Red Lobster — Restaurant in Huntington

Life changing. I'll just say it... these were the reddest lobsters I've ever seen! I know that when an establishment calls itself the Red Lobster you expect a bit of truth behind the statement, but this place has gone far and above to shatter any preconceptions I had about how red a lobster could actually be. Now, I want to say upfront, don't be fooled by the dull hued lobsters that they have gurgling away in the tank in the waiting hall because you will look at these lobsters and think solemnly, "These lobsters are not very red at all." But do not worry. This is just how the lobsters look before the fine cooks work their magic and make those lobsters the reddest that you could ever imagine. I chose an ancient old fellow from the briny tank and he was whisked off to the myriad of corridors and chambers where these culinary magicians would work their dark art. I was seated in a soft booth to await the arrival of my soon to be crimson companion and was presented with a small basket of biscuits. They smelled delicious and I overheard one of the stewards say they were all the way from the Bay of Cheddar. It would have been very easy to overindulge on the flaky morsels had my focus not remained so firmly set on the coming promise of lobster red. After a short time observing the other patrons dining on a myriad of ocean treasures (were those clam strips on the young lady's plate? How divine!) I saw a small entourage emerge and begin to approach me carrying a most stately platter. There are no words in the human tongue to express what came next but I will make a meager attempt. What I observed as the steaming salver was lowered before my unprepared eyes left me in dumbfounded awe. There it was. Right before me. The Red Lobster. The reddest lobster that I could ever conjure in a dream. The beauty of the color was such that I feared my eyes would sear and run from their sockets. The color seemed to explode off of the plate! The dancing steam that poured out from the gleaming carapace only seemed to intensify the imagination as this color (if one could even dare call it that!) shone back into the minds eye almost knowingly. This simple color resting at the end of the visible spectrum, nestled next to orange and contemplating the vast distance to violet, threatened to overwhelm the senses with its nuanced shimmers of subtle variation. Red, yes! But a sea of it! An ocean of color laid out before humbled eyes as they flowed over shades of cardinal and crimson. Riding the waves of scarlet and ruby, cresting over maroon and crashing down into vermilion. One is forced back on that blood red ocean of time to our very ancestors, low browed and hunchback over stone bowls. Thick, brutish knuckles grinding ocher into pigment for their prehistoric cave art. The Ancient ones. Egyptians and Mayans, faces smeared red in exalted praise to the Gods. Roman generals with their bodies painted red to celebrate victory over their foes. Onward still through the centuries aback this blood red tide to the time of revolution! Of communist revolt and oppression. Red, the color of courage, of danger, of sacrifice! Of love... I found myself reeling in the face of such visual power! Through sheer tyranny of will I wrested my consciousness free of the cinnabar cosmos this reddest of red crustaceans had sent me flailing. I found myself once again seated at the booth in the restaurant. This Red Lobster. Ha. Indeed. I feel forever changed by my experience that evening in that unsuspecting little eatery. The world now a little dimmer. The colors a little duller. What can one expect, really? Facing the mundane of the everyday after having gazed into such glory. But my soul remembers that crimson lust of the lobster so red. And one day it shall return. Also the Cheddar Bay biscuits...

The only reason I'm rating this 3 stars is because I've ate here a few times before this (at the bar) and had good service. But this was our experience as a group and I felt it was necessary to post because the experience should really be noticed by the managers.

Anyways, we went here for my mom's bday dinner last night. It was 7 of us and a high chair. We were seated a little after 7. We waited a good 15 minutes for our server to make an appearance.

When she finally got there, we ordered our drinks, an appetizer, and our food. She said she'd be back with our drinks and bread.

15 minutes later, she returned with our drinks. When she left, she said she'd be back with our bread and appetizers. It took her 30 minutes to return with our salads and appetizer. Still no bread.

We told her the pepsi was bad (4 of us had pepsi and all of us agreed it tasted awful). She repeatedly challenged us, saying it looked fine but that she'd check it. She insisted they all order another drink "just in case" the pepsi wasn't bad and they just didn't like it. It's hard to explain her mannerism. She wasn't exactly rude, but she wouldn't listen and continued to repeat herself instead of just quickly going to check the pepsi.

When she finally returned about 15 minutes later, she thankfully brought new pepsi that was much better, and the bread. When she left she said our food was coming up and she'd be back.

Slowly, she brought out our trays of food and dished them out. At the end, she'd forgotten several items and my mom's whole dinner. Every time there was a mistake, she went into this looooong explanation as to why it wasn't her fault and what happened. It felt like complete BS, but please understand, we were polite. We just wanted our food.

We'd been there about two hours by the time my mom, the birthday girl, finally got her meal. This was after all of us but ONE had issues with our food. All of our crab was cold, the lobster was tough, the sides were undercooked and pathetic, and several if us were missing items and had to wait again and again for her to finally remember to go get them.

And every time there was an issue, it was never her fault. She always blamed someone else and the explanation took so long we gave up on even trying to get stuff out of her.

Our plates were barely touched, she was completely clueless and we were trying very very hard not to create a scene. We were just out to have a good time. But we had hundreds of dollars worth of food on the table that we didn't even eat.

I finally went to a manager and tried to explain what was going on. He was sympathetic but seemed to only hang on to one thing, that our crab was cold.

He came to the table and apologized, brought my mom some Cheesecake. Our server apologized and said she "wished you'd just told me your crab was cold" so she could've gotten us new plates. Never-mind that it took us 2 hours to get our first round of food from her.

The manager discounted $70 of the check. We still paid over $200 for food we barely touched.

I wish I was exaggerating. I absolutely hate leaving bad reviews. But this couldn't...

First and foremost; they did amazing with all the parties they had tonight! (Mine included 10 ppl!) It was my wife's 42nd! Secondly they were receptive to my service dog! Thirdly they took us even though our party was missing 4 ppl. (1 car). I also want to thank John who did an amazing job taking care of all of us! Now to be the advocate...the sweet tea was absolutely weak, tasted like water and a lil sugar nearly no tea taste. (Was not just me having this issue ((as there were 4 of us with sweet tea))! Secondly my first alcoholic drink was actually served to my 19 year old nephew and niece in law and not my wife and I. And I was given just a regular strawberry lemonade minus the Titos or garnish (this was all on my nephews glass) ((they did enjoy it! Not the point)) The second Titos strawberry lemonade I never asked for and they changed me for finally had liquor in it!!! So thank you for giving my nephew and niece my alcoholic beverage, which I heard about on the 50 min drive home! Finally I truly hate to say it, but y'all knew it was my wife's birthday from the time I told I was coming with a big party; you couldn't even give her a Happy Birthday or a small token...a brownie with a scoop of ice cream. Even T.R. for my birthday gave us both a brownie and cherries and whipped cream and sang to me! Where was the care and comment to my wife especially considering it was over double the price!!! I spent around $80 for T.R. this year for my 40th and $135 for my wife's 42. Where was...