If youre looking to get your best experience when you come red lobster in salinas, make sure you request for Carmen to be your waitress. She is very attentive, polite, and all about her business. She stays on top of every table she waits and cant wait to comeback to red lobster. Carmen gave us the best service hands down! read more

Horrible, I have gotten this same baked potato from the Fresno, ca location and it was completely different. And waaaay better. the potato looked EXACTLY like this when I opened the box, FOUR tiny pieces of lobster, and where's the sauce?!!.. I know it's only $6 but come on, where's the rest of the potato?!! It looks like someone half ate it already. read more

Red Lobster - Exactly how I received it. - Seafood Near Me - Salinas, California

It was sad because: 1. The lobster pizza appetizer (my gf ordered it so don't mock me for ordering it) was cheesy, but a sad excuse for a pizza and a waste of good lobster. It was soggy. 2. The waiter didn't come by very often to fill our drinks 3. The shrimp alfredo with linguini was sent to me and it looked like it was sitting out for a bit when they gave it to me. 4. The biscuits are boring and dry. It was good because: 1. I forgot every meal has a salad/soup and a side, which are filling courses of the meal. 2. The coconut shrimp was great! 3. The salad was fresh and a nice touch. read more

Solo Dinner while on the road for work. I sat at the bar and was taken care of really well. Both bartenders chatted with me which is always a nice gesture when I'm alone. The food as always was great. I'm a sucker for RL shrimp scampi. I'm not sure if there is anything better there. I always get the shrimp trio with 2 scampis and the shrimp alfredo and then I mix in some Cajun seasoning and some pico de gallo. It gives the pasta a little kick. read more

No more than three stars: They premix dressing with salad like sticklers. They didn't give me a bib for my huge lobster entree. The side for the $30 was a few cheap looking items: corn on the cob (4in) and like 7 potato wedges. Wtf??? As usual this place is overpriced for low quality food. The server was pleasant, but her service was slow. read more

I've been here several times but this is my first review for dinner. We were greeted promptly and seated in the back beside the windows in Fred's area. We waited patiently for about 15 minutes. Ok, no big..appearing in a jolly and professional mood, came Fred. He took our drink order which was timely and he also brought those fresh baked garlic biscuits. Soooo gooodd. Yeah, I like those. While we waited for our appetizers i took s look around. The table and surrrounds were clean, carpet worn but looked well kept. Bath rooms, ditto. Out came our salmon and Fred was great. He came back several times to check on us. Brought two complamentry salads. All in all it was a great dining experience with above par and attentive service. I gave four stars and I would recommend. Ask for Fred. Great personable guy. read more

See all

This was the second time coming in and our server this evening, Chayenne (chay) was above and beyond and so very kind! It's so nice to see excellent customer service. As a manager in my previous jobs, he is 100% outstanding and a great employee. Me and my boyfriend will be back again! :) thanks for the lovely experience. read more

After ordering and paying for our food, (which by the way came super fast).. our waitress Carmen noticed me mention to my husband I wanted dessert, she asked what kind and later brought it to us on the house!! ....little did she know how much I wanted it due to me being pregnant ! It really meant a lot that she went out of her way to cater to that small detail but nevertheless she has earned a repeat customer ! Her customer service has made our experience that much better ! And the food was amazing ! read more

Went for a family dinner and the food was delicious. Our waitress ,Christy, was very sweet and made sure all of our needs were met. She made the experience even more awesome. :) read more

Not too many good restaurants on the North side of Salinas; we were running errands and needed a quick bite to eat and thought we could probably get some decent appetizers at Red Lobster. Hadn't been here in a while but I seemed to recall that lunch was usually a safe bet. Looks like they updated their menu; lots of tasty-looking dishes that I hadn't seen before,but it's been over a year since my last visit. We decided to share a couple of apps; there's a combo appetizer that comes with clams, seafood-stuffed mushrooms, and bacon-wrapped scallops. All were very tasty and nicely done; the scallops were perfectly cooked. The other appetizer was a "lobster" pizza made with langostino lobster, which is probably really crayfish. It was pretty tasty, though a bit on the soggy side near the middle of the pizza (the tip of each slice). I'd recommend that they turn the heat up a bit in the pizza oven or let it cook for another minute or two. The service was very good; our waitress checked on us frequently without being too assertive about it and was very friendly. Overall, I would say the food was decent, but not great and the service was very good. I would recommend it for a casual lunch but there are better choices in downtown Salinas. read more

Forgot to check in on Valentines Day, but would like to still leave a review. For being Valentines around 12:45pm the wait wasn't bad, about 20 - 25 minutes. Our waiter was Adam, very nice and professional customers service. Food was great. Shortly after our meal was served the manager came by and ask how everything was; as a customer I appreciate that the manager would even take his/her time to go around ask each table if everything is good. read more

I love red lobster super good and delicious I love sea food and this does it a long wait sometimes but other than that I love it

Menu changes and quality have gone downhill for sure. Have been to this location many times but not recently. This time will probably be the last. Too expensive to have such mediocre food. Snow crab had no flavor, probably overcooked or old. Stuffed mushrooms too fishy. Quinoa rice? Pointless.. no flavoring at all. Burger- meh. Service just ok. read more

I'm never disappointed. Amazing staff and the food is amazing and consistent. I love the ambiance and know I can rely on a great outing here! Thanks! I loved the service when we had all you can eat shrimp. Thanks for making that happen! read more

As soon as I walked in the door the lady at the front said twenty to thirty minutes before I could even say my name. So I said fine for a table for 4 well wait gave my name and number then waited outside while I watched other cars drive up and walk in and get seated while we were still waiting after 30 minutes of waiting we left never got a call back either read more

Came here on a Wednesday for lunch. The restaurant was not busy at all. Our server was very kind and brought out the cheddar biscuits not long after we sat down. These biscuits are like little pillows of cheesy goodness. I don't know how they get their biscuits so light and fluffy, but they are great. I got the lunch combo with roasted bay scallops and breaded shrimp with broccoli. It wasn't anything to rave about. Some of the scallops had this weird chewy texture on the top from where it got cooked too much. The shrimp was tender and juicy, which was good. The broccoli didn't have that much seasoning on it so I dipped it in the butter sauce that the scallops were in. I don't know that I would actively seek out this restaurant for my seafood cravings, but I would come back for those biscuits! read more

BEST WAITER EVER. Max was the finest waiter we've ever had. Perfect to a tee. Made our dinning experience the best. As always we totally enjoyed our meal and a big plus to a professional job done by our waitet Max. I hope I'm lucky enough to be seated in his section again. read more

My boyfriend and I decided to give this restaurant a shot and everything was good, but the reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there was so many dishes on our table that we were obviously done with and the server passed many times and wouldn't pick it up. We would even stack it and pile it nice and easy for him and put it on the end of our table but he still wouldn't. read more

First time being to Red Lobster and it was the most horrible customer service and soggy soft crab legs. Staff was rude and waitress gave off weird rude vibes. The manager wasn't all that nice either, my food was cold and salty and tasted like some frozen microwaved food from Walmart. On top of that my sister got food poisoning from here ! read more

One of the worst date nights I've had in a minute. My hubby and I decided to go out and try red lobster since we hadn't been there since they remodeled it. My husband decided to order the land and sea option which came with a steak and a lobster tail. The steak was supposed to be fully done yet the blood was still coming out, it's bad for his health at this age. The lobster was okay. I ordered pasta with chicken on it and it was the saltiest chicken I have ever eaten. The thing tasted like it came out of the same pan as a fish or something because it was exaggerated. Really bad experience and do not wish to go back anytime soon. Lost two customers that day! read more

I came here with my grandma on a Wednesday night. The service here was awesome. Out server was a very attentive and sweet lady. We drank unsweetened iced tea and raspberry lemonade. We came for the clam chowder, it was not a disappointment. The cheesy garlic biscuits they provided for the table, paired greatly with the chowder. We split a ceasar salad and an appetizer as well. The salad was split in two decent size bowls, lots of cheese and croutons as we like it. We also shared the cauliflower augratin appetizer. It was on the smaller size of what we were expecting, but ending up being quite filling. It was a great experience, I would definitely recommend this location. read more

I'm giving them 2 stars for the ridiculous amount of time we waited to be seated! If it wasn't for my son really wanting to eat here I would have made a run for it! Lobster tank is disgusting when you enter and customer service isn't anything special. I won't even comment on the so called seafood so I will definitely not be visiting this place any longer in the future.... well atleast not the one here in Salinas. So many more "real" seafood restaurants out there that deserve my business!!! read more

I go to Red Lobster about twice a year, in all different locations. From my previous experience, Red Lobster always had good quality food and above-average service. Not in Salinas. Driving from SF to LA, I decided to dine in Red Lobster / Salinas for the first time. Place was packed. I was seated on a high bar stool by the ( cocktail) bar to eat my dinner. I was told it makes no difference where I sit - still same good food and same good service. Big mistake. Pressed on time, I agreed to dine at the bar. I was served by a female bartender, not a real waitress. Awful experience. Bartender was obviously not too familiar with serving food and was unprofessional. It was like eating in a fast food restaurant: impersonal, sloppy, and very quick. Food had no taste, and tasted like a TV dinner. My dinner was ready in 5 minutes - even I ordered my steak well done. On top of it - being the only person sitting behind the bar, bartender kept talking to me, asking me all kinds of questions, while I was eating, having my mouth full. Rude, just to say the least. I left half of my food on the plate and left the place in disgust. My dining experience in Red Lobster / Salinas was without a doubt the worst of all of my Red Lobster visits. Absolutely awful. I expect lot more from a $35.00 dinner. I still left 20% tip, but I really should not. I left the tip only because I didn't wanna create bad situation. Not sure whether anybody from Red Lobster management reads these reviews - but they should. Until things change, I am not coming back. Thank you read more

This review is for server Adam ONLY!! It is absolutely imperative to recognize phenomenal customer service. Now, with that said there is service and then there is impeccable service. Adam is the epitome of a waiter who exudes impeccable service. He does not carry a pad to write down your order he remembers every detail of your order. I thought for sure he would forget to salt the rim of the drink I ordered that doesn't usually come salted he didn't. He even goes so far as to open the bottle of Tabasco for you to use. Wow. He is constantly checking on you even though he is busy working the bar. We sat in the bar area. He is quick super nice and very attentive. A server like him is hard to find. read more

We went on Friday 11/17. We called ahead to put our name on the waiting list and were seated as soon as we arrived. Duane was our server and he was amazing! A fun personality and on-point service from the beginning. Three of us came for endless shrimp and drinks and he kept both coming. He was prompt and friendly. He brought *bowls* of sauce when we asked for more and he anticipated when we were ready for more shrimp. When you go for endless shrimp, you need a waiter who's prompt. If he only comes and checks on you twice in the hour, your time and money are wasted. Of all my years coming to this Red Lobster, Duane is the best server I've had. read more

We avoid chains but gosh it was getting late and we needed something to eat. We split the creat your own shrimp and our server was awesome. He set us up with side salads and vegetables at no extra charge.. Server was on the spot! Duane S. Great job and way to make us think about coming back soon. read more

GM0 20519A My wife and I ate at the Anderson SC Red Lobster last night. The service was very bad and we were delayed in placing our order which caused us not to be able to order the Monday night special. The lady that waited on us informed us after asking us what two selections we wanted first only to come back to us later and tell us that she could no longer except that order. She ask us if we still wanted to eat at Red Lobster? Well Yes! This lady has waited on us several times before so she is not new but she was having a bad night and made sure that she passed that right on to us. I called today to talk with a GM and they said that they would check into it but that they were not sure who waited on us even after we gave her the information that would clearly let her know who she was. No excuse for this type of service! We have been Red Lobster customers for a long time and I have been to Red Lobsters all over this country while traveling. Never had this problem before and for a GM to act like, "well we will couch her some" you must be kidding. Not sure that we will ever go back when there are many more places that serve good food and have good service in our area. Respectfully. Rick Owen read more

Great food however the server was very creepy and tried to hit on my sister. Would not recommend bringing your sisters here.

This review is intended for people who have never been to a Red Lobster (or haven't been in a long time), rather than for people wondering what this particular Red Lobster location is like in comparison to other Red Lobsters in the area. I'd been to a Red Lobster one time before this, probably ten years ago in Indiana, so I couldn't remember if the food was OK for a chain restaurant; it had an interesting-looking cocktail menu, so even though I'm kind of a food-snob I agreed to go with someone who had a Red Lobster craving. I was excited about my strawberry margarita at the beginning, but after a minute or two I realized it wasn't very cold, and any accumulating alcohol buzz was overshadowed by the artificial strawberry taste. [This is Salinas! They couldn't get their hands on fresh strawberries? Or frozen ones?] The sunset passion colada was so unflavorful that I had to send it back, and asked for an amaretto sour; 15 minutes later the waiter brought me the berry amaretto special, which wasn't very good (and wasn't what I asked for); it took me a while to get his attention again, and quite a long time for the correct drink to come out, at which point my dining partner was basically done with his food and I was ready to go, and unfortunately the amaretto sour was not worth the wait -- it was disgusting, probably made with lemon juice concentrate from a bottle. [They can't even be bothered to have fresh lemons at the bar? How much longer does it take to squeeze a lemon as opposed to squeezing a bottle of lemon concentrate? Gah!] I was mainly there for the cocktails, but I did eat some of the shrimp lettuce wraps (which were OK -- a little sweet, probably more fried breading than shrimp) and my partner's caesar salad (which was fairly pathetic -- pre-shredded cheese, slightly stale croutons). In terms of atmosphere, the dining room was not very full but there were three screaming children running around the restaurant while their parents enjoyed dinner by themselves; when we were ready to get our check we sat there for an awkwardly long time until I flagged one of the waiters who had started cleaning our section of the restaurant. That's just rude, folks. If you're going to start cleaning the restaurant at least do your cleaning in a section that is not still occupied by patrons. read more

Spectacular customer service, delicious food and fast service! Thank you so much!!!............

The food was delicious and the service was outstanding! I know this place is a chain and people talk bad about it but we had one of the most enjoyable dinners there in a long time. The food was delicious and our waitress could not have been nicer. We will definitely go back here again when we are in town. Thank you very much! read more

The rating is specifically for the service. The minus 1 star is for the incomplete to go order. It was something very simple but yet the execution was missed. I ordered two desserts, however they forgot to include the ice cream for the chocolate cake and the strawberry syrup for the cheesecake. It doesn't seem like a big thing but it's the principal. We were looking forward to the complete package but was very disappointed when we got home. I called spoke with the Saturday night manager, I forgot her name but she took ownership and handled it very professionally by refunding our money or issuing a gift card. I opted to go in today for a repeat order. I spoke with the manager Chris and briefly explained last nights mishap. He handled it smoothly and quickly ordered my desert, apologized and added biscuits for the wait. Both managers deserve 5 stars for how they effectively handled my concern. Thank you both as we happily enjoy our deserts with all the fixings! Happy customer. read more

The service is cool but I really hate seafood. The food was pretty good though. For seafood

Great service! They staff was very attentive and the food was tasty. It was lunch time and they were a little busy but they took care of us and got the order right. read more

Ordered on Uber eats. Didn't include utensils even though I requested it. No napkins either. Croutons on salad were SUPER stale, and the salad itself tasted a little weird.. like it wasn't fresh. And somehow... the little shrimps in my pasta were extremely soggy.. like just a ball of soggy mush. Gross. read more

Went there last week just to try the place, my family just a couple of months in the vicinity. Of course we tried the seafood dishes, shrimps and lobster tail with the clam chowder soup. The experience was A ok, the food was served hot with complimentary bread. The serving is not that large unlike other restos that is good for sharing. I loved the service, always asking if we needed anything and continually refilling our drinks. Comparable to the prices of Olive Garden. read more

Obviously not a well-run business. We were on the road home from the bay area and stopped at 4:45 in the afternoon- slowest time of day. The hostess, Jannet, said it would be a five minute wait. HUH? All the tables were empty. While we were waiting, a party of 6 or 7 people came walking in and she told them it would be 15 mins! They walked right out. When she did that, I asked her why we even had to wait- there were plenty of empty tables. She said the servers needed to "catch up"?? When we finally got seated I counted 8 tables and 3 servers on the floor. Really? They can't fricken handle 3 tables each? The server, Joey, made up for the lame ass hostessing. The food was typical corporate chain restaurant fish. Very obviously previously frozen. We don't go there for the food, it's the SERVICE they are supposed to be selling. This place sucks. Won't go back. I even posted a picture to show how empty the place was. read more

Red Lobster - The place was empty as shown in this photo, yet they made us wait 10 minutes for a table. - Seafood Near Me - Salinas, California

Does anyone come here for anything other than the cheddar biscuits? No, I didn't think so. You can get good grilled fish elsewhere, but the draw has consistently been the biscuits. Kinda like MickyD's French fries; you could get a better burger some other place, but THE FRIES!!!! Keep you coming back. read more

If you get an opportunity to dine at the Red Lobster in Salinas. Give yourself a treat and ask for Kevin B.. This young man will ensure you have an excellent dining experience and all with the kindest smile. Red Lobster in Salinas is very wise to have Kevin B. as a server! His customer service was impeccable. I'm truly grateful for his incredible patience, and easy laugh. I will share the experience with colleagues, employees, family and friends. As a business owner myself with a lot of experience on both sides of the customer service fence, I would call Kevin B. a treasure. My husband and I are looking forward to our next meal at Red Lobster - Salinas. YOU'RE THE BEST, KEVIN! read more

WORST EXPERIENCE E-V-E-R!!!!!! Do not go to this place.........food-overdone, servers friendliness-underdone, dirty, dirty dirty. As a chain, this store needs to change management, cooks, and serving staff. Does anyone know if the corporate office can be called??? Because I will do it, no problems! Find another RL, I know I will.. read more