Luke's Lobster Penn Quarter — Restaurant in Washington

I'd love to rave about this place however I've got to talk about a bad customer service experience instead. Wife and I in town for one night decided to go here and get some lobster rolls. She has Celiac and they have GF rolls so we went. She ordered a GF lobster roll and I got the hot honey butter 6 oz. For good measure I threw in a flight on GF rolls as well. I tipped and all told it 150 bucks. When I got the food, I took mine and began eating it but realized one bite in that it had nothing hot or honey on it so I took it inside and asked about it. The gentleman told me he thought I'd ordered a regular roll but that he'd fix it. The receipt showed it was rung up exactly as I requested. A woman came out and said that she couldn't remake it but that she'd offer me the butter and the spices. Now, normally this wouldn't be a big deal but the sandwiches aren't very big and the roll was already half gone. To that end, the flight wasn't the actual flight but three rolls all with lobster and one had the hot stuff on it. I told her that I wasn't the one who had messed up and didn't think I should have to be told that they couldn't make it correctly. I didn't feel like arguing because she kept saying that she couldn't remake it so I just told her whatever and went about eating the rest. The rolls were good but I figured that 150 bucks would ensure I got it the way I ordered it and shouldnt be told oh well. Won't be back here again. She offered me a roll next time I come back but we are only here for the night so. Hopefully this is read by the owner. I understand people make mistakes but for 150 bucks, you should offer to fix it and not act like I should just accept...

For DC, this is a decent lobster roll. I've been to Maine before and lobster rolls are both larger and less expensive. Of course, given that DC is over 600 miles away, you can't expect the same experience.

The lobster roll is $16. We got the lobster roll soup combo and requested New England clam chowder. We also asked for Coke and Sprite. Our total came out to be about $50. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard that price; I had to double check the price displayed on the register. When I went to pick up the order, the server handed me two drinks but not Coke and Sprite; rather, it was Maine Root soda and lemon lime. Turns out they don't carry typical soda products but she didn't bother to tell us that when we ordered. In fact, her whole attitude when we were ordering was downright rude, apathetic, and detached. She was very aloof when we ordered, constantly looking sideways and pursuing her lips.

Now, the roll. The bun - a buttered, toasted New England bun - was delicious (probably due to the butter). The roll was topped with mayo, lemon butter, and some of their "secret spices." Lobster was pretty good. Liked the balance between the lobster meat, buttered bun, mayo, lemon butter, and spices. It wasn't overpowered by the mayo. Clam chowder was decent too although nothing extraordinary.

I prefer Red Hook lobster truck to Luke's Lobster (and I don't even go there too often). Luke's fulfills any lobster roll craving you might have but for the small quantity, average taste, and fairly cha-ching price tag, I can't justify coming here time...

After repeated disappointments at the Georgetown location, We had become some sort of Luke's haters/Willie T Lobster Shack loyalists. Then we needed a last minute mother's day seafood roll feast to go, Lobster Shack was closed and we turned to Luke's in Penn Quarter for a last minute solution.

It. Was. Amazing! The staff was able to put together a large carry out order (10 rolls plus soups and sides) in less than 15 minutes, despite just having finished off the Caps game rush. The seafood (lobster, shrimp, crab) was all super fresh and tasty, rolls well toasted, and the rolls and chowder got raves from my picky, Boston-based family.

The staff could not have been more helpful. They listened to and followed all our crusty old New Englander specifications (no special seasoning, no lemon, butter and mayo on the side to ensure freshness during transport) with a smile. They packed everything carefully and even brought it out to the car for me.

Four stars rather than five because, given the size of the rolls, Luke's is aggressively priced even for lobster rolls in Penn Quarter, but now that we've moved from Dupont to NoMa, I'm sure we'll be making regular visits to Luke's for that sweet, sweet lobster, chowder, and...