Old Port Lobster Shack
| Address: | 3130 Alpine Rd #300, Portola Valley, CA 94028, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-561-9500 |
| Site: | oplobster.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 14
A
A Private User
This place is in a nice area! PV is very nice and no would dispute that fact. The lobster roll is served in a toasted New England roll. Thus ends the positive comments. The service was pleasant but not knowledgeable. I doubt she could fine Maine or any part of New England on a map! I asked her if the clams in the chowder were fresh, not canned or frozen. She assured me it was made fresh. I was skeptical but ordered and paid for it. I had her take the top off and I stirred it. As my instinct told me, the clams are not fresh.....they were the same tough rubber bands that everyone uses that make clam chowder around the Bay Area. Furthermore when I proceeded to eat it at home, I got a mouthful of flour balls so I through it in the garbage. The lobster in the roll could have been frozen as it was dry and on the tougher side which of course it should not be. I had fried clams (New England whole belly clams) at this place right after they opened. They were greasy and tough which they should not be. Someone told me it depends on who is cooking......that is a poor defense for any restaurant especially when the cost is over $20 bucks for a sandwich on paper plates! The plates are not the issue.....it is taking advantage of people who for the majority do not have a clue as to what New England seafood is supposed to taste like and getting a very inferior product. Well I know what it should be and this place is a total rip.
TH
Thomas Moore
Went to the RWC outlet last year. I call it outlet vs. restaurant because the food is K-mart quality relative to the price. Ive been all over the world, 38 countries and every state in our Union, and have not tasted lower quality seafood anywhere. Rubber for clams, obviously frozen in origin. The lobster is no better. Then one comes to the price. Paper plates? Really? First, the food should be served on fine china, and the customers (or should I state rubber chewing patrons) would take the china home as partial compensation for suffering through the experience. How does this franchise stay open? My own guestimate is patrons there have no clue to even mediocre tasting seafood and what they pay for it. I cant imagine ever going back. My 12 and 5 year olds didnt even want to finish their food. We took them to In n Out a block away. Shame on this place. Oh, btw: we only went because a customer of ours gave us a coupon. Even with the coupon it wasnt worth the experience. Ugh...
TH
Thomas Moore
The new location was a great place to ruin our wedding anniversary dinner. Arrived and ordered at 6pm... 6:05 oysters arrived... 6:30 wondering where is the rest of our order... 6:48 asked the staff how much longer... 6:55 watched 5 individuals still discussing what we ordered. After 7pm we received our crab rolls "to go???" and refunded only partially. NO SINCERE APOLOGY OR EYE CONTACT EVER MADE. We should have checked the to go order before we left because it was as bad as the service. The wife and I visited the RWC location at the beginning of the year and enjoyed the food and friendly staff very much. Thanks for the experience of truly horrible service...!!!
SI
Siejen Yin-Stevenson
Love the Lobster Shack! Its one of our favorite places to dine at on a Friday evening. Nice and casual with outdoor seating and heat lamps (dog-friendly) and the occasional summer evening where the band plays outdoors for those who dine at the restaurant next door. The maine lobster roll is my favorite item on the menu and the red clam chowder is excellent as well. There are some complaints in the earlier review about their prices, but, I think that it correlates to the quality of the food that youre being served. I have been to some of the other nearby seafood hangouts, and this one by far leads the pack!
SA
Satwinder Singh
Loved the food and ambiance. Had lobster roll and salmon bisque.. just delicious. The place is awesome. I got great quality food for such a great low price. They work hard to keep that seaside shack look - so much so that the empty cardboard boxes sitting by the bar is just to add to the decor. I loved the place and asked the server why they do not move the boxes and got this answer..... I thought they were just being lazy or are too busy doing it...
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Seth Elliott
I ordered two lobster rolls and they were both fantastic, with generous portions of lump lobster and well-toasted top-sliced buns mike the good lord intended. However, the bus boy then told me that I should have instead ordered the double play, which is two lobster rolls with only one basket of fries instead of two, to save $2. The guy working the cash register should have called this out instead. But the food was great.
CH
Chris Mysen
Id put this between a 3 and a 4 personally. If you like lobster rolls, this is the place to go, but beyond that you dont get a whole lot of good choices. Sams is better overall for seafood and their poboys are pretty solid (and have better everything else). Would come back if i was in the right mood, but dont seem to end up in that mood very often.
DA
dana hendrickson
Although we love their Clam Chowder and Fish & Chips the lobster roll was a poor choice. It had absolutely NO flavor, and we could not taste any difference between the roll and the lobster meat. It was late Friday night. Perhaps the lobster meat was no longer fresh. A big disappointment so we will stick with Sams Chowder House.
RI
Richard Gingras
As a New Englander, Ive long been frustrated by inability to find Maine lobster and soft shell clams here in California. Besides Swanns Oyster Depot in SF, it was hard pickings. But now we have the Lobster Shack. Better than Swanns with fabulous seafood at reasonable prices. Casual. Delicious. Great for kids. Love this place.
RI
Rick Casady
The old location in Redwood city was one of my favorite restaurants in the bay area, but this new location has given me much disappointment. Every visit to this location has resulted in bad food, not sure why the prices are so high, I guess the high prices never bothered me when the food was good. Im not going back again.
JU
julie h
Old Port is my favorite spot for clam chowder and lobster rolls. The undressed lobster rolls are hearty, with huge chunks of fresh lobster- the brioche roll is warm and fluffy, with a slight toast on the outside. Grab a seat outside, the weather is always great in that area!
LE
Leslie Liu
Not as crowded as RWC location; nice, large pieces of sweet lobster overflowing the "naked" rolls, which come with perfectly fried skinny fries. Im a fan of the dried blueberries in the slaw as well. The Shack Louie includes generous portions of lobster and sweet shrimp.
XI
Xiaochen Zeng
The cashier lady is not friendly and patient. The Maine lobster roll has plenty the edge part of crab claw, which makes the roll kind of fake. The food and service was not as good as expected. Lobster me is much better compared to this one.
KE
kenneth seth
This place was great, their Samon sandwich was awesome. I asked what was good because one, I never have been there and two I needed something quick. Their suggestions where awesome. And great people and Service!
