The Lobster Bar — Restaurant in Newport

We hosted a surprise engagement dinner here yesterday with a reservation for over 20 guests, made well in advance by sister’s fiancé. This was a once in a lifetime event, and the management at Lobster Bar completely soured what should’ve been a joyful night for us.

From the moment we arrived, we were met with hostility. We were literally still congratulating the newly engaged couple when the manager Jen came over within minutes to tell us all we needed to move over because we were standing too close to another table. Some of us were still greeting eachother and settling. She showed no patience, empathy, or warmth, and then walked away talking poorly about us. She also stood beside us staring with our arms crossed because we wanted to take a few photos by the sunset away from our table. Completely uncomfortable and hostile. I truly did not see the woman smile once the entire night. She did not ask us how everything was, she did not help us with anything whatsoever. It seemed like she was trying to ruin our night completely but we didn’t allow it to happen.

The waitress assigned to us was kind and tried her best, but severely overworked and was not prioritizing us. We were the largest party in the entire restaurant. There were long stretches with no service, no clearing of plates, and multiple guests had to go to the bar themselves to get drinks, at our own engagement dinner. We should’ve had 2 waitresses or she should not have had other tables. We were constantly looking for where she was. Our food was decent.

The manager also made a huge deal to me about us having a cake (despite us seeing multiple other tables having outside cakes with candles). She reluctantly lit it but made it clear we had to cut and serve it ourselves. It felt targeted and unnecessarily difficult, especially given the already sour taste in our mouths.

We were told last-minute that a private party was starting at 10pm — which was never communicated during booking or the in-person visit my mother made a week prior. At 10:10, with half our party already gone, some older members in our group started dancing and were told to get off the dance floor by the same miserable manager that had been nagging at us all night. It was humiliating and unnecessary while people are sharing such a special, joyful night. The table setup was also horrible — long, narrow, and not suited for a large gathering where people would want to mingle, talk and celebrate.

In total, we spent over $1,500 not including tip — plus much more at the bar, and were made to feel like an inconvenience from start to finish. We’ll never return, and I would strongly advise against planning any kind of celebration at this establishment. Extremely disappointed. Beautiful views, decent food —...

First, let me preface my review by saying I was in the service industry for over 10 years so I understand the world of restaurants and serving VERY well. If I could give this place zero stars I would. The food and service is terrible- don't waste your money. I came in with a party of 12. They automatically tag on 20% tip on parties of 6 or more, which is to be expected. However, what is not to be expected is giving terrible service knowing you don't have to bother giving even "decent" service because your 20% tip is guaranteed. I ordered a kale salad with chicken. The kale appeared to be right out of the ground, stems and all. If you don't bother massaging kale, it's bitter. The chicken was cold and dry and tasted awful. Others in the party got seafood, which was just OK. For the HIGH prices of their seafood, it should be more than just "ok".

I think what was most disappointing was the non-existent service. The server 1.) did not bother to ask us how our entrees were shortly after we received them, 2) did not bother to come back and ask us if we needed refills or anything else after we received our meals, 3) was basically gone for over 30 min no where to be seen after we finished eating- so no pre-bussing 4) long after we had finished eating and right as we were about to ask someone else to bring us our check- this man, knowing he was missing for 30 plus mins, instead of coming right over to our table to give us our check, he went straight to another table to greet them.

This place can accommodate large parties, but it's super super loud so if you want to go somewhere where you can hear the other people in your party speaking, go somewhere else. Being a loud restaurant is not a bad thing (and not uncommon), but I figured I'd mention in case you are the type of person who prefers a more laid back atmosphere.

Lastly, the goal of this post is not to have anyone fired. My hope is that a manager of this establishment reads this post and provides better training to their staff and tells their kitchen to put a little more effort into...

I usually never write a review, but today I experienced the worst service ever. If I could leave negative stars I would. The waitress was rude, not willing to provide any professional service. I went there today as a party of 5. One of the members of our party said she would like to start off with a water. Waitress left without even asking anyone else and returned with 5 cups of water in a paper cup and left again, without asking if we were ready to order. Her entire demeanor was short and very rude, like we would bother her with missing eye contact. We finally were able to order our food. One of the members of my party ordered a burger medium rare. What she received was a burger most likely from yesterday, reheated and more than well done. Considering the food isn't cheap (a simple cheeseburger is $15) my friend decided to make the waitress aware that this was not what she had ordered. The waitress did not apologize, she was more aggravated with the situation and grabbed the plate without a word and took off. The restaurant manager returned after a while again with a fresh burger, again no apologies. I have never encountered such passive aggressive service. Mistakes happen and that's okay, but making my entire party uncomfortable is a different story. We will never return and I cannot recommend this place, even though the view is beautiful!!! We did approach the manager on our way out, because we think making someone aware of a situation is the right thing to do rather then leave (what I'm doing now) a bad review online. The manager didn't seem to care either. Her response was just a very basic "okay". Maybe with a better waitress and overall better service the place does offer...