Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

Growing up near the sea coast in New England, I would wait impatiently for the summer to come and with it the opening up of the seasonal clam shacks. These small restaurants were usually only a tiny building with a kitchen and a few employees. You parked your car or walked up from the beach, went up to a window, ordered your clam roll then waited until your name was called to pick up your freshly fried whole belly clams. You could sit at picnic tables outside and enjoy the sea breeze or just sit along the rocky shore. When I walked into Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap for the first time I was immediately swept back to those balmy summer days. The interior is decorated to bring to mind the outside of a clam shack, including the picnic tables that are actually quite comfy. At the window you will find a dry erase board telling you where the fresh, not frozen, seafood was flown in from. You can get some Maine or Canadian lobster, tender and sweet. Get a traditional lobster roll, delicately seasoned and stuffed to overflowing in a buttery split top hot dog bun. Or try some clams from Essex, home of the original fried clam. Though the clams from the Ipswich river, a little ways up the road, are just as tasty. Try them steamed or get some whole belly clams fried to perfection with a light crunchy coating. Speaking of fried to perfection, I judge a seafood place by how well they can cook scallops. When I tried Chef Bob’s fried scallops I knew I was in good hands. The outside was crisp while the scallop was cooked through, without being over done, and melted in my mouth like butter. If you’ve never had a correctly fried scallop, I would suggest going to The Lobstah Trap just for that experience alone. They can be found in the pile of food on the Fisherman’s combo. A dish that can easily be shared with a friend. Or you can keep it all for yourself and try to pretend you’re not enjoying every morsel. The sides at The Lobstah Trap are worth swooning over, as well. House made chips that should be sold by the bag. Coleslaw that is light on the mayo and heavy on the crunch and flavor. Even the tartar sauce is full of complex flavor that adds to the delicate flavor of the seafood, instead of just being a gloppy condiment. If you want to drag along your seafood adverse friends, fear not. The mac n cheese is homemade and the chicken is treated with the same care as the fresh seafood. Unlike the seasonal clam shacks in New England, Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap can be enjoyed all year long. You can also follow his food truck around for your lobster roll fix. Oh, and if the recipe for his tartar sauce goes missing, I swear...

Having just been out to the east coast last autumn, my wife and I were thrilled to discover this restaurant on a recent trip to visit our daughter who lives in Colorado Springs. The atmosphere was top notch. We understand the owner (who moved to Colorado from Massachusetts) wanted to re-create a New England lobster shack experience. It is really cool inside, and we felt like we were taken back to the coast. The young man who took our order was really helpful and the food came out quickly and hot. My wife got the scallops and I got the scrod fish dinner. I was disappointed by the small portion of fish, but the sides were excellent. Plenty of fries that were cooked crispy as requested. And a whole corn on the cob. I was pleased with the portion of the sides, just not the amount of fish for the price paid. We also got clam chowder and lobster bisque to share. My wife said the clam chowder was as good as, or better than, what we tasted in New England but we both agreed the bisque wasn't that good. One little chunk of lobster in a bisque that wasn't too flavorful. It tasted almost bitter; not sweeter like what we enjoyed on the east coast trip, so that was disappointing. Normally I don't tip somebody who just takes an order at the front counter (that never used to be a thing until recently), but the man Dayton (who turned out to be an FOH manager) truly exceeded out expectations and he talked with us at the table while we were eating. I would say one other thing I didn't like was the 2.5% processing fee I discovered on the receipt after we had left, apparently for using a credit card. We went to other restaurants in Colorado during that trip and nobody else charged that so that put a damper on the experience, but overall it...

Husband is from coastal New England and gets super sentimental about the seafood living in landlocked Colorado. I'm always on the lookout for seafood places that will appeal to him. I spotted this restaurant and when I saw it spelled "lobstah" I knew we had to try. As soon as we walked in he looked around and said it looked just like home. He said there was a place they would go to when he was a kid with almost identical red picnic tables. He also commented that they had really decent sized "bugs" (IYKYK) in the live tank up front. The food was exactly what we'd hoped for. He ordered the 1.5 lb lobster dinner and we got steamahs to share. Teen daughter got fried clams and clam chowder that she loved. I got the lobster mac dinner and onion rings which were excellent. Son got a cheeseburger and fries which he called an A but when he tasted dad's lobster he declared that an A+. I checked the prices before we went because I saw a lot of comments on the cost, but it's fairly typical for that sort of food, and some stuff is obviously costlier than others. The menu is online with prices if you go to the order online section on their website so you can decide before you go. This is also a good idea because you order at the counter up front when you come in so it'll save you some time ordering. Very casual so if you're looking for a candlelight dinner experience this ain't it. It has an outdoorsy beachy feel with picnic tables and food is served in baskets. There is also a bar, which we did not take advantage of (this time 😉). Worth every penny to us because it's exactly what we wanted: good authentic New England style seafood in a family friendly environment and where the owners and staff are great. Will...