If you were worried about the future of Red Lobster after they filed for bankruptcy early last summer, there’s some promising news.
Red Lobster officially exited bankruptcy last September, with its new CEO calling it the “start of a new chapter”.
A press release late last month announced the return of Crabfest (June 23-September 14), and along with it, ten new menu items!
Lots of people are still worried about the chain’s prospects for survival and future bankruptcy possibilities, so this is welcome news…
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You can choose between steak (filet or sirloin) or salmon for this new dish. Your choice of protein is topped with lump crabmeat, a cream sauce, asparagus, and your choice of an additional side.
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Red Lobster’s menu description of the Mariner’s Seafood boil: A Maine lobster tail, a dozen shrimp, snow crab legs, corn and red potatoes. Served in a hot shake-and-serve bag with your choice of flavor.
Choose your seafood boil flavor (Roasted Garlic Butter, Cajun Butter, Old Bay Butter, or mix and match) and optional spice (spicy or extra spicy boil).
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Similar to the Mariner’s Seafood Boil, the Sailor’s Boil comes in a shake-and-serve bag served hot. The flavors and spice options are the same, but the ingredients of the boil are slightly different. Sailor’s Boil includes two dozen shrimp, smoked sausage, corn, and red potatoes (more shrimp, no Lobster or crab, and adding smoked sausage).
This option is $15 cheaper than the Mariner’s Seafood Boil (according to my local restaurant prices).
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Now onto the new sides!
The first is the Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms, which are seafood-stuffed and topped with lump crab meat in cream sauce (similar to the Steak and Salmon Oscar).
This is the most expensive of the new sides, but they look tempting (and I don’t usually like mushrooms!).
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Are you noticing a trend with the new sides yet?
The crab-topped asparagus is simple but delicious: asparagus topped with the lump crab/cream sauce combo that is present in many of the new menu items.
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Think a classic baked potato for this one, but seafood-y.
Any guesses as to what’s on top? That’s right — lump crabmeat in cream sauce!
(While it wasn’t listed on the press release by Red Lobster, I noticed my local menu also has crab-topped mashed potatoes on the menu.)
Almost done with the new menu items – on to the cocktail menu with its three new drinks, just in time for summer.
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This new drink combines Patron Silver Tequila, guava, and blue curacao (a blue-colored liquor), topped with Starry® Lemon-Lime soda. It’s garnished with sugar sprinkles on the rim to add points for presentation.
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Did you know that Dr. Dre and Snoop have their own brand of gin? I sure didn’t, but Red Lobster does!
STILL G.I.N. (by Dr. Dre and Snoop) melds with desert pear and handcrafted lemonade and is finished with “sparkling gold shimmer” to make the second of three new cocktails.
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If gin and tequila aren’t your go-to, you might like the Passion Star Spritz with vodka (Tito’s Handmade), passionfruit, Wycliff sparkling wine, and garnished with gold-dusted dried starfruit. This one sounds super pretty!
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So, there you have it. Those new menu items again:
#1: Steak Oscar
#2: Salmon Oscar
#3: Mariner’s Seafood Boil
#4: Sailor’s Seafood Boil
#5: Crabby Stuffed Mushrooms (side)
#6: Crab-Topped Asparagus (side)
#7: Crab-Topped Baked Potato (or mashed) (side)
#8: Starry Eyed Surprise (cocktail)
#9: Purple Haze (cocktail)
#10: Passion Star Spritz (cocktail)
That just leaves a couple of closing questions…
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Are you planning to try any of these new menu items? If so, which one are you the most eager to try?
Hopefully, things are on an upward trajectory for Red Lobster. It’s a scary time for restaurants (many of them never recovered from the pandemic), so only time will tell. What do you think of the brand’s hopeful business changes? Add your thoughts to the discussion in the comments!
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I see nothing here that attracts me back to Red Lobster. Last time I went, 3 years ago, the menu had no prices on so many items. I asked the server if they just charged what they wanted to, or is it different for different people. The server could not give me an answer. Which justified lowering the tip.