Red Lobster — Restaurant in Overland Park

What has happened to Red Lobster in OP? Tonight’s meal was so awful that I feel compelled to alert potential diners to go elsewhere, as we will from now on.

We had patronized this location previously over 2 decades, so we ignored the half-full parking lot at 5:45 on a Friday evening (Red Flag #1) and that no employees were in the empty lobby when we walked inside (Red Flag #2). We thought the smaller crowd it would mean a shorter wait and faster service. We didn’t know that the usual crowd had wisely gone elsewhere. As we waited for anyone, my husband jokingly wondered if he should start playing with the doomed lobsters in the lobby tank, in hopes that some employee would emerge to seat us. Minutes later, an indifferent employee emerged from The Back and unapologetically ushered us to a table.

This was apathy. Even our waitress (at the end of our evening, as we were about to flee) remarked, “this place going downhill”: Was this her honest caveat, or backpedaling excuses? Maybe both. My husband never got the salad he ordered, but he had the vantage of seeing what was happening to other patrons. Service was slow for everyone: A just-seated family seated in the center of our section waited for 15 minutes before another waitress (not theirs) asked if they had been served, yet (nope). Another couple seated adjacent to us waited at least that long for their check.

Cheddar biscuits, anyone? They were underdone/doughy and one had a 4-inch hair baked into it (eww). What the hell happened to our family night place?!

I ordered “crab legs with garlic butter”. What I got (30 minutes later) was a sad pile of poorly plated, tepid crab legs with a ramekin of butter and a mound of pre-diced garlic dumped atop one section of the crab legs. Beneath those legs were soggy, roasted potatoes, also cool to the touch. Meal photo is attached. This mess came with a shell-cracker but no tiny fork, needed to retrieve crab meat from small spaces. We tried in vain to hail our absent waitress and then she happened by 10 minutes later: I asked if they had crab forks. She replied that all the small forks had “gone missing”. She also disappeared and (much) later returned with a plastic spork, which proved useless.

Regarding the missing crab forks . . . if this is the case, why did wait staff not warn crab-ordering patrons that they would have difficulty retrieving much of their $27 entrée? I’m hardly a crab amateur, but I wound up with two, crab-shell lacerations trying mightily to free cold crab meat. I finally gave up because this was getting me nowhere, digging with my big fork and spork for bits of crab that I couldn’t get to.

When we spoke frankly with our waitress about our experience, she retrieved a manager. Ten minutes later, a defeated-looking manager emerged to hear our story, and ours was one of many. She nodded with practiced empathy and said she would “take care of us” and “handle the check”. She handled the check by docking a mere 10% off our final bill, and by evidently foisting it off on our waitress to break that to us. We understood immediately that this was how Red Lobster now handles things. We paid more than $60 (plus a tip) for a partial meal for my husband and one side-dish for me (broccoli). And then we got the hell out of there . . . furious, insulted and still hungry.

Every restaurant has bad days . . . we get it. But we won't be back,. We work hard for our wages and cherish our evenings out. We will no longer waste our money at...

The front-of-house staff was fantastic, which is what I would expect from a large chain. My issues were all kitchen related.

There was a line cook, which is what I assumed he was, that was visiting with a customer for almost thirty minutes, which was my first problem. The cook was across the aisle from me and kept looking at me, then would smile, droop his shoulders and then his guest would laugh and look over at me. It made me uncomfortable to say the least. After he got up he went out of his way to walk by my table, and I really don't appreciate what he said under his breath.

It took thirty-five minutes for me to get my order, then all of a sudden, ALL my order was delivered at once. When I mentioned it to the server he mentioned the man that walked by me does that to "some guests." I politely asked to speak with the manager and then I noticed the guest start to fumble with his pay per minute phone. He would then laugh, look at me, then fumble with his phone some more.

I placed my hand underneath the soup bowl and the temp on the bottom did not match the lukewarm runny top of the soup. I grew up in Los Angeles, and I really didn't want to guess what the kitchen had done or not done properly. I sent it back. The Manager then came over and I shared my experience with her. She looked mortified when I explained everything to her. Even the breading appeared to have been rushed, just so the ticket would go out with appetizer, soup, main course, and dessert. The only two items I ate were the appetizer (shrimp cocktail), and cheesecake. The rest was dreadful.

I will never return, so hopefully the employee gets to read this review and I would be MORE than happy to reveal publicly an employee that does not belong in the food service industry.

Just for the record, this review is from about two-months ago. I finally decided to listen to a beautiful friend of mine to tell everyone about my experience. Thank you, and I hope this helps the restaurant and...

If unprofessional and lack of customers was a person it would be the general manager at this location Katie!!!! She first tried to sit us at a 2 seater table( it was four of us) with a chair at the end by the restroom so we asked to move, then she moved us to another seat not equipped to sit more than 2 ppl and my breast were literally sitting on the table. One of the waiters who ended up being our waiter and was PHENOMENAL ended up clearing a bigger booth that was behind us and as he's clearing it off she comes over saying I put them back on the list which he told her it's ok I'll move them right here which of course she immediately got an attitude about, and at this point we had no clue she was a manager. We moved forward with placing our order and we then sat there for over 30mins watching ppl that came in after us order and get their food. Asking our waiter over and over whats going on and him saying he keeps going back their cause he didnt understand and being told its coming to which at this point its clear someone has pushed our order back. Finally we get the food and my mom's lobster tails are brown and hard from being so over cooked so the waiter took them back and my mom ask for a manager cause enough was enough. So after 10mins the lady from the door brings us the food and walked away STILL not knowing she was the manager nor did she introduce herself as such knowing we asked for one. After paying and tipping our waiter I then ask for the ladies name at the door which he then tell us along with informing us she was the general manager. We frequent this location often to the point the waiters know my parents by name and vice-versa so to be treated this way by someone who is not only a manager but a general manager was very disrespectful...