Red Lobster Consumer Reviews - Page 4

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- I had just ordered a carry out order for the Admiral's Feast, and at $17.00 I was expecting a decent meal and got a good amount of food. The meal itself was clam strips, scallops, butterflied shrimp, and a fish fillet, all of which was fried. This came with a side and salad which I chose a baked potato and caesar salad. The salad to start with looked decent however I didn't receive any dressing for this so was really unable to eat it. I ate it later with different dressing and really wasn't bad. The lettuce was rather fresh and tasted OK, however without the dressing really could have been anything and would have tasted the same.

My baked potato was horrible. It was so over-seasoned I really couldn't even eat it. I had to try to wipe it off and do anything to get rid of the massive amount of salt on it. The meal itself unfortunately was about the worst part. The scallops were about the only good part. The clam strips I ate about two of because they were just bad. There was really no clam in them it was almost all breading and the clam that there was was overcooked so badly that they couldn't even be bitten through. The shrimp were about the same. They were just really tough and lacked almost any flavor. All of the seafood needed so much sauce to taste good at all.

The fish fillet was actually pretty good, kind of soggy by the time I got to eat it but the fish itself was cooked better, flaked apart and one of the good parts of my meal. Overall though all the seafood really lacked any flavor or taste and was not cooked well. The only part of the meal I ate that I actually ate all of were the biscuits which are pretty good, but everything else was really just not good at all. It has been a while since I have eaten at Red Lobster and each time just seems to be going down hill. I will not eat here again as I work in a fish restaurant that is comparably priced, I would be embarrassed to serve anything like this to our customers.

Again, this food was just bad, overcooked and over seasoned yet still lacked any real flavor. The woman that was the Hostess was really nice and friendly so I didn't want to say anything to her knowing that she had nothing to do with the food, but it was just not good. What happened Red Lobster?!?!

MISSOURI -- I have never been to a Red Lobster Restaurant before. My Husband saw this one while we were driving and mentioned that he had not been here for years and it would be nice to have dinner there with our 3 children. So we stopped and went inside where we were informed about the 10 min wait. The waitress called us and took us back to our table, right in the middle of the restaurant. Our youngest daughter is only 4 months old and was in her car seat on one of the restaurant's car seat slings. Several times waiters walked by balancing full trays of food dangerously close to her and bumped into the sling's frame.

We ordered our food and had to wait about 20 min until the biscuits arrived, another 25 min until our dinner was served. When it did arrive I was really disappointed. My husband had told me what a great place "Red Lobster" is so my expectations were high. I did not expect a plate with stale fries, burned calamari and broccoli and dry mozzarella sticks. I could not believe that after all this wait this is the best they come up with.

After a while the waiter checked on us to see if we are enjoying our dinner. I told him that I am not enjoying my dinner actually and he took the plate and suggested for me to try one of the great deserts. So I ordered a delicious looking apple pie from the menu. What I received was a piece of pre-made apple pie, hot on the outsides and still frozen in the middle and a 60 dollar bill, with no rush to pay according to the waiter, who by the way had to be asked for refills several times. I thought this restaurant was a great disappointment and I will never eat there again.

DECATUR, ALABAMA -- When money was better me and my wife used to visit Red Lobster 2-3 times a year. As of late as with most of America money has become somewhat tight, but we wanted to take out kids out for a nice meal to a place they don't hand you your food out of a window. So we decided to spend a bit too much on a meal that in the past was expensive but the food was good.

The first change we noticed was the rolls. In the past these delightful rolls where handed out on a plate 2 for each person at the table - they brought you more if needed. Tonight they gave a plate of 4 to serve 4 people. OK no real biggie except by the time they got to table we were almost done eating, so I don't know if they would have offered more as they became our dessert. Not only were they very late to the table they seemed very lack luster compared to past visits.

Now I ordered the ultimate meal and I must admit the lobster was very good. The crab on the other hand was a very small portion and the legs were somewhat soggy. They supplied no tool with which to crack the claw. I am a large man and most say have very strong hands... Lucky me as I needed every once of that strength to break the claws open. One would think at these prices nutcrackers could be supplied. My family for the most part rated their food as better than the stuff at that place under the golden arch's but nothing to come back for again.

Our biggest disappointment of the evening and the reason we will never visit another Red Lobster was the hidden charges on the bill. Not the fact that it cost us over $100 to feed a family of four which on its own was outrageous. They have the nerve and audacity to charge $1 EXTRA FOR A "Extra Tomato Sauce." First off we did not order any Tomato Sauce, one was brought out on the plate for my teenage daughter's fries. There was no extra Tomato Sauce on table and it was not even requested.

Does a company that charges these already outrageous prices expect its customers to pay hidden fees as well? What's next a napkin surcharge? Well Red Lobster your one dollar has cost you 2 long time customers today, and by the sounds of my kids they won't be asking to come back either.

OCEANSIDE -- I took a client to dinner at the Red Lobster restaurant located in Oceanside ca. That was his choice of a place to get lobster. I had never eaten at a Red Lobster restaurant before and will not again. The waiter asked us twice what our drink order was. He served me the wrong drink so that had to be changed. Then we ordered our appetizers, he had to ask again what we ordered, then again what dressing we wanted on the salads. We also ordered 1) 2 lb. Maine lobster for my client and a 1 1/2 lb Maine lobster for myself. I asked if the time if it came cut away from the shell and if the kegs were cut, he said "Yes." When it was served it was just like it had been cooked.

I requested the waiter to do as I had asked. I had never been served a lobster like that and did not know what to do with it. He did not know how so some other employee came and did it and was really ugly about having to do it. I asked for another drink and then the waiter came back and asked who was driving. I said I was. My client still could not drive. He had had 4 more ales. They refused to serve me.

I was not anywhere near being intoxicated. I know California is very strict and I would not take a chance on getting a DUI... Because they felt I had made a scene because of the poor service. I was drunk. When it came time to pay the bill no one would come and pick up the bill and my credit card. We left the table and I asked for the manager. She was telling my client she could not serve me another drink because I was drunk. I did not leave a tip. I put a big zero where the tip would have gone. I plan to get a attorney and sued Red Lobster for accusing me of being drunk and embarrassing me in front of my client.

LIVERPOOL, NEVADA -- So we went to Red Lobster for my daughter's birthday yesterday, and let me tell you, the service was ridiculous! First of all, they refused to seat us for an hour even though they told is fifteen minutes max and slowly seated every other patron in the lobby. Seriously? Not okay. Then, since we explicitly told them it was my daughter's birthday and we witnessed them giving a free slice of cake and song to two other birthday-celebrating patrons, what do we get? A bill and a nudge to go home. That's it, no cake, no song, no seats. Is it because we're Chinese? Is it because we look foreign? I have no idea but this is ridiculous. So if you are a minority, never, ever go to Red Lobster.

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS -- On Monday, Dec. 9, 2013 my family of 10 took me to dinner for birthday. I arrived first asking the Hostess for table for 10. Her respond was, "you will have a one hour wait." I asked why because business was slow and I seen tables everywhere. They had closed off one side of the restaurant so you waited the one hour or ate elsewhere. Are you serious?

I am in the restaurant business and a known restaurant like Red Lobster, in the holiday season and normally a packed place, you are told to wait an hour is totally unacceptable. No way of communicating with some of my party, to have them go somewhere else, we waited and actually enjoyed the meal but still couldn't forget the welcome we got.

You never tell a customer what they don't want to hear. You kill them with respect and kindness. Service was excellent and meal was outstanding, but closing down half of restaurant and telling people either wait for tables to clear or they couldn't accommodate you is very unprofessional. Never in my life have ever put a complaint to a restaurant, but my feelings are this should have never happened.

After my past two visits I was not anxious to return. This is a Darden chain joint that does try but always seems to come up short. Guess I got weak after seeing those unending Lobsterfest commercials. I had a $50.00 dollar gift card from my C.C. points plus a 50% off coupon on the second dinner that they sent me. So basically the dinner was free.

We arrived on a Friday night at 6:30 pm and they were packed. We were told 45 minutes to one hour wait time. They hand you the little pager alerting you when your table is ready. We were seated in 30 minutes. Considering how busy they were the wait time was decent and we were in no rush.

Fast forward. I ordered the stuffed seafood mushrooms for $8.95 which was quite good. Then the house salad with Caesar dressing & garlic bread was decent. We both ordered the Lobster Lovers Dream for $30.00 each. This consisted of a rock tail plus a second tail that was smaller and more tender. The dinner also included linguini with shrimp in an Alfredo sauce. This could have been hotter. Two vegetables are also included.

Conclusion: Red Lobster on a busy night basically got this dinner right. The food was good for this inconsistent chain joint. We'll probably wait until the next Lobsterfest before we return. Google them for some good coupons if you want a decent dinner.

DANVILLE, ILLINOIS -- Slow service. After being seated, waited for 15 minutes before we seen our waitress. Then she shows up acting like she didn't want to be there. She took our drink order and 15 minutes later we finally got them. She then started to walk off. So before she walked off I said, "we are ready to order." Then after we ordered we waited another 15 minutes for the salad and a half hour for food. Food came out wrong and all of us were minus our baked potato. She said it would be right out. Nope. Once the order was finally corrected we managed to eat the entire meal without the potato.

So we continued to sit there not seeing any sign of our waitress. Finally she comes out and says the potato is just about done. 10 min later she comes and says the same thing. So we just asked for our $130 bill, paid and left. This place is horrible. Never go there and I will never go back!

CHICO, CALIFORNIA -- I am a regular at the Red Lobster in Chico. At least two to three times a month I go for dinner. Tonight was the worst service I have ever been given. I sat in the bar area to try something new. The bartender not only was very unprofessional but did not seem to care about the language she used. I asked to have the football game turned up but was told she wasn't allowed which was funny cause her language and voice that carried seemed to be allowed. I was very put off. Things only got worse when my appetizer was brought out cold and undercooked. But to make things even worse I never received my full meal. My snow crab legs never made it to the table.

At the end of my visit I took my concerns to management who seemed less than interested and never offered a single apology. Just said simply "I will talk to her." Then I realized the bartender was also a manager. Wow how disappointing and to think I was spending three to four hundred dollars a month at a place where I was treated so lousy. Well never again.

Our waiter Jonathon promised us VIP service but we would have settled for not being forgotten. After bringing us our drinks and biscuits we were ignored for 22 minutes until our food was served. We actually expected salads and drink refills before that and his attitude at having forgotten us was very nonchalant. My Walt's shrimp was over-cooked. My son had ordered a baked potato but got rice and broccoli instead. When we pointed that out to Jonathon he chose to argue with us that they had no potatoes and he couldn't have gotten potatoes AND rice and broccoli. However my son should have been told about the potato and been given a choice of alternate sides.

So we never got our salads, my shrimp went uneaten, my son's rice and broccoli wasn't touched and we had to ask for the bill to be adjusted!?! They did comp my son's meal but the manager never came to our table to apologize and avoided us at the door! Ten years ago we had a bad service experience here - and now this. We won't be back to this location EVER! (The Lake Worth Red Lobster always has great service.)