The Lobster Shop

Reviews 5

A

A Private User

Tried the "twilight" menu against the advice of friends. Should have listened to them, I guess. The location is charming (we went to the Dash Point location), but the photos online of the upstairs looked a lot nicer than the downstairs area where we were seated. Its right on the water, but parking on that level means your view is primarily of the tail end of the cars on the road. Service was friendly, but we were served splits of sparkling wine (in lieu of champagne) that were inexplicably warm... at $10 / ea. We got an ice bucket to solve that, but shouldnt the server check to make sure a bottle of wine is cold? And even chilled, this wine had the distinct flavor of a bad headache in the making. It was undrinkable warm. Surprisingly, they passed the "bread test" which has heretofore been infallible in predicting the quality of the meal to come. They served fresh, warm sourdough baguette slices and provided a small plate of olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. That was our favorite part of the dinner. The chowder was gelatinous, and so bland eating it was pointless. Why bother? My wife and I both ordered salmon: the "basic" cedar plank grilled version with garlic butter, and the "sour cream dill sauce" poached version. The sides of insufficiently trimmed asparagus (does anyone actually eat the fibrous end of the stalks?) were nicely al dente, and the rice was fine. The fish was bland and uninspired. My dish, rather than being glazed with a nice creamy sauce (as I pictured it... perhaps thats unfair...) arrived with a large glob of thick sauce sitting on top of the filet in a blob. Nothing about the meal said "this was prepared by a skilled chef". Dessert (included in the very reasonable price of this menu) followed suit. The chocolate mousse was salty, and could have come from a jello pudding container. The burnt cream (creme brulle) had a bitter aftertaste that lingered on the pallet with a hint of jet fuel exhaust. Not good. From the many seniors who were taking advantage of the low priced "early bird" offering, I heard comments aplenty of what a great value it was. I guess if price is your primary consideration, this is a good deal. And the staff was nice, and the place is charming. But the food was a real let down. Im so very, very glad we didnt go later and spend three times as much for a meal of this caliber. Now THAT would have been really bad. When we were seated we noticed some bullet holes (!) in the plate glass window, and joked about why someone would shoot at the restaurant. Now Im guessing it was someone who ate there off the full price menu.

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Meri Fagan

THAT ONE STAR SHOULD BE A 10-STAR NEGATIVE...... WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!! AND A HUGE HUGE RIP OFF!!! Upon arriving, we were completely ignored for over 5 minutes at the front desk as the young lady was on the phone talking. After she finally got off the phone, she told us to sit in the waiting area to be seated. Then she seated OTHER people who came in after us (I had 4:30pm reservations!!) prior to seating my friend and I. The server finally showed up 10 minutes later. She was nice but why did it take another 10 minutes just to bring us water? After finally deciding on the twilight menu, choosing the 2 course meal and adding the appetiser plate from the regular menu, we waited, waited, waited...for the starter...which was absolutely dreadful...the prawns were overcooked, there were shell pieces in the lobster dip, the bread provided was overly dry and difficult to bite into, and the calamari, while the only decently cooked of the combo, was...another big disappointment. Then the salads came....very BLAND, hardly any dressing...I ended up taking one bite and returning it basicly uneaten, telling the server it was aweful. She did offer to replace it but I said no. Next the entres. The steaks were overcooked for medium rare, tasteless, and the lobster (mine was SMALLER THAN ONE OF THE PRAWNS FROM THE STARTER PLATE AND HAD LOTS OF SHELL ON IT - FOR $20 THAT WAS ROBBERY!!!!) I ended up hardly eating my meal and asking the server to just put the steak in a box which I gave to my friend who took it home to her dog. THIS RESTAURANT IS A SHAM, THE CHEF SHOULD BE FIRED, AND THEY REALLY NEED TO TEST/TASTE THEIR FOOD PRIOR TO SENDING IT OUT. WHAT A DREADFUL EXPERIENCE!!! Oh, and there were FLYS inside, flying and climbing all over our window. THAT makes me question the cleanliness of their kitchen...THERE WAS A DREADFUL SMELL when we first entered. I should have just turned around and gone to Red Lobster. $151.00 TWILIGHT DINNER FOR TWO....what a ripoff!!! DO NOT EAT AT THIS PLACE!!!

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Lisa Beck

I made reservation for 1:30pm, we arrived and were seated at a dirty, wet table. The glasses looked like they had been emptied and set back on the table. Our server told us where the buffet was and when we asked for a menu she said one was not available until dinner at 4:30pm. We went to the hostess stand and a manager stated she wasnt sure why the website didnt inform customers that there was only buffet available until 4:30 pm on Sundays.She told us that we could sit in the bar until the Happy Hour menu was available at 3 and then wait for the dinner hour at 4:30. Why would we sit in your restaurant for 3 hours?? We were told to go down the street to Dukes Chowder House if we wanted a menu on Sundays and that if we were from Tacoma we would have known it was buffet only until the dinner hour at 4:30 on Sundays!!! What difference does it make if we were Tacoma residents or traveling in town for the holidays. Poor customer awareness on your website and damage control of suggesting another restaurant for dining out is the reason we will not return . We did go to Dukes Chowder House and it was awesome!!!! We will not return the your establishment nor suggest to any friends or family!!!!

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Christine Clinton

Great time with visiting family. Sat outside under an umbrella...nice weather. Food was good and I thought lunch prices were reasonable. Wild caught fish served in a restaurant anywhere in the Seattle Tacoma area is a little pricey for the quantity...but hey its part of the good time. Mushroom appetizer. ..yum. 4 would have been a better value then just three...bur it was good. Meals were, Crab Melt...sister said real yummy. Other sister had Crab Louie...mom had shrimp louie....both enjoyed. I had halibut fish and chips and thought it was good. Maybe not exceptional. ..which I would so expect with dinner attire and prices...but for lunch...it was all good and the Commencement Bay view and nice restaurant view environment made it all worth it. Would go back with visitors.

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Christina McSwain

My husband and I visited the Lobster Shop down on Ruston tonight. Amazing! We had originally gone down to Anthony’s but after 10 minutes of being seated and not even being greeted by our server, we left. Our server tonight at the Lobster Shop was Kevin. He was busy, however, we no sooner were seated and he was there to welcome us and let us know he would be right back. He made our visit very enjoyable. The food was amazing and the service was fantastic. This was our first time eating there and will most certainly return as well as recommend to others. We only get one date night/dinner together a week. We are so glad we had the opportunity to experience the wonderful hospitality that was given tonight.

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