Celebrity chef Mark Hix has called it ‘one of the finest things in the world to eat’, while other kitchen stars such as Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver have all rallied round in recent years to sing its praises. Highly sustainable, healthy and rich in protein, it’s little wonder that crab has found itself the subject of increasing attention. Of course, it helps too that it’s pretty delicious: tender and delicate, many profess they love every bit as much as lobster – not only is the meat sweeter and better textured, it’s cheaper as well.

With deliveries arriving twice a week – and sometimes even more frequently – L’Arc have become Warsaw’s premier hunting ground for the clawed crustacean. Plucked out alive and kicking from a burbling fish tank, find the crab presented with home-cut chips, a classic mayonnaise and some crab crackers and a pick. What follows next is like a surgical process, only messier – but part of the fun is in the fiddle. The results are awesome, and provide plenty of clues why many are turning their backs on lobster and celebrating the crab.

L’Arc Varsovie
ul. Puławska 16, larc.pl