If you’ve been to Red Lobster recently, and it’s just felt…off somehow?…I just want you to know that you’re not alone.
I’ve noticed it to. So have lots of other people.
Between the bankruptcy, the closings of tons of restaurants, and just in general all the headwinds restaurants are facing these days with inflation and food prices…
Well, there’s a lot happening!
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I spent some time thinking about this to really distill down what the biggest problems seem to be, and I’ve come up with a list of ten.
These reasons are, of course, in no particular order.
And I’m actually really curious if you think any one of them is “the biggest reason” that Red Lobster’s not as great as it used to be – so please leave a comment letting me know.
With that, on to the reasons, starting with one that’s pretty obvious:
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If you’ve been around as long as Red Lobster, of course the menu has to change from time to time.
I get that.
But it feels like Red Lobster has just been cutting out tons of fan favorites from their ultimate fondue to shrimp nachos, and everything in between.
Here’s a more complete list of the losses.
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This isn’t a phenomenon specific to Red Lobster, but man, it still stinks to be paying $30+ for plenty of dishes.
(The appetizers in particular have just gotten out of control – the lobster dip is now more than $16, their six-piece coconut shrimp is almost $15, even their mozzarella sticks are $11!)
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I’ve heard plenty of anecdotes from people telling me that portions have declined over the years.
(I didn’t bring a tape measure to every Red Lobster visit, so I couldn’t tell you for sure, but the eyeball test agrees – the portions look smaller and smaller as time goes on.)
Here’s the thing – I’m (grudgingly) willing to pay more over time. But not for less food!
And relatedly, it just feels like…
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I’ve heard from loads of people that it just feels like Red Lobster has kind of tightened up on everything.
Like servers aren’t helping guests out as much as they used to.
Like that spirit of generosity is fading.
And here’s the thing – I’m willing for Red Lobster to be an expensive “special occasions” kind of place, right, in some ways it always has been.
But everyone should feel special when they’re there, you know?
Otherwise, you’re just paying a lot of money for a diminishing amount of food.
That’s my perspective, at least.
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I do think one of the problems may be under-hiring waitstaff.
It feels like maybe each server is handling too many tables, so they aren’t able to give that level of support and care that I think most people want at a premium price point liked Red Lobster’s.
I’ve heard plenty of anecdotes about hour-long waits to get food, and when it arrives it’s lukewarm or even cold.
Plus, sometimes long waits even to get seated, which is ironic because…
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Covid shifted a bunch of people to ordering in.
(And let’s face it – it’s so easy now with the meal delivery services.)
So Red Lobster just doesn’t feel nearly as crowded as it used to be.
When your voice echoes across a semi-empty restaurant, it’s just not as fun to dine out, you know?
It feels weird.
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Red Lobster closed over 120 locations in 2024, which was about 20% of their total.
That means, for many people (me included), it’s now a longer drive – and we have to get used to a different Red Lobster.
That’s just less fun! We all love our regular spots, you know?
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I’m lucky to live near a big city with lots of seafood options, and several are now quite a bit better than Red Lobster in my view.
Plus, even leaving aside national chains, there are plenty of local mom-and-pop spots that have pretty good seafood if you live on or near a coast. (And plenty of good fish and chips-type places even if you don’t live on a coast.)
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Relatedly – Red Lobster just isn’t as unique as it used to be.
They got rid of a bunch of their crab dishes, they offer the same steak and chicken options as plenty of other chains, just in general that uniqueness feels like it has faded out a bunch.
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I’ve heard from plenty of friends who used to love Red Lobster that the quality of recipes feels like it has certainly declined.
It’s not that individual dishes are necessarily getting worse – but more, when an old dish gets swapped out with new stuff, there’s a decline because the old stuff was better.
Of course, we’ve all had experiences of dishes not being cooked all that well, but I don’t know if there’s a specific trend there vs just the overall malaise of the Red Lobster brand in general.
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So there you have it – 10 unfortunate reasons why Red Lobster just isn’t as good as it once was.
I’m curious:
What would you add to the list that I’ve missed?
And perhaps more importantly…
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What do you think is the primary culprit here?
Which issue should Red Lobster focus on fixing first?
Let us know in the comments!
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