Claw Carnaby closed permanently in August 2019
We’re always happy to see a good street food vendor graduate to a restaurant proper, so were delighted to hear that Claw had bagged itself a permanent site, an intimate two-floor space in Soho with smaller tables on the ground floor and long communal ones in the basement. Crab is the star of the show, with provenance taken seriously: all of the crab is sourced from Salcombe and ingredients are kept British wherever possible. Highlights include crab beignets (delicate crab meat mixed in with choux pastry and dipped in a peppy crab mayo) and a truly indulgent crab-flecked mac ‘n’ cheese that is best shared between two. If you don’t want to overdose on claws, we were also impressed by sticky barbecue-glazed chicken wings and smoky octopus dressed with fennel and tomato. There are only two desserts on offer, but both play with the palate – rhubarb crumble is less tart than expected and arrives dusted with photo-friendly glitter, while a toasted milk parfait graduates from the ordinary via shards of gingersnap and a sour toffee sauce that makes the mouth pucker. To drink, there’s a choice of in-house cocktails, beers and wines, and prices are decent considering the location. We’d recommend snapping this one up.