A tempura fried lobster roll? Yes please! I am a Connecticut-style lobster roll guy through and through, so I was skeptical at The Shack's departure from one of the traditional lobster roll styles. If you are a die hard lobster roll purist... or a curmudgeon, then you should maybe skip the fried lobster roll. However, if you don't mind mixing things up and are down for neat experiences, then I would recommend trying it. Between Boston and Maine, my wife and I tried about a dozen lobster rolls on this trip (don't judge! we shared a roll from each of the places we tried lol) and this tempura lobster roll was one of the more enjoyable ones. If we went to Old Orchard Beach again, I would make my wife order her own next time, so I could enjoy the full roll by myself. haha read more

The Shack - Fried tempura lobster roll!!! - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

My girlfriend and I love going there! Everything on their menu is fresh and so delicious! I love their steak and cheese sandwich and also there grilled chicken sandwich! My girlfriend bounces all over the place trying new things and has enjoyed every meal she has gotten so far. The staff is very friendly and they provide great service ! I highly recommend the shack! read more

Server was lovely. Dining room is simple but nice and clean. Clam strip and fried shrimp lunch baskets were ordered. Batter was tasty. Seafood was fresh. Coleslaw was gloppy- not worth getting. We left feeling like we had some decent seafood but it was greasy. Look- we didn't expect a salad- so we need to be realistic. But the grease was heavy. The fries under the seafood were a dead giveaway. It may be a matter of letting the seafood rest a minute out of the fryer before serving. Overall, not bad! read more

The atmosphere was good and that's about it. The silverware is left out, very unsanitary- who knows who might've touched it. The lobster rolls that we had were horrible. Our server checked on us and asked "is it what you expected?" insinuating that we were tourists who never had lobster before. I told him we're practically local (we live in a popular beach town about a half hour south) and we've had plenty of lobster before. He quickly walked away, almost like he knew the lobster there was horrible. It was actually flavorless, which is what usually happens when it's frozen. I don't usually complain at restaurants, so I just left it at that. The next day we got good lobster in our hometown and made our own lobster rolls that were so much better. If you're reading this and you're a tourist, please don't think this is what lobster is like. Fresh lobster is so much better. That was not fresh lobster. I feel bad for anyone who experienced lobster for the first time and had that flavorless, overpriced, probably frozen or old lobster. read more

The Shack - Hot buttered lobster roll - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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Unfortunately the food was not very good. We ordered 3 meals. Lobster roll with pasta salad. The lobster was ok (hard to mess up lobster and mayo) the pasta salad was not edible. Tasted like it was doused in vinegar. Hamburger, which was disgusting. Tasted like it came off of a flat top grill that had not been cleaned in a year. Chicken sandwich, chicken was overcooked and tough. The spicey condiment made it semi palatable. The water even tasted like it came out of a swimming pool. I would not recommend this place to anyone. Plus the wait was over an hour and food was expensive. read more

Food was OK service was a little slow. We will try it again and give it another try. They have a patio but it was too hot to sit out there.

Cute place just off the beach! Portable heaters (it was a little chilly)! Friendly staff! Tim was very attentive! Food was great! Music was great! read more

The Shack - Pulled pork sandwich with Shack Fries - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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Late season arrival after driving across the country to have a lobster in Maine. The Shack did not disappoint. Quick service and delicious lobster. Everything we had hoped for! They even indulged us with taking pictures for us of and our lobsters. Thanks to the Shack bucket list item checked! read more

The Shack - Twin Lobster Plate - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Good location and good food. I enjoyed the fried clams, they were not the traditional New England fried clams I'm used to. The batter was different but it was really good. Also had the hot buttered lobster roll and my husband had the regular lobster roll. The rolls are the big fluffy type brioche roll, I like the regular frankfurter rolls better. It was a lot of bread for me. It's a cute seafood shack for lunch and drinks. read more

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My husband and I enjoyed the lunch at the shack. Looking for a restaurant that had a vegetarian option and also allowed my husband to have seafood that he enjoys. This restaurant has a patio upstairs and a patio downstairs covered. So everything is outside dining. My husband ordered the lobster roll which he enjoyed,It came with chips which he did not like. I ordered the falafel burger that was rather large. It came with a pasta salad, but I got fries instead. They were both very good and would recommend to come back. My husband ordered a blueberry lemonade, but did not like it. It did not taste like lemonade. It was more of a blueberry refresher. I actually liked it and drink it read more

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Worst seafood ever!! Waste of money!! I ordered the combo plate and got scallops and clams. They cut the scallops on half and breaded them. They were horrible. The whole belly vas went any better. Very small and very expensive for what they gave for a dinner. I will never go there again. I come to visit Maine for the seafood. I don't mind paying premium price if the food is good. When the food is horrible l, it really stinks to waste money on poor food! read more

Good food reasonable price we got the twin lobsters, fries and a ceaser salad. Service was all decent. They took our name down but wouldn't take a number to call you when your table was ready. read more

We are on vacation and it was a late night. We decided to go to the Shack. It was practically closing time and they still let us eat. The staff were really nice! We sat down, there was a bucket with utensils. Which I did not find sanitary. The place was really cool, hanging lights and everything. I felt the Maine vibe in there. It only took about 20 minutes to get our food and I got the lobster mac. It was delicious!! read more

Here visiting Old Orchard Beach from NJ. The Shack was near our hotel and we decided to try it. The ambiance was tranquile. The waiter was pleasant and had good suggestions. The food was very tasty, I got the patty with lobster, bacon, lettuce and tomatoes with pasta salad. It was delicious I definitely recommend it. My partner got the dinner combo with fried clams and fried oysters. The fried clams were good but not the fried oysters. It's had an after taste that wasn't pleasant. French fries were good. read more

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Little bit of a wait but it was communicated nicely by hostess and it was clear by how busy they were. Me and my daughter split a clam chowder. It had a good taste. Definitely had bacon and good seasoning. It wasn't thick like I'm used too but I did enjoy the taste. Also very little crab which surprised me. Lobster rolls were fresh and had a nice sweet, clean taste, light on mayo and buns were fresh. I was disappointed to see that it only came up chips and to get fries we had to pay an extra charge (I believe $3 each). They were good not outstanding but better than having chips. I did get the big bucket drink (I can't remember the name) but was nice and refreshing and I feel like it was worth the cost of it. All the servers were very pleasant and quick to handle our questions or anyone else's. I would definitely return to this restaurant. read more

The Shack - Lobster roll with chips included - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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If you are in old orchard beach, look no further. Seafood heaven awaits you at these pearly gates. From the lobster rolls to the chowder to the fried fish, everything was hitting. The lobster rolls were big and plentiful, the portions on all the different menu items were impressive. I would definitely recommend this spot for the one to try when in town. read more

If there was a zero stars I would have hit that. Horrible food lobster like chewing bubble gum. Wouldn't feed it to my worst enemy. Not to mention was not happy with food and they did the bare minimum to make it right. Horrible. read more

takeout was fast and friendly. food was excellent. convient to Beachwood Reaoer. beautiful area

Casual and open, with kind staff, the shack was a great highlight to our visit in Old Orchard Beach. Portions are hefty and perfectly cooked, with great accommodations made to our party (kids, restrictions and dislikes included). Not cheap, but certainly worth it. read more

The Shack - Fish and chips platter with snack portion chowder - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

After experiencing a bad batch of seafood, we chose to look at yelp for good seafood restaurants while on vacation. We found this place because of the 4 star reviews. At first, we were hesitant because the place looked a little rundown. It is a "shack" but I couldn't help wonder why there was mold on my menu. Really, the paper was mouldy. However, I ordered the lobster tempura roll and it was fantastic! The fish n'chips were delicious, too. The lobster roll was served on a brioche bun and fried first, with the lobster tempura in the middle. The tempura was then topped with a mildly spicy sauce and a bacon sauce. It was really good and the seafood was fresh! The staff were friendly and the ambiance was okay. The food is definitely a four star, but the they lost a star for the questionably mouldy menu as I couldn't help wonder what else was mouldy. Old Orchard Beach has a lot of seafood places and some are tourist traps that are expensive with bad reviews. If you are going to spend (a lot) choose a place with good reviews. read more

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My partner and I stopped in for a late dinner as The Shack is one of the few places open after 9 o'clock in Old Orchard. We got two lobsters: one was fresh, with the meat perfectly intact as the shell was peeled. The other was not, and its meat clumped and disintegrated. Was the second lobster frozen? Had the second lobster been dead for a bit before boiling? I don't know the answer. Notwithstanding the small sample size, the chance of getting fresh lobster at The Shack is a coin toss. read more

Highly enjoyed my visit to The Shack while visiting Portland. We had originally gone to another restaurant but it was the last day of the season and they were all out of lobster. Well we couldn't go to Maine and without having any lobster! So I pulled up a quick search on Yelp and found The Shack. Thankfully they were open and there was no wait (perks of visiting at the end of the season!). Our server was very friendly and even helped me put my bib on, as an inexperienced out of stater lol. The lobster was everything I hoped for! With a nice cold beer, it was perfect. The Shack saved our dinner and I would certainly visit again on my next return to Maine. Hopefully mid season when the weather is nice! read more

The Shack - Lobster quesadilla - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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Decent food and drinks, good service. Our group got the fish & chips, lobster grilled cheese, lobster quesadilla, fish tacos, and buttered lobster roll. Large portions as well. A bit of wait but that's expected in this area read more

My friend and I got into town in the evening. Apparently everyone stops serving food at 8 pm. This was the last place we checked and the gentleman there said he would be willing to make us something even though they were closing down with food. Wish I could remember his name...such a great guy! I had fish and my friend fish tacos. The food came fast and was wonderful!! We were treated wonderfully and appreciated the service!! read more

SO glad we went to this place, everything was phenomenal. Initially I was hesitant to try because I wanted to eat somewhere with a view, but to my surprise they had a deck out back with an ocean view. It is not around all the other restaurants/shops but it's less than a 5 minute walk from the pier area and totally worth it. For food we ordered the wings, fish tacos and fries, all were some of the best I've ever had. The wings has a great flavor and a nice crunch to them. The fish tacos tasted super fresh and had a really good sauce. The fries were the best part!! They were super crunch on the outside but really soft inside. Drinks were also really good! The service was also great, our waitress was very attentive even though she had tables upstairs and downstairs. Overall prices were decent considering there's an ocean view. I will definitely go back if I'm in the area. read more

The Shack - Fries, fish tacos, wings - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

The shack is located steps away from the sand at Old Orchard Beach Maine . I order the fried lobster roll, and my husband ordered a fish and chip. So for the price the fried lobster roll was decent. My suggestion to you is to get the sauces on the side. I'm not really a sauce person and totally missed telling the server to put all sauces on the side so I will say that that took away from my experience but it was my own fault. The lobster was fried well done and it was sweet. The batter on the lobster was just ok. The menu said 4 ounces I think I might have been slighted just a hair but that's OK,lol. My husband's plate, however was super super yummy the fish was so fresh and his batter was absolutely amazing, crispy and well portioned and the taste was awesome. The fried were your run-of-the-mill regular fries, but perfect. I will say I was annoyed at the fact that there was an up charge to get fries instead of potato chips when in most places, a lobster roll automatically comes with french fries. I stole a few of my husbands fries and gave him my chips to go. I won't knock them for add-ons but more for fries ?!Whenever you can make a little extra money I guess you do. I would definitely go back here again and get the fish and chips instead of the fried lobster roll or I would get the lobster roll and be sure to have a sauces added on the side. I'm pretty sure after eating that overall I may have been able to find a better more four or five star meal but they all opened at 4pm. For the time and the moment that's where we ate and it was decent before spending the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Please note if you're driving just to eat the restaurant like most have no lot so find a lot or a meter. read more

The Shack - Fried lobster roll and chips. - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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First time trying this place, we called ahead and they stated they were dog friendly so we brought our pup. We were greeted by a hostess who had the worst attitude. We asked how long the wait was she said 30 mins so we waited down the street. She never got our names or phone number. She then said she was scared of our dog and wanted our German Shepard to try and fit under a picnic table. She got frustrated when we told her that would not work. we had called ahead to make sure they were dog friendly. She said "we are". Doesn't seem like it to me. She even had us move tables three times to make sure our dog was away from her. Anyways our waitress was very receptive of our dog. She loved our German and said sorry and apologized for the hostess and said it's not the first time it's happened. Overall the drinks were dang good. The price of the food for what you get is not worth it in my option. The fish tacos had the most stuff in it but overall didn't taste too good. We got the lobster roll as well. And the shrimp cocktail. The shrimp cocktail was oddly slimy. Not for me. Overall, not a bad dinner but the ambiance was not there for me. Save your money and your time and go somewhere else! read more

The Shack - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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Table for five for a Wednesday night dinner was an hour wait. Everything we ordered was tasty including the sweet tea. The wait staff here works hard and you can tell they stay busy. read more

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So before I get into the details it may be best to start with the old " don't judge a book by it's cover ". That wasn't really intended to take a shot at the appearance but looks can be very deceiving. I am sure there are people who walked by this establishment, took one look at it, saw the benches, the limited menu and just dismissed it. I can honestly say that this place is by far the best place I have eaten at on this vacation. The menu may not be very big but what they do they do very very well. My reviews are generally based not on how big the menu is but how well an establishment delivers what is on the menu and this place exceeded. Quality and quantity!!! The quality of the food reaches and even exceeded what I have experienced at " upper scale " establishments. For those of you who have been following my reviews and sending messages the last couple years you will know what a Karen I can be when it comes to my ceasar salads, they make a great ceasar dressing and decent size. I had fried scallops added to my ceasar they were cooked to absolute perfection!!! Excellent!!! Also for an appetizer we had the shrimp cocktail and it was a good amount and very fresh. I have eaten at many seafood restaurants and worked at a few, I can tell you the shrimp was as fresh as it can be. For my main course I had the lobster mac and cheese and not only did it taste absolutely great, it was a very good amount. My wife had the lobster roll and it was also excellent, fresh lobster and a very good amount of it. The French fries that came with it were also very good. Someone who was with us had the fried haddock and they said it was the best they have ever had. I would easily give this place a 4.5 based on how good they are at what they deliver. The next time I am in the area I will stop and get the scallop dinner, once again excellent job on the fried scallops. read more

Overpriced fried food. Small portions and slow service. The location is right downtown but in my opinion there is much better in the area. read more

The Shack - Painkiller cocktail - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

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Food was excellent. The scallop BLT was delicious with lots of scallops. My wife had the lobster salad which had a generous amount of lobster. The outside patio is dog friendly which is why we chose this place. read more

The Shack - Scallop BLT and Shack Fries - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

This is not the fanciest place we went while in New England but it was my personal favorite. We had to wait a bit for a table but they opened the upstairs outside tables and that made it even better. Our server was amazing, the lobster spectacular, and the dark and stormy the best drink I've ever had. I've been trying to replicate it since I've been home with moderate success. This is a New England beach town jewel! If I ever get back to Maine I'll be coming here. Only open though October, I think, so don't wait too long to enjoy The Shack! read more

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So we went to The Shack on W Grand Ave for dinner and drinks...just like anyother restaurant we dine at in OOB. We were seated on the very top deck part of the restaurant because below was full. We ordered our drinks and dinner ALL AT ONCE to save on time for THEM and for us because they seemed fairly busy. We did this out of common curiosity for the waitress and the staff. We received our drinks, as expected, nothing out of the ordinary. About 35-40 minutes go's by no food yet. While waiting for our food it started to become windy and chilly up on the top deck of the restaurant. My wife, my friends wife and our 7 year old son started to complain about the wind blowing, knocking our drinks all over the table and that my family all were getting cold. They all needed a jacket at this point. We asked the waitress "About how long will it be before our food comes out?" She said "It shouldn't be too much longer." and walked away. Another 35 minutes goes by, still no food. My wife and child are getting very cold and uncomfortable at this point. We decided at this point to simply politely CANCEL OUR FOOD ORDER because my wife and child were just too cold to eat on the windy top porch deck. They left the restaurant to go home while me and my friend stayed behind at the restaurant to finish our drinks and to pay our bill for all our drinks. We told the waitress that we needed to cancel the food order because we can't wait any longer with it getting cold and windy outside up on the top deck. She said "sir you cannot cancel your order." I said "I have to, I have no choice, because my family is getting chilly and it's getting windy upstairs on the top deck. We would like to just pay for our drinks and leave." She said "Sir, if you don't wait for your food and eat it, or take it with you, I will have to pay for your food order." I said "I'm sorry but my family has already left to go back home because they're tired of waiting for food and it's getting too chilly and windy upstairs on the top deck. I'm canceling the food order." The waitress aggressively storms away. So me and my friend sit and wait for our check for our drinks. TEN more minutes go by NO CHECK ... HOWEVER the police arrive to tell us that we needed to pay for our food and drinks and immediately leave the property. The manager/owner and the waitress called the police leading them to believe AT FIRST that we got our food but refused to pay for it. We explained in detail to the police what all actually happened. The police interviewed the waitress and the manager/owner. They admitted that we in fact DID NOT receive any food whatsoever. The police made sure they removed the food order from our check. We paid for our drinks and the police reluctantly escorted us off the property at the request of the manager/owner. The police officer explained to us that because the manager/owner of The Shack called them and asked them to remove us for "TRESPASSING" that we were not allowed to enter onto the property ever again and that they had to enforce it at the managers/owners request. The police even said it was absolutely ridiculous and petty of them to do this to us for simply canceling a food order, but they had to do it anyways. They felt horrible for us and even the customers who witnessed what happened felt absolutely horrible for us. The manager/owner and the waitress were so embarrassed because they got caught in a lie to the police that they hid inside the restaurant when the police came back to talk to us. We paid our check to the police, the police took our credit cards inside to be processed for payment and they brought our receipts back outside to us on the sidewalk. The police advised us to simply stay away from the this particular restaurant because they've had problems with them before. It would be in our best interest. They wished us a goodnight. We all parted ways peacefully. Who calls the police on customers for simply canceling their food order? We were tired of waiting, it's becoming cold outside and it became too windy to continue to dine where they seated us up top. It's absolutely disgusting and outrageous. I just want to clarify that when we canceled our order there was absolutely no food ready for us for us to turn it into a "food to go" order. Nothing was cooked and ready to go whatsoever. It's unfortunate what happened to all parties. Condider the fact that the business needlessly, unnecessarily, senselessly humiliated innocent people publicly, insensitively inconvenienced us and attempted to take advantage of us. Yes, the whole situation sucks for all parties. But what they did was wrong and grossly unprofessional. Customers should be allowed to simply cancel an order, for good reasons, without this kind of retaliation from a business. What they did to us was extremely insensitive considering the circumstances. read more

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Great food. Great service! I was really surprised. I wasn't expecting much, as very often, places with a great location don't put in the work. We'll be back read more

Great locals place in the off season. Sit upstairs for the ocean view. Nothing fancy just delicious food. We had the Pain Killer and Dark n Stormy drinks. No skimping on the liquor! Really yummy! He had the Shack Roll and I had the classic Maine Lobster Roll. Both were super yummy! read more

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Be warned the place is really pricey for what you get on your plate but for the quality of food it's worth it. Elsewhere you will get a lot more for that cost, but tgis is tourist town so they can get away with these prices, especially if you order a lobster. Steak was stellar!!! So was steamed lobster and lobster roll. Fish for the littles was noce and soft - perfection. I took away two stars for the service. It was mediocre at best. With a nearly $130 bill we were expecting that after we got a broken cup for one of our kids and we requested a replacement not one, not 2 but 3 different times and we still didn't get one. They ended up having to share a cup. That's a bit too high priced of a dinner to share a drinking cup. I took away a star for each additional time I asked again and didn't get a cup. read more

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Overpriced. Lobster mac and cheese was dry, and served on a wide plate, spread out, so it cooled too quick. Spicy margarita tasted like it was pure cheap sour mix. There was no kids burger on the menu. My kids had to get $20 burgers, to which one didn't like and went to waste. My wife liked the pain killer, and the kids menu fish and chips. Since the kids had to get the adult burgers, she got the kids fish and chips. The waitress was nice, and took my margarita back. And I resorted to a down east cider. We ate outside, curbside,at a picnic table. Nothing real fancy about the atmosphere. read more

The food was very good. The fried scallops BLT was served with maple mayo and was pretty generous and delicious. The salad had mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, and good looking, tasty lettuce. The blue cheese dressing was average. We requested fries extra crispy and they were, but also a bit too salty. The service was excellent and dogs are allowed on the lower level, which was nice for us.. read more

The Shack - Maggie wants the Scallops BLT. - Seafood Near Me - Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Went there two days ago. Outside of the Clam Chowder and the service I would rate this place a big fat ZERO. The Clam Chowder was good. Not many clams, but the chowder overall was good. The service was good. Even though our waitress was clueless about steamers having to be 'cleaned' before sticking them in the pot. Ordered the 2LB bucket of steamers. Worst steamers I've ever had. If you enjoy chomping on clams filled with sand and grit. This place is for you! Only place I've ever been, that they don't use 'real' melted butter. I have no idea what I was sticking my sandy clams in, but it wasn't butter and was brown in color. If you're a restaurant wanting to impress your customers, you are supposed to clean your clams before putting them in the boiling pot and then serve them to your customers. Perhaps this restaurant doesn't care about satisfying its customers? I definitely was not impressed with The Shack. Of all the restaurants we went to over the 5 days we were in the area, this one was the most expensive and had the worst quality of food. We had two children with us. One ordered the Mac & Cheese. Was Kraft out of the box and we were charged $12 for it. Don't go here. If one is looking for quality restaurants in the area, stay away from Old Orchard Beach. It's a ripoff, very expensive, and the food quality for the price is bad. read more

The Shack is probably rated high based on other options nearby. We found the service to be good. The food was average. The portion size was rather small for the price. We liked sitting upstairs on the picnic benches. Overall, it didnt hit our expectations. Nothing was wrong with our order and nothing was to brag about either. I think in general this area caters to the tourist. read more

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