You’ll find Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant and market in the historic London ‘Trocadero’ building, just a few minutes’ walk from Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square. We have always had a great time as the atmosphere is lively, the food is good and the interior quirky. It is always busy, and the day we visited was no exception. Our two teenage children were excited to join us for the first time, enjoying the buzz you feel upon entering the restaurant. Many of our fellow diners were evidently celebrating a birthday on this busy Saturday evening of our visit – there were groups of families, friends, and couples spanning the generations, all enjoying the party vibe.
If you haven’t already worked it out, the restaurant is a tribute to the movie ‘Forrest Gump’ and features a menu of comfort food from the American South that reflects the film’s setting in Alabama. The fact that there are now 40 Bubba Gump’s worldwide, is testament to its success. We first encountered the chain whilst on holiday in Monterey, California some 5 years ago - it turns out this was the first of the restaurants to open back in 1996.
The speciality here is shrimp, but there are a wide variety of alternatives on offer. The friendly waiting staff are on hand to give useful advice and steered us towards the ‘Run Across America Sampler’ (£22.50), a starter to share that is ideally suited to families or groups wanting a taste of several different starters without committing to just one! Our starter included Grilled Shrimp, Mama Blue’s Fried Shrimp, Spicy Chicken Strips and homemade Tortilla Chips. This large platter was served with delicious dips including Bubba’s Far Out Dip. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Other starters include a great range of favourites including Mama Gump’s Garlic Bread Basket, Best Ever Popcorn Shrimp, Frizzled Onion Rings, Shrimp Mac & Cheese, and Cajun Shrimp. The kids’ favourite among those we sampled were the Spicy Chicken Strips, whilst us adults preferred the grilled shrimp.
There is a mouth-watering selection of Entre´es, including Soups, Salads, Burgers, Sandwiches and Jenny’s Catch (fish options). Of course, we were keen to go for the Shrimp Options in a Shrimp restaurant (their shrimp is sustainably and ethically sourced, certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council)! The Shrimp dishes are priced from £18.50. Myself and my eldest son (both ready for a feast) chose to share a couple of restaurant favourites – Forrest’s Seafood Feast and Lt. Dan’s Surf and Turf. The Seafood Feast (priced at £20.50) offered us more of Mama Blue’s Fried Shrimp, hand battered Fish & Chips and made from scratch Seafood Hush Pups. This meal was served with delicious Cajun seasoned Fries and their homemade Dippin’ sauces – Tartar, Cocktail and Remoulade – all sublime, and easy to see why this platter is voted the #1 Guest Favourite. Lt. Dan’s Surf & Turf (£25.95) offered their award- winning Dixie Style Baby Back Ribs, slow roasted to perfection with succulent Grilled Shrimp and Cajun seasoned Fries, another large platter, and the sweet sauce of the Ribs perfectly complemented the rest of the meal. My youngest son who sometimes has eyes bigger than his belly was keen to give the Shrimper’s Heaven a go. This meal (priced at £24.50) included Hand Breaded Coconut Shrimp, Grilled Shrimp, Crispy Golden Shrimp and Tempura Shrimp – heaven indeed, providing you like shrimp! The platter also came with Cajun seasoned Fries served with their homemade Dippin’ Sauces – Tangy Asian, Cajun Marmalade and Zesty Cocktail. He ended up sharing this with my wife who enjoyed her Classic Caesar Salad (£13.25; adding Grilled Chicken £2.99), knowing that she would get invitations to try all the Shrimp we had ordered!
There are many good other menu options to choose from, including Dumb Luck Coconut Shrimp, Shrimp & Veggie Skewers and some tasty looking fish dishes. I also contemplated Mama’s Southern Fried Chicken and that classic Southern dish ‘Jambalaya’- something I’ve always been intrigued to try after hearing The Carpenters sing about it in the 70s - I guess that’s one for my next visit. There is also an extensive Kids menu, a Pre-Theatre Menu and separate menus dedicated to Gluten Free and Vegetarian options.
‘Smoothies’, ‘Quenchers’ and ‘Hand Shaken Margaritas’ are some of the drinks offerings - we chose instead to enjoy a bottle of red wine with dinner, whilst the boys chose ‘Secret Mango Sparkler’ and a pineapple juice.
I knew we would have to save some room for dessert - we had promised the kids after all! The dessert list offers a selection that includes Key Lime Pie, Mama’s Bread Pudding, Mama’s Best Strawberry Shortcake (Mama had a sweet tooth evidently), Alabama Brownie and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae to share, which we marvelled at as we spotted it delivered to other diners! Again, our friendly waiter was on hand to point us in the direction of the sharing option known as ‘The Best of The Best Sampler’, so we could enjoy a taste of 3 of their most popular desserts. As it turned out the portions were huge! The (supposedly) smaller portions of Mama’s Cinnamon Bread Pudding, Strawberry Shortcake and the Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae priced at £11.95, represented comfort food at its best ... homemade, sweet and delicious.
Service throughout was actually really good for a restaurant of this size, and seems to work as a well-oiled machine. Staff are cheerful, pleasant and helpful with menu choices, as well as catering really well to the kids. Take note though, you may need to brush up on your ‘Forrest Gump’ knowledge as each table is given a trivia quiz by their waiter - just for fun, of course!
During the meal, we were entertained by the fun, casual atmosphere around us - there is a lot of memorabilia from the movie displayed on the walls and around the wooden shack-style eating booths, including some fabulous quotes from the movie itself (which incidentally plays continuously on screens dotted around the space) our favourites being “Stupid is as stupid does” and “Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you gonna get”. Every so often the waiting staff would break out in a birthday rap to celebrate diners’ birthdays with everyone nearby joining in. This is a fun venue, offering more than just a restaurant, and if you want to check out what nearby Piccadilly and Leicester Square has to offer then you can take advantage of the all-day parking for £17.50 (if you dine and book online).
If you haven’t yet visited, add it to your list – either book before or get there early, as the queues can be long. We did of course have to watch the movie as soon as we got home, which reminded us why this is one our favourite movies and an all-time classic worthy of 40 restaurants!
Bubba Gump
Shrimp Co.
13 Coventry Street, London W1D 7AB, Telephone: 0203 7635 288, www.bubbagumpshrimp.co.uk