Red Lobster

[KeithTalent]

For some reason I have always wanted to try this place; the commercials show lobster tails with drawn butter splashing all about, endless shrimp cascading down like a waterfall, and of course more buttery goodness. Suffice to say it all looks very enticing to a Canadian that has never seen one anywhere near here.

So what's the word? Guilty pleasure? Worth going next time I head down to the United States of America? Or just a bunch of nice pictures of horrible food on TV (just read the menu on their site and this seems the most likely scenario)?

:hmm:

KT

 

[PokerGuy]

Personally I think RL is full of win. It's not as great as the commercials would have you believe, but it's one of the more reasonably priced decent places to go.

 

[Iron Woode]

don't you have a Red Lobster where you live?

 

[Fausto]

Yuck.

 

[ElFenix]

the food in the place is nothing like the food in the commercials.

it's not terrible but living in a coastal city i'd choose about a billion places to eat fish before red lobster.

the cheese biscuit things are awesome thought salty.

 

[techie81]

Used to be the best seafood restaurant but in recent years it has gone down the tubes. But yes the cheese biscuits are the bomb.

 

[PottedMeat]

can live without it -
(i dunno if this is the recipe i used, but looks similar)

 

[amdhunter]

Endless shrimp my ass. The one near me gives you about 6 shrimp, and make you wait 20-30 minutes before any more comes. Oh, and they also have a 1 hour table limit for parties under 5 and mandatory 17% gratuity for 3 or more.

lol @ reviews in my local RL - http://www.yelp.com/biz/red-lobster-bronx

 

[LookBehindYou]

All you can eat cheddar baked biscuits and the captains platter. awesomeness!!

 

[KeithTalent]

don't you have a Red Lobster where you live?

Not that I'm aware of; I've never seen one in Canada. :hmm:

KT

 

[gophins72]

red lobster is delicious. but make no mistake.....it is the taco bell of seafood. it is those who think of the establishment as representative of the cuisine and upper class that are silly.

 

[brandonb]

I've been there a few times. It seems fairly hit or miss to me. Sometimes I go, I think its the best joint ever. Other times, I think its worthless garbage. I'm not sure if its what I'm ordering, or if the different establishments have such a different standard of quality.

But to answer your question. Its like your typical restaurant chain, be it a Perkins, Dennys, or whatever you have in Canda, the Moose Lodge (?)... But it focuses on sea food type entries. So much like any other chain, can end up good or shitty depending on the day or the establishment.

I'd say check it out. I usually avoid the Lobster though as I don't like it, its like eating a fish flavored sponge. I stick to just shrimp now when I go there.

 

[dainthomas]

Used to live in a hickville town, and the nicest restaurant there was RL. It was funny because people would actually dress up to go there. And we'd go in normal t-shirt/jeans attire and people would look at us weird. Ignorant hillbillies, I'd sooner dress up to go to Red Robin.

 

[torpid]

It's among the better large-scale restaurant chains in its category, but still not that great. I'd rather go there than Chili's or (cr)applebee's or TGI Friday's or Olive Garden for sure.

 

[Beev]

I like their shrimp scampi, and the price is good enough. I go there once every 6 months or so.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I will not eat there. Working in the restaurant biz made me shy away from restaurants, RL was one of the worst.

 

[PingSpike]

Hard to take commercials seriously, isn't it? I mean McDonald's burgers look fresh in commercials and like they're made on site. In reality, its a reheated mess that some fat guy sat on and farted into before wrapping it up.

 

[KeithTalent]

Used to live in a hickville town, and the nicest restaurant there was RL. It was funny because people would actually dress up to go there. And we'd go in normal t-shirt/jeans attire and people would look at us weird. Ignorant hillbillies, I'd sooner dress up to go to Red Robin.

This happened to us at The Keg (a crappy chain steak joint) in the suburbs of Vancouver. We dressed in just jeans and t-shirts, just like we would with any other crappy chain joint, but when we got in there everyone was dressed up in their fancy clothes for their big night out, and they stared at us like we were crazy. That's when we knew to avoid dining in the suburbs if at all possible.

KT

 

[ponyo]

Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

Frozen seafood microwaved priced at a premium. Save your money.

 

[DesiPower]

Its a joke of a seafood. It's like taco Bell for Mexican food.

 

[alien42]

for everyone who loves the biscuits, Kroger sells a 'value' brand mix for garlic and cheese biscuits that are very close to Red Lobsters.

 

[Jeraden]

I remember going occasionally when I was a kid and it wasn't bad. I just went earlier this year for the first time in ages and my god was it horrible. I got some kind of scallop meal, where the scallops were puny, completely overcooked, completely unseasoned, and visually unappetizing (little white blobs, no color on them at all). Was like they boiled them or something.
My wife got some kind of baked fish, that was completely soggy/mushy and disgusting.
Could get better seafood out of the grocery store freezer case and cook in the microwave. Seriously was the worst eating out experience I have had in ages. It's now a running joke in the family about going to Red Lobster for dinner. What's laughable is that there is always a huge line outside. Yeah, I was a sucker and had to wait like half an hour for a table when I went too, but at least I had no idea the food was that bad.
What's sad is right across the street is a Joe's Crab Shack, which is infinitely better in my opinion - I really like their crab pots.

 

[dainthomas]

Not that I'm aware of; I've never seen one in Canada. :hmm:

KT

According to their website Toronto has ten, Calgary has three, Edmonton has two, Winnipeg has one, Saskatoon has one.

 

[BrownShoes]

The best thing about Red Lobster is that you will leave full.
It's more quantity over quality but it isn't the worst food in the world. 5/10.

 

[dainthomas]

What's sad is right across the street is a Joe's Crab Shack, which is infinitely better in my opinion - I really like their crab pots.

And you STILL went to Red Lobster? Fail.