Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. London: A Review.

Saturday the 1st of November was my 19th birthday! Being an obsessive fan of Tom Hanks, and with my all time favourite movie being 'Forrest Gump', I was more than thrilled when I found out there was a Forrest Gump themed restaurant opening in London exactly one month prior to my birthday. Of course, I begged my boyfriend to take me there as a birthday treat, and thankfully he said yes!

I had a truly wonderful time, and thought I would share my experience of such a unique restaurant with you!

Location.
The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is located in the centre of the busy and bustling Leicester Square! Whilst there is plenty of eateries in this location, BGSCo. has a complete USP- the fact that it is based around one film! It is easy to find, simply walk in a straight line from Piccadilly Tube Station for about 3-5 minutes!

Booking.
Unfortunately, you are unable to book a table to the restaurant and customers are currently served on a first come first served basis. This can be a pain in the neck, especially at peak times such as 5-8pm on a Saturday night, but the restaurant has an excellent system. Queuing takes little time at all, and when you reach the attendant on the door, they take your name and tell you how long the wait will be. You can then either leave the restaurant and explore the local attractions of Leicester Square or wait in the conveniently placed 'market' (and end up spending a small fortune...!) until your name is called!

Waiting Time.

The waiting time we were predicted upon arrival was 50 minutes- this did shock us a little, as the restaurant claims to seat 400 people, but as I was desperate to eat here we were more than happy to wait. Luckily, we only ended up waiting about 35- most of which was spent looking at a menu whilst we tried to pick what to eat, and appreciating the decor of the waiting area!! 

Decor.

I loved the interior of the restaurant- it was perfect! (Especially for a Forrest Gump fan such as myself!). There was Forrest's boat 'Jenny' in the ceiling of the market place, whilst quotes and photos from the film teamed with makeshift signs labeling landmarks from Forrest Gump covered the walls. On top of this, the whole of the interior is made from wood, giving the place a really rustic feel. The tables are also printed with quotes from the film. TV's are placed in the eating area, two of which play the Forrest Gump film and two of which play other television- on the night I attended, it was the NFL games! 

The meal.

I was completely satisfied with the meal and service at the restaurant during my visit. The waitress who served us was more than helpful, offering us her personal favourites and recommendations and even giving me a Forrest Gump quiz once she found out how much of a fan I was! The serving system is also clever, devised of two metal license plate signs on your table that call a waiter/waitress over straight away!

The condiments on the table are served in a retro metal bucket, very 'American' and the drinks menus are displayed on a ping pong paddle- another wonderful reference back to the film! (And also great fun to play with...!)

The menu was far from sparse, and it was very difficult to pick anything, because it all sounded so appealing! Of course, it is pretty much an absolute must that you like shrimp if you wish to eat at this restaurant. Whilst there are dishes that do not include shrimp, it is the main basis of most of the meals! I settled for the 'Forrest Sea Food Feast' (an acclaimed 'Forrest Favourite'!), with Calamari and peppers as a starter.

 The Forrest Sea Food Feast consisted of 3 different kinds of fish covered in breadcrumbs and a generous portion of fries, accompanied with three dips and some coleslaw. I was completely satisfied with the standard of food, the rate at which it came out and the generous portion sizes. The presentation was also great- each type of fish was served in cones made of 'newspaper' with headlines relating to the film on! Very cute I thought! My only complaint with the meal was that over half of each cone was filled with shredded cabbage- I found this to be unneccessary, as it is highly unlikely anyone would eat that much cabbage in one sitting! Besides this, I had no complaint with the meal- in fact, both me and my boyfriend were left so full we couldn't even order dessert! 

I was also satisfied with the drink I chose, a cherry and lemon crushed ice sort of beverage! Although the asking price of £7 seemed a little steep, it was understandable when it came served in a light up cup that you could take home with you!!!

The Market.

To conclude our visit, we spent some time in the market so I could try and decide what to buy as a souvenir! There was literally hundreds of pieces of memorabilia to pick from, it was even harder than trying to pick from the menu. Shrimp magnet toys, t-shirts, hoodies, caps, ping pon bats, glasses, stationary, sweets, trivia cards- even a baby range of toys and clothes! And of course all emblazoned with some quote or image from the film. All of it was (surprisingly!) reasonably priced, and I ended up coming away with a t-shirt, soft toy shrimp magnet and a licence plate, for just £30. All of this came in an adorable brown paper bag, so I was more than satisfied!

In conclusion, I was overly satisfied with my time at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant, from the build up where the Twitter account recommended the best time to come as well as wishing me a happy birthday twice, to the actual time spent there, and to after the trip where I tweeted about my satisfaction with the restaurant and was thanked and wished another happy birthday. Although the meal was quite pricey, it is definitely a worthwhile experience for any Tom Hanks or Forrest Gump fan. I have never been to a restaurant quite like it, and have a feeling film themed restaurants will fast become popular! My only disappointment was that my hero, Tom Hanks, wasn't there! This is probably the closest I will ever get...*sigh* 

Love from,

Florence Grace

Been to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.? Let me know what you thought! 

All photographs featured are my own.