Red Lobster — Restaurant in Fairfax

I took my mother out for a Sunday lunch at the location mentioned above. When we arrived we were seated and asked by our waitress what we would like to drink. My mother ordered a water and I ordered a coke. No bread was brought and after the drinks were delivered she left us and didn't come back for at least 30 minutes, the server passed by us at least three or four times. When she finally came we ordered the "Create Your Own Combination" we selected the any four option which she wrote down with the utmost dis-care in the world. We ordered it with a 7oz steak, Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, Walt's Favorite Shrimp, and the Wild caught Golden Fried Flounder. When asked if there was a side that come with it we had been told that there was no side. We got our salads, and we got another basket of bread. In the process of eating our salads we had to wait and flag our waitress multiple times to get another one or two baskets of bread ( each of these baskets had three biscuits in them. I had finished my coke and she passed by us three times before she asked if I needed a refill. When we finally got our food that is when things went south very quickly. The fried fish that my mother ordered came with rice while I (who ordered the same exact thing) got none. When asked about it, our server had no idea why. Then i noticed that my pasta was completely dried out. The pasta was hardened and it was now a lump. I went to the front of house and asked for the manager on duty and was promptly told to talk to the server to fix things. I pointed out that our food should've came with sides and that I had no rice. Most importantly the pasta was dried out. She said ok and took the plate and brought back my plate, the same plate, in about five minutes. They had just poured more sauce over the dried out pasta. Because that is how you fix a dried up pasta, pour more sauce on the to the lump. Our server went to go get our sides, I got the manager and asked him how I was suppose to eat the dried out pasta. His answer showed the lack of customer service and general care at all. Our server at the came time came out with the "sides" which was three pieces of broccoli and not even a palm full of fries on a single small plate. Furious told the manager that I no longer wish to eat at that establishment and told my mother that we are going. In the process of us getting up to go our server pipes up and says "they at least like the biscuits, because they had nine". I really wanted to yell at her. The audacity of some one with terrible service to say that to a customer. The manager just stood there, no apologies not a single peep of apology from him. I wasn't very mad at the server, because she was fairly new, but the moment she said that I couldn't chalk it up to being new. I am still mad, it was suppose to be a nice lunch for my mother and I. It turned into a meal from Hell with terrible service and terrible food. Something has got to be done about that. The lack of care and detail...

I have not been to a Red lobster in about 20 years because my last experience gave me horrible food poisoning. But I figured now that they have a new CEO, and I've moved to a new area, I would give it another try at a different location, especially with all the buzz on social media about the seafood boils.

I have to say the cheddar bay biscuits never get old. I got the coconut shrimp first. They were just okay, but definitely nowhere near as good as Outback Steakhouse. I would not get those again.

I got 2 cocktails... The Purple Haze and the Pina colada. Both were very good and they did not skimp on the booze!

The seafood bag was good, though level 1 spicy is a lot more spicy than I expected. I also got a side of the roasted parmesan and Old Bay sauce. On its own, this was just okay but when you mix it in with the Cajun spice, it comes together wonderfully. Next time I would definitely try the roasted butter as a dipping sauce. I wish I was allowed to request the andoillee sausage could be added to the Maine Lobster bag (right now it's only available with the other bag).

The crab was still steaming, and the meat was perfect, not mushy. I got the asparagus with crab on it, and that was also better than expected.

Service was great. My waiter Tony was kind, attentive, and made sure the table was wiped down between courses, something that you surprisingly see very rarely anymore, especially at chain restaurants.

The only negative I will say is there is definitely a strong musty smell when you walk in, which is really off putting. I came to the conclusion that it's because they've got all that carpet in there, and the heat coming off the lobster tank to keep it oxidized I think is the main culprit, but in general carpet in a seafood restaurant is a bad idea, with how even minor spills will hold a smell in the carpet. Otherwise the interior looked nice.

As I was passing by on the way out, they happen to have the kitchen door open. It looked clean and well-organized back in there, something I always try to check for wherever I go out to eat.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience. I'd consider coming back, especially if they continue to renovate their menu. I'd love to see more fresh options that aren't so full of salt (more salads, etc ).

I also definitely really appreciate how they are getting in on social media and bringing in more young people.

Big shout out to the new CEO for all that he's trying to do. Please keep this up! This was nice and while I'm not generally big on chain restaurants, I will definitely look at going to Red lobster more often...

I just enjoyed a lunch with my father. He ordered the lobster and shrimp rolls with fries, and I ordered the grill platter with salmon and requested pasta instead of rice. Mine arrived with a skewer each of shrimp and scallops, and they and the salmon were all seasoned with butter, parsley lots of garlic and diced tomato. The pasta (a thin linguini) was served on a separate plate and had been tossed with butter. The side I had ordered was broccoli, which was perfectly cooked (probably steamed). Also offered with my dish I opted for a garden salad with ranch dressing on the side. It arrived as an appetizer and our waitress, who was also the bartender, brought us some of the famous cheddar bay biscuits.

We polished off the biscuits, and I my salad, just before our meals arrived, so I asked for more of them. They were delivered shortly. The service was lovely. I didn't feel rushed or that our waitress was hovering, but she always kept good attention to the entire room watching politely for indications of requests for her attendance to some need.

My father cleaned his plate. I could not. Other than the salad, I ate about half of my lunch, so I requested a go box for the rest. I wrapped the remaining biscuits in a couple of napkins, knowing they would have to be disposed of if I had left them, and I couldn't bear the thought of those lovely, fluffy, domes of yum in a trash bin.

We paid our bill at the table, utilizing the table pay computer, which was a little more tricky than expected. My father used a debit card, and at first, after he entered his pin, we couldn't see how to continue to the next step. It took a couple more tries and minutes to figure it out. Unfortunately, at that particular time our waitress was taking the order of another table and was not able to assist us. But, hey we're two tech competent people, we can figure out most things, and we are stubborn, so we don't...