I have been eating at Butch's for the past few summers and it never disappoints. Consistency is key when it comes to seafood in a landlocked state! As I mentioned before, it's never let me down in terms of freshness, quality, taste, and appropriate temperature. The staff are always very welcoming and friendly. It is also a dog friendly place where my Dog Polly is always greeted by name and a compliment on her attire. ( she's a service dog who likes to wear dresses ) her favorite French fries in the entire continental United States are here at Butch's under a big umbrella with a great view of town and the other dogs. I also met a great friend who was working there last summer named Johnny. We still talk everyday! read more

Butch's Lobster Shack - Polly Anna - Seafood Near Me - Basalt, Colorado

I'm not even sure if I can recommend this place to my friends. Pricey is an understatement! I'm not going to lie, I enjoyed the food and the portion was generous but we misread the menu and thought the salad with lobster was $26, when in reality that was only the addition of lobster. The overall price was $45 for the strawberry and walnut salad with lobster. Ouch! My friend ordered a Cesar salad with lobster and it was $40. Including two sodas and one cup of clam chowder (for my friend) our bill was $120, not including tip. This was lunch, not dinner. Service was good. And the place has sitting outside, which is in the shade but it's wood benches that are very hard and uncomfortable. Again, food is not bad, but I don't think I will come back. Sorry! read more

Butch's Lobster Shack - Cesar salad with lobster - Seafood Near Me - Basalt, Colorado

See all

a minute ago New Oof. Rarely write reviews but want to warn people. Took us 30 minutes before a waitress came over, and that was only after my husband went to the bar to order us drinks. He said the bartender appeared to be the manager and was cursing at the wait staff. Finally ordered and food came out 30 minutes later and was cold. Waiters tried to deliver drink orders several times that were not ours, and one time spilled them everywhere. My favorite part was watching a restaurant absolutely melt down, with numerous, visibly unhappy tables and a staff in disarray, all while the owner Butch drank a beer with a smile on his face, not a care in the world. Clear that locals and friends of the proprietor are keeping the place busy, so don't expect it to change. But maybe let them keep this place for themselves, it was a truly hilarious disaster. read more

Location and atmosphere was chill. Nice hang out area for a beer and conversation. Lobster Rolls sounded great. We have Lobster Tolls in Boston, Camden, San Fran, etc. so now it was time to try Basalt. Our mistake. It was a Lobster Salad Roll as it turned out. I don't recommend any rolls from here if you are looking for chunks of lobster to eat. read more

Something has changed a little bit from years past. Losing a little bit of the locals feel. Prices have increased. Certainly understand but it seems the latest round of increases outpaced inflation and other restaurants. But still on my recommend list and can't stop dreaming about softshell crab. read more

For what Butch's portends to be it is a five star restaurant. Expect a lot in life and get a little. Expect a little in life and get a lot. When going to Butch's or life in general, don't go with expectations and you will become a steady customer. Butch's is special in its own way. They may be flawed but don't confuse that with their not caring. It is meant to be an outdoor, laid back, smiling, who cares, lighten up, not serious experience. The restaurant has no walls. Get it? It's symbolic. Revel in the opportunity. George S. read more

Let me start by confessing that Butch's Lobster Shack is one of our favorite places. we live in Aspen and consider it our sanctuary. The food is great. Plus we love Butch! Yesterday, August 30, 2025, was a disaster because of our server. A young, blond woman who waited on us was nasty and viscous to us from the second we arrived. it ruined our day! we have been going there since it opened and we have always been embraced by the lovely Butch community. We have never been treated that way in any restaurant.When we tried being extra nice to her, her venom only escalated. read more

You would think you are in Maine... the lobster is fabulous! Service with a smile too! And Basalt is a lovely little town.

Outdoor seating under huge umbrellas. Relaxed atmosphere. Good food, good drinks. Frozen strawberry margaritas are so refreshing on a warm day. Old fashions are a bit on the sweet side. Great coconut shrimp and rich Shrimp Alfredo. Easy to find off Main Street. read more

See all

Over price is an understatement. $35 for a lobster roll that had minimum lobster and robbery taste. $15 for 1 crab cake and the scallop is really not worth it, even though it was only $5. Servers were busy talking to each other rather than checking on guests. Cocktail that tasted like water. Really not worth the money. read more

See all

Four years ago I reviewed this place and it was awesome! Things have changed a bit since then. They need to change the oil more because everything that touches it tastes like old fried fish. The lobster rolls have almost no lobster on them these days. Ordered fish and chips, got TONS of chips and a little fish. The ratios are way off. I try again every summer to like this place but each summer it gets more and more disappointing. read more

Really great food and staff! Scallops casino were great! Went out of my lobster roll comfort zone! read more

Butch's Lobster Shack - Scallops Casino - I ventured beyond the lobstah roll! So yummy! - Seafood Near Me - Basalt, Colorado

See all

A diamond in the rough of Basalt. The clam chowder was incredible. It was super tasty. The Shrimp in Shannon's Garlic Cream Sauce was my absolute favorite. This is one of those dishes that I could see craving and needing to satisfy that craving. The Baja tacos were ok, but the rest of our lunch was truly fantastically yummy. read more

See all

Super overpriced. Stoned waiter kept forgetting our drink order. Not allowed to order drinks directly at bar because they were in the weeds. Got drink order wrong. Salad was in huge chunks without a cutting knife so very hard to eat- pretty expensive for huge shards of barely cut iceberg lettuce and some hard tomato with a very few pieces of lobster claw on top. Half of the clams were delicious, half tasted old. Same price as fine dining but with poor service, OK food and paper plates. read more

Outdoor settings, located in the center of Basalt old town. Average greasy food with overpriced tags. Served in plastic utensils and paper plates. Cash only! During the Covid it seems unsanitary to handle food and cash with the same hands without gloves. read more

See all

Looking for real, fresh seafood in a cool, funky outdoor atmosphere? Longtime restaurateur, Butch Darden, has a real winner in the heart of downtown Basalt. Locals and tourists flock there for live Maine lobster, Ipswich steamers, Shannon's shrimp, great tacos, wonderful Shrimp and lobster Louis salad, fresh Colorado Olathe corn, seafood platter, and more. Hang out at the bar or sit on the patio or lawn area, listen to some good tunes, and become part of the gang. It does get crowded but many order takeout so you won't wait long. Tell Butch, Sean, Jesse, Christine, Micky or any of the crew that Bennett sent you. You'll have a great time and enjoy some fresh East Coast seafood in the heart of the Rockies! read more

To start, we ordered this to go and usually am more forgiving on to go orders, but this food just wasn't good. Lobster Roll was OK at best and the shrimp had really good flavor, hence the 2 stars. Agree with others it's quite overpriced and packed with mayo and lettuce. French fries were exactly like everyone else's reviews state, directly from a frozen bag. Not only that, they were under cooked and soggy. Some we still cold. Onion rings really don't need any explanation. Just see picture. As far as service, I agree with the other posts about their attitude and treatment of customers. For the 5 minutes I waited for my to-go order, multiple comments were made by bartender about some customer who didn't tip well I guess. Loud enough so that anyone at the bar could here. Pretty sure the owner was standing right there and didn't say a word. Last, don't add gratuity on a 2 meal to-go order. That's just tacky. read more

Butch's Lobster Shack - Onion rings? - Seafood Near Me - Basalt, Colorado

Best Clam chowder hands down! Fried shrimp is amazing and the lobster rolls are incredible! Great outdoor setting. Friendly staff.

I stumbled upon this adorable little place after a hike. I really wanted to love this place but when I sat down at the small bar all I could hear was the owner complain/freak out about everything. I use to be a server, bartender and manager so I understand if you're in the weeds, but you dont act like that in front of customers or really should you ever if you're in the biz. I felt bad for the other employee that had to put up with that behavior and handle everything (getting water for customers, taking food orders, bussing tables, running food). The lobster roll was nothing exciting. Drank water, ate the lobster roll and got out of there asap. read more

Butch's Lobster Shack - Seafood Near Me - Basalt, Colorado

Portion size could be bigger but the quality is excellent. This isn't Mickey ds. But it's worth every penny

lobster rolls are out of control definitely come here if you're in basalt for lunch and order that. read more

See all

Off the charts good ... who knew you could get this type of seafood 1500 miles from the ocean! Highly Recommend!

Butches lobster shack offers a mediocre assortment of fried fish for an egregious price. The hostess was rather unpleasant to meet and unhelpful entirely. I ordered the fish and chips here which was a mistake. The meal tasted mediocre and the portion could have been doubled and would have still made for a small meal. One fried filet for $18? Really? Arby's would have been better value and they would have at least been pleasant to interact with. read more

We are a local family and were excited to make it back in to Butch's for the first time this summer. Unfortunately, we won't be heading back anytime soon. Our server "spaced" our salad and dropped the soup off at the same time as the main course. The food was very underwhelming for the price. My piccata was basically melted butter with a tsp of capers. And 4 medium-sized shrimp for 28$? The veg side was way overcooked asparagus. The soup was served lukewarm in a paper cup. Overall, we left feeling totally disappointed in both the service and quality of food (especially for the steep pricetag). read more

We stumbled upon this after a hike. I was amazed that I didn't see it on Yelp so I googled it and saw several news articles on it. Maybe they don't want the out of towners finding out and ruining everything. If so, I'm sorry: it was just too good not to write about. Being from Colorado, we aren't known for our seafood (just the Rocky Mountain Oysters-ha!) and since I visit my best friend in Baltimore once a year I have high standards in crab cakes. These were better than the ones I've had in Maryland! They even had homemade pies for desert. Just perfect. read more

Butch's Lobster Shack - Homemade pie and seafood...in Basalt?! But it's true! - Seafood Near Me - Basalt, Colorado

Wow. What a surprise. I popped in here for a montucky cold snack & I tried the clam chowder. Best I ever had!!!!! Christine the bartender was so awesome & butch came by & told us a couple great stories. If u drive thru basalt. U must stop in. Great find!!! read more

Want to experience a clam shack of montauk? A lobster shack of Connecticut or Maine? Then come here! Butches lobster shack . Try the whole belly clams and you will be transported to cape cod! Fish and chips yum! And we know those lobster rolls are great. Sit at a picnic table and yum! read more

One fine little lobster shack near the shore of the Roaring Fork...The chowder was rich & chock full of goodies. The Baja Tacos were yummylish! read more

This is a hidden jewel in a gem of a town. Christine makes as good of conversation as she does drinks. We even hung with the owner and enjoyed their wonderful Happy Hour. The shrimp were tasty and the scallops melted in our mouths. Would recommend. Will return. read more

Being from Arizona, I know a lot about seafood that's just "okay". And Butch's lobsters are all the way up in the Colorado mountains, 6000 miles up which is not their natural altitude. For the price and the reasons I just noted... 4 stars read more

Full belly clams not full belly. Cobb salad not a Cobb. Nice location. Fun to fit outside. Great staff. $150 later and left hungry. Ordered wrong dishes. read more

Apalled by the overpriced, bland, and poor quality food accompanied by horrible, unkind service. Visiting a local and talk of the town was this spot, but when we went, we were in shock by the lack of quality for such high prices. Ordered the fish and chips and seafood platter. All tasted like it came from a freezer, caught maybe a year ago. Will never go again. read more

I've been going to Butch's restaurants ever since I was a kid. My family was really sad to have seen the restaurant go after the recession, but the shack definitely is a great comeback! We drive all the way up from Boulder every year to visit aspen and we always stop to eat at Butch's. His seafood is great quality; the lobsters are always amazing. I highly recommend the lobster rolls, clam chowder, Shannon's shrimp or clams casino. Basically anything you get will be delicious. The ambiance is great too, he has a little outdoor dining area with picnic tables and cute lights. Overall if you're looking for a true local spot, great food, and atmosphere, stop in Basalt and go to Butch's! read more

Rumor is the owner goes to the Aspen airport to pick up fresh seafood and I could totally see that! I wish he would open up another shack closer to me because this is the greatest idea ever! It's a cute little beach shack downtown in Basalt. I had shrimp and fries with a $2.50 Montucky Cold Snack. If I lived in Basalt I'd come here every week. read more

Pricey but seafood prepared simply and deliciously. Crab cakes were Amazing. Friendly service.

This is my favorite restaurant in basalt. It's a great little spot with wonderful food and excellent service. Butch the owner is a wonderful guy and always nice to chat with. read more

Our trip to Butch's was the highlight of our weekend. Not only was the food top notch, the service was truly on a totally different level. Sean and the whole crew were extremely generous and accommodating. I can't wait to come back! read more

The $30 hot lobster roll was good enough although it would have been much better if it had more spicy sauce on it. The tiny little bag of potato chips tells you all you need to know about the lack of passion in the kitchen. When the bill came the amount was as expected and I gave them my credit card. When they returned with the processed transaction an additional charge amounting to 3% had been added. There was no explanation why. read more

Had dinner Saturday night here. We loved the food we ordered, particularly the lobster bisque. The only problem we had was deciding which items we wanted , because everything looked and sounded great. When we walked up, we were greeted and seated immediately. Clearly a local favorite, but everyone was having fun and getting great service. Truly an unusual setting, but if the weather is nice, it can't be beat. Give it a try! read more

We really enjoyed this place! I had Lobster Bisque and a garden salad. The bisque was tasty and the salad was a perfect combination of mixed greens, tart vinaigrette and creamy feta. My daughter enjoyed the Caesar salad and an order of calamari. Would definitely go back! Fyi - cash only. read more