Old Port Lobster Shack 2016 review - Seafood, Redwood City

20 Woodside Plaza, Redwood City CA 94061
(650) 366-2400
Parking: shopping center parking lot
Hours: 11am-9pm
http://oplobster.com/ (Note that the address is still listed as Veterans Blvd)

Last Visited: May 9, 2016

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 stars
Price: $$$

I used to love Old Port Lobster Shack.  You can see the awesome review I gave them back in 2010.   I had been coming here for a number of years at their Veterans Boulevard location and would drive over an hour just to visit.

Sadly, this new location (opened just before Mother's Day this year) left me so disappointed and I don't know if things will ever get better.  Although it seems to be a bit more spacious, now that Old Port has merged with Rack & Roll BBQ, the quality has taken a major hit.  I arrived just after they opened and was surprised to see none of the regular staff members from the Veterans location.  There were two picnic tables full of open barbecue sauce bottles being refilled which seemed very unprofessional - most people do this in the rear of the restaurant if they do it during open hours.

I got my usual - two lobster rolls and two cups of chowder which set me back almost $45 for lunch.  However, the lady behind the register wasn't nearly as friendly as the one that worked at the Veterans location.

- The New England chowder still had the same great flavor as before, but that's probably the only thing that was the same.

- The dressed lobster rolls had the same flavor as before, but the bread wasn't toasted well enough and they had dents in them from too much handling which made the presentation less appetizing.  Far worse was the coleslaw - each bite was grainy as the sugar had not been thoroughly mixed into the dressing.

I had hoped that they were just going through a transition, but reading the reviews on the web, it doesn't seem to be getting better.  I overheard the Rack & Roll management talking about how she better change the music since Russell was about to come in and he wouldn't like the music that was playing.  This leads me to believe that this new partnership isn't going to allow for the consistency that I have come to expect.  This used to be my favorite place.  Sadly, I need to find another.