Red Lobster — Restaurant in Kentwood

Even though I realize writing this review and commentary is probably a colossal waste of time, I nonetheless feel I must do what I can to call attention to the sad state of this restaurant chain’s affairs. We had decided a few years ago to forgo Red Lobster when choosing a restaurant because of the failing quality of food and service we were witnessing at the ones we visited. On Saturday around 2 pm we returned from a day of shopping in Lansing (MI) and hadn't stopped to eat all day. Just before we got into Grand Rapids my wife suggested we stop at the Red Lobster on 28th street and give it one more try. What a mistake! The fall from grace we experienced prior to swearing off the restaurant chain a few years ago had unfortunately continued and, apparently, fully manifested itself at this location. Not only was the food quality less than stellar, but the service had reached a new low. Our server was the worse example of customer service my wife and I had experienced since we both could remember. She was brash and dismissive, mostly reminding us of Omarosa. Her style was to deliver clandestine character attacks while simultaneously posing as a legitimate waitress. It was obvious that she was purposely trying to make us feel small merely because we were requesting that she actually serve us what we wanted. Unfortunately we were so hungry that we decided to bear the insulting treatment as long as we could in hopes that we could just get something to eat. During the meal we were forced to bear even more of the server’s questionable behavior. She smirked at every request from us and made no attempt to assuage our obvious mounting fears that we were being treated unfairly. As we neared completion of our “meal” we were treated to a visit from the manager. Obviously the manager had collaborated with our server prior to the table visit. To our complete surprise, she immediately began to defend her waitress and, by default, suggested that we were out of line in our decision to complain. This was the last straw. I immediately told her that we would be compiling a written complaint to be delivered to the corporate offices in Orlando. Prior to writing this, I tried to see how the restaurant chain had faired with other patrons by checking out reviews in forums such as Yelp and Consumer Affairs. That’s when I began to realize that what we had experienced really wasn't news. It seems the restaurant chain’s problems with questionable food quality and terrible service is well known throughout the country. That fact suggested to us that the corporate mindset at the top of the organization was not only accepting of these problems, but possibly bordering on being complicit in their manifestations. We could conceive of no other reason why such activity would be tolerated by a public organization of this size. I dare say we will never return to this establishment, nor will we patronize another Red Lobster restaurant in any location until we are convinced through credible sources that the above issues have been addressed and adequate remediation...

(I don't normally start my reviews with "So..." Unless it wasn't a great experience. . . But here we are. . .)

So. . . Let me just start off with, I used to LOVE going to Red Lobster as a Kid. Always had a GREAT experience! It was generally packed, great ambience, expensive yet great quality and good tasting food. The only thing I experienced out of all of those things that were mentioned this evening was "Expensive".

My fiance and I decided to go out for the evening on a whim, and decided at the last minute that Red Lobster was the place we wanted to go. Originally we were excited to go due to nostalgic sake. And since we don't normally go out all that much due to work, it was a special occasion.

My fiance ordered a special, Crab Legs with Alfredo Pasta and I order the Harbor Bay Bowl or something along those lines as well as an appetizer. The Harbor Bay Bowl was drowning in water and half of the mussels were hard or sealed. And overall, there was no taste in the pasta due to the water. Fiance's dish was also bland tasting and the crab was kinda skimpy. . . Asides the quality of food being a major disappointment, yet relatively expensive, the place was empty and sort of dingy looking on the inside.

Keep in mind, it was roughly 9pm, which should be the restaurants peak hour for dinner rush. And yet, the restaurant was relatively empty, which should have been a red flag to us.

However, despite our overall disappointing experience, Our waitress/service was WONDERFUL! Which is what perhaps saved the evening. Our waitress, was quite spot on, kind, courteous, polite, quick and efficient. Sorry I cannot provide her name, but she was great!

After expressing a few of our grievences in the most polite way possible, our waitress apologized for our experience and comped the appetizer without being asked, which was appreciated. We would have expressed this disappointment to a manager on the floor, but one could not be found.

Long story short, empty dingy restaraunt, quality of food relatively low, expensive, but incredible service.

While this reveiew may seem harsh, the staff and cooks are not to blame, but this is more or less a reflection of the lack of care this restaurant, its owners and this franchise have for it's establishment, workers, and customers.

We will not be returning to not only this location, but not any other Red Lobster...

Lauren on the phone was nice and they accommodated us being a little bit late which saves this from being a total one star experience. River was a nice server as well, attentive. It was interesting being between the kitchen and the bar as we overheard many staff conversations. Some were pretty innocent like birthdays and holidays but I didn't really appreciate the bartender at one point half-shouting, jokingly, "y'all remember 9-11??" Yikes.

The food left something to be desired. The lobster artichoke dip was alright, nothing to write home about. The tilapia with the crab topping or whatever was totally inedible. I know tilapia isn't a super fancy fish but I've never had it be so soggy and bland. My husband's steak was gritty and tough, like the pan wasn't hot enough when they put it on so they just left it there way too long. He said his shrimp was dry and tough as well. Thank God for cheddar biscuits, which I'd wager are shipped to the frozen and ready to pop in the oven when they receive them. We put our food in boxes out of habit but left them behind at the hotel we were staying at because we knew we couldn't force ourselves to eat the basically entire entrees we ordered. The fish sandwich I had at Culver's earlier was literally better and that meal didn't cost $60.

We're done with Olive Garden and Red Lobster, they're just mascarading as upscale restaurants and we're not falling for it anymore. Both of us were exhausted from a long day of traveling so we didn't care enough to complain. Do yourself a favor and find a local restaurant. Or the Golden Corral across the street has been more enjoyable in the past than this place if you're tired like we were. Save yourself the money and...