J Sheekey’s Summer Lobster Festival

A sunny menu to raise awareness of marine food chain sustainability

Two things you can be sure of on an evening visit to J Sheekey’s Oyster Bar: a glamorous theatre crowd and London’s finest bivalves, crustaceans and fish. The only problem with this seductive scene is that fish and shellfish stocks are declining. However, J Sheekey’s Oyster Bar is tackling this issue head-on – in what might initially seem a somewhat counter-intuitive way – by holding a Summer Lobster Festival from July 1 to August 3. The aim? To support and create awareness of the National Lobster Hatchery, and encourage sustainability at every level of the marine food chain, from sourcing through to consumption. Based in Padstow, Cornwall the charity nurtures young lobsters until they reach a size at which they are better able to survive in the wild when released ­– increasing lobster supplies in the sea.

With a menu featuring lobster and samphire tempura with charred-lime and chilli dressing, and lobster and courgette risotto, shellfish fanatics are spoiled for choice. Yet the ultimate indulgence must be either the lobster Thermidor Benedict (with poached egg, toasted muffin, English mustard and hollandaise) or the J Sheekey take on surf’n’turf: lobster tail and flat-iron steak. More casual than the main restaurant, the Oyster Bar has an outdoor terrace that is glorious for al fresco summer lunching and dining – with a jug of Pimm’s (rather apt, as its inventor, fishmonger James Pimm, originally conceived of the gin-based drink as an accompaniment to shellfish).

Thanks to the National Lobster Hatchery, survival rates of baby lobsters have increased a thousandfold; in 2011 they released 32,000 juvenile lobsters into the sea with an aim to double this number in the near future. Gourmands can relax: with the efforts of organisations such as the National Lobster Hatchery and J Sheekey Oyster Bar, lobster will be staying firmly on the menu.