Lobster, according to Christopher Hitchens, is one of the most overrated things in the world. If you agree, probably best to stay away from the newly-opened Lobster Kitchen, in Great Russell Street, because that divisive crustacean is the star of the show.

It’s quite hard to find, although new signage is apparently on route, and in common with quite a lot of visitors we ended up in the restaurant next door for a while.

But obviously plenty of people do find it, because once we got there the place was packed; both with diners and fisherman’s bric-a-brac adorning the walls

It’s a pokey, share a table with a stranger sort of place inspired by New England lobster shacks, so don’t expect an intimate conversation unless you bag one of the two or three private tables (and they don’t take bookings).

The lobster comes in all shapes and sizes – tails, rolls, split, all doused in your choice of sauce: garlic, Thermidor, Asian. I have to say I’m a lobster fan, and these specimens were all well-cooked, firm, tasty, and smothered in whatever you fancy.

The bisque, meanwhile, was a furiously rich pot of creamy, underwater goodness.

Side-wise it’s a mixed bag; the lobster mac and cheese was pleasant and very filling, the deep fried pickles were tangy little beasts and a new one for me, while the fries were flaccid and the corn a bit cold.

It’s all nice enough, but where it falls down is the price. It certainly isn’t fine dining (plastic forks, you pay at the till, I really couldn’t hear what my guest was saying as we were across a large wooden bench from each other), but the bill is definitely heading in that direction. It’s not cheap, and for this kind of money you might want a more ‘special’ dining experience. That said, if you like lobster, and a bustling atmosphere, you can at least get a good chunk of shellfish for less than £20.