Red Lobster — Restaurant in Norwood Park Township

I have tried to patronize at this location three or four times. Each visit has been an epic fail. And I must admit it is not for the weak of hearts. Here is my experience from 12/22/2023:

I ordered an extra Ceasar dressing after waiting, it never came. So, I asked our server about it and he stated, “the back server” would bring it. I then stated that I wanted it with my biscuits, and he walked to the back and brought it back.

When the drinks came out, they were set at the end of the 6-person opposite of myself and my husband who were the only two people dining.

Not a single dish was cleared during our dining experience. But the server had plenty of time to stand around and converse.

The food took forever to come out though the restaurant was not busy.

The crab legs were flavorless. Considering that I had a pound last week at a different location, I am familiar with how RR crab legs should taste.

After finishing the food, I had to wait a long time for the server and the restaurant was not busy at all. The server did not “read” the table to determine what type of take-home container was required when I requested a to-go container. He brought a single medium sized container. So, I waited, and I ultimately had to ask the “lead” for a side container. I previously stated to the waiter that I would be purchasing a gift card for it to be rang up separately which I would use to pay for the meal. He never provided the gift card, so I again had to ask someone else who I presume was a “keyholder/lead” about purchasing the gift card. Birthday songs and all was sang after my request and even dishes were cleared as I waited on my server. The lead stated that after I finished to head to the front to buy the gift card which I left my bagged food and headed to the take-out window.

As I was being rung up for the gift cards, my waiter appeared and asked me whether I was going to pay my bill. I then stated, “Didn’t I specifically state that I would be purchasing the gift card to pay for the food?” Imagine, if only the gift card could have been sold at the table, then this interaction would have been unnecessary altogether.

Upon the server leaving the employee asked me whether I wanted to purchase 2 gifts for $100. The special on gift cards was purchase 1-$50 gift card and receive 2-$10 coupons. I then asked when did the coupons expire, the manager/lead/keyholder attempted to read the gift cards and stated “2024” and she repeated it twice. I kindly stated that “2024” is in a couple of days and there are 12 months in one year so which month did it expire? The other employee read the gift card and figured it out. She stated that one coupon expired on 1/31/2024 and the other coupon expired 2/28/2024. So, I opted for one gift. Imagine RL having promotional advertisement throughout the restaurant and simple questions concerning the coupons triggers an episode of “who wants to be a millionaire or are you smarter than a 5th grader.” Smh

The gift card provided to me by the host was scanned and I was advised by the cashier that there was no value on it. I advised her that was the reason why I was standing there which was to purchase the card to add $50 to it. She then says “Oh” I used a different gift card to add the $50 to. smh

I felt like the entire interaction at this location was like being in a developmental challenged classroom. Absolutely no sense at all. No urgency at all from my server. No one listens. No one comprehends.

The back bar server was great, so she is exempt from my above comment.

My tip of 10% reflected my dissatisfaction with the entire experience. I strongly suggest avoiding this location as it is...

Let's start with the fact that shrimp is delicious and - in general - Red Lobster does a fine job preparing seafood to the masses.

Shame on me for not checking Google reviews first!! Other recent reviews called out the lack of service. Our experience validates the need for change at this specific location.

So, this review is specifically for this location. I'll preface my review with the fact that I've worked in food service for years in every front of house role and most in the kitchen. Also, Saturday is busy - no question. So, that brings me to calling ahead and how they handled that experience:

Our family was headed in the direction of this location and I called 45 minutes ahead to make a reservation. A helpful hostess answered (Nina) and explained that she couldn't take our reservation for that exact time because they have a two reservation at that time policy. I asked if another time would be better thinking we could adjust +/- 15 minutes if that works. Nina, the hostess, explained that our time shouldn't be a problem. The wait 'shouldn't be that long and they would just push two tables together.'

We arrived thirty minutes later - 15 minutes ahead of the time we originally anticipated - and the place was a mad house. Mad - as in customers were pushing through a crowd to get out - because they were angry with the place. I could see why. The host / hostess desk was disorganized, with 5 staffers standing around looking frazzled.

I waited for my turn and asked for Nina. She identified herself, smiled and said she remembered my call. I asked her for the wait and she dead pan quoted me 90 minutes.

90 minutes.

Stunned, I reminded her that she said she remembered my call and that we drove there based upon her suggesting that it wouldn't be long and that they could push tables together. She said that they are very busy. Yes, I agreed - which is why I called ahead and then drove there based upon what she told me. She looked uncertain of what to do.

I asked if her manager is there and she gestured toward the middle of the group of frenzied staffers. After explaining that we called ahead and what Nina told us, the manager (Camille) actually smiled and said that they are very busy and that the wait is 90 minutes.

She actually smiled as if enjoying the moment.

We left and quickly hit Yelp. Blossom Cafe - nearby - was about a 10 -15 minute wait and has a great selection. Outback - a bit further - had a 10-15 minute wait and were very helpful. They also have terrific shrimp and salmon choices.

Lessons learned:

Yes, we understand how incredibly busy they are at Red Lobster (which is why we called ahead).

Furthermore, train your staff on basic high volume phone etiquette. Nina's lack of detail and suggestion that they would get us in came across as a bait and switch. Very poor show!

However, Camille's attitude of indifference that speaks volumes. She could have easily stepped aside to take in the details and act the manager. She didn't have to bump us in line (although that would have been nice) but at least buy us a round of drinks or apologize for the confusion. None of that happened - she was VERY busy, you see.

Whatever. Plenty of great restaurants nearby. As for Red Lobster, I recall Yogi Berra put it aptly 'that restaurant is so busy, nobody goes...

I've been to this Red Lobster a handful of times now. It has always been pretty enjoyable experience, whether it be the food, the company, or a mix of both. Dined here for Mother's Day and it was not one of their finest performances. It was crazy crowded so I get that it was busy and everyone was stretched out. Our server certainly tried his best, I'll give him credit for that. But since we dined near the tail end of the evening we could see that just about every server and busser was tired. I'm sure the cooks were exhausted too because the food was a clear step below what I'm used to receiving from RL in terms of both taste and preparation. I ordered the "Build Your Own Feast" and the Grilled shrimp were overcooked, The Scallops were cooked unevenly and didn't taste right. Now to the contrary, the Maine Lobster Tail and Shrimp Fettucini were very good though. I also enjoyed the asparagus which was slightly overcooked but seasoned perfectly and absolutely fantastic. Our table shared an Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer and these were extremely fishy tasting and not well received by anyone. We left half the order because no one wanted to eat them. The cheddar bay biscuits are always solid and they were no different this time. During our visit here, our table was never bussed (except for the biscuit baskets). By the end it desperately needed to be. We were stacking plates and cups like they were Legos. We were pretty fortunate that our server seemed to forget that he set a tray of fresh water glasses down on a vacant neighboring table so we were able to get our refills from that without bothering anyone. Not factoring into my grade is the slightly over two hour wait for the table. It was mothers day and there was the Butera and Garden Center to burn time at. The individual grades from this visit average about a 3. My other visits here have routinely been 4 and even 5 star visits. So I'll just chalk it up to the day we went. I'd...