Row House Lobster

Dinner was outstanding at this fine establishment. It’s on one of Char’town’s most eclectic dining streets (Victoria lane). Setting of the restaurant is more upscale-​hipster-​cool and a nice open bar when you enter just calls you out to indulge in a firewater or mixed cocktail.
I ordered the arugula salad as a starter and the fish and chips. The salad was crackingly amazing. Fresh, the perfect amount of dressing and a wonderful mix of bacon, Gouda, sun dried tomatoes with a maple dressing. The main meal was a two piece haddock and chips. Not the best fish and chips I’ve had, not the worst. Overall a 3.5÷5. Serving was not humongous huge but adequate for a hungry man. Presentation was nice and crispy and yummy.
Vibe of the joint is laid back. We ate on a quiet End of October evening. Downtown Charlottetown sure has a different feel than my last visit at the beginning of September. Much more quiet and almost no tourists.
This place is definitely worth coming back. Lots of lobster on the menu if ocean bugs are your thing.

We had some lobster lollipops as we really wanted to try them before we left. They were very busy, but worked hard to accommodate. The atmosphere, wine list and quality were all good.

I want to start with the good point. The service at Row House is fantastic. We were never left waiting, not when we checked in and had to wait for a spot on the patio, not for drinks and appies at the bar, and not for service as we decided to switch spots on the patio.
The issue here is with the food. The name of the restaurant is Row House Lobster and in most dishes the lobster was either overcooked or undetectable.
The Crispy Lobster Risotto Cakes tasted overwhelmingly like cheese with a hint of rice. There was no trace of lobster flavor to be found. The Lobster Gnocchi had a lot of great lobster flavor in the sauce and there was a generous helping of lobster mixed in amongst the gnocchi, but it felt like chewing rubber because it was so overcooked. You could tell there was a lot of lobster in the Lobster Roll (it kind of tasted like canned fish), but it was very, very under seasoned, as were the fries. They could have done with a little more salt.
I do want to add that they serve a seasonal vegetarian dish. Vegetarian dishes that aren’t salad are hard to come by on the Island. So, that’s a plus.
But, I don’t think I would order any more lobster dishes here again. There’s just no value in spending $ 20+ for something that’s not cooked properly.

Went for a nice lunch on a Wednesday so not incredibly busy. Service was slow, had to ask numerous times when order would be ready. New waitress came by after a few minutes asking if we had already eaten. Did she not realize she had not yet served us? Asked for the restaurants wi-​fi code only to be told they no longer provide it.
We ordered the seafood sampler platter which took forever to arrive and was not worth the close to $ 30 paid.
Ordered Mussels in broth as an appetizer, yet no bread was provided until requested and we received 5 small garlic crostinis. Not enough to sop up the mussels broth. We asked for more only to see a $ 4.00 charge on our bill for the extra 5 we received. Really! Better bring your own Melba toast next time.
Very disappointed in our meal.
With many, many other eating options available on the street we chose poorly.

Very trendy place, nice super friendly staff, from front hostess to waiter to server.
Now I should have said something when I noticed it but I was just too tired.
I asked about a certain wine and was asked what type I was looking for. I said sweet and bubbly. Instead of letting me taste a sip size glass or coming back from the bar and telling me verbally what they have that’s similar… the waitress comes back with a full glass saying that the wine I was looking at, the moscato d’asti (8 $) was not sweet and bubbly… But instead they have this one nova 7? … I felt strange tasting the poured full glass of wine… I mean, if I didn’t like it they waste a full glass? It Almost felt like they were saying, no don’t choose that wine you must take this glass of wine instead. It was sweet and bubbly but a bit more tart. Being put in this awkward situation and a bit taken back by it, I said sure it’s ok it was sweet and bubbly. The more I drank it, it tasted Somewhat like a cider instead… in fact I didn’t feel the alcohol at all like I do with most white wines since I hardly drink much.
Anyways… All this to say the bill comes and my glass of wine that they changed turned out to be $ 12 instead.
It almost felt forced on me subtly. They seemed so friendly but even my friend thought it was sooo odd. This left me with a bad feeling leaving this place.
I mean, moscato d’asti is a sweet wine. Really just wanted to know if the wine was bubbly. Either they could have poured me a taste size of the one I asked for or they could have poured a sample (not full glass) of the suggested wine. The least they could have done was verbally tell me about the suggested one and disclosing the price as well. I could have still chosen the suggested one … But at least I wouldn’t feel coerced then cheated. Or at least if they don’t disclose the price of the new one and decide to change my suggestion regardless of giving me an option — then charge the same as the one I chose first.
Just did not make sense to me. Still wondering if it was just all miscommunication between the bartender waitress and me and they were ignorant of common courtesy and were really trying to help or were they just seeing a way of upping the bill?
But they were friendly.
Another thing … I know they had the door open but there were Mosquitos and fruit flies everywhere… It made it difficult to eat my meal.
Meal was ok.
I’ve been in PEI long enough to have oysters 4 instances. I really don’t know what the hype is about Raspberry Point oysters. Too salty, oceans and small.
I need to figure out where the other malpeque oysters were from … The ones they had at the Malpeque Oyster Barn those were large … Even the «small» ones were large and buttery tasting not overly salty.
So one star each for trendy ambiance, friendly staff and the fact my friend liked her meal.
Would not suggest.

Great patio atmosphere in beautiful Charlottetown’s Victoria row. Pleasant service. The burger is one of the best I’ve had. ever! Would give it 5 stars but portions are a tad small and the kitchen staff arriving for work were a little rambunctious going through the front door during our dining experience. Overall I would highly recommend their lunch on the patio.

I ordered Lobster Tacos to go.
Have to say. The tacos are amazing!
For some reason, there was only one waitress that night. But she was really friendly. The only downside was because of the short staffed, it took half an hour to get my order.

Absolutely stunning service and food. Layout is very casual, relaxed and inviting. Danielle the server is very helpful and efficient on food recommendations and making you feel welcomed! Just beautiful!
Jenn is an absolute wonder for wine selection and customer service.
Lucy on the grill is very focused and skilled and ensures food is to expectations.
Wen there twice on my 3 day trip.
Must have: Lobster Poutine!

Fantastic meal by our party of four. Lobster was amazing. Service was great and served as local tour guide as well

Truly amazing place, came here two days in a row and not disappointed at all. We tried almost everything on the menu and honestly all delicious! We’ve had lobster lollipops (wow). Bacon wrapped scallops, flawless (had them twice). Lobster tacos, spicy and delicious. Lobster Poutine… Only bad thing is that ended. And truffled gnocchi, mmm!
Staff is high end service driven and the owner came out to chat with us.
A must when visiting Charlottetown, PEI

Excelent food. Great ambiance. Great location.
Ordered a PEI blueberry ice tea and I didn’t like it but the rest was great! The service and the restaurant itself.

My wife and I ate here last night. The food was exquisite and our server. Jennifer only added to the ambiance. We had read the only negative review on Unilocal but it did not criticize the food. and for good reason! This is a new restaurant and well worth your attendance.

Had oysters, mussels, poutine and salad between us, all delicious. Service and décor also great.

The restaurant is new opened two months ago. The food is excellent. Wife had lobster tacos. Three stuffed tacos in soft shell. Tacos came with side dish. We ordered the fries. They were very good. I ordered the mussels in a chorizo tomato and fennel broth. You can’t go wrong with mussels in PEI. This dish was excellent. You will need extra bread to soak up the broth. It was excellent. Every dish coming out of the kitchen looked better than the last. Wine list was good. Service was good. Jan and Ian really made sure we had a good experience. I would definitely suggest this place.

First time having dinner in Charlottetown. Asked hotel for recommendation and they suggested Row House. So I decided to give it a try. I learned that it had only been open for a few days, you would never know it from my first steps in I felt welcome. Service was excellent as was the atmosphere. Try the lobster lollipops fantastic. I will definitely return.