The Potted Lobster — Restaurant in Wales

Prepare for food envy.

You’ve been there before. Scanning the menu with each choice as delectable as the other. Wondering about the specials versus the speciality (spoiler alert, it’s a crustacean). When it comes to fruits of the ocean, less is more provided there is more of the seafood and fresh as can be.

Let’s start off with location, although not perched overlooking the sea, the terrace is perfect for people watching on the high street as they rubberneck to see what smells so delicious.

The front of house staff are delightful, chatty and attentive, without being intrusive. Any faults with the order are quickly amended and there are signs of good training in that all appear familiar with the dishes by actually trying them, so are in a good position to make recommendations.

Apart from my Pinot Grigio we were quaffing excellent cocktails. The Abersoch special is just the thing on a blistering hot day. Citrus, lime, grenadine melded with peach schnapps and rum equals yum! Order 2 so that you don’t have to wait.

My wife’s hake was amazing and did leave me feeling shortchanged with my lobster brioche, that at any other time would have been good. It’s not a lobster po boy, more of a dressed crustacean sandwich. The buttered toasted brioche matched with the mild sweetness of lobster and dressing separately to be added to taste.

It’s always a good sign when the desserts aren’t all variations on a chocolate theme or just ice creams. We both felt that was a touch too much matcha powder on the Pania cotta and should have gone with the recommendation for the rhubarb frangipane.

Overall good food cooked by experienced kitchen staff. Get in ASAP as they are restricting service due to the staff shortages so don’t...

First and foremost, the service at the Potted Lobster is nothing short of exceptional. The team are attentive, knowledgeable and honest with their recommendations.

We were unsure of which wines to pair with our lunch so our waiter kindly offered us two new bottles to try that matched our preferences but hadn’t been submitted to the wine list. His suggestions were perfect and the wine stood up beautifully to the calamari and crab starters.

We both opted for the lobster Thermidor for mains, at this point in the season we were recommended to have the full as opposed to the half due to size and again, this recommendation did not disappoint. I can’t speak for the puddings as we were both too full for a third course. I can, with great confidence, tell you that the starters and main course were beyond compare and generous in size.

Again, I must give recognition to the team behind the Potted Lobster, each of them went above and beyond for us during our time with them and service that good is hard to find. Our thanks to the bar staff, waiting staff and of course the kitchen team for what really was a lunch...

Should really be called The Potted Dog Hotel

We booked a table for a birthday meal with 5 of us including 3 kids and were shown to what can only be described as the “dog corner.” Not one, not two, but four dogs were seated next to us, one of which barked so often it felt like it was on the menu. Not quite the ambience you would expect from a restaurant that markets itself as a seafood spot.

To the food. The calamari starter was delicious and I would recommend it. The mussels, however, had to go back straight away. Every single one I tried contained grit or stones, clearly unwashed, which is pretty disappointing when seafood is supposed to be the speciality here. These were taken off the bill.

For mains I ordered a medium rare steak. It arrived rare. The blue cheese sauce was watery and unpleasant. I ate the steak, sent the sauce back and that was also deducted from the bill.

Overall, for somewhere that carries a reputation and the price tag to match, the experience felt closer to dining in a kennel than in a restaurant. Unfortunately, despite one good starter, this is not a place we will be...