Unfortunately my only two stops in Coralville are 2 star reviews. Though I can't say I was suprised... the food was typical of what I'd expect at a Red Lobster (obviously not my pick of a lunch stop). I ordered one of the lunch specials: blackened tilapia on a bed of rice pilaf w tomatoes, asparagus on the side and a soy glaze. What I got looked like a plate of steamed miscellaneous with a soy gravy... The only word i can think of to describe it was sloppy. Everything was mushy in texture too... Fish, rice, asparagus, and especially the tomatoes. Forget about individual flavor profiles, as the liberal application of the glaze/sauce masked all that instead of acting as an enhancer. Salad was a majority white bits of iceberg lettuce (a salad's arch nemesis). The only solace was the service, which was quick and friendly at the bar.
(2)
Julie J.
Food was great! Wrong appetizer though: asked for stuffed mushrooms and got spinach dip instead. We took it in stride and just accepted it, and it was "on the house". So we said it was still great. We then realized a day later that we DIDN'T GET THE SALADS that were part of our dinner. He even asked us what types of salads we wanted. We had unwittingly gave a near 20% tip because I felt bad for him. Ugh, great great food, but we didn't luck out on a waiter. I know, first world problems right? But I should've either remembered the salads and reminded him, or just kept the tip.
(3)
Kelly M.
We were starving and had two long days of driving behind us. At the spur of the moment we decided to look for the nearest Red Lobster and found this one. It was great. Everyone was so kind when we entered. The waitress was super sweet (I wish I could remember her name~short girl with very short brown hair). Another employee took a lobster out to show the kids. They were speechless and beyond thrilled to see one close up. The food was great too. I wish we could go here all the time!
(5)
N. J.
Good restaurant, good food, nice service
(4)
Franklin W.
We're nicely surprised by the food and service in a chain restaurant located in a shopping mall. We ordered a seafood trio and an extra order of crab legs, and they're good! Great that Iowa City has some good dining choices!
(4)
Maria E.
Red Lobster needs to get more variety in their menus. Yes, they have a 20 page menu- which is ridiculous- but it's all of the same things or a $35 entree that comes with 1 lobster tail.... that's ludicrous. All of their combos are- 'oh here let me give you a heaping plate of all fried seafood'... geesh get some variety!!! The food was pretty sub-par. I specifically did an up-charge to get their coconut shrimp since I was craving it. It was so disappointing. Shouldn't have even spent the extra money. After this visit, my boyfriend and I just decided that we really just don't want to come back to RL anymore. It's terribly expensive for sub-par fried food for an outrageous price (considering it's all fried and probably frozen seafood). The food isn't good re-heated either so your leftovers are a waste. If we're going to spend $40-$50, we'd much rather go to Olive Garden or something where we can get unlimited soup/salad and then get to take our (great tasting btw) leftover entrees home, because we're so full from the starters! The only thing I enjoyed about our experience was our server and the biscuits. I wish I could remember his name- he was just a joy!
(3)
Bob P.
Endless shrimp is always good. Can't go wrong with the calamari except when you get an unexpected curly hair in it! Manager said he would take care of the meal, but we still ended up getting a bill. Upon receiving a phone call from me after we left he made things right by discounting all of our food. Overall we aren't huge fans of the 'fresh' seafood, we question wether it's frozen or fresh. The service is always great, everybody makes mistakes so no hard feelings.
(3)
Lynette S.
The food was served piping hot and was very good both times I have eaten at this location; however, what made the experience so pleasant was the waiters. On one occasion I splattered butter on my blouse, and the waiter brought me club soda and a cloth to treat the stains, even offering to send some in a plastic cup with me. This time, when our waiter, Andrew, discovered we had been traveling 5 hours and still had 2 1/2 to go, he brought us ice water to go. Very pleasant.
(5)
Mike D.
Love the renovation they did! Food is always good and the service was great! My wife and I like to go there when we have a craving for some good sea food. It seemed to be pretty busy but not to noisy so the atmosphere was real good. Really enjoy the specialty drinks and monthly specials. Will be back.
(4)
Beonka S.
This place is great to come and enjoy a meal. What I do NOT like is that this place has been open for an hour and the bathroom has a strong urine odor right when you open the door. Come on Red Lobster...you can do better than that .
(3)
Rob P.
Coralville's Red Lobster has ample seating. There's occasionally a wait on weekend dinner times, but never over an hour. Outside of that the place seats plenty, has many staff to attend to your fishy dining needs and the food is wonderful. They've even made exceptions to help me get an out of season offering that isn't on the current menu. That's service!
(4)
W Q.
Great seafood amazing lobster, scallops, shrimp, etc., great service, great value. Retarded manager. Down syndrome salad. Craving lobster today, my usual Joseph's Steakhouse changed their seafood special, so when you purchase two lobster entrees (4 lobster tails) the second entree is no longer half price. $45 for 4 lobster tails at Joseph's Steakhouse was a great deal but lobster entrees are now excluded from the 1/2 price second entree seafood special. I looked around on the web and had to narrow down to either Red Lobster or Ruthie's Steakhouse inside the Riverside Casino. Ruthie's was too long of a drive and only open for dinner, Red Lobster was closer and they are open all day. I ordered an iced tea $2.45; a lobster shrimp & scaoops $23.50; add on main lobster for $12.75; total was $41.02 plus tax/tip, comes out to $50. I got two lobster tails cooked perfectly, i got 4 scallops, cooked perfectly, and i got 6 pieces of shrimp, cooked perfectly. i also got artery clogging biscuits yummmmm, a salad that did not look good at all, didn't seem fresh and the presentation looked terrible, a side of rice, and a side of mashed potatoes. Joseph was my server, amazing service, despite being packed, the kitchen was fast. i wanted to order the seafood linguini to go, it comes with lobster tail, shrimp, and mussels; i didn't want the mussels and asked what i could get for a substitute, the waiter told me a lobster tail i said great. 10 minutes later i was told that the manager wanted $15 extra for the lobster tail. dear red lobster don't nickle and dime your customers, if it only cost me $12.75 to add a lobster tail to any entree, why would you charge me more to substitute. either say no substitute or say you can add $12.75 to my bill for a lobster tail; don't try to charge me $15 to substitute mussels for lobster tail. I cancelled the carry out order. This would have been a 5 star review, but really the manager at red lobster is retarded. +1 star for food +1 star for server +1 star for value. -1 for retarded manager -1 for trying to overcharge your customers when the price is clearly stated on the menu. how did you become a manager? do you even know your own menu?
(3)
Loni B.
This is a great Red Lobster. I'm usually not a fan of chains but I love this place and they do a good job on the food. Try the artichoke dip!!! Its yummy!
(4)
Mark G.
They really have turned things around at all Res Lobster for the better since they have split off from their parent company. They do have fresh daily options for fish. Haven't tried them yet but they have some good ones on the list. They have good promos that run on and off. The menu is better than what I went from before, have a pretty good selection that remains flexible. I've eaten at Res Lobster several times since the change, things are on the upswing.
(4)
Caylene B.
I really wanted to give this place a better score because the staff was really great, but the food was just mediocre. The shrimp scampi was luke warm and kinda rubbery, same with my breaded shrimp. It wasn't horrible, but for the prices, I expected better.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Sarah G.
Unfortunately my only two stops in Coralville are 2 star reviews. Though I can't say I was suprised... the food was typical of what I'd expect at a Red Lobster (obviously not my pick of a lunch stop). I ordered one of the lunch specials: blackened tilapia on a bed of rice pilaf w tomatoes, asparagus on the side and a soy glaze. What I got looked like a plate of steamed miscellaneous with a soy gravy... The only word i can think of to describe it was sloppy. Everything was mushy in texture too... Fish, rice, asparagus, and especially the tomatoes. Forget about individual flavor profiles, as the liberal application of the glaze/sauce masked all that instead of acting as an enhancer. Salad was a majority white bits of iceberg lettuce (a salad's arch nemesis). The only solace was the service, which was quick and friendly at the bar.
(2)Julie J.
Food was great! Wrong appetizer though: asked for stuffed mushrooms and got spinach dip instead. We took it in stride and just accepted it, and it was "on the house". So we said it was still great. We then realized a day later that we DIDN'T GET THE SALADS that were part of our dinner. He even asked us what types of salads we wanted. We had unwittingly gave a near 20% tip because I felt bad for him. Ugh, great great food, but we didn't luck out on a waiter. I know, first world problems right? But I should've either remembered the salads and reminded him, or just kept the tip.
(3)Kelly M.
We were starving and had two long days of driving behind us. At the spur of the moment we decided to look for the nearest Red Lobster and found this one. It was great. Everyone was so kind when we entered. The waitress was super sweet (I wish I could remember her name~short girl with very short brown hair). Another employee took a lobster out to show the kids. They were speechless and beyond thrilled to see one close up. The food was great too. I wish we could go here all the time!
(5)N. J.
Good restaurant, good food, nice service
(4)Franklin W.
We're nicely surprised by the food and service in a chain restaurant located in a shopping mall. We ordered a seafood trio and an extra order of crab legs, and they're good! Great that Iowa City has some good dining choices!
(4)Maria E.
Red Lobster needs to get more variety in their menus. Yes, they have a 20 page menu- which is ridiculous- but it's all of the same things or a $35 entree that comes with 1 lobster tail.... that's ludicrous. All of their combos are- 'oh here let me give you a heaping plate of all fried seafood'... geesh get some variety!!! The food was pretty sub-par. I specifically did an up-charge to get their coconut shrimp since I was craving it. It was so disappointing. Shouldn't have even spent the extra money. After this visit, my boyfriend and I just decided that we really just don't want to come back to RL anymore. It's terribly expensive for sub-par fried food for an outrageous price (considering it's all fried and probably frozen seafood). The food isn't good re-heated either so your leftovers are a waste. If we're going to spend $40-$50, we'd much rather go to Olive Garden or something where we can get unlimited soup/salad and then get to take our (great tasting btw) leftover entrees home, because we're so full from the starters! The only thing I enjoyed about our experience was our server and the biscuits. I wish I could remember his name- he was just a joy!
(3)Bob P.
Endless shrimp is always good. Can't go wrong with the calamari except when you get an unexpected curly hair in it! Manager said he would take care of the meal, but we still ended up getting a bill. Upon receiving a phone call from me after we left he made things right by discounting all of our food. Overall we aren't huge fans of the 'fresh' seafood, we question wether it's frozen or fresh. The service is always great, everybody makes mistakes so no hard feelings.
(3)Lynette S.
The food was served piping hot and was very good both times I have eaten at this location; however, what made the experience so pleasant was the waiters. On one occasion I splattered butter on my blouse, and the waiter brought me club soda and a cloth to treat the stains, even offering to send some in a plastic cup with me. This time, when our waiter, Andrew, discovered we had been traveling 5 hours and still had 2 1/2 to go, he brought us ice water to go. Very pleasant.
(5)Mike D.
Love the renovation they did! Food is always good and the service was great! My wife and I like to go there when we have a craving for some good sea food. It seemed to be pretty busy but not to noisy so the atmosphere was real good. Really enjoy the specialty drinks and monthly specials. Will be back.
(4)Beonka S.
This place is great to come and enjoy a meal. What I do NOT like is that this place has been open for an hour and the bathroom has a strong urine odor right when you open the door. Come on Red Lobster...you can do better than that .
(3)Rob P.
Coralville's Red Lobster has ample seating. There's occasionally a wait on weekend dinner times, but never over an hour. Outside of that the place seats plenty, has many staff to attend to your fishy dining needs and the food is wonderful. They've even made exceptions to help me get an out of season offering that isn't on the current menu. That's service!
(4)W Q.
Great seafood amazing lobster, scallops, shrimp, etc., great service, great value. Retarded manager. Down syndrome salad. Craving lobster today, my usual Joseph's Steakhouse changed their seafood special, so when you purchase two lobster entrees (4 lobster tails) the second entree is no longer half price. $45 for 4 lobster tails at Joseph's Steakhouse was a great deal but lobster entrees are now excluded from the 1/2 price second entree seafood special. I looked around on the web and had to narrow down to either Red Lobster or Ruthie's Steakhouse inside the Riverside Casino. Ruthie's was too long of a drive and only open for dinner, Red Lobster was closer and they are open all day. I ordered an iced tea $2.45; a lobster shrimp & scaoops $23.50; add on main lobster for $12.75; total was $41.02 plus tax/tip, comes out to $50. I got two lobster tails cooked perfectly, i got 4 scallops, cooked perfectly, and i got 6 pieces of shrimp, cooked perfectly. i also got artery clogging biscuits yummmmm, a salad that did not look good at all, didn't seem fresh and the presentation looked terrible, a side of rice, and a side of mashed potatoes. Joseph was my server, amazing service, despite being packed, the kitchen was fast. i wanted to order the seafood linguini to go, it comes with lobster tail, shrimp, and mussels; i didn't want the mussels and asked what i could get for a substitute, the waiter told me a lobster tail i said great. 10 minutes later i was told that the manager wanted $15 extra for the lobster tail. dear red lobster don't nickle and dime your customers, if it only cost me $12.75 to add a lobster tail to any entree, why would you charge me more to substitute. either say no substitute or say you can add $12.75 to my bill for a lobster tail; don't try to charge me $15 to substitute mussels for lobster tail. I cancelled the carry out order. This would have been a 5 star review, but really the manager at red lobster is retarded. +1 star for food +1 star for server +1 star for value. -1 for retarded manager -1 for trying to overcharge your customers when the price is clearly stated on the menu. how did you become a manager? do you even know your own menu?
(3)Loni B.
This is a great Red Lobster. I'm usually not a fan of chains but I love this place and they do a good job on the food. Try the artichoke dip!!! Its yummy!
(4)Mark G.
They really have turned things around at all Res Lobster for the better since they have split off from their parent company. They do have fresh daily options for fish. Haven't tried them yet but they have some good ones on the list. They have good promos that run on and off. The menu is better than what I went from before, have a pretty good selection that remains flexible. I've eaten at Res Lobster several times since the change, things are on the upswing.
(4)Caylene B.
I really wanted to give this place a better score because the staff was really great, but the food was just mediocre. The shrimp scampi was luke warm and kinda rubbery, same with my breaded shrimp. It wasn't horrible, but for the prices, I expected better.
(3)