This is where you can find moderately priced seafood in the United States, even in the middle of the country. For so many, its a chain favorite. Does it offer the best seafood you can find in a restaurant? Of course not. But it works, and people in different parts of the country can get many of the same menu items (plus some secret menu hacks). With that in mind, it can be a place to get a comfort food, whether you like shrimp linguine or a hot bowl of New England clam chowder.
Red Lobster has a lot of decent offerings on its menu. But, like most chain restaurants, it also serves a lot of food that is bland, rough, or poorly prepared. Because of this, it can be hard to decide what to order at a restaurant, especially if you don’t go there very often.
Thats why we decided to rank some of the most popular Red Lobster dishes from worst to best. Let’s start with the dishes that we promise to never order again and then work our way up to our all-time favorites. Where will your go-to Red Lobster order land? Keep reading to find out.
As a born and raised New Englander, seafood is pretty much in my blood. I’ve been hitting up Red Lobster since I was a kid dipping buttery biscuits in lobster bisque. And I gotta say, while everything on the menu looks tempting, there are definitely some standout dishes you should prioritize on your visit!
As a seafood connoisseur and broke blogger who relies on the occasional freebie meal, I consider myself a Red Lobster expert. So if you’re wondering what to order at Red Lobster, keep reading for my pro tips and top picks from their menu!
Focus on the Fresh Seafood
First rule of thumb when dining at Red Lobster – take advantage of the fresh fish!
Skip the fried platters and go for dishes that highlight quality seafood. A few faves:
-
Wood-Grilled Salmon: Hands down the most popular entrée for good reason. Perfectly cooked salmon that melts in your mouth.
-
Seafood Stuffed Tilapia Tilapia baked with a crab and shrimp stuffing Seafood trifecta!
-
Maple Glazed Salmon: Salmon grilled and brushed with a sweet maple glaze.
-
Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp: Large shrimp coated in flaky coconut breading. An indulgent treat!
Red Lobster prides itself on fresh fish so you really can’t go wrong picking any of the wood-grilled or stuffed seafood options. Just avoid anything heavily breaded or fried.
Don’t Miss the Crab!
Red Lobster is also known for their fresh crab offerings Two you gotta try
-
Snow Crab Legs: Served warm with melted butter. Leg meat is sweet and tender.
-
King Crab Legs: More expensive but the king crab meat is to die for. So buttery and rich.
If you see a special like Crabfest going on, it’s the perfect time to indulge in chilled crab legs with all the fixings. Don’t be shy with the warm drawn lemon butter – that’s my favorite part!
Best Shellfish Dishes
In addition to amazing crab, you can’t go wrong with shrimp and lobster rolls at Red Lobster:
-
Ultimate Feast: A surf n turf combo of lobster tail, garlic shrimp, and steak. Really lets the lobster shine.
-
Lobster Lover’s Dream: A whole lobster tail paired with lobster-filled ravioli. Pure decadence.
-
Cajun Lobster and Shrimp Linguini: Lots of spicy cajun flavor in this pasta dish, and you get two types of shellfish!
Don’t Sleep on the Biscuits
Now this is very important – save room for Cheddar Bay Biscuits! These warm, fluffy biscuits loaded with cheese are basically famous.
Be sure to order an extra batch or two and don’t skimp on the honey butter. Trust me, no trip to Red Lobster is complete without housing a dozen of these biscuits!
Best Sides to Complete Your Meal
To round out an amazing Red Lobster feast, here are some classic side dishes you should grab:
-
Cole slaw: Cool, creamy cabbage slaw is the perfect complement to seafood.
-
Rice pilaf: The rice pilaf is super flavorful with onions and herbs. Great for soaking up buttery seafood juices.
-
Garlic mashed potatoes: Creamy real mashed spuds with lots of garlic butter. Enough said.
-
Cheddar biscuit shrimp au gratin: Cheesy shrimp casserole with crumbled biscuits, yum!
Stick with the simple sides that enhance seafood flavor. And be sure to get a side salad with creamy ranch or blue cheese dressing too. Balance out the indulgence!
Go for Lunch Specials to Save $$$
Finally, a money saving tip – hit up the lunch menu for deals!
Red Lobster runs lots of specials like 3 course meals and combo platters at lunchtime. You can sample a few different dishes for a bargain. It’s the best time to bring a big appetite.
The Verdict? Fresh Seafood Rules!
So there you have it – the inside scoop on exactly what you should order at America’s most popular seafood chain. Follow these tips, and you’re guaranteed an amazing meal!
At the end of the day, you really can’t make a bad choice at Red Lobster. Just stick to the fresh fish, indulge in those biscuits, and always save room for dessert. That coconut snowball is calling my name!
New England Clam Chowder
You may assume that Red Lobsters New England Clam Chowder wouldnt be that good, but in reality, its actually not that bad. They certainly dont skimp on the clams, which is a blessing — clam chowder that doesnt contain enough clams is almost guaranteed to be a letdown. Its creamy, and it has a rich, seafood-y broth that complements the other ingredients nicely. This soup is certainly a step up from the stuff youd get in a can.
That being said, we probably wouldn’t order the New England Clam Chowder by itself unless we were sick and ended up at Red Lobster. For a meal starter, a cup of it is nice, but any more than that and it starts to taste bland.
1 Southwest Shrimp Bowl
Red Lobsters Southwest Shrimp Bowl looks like something you would make from a particularly bad meal kit. This is a very simple meal: orzo rice, salad, pico de gallo, sour cream, and tortilla chips. Of course, theres some grilled shrimp in there as well. The food is simple and dull, and we don’t think it’s worth the money, especially if you want a great seafood meal.
You can make this shrimp bowl at home without much trouble, even if you’re not a great cook. To us, theres just no reason to actually order this kind of thing at a restaurant. There are some lunch dishes at Red Lobster that look light and healthy, which we like, but we would never pay more than Chipotle prices for this bowl.
Some people at Red Lobster want to order queso every time they go out, which is likely why they came up with this overly cheesy Lobster Dip. Its basically just a spinach and artichoke cheese dip with lobster unceremoniously added to the mix. They didnt think about how to make a dip with ingredients that actually complement the lobster. Instead, it looks like they chose to be lazy and put lobster in dishes that didn’t need it.
If Red Lobster wants to make a spinach artichoke dip, they shouldn’t add lobster to it and charge extra for it. If you want to get the most out of your money, choose a dish where the lobster is the big star.
When you cant decide what to order from Red Lobster, the Sailors Platter may be up your alley. Youll get shrimp scampi, popcorn shrimp, and fried flounder, along with your choice of side. The shrimp scampi is the best thing on this plate, but we don’t think any of the other things are that great. We like that you can get three different kinds of seafood on one plate, even though most of the food on it is relatively bland.
The Sailor’s Platter might be a good choice for people who want to try something new at Red Lobster. There are, however, much better items on the menu if you really want the best food the chain restaurant has to offer.