Red Lobster — Restaurant in Lubbock

Where do I even begin. First, I guess I should start off by saying that our server was amazing. He did a terrific job assisting us throughout the night and was very accommodating. That's the ONLY reason why I gave this place 2 stars rather than 1. So thank you guy who served us, you were the best!

The kitchen and the management however were below subpar to say the least. It's important to note that other customers were complaining about the food throughout the night, so before we had even gotten our food, I was skeptical about whether or not the kitchen would deliver.

The steak which we had ordered (medium well) had come out charred and extremely overcooked. The lobster that came out with all of our meals was cold (and rubbery), the shrimp alfredo pasta was also rubbery with a kind of coagulated glaze over it (which suggests maybe it had been sitting out for awhile). We had also ordered baked potatoes which had failed to come out with our meals. This was after waiting over 30 minutes for our entrees. After complaining, and waiting for what seemed like a really long time a manager who failed to mention his name (later found out to be Randy) came to our table and rather than taking accountability for the food, came up with excuses. Apparently when the tables order is rung in, the kitchen cooks the first entree plugged into the system and then proceeds to cook meals in the numerical order they were plugged in. This, Randy explained, was the reason why our food was cold. Regardless, I feel like it's basic kitchen management (even common sense) to cook the item which would have taken the longest to cook (the steak) and then proceed to cook the various entrees at the appropriate time, so as they wouldn't come out cold and rubbery when served to customers. But alas, the kitchen at Red Lobster Lubbock apparently doesn't abide by common sense. Randy however assured us that the food would be remade. Meanwhile, Katie (another manager who failed to mention her name) stopped by our table offering us no excuses or even apologies. Just rude behavior.

Another forever later the food came out but this time instead of a charred steak, a RARE steak. And when asked about this, Randy told us that he didn't want the steak to be too overcooked...so was barely cooking it the solution? Goddammit Randy stop with excuses. And thats where I'm going to end this, GODDAMMIT RANDY STOP WITH THE EXCUSES.

Just kidding, you thought I was done. I have a so much more to say about this place. So aside from the various dirty tables in the restaurant the door to the managers office, which btw was is directly adjacent to the foyer and completely visible to dining room guests was OPEN. That's right, the place where management keeps valuable money is completely accessible to the public. In fact, you have to walk past the office to get to the restrooms. And upon doing so, I found plates upon plates of food in the office which were being picked at by servers, WHO WERE EATING IN THE FOYER (completely visible to guests). Rule #1 about food safety, don't freaking eat food when serving food. Gross. And y'all have the audacity to do it in front to guests? Katie the manager just happened to be one of these people EATING in the foyer. That's right, a manager! What the hell Red Lobster.

And with that, I employ all of y'all to look at this wonderful picture snapped as we were leaving. That's right, a dead lobster. That's a dead freaking lobster in the tank. GODDAMMIT RANDY, didn't Gordon Ramsay teach y'all not to keep dead lobsters in lobster tanks. So I guess when you go out to eat at Red Lobster Lubbock expect to die...or at least be sick to your stomach. And if that whole lobster tank thing is an advertisement gimmick (bc y'all use frozen lobster or something) what the actual hell. How am I supposed to entrust y'all with a meal like this?

Overall, don't waste your time here guys. The cheesey biscuits might be good, but is it worth it? Do yourself a favor and buy the biscuit mix from Walmart. This place is...

June 17,2023 I called in to place an order and staff was very friendly, placed my order a was inform it would be ready in about 25 minutes. Walked in at 8:25 and gave staff my name , Proceeded to hand me a sealed bag and charge me the $62 for the meal , before paying something felt off , so I said hold on a sec, opened the bag to find a piece of Charcoal with Oscar sauce and a baked potato , first boo-boo , I asked that the 7oz sirloin be cooked medium well, it was way way way cooked beyond mid-well.

Next , second boo-boo , I looked into the bag and the meal was supposed to include a 1/2 pound of snow crab legs, none were to be seen or found. On the phone call to them I asked for an extra 1/2 pound of snow crab, that wasn’t in the sealed bag I was handed.

Spoke with To-Go clerk and she checked the bill and the order , so I was then faked “ would you like a refund? “ and cancel the order? I just replied No , please fix this and take whats in the bag back to the kitchen to correct. Reason I’m in the great state of Texas is for work assignment, I worked 12 hours inside a fab and clean room today (semiconductor industry) Skipped lunch and called just as I exited the customer site, hungry , exhausted and extremely tired, I felt I owe myself a good meal before pick up some dinner and head back to the hotel and enjoy the meal while I wrote up my service reports for the day.

I was approached by the RL manger on duty (Eva) very nice woman , apologized for the mishap and appeared to be genuinely resolved to correct the mistakes made. She was one person and only person at Red Lobster F@$K about the situation. While my interactions with her were wonderful it did not address the core attitude of the staff in general. Perhaps I’m mistaken in my observations but after 30 years in my industry I’ve had dinner at countless places and locations through out the globe. So hence an honest review from a business man working in the local area.

Eva, thank you so much , I really appreciate you, your ethics and care , wish some of these qualities would brush off on some of your...

My most recent visit was on 4/24/21 and I’m sorry to say this place has changed big time from my last experience. I know establishments have their ups and downs but if my most recent visit here was any indication of the way the place has been or is going then I’m afraid the doors will be shutting sooner rather than later.

My wife and I came here on a date as we both were craving live lobster. Our waitress was extremely attentive and friendly. I give her a 5 star rating. In fact everyone we met there treated us professionally. The issue was the food. We paid $150 for the two of us to eat and our stuffed lobsters were under cooked and quite frankly the stuffing tasted bad. It was over seasoned on the outside and under seasoned in the batter itself. The seasoning reminded me of old bay and that is not what you want on this type of dish. I’m not expecting the best lobster I ever had but for what we paid I do expect something that I can enjoy. Next time I will be cooking my own lobster. Even my first lobster never came out this bad. In addition to the bad lobster the biscuits had hair in them and the mixed drinks were amateur at best. It tasted as if a high school kid was making our drinks.

I can remember the last time I was here and it was great food. Cooked perfectly and didn’t have any human parts. Honestly I can not see myself coming back here. This was an afternoon lunch for us and for dinner we went to the best Texas burger chain. You know the one I’m talking about. Big orange W. And that’s the sad part. When we went there for dinner on our way back home I thoroughly enjoyed that meal. I should have just gone there it blew Red Lobster out of the water and for a fraction of the price. The sad thing is seafood is my favorite type of food but I was let down with this. Steamed and stuffed lobster is pretty hard...