[Apr. 2021] In England, long lockdown regulations have been gradually relaxed, and eating out is finally allowed.
At this point when we were in Brighton, we were still limited to outdoor tables, but for us it’s the first restaurant in seven months.
We booked lunch at a seafood restaurant called The Copper Clam.
We knew it was by the sea, so after a walk inland, we came out to the familiar beach.
After a short walk, we found a restaurant, relying on the map on my mobile phone.
At the entrance, there was a sign saying “It’s full”.
The ban of eating out has been lifted and people all over England are rushing to restaurants.
There are many people whose purpose is not only to eat, but also to eat with friends they have not met for a long time.
We had a reservation so it’s okay.
In this restaurant, the tables were lined up outdoors on the sea side, but there was big parasols near the main body of the restaurant.
We were taken to the table which was not under the parasol and when we tried to take the table under it, the waiter firmly said that our table is the one out of the parasol.
The reason why I was particular about parasols was that although the sun was shining, it was raining lightly on and off.
So when I asked the waiter if he would give us another parasol if it seriously rained, he said they did not have any.
“Oh, the service in England was like this,” I sighed.
In the end, it didn’t rain and we were able to eat in the warm sunlight.
Anyway, what we ate was delicious.
The starter was an octopus dish shared with my husband.
I liked the combination of apple sauce and watercress with the octopus, though there were only four pieces of them.
Both of us chose the half lobster for main.
Even if it says half, the amount depends on the size of the lobster in the first place, and this was smaller than I expected.
It was plump and delicious, though.
As for the wine, they had run out of the one my husband chose and they waiter said “I have Falanghina instead”.
We accepted that, but I said to my husband “Falanghina is sometimes too heavy, isn’t it?” and apparently the waiter heard that, so he let me have the tasting.
It was really cold and tasted good.
For dessert, we took one called ‘pear and rum steamed pudding’ and another one ‘apple & ginger filo parcels’ and we ate them half and half.
By this point, we have found that some of the waiters were Italian.
In particular, one person spoke six languages, including Japanese a little, and my husband enjoyed talking with him.
When my husband pointed out that the table under the parasol ended up being vacant, he said, “The customer didn’t come even though we had a reservation”, wearing a troubled look.
Certainly, I have heard in the news that the restriction on restaurants has been lifted for the first time in a while, a lot of people booked tables, but in the end they did not turn up, which has been a problem for the restaurants.
He told us that he had a job secured at the famous Grand Hotel in Brighton when the hotel reopens.
This is the hotel where Sting worked as a bellboy in the old youth film “Quadrophenia“.
In the UK, the leaving the European Union (EU) and the spread of Covid-19 have caused many people of European continental nationality to return to their own countries, and it is said that labour shortages are becoming more serious, especially in the hospitality industry.
When we had this kind of conversations, the service shifted from English style to Italian style.
When my husband asked if there was any digestif, chocolate-flavoured port wine was served on the house.
It was certainly a mysterious port wine with a chocolate scent.
The bill of this lunch wasn’t cheap at £ 114 but I wasn’t surprised because we expected that.
