The Lobster Pot — Restaurant in Barmouth

AVOID if you are thinking of ordering lobster.

The lobster was tough and chewy due to being overcooked. When I asked for a replacement the Chef told the waitress that all of the lobsters come like this. I can only assume the chef is not experienced in cooking lobster if this is their response. Also I was told by the waitress that the lobster is fresh from the harbour this week then the lobster is cooked and then reheated at the time of ordering. This explains why the dish came out in minutes.

Unfortunately the customer service was very poor when I raised the issue about the lobster. I had a replacement battered squid dish (which was fine) and ordered a side of chips which I was unable to eat as they did not arrive until we were leaving.

Lobster pot take payment when ordering and refused to refund the difference for the food that I purchased meaning I was forced to pay £23 for the £10squid light bite dish.

I wanted to complain about this but the waitress also said the staff at Lobster pot have no way of refunding a customer unless the manager is there and told me that the manager was out running personal errands and had no idea when they would be back. This is obviously not acceptable in a food establishment but the waitress said this is how they operate as they rarely have problems.

The staff seemed very inexperienced and seemed to rely on asking the chef about any queries but the chef was unprofessional and blamed me for the inedible, overcooked lobster. The chef told the waitress that I should not be refunded the difference in price because the lobster looked like I had eaten most of it! In reality I had cut out a small amount of the lobster meat from the shell, had taken two bites of it and at that point asked for the replacement as I found it impossible to cut or eat due to how tough it was.

In summary, you are okay eating there if you want simple fast food, not cheap but in a good location on the harbour (I have no complaints about the fish chowder, battered squid rings or fish goujon and chips children’s meal that we also ordered). I would not recommend at all for lobster nor the customer service, which was probably the worst I have...

I'm not sure why this place has good reviews, alot of them seem fake, I'd be very cautious of that, plenty of other excellent sea food venues locally. We ate here last night, found the younger staff were constantly being shouted at and pressured by the the lady who I think owned or managed the place , bad atmosphere, the food was very average at best and over priced. Today we were looking for a tray of shellfish as you do when at the seaside, unfortunately this was the only place we could find that sold them, so we took the gamble and went back and used the smaller kiosk at the end of the restaurant. I asked for a pot of Cockles and Mussels mixed for my daughter as she doesn't like the other items , but it wasn't on the menu so the young nice girl serving us asked the same lady who we witnessed shouting at the staff the night before if we can do that but she got rudely told off for asking and said to just sell us 2 pots instead at £3 each. Instead of just having a mixture in one pot, could have just said no and let me make my own decision to buy 2 pots. This lady then started to talk loudly indirectly to us moaning that people don't look at the signs or menus and just ask for what they want, well how very dare a paying customer do such a thing. Sorry for asking. I feel truly sorry for the members of staff who have to endure this miserable dragon of a woman regularly, they work there. I can just walk away, never return and leave a bad review. I don't leave many reviews but I felt this was important for anyone looking to have a relaxing sea food meal, you wont get it here, cramped venue, rude owners and you better not ask any...

Avoid.

I’ve been to the Lobster Pot several times in the last few years, and every time it’s been a worse experience unfortunately.

Firstly they had no lobster in as it’s out of season, which I appreciate however they informed me no one else in the local area would have either, which wasn’t the case as I have since checked with other Restaurants which have plenty in stock. Considering the name of the place you’d expect them to have a supply for the off season of cardigan bay lobster.

The restaurant is as always extremely cramped and not suitable for a push chair or wheel chair, there were multiple dogs in the building which were constantly barking and yelping which totally ruined the ambience, to top it off I saw a woman with a dog sat on her lap at the table which wasn’t cleaned before the next patron came in to eat, which I find totally disgusting.

The food it’s self was good except the muscles which tasted off in my opinion, I had the Seafood Linguine and my Partner had the chicken Caesar burger which as always she enjoyed.

Drinks are overpriced and the coffee was absolutely horrendous.

All in all a very disappointing visit and I don’t think I will be back due to the hygiene.

And I will not be recommending to my friends and family again as these comments seem to mirror their experiences regarding the dogs and hygiene.

One of the worst experiences I’ve had in a restaurant, which is a shame as I once really enjoyed...