden and Canary Wharf, their ‘easy-going’ roots may well have been forgotten. Opting for the higher tier may have been the smartest decision, however, since the place is already packed by 6pm.
The menu is crowded with daily deals. Monday is home to the ‘The Big Pig Gig’: limitless BAR.B.Q, a rack of ribs and an Easy’s home brew. Shrimp Tuesdays presents punters with limitless jumbo shrimp and a drink. Wednesday dishes include all-you-can-eat hog roast. All deals come in at a pretty easy £20 per person.
The London lobster scene has become something of an arms – sorry, claws – race. There are a handful of joints doing the same statutory £20 lobster dishes, so it’s about making it different. Big Easy’s variation is the Lobster Fest. A whole fresh lobster, whole lobster roll or whole lobster mac’n’cheese – all served with salad, fries and complimentary ‘slushie’ cocktail or 378ml schooner of craft lager.
Armed with a plastic bib, claw-cracker and a basket of wet wipes, you have no choice but to dive right in. Everything on the tray could be considered pretty special. The ‘real’ potato fries were astounding, complimented by a gravy boat of melted lemon and garlic butter. The steamed lobster is harvested from the Atlantic waters of Nova Scotia and delivered within 24 hours, and consequently dissected to an inch of its anatomy. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to be sharing. The ‘Big Easy Brew’ would be a must-try, anyway; even better that it comes as part of the deal.
The Easy experience is well worth braving the cold for this Christmas (assuming London ever gets colder than Louisiana).
INFO: bigeasy.co.uk, Park Level, Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf, London E14