Red Lobster — Restaurant in Virginia

I’ll bet that you have those restaurants that you just love because they have that item you just can’t get enough of - that appetizer that gets you going, or that main dish you can’t stop thinking about, or that dessert that makes you bite your lower lip because of its tempting power. Yeah, you won’t find any of that at Red Lobster. And I understand, it’s not a local place, so why should I expect excellence? And I didn’t. My expectations were pretty low, and they still couldn’t be met.

First impressions: the big RED LOBSTER sign on the side of the building was partially burned out, leaving just RED LOBST. Not that this was the worst of the evening, but it was an indication of what was to come.

We checked in at the front, and took a seat in the small waiting area. Surprisingly, the wait for our table was kinda long - about 25 mins. As I sat, I watched some of the front staff impress a few kids by showing them the lobsters, even taking a few out and letting them pet or hold them lobsters. That was fun for the kids, and pretty cute - not once did a parent say, “Stop playing with your food.”

When our turn came, we were escorted past the dimly lit cramped tables and booths. The place reeked of grease and rotten carpets. The floor was an absolute mess of bits of straw wrappers, bits of food, and other trash. (After sitting for a while at our booth, a waitress was seen running a floor sweeper through the house, so it finally got some attention, just way too late in my opinion). My immediate thought was to all those articles and videos I have seen with headlines similar to: “How to tell when your restaurant is too dirty.” I felt like I should have paid more attention to those articles.

We sat and looked at the menus, and waited for our server to take our order. And then we waited some more. The options were typical of Red Lobster, but honestly not much was appetizing. Fried fish for $20 just doesn’t really excite anybody. We eventually ordered our drinks, but we were ready to order our food by that time, too. When our drinks came, our waitress put down the glasses, tossed the straws on the table without looking at us, and without saying a word just turned and walked away. I even laughed out loud at the poor quality of service we were getting. The only time the waitress really spoke to us was when she teased me about my hair - it was light hearted, but felt like an attempt to win our good graces after a ridiculous evening.

Eventually, the food came. The temperature was fine, but my asparagus was over cooked. I ordered the Dragon Shrimp. The broccoli with my meal was perfect, and the spicy sauce on the battered shrimp was nice. And it wasn’t drowning in sauce either - it was just right. A nice balance. The batter had proper adhesion to the shrimp, too, which was nice since you have to cut the shrimp in half to eat them. But it didn’t fall apart, which suggests proper technique in the kitchen. My wife ordered the shrimp and steak. They were fine - not too exciting, but a solid meal.

If I was going out on a Friday night with my wife and only wanted moderately ok food in a disgusting place, I’d go to a fast food establishment and pay a fraction of the price. But we won’t be coming back to...

Update: 4 years later and not much has changed. The steak was tender, but flavorless. Same for the fried cod, and the fried baby scallops, which the breading kept sliding off of. Shrimp and lobster were just ok. Baked potatoes were a little firm. Cheddar biscuits are still delicious. Red Lobster is charging way too much for these meals.

PREVIOUSLY: Went here for my daughter's birthday. It was a Sunday evening and not very crowded. We were seated immediately. Nevertheless, service was slow. We had to ask for silverware. One member of our party requested dressing for her salad, which the waiter forgot to bring on his next two visits to our table. My son's chicken tenders were not brought out with the rest of the entrees when they were finally served. We had to mention this to the waiter as he never noticed. I ordered steak cooked medium well and shrimp. The steak was cooked well done and was flavorless. One member of our party ordered shrimp scampi that seemed to have almost no garlic in it. Several of the dishes were prepared incorrectly. Broccoli was not cooked completely. It was a joke. The waiter couldn't even confirm if the mashed potatoes were freshly made. For the prices that are charged for the entrees, I expected much more, literally and figuratively. In addition to the sub par quality of the food, the portion sizes were also lacking and failed to mirror what is shown in the menu. The only saving grace was the cheddar biscuits, which were delicious as usual, however, in typical fashion, we had to wait another 20 to 30 minute after requesting a second batch (from the manager) before we received any more. We were also advised that Red Lobster no longer does anything for birthday guests, other than sing. So despite having spent nearly $100, my daughter who was celebrating her 15th birthday, was not even offered a simple bowl of vanilla ice cream. Suffice it to say, my family will not be returning to Red Lobster anytime soon (at least this location) and I would caution anyone else to temper your expectations. You will likely be disappointed. Except for those...

This establishments open door policy is a joke. My best friend worked here for a month and during his time here he was subjugated to verbal harassment and sexism. A female co worker thought it was okay to call him out of his name calling him trailer a passive aggressive racial slur. He had expressed to this co worker several times that she call him by his name and be respectful. She continued. Majority of the work load is put on the male workers while the women get to mouth off and sit around and talk while on the clock. He expressed all this to management and their hospitality department but no interest was shown. My best friend is homeless and was doing his absolute best to survive in this world until he had enough and told a female co worker to stop being lazy and help with the hosting work load like she was supposed to. Instead of taking accountability for her negligence she got spiteful and attempted to get him fired for the exchange. When she was told that he wouldn't be fired for it she took a more disgusting route. She made allegations that he tapped her on her shoulder to get by her while she had a massive food tray and that it made her feel uncomfortable. Management immediately launched an investigation and fired my friend before his next paycheck. Where was this initiative when he voiced his harassment? Where was...