Red Lobster

My third time to a Red Lobster. The music and décor haven’t been updated a what appears to be a very long time.
Had the ultimate feast, deep fried shrimp (2.5÷5), butter bathed shrimp (³⁄₅), lobster (⁴⁄₅), and crab legs (⁴⁄₅).
Feeling very stuffed but enjoyed the food.
Service was up and down, quick on the refills but took a long time to bring the bill. She was sociable but not overly friendly.

Went to the Red Lobster on Friday afternoon dec. ⁴⁄₁₅ with my wife and mother of 101 years old, The norm for us was two three times a month. When I asked what had happened to there Christmas Tree which the had been up for two weeks prior to this incident. I was informed that the head office had the restaurant on 36^st NE, TAKE THE CHRISTMAS TREE DOWN. I think I’ve been pushed around long enough. So now that The RED Lobster has OFFENDED ME my family and I will never go back there. (enough is enough) If I could give the place no stars I would.
So MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES.
Regards Ron Russell. Okotoks.
PS: my experience was at the red lobster on 36^st, just before memorial dr. in the N.E. Have not found that web page yet.

Awful. Terrible. Just not my style. I couldn’t not get over how packed this place was and how crappy it was. The seafood plates are like minuscule. The commercials make the seafood look big and delicious and the shrimps were so tiny! Those biscuits that are their signature… terrible. Fatty dough balls that people were devouring. I did get a decent sized glass of wine though but I won’t go back!

I’ve spent my whole 29 years wanting to go to Red Lobster because there isn’t one in Vancouver where I live. On a recent trip to Calgary, my boyfriend and I finally made our way to this location. I was BEYOND excited. We told our server, Chris, that it was my first time ever in a Red Lobster and he made some great recommendations for food and was very welcoming and enthusiastic. I wanted to order the High Tide for drinks because they came in a commemorative mason jar, and was so disappointed to find out that they had run out of them already. Chris took a minute to ask how I spell my name, and came back a minute later with my very own Red Lobster name tag as a keepsake instead! I was so impressed with his service, and my meal was just as good as I had hoped it would be for the last 29 years!
Huge thank you to Chris, and to everyone at the MacLeod Trail location!

I had a delicious meal here after a hard day working in my new house. I came here just before Rush at about 4:00pm. The service was great and the food excellent. I guess they were getting ready for dinner because there was alot of staff and the food came out quick.
I would recommend this restaurant.

Oh my god it was gross. The place is dark and dirty. Spent the whole time swatting away flies. The carpet should be removed. The food looked nothing like the pictures or commercials. My pasta looked like it had been thrown on the plate and had no taste and the clam chowder was watered down and tasteless. The so called lobster pizza, come on guys it was beyond disgusting, don’t know what you call the objects they put on that pizza, but is wasn’t lobster.

Excellent food however the service we received was horrible. I went to this Red Lobster location with a large group of people (6) and we were told we would have to wait 30 – 45 minutes for a table. We agreed and watched as they cleaned off large tables, separated them and proceeded to sit smaller parties that had arrived after we did. Then a large party of 6 that arrived 20 minutes after us was seated before us. After waiting over 90 minutes and being seated we asked to speak to the manager. He did not apologize, just offered to give us free appies when we tried to ask why we were shoved aside he didn’t want to give an explanation other then «These things happen». Well this location has lost my patronage and I will only go to the location in the NE from now on.

Team Tastic came here for dinner and we shared plates of the Island Jumbo Coconut Shrimp, the Fire-​Grilled Lobster Salmon Shrimp, and the Admiral’s Feast. All of these plates started with a basic side salad. Both the Jumbo Coconut Shrimp and the Admiral’s Feast were plates full of deep-​fried seafood. I was a fan of the fried scallops from the Admiral’s Feast because they reminded me of chicken nuggets, but otherwise the fried seafood was a little too dry for my liking.
The jumbo shrimp were more batter than jumbo but had a good coconut taste in the batter. The fire-​grilled lobster was pretty good, but maybe a little small compared to what’s seen in advertisements and on the menu. Vegetables were quite watery but the best part of this dish is that it’s not deep friend like a lot of items on the menu.
For dessert was a Warm Apple Crostada. This was basically a warm combination of an apple tart with a side of caramel and vanilla ice cream.

It was not bad… It was ok to be a franchise… The biscuits were good and I liked the stuffed mushroom … In general the food was heavier than I prefer… But not terrible, it just could be better… The drinks were really good, the cocktails were delicious, and the service was friendly…

For the record, I am a seafood snob. I was lucky enough to grow up on the coast and spent most of my life eating «caught today» seafood. I have been here for the last 9 years and accept that what I get here is not the same as what I get there. That being said, I still don’t get why people think that Red Lobster is GREAT seafood.
The first thing to the table is always the biscuits and they are the best part of the meal. I usually choose some kind of combination meal but it depends on what the promotion is at any given time. Tonight I had a Lobster-​Fest meal with rock lobster, maritime lobster and shrimp with lobster pasta. The pasta was ok and maritime tail was ok. The best part (besides the bread) was the split rock lobster tail. It was cooked well and worked with the drawn butter dip.
The prices seem to have gone up over the last few years and the quality has gone down or stayed the same. The food is edible but generally lacks the deliciousness required for us to wait in line for 50 minutes for a table.
I know that I will go again as my father-​in-​law likes to go there when he visits, but it’s not going to be a place I choose when it’s my turn decide where we should go.

Red Lobster, Macleod trail gets one star because we got in right away.
So disappointed!!! Like so many restaurants in Calgary, the quality of food is terrible. The presentation is horrible. For what R/​L charges for all of their dishes, they should be ashamed!!! We were there on Friday evening and it was so sad to see our dinners on the plate compared to the fancy pictures in their menu. My husband had the seafood trio and seriously, it looked like they took a handful of various seafood, pitched it in a deep fryer and then onto the plate. Even our waiter looked embarrassed to serve it to him. We decided not to make a big issue but to be sure, we will tell everyone we know about this terrible experience and will never go to any Red Lobster again.

I’d only really been to Red Lobster as a kid when celebrating something.
For Christmas, I received a gift certificate so felt they had to be used. I otherwise would never go as an adult. It just has this cheezy, busy, family vibe that I’m not interested in for a dinner out.
We finally went so we could use up the gift cards. The place was teeming with small children but we got a pretty private booth.
Service was spectacular, that is one thing this place has going for it, our server was thoughtful, attentive, and although the place was super busy, she never made us seem like it. When our appetizers were taking too long she brought our salads before hand.
Food was alright, our crab legs were IMO overcooked and dry which made them difficult to eat. The sides were delicious though.
Overall, we had a nice night out. Would we ever go back? No. But with a gift card we had to use up it was a decent dinner.

i’ll be honest: I really never thought i’d love a Red Lobster joint as much as I love this location. I have been to other Red Lobster restaurants in Calgary but the McLeod location stands as the clear exception in service, taste, and overall awesomeness.
I’ve been to this location about 5 times and every time it has been a real delight. The first time me and my wonderful counterpart decided to eat here (it was the first time at any red lobster for both of us), we were surprised on a number of levels:
1) the excellent customer service — our waiter was one of the kindest yet professional servers i’ve ever dealt with; prompt, considerate, full of interesting and sound recommendations based on our preferences, i did not expect this level of exceptional service (this has been the case on all of our visits)
2) the sumptuous food! — ok, i will be the first to admit that i am no seafood expert but wow, the lobster and shrimp are consistently fantastic. the hearty, delicious goodness is a welcome change from what you get when you try and eat out at most restaurants these days. We make it a point to try something new each time we visit and each dish is always surprisingly good. Often times when we find something unsavoury it just comes from personal preference but because the meals often offer a variety of components, the meal as a whole ends up being a great dish.
3) the amazing price — the prices here are really a great value. Coupled with the fact that the portion sizes are very generous (we often split meals between the two of us us and we share the portions with 1 appetizer and 1 main being more than enough for us) you can easily expect your meal to end with a pleasant surprise upon receiving your bill.
There is something about these chains that really have some charm, maybe it’s the dated décor but there’s something about the consistency and antiquity that make you feel like you’re some place else. Sometimes when i’m in here I forget which part of the city i’m in and that’s nice feeling; across the street from the most contemporary mall in the city, Red Lobster can remind you of how staying true to form and principle can make you a distinguished classic. 5 stars.
*on a final note about Service, i would just like to point out that the Management here is just as excellent, the manager for the evening for our first visit made it extra special: upon finishing our meal, we were offered some high-​value coupons just for visiting. I’m not sure what we did but maybe our polite table manners really won them over. call this act what you will but i’ve never had that sort of treatment anywhere (ever) so it was such a nice surprise. This event pretty much shaped our perception of this Red Lobster location and the bar was set; every time we have returned, we always expect to have a great evening and we haven’t been disappointed since.

Apologies to Willie and Julio…
To all the Red Lobsters I lovvvvved before,
Where I rejoiced coming thru the doooors…
Your food I oh so longed…
I try and rhyme this sonnnng…
To all the Red Lobsters I loooooved before…
For awesome cheddar garlic (bis)cuits…
Clam chowder soups I loved to bits…
The clams so fried so good…
The fish on planks of woooood…
To all the Red Lobsters I loooooved before…
It was just another visit…
I came to savour more…
But you then had ruined my order…
And made good service seeeem… to be a chore…
So I did come but once again…
I marched on forth into the den…
And ended up in hell…
The food really did do smell…
This was not the place I lovvvved before…

My favourite restaurant. I went to the McLeod Trail location today after a very long day, and I am glad I did. We got great food and wonderful service which is a rarity these days. Our server was cheerful friendly and prompt. Thanks for making my day end on a brighter note Morgan.

I don’t care what everyone else says… I’m a beginner at eating seafood, and this is right up my alley. Fresh Oysters are not my idea of a good time, so Red Lobster it is. I always have a nice time and a great meal!

Why can I not stay away from this place? Oh ya, I had another gift card. :)
Went with the beau on Monday night after going allllll the way south to hit Ikea. Oh, I should also review Ikea. OK, so went in, were seated right away and noted that service was going to be pretty good this night. I forget her name but she was on the ball.
Ordered popcorn shrimp meal, a great value for $ 13 and the beau got stuffed sole, not bad for $ 14. We even had waters to stretch the gift card out. Baked potatoes came with both meals upon our request (sick of rice), they were very good and did not taste like they had been sitting under a heating lamp for hours OR leftover from the lunch service.
Here were the pitfalls on this night.
1– Caesar salad — just plain and not good. Barely better than the garden salad. The clam chowder is very good here but it costs an extra $ 3.25 with your meal should you choose it. Highway robbery if you ask me. It is a very small cup too. The prices here seem to keep going up as the portions are go down.
2– They were out of everything. My husband likes the tilapia and as he was about to order THAT, the server mentioned the restaurant was out. Not only out of that but the nachos (who gets that at Red Lobster? Kids?) And the pizza, they were out of that too. Word to the wise, most chefs know that seafood just does not go with cheese. Maybe kids like that too. We were also informed that they were out of all drink mixes, margarita, piña colada mix etc.
3 — Ya, we were there late around 9pm but it does not give the place the right to vacuum around our feet!
The service saved the night and what we did get to eat was very good. As usual, we took as many buns as we could and had lunch for the next day with our remaining leftovers.
I had a $ 5 off coupon so on the gift card our entire meal from savvy ordering was $ 22 for 2 people!!! I love the Ultimate Feast but man, it costs $ 30 just for that plate not including drinks.
TIP — the fresh fish comes in on Tuesdays and Thursdays to have enough on hand for the weekend so Fridays would be a good day to come in if you love fish. This location is RIGHT across from Chinook Shopping Centre though so be prepared to wait a bit for a table on weekends.

I should have trusted my gut.
I mean, he’s the one who has to suffer for my poor choices, so really, I should have trusted him.
He knew better.
My gut told me, «Dan, remember that time we went to Red Lobster when we lived in California?»
«Yeah.»
“And how bad it was?”
«Yeah.»
“And how you vowed you would never set foot in another Red Lobster again?”
«Yeah but this is different now, gut. We live in Canada! That’s a whole other ballgame!»
«Sigh.»
No, my gut was right. Red Lobster is crap.
Not crap altogether … they have SOME redeeming qualities! First of all, the «shipwrecked» décor is charming. Something very homey and comfortable about it.
And the biscuits (as I remembered correctly) are great. Soft, salty, flaky … they are really, really good.
Aaaaaaand the compliments stop about there.
All the food is low-​quality, poorly prepared and all around … just pretty gross.
I won’t go into too many details except to say do NOT get the crab cakes. They are disgustingly tepid, flaccid little lumps of crappy crab meat. I thought I was actually going to be sick from these things.
I also don’t understand how people talk about how «cheap» or «affordable» Red Lobster is. I could easily find a MUCH better meal in this city for a similar or lower price. I would take Joey’s over Red Lobster any day.
And even if it is on the «cheaper» side of most seafood places, I would much rather pay a little more and get something that is actually good quality.
Sorry Red Lobster, I’m sticking with my gut from now on. The only way I’ll be back is if I somehow fall into an alternate universe.

The seafood is always great except I am not a huge fan of seafood in batter and there is a lot of that here.

This is a good place to go to get seafood if you are on a budget. The food is fairly fresh and the recipes are not bad to mediocre. Plus they have those addicting biscuits that you have to eat just one more of. Service is fair although sometimes the food takes a really long time to come. A good place to go during all you can eat crab or shrimp fest to get your fill for a low price. Very family friendly.