The Lobster Trap — Restaurant in Avalon

I've never gone to Catalina and not gone to Lobster Trap. It's a must visit and honestly you won't be disappointed if you just come to the island for this. Most items are a little pricey do to the import and boat delivery costs of the entire island.

Southern Californian's think they get the freshest seafood. Overnight this and overnight that, but unless you know where your food is sourced, it's not guaranteed the way it is here and oddly enough another supremely fresh monger joint Catalina Offshore Products in SD makes me think the name is synonymous with freshness. (never noticed that until writing this). Shout out Tommy at COP.

The only salad worth getting is the spinach for the bacon ranch because the bacon and the dressing is warm. Seared Ahi is expensive and I don't like the asparagus.

The chowder isn't very impressive, but you can tell the quality is good, just the recipe need fine tuning, also pricey.

Taco's are ok, but when you pay a little more for the grilled swordfish, mahi mahi, sea bass and taste the fish your kind of hooked.

Smoked Albacore is a delight that is rare to find, even at seafood specialty places. Serve chilled reminds me of something my Filipino parents used to eat. Love the calamari since breaded in cracker meal and the steamed artichoke is pretty good deal as artichoke is usually expensive out of season. Littleneck clams are a must since almost no one carries them, let alone for an appetizer. Monkey balls are good, but probably not worth the price.

Don't hate me. I like their steak here. Not specified USDA rating, but excellent marbling and fresh. I learned to ask for my steaks medium rare instead of rare here. My first few came up a little undercooked because I think they are used to the fast cooking fish. At a steak house I prefer rare, but at a seafood place like this I don't. Love getting a side of butter for shrimp or crab or lobster for the build your own surf & turf. For Fish I recommend the tomato basil cream sauce, garlic mushroom or blackened. The caper lemon sauce only works well on the lighter firmer fish.

Their sandwiches are the easiest dishes to get since they come with fries and slaw and most people coming here are for the day and on the move, so like the Ahi, Mahi Mahi, Sword fish, Salmon or Calamari. The lobster roll is pricey and I'm not a fan of the tarragon sauce.

Lost Coast brewery is pretty good and surprising considering the remoteness. Happy Hour every day from 2-4 which is prime for the hungry tourists. A surprising selection of beers and wine's, heavy handed bartenders too.

Service is good for on the go eating, but for the real experience you're not going to get fine dining. Décor is small and very much a Catalina vibe. It actually reminds me of San...

My boyfriend told our server he has an allergy to dairy and nuts. She told us the calamari batter was dipped in milk which seemed great she knew offhand without checking. But then my boyfriend ordered the lobster, double checked with her that there wouldn't be any allergy concerns and she was certain there wouldn't be any dairy. A few bites into his lobster his mouth starts itching, then he's wheezing. He went to the bathroom to try and throw up and then ends up taking some medicine at the bar to slow down the reaction. It takes at a minimum 10minutes to get the server's back over to us to ask her to please check again if it was cooked with dairy or if it's just a cross contamination. She comes back and just says, "we can make you another," which now we don't trust. He tells her no and I'm still waiting on a salad. Our server had a table of maybe 15 people so while she was with them I watched my salad sit at the window and it seemed like servers only take their own orders out, there are no other food runners. We also saw a chef making another lobster and it looked like he poured a ladle of white broth over the lobster which I can only assume had cream or butter in it. So after some time we stop someone else and ask for the check. Our original server comes back and doesn't apologize for the lobster, never bringing my food, and just asks if she could still charge us for the draft beer, Arnold Palmer, and chips in salsa....

Space and tabling is a little tight for me. Customer service was great. Food was really good and plate size is really big. Well worth the pricing. We got coconut shrimp and calamari for appetizers. Both seems like they were overcooked and really brown but they weren't. Still juicy and crunchy with flavors. The sauce for coconut shrimp was delicious with a little kick. Really liked it. The tarter sauce was ok. Felt it had a little too much mayonnaise. Entrees was... so much food! My husband ordered Catalina local lobster, lobster roll, and lobster taco. I ordered fish and chips and fettuccine. He says the taco was ok, not a lot of flavor. (I couldn't get a picture. Husband inhaled it before I realized it was even there.) Lobster roll was flavorful. Better than the taco. He really liked the lobster plate. The stuffing was alright but the lobster itself was really good. Still very moist and tender. The 2 sides- rice pilaf and steamed veggies- was really good. Both very well cooked and seasoned well. Fettuccine was really good. Very saucy. Bread that came with it wasn't all too great. Were a little too chard to taste much. Fish and chip was ok. Fries was ordinary. Fish was crunchy and juicy. Almost felt like the breading was a casing the fished was put in. Tater sauce was same as before. Was still good though. Overall all, I would recommend this restaurant. Definitely a stop if and...