Mom and I went for lunch on a Tuesday. We got there about 1230 and the place was clearing out. We were seated immediately in a booth. Our server (female) was very attentive all through the meal. Mom ordered the beer battered shrimp with fresh potato chips and she ate it all! (This is unusual.) I ordered Walt's Famous shrimp with french fries and it was good - not outstanding. It 's Red Lobster - what can I say? Third star is for the service. I really wish I remembered her name, she was good.
(3)
Elaine S.
Delicious! I dont really even eat fish, but the food was so well prepared.Wait staff... Awesome! Food was warm, cooked as preferred, and ready quickly. Drinks were on the strong side, but who complains about that!
(5)
Tony S.
I love seafood but Red lobster will have to be off my list, i had the ultimate feast and the lobster tails have gotten really small and the portion of the crab legs were less than before, overall it was over Price.
(1)
Kristina A.
I've been to Red Lobster (various locations) more times in my life than I can keep track of. I felt compelled to write a review for this location due to the stellar service though. My family and I came in to indulge in the All You Can Eat Shrimp. Now, the 6 of us tend to keep a waiter hopping anyway, but add in 3 meals that come with refills and that becomes even more true. Seth was on the ball. He had soda/water refills coming before we realized we needed one and we were never left waiting for additional shrimp, dip for the littler one's chicken, more biscuits, etc. .. Even my 14 year old son, (who's generally fairly unobservant), commented that he was a good waiter. The food was great overall too. The new Habanero Coconut Shrimp is my new favorite! My son's steak was over cooked but he didn't care so we didn't bring it up to our waiter. I did gripe about the alcoholic drinks we ordered however. Nearly $9 for a beercan-sized glass filled to the top with ice. You do get to keep the glass but for that price you shouldn't take one drink and watch the glass empty half way! The manager took my complaint in stride and brought out more booze to top our glasses off. More booze = happy camper even if I shouldn't have had to ask for it.
(4)
Beth L.
I've eaten here before but today was not even passable... Stopped for lunch to be told there was a 15-20 minute wait because "the all you can eat shrimp just started..." (????). We were seated fairly quickly but there were empty tables so the above comment was kind of odd... We both ordered the build your own lunch, DH had shrimp skewers and crunch fried fish while I had clam strips and fried shrimp.. The salads were drowning in salad dressing with just lettuce, 2 grape tomatoes and a few croutons... So our entrees arrived, my clam strips were so tough it was like chewing rubber. The shrimp were mediocre at best and my baked potato was hard in the center. DH's meal consisted of a skewer of cold "grilled" shrimp, 2 little gross looking chunks of fish and a glob of instant mashed potatoes... Yuk!! So, not going to be heading over there any time soon...
(1)
Darry H.
My wife and I had our first visit to any Red Lobster in 20 years. We had a very bad eating experience at a different location that kept us from going back. Since we had a gift card, and seeing the advertising for endless shrimp, we visited this location and had the very best eating experience in a very long time. The food was great, the service was great, I can't find any way to improve anything. I was skeptical about going. I figured the endless portions would be too small, and would come too slow to really enjoy. I was very wrong. Portions were good, refills were quick, the quality was great. We hope to return soon. Based on this visit, I give it 5 stars. Great job!!!
(5)
Tristan A.
Went out for a dinner and was not disappointed... Great service and great food will definitely go back again soon!
(5)
Tina W.
Overall our experience was very good. The food tasted fresh cooked and the serving sizes were appropriate. Our server was friendly and the food arrived promptly. Our only complaint was the hostesses...they were not very friendly at all. That's basically the only real job requirement for a hostess...be a real "people person." The environment was fairly clean and comfortable. We would eat here again.
(4)
Kim J.
Well, I've a hankering for some Red Lobster. I know--WHY you ask. I'm not sure. My spouse is a bit of a food snob so when I've suggested Red Lobster he has said no way. With the recent news of Red Lobster closing I thought that I had to get here. This particular location doesn't have glowing reviews. Apparently the one nearby in Omaha is much better. Who knows. I worked for Red Lobster, circa 1985 in Dayton OH. I desperately wanted to be a waitress but was relegated to the kitchen to the illustrious position of plate checker. I reviewed the plates as they were put up on the window, also placed kale, cocktail and tartar sauces on the plate. When I worked there I loved the food. Obviously my tastes or Red Lobster has changed. I decided to try lunch as Red Lobster isn't cheap. You can go to much nicer restaurants and eat for the same price. One thing I know about Red Lobster and their sister chain, Olive Garden is they are clean. They really pride themselves on keeping things clean, which is good. I was immediately greeted by two hostesses who led me to my table and told me "my seafood expert" would be with me soon. I did have to wait a while. Long enough to review the menu and decide what I wanted. I ordered my water and my lunch which was the "pick two." I choose fried shrimp and garlic skewered shrimp with my chosen side of rice pilaf and Caesar salad. The salad was good. Large shreds of Parmesan cheese, and lots of croutons. My only criticism of the salad was the large amount of romaine core that was in the salad. When I clean romaine for salads, I toss the core. It is edible but i prefer the leaf. I would say the core was probably 1/3 of the entire salad. Some of it was okay but some was very tough and woody. The highlight of the meal is of course, the garlic cheddar biscuits. The first one was hot, flaky and delicious. Even when the second cooled, it was still good. I hate to think about the calories of those things. Please don't message me with the calorie count. The entree was really a big disappointment. I should have went with some fish. I love shrimp. When I purchase shrimp to cook, I usually purchase somewhere between the 20-30 count shrimp (per pound). Both the skewered and friend shrimp were probably the 51-60 count per pound shrimp. That is really small. I don't know what I was thinking. It's just on the menu, they don't look so small. But then it's a cook in the back assembling the plate, not a food stylist. The plate looked weird too. Two piles of rice pilaf, one had the skewer of shrimp on it and the other had the seven fried shrimp thrown around it. I asked the waitress if rice came with this and if so why hadn't she suggested a different side dish. Oh yeah. Maybe I should have done this. Do you want some mashed potatoes? NO. Not with my rice pilaf. really?? I did agree to have her bring me some roasted veggies which did turn out to be quite good. Both the skewered shrimp and the friend were completely underwhelming. They weren't terrible but as i was eating them I was thinking of the other places I could have decided to have lunch. And now, as i am writing this review, I have a greasy, artificial garlic flavor in my mouth. And it doesn't taste good. So, bottom line, I guess if Red Lobster closes, I'm okay with it.
(2)
Kelly K.
I've been to this location about three times now and it's pretty good each time. I usually order the wood grilled salmon, which is delicious. The biscuits are always hot, the salad is fresh, baked potato and veggies are always great, too. Check it out!
(4)
Royal B.
Cleanliness 3 Service 5 Food 4 Likelihood 5 OVERALL SCORE 4.3 We were looking at cars and decided to stop and eat at this restaurant. We were greeted at once, and seated not long after. Our server was Sara, who was an absolute delight! She had a personality, she was in the dining room and kept table free of dirty dishes and drinks refilled. Manager was actually in the dining room touching tables and checking with guests THANK YOU. Restrooms were clean and well stocked, thank you! Food was hot, fresh and tasty. I didn't like their Lobster Bisque soup, it wasn't bad, I just didn't care for the flavor. (I am spoiled on East Coast soup which you can't compare to mid-west soup.) I thought there was too much dressing on the salad. Overall I would go back AND ask for Sara. Thank you for a great evening. Keep up the smiles and good work.
(4)
Kit W.
I WILL NEVER GO TO THIS LOCATION AGAIN!!! (This may be a long review, but please read it, you'll crack a smile, I swear!) Okay, that was a little harsh, but sadly true...sorry whoever owns this franchise. I frequent the 72nd (Omaha) location quite often. I may be the "oddball" type, but the servers at the 72nd location know that I tip very well for overpriced frozen food if it tastes good and served by friendly and professional people - insert a joke here or there and get me laughing, you'll probably get 30%-50% tip...and that's not an exaggeration (just ask some of the other restaurants I frequent). Anyway, on to the (spoiler alert) horrendous experience I had here. I typically order the same meal at Red Lobster...okay, 99.9% of the time. It would be the Ultimate Feast, sub the fried shrimp with broiled sea scallops. It's really not that difficult of a meal...steam or boil the crap legs, broil or steam the lobster tail, broil the scampi and sea scallops, and serve me some over-steamed veggies...and I'm good! Not this place...apparently this is too much of a difficult task. So we show up on our way out of town (we were heading down to Texas and figured we'd hit this location up on the way out). Bad idea. Uh oh, off track again.... ...This location restaurant is about half the size of the other two locations. No biggie. Except that it was also only half full...there were many servers for such a small number of tables. We were seated at a mostly clean table....wait, why is it "mostly" clean?? We're waiting....still waiting....oh look we get a server now! I would like my usual lemon-less water. I get water about 10 minutes later....with a lemon in it. Sigh. Since I didn't want to wait another 10 minutes for H2O, I opted just to dig out the lemon. Waited another 13 minutes (yes I'm timing it by this point), oh I can place my order...(insert order above here). .....My water has been empty for another 10 minutes. I get up and go to the hostess. "I'm sorry, but I would like some more water, and our server has been unseen." "She might be on a smoke break." I don't care of the excuse, someone please get me a water. My ice filled glass has already melted and I already drank that too. It's empty :(. Oh, water! Another 15 minutes, I see other tables that were seated after us get their food....hmmm. Usually I'm boiling at this point (and sorry for the long review, but TRUST ME IT GETS BETTER!!). I go to the ladies room, come back, and look there is food on my table! Woot! Time to dig in! Now I also seem to eat this meal systematically every time. Crab legs first! I look down at my crab legs, and I have 3.5 legs. Not 4, not 4.5...not even what the picture has...but 3.5. I inquire about this, and the hostess proceeds to tell me it's done by weight. I can respect that, except I order this meal ALL THE TIME and I ALWAYS have 5 legs or 4 legs and a claw! While she is telling me this, I pick up the crab legs. Hmm...as she proceeds to walk away quickly before I can even bring them near me to crack open. Well she must be in a hurry. The legs, I am not kidding on this either, were light, very very light...and by light, I mean I cracked open a leg and there was no meat - only this tiny "thread" of pink. I crack open the next one. Same thing. So much for the "weight" factor. I wait...I wait..."Has anyone seen my waitress??" Marco! (no polo) Up to the hostess again! Can I please have a manager?? Manager comes over....I explain my dilemma and my experience so far. She "politely" cops an attitude with me - and guess what??? She claims she was a manager for 20 years at the 72nd location. Really? I've been eating there for 7 years, I've never seen her before. Strange...and I used to go there twice or three times a month... So she asks how I would like it remedied...well, I want crab legs please. She brings me out another 3 TINY legs (you know the tiny size of about a #2 pencil...so much for weight again...must be anorexic crabs). I proceed to crack those open...oh look...no meat again! Get a new cook. Oh I forgot the lobster!!! There was lobster on the plate?? Oh it was "glued" to the shell. Over cooked and dry as well. Not even so much as a discount, or a comp over inedible food, or even a free desert?? DO NOT....I repeat ever so gently...DO NOT EVER EVER GO TO THIS LOCATION. ....Oh and on the survey questions below, I have put "no" for waiters, because if you call the service I received as such, you are doing a disservice to actual good servers out there! Worst service, and ever worse management.
(1)
Stephanie B.
Although the service was distracted and slow, the food was excellent.
(4)
S F.
Entire restaurant is crowded, cramped, and loud. The vinyl on the booths are already peeling and the carpets need to be replaced. Crab cakes were decent Salad was DRENCHED with dressing Shellfish was extremely over-cooked.... Just avoid this place. if you want seafood and you can't drive any further just go to Applebees and get the salmon.
(1)
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Address :3040 Dial Drive
Council Bluffs, IA, 51501
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : No Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Loud Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Beverly S.
Mom and I went for lunch on a Tuesday. We got there about 1230 and the place was clearing out. We were seated immediately in a booth. Our server (female) was very attentive all through the meal. Mom ordered the beer battered shrimp with fresh potato chips and she ate it all! (This is unusual.) I ordered Walt's Famous shrimp with french fries and it was good - not outstanding. It 's Red Lobster - what can I say? Third star is for the service. I really wish I remembered her name, she was good.
(3)Elaine S.
Delicious! I dont really even eat fish, but the food was so well prepared.Wait staff... Awesome! Food was warm, cooked as preferred, and ready quickly. Drinks were on the strong side, but who complains about that!
(5)Tony S.
I love seafood but Red lobster will have to be off my list, i had the ultimate feast and the lobster tails have gotten really small and the portion of the crab legs were less than before, overall it was over Price.
(1)Kristina A.
I've been to Red Lobster (various locations) more times in my life than I can keep track of. I felt compelled to write a review for this location due to the stellar service though. My family and I came in to indulge in the All You Can Eat Shrimp. Now, the 6 of us tend to keep a waiter hopping anyway, but add in 3 meals that come with refills and that becomes even more true. Seth was on the ball. He had soda/water refills coming before we realized we needed one and we were never left waiting for additional shrimp, dip for the littler one's chicken, more biscuits, etc. .. Even my 14 year old son, (who's generally fairly unobservant), commented that he was a good waiter. The food was great overall too. The new Habanero Coconut Shrimp is my new favorite! My son's steak was over cooked but he didn't care so we didn't bring it up to our waiter. I did gripe about the alcoholic drinks we ordered however. Nearly $9 for a beercan-sized glass filled to the top with ice. You do get to keep the glass but for that price you shouldn't take one drink and watch the glass empty half way! The manager took my complaint in stride and brought out more booze to top our glasses off. More booze = happy camper even if I shouldn't have had to ask for it.
(4)Beth L.
I've eaten here before but today was not even passable... Stopped for lunch to be told there was a 15-20 minute wait because "the all you can eat shrimp just started..." (????). We were seated fairly quickly but there were empty tables so the above comment was kind of odd... We both ordered the build your own lunch, DH had shrimp skewers and crunch fried fish while I had clam strips and fried shrimp.. The salads were drowning in salad dressing with just lettuce, 2 grape tomatoes and a few croutons... So our entrees arrived, my clam strips were so tough it was like chewing rubber. The shrimp were mediocre at best and my baked potato was hard in the center. DH's meal consisted of a skewer of cold "grilled" shrimp, 2 little gross looking chunks of fish and a glob of instant mashed potatoes... Yuk!! So, not going to be heading over there any time soon...
(1)Darry H.
My wife and I had our first visit to any Red Lobster in 20 years. We had a very bad eating experience at a different location that kept us from going back. Since we had a gift card, and seeing the advertising for endless shrimp, we visited this location and had the very best eating experience in a very long time. The food was great, the service was great, I can't find any way to improve anything. I was skeptical about going. I figured the endless portions would be too small, and would come too slow to really enjoy. I was very wrong. Portions were good, refills were quick, the quality was great. We hope to return soon. Based on this visit, I give it 5 stars. Great job!!!
(5)Tristan A.
Went out for a dinner and was not disappointed... Great service and great food will definitely go back again soon!
(5)Tina W.
Overall our experience was very good. The food tasted fresh cooked and the serving sizes were appropriate. Our server was friendly and the food arrived promptly. Our only complaint was the hostesses...they were not very friendly at all. That's basically the only real job requirement for a hostess...be a real "people person." The environment was fairly clean and comfortable. We would eat here again.
(4)Kim J.
Well, I've a hankering for some Red Lobster. I know--WHY you ask. I'm not sure. My spouse is a bit of a food snob so when I've suggested Red Lobster he has said no way. With the recent news of Red Lobster closing I thought that I had to get here. This particular location doesn't have glowing reviews. Apparently the one nearby in Omaha is much better. Who knows. I worked for Red Lobster, circa 1985 in Dayton OH. I desperately wanted to be a waitress but was relegated to the kitchen to the illustrious position of plate checker. I reviewed the plates as they were put up on the window, also placed kale, cocktail and tartar sauces on the plate. When I worked there I loved the food. Obviously my tastes or Red Lobster has changed. I decided to try lunch as Red Lobster isn't cheap. You can go to much nicer restaurants and eat for the same price. One thing I know about Red Lobster and their sister chain, Olive Garden is they are clean. They really pride themselves on keeping things clean, which is good. I was immediately greeted by two hostesses who led me to my table and told me "my seafood expert" would be with me soon. I did have to wait a while. Long enough to review the menu and decide what I wanted. I ordered my water and my lunch which was the "pick two." I choose fried shrimp and garlic skewered shrimp with my chosen side of rice pilaf and Caesar salad. The salad was good. Large shreds of Parmesan cheese, and lots of croutons. My only criticism of the salad was the large amount of romaine core that was in the salad. When I clean romaine for salads, I toss the core. It is edible but i prefer the leaf. I would say the core was probably 1/3 of the entire salad. Some of it was okay but some was very tough and woody. The highlight of the meal is of course, the garlic cheddar biscuits. The first one was hot, flaky and delicious. Even when the second cooled, it was still good. I hate to think about the calories of those things. Please don't message me with the calorie count. The entree was really a big disappointment. I should have went with some fish. I love shrimp. When I purchase shrimp to cook, I usually purchase somewhere between the 20-30 count shrimp (per pound). Both the skewered and friend shrimp were probably the 51-60 count per pound shrimp. That is really small. I don't know what I was thinking. It's just on the menu, they don't look so small. But then it's a cook in the back assembling the plate, not a food stylist. The plate looked weird too. Two piles of rice pilaf, one had the skewer of shrimp on it and the other had the seven fried shrimp thrown around it. I asked the waitress if rice came with this and if so why hadn't she suggested a different side dish. Oh yeah. Maybe I should have done this. Do you want some mashed potatoes? NO. Not with my rice pilaf. really?? I did agree to have her bring me some roasted veggies which did turn out to be quite good. Both the skewered shrimp and the friend were completely underwhelming. They weren't terrible but as i was eating them I was thinking of the other places I could have decided to have lunch. And now, as i am writing this review, I have a greasy, artificial garlic flavor in my mouth. And it doesn't taste good. So, bottom line, I guess if Red Lobster closes, I'm okay with it.
(2)Kelly K.
I've been to this location about three times now and it's pretty good each time. I usually order the wood grilled salmon, which is delicious. The biscuits are always hot, the salad is fresh, baked potato and veggies are always great, too. Check it out!
(4)Royal B.
Cleanliness 3 Service 5 Food 4 Likelihood 5 OVERALL SCORE 4.3 We were looking at cars and decided to stop and eat at this restaurant. We were greeted at once, and seated not long after. Our server was Sara, who was an absolute delight! She had a personality, she was in the dining room and kept table free of dirty dishes and drinks refilled. Manager was actually in the dining room touching tables and checking with guests THANK YOU. Restrooms were clean and well stocked, thank you! Food was hot, fresh and tasty. I didn't like their Lobster Bisque soup, it wasn't bad, I just didn't care for the flavor. (I am spoiled on East Coast soup which you can't compare to mid-west soup.) I thought there was too much dressing on the salad. Overall I would go back AND ask for Sara. Thank you for a great evening. Keep up the smiles and good work.
(4)Kit W.
I WILL NEVER GO TO THIS LOCATION AGAIN!!! (This may be a long review, but please read it, you'll crack a smile, I swear!) Okay, that was a little harsh, but sadly true...sorry whoever owns this franchise. I frequent the 72nd (Omaha) location quite often. I may be the "oddball" type, but the servers at the 72nd location know that I tip very well for overpriced frozen food if it tastes good and served by friendly and professional people - insert a joke here or there and get me laughing, you'll probably get 30%-50% tip...and that's not an exaggeration (just ask some of the other restaurants I frequent). Anyway, on to the (spoiler alert) horrendous experience I had here. I typically order the same meal at Red Lobster...okay, 99.9% of the time. It would be the Ultimate Feast, sub the fried shrimp with broiled sea scallops. It's really not that difficult of a meal...steam or boil the crap legs, broil or steam the lobster tail, broil the scampi and sea scallops, and serve me some over-steamed veggies...and I'm good! Not this place...apparently this is too much of a difficult task. So we show up on our way out of town (we were heading down to Texas and figured we'd hit this location up on the way out). Bad idea. Uh oh, off track again.... ...This location restaurant is about half the size of the other two locations. No biggie. Except that it was also only half full...there were many servers for such a small number of tables. We were seated at a mostly clean table....wait, why is it "mostly" clean?? We're waiting....still waiting....oh look we get a server now! I would like my usual lemon-less water. I get water about 10 minutes later....with a lemon in it. Sigh. Since I didn't want to wait another 10 minutes for H2O, I opted just to dig out the lemon. Waited another 13 minutes (yes I'm timing it by this point), oh I can place my order...(insert order above here). .....My water has been empty for another 10 minutes. I get up and go to the hostess. "I'm sorry, but I would like some more water, and our server has been unseen." "She might be on a smoke break." I don't care of the excuse, someone please get me a water. My ice filled glass has already melted and I already drank that too. It's empty :(. Oh, water! Another 15 minutes, I see other tables that were seated after us get their food....hmmm. Usually I'm boiling at this point (and sorry for the long review, but TRUST ME IT GETS BETTER!!). I go to the ladies room, come back, and look there is food on my table! Woot! Time to dig in! Now I also seem to eat this meal systematically every time. Crab legs first! I look down at my crab legs, and I have 3.5 legs. Not 4, not 4.5...not even what the picture has...but 3.5. I inquire about this, and the hostess proceeds to tell me it's done by weight. I can respect that, except I order this meal ALL THE TIME and I ALWAYS have 5 legs or 4 legs and a claw! While she is telling me this, I pick up the crab legs. Hmm...as she proceeds to walk away quickly before I can even bring them near me to crack open. Well she must be in a hurry. The legs, I am not kidding on this either, were light, very very light...and by light, I mean I cracked open a leg and there was no meat - only this tiny "thread" of pink. I crack open the next one. Same thing. So much for the "weight" factor. I wait...I wait..."Has anyone seen my waitress??" Marco! (no polo) Up to the hostess again! Can I please have a manager?? Manager comes over....I explain my dilemma and my experience so far. She "politely" cops an attitude with me - and guess what??? She claims she was a manager for 20 years at the 72nd location. Really? I've been eating there for 7 years, I've never seen her before. Strange...and I used to go there twice or three times a month... So she asks how I would like it remedied...well, I want crab legs please. She brings me out another 3 TINY legs (you know the tiny size of about a #2 pencil...so much for weight again...must be anorexic crabs). I proceed to crack those open...oh look...no meat again! Get a new cook. Oh I forgot the lobster!!! There was lobster on the plate?? Oh it was "glued" to the shell. Over cooked and dry as well. Not even so much as a discount, or a comp over inedible food, or even a free desert?? DO NOT....I repeat ever so gently...DO NOT EVER EVER GO TO THIS LOCATION. ....Oh and on the survey questions below, I have put "no" for waiters, because if you call the service I received as such, you are doing a disservice to actual good servers out there! Worst service, and ever worse management.
(1)Stephanie B.
Although the service was distracted and slow, the food was excellent.
(4)S F.
Entire restaurant is crowded, cramped, and loud. The vinyl on the booths are already peeling and the carpets need to be replaced. Crab cakes were decent Salad was DRENCHED with dressing Shellfish was extremely over-cooked.... Just avoid this place. if you want seafood and you can't drive any further just go to Applebees and get the salmon.
(1)