Red Lobster is one of the most well-known chain restaurants in the United States. It has locations in strip malls and along highways all over the country. It’s known as a “seafood haven” because it sells seafood at low prices to people all over the United States. Its menu is full of specials and well-known favorites, like the Lobsterfest, which is a great name for the event, and the chain’s famous Cheddar Bay biscuits. Perhaps none of Red Lobsters deals have quite as much sway as its Ultimate Endless Shrimp.
There are many all-you-can-eat deals at chain restaurants, but Red Lobster’s Ultimate Endless Shrimp is the only one of its kind. It began as a promotion to get more people to come in, but it was so popular that Red Lobster made it a permanent part of their menu in the summer of 2023. The chain lost $11 million in the same quarter that Ultimate Endless Shrimp became a permanent menu item, according to CNN. It turned out to be too popular at its original price.
Even though Red Lobster has since changed its prices to reflect how popular Ultimate Endless Shrimps are, I knew that when I had the chance, I had to try this luxurious seafood treat for myself.
Red Lobster’s Endless Shrimp promotion has become the stuff of legend. For a flat fee, you can indulge in unlimited shrimp dishes to your heart’s content. It sounds too good to be true. But is Red Lobster’s endless shrimp really endless? I decided to put it to the test.
As a lover of seafood, especially shrimp, the Endless Shrimp deal has always intrigued me. I had heard the stories – customers eating plate after plate for hours on end until they nearly make themselves sick. Could the average person really eat endless shrimp? And does Red Lobster eventually cut you off? I had to find out.
My boyfriend and I arrived at Red Lobster ready to fully commit to this shrimp eating challenge. We were seated at a large round table perfect for the feast we were about to undertake. Our server Karl explained the Endless Shrimp rules and we placed our first order – three shrimp dishes plus a side.
The dishes arrived on an oval slab – grilled shrimp skewers, coconut shrimp, and shrimp alfredo. We dug in. The skewers were simple, with slightly rubbery shrimp. The coconut shrimp were an indulgent fried sweet. But the alfredo packed a heavy, creamy punch that made me wonder if I could go on.
After resting for a few minutes, we ordered round two – garlic shrimp scampi and breaded shrimp called Walt’s Favorite. The scampi was drowning in butter and the breaded shrimp came with a tasty cocktail sauce. As time slowed down, I wasn’t sure I could press on.
Somehow we mustered the strength for round three, crispy salt and vinegar shrimp. Even though the flavor was spot-on, at this point the physical toll was fully setting in When Karl jokingly asked if we wanted a fourth round, there was no way I could go on I had reached my shrimp limit.
So did we truly experience endless shrimp? I’d say yes. If not for my over-ambitious eyes-bigger-than-stomach mentality, I could have kept eating more shrimp dishes. Karl confirmed they don’t cut people off – he’s seen customers eat plate after plate for hours.
In the end, I learned that the average person probably can’t eat endless shrimp in the truest sense of the word. But Red Lobster does live up to its promotion and will keep the shrimp coming as long as you can handle it. If you pace yourself and come with a big appetite, you could feasibly eat a seemingly endless amount of shrimp. Just don’t make the mistake I did by gorging too quickly.
The value depends on your capacity. Big eaters and families can take advantage of the volume. If you’re counting calories or want a reasonable meal, it’s probably not for you. The quality varied – some shrimp dishes were better than others. But overall it’s a filling feast for the price.
Parrot Isle jumbo coconut shrimp
We don’t know where Parrot Isle is, but the coconut shrimp that gives it its name can be found somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle of starters, main courses, and fried desserts. Red Lobsters shrimp, while indeed jumbo, were hard to define. They were well breaded and shaped like butterfly wings. There were strands of browned coconut poking out along the edges, giving the savory shellfish below a sweet coating.
It was full-send coconut shrimp in every sense of that newly made-up term. The first real blow in our Endless Shrimp fight came from this dish. Fried sweets always hit hard, though. You always expect a little sweetness with coconut shrimp, but these could probably cause a cavity. There was also a white coconut sauce dip that tasted a bit like cake frosting and made it taste even worse.
You might think you were eating a zeppole or beignet if you didn’t look closely and pay attention to the flared shrimp tail. The only thing that’s not clear is whether the Parrot Isle jumbo coconut shrimp should also be on Red Lobster’s dessert menu. I dont think Id complain if it was.
If the coconut shrimp was a jab, the shrimp linguini alfredo was an outright haymaker. Finally, we realized what we were up against. This dish, which was just shrimp on top of pasta and white sauce, was simple but much more indulgent than the other two on the plate, and we could tell from the first bite.
The sauce itself was milky and didn’t cover the linguini. This meant that some of the strands at the bottom were disappointingly dry. It did manage to catch the shrimp, which seemed to be simply boiled. But, it was hard to get any shrimp flavor due to the sauces overwhelming creaminess. When you go to a restaurant, you should probably avoid the pasta with alfredo sauce because it’s pretty simple and has a lot of dairy. Like any alfredo, though, this one kept us coming back for more even when we werent sure how. We didn’t think we’d be able to go on until our server Karl rang the bell for our second round in a sarcastic way.
Round 1: Grilled shrimp skewer
After about 10 minutes, our first plate came out. It was an oval slab with our first three Endless Shrimp options: grilled shrimp skewer, Parrot Isle jumbo coconut shrimp, and shrimp linguini alfredo. Eight grilled shrimp on a bed of orzo with a lemon slice were the first thing we ate. In addition to being the most basic dish, it was also the most humble. That wasn’t a bad thing.
There was some rubberiness and dryness in the shrimp, but a little lemon juice fixed it. They also paired well with our chosen side of broccoli, which was steamed and extremely salty. It might have been meant to have a Mediterranean feel, which is hard to do when you put it next to a pile of shrimp alfredo, but it kind of worked. We knew there would be a lot of eating, but the skewer started things off on a light, almost refreshing note. If only that couldve lasted!.