The Current Seafood Bar Sanford — Restaurant in Sanford

My husband Ronald just wrote a review for this establishment. I read the owner's response to his review and it did not sit right with me, thus I am writing a review on my own.

First of all, I should preface this by saying we are huge seafood/lobster fans and have cooked lobster in many forms at home as well as ordered them in restaurants. We have specifically tried lobster rolls in many different establishments in different cities in the US. So we have a lot of reference points when it comes to lobster rolls. Not to mention I grew up in Southern China around fresh seafood cooked in more sophisticated ways than lobster rolls.

Now I am not saying these were the worst lobster rolls we have ever had, but I think what prompted my husband to write the review was that it's the only place where we both found traces of crab cartilages and shells mixed in with the lobster meat. It's not something we expect and could be dangerous if we bite into them too hard or swallow them. My husband said that they did hurt his teeth. Further, I want to add that the lobster was overcooked and chewy. Again, with my life-long experience of eating seafood, this is something I am more sensitive to than others. The portion is smaller compared to other lobster rolls we have had for the same price, but honestly this food item has always been overpriced in my opinion so this is not the biggest issue for me here. Then on the topic of aioli, the owner emphasized again and again that this is their signature sauce for their New England lobster roll. The reason we said to put the aioli on the side was because we are not fans of Mayonnaise and assumed that the sauce was made from it. In this day and age, everyone has their own dietary restrictions and preferences that the owner should not be surprised nor bothered by customers customizing the food that they choose to purchase. If the lobster meat is good enough to stand on their own, there really is no need for extra seasonings and recipes to make it good. Lastly, I specifically asked the cashier what comes with the lobster rolls, he failed to disclose that they come with fries and when I asked for substitutions, he did not seem willing to offer them nor did they have any alternatives, which again goes back to my point above about being inclusive of different dietary and health needs.

As a fellow business owner, I find the owner's tone in the response quite defensive, informal, and accusatory. Multiple times he "apologized" while doubting if what we said actually happened, which I find very disrespectful. We gain nothing by making this up nor expect anything in return by writing this review. The whole point of reviews, at least for us, is to help other customers make more informed choices when it comes to restaurants. Reviews are important, but they are not end-all. Sometimes I will personally try out a new restaurant regardless of a few bad reviews. And yes, perhaps we should have brought the food back because of the experience, but truthfully we were hungry and did not analyze the situation deeply at the time. But judging by the owner's response to my husband's review, I doubt that we would have been received with much...

I was excited to see lobster rolls on the menu because there aren't that many places you can get them. I paid $27/ea plus a tip for New England lobster rolls for myself and my wife. We agreed that the lobster was very chewy, and somehow kind of stringy also. It was pretty bland and the bun was basically a hot dog bun. The guy at the counter was friendly enough. The fries were fine, too.

Please keep in mind that my level of criticism takes price into consideration. I felt that the rolls were priced high enough that I could expect much better, such as I've had at Slap Fish, another similar seafood counter type restaurant. I just felt disappointed like I'd wasted a lot of money for a date and could have had a really nice dinner somewhere, even at a full service restaurant for that price.

Update: Yes, food opinions are subjective... I am not comparing this counter with a full service restaurant, I am weighing what I could have received with the same amount of money, and regretting my decision.

Slap Fish underwent a change of ownership but has not closed. But my only point with that comment was to compare...

I wanted to try The Current in order to try the fish and chips. On my first visit they ran out right before I was able to order. However I noticed that the person handing out orders accidently gave the last fish and chips order to the wrong person and once he realized he took the order back and tried giving it to the correct person. Since I didn't get to try the fish and chips on my first visit I decided to try the fried shrimp and garlic fries instead. Overall I thought the shrimp were pretty good but I thought that the fries needed some seasoning.

On my second visit I was able to finally try the fish and chips but i then discovered in addition to the $18 for the meal they charge an additional amount for togo orders for a total of $20 and some change! When it comes to the fish and chips I thought the fries were pretty good but I thought the fish needed seasoning. The pieces of fish were a nice size but overall I don't feel as though what I received...