Red Lobster is always really crowded because peeps love the cheddar biscuits. Who are we kidding here? We all know it's the damn cheddar biscuits that keep em' coming. Even the wait staff knows it. Our waiter had his shtick down to a science and his main sell was the what??? Cheddar biscuits. In fact towards the end of our meal he greeted a couple that had just sat down behind us, and ran through his entire spiel word for word as he had done for us. The humiliating part was that the woman has the EXACT same reaction that I did when he said, "and might I say, the cheddar biscuits are the best part of the meal!" "Hahaha! Yes!!" *nods and smiles like a complete jackass* read more

Grade: C+ Yes, you read that rating correctly. Chalk this one up to a dare to see if I could eat 30 shrimp. Not a problem. Interesting clientle aside, this place was surprisingly not sucky. read more

Although I generally despise chain restaurants, Red Lobster is one of the better. Service is generally fast and friendly, and the restaurant is generally ean. There is not always enough parking. If you are a fan of chain restaurants, this is a good choice. read more

My husband and I came in for an early dinner around 4pm. We were told there was an hour wait, but the entire bar seating area and half the dinning room were open. At that point, guessing they were incredibly short staffed. We opted to sit at the bar because waiting an hour for a seat was not on our to do list. The bar was a mess. Glasses all over the place, leftover food from previous customers still on the bar...it did not say "clean". The bartender at the time seemed like he was drowning. Wasn't able to clean the bar at all, but was only serving a few people plus whomever was in the dinning room. He was just very slow and didn't seem very good at multitasking. Around 4:30, a new bartender, Billy, arrived to help. He was quick on his feet and immediately got to work. Very professional and good at his job. We wanted to leave him his own tip, but had no cash. He cleaned the entire bar, served customers timely, while we hardly even noticed the other bartender was still around. It took almost an hour to get our food. When it arrived, it was lukewarm. I order some pasta and it looked like it had been sitting for a while waiting to come out. The fried were starchy, the salad was brown and stale. The broccoli didn't taste fresh at all. I could go on and on. Overall, just a poor experience due to understaffing. Probably would have been a better time had all the employees showed up for their job. Shout out to Billy though again. He was an absolute rockstar. read more

See all

So let's talk about franchise restaurants for a sec. Living in Madison I tend to avoid them; however, when your parents from WAY out of town want to take you to dinner for an early birthday meal you say yes and pray they pick a decent spot. Red Lobster exceeded my expectations. Haven't been to RL in quite sometime... maybe 2+ years. Called and tried to make a reservation for 4 (with one severely handicapped individual who can't sit in a booth). After explaining why I was requesting a table instead of a booth to the hostess on the phone she states, "I can't promise I can make this happen, but I'll try." I thanked her and then mentioned that we would wait for a table AND if they were still unable to seat us at a table we would find somewhere else to eat. After arrival we waited 20+ minutes for service. I kindly went to the hostess stand and asked if we could get a few glasses of water while we wait for our server and out of no where the manager interrupts, apologizes profusely, and within seconds we were bestowed with the kindest and most informative waiter. By the end of the meal I was forever impressed. Our app was on the house for our troubles and we were also given 20% off our bill for the inconvenience. Whoa. P.S. Food was outstanding!!!!! read more

Red Lobster - Seafarer's Feast! - Seafood Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Awesome free bread! The lobsters in the front that are just waiting to die is upsetting. All in all good food and good service.

Shrimp fest, lobster fest, and now crab fest. We had the crab lovers dream and it was very good with a larger portion than expected. Good service all around and they kept the cheddar biscuits coming? read more

Was really looking forward to our dinner at Red Lobster in Madison, WI. Arrived at 5:25 pm on a Wednesday and expected 15-20 minute wait. No problem with that. We were seated back in a corner, not a fan. It was chilly and heard another group next to us also feeling chilly. Were pleasantly greeted and placed our drink order. Drinks came and when we ordered our meals, the yummy biscuits came quickly. Things went downhill from there. After 40!! minutes I finally caught the eye of our waitress and wondered where my salad was! She said she forgot.... Then before I was half done our food came. No errors and she came back to check on us but didn't get us drink refills. We paid at the kiosk at our table. I don't recall any apology for the long wait or the late salad. The food was good but not the service and I was quite disappointed in her. Probably won't go back there but to Cracker Barrel instead. read more

So I have the Red Lobster Rewards app. For the last 3 weeks they have been offering special deals through the app. For two weeks I have been trying to take advantage of the deals. No luck. The directions don't seem to apply to the process. So I called restaurant to order that way. I could place the order but then they didn't know anything about the deal offered on the app. So I cancelled the order. So today I went to the restaurant to place my order and to get the deal. They too didn't know anything about the deal. This is so disappointing. What gives Red? I really wanted the deal from last week and this, but no luck. Make an app that works and doesn't require an advanced degree from MIT to use it!! read more

Absolutely wonderful!!! Specially the service. My steak was a little overdone. I was reluctant to request for a new one. But my server (Jasmine) made sure that I got what I ordered. Got me a medium-well steak as I had order and made sure I was happy all the way. Not only that, she was also very helpful with recommendations and customized service. Really great!!! read more

Food was good but not great, while The service there was fantastic. We tried the 18.99 usd - unlimited shrimp. There were five different cook styles. The Grill one was the best. Lots of protein! If you can not finish the shrimp in your plate, the server would give you a to-go box. read more

Not a bad place to eat you are going spend some money to eat here it's not a bad environment great atmosphere.great food and good service this a good place to bring a date or a family member also read more

If you're a fan of mushy shrimp and literally everything dripping in butter this is the place for you. And don't get me started on the Cesar salad. I think they get a bonus for using a bottle of dressing in each side salad. Truly such a disgusting meal. The reason I'm not giving them one star is because our waitress was nice and the service was quick. read more

I love the food, especially endless shrimp special. Food was good waitress was very busy. The thing I don't understand is we waited 25 minutes when clearly though out the place their were empty tables . read more

See all

Corporate dining at its finest. First I want to comment on our server. He was the best! Attentive and informative; but he was never intrusive. My lobster/shrimp, snow crab combo was very good. However, the broccoli was terrible. My wife had lobster tacos. Which she said were very good, albeit the taco shells were borderline stale. The cheesy biscuits were what I expected. They are good! After having coconut shrimp for an appetizer, a salad and a couple of those biscuits, I was borderline full. Then came my combo. It was good enough (disregarding the broccoli) that I found ample room to pack it all down. Due to timing, we walked into the restaurant and were seated immediately. I realize that Red Lobster is a chain; but they do a pretty good job of serving decent sea food. We left happy. read more

Racist and ignorant folks. We got turned down for a reservation by our look of our skin. Just because we're Asian and not even Chinese plus the whole thing about coronavirus in the news Ignorant workers and management. Proof of reservation don't matter to this restaurant and they wanted a cash deposit with the reservation. Seriously!? Straight from the mouth of their manager. All personnel seriously need racial bias training. We only stayed because it was our mother's birthday. BIRTHDAY. And she wished to eat here. So much disrespect. Never again. read more

Husband ordered steak and lobster. He did not like anything other the mash potatoes. Lobster was tasteless and gummy. The new york Steak was tough and chewy. It was a little cold in the inside and tasteless. It didn't look like meat in his opinion. Their bread is different too. It wasn't flavorful and not fluffy. Way different experience from the past. read more

Writing Michael a review on all platforms because he was such an amazing waiter. We were laughing the entire time. My fiancé and I have been in food service for years and rarely do we find waitstaff we talk about after we leave. We will be coming back and asking for him. Do yourself a favor and request to be in his section if you go there. read more

Ordered King Crab. The first two legs weren't split. I asked the waitress why. Those babies are sharp! I asked for something to open them. Got a tiny fork. Was bleeding after those two. She said they don't split them anymore because people complained they dried out. Guess what? All the rest were split. Never lie to a customer. read more

Red Lobster!! My first experience with this was so long ago I'm embarrassed to say but let's just say I was 8. Now I love me some seafood; especially crab legs. Red lobster always has on there menu 1/2, 1, or 2# of crab legs either alone with a salad or in a steamer with baby red potatoes and a chewy little half cob of corn. Price is excellent. The best time to go is actually around 2:30 during the week or 4:00 on a weekend. The service here is very nice. Always acknowledged at the door and seated as soon as possible. Drink orders are taken in a few minutes and then a bit later the entree ordering happens. Then.... The cheddar garlic biscuits arrive! Every time I try so hard not to eat the biscuits because first of all they're loaded with kcals, and secondly they're very filling. Then salads arrive and I have to remind myself not to talk too much because before you know it the entrees are there. That's the lack of 5th star.... I always feel incredibly rushed. The crab legs come out perfectly steamed and along with the proper little utensils to crack if you need and pick the luscious crabmeat out if it's shells. They also bring out the lemon scented towelettes not just one though about three per person and lots of extra napkins without asking... Bonus points for my servers. They're also very good at keeping drinks filled and encouraging dessert which I've yet to be able to try. One day we'll eat backwards with dessert first. Overall, pretty darn delicious for a chain restaurant. read more

UPDATE: had the most disappointing experience here tonight. Decided to go to this Red Lobster after a long evening. I was starved, it was my birthday, and the 3 of us agreed in this place. We arrived by about 8:00 so there was no waiting for a table. We were seated immediately and had our orders taken promptly by our friendly waiter. So far so good. We chose not to order an appetizer since it was already late, figuring a salad and dinner would be plenty so late into the evening. Here's where it starts to go down hill. Strike 1-Our salads arrived, but we didn't have any silverware. Had to request silverware. Then noticed that my salad had wilting, dark, aging leaves. More than one was found. Yuck. After we were finished with our salads, he asked if we'd like anymore biscuits but we declined, trying to save room for our meal. Strike 2-we wait, AND WAIT for our food. 30 minutes go by and still nothing. Out waiter finally comes over to apologize for the mess up. He forgot to put our orders in, but he just did, so it shouldn't be too long before they're ready. During this time we see 3 other sets of guests who are seated, ordered and received their food.... as we wait, and wait. Strike 3-Our waiter never checked in with us to offer any more biscuits or ANYTHING, as an "I'm sorry for the mistake, what can I do to satisfy you in the meantime" during our long wait. Nothing. Strike 4- Our food finally arrives. It's been about a 45 minute wait from the time our salad plates had been cleared til our entrees were brought out. Strike 5- waiter forgets a cup of soup that was ordered. By now, we're just eager to eat and get out and go home. Strike 6- offered one of us a lemonade refill, but forgot to bring it. Never checked on the rest of our drinks or offered to refill them. Our glasses were empty before our meal was finished, and they stayed that way. Food was basically as I rated previously. Overly salted, nearly swimming in oil and on top of that, it was super late. Our waiter apologized and said he was going to take the soup off our bill and give us a free dessert if we'd like to make up for the mistake. I'm sorry, but in a situation like this I would expect the wait person to speak with the manager and offer a free meal or something.... not a free cup of soup. I'm not one to normally criticize waitstaff, because I know they work hard and customers can be rude and impatient, but I really felt like we were not taken care of during this visit. I don't know if our waiter was new, tired, or just unaware, but I don't think we'll be back to this restaurant anytime soon. Not a memorable birthday dinner by any means. read more

OK restaurant was decent the wait time really sucked they lost our reservation they did however fix it almost immediately. This probably was not the best restaurant but it was decent and a little expensive. read more

Don't go here if you expect fresh seafood. This is pretty much similar to how Olive Garden calls themselves an Italian restaurant. The food is fried and greasy, and overpriced for the food that you get. The only thing that is craveable are the biscuits. read more

Food was great and in large amount! The bread they serve was Yummy and you can have as many pieces as you want. Worth price and definitely worth going! The waiter was so friendly and warm hearted! Pleasant experience! read more

Came in at dinner time and it was quite busy. After we were seated, a server came up and took the check off of the table left by the previous customer and stated that she would be right back. She then proceeded to pass our table without saying a word at least 5 times in the next 10 to 15 minutes. Finally another server, Alyssa, noticed we were sitting there and offered to get us something to drink while waiting for our server. When she returned with our Iced Teas, she stated that she was also ignored by our server when she mentioned us to her. Alyssa stated that she would be our server and the night improved from there. Red Lobster fare is Red Lobster fare, the service is what tips the event toward the favorable. This visit, between being ignored by our original server and not a sight of the manager makes us wonder if another visit would be worthwhile. read more

My boyfriend and I visited for the first time ever on Thursday. I work for Darden, so I was expecting great service and delicious food. The food was nothing amazing, but it was still a decent value for the price. However, our waiter was extremely rude. He acted like it was a burden to serve us. I'm assuming it was our age, but that shouldn't matter. I'm a server myself and it's wrong to treat your guests like they are wasting your time. It made the entire experience quite disappointing. read more

Service was slow. Two other tables received their food before us and had mistakes in their orders. My fries came out about 8 minutes after my entree did. The shrimp was over battered and the fries were over cooked. I wouldn't eat here again. read more

Very very pleasant experience! Came here for dinner and couldn't have been happier. From the reception to servers and managers, everyone was SO friendly - I don't know if something happened to the management... I had to give 5 stars based on the service. I was told our clam chowders might take a while, but I was okay with it, no big deal. But then our lobster pizza came out little bit late, but it definitely wasn't too much of a wait. Plus it was delicious! (But the soups still haven't come out at this point, but we were already told twice that it might take longer so whatever, didn't care much). Then manager came by to check up on us twice about the chowders and said they will still bring out, free of charge :) and she even took the lobster pizza off the tab too, which I thought it wasn't necessary but hey, it's free! Food was pretty good as well but all in all, their service deserves 5 star. Even my gf felt that service was bit overwhelming :D I'd highly recommend you give this place another try if your previous experience was bit negative. read more

Red Lobster on 7921 W Bell Left out part of our order and accused us of lying. We called and they wouldn't do anything for us. To top it off they shorted us on the soup which was almost only flavored water. My wife's birthday lunch was substandard. The coconut shrimp was the only acceptable portion of the incomplete order. If you charge premium prices, you have to deliver. This fell way short of what we have experienced in the past. We will think twice before try to save them in this COVID -19 environment. Other pickup and delivery eateries are much better. read more

Solid seafood place. I had the tilapia last visit in July 2014 and it was tasty. The service is good but not exceptional on our average visit. I could call this 3.5 stars quite honestly. The one thing that could help them out I think is having more variety of fish, they usually have salmon, mahi mahi or flounder sometimes, tilapia and one other fish fry generic fish like a cod. I would love to see them get things like grouper or sea bass, or ever more tasty fish for a weekly special like monkfish or barramundi. But overall a solid night out for a decent price for what you get. read more

The food was great. A little bit salty, but one of the best meals I have had in a while. The staff was friendly and AMAZING! They made a little mistake serving me packs of hand towelettes instead of serving me crackers with my soup, but mistakes can happen. I highly recommend the clan chowder and, of course, the cheddar biscuits. read more

Recently gave this Red Lobster in Madison a second try as the first time the food was awful. This time around I ordered the fish lunch special instead of the rubbery bland lobster. The best part of my lunch was the caesar salad. A fresh good fish doesn't taste or smell "fishy" and this one did even the texture was mushy and the rice pilaf was hard bland pebbles. Rather than get sick I pushed the plate away, barely touched. The cheddar biscuits were way to salty and I love salt. I have eaten at many different Red Lobsters in different states over the years and this is the worst. I've had great food everytime I ate at the one in Rockford,IL over many years. I'll make that drive next time I need my lobster fix. 1 star for the salty biscuits is a 1/2 star too much. read more

Haven't been to Red Lobster in years...stopped tonight and the place was packed...we waited in bar and had some yummy appetizers...artichoke dip...highly recommend.....table was roomy booth....there was 5 of us, ordered variety of entrees and drinks....absolutely no complaints....our server, Emily was wonderful ...never had to ask for a refill and went out of her way for us! Will definitely be back! read more

yummy is the only word i can say during my time，waiter is a hansome boy，explain everything carefully。hope i can go back again read more

Red Lobster - Seafood Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

My wife and I stopped at the Red Lobster on 7/4/13. It was open and the parking lot was busy. We started with the wood fire grilled bruschetta with shrimp. It was really good. A bottle of Kendall Jackson chardonnay made it even better! We then shared a trio of wood fire salmon, shrimp skewers, and crab legs. It came with a salad. The flavors were fine. The portions were small. Our server was pleasant. We'd return, but would probably stay at the bar to enjoy a bottle of KJ with 2 orders of the wood fire grilled bruschetta with shrimp and pass on the rest. read more

I recently went to Red Lobster for dinner with my boyfriend and his dad. I was very excited and was looking forward to the food. It was a Sunday evening and I had put my name on a waitlist for 6:00pm. I figured I'd still have to wait a little but I had anticipated the wait to be much shorter doing it that way. We arrived at 5:50pm and checked in. At 6:25 I went up to ask about how much longer and was told 5 minutes. Another 20 minutes went by and I went to ask again and was told they were trying to seat the larger groups first. My opinion, not how that should work. One hour after we checked in, and 30 minutes after I was told 5 minutes, we were finally seated. I understand it was busy but the initial service was a little ridiculous. The food was excellent. Our server was good but seemed very flustered. The other servers that brought drinks and food seemed somewhat rude as if we were imposing on them for wanting something. I wish I could have better things to say but this was not my best restaurant experience. read more

Great food and good service. The bar harbor lobster bake is definitely a winner! The cheddar biscuits are awesome as always. Bring your appetite because there portions are very filling. read more

Typical Red Lobster. Busy. Good service. Food is delish.... cant get enough of those biscuits!

It USED to be a treat to go for lobster, shrimp and crab. I am older, on social security, so my daughter gave me a gift card to Red Lobster as a treat. I just usually go to pick something up to go. They always make me go sit in the bar, not my style at my age. I think they want to make you order a drink since they will not let me order something to just pick up. I am sorry. Embarrassingly, on my budget it is hard to tip a lot. So I know, a lot of you will say, then stay home and eat peanut butter, don't go out if you can't properly tip. This time the bartender, order taker, charged me more than usual. I said why was it more. He said it went up (I should have checked the menu) I guess he had wanted to make sure he got a tip. He then knew I was 'one of those' so . . . He then made me wait a long time before he really took my order. The bar and tables were pretty empty. This time he charged me what I had been charged a few weeks ago. It then took twice as long to get the 'pizza', it was brought in the cardboard box, no bag. When I asked about the complimentary biscuits he said I "didn't ask" for them, so he got some. The pizza was lukewarm when I got it. I made some derogatory remarks and left. When this gift card is used up I will find a better place. Walleye is more healthy anyway. read more

I am so happy they aren't keeping this crab and scallop "pot". It was overly messy and no return of flavor. Better off just having steamed crab legs instead. Overall, Red Lobster is a great place for me to get my crab fix when I need it. There isn't any other affordable place in town to support my cravings. read more