Red Lobster

I have to admit, Red Lobster is one of my guilty pleasures. We stop in to the Barrie location a few times a year on the way back to Toronto from a ski day at Mt St Louis. When you’ve worked up a huge appetite from a day outdoors, there’s no better place to go. Service at the door is friendly and you get seated right away. Once you’ve ordered your drinks (and they have a big variety of mocktails and cocktails which I avoid in favour of their decent selection of «by the glass» red or white wine) the biscuits, those devilishly delicious, greasy, savoury tea biscuits that are served complimentary instead of bread, arrive piping hot to your table. Who can resist and have just one? Not I! I ordered the wood fired feast which had shrimp, salmon and a lobster tail served with your choice of sides which for me meant mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts. My dining companion had a similar meal with scallops instead of salmon. Both meals came with a starter salad and by the time I had the very decent caesar and two biscuits, I wasn’t that hungry anymore. I can’t imagine anyone ordering additional starters and still having room for their main course. Our mains arrived shortly after our salad plates were cleared away. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals. My lobster tail was slightly overcooked but still yummy and the shrimp and salmon were perfect. I have to mention the sides because they were excellent-​mashed potatoes buttery and fluffy and perhaps the best tasting brussel sprouts I’ve ever had in a restaurant-​what a treat! I had to take about ¹⁄₃ of my meal to go as I was so stuffed and needless to say we skipped dessert. Throughout it all, our server was super prompt, courteous and helpful. Dinner for two with one drink each plus tax and tip was $ 100. I thought that was very good value for our experience.

Definitly not a fan of chains and i know why. Went with a friend and were sat quickly and then we sat and sat and sat and sat until i thought we might be invisible.
Finally a server shows up and i ask a simple question. Is the seafood made fresh daily or shipped in precooked? She said it was made fresh
Next question. Does the food come looking like the photos or are the photos digitally enhanced like McDonalds? She said it looks exactly like the photos.
Food came and my first thought was that she had a visual handicap. Not even close to the photo. As fir the food, shrimp Kabobs were frozen rock solid in the middle, sear marks on the outside and slightly warm on the outside which led me to believe I was misled.
I might eat there again when its the only choice left on the planet and im starving

I don’t normally go to chain restaurants, but I was in Barrie and was hungry for some seafood (I don’t know the city well). The staff was friendly. Our waitress (Kim) was great. She was cheerful, always attentive, and helpful. I got the Endless Shrimp. I was skeptical at first, but thought that I would give it a try. I have to admit, the shrimps were average, but I was glad that they were not too salty (I read that the Red Lobster in Toronto’s Atrium on the Bay is really salty). Also, I got the baked potato plain, but came out with butter and sour cream. Kim immediately noticed it and wanted to rectify the situation, but I did not want to bother her cause she genuinely felt bad for the mistake. She was so nice that she made up for it by giving me double portions for the next order of shrimp. The food is average, but if you want good service, this place is pretty good.

Our family had dinner here on March 14 2014. Service received from our server Peter M was superb. We haven’t received any comparable service from any restaurant in a very long time. He was sincere, attentive, and caring. 5 stars. Thank you Peter for making our dinner a very pleasant experience.

Food is fairly consistent and not horribly priced. I have to admit I rated a bit tough as they have removed many of the reasons I go there from the menu, replacing them with such seafood restaurant specialties as Buffalo wings and pork chops. I know you have to be a bit diverse and open to change… but, the name is red lobster, not red pig. The service varies from stupendous to slow, and there have been more than a couple of occasions where I have returned my plate for missing items, incorrectly cooked, etc. But, all said and done, Barrie is sorely lacking in regards to a food scene and this is a decent alternative.