Lobster Burger Bar — Restaurant in Toronto

I went here for my birthday celebration on Thursday evening along with my 12 friends. We only had one server named Kayla. Note, the place was not full or busy at all from the time we got there until we left. Please read this review as it could help you to decide to come or not.

Negative Service was slow. I came in by 635pm where my 3 friends have arrived early and they already said negative things about the server such being slow and not knowing how to take order properly. She did good with me at the beginning but throughout the evening it just became slow and slower. Dont get me wrong as we know we were a big group and so we expected to have two servers to attend us as most restaurants do that but this one failed to do so. We had to keep looking back and forth to find the server and there were lots of times that we ordered drinks and they never came and we had to ask again. Auto gratuity issue. We were aware that auto gratuity will be added on the bill as it is a big group which is a usual practice to most restaurants but read this carefully as it shocked us. We got 8 bills and none of them showed the supposedly auto gratuity on the receipt. As I was waiting to settle my bill, I have been hearing my friends asking if the tip is included, so I wondered why. Kayla came to me for my payment and she handed me the machine with a different total amount from the actual bill, so I asked if that included the tip and she said yes and I asked how much percentage and she said 20% which surprised me slightly. I went ahead and paid my bill. We left the place and my friends started talking about how the experience was and discovered that the auto gratuity is supposed to be at 15% and not 20%. Get this, we wouldn’t mind to give more than 15% or 20% but the service was bad. I already have $150 cash to give as my tip but because I was not happy with the service, I didnt give the cash and instead went ahead with the amount shown on the machine. One of my friends contacted the restaurant to address the issue and he spoke with the General Manager named JJ and apologized for the incident and offered to reimburse us each the difference of the 20% and 15% but thats about it. To clear, it was 20% on each bill. Although we wouldn’t want any reimbursement as we think about the kitchen stuff, hosts but because the server simply took advantage of each of us and manually put in 20% plus the service from this server, Kayla was bad, we wanted something more to be done. It’s disgusting and disappointing to know such practice like this exists. Kayla basically stole from me and my guests. On the other hand, classic lobster roll has no taste and I dont know why it was named the best lobster roll in town Pad Thai that my friend ordered complained it was overcooked and paid extra for shrimp which she said she can barely find.

Positive My guests and I enjoyed the seafood tower but the oysters could be better I had the Wagyu and Lobster dinner and it was amazing. I enjoyed that meal. Drinks were good. -Joy was the host who I spoke with when booking the reservation and I thank her for being so patient and kind on all the requests and also thanks to the manager named Laica who have approved the requests we had upon booking the reservation.

I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant if management does not improve their staff training. I would love to come back again and give it another chance but we felt violated by the server’s actions to take...

UPDATE:

Shoutout to JJ for the hospitality, humour, and an overall amazing corrective experience. There's not many restaurants that offer this level dedication when it comes to making things right, and I can genuinely say JJ went above and beyond. He went out of his way to contact me directly, and invite my wife and I back to LBB for fully comped dinner & drinks -- and it was amazing.

The steak and oysters were great, lobster with garlic butter was to die for, and the in-house crème brûlée was a perfect way to end things off.

JJ gave us the best seat in the restaurant, consistently checked on us, and we shared some great laughs too. He's a really funny and personable guy.

I'll definitely be back, and I'd recommend LBB to anyone looking for a great food & vibes downtown.

Thanks again for a great night!

Overall poor experience at Lobster Burger Bar last night. We booked a reservation via OpenTable last Tuesday for their half-off steak & lobster special — but couldn’t make it. I called around 6:47pm to let them know, and specifically asked if the special is still available next week as I no longer saw it on the reservation app when I tried to re-book for this week. The server told me that it’s always available on Tuesdays, just come in and ask for it.

Upon arrival last night, we had to call the restaurant since no one was at the front to let us in. We drove all the way from Milton and were super excited for the steak & lobster platter, just for our server to tell us they no longer do that special and stopped it 2 weeks ago. I literally booked a reservation last week under this special, so I have no idea how it was discontinued two weeks ago. When I told her about my conversation when I called in last week to confirm, she told she’s “not sure why they told me that.” We were disappointed but still ordered the seafood boil, mac and cheese, and a few appetizers that we thought were half-off since we came at 8:30pm during Happy Hour.

When we got our bill, the lobster chowder was half-off but oysters weren’t. The server told us that oysters aren’t an appetizer, despite the menu on the website clearly listing oysters under the appetizer section. At this point, we were fed up so we paid our bill and left.

The food wasn’t bad, but the overall service and lack of transparency left a bad impression. We drove from Milton specifically for the lobster platter special — just to be told it wasn’t available even after confirming a week prior. Then didn’t even get half-off on an item that’s clearly listed on their menu under appetizers. We left very unsatisfied and I can’t see...

Tried this restaurant for the first time for Winterlicious. First impressions, modern looking restaurant with bar vibes playing semi loud music. Dark lighting which is nice for a romantic dinner, but some may not like. I liked the decor with a mix of tables and booths that can seat two to 8ish or more if tables are combined. Washrooms are unisex and individualized with seperate toilet and sink for each "stall". Staff seem very busy...waited 10 min to be acknowledged. Had the lobster chowder which had large chunks of potatoes, corn and lobster...but had a cayenne kick. The lobster bisque was another alternative, has a few large pieces of lobster but a bit acidic for my stomach. The lobster and fries was a hefty portion, with a large portion of crispy fries. Fries were the best I've had from a restaurant, thin cut and spiced with all spice?. Lobster was a 1-1.5lb lobster...had a choice of grilled, fried or boiled, I choose grilled. Happy the chef cracked some of the claws to make it easier to eat. Tasty, came with butter or garlic butter and aioli on the side. Wish lobster came with tomalley (roe and brain) because it is my fav part...perhaps should be an option? Would have liked a empty dish for shells instead of dumping it onto my fries. Drank a Cesar which was spicy and came with a pickled bean, perhaps expecting a piece of lobster, but maybe I'm asking for too much. My food mate had the waygu burger with a large scoop of truffle, good portion...described as "creamy and melt in your mouth"...depending on what you like, may not be what you are looking for. Dessert: Peanut butter cheesecake tasted like eating a peanut butter cup, the best dessert to have. I had the banana bread pudding, tasted like a harder banana bread with chocolate...didn't like it as much as the cheesecake. Had a latte which was from the "illy" brand, standard. Service: The staff seem nice, but seems like they are very busy and running around. The manager, Jay, did come around to some tables to say hi, not ours tho. Noticed they have a half off apps and drinks happy hour which is after work and late night. Overall nice decor, okay atmosphere, perhaps a place to go on occasion or for happy hour. One of the better options for lobster. Cute that there...