Went to the fairgrounds hotel and was a little leary at first but quickly changed my mind.. The food was excellent and had the Srrawberry pie, and it was just Hess's patio pie. Also had the crab stuffed flounder, and it was fantastic. Our waiter was very nice and also funny. read more

The prices were ok and that's the best I can say for the food. I had the lobster bisque which had little pieces of lobster and tasted good but the texture was like glue , I assume because they used corn starch to.thicken it? The crab stuffed flounder was overcooked to the point that there was no butter left on the plate! It was a busy Saturday night so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but don't think I'll be back any time soon. read more

After having a difficult time last evening to find someplace to have dinner we wound at the Allentown Fairground Hotel. Charlene and I were very pleased and enjoyed with our dinners. Alex our server was very attentive and accommodating. Thanks to everyone at the Fairgrounds Hotel for a very delicious dinner. read more

Went with two other couples - and 3 got the lobster trio - great deal. I got the tuna steak - always good - and done perfectly - just need to get wasabi - but even without it, it is good. Soups were good as well as the salads some got. The restaurant was packed - Wednesday night. Highly recommend reservations. You can't beat the food for the price. The food is always good - Dom and staff do a great job! Going back with friends this weekend! read more

My friend and I ate dinner there last night at 5pm outside. We had the calamari for an appetizer and we both had the lobster roll. Our server was Clarrisa or Clarise? She was excellent! Very pleasant and prompt. Also, the food was good and the servings were large. My friend had the chocolate cake for dessert and I had the cheesecake. The cheesecake was soooooo good! It was fresh and light. Yummy! The chocolate cake was good, too. Thank you for a pleasant evening. read more

I hate leaving a bad review. We've been at the Fairgrounds several times, a couple of years ago, and were impressed by the food and the service. But anyone can have a bad day, and I know how hard these people work. Usually I just never go back. But this was so disappointing on so many levels, I had to share. My first clue was when we were left on hold by the owner for 15 minutes trying to make a reservation. "Hold on, be right back..." and then we were forgotten. Ok, it's busy. So we found the online app and made a reservation there... Our waiter seemed preoccupied. Ok, it happens. When our food took too long, we were asked if we wanted anything while waiting. I said sure, bring another couple of biscuits. No biscuits arrived. Ok, it happens. If the food is good, it'll be worth it. I had the special fish of the day, Monk Fish. It's supposed to be firm, similar to lobster. Unfortunately, it was total mush. It tasted bland and of freezer burn. No amount of salt and pepper helped. This was the catch of the day??? And my wife had a burned, microwaved crab cake with overcooked hush puppies that were hard as a rock. Frozen catch of the day? Microwaved food? I could get a better meal as a patient in a hospital. Not once did the waiter ask how things were. The owner walk past our table about half a dozen times, not once did he stop by our table and ask how things were. I could see the total chaos coming from the kitchen. A server was holding a tray full of dishes and the owner yelled, "No! Leave it there!" There were multiple exchanges like that right in front of all the guests. It felt as if no one knew what the hell was going on. It reminded me of various episodes of Kitchen Nightmare. How would they attempt to fix this restaurant? Where do you start? Sorry but I will never go back. I love supporting local restaurants but not if they choose to serve sub-standard food. I do notice that there are no replies from the ownership so I doubt this review will ever be read. BTW, I do not believe most of these 5 star reviews. Something smells and it's not from the kitchen. read more

Shoutout to the Fairgrounds Hotel...dined there last night, didn't have reservations, took a chance and they were able to squeeze us in. They had one table left and we weren't put in a terrible spot either. Jenny, the bartender made a mean dirty martini (thank you!). I really liked the crispy calimari with the two sauces for dipping (a tasty marinara and the other a cool tasting sweet and sour). The seafood we had was delish (loved the jumbo lump crab)! My partner said the salad greens were uber fresh. They might not have had a full staff, but everyone was great and made sure diners were taken care of. I'd definitely go back again. read more

Thanksgiving Day for dinner. what a disappointment....dried out turkey and ham. don't know what the dressing was made from. Dark gravy, no mashed or sweet potatoes or cranberry sauce! biggest disappointment was the Pumpkin Pie! It was Raw/Unbaked!! how in the world did that get out of the kitchen??? I was waiting all day for pumpkin pie!! the waiter was a class act....so apologetic. a sweet young man! such a disappointmen!! read more

Food was very good the service not so much. Several times we waited over 15 minutes to refill our beverages.

Wonderful selection. Everything was delicious. Large portions. Food was served hot on the table. We lived the scallops and lobster. My husband's steak was perfectly cooked. The highlight for them was the Strawberry pie. We loved the service and will definitely return. read more

We looked forward to dining here and decided to take our family for Mother's Day. When making our reservations the website said all mothers would get free dessert and a flower which we learned once there must've have been an outdated advertisement. Food was good...but quantity and consistency was poor. 3 of us got scallops and I got 5, my mom 9 and my Father in law 12. My daughter and husband had the lobster roll based on pictures of reviews we saw and the amount of meat on their rolls together was not even what we saw on the picture. I'm sure it was due to the holiday but definitely not the first experience we were looking forward to. read more

after seeing great reviews on fb and yelp we finally stopped in. we went in on a tuesday at 530, it wasnt busy at all, the atmosphere was clean and very cool. The waitress i believe her name was Lisa?? she was very nice and friendly. I have been seeing photos of the food so my antisipation was so ready to eat the lobster roll. I got the crab bisque soup which was very good and the lobster roll was delicious. Very nice clumps of lobster and the butter was real not the crappy imitation. Got 2 sides one coleslaw and other mac/cheese both very good. My boyfriend does not eat seafood so he got the steak and also really enjoyed it. We will definatley be back i have plans to go thru the entire menu : ) ok so on our 2nd visit i took this picture, unfortunatley it loaded to our 1st visit. Again we were not dissapointed and like i said i plan on going thru the entire menu. On this visit i had the new england clam chowder the 8oz lobster tail hush puppies and mac/cheese. It was very good!! My boyfriend had his steak again lol, he doesnt eat seafood. We are very happy we found this place we love it!! read more

Fairgrounds Hotel - Seafood Near Me - Allentown, Pennsylvania

An hour late with food that was called in for take out 3 hours early. THREE hours. Unapologetic staff. Mediocre food on top of it all. Do not ever go here. Save yourself a headache. read more

The food is very good, but the owner doesn't understand the concept of a reservation. On several occasions I have made reservations well in advance only to find out upon arrival that my table wasn't available. read more

Oh my god, get ready to drool over their lobster, sweet potato fries, cham chowder soup, complimentary bread, and cinnamon apples. ALL ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS AND PERFECT. I am so glad we tried this place out after work. Might be my new favorite Friday night hangout! read more

Ummm, place is great if you have no tastebuds or just like bland food. The 4.5 star reviews are very misleading. Let's start at the beginning. 1. Service is slow for dinner with restaurant not full 2. Server had an attitude 3. Caesar Salad is actually iceberg lettuce with Caesar dressing on the side 4. Chilean Sea bass tasted weird. 5. Broiled Haddock was flavorless. Server said all the seasoning was on top. I noticed from all the breadcrumbs and old bay seasoning on top. 6. Mac and cheese was void of flavor. Since when does melted cheese not have any flavor??? 7. Asparagus was drenched in butter. Won't be going back. Thanks but no thanks. read more

We don't dine in frequently right now with COVID. when we do we try to be very selective. We decided to eat here last night since it has been months and it is one of our favorites. We decided to eat indoors and give it a go. We were extremely impressed by the social distancing. Tables were well spaced out. Staff all had full masks on. I ordered my typical dozen oysters and my husband got his cheesesteak and fries. Everything was stellar as normal. This is a great option for safe dining for those that choose to do so. read more

Fabulous food/awesome service by ChrisAnn/great prices....always an excellent meal every time!!! Thank you ChrisAnn and thank you Fairgrounds Hotel!!! read more

This place has seen better days. The dining room was loud and tired.The waitress was fine the food was at best marginal. The salmon was covered in a sickening sweet sauce. The green beans had no taste? My husband ordered crab meat. The serving was amusingly small. ( approximately 2 tablespoons of crabmeat) Food at Red Lobster is 100x better. read more

Moscow Mules served in beer glasses with a slice of lemon (they were out of limes), lobster bisque seasoned with Old Bay and a chocolate cake that made Pepperidge Farm look top shelf. Disappointed can barely describe our experience. read more

Well let me start by saying that this is one of mine and my husband's favorite restaurants. We eat out a lot and while we have many local places we go out of our way (from NJ) to go to Fairgrounds Hotel. The food is consistent quality and fresh. The Crab Cocktail is amazing. ALL that Lump Crab is not found anywhere- no skimping whatsoever! The Lobster Bisque is delicious, bread always warm and delightful too, the Stuffed Flounder is great and always consistent, great stuffing and fresh Flounder. The Lobster Rolls are wonderful and my husband recently had the HUGE Pork Chop which he was so pleased with. What's more, the Avacodo, Crab Nachos are amazing- filled with Crab and their Mac and Cheese is so creamy and rich. You can't go wrong with Fairgrounds Hotel regardless or what you order. It would get a five star from me but with the recent staff changes their are a few that aren't that good and one (very tall girl) that has poor representation, others ok. Another reason for the 4 and not 5 is that the mixed drinks (like7 & 7) and in a very small glass- not worth $7. But this is our Happy Place for food and LOVED the former servers! read more

This was our second and LAST trip to the hotel. Although the waitress did everything she could to apologize the crab cake meal was so horrible I couldn't eat more than one bite. The smell and after taste was so bad . Not to mention there was nothing resembling lump crabmeat in it. They did remove it from our bill but there are much better sea fish d places that n the area. Also The seafood combination platter was also so small it wasn't worth it. read more

This place is pathetic. How do you even offer all you can eat crab legs when you have a list of 10 rules prior to dining. Considering the service is as poor as it is how can you suggest there is a time limit on the crab legs option. But wait they tell you how the reorder process works all at the mercy of service? I would never suggest this place no matter what others may say. Someone here clearly needs a lesson on business and how this industry works. read more

I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt because it was Friday the 13th, but holy moly, this has to have been the worst dining experience I have ever had. I've been in the service industry for 10+ years. I understand when the business is busy and understaffed. This was absolutely insane. I thought I was being punked. I made reservations for 7:30 for 4 people a day prior. We got there, didn't get sat until 8pm. They took us to the second floor at a plastic "thanksgiving table". Got our drink order around 8:20. Left us, came back to us 20 minutes later asking us for our order. 3/4 of us ordered crab legs. Perfect. Well 9pm comes, we get our salads that's been sitting in the walk in all night. Soggy. Whatever idc about that. 9:15 comes along and the waiter says "I'm sorry we're all out of crab legs but don't worry we have a surprise for you" well 10pm comes along, and we don't get crab legs, we get crab meat from a can, soaked in butter. Our veggies were cold. My boyfriends clams were frozen. Again gave the benefit of the doubt, assuming they were super busy. We got our check and he charged us all for crab legs. Keep in mind we got our check around 11. We just wanted to get the hell out of there because it was a nightmare. Never ever EVER again. It's the next day, and me and my boyfriend are sick. read more

The food was very delicious and plentiful. Even though we were close to another table the noise level was very low. Our conversation wasn't overpowered by our neighboring table. Our whole bill was so reasonable and the food so delicious that we will return read more

Nice place. I had the bourbon glazed salmon and it was very good. My sides were sweet potato fries and coleslaw and both were good as well. I would have liked a dipping sauce with the fries but when I asked the waitress if it came with one she just said "no" and moved on without suggestion of anything to go with them. The waitress seemed annoyed that we had a large party (13) and all did separate checks, that would be my only complaint. Based on the food alone, I would surly go back! read more

The food was mediocre. Lobster bisque was inedible and had to be replaced with something else. My tilapia with crap meat tasted like it was bad. Everything was over salted...and we like salt. The seafood Alfredo had zero taste, tasted like flour and cream. Very disappointed with this visit it was our first and last time. I could have spent my birthday dinner somewhere else. read more

Probably one of the worst restaurants I've ever been too. My husband and I came in on a Saturday night. This was our first time there and will be our last. For starters, I was appalled at the service we received. Our waitress was slow, unprofessional, incompetent, and just downright rude and obnoxious. We sat for nearly 10 minuets before we were acknowledged we were there. Waited another 5 minuets for just sodas to be brought over. The food also took long to come out. Once the food finally did come out, I was again disappointed. My salmon was over-cooked and bland and my husband complained of his crab legs being too dry. For the price we were paying for this meal, we expected to be much better. It was only mediocre at best. We did not try dessert because we were just ready to leave at this point. I would not recommend this place to a dog, due to the awful service, McDonald's quality food, and overpriced madness. What a disappointment. read more

Saw the restaurant FaceBook page that advertised "Hess's Strawberry pie". Since this was a long ago favorite we thought we would do take out to try. Save your money! No where near the famous Hess's Strawberry pie. Presentation was poor at its best. Did not resemble a slice of pie. Looked like the pie was scooped up and plopped in the large take out styrofoam container. Large strawberries which unfortunately did not taste like strawberries nor were they sweet. Really was an over price rip off using a trusted name from the past!! read more

Awesome chow! Wife and I met another couple on a Saturday night at 630pm. Other couple had been there before so they had foresight to reserve a table, as it was packed when we arrived. I had a combo platter which included a 10 oz steak and homemade crabcake, delicious. It also came with 2 sides and soup or salad. I had cheddar mashed potatoes and, I forget the name of it, but it was a tomato, cored out and baked with cheese in it, delicious, i also had the new england clam chowdah. we visit the new england states a bunch, and the chowdah was as good as from up there. plenty of big crab chunks and taters. overall food was excellent, our server was great. we'll be going back. Cheers! read more

Let me start by saying I really wanted to like this place, I did. We had reservations for a Saturday night and the place was decently full so it seemed like a popular spot. The decor and interior gives the restaurant an older feel, which unfortunately carries over to the food. Everything at the table (that I tasted) was unseasoned and bland. It took the food forty min to exit the kitchen. The server or the kitchen forgot about my father in laws order (a burger) so by the time he got to eat most of us were done. To me it would of made sense to take it off the check, but that didn't happen. I was excited for the free pumpkin pie slice that came with my meal as part of the "fall special". But keeping with everything else it had no flavor. To summarize if you are under 65 and still have taste buds you will not enjoy the agonizingly slow service and bland food. Food isn't priced too high but I still feel like I over payed. read more

Food not worth the price! Ordered the Lobster Roll and it was tiny and not good, and the same goes for the sides. I would have been way better off going to Wegmans Pub. read more

I had food from here once, served to me by hosts who got takeout. It was passable, not exciting, but ok. Nonetheless, the Fairgrounds Hotel offers very good pricing on seafood, so recently I called in to place a takeout order for lobster and clams. The employee taking the call was beyond rude. I have worked in the restaurant business, and am not unsympathetic to busy times, but there are better ways to handle such times than to shrilly state in an exasperated tone "Ma'am, we just got a wedding party here, and I don't have time to do that now." It was said as though I should have known better than to call then. I was so floored by the response, I could not even answer. She then added "If you want to hold a while, I can get someone for you." I said that would be fine, thank you. Hold I did. My call was not placed on hold, but the phone put down. I could hear the bridal party being escorted to their table, all the hubbub, and finally quiet again. By that time less than 10 minutes had passed. I could hear the lady who'd answered the phone then talking at length with another employee. Thinking perhaps I had been forgotten, while holding, I actually called on my other phone and got a busy signal, so I couldn't make myself known to them. I held for over 15 minutes before hanging up. When I called 3 minutes later I could not get through, so my hunch is that the phone was still sitting there, and I would have still been holding. I know people have bad days, and I know places get busy, but it is not cool to get snappy with someone calling at a rough time for you, and it is definitely not cool to leave them on hold forever. Make me believe you want my business. It would have gone a long way for this establishment to have said "I'll be glad to help you once we get this large party seated. May I have your name and number and call you right back?" and either do it, or delegate the call to someone. As it stands, I felt most unwelcome, and the thought of calling again? Uh-uh. read more

Usually this place is good. But last night the service was horrible from the time we got there waited forever to get seated then waited for ever for our drinks and food. They brought my drink out there was a huge clump of hair on my glass. That jus turned my stomach I should have jus walked out . Then they bring our food the lobster rolls were the skimpiest I've ever seen barely any lobster meat I ate that which tasted ok but didn't touch anything else fries bland green beans bland as well. I'll pass read more

Finally checked this place out today. My girlfriend and I stopped by for dinner and we'll definitely be coming back. The only thing bad about this place is that we didn't know about this sooner. The onion rings were crispy, the lobster bisque was creamy and flavorful but let's be honest. The real celebrity here is the lobster roll. Lobster roll is one of my favorite things to eat. I try it everywhere I go and these guys know how to pull it off. Keep doing what you're doing guys. I'll be back soon read more

Excellent Thanksgiving meal!!! From Lobster Bisque to Pumpkin pie everything was awesome!!! including our waitress!!

Just ate here tonight , and it was fabulous . Our food was pipping hot , and very tasty . Our waitress was beyond attentive , her name was Heather . She deserves 5 stars her self . Scallops were cooked perfect , clam bake was delicious and a great price . We will be. Back ! read more

Came here once before COVID super chill everything was great came here today 12/11/20 had reservations already made had to wait forever to be seated drink came with hair on it major red flag !!! I wanted to cancel my order right than and there but we gave it the benefit of doubt and waited for our lobster roll dinner which was supposed to be "best seller" but barley had any lobster in it the whole left side of my bun was empty never again read more

Living in the area for over 30 years, I've always known about the Fairgrounds Hotel and that it was known for seafood, but ate there only recently. There was ample parking, no wait to be seated, and great specials on brewski. I'm always looking for good, inexpensive fish and chips and the Fairgrounds was good and inexpensive ($10), but I would've liked just a little more fish. The fries were great and the staff was down to earth and attentive. read more

this was my first time trying this restaurant and i have to say i was not really impressed. the atmosphere was great and the staff was very polite. the food, on the other hand, could have been better. i ordered a salad, lobster roll, and coleslaw. everything was in small portions for a big price m, but still pretty decent. my friend ordered hand breaded shrimp, fries, and new england clam shower soup (also small portions). the soup was decent, but the small bowl was filled with potatoes and not enough soup. the one thing we both loved were the drinks. we both ordered martinis and enjoyed every bit of it. overall i would return, but not anytime soon. read more

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