Lobscouser Restaurant — Restaurant in Portsmouth

TL;DR edition: Good food, great staff, great ambiance, street parking, fishy broccoli. Highly recommend all but broccoli.

My wife and I went here for our anniversary. She wanted casual and seafood, I wanted no wait and good food to go with my great company. We both found what we were looking for at Lobscouser.

First off, it should be mentioned that it is downtown Portsmouth near the Children's Museum. Parking is parallel parking on the street. But even being a summer Saturday, near the waterfront, at 6pm, we were able to find a parking spot with a short walk. We were able to walk in without a reservation and still get a seat immediately. The waitress was attentive and friendly. There is a mix of booths and chairs, with a heavier inclination toward booths. The ambiance was good, with music and local-themed art/decor. The lighting is low, but bright enough to see well.

Many have already mentioned how good the hushpuppies are, and they have not led you astray. During our meal we also listened to other guests exclaiming over the hushpuppies. We were early enough for early-bird specials, and so my wife ordered the fried shrimp at almost half off and I had a steak (NY Strip at normal, but reasonable price) and we split stuffed mushrooms appetizer. Her shrimp and my steak were great, but the steamed broccoli we both ordered tasted as though it was boiled in fish water. I don't like the taste of fish, but even my wife couldn't eat the broccoli for its taste. Everything else was fantastic and we left full.

We will definitely be going back, and glad we made the pick we did for our...

Good morning everyone I have experienced discrimination for the first time in many years. I am a retired military and a retired police officer in the state of Virginia and I have never experienced discrimination like this in a restaurant before until yesterday. On the 30th of May 2025 at 1815 I entered the establishment of Lobscouser Restaurant. The restaurant was extremely busy. Me and my fiancé enter this establishment and immediately my fiancé wanted to leave because of the older lady at the front. Maybe it was women intuition or she just knew there was something not right about this lady. I told her no they are just busy let’s give them sometime. The older lady asked if we had reservations because we would not be able to be seated until 7pm. We did not have reservations but we decided to wait because of the good reviews and the positive things we heard about this restaurant. As we waited the older lady walked by us about 5 times not making eye contact and completely ignoring us. As other customers entered, they were greeted, and seated. Clearly, if she could have put a ‘Whites Only’ sign out front, she would have done so. How sad that we are still in an era that our ancestors fought so hard to end. We have grandchildren, who,if people’s hearts and minds don’t change, will have the same experiences. Everyone, we can and...

They brought us hush puppies with the little plastic butter containers thrown on top. We ordered the food- the green bean side looked like it came out of a can, the calamari tasted bland and like flour, the gumbo looked like brown gravy with rice in it, it was very soupy and the best part it tasted like it was made In a burned pot. Kinda like that commercial with the raccoons picking through the garbage and one says to the other, "you gotta try this, it's awful! Like chutney and burnt hair..." - that was the gumbo. I ordered the shrimp scampi. Not only did it have a ton of oregano on it, but it also had that lovely burnt taste. My poor son ordered the spicy shrimp with fetucini- it was my scampi, with a maroon colored sauce, no spice extra 'I just left the pot on the stove and all the sauce was evaporated and burnt taste'. I did not eat my meal, my husband placed his napkin in his gumbo to fake that he ate it and my poor children ate nothing. The only thing they got right was the wine. And then- as we were waiting for the bill, a woman, maybe the cook, comes down the hall wiping her armpits vigorously with a rag as she walks back into the kitchen. She must've been standing next to that burnt pot. Never again... ...