Lobster On The Wharf Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlottetown

I've waited all my life (we're talking decades) to have my first lobster, caught from the waters of Atlantic Canada and served up fresh. Why? Well being from the prairies I grew up never having it and then as a grown up I vowed that I'd someday do it and do it right.

So when me and my friends arrived at LOTW we got seated at a small table (for three men) and so I went back to ask if they had a bigger one. The person that helped reseat us was Jim, the owner. I introduced myself, shook hands and told him basically the same thing. Waited all my life for the real deal and your restaurant tonight is going to be it.

Back at our new table it was a busy night and our server was running around trying to serve too many tables. Am sure she was feeling the strain because our service was pretty poor. Just enough time spent to drop things off and take things away. Little attention, little service and a lot of shotgunning her and other passing staff with asks of stuff that had been forgotten.

Then the meals came. My friends lobsters looked big and amazing, mine not so much. See the pic below - it was small and shriveled, the last third of it, a deep green. My dinner company was unimpressed. I wouldn't eat that green stuff, my Charlottetown pal said.

The first bite was rubbery and tasteless, as was the rest (along with the lobster bisque I had before it). I was able to get about four forkfuls of the tail before all that was left was green. Our server never came back to check on us, so we never had a chance to get a different one.

Long, long after the other plates were done the owner came by to ask how my first lobster was. It was alright I said. My buddy chimed in and told the truth. The owner hesitated and then replied that this was how they turned out some times, the green was the roe and that was that. No offer to bring me another, no offer to take it off the bill (it wasn't cheap!), just a brush off of our concern. After a pause of looking at our unimpressed faces, he left...as did we after settling the bill.

Two nights later, my local pal went to another restaurant in town and came back with lobster for a second go. Oh man, WHAT a difference!! Moist, succulent, sweet, bursting with flavor and melt in your mouth. Amazing. THAT is what I will tell people was the first lobster in my life. The other one - just plain bad.

I'll end this way too-long review with a comparison. I live in near Calgary, in the country. A rural farm-to-table cafe, is just down the road where the owner serves his own farmed beef. If I brought a friend and told him it was my pal's first Alberta steak in her life, the owner would make sure she got a great one. If I asked for that very thing for her, myself, probably even better. Either way, the owner definitely would have told the chefs and almost definitely checked it himself before it hit the table.

Mistakes happen. Fixes happen too. But not for this diner. A friendly word to the owner, next time you hear the words 'first lobster ever' - make sure your customer...

Update: Been here a handful of times over the last year or so.

Previous review would have remained at five stars had our visit on July 11th been the only visit on our trip.

We got the bacon wrapped maple scallops, calamari, and mussels with the lobster feast for two. Service was great, as was the food. I was a bit surprised as we were there for a birthday and notified them while making the reservation and on arrival, that they didn't even offer a dessert or anything as most restaurants do, but not a make or break. Wouldn't have even thought anything of it had we not seen two separate tables with birthdays on our most recent visit on the 14th both get treated accordingly.

The male server we had on the 11th was attentive without hovering. We never were left wanting for drinks or anything. Cutlery, and accessories all came in time with the food. The Blueberry mule was great with a nice ginger beer that had a good ginger kick on the finish. Upstreet Go Devil was as expected, the Commons Pils I tried was a bit of a flat pour, likely near the end of the keg, but wasn't undrinkable.

We returned July 14 as a few of our friends came out to the island. We were hoping give them the same experience we've had previously and that plan fell flat. Service was embarrassing after having talked about how the last few times went so smooth. While waiting for our apps, the server was nowhere to be found with refills for our waters. Ended up giving up and asking the bartender (owner?) who promptly brought us a pitcher to top up. We asked about the soup of the day and were told it was potato leek, but I got served tomato vegetable. The bartender confirmed potato leek was not the soup of the day and took it back. It took over 30 minutes to get our drinks, appetizers came 15 or so after, then another 20 or so for our mains. Then had to chase down the server for tools for the lobster our friend ordered as nothing arrived with it.

I understand there has been some staffing shortages and turnover in all industries, so the odd issue is expected. Perhaps it was an off day, or something more, as it was by no means slammed when we were there today, even compared to our last visit.

Original Review: Tried the bacon wrapped scallops, mussels, and their lobster dinner. It all lived up to my expectations. The lobster was perfectly cooked as was the scallops. Staff were friendly and quick. Couple local...

As a long time resident of PEI, tonight I was not impressed for a multitude of reasons. The issues I experienced tonight were not that of one individual but rather the over all management of the establishment.

First, upon arrival, having a reservation for a table for two, seating should have been painless. Instead, I waited patiently to be acknowledged at all, and once greeted the individual who was serving me, stopped mid way through our interaction to discuss seating arrangements for other tables to two other employees. I understand those conversations are necessary however I was in the middle of being served and this was unprofessional.

Second, my son and I were unceremoniously placed in a servers section, by the server being told "you take the two then ", in a... not rude but not polite way either. Just.. rushed i guess.

So after my server then takes over for the now two separate individuals who chose where to seat us, we get sat and order drinks.

Issue 3. The over all service, or lack thereof. After receiving our drinks, and placing the food order, we saw our server the absolute bare minimum. To a point of frustration. I was able to physically see them serving people outside and not seeing my attempts to call them over, for quite some time. Time enough that we did not see them again until the main course was delivered, and they dropped the food and left so fast I couldn't even ask for the complimentary bread everyone else was getting, to be brought.

Eventually I got the bread, but by then my meal was almost gone, my drink had emptied, and I was certainly not offered another drink by anyone at all. When ready to leave, we had to walk to the front to ask for our bill.

This is not PEI hospitality. I have sat with islanders, at their tables, in their homes, invited in for a hearty meal and good cheer. What i experienced this evening was nothing of the island way to take care of people.

People come here to know what pei is like, and this particular restaurant brags about being a pei essential stop, and then flops where it really counts. Not in the volume of tables turned over, but in the genuine kindness of the people.

These employees are clearly stressed and struggling, and the owners, management and team need to pause and reassess their approach to the...