Red Lobster — Restaurant in Manassas

It's ok, but it's not great. There are so many options in the area and for the price it's kinda basic.

We’ve been going to Red Lobster for years, and usually I’m a pretty big fan. The food is normally tasty and well-prepared, portions are good, and the atmosphere feels clean and welcoming. This visit, though, left me a little disappointed.

The Good:

Our server, Katy, was excellent; quick, attentive, and genuinely enthusiastic.

The Bacon Mac & Cheese was delicious.

The Not-So-Good:

The food overall was just okay this time. We ordered the Admiral’s Feast and the Seafood Boil with lobster. The fried seafood was under-seasoned, not very crispy, and the clam strips were about 70% breading. The scallops, shrimp, and fish felt uninspired — edible but bland.

The atmosphere was rough. The rear dining room where we were seated felt dim and stark, with little decoration beyond a sketch of a lobster on the wall. To make things worse, a screaming child a few booths over completely ruined any chance of a quiet, romantic dinner. The family made no effort to calm her, and staff didn’t intervene.

The dining room felt oddly empty for a Sunday at 5pm. Watching the staff come out to sing Happy Birthday nearby was more depressing than cheerful.

On arrival, staff members in partial uniforms were hanging around the entrance, chatting and flirting with the hostesses, which didn’t set the best tone.

Other Notes:

The parking lot is shared with Olive Garden, which is fine, but smaller than I’d expect.

The manager never came by to check on our table, which is unusual compared to our experiences at other locations.

Bottom Line:

Service from Katy was great, but the food felt lackluster, and the atmosphere was far from relaxing. I would have liked to see more attention to the quality of the fried seafood, better use of the dining space to reduce noise, and an overall warmer, more inviting atmosphere. Compared to our usual Red Lobster experiences, this visit fell flat; honestly, I found myself wishing we’d just gone to Olive...

Edit: I finally redeemed my gift card that was sent to me after my last review. So this is a new review.

Showed up at about 4:00 on a Thursday. It was pretty dead in there. I sat at the bar and was helped by Zachary, a very professional and attentive gentleman.

I ordered white wine and the lobster parpadelle with a side salad. The food arrived hot and fresh and I enjoyed my alone time out. The salad had a few rotten leaves in it, though. That seems to be the norm when it's a bagged salad. That's where the four (instead of five) stars comes from for the food.

I also tried the key lime pie for dessert. The crust was on point and the filling was pretty good.

As far as atmosphere goes, everything was great except there were three or four employees chilling in the bar area and eating and drinking, which I thought was a little unprofessional. Whenever I worked in the service industry, we took our breaks away from the eyes of the customer.

Anyway, I'll be back, I think. Food was good and Zachary made it a pleasant experience.

At around 12:45pm on a weekday, I walked in and went straight to the bar area. I was in the mood for some stuffed mushrooms and a glass of wine.

There was a woman there (the bartender?), who after a couple of minutes asked if I'd like a menu. I said yes. I then waited another five minutes for a server to bring me one. The woman left.

Then another woman came to the bar (her shirt said 'manager' on it) and asked if I needed help. By then, I was ready to order, so I said yes. She then yelled to someone in the back, I'm assuming to come take my order?

Anyway, no one came. The manager continued to fix drinks and ignore me. It wouldn't have been so bad if she had said something like, "I'm so sorry for the wait, we're shorthanded. Can I get you some water?" Or SOMETHING.

After ten minutes watching her ignore me, I got up and left.

Guess they don't need my business 🤷 Now I'm at Chili's getting ready to...

First things first...this is a review from MY personal experience.

My wife and I ordered to-go from here on 3/10/2023 to grab a quick dinner since it was ugly and raining out. I ordered the seaside shrimp TRIO (there's a reason for the capitalization of trio...) and she ordered shrimp pasta. Now the climate that we are in with prices on the rise, we all know how expensive meals are getting. We decided to do RL because it was a different option other than your usual burger spots.

My wife came home, and I opened our bag only to see that my TRIO was just a double..they left out a third of my meal! Normally, I'd drive back up to a place and get my MISSING item, but who wants to run back out in the cold and rain with an infant?? So I did the next best thing: Call to speak with the manager (which is what their website tells you to do anyway)

I call, and the hostess picks up. I explain my issue of my missing food, and at this point, I'm not upset. It could happen on a busy night, especially a Friday going into the weekend. She places me on hold and asks for my contact number so she can transfer me to the manager. I gave her my cell phone, and she even repeated my number..all to NOT hear from anyone afterward. I just wanted to get a giftcard (for a small amount) to cover my missing portion. In the end, Im left with a negative experience, which is disappointing when you try to give restaurants your business during this difficult time in our economy. Im clearly writing this review a day later based on the customer service provided. (A. My food was missing, and B. The disconnect between consumer with a concern and the management on duty)

Don't get me wrong, my food was decent...two-thirds of it anyway...maybe next time (if I would even bother), I will get to pay for...