Lunch at Lbs. | Toronto

Earlier this week a few co-workers and I wandered down Yonge Street to check out the latest restaurant opening near work. Lbs., which stands for lobster, burger, salad, and is pronounced ‘pounds’ is a new concept restaurant that opened up at the end of June.

The place is simply gorgeous inside: supple turquoise leather banquets, marble table tops and just enough Mad Men-inspired decor and lighting to be trendy.

The concept of this place is straightforward. There are four menu items — a 1.25lb lobster, a lobster roll, lobster salad and a burger — and in order to not charge market price for said lobster, all items on the menu are $22. Sounds simple. Innovative even.

I don’t think so.

Three of the four of us ordered the lobster roll. It was lunchtime on a work day so I didn’t feel like getting butter all over me (they don’t have any plastic bibs at this fancy crystal-glassware-only place, unless you specifically ask, something I only found out after we dined there). I was also being a bit lazy about pulling the succulent meat out of the claws on my own.

Okay, don’t get me wrong, my lobster roll was delicious, just the right amount of sauce and pickled onion, plus the bun was buttery and toasty. But it was $22. I was even more outraged when my co-workers meal arrived at the table and he got this:

Instantly everyone else at the table was jealous. Talk about order envy.

I may have more gripe with this because I’m from the East Coast and potentially very jaded about the cost of seafood, but spending $22 on that little bun broke my heart. Off-setting the cost of the more expensive entree at your restaurant by over-charging for others seems to not be democratic like other restaurant reviewers are proclaiming about this place. The burger is not worth $22, nor is it worth $38 to add a little lobster to it.

I am interested in what other people think about this idea. Would you like to pay more for your burger so your friend can save a couple bucks on their lobster?

100 Yonge Street | Toronto, ON | (647) 351-4747 | lbstoronto.com