The Missus and I were on the lookout for new places to eat recently when we came across this Red Lobster location in amongst a number of restaurants behind the Dulles Town Center Mall. We were hankering sea food and this place just happened to be conveniently located to our persons. I have never been to a Red Lobster but have always heard jokes and jeers about how it is supposed to be a low rent seafood place pretending to be upscale. I don't know about any of that, but my first experience was very good. The restaurant was very nice inside, clean and well decorated. The server was pleasant and cheery. I got the cedar plank salmon which was amazing! The Missus got some crab legs which she didn't like, and a shrimp dish that she did like. I would definitely eat here again in hopes of some more of that tasty salmon. The Missus is on the fence, but willing to try again someday. read more

Our waitress Jan really made our day. Attentive personal and took those few extract seconds to ensure we were well taken care of. Food was great and very enjoyable lunch. read more

We took my son to dinner for his thirteen birthday. The food was good, hot and exactly as ordered. The service was even better. I might go back there this weekend! read more

Very nice waiter but terrible service. Huge pauses between course; food warm. Long periods with no server in room. Asked but never got second glass of water. Bill included a charge I was not told about. Way over priced for quality of food and service. Looks like conscious decision to understaff on a Sunday. read more

Overall it was "ok" but not sure we will be back anytime soon. Party of 5 -told a 15-20 minute wait - turned into a 35 minute wait BUT the manager was always updating us on progress of getting a table. We ordered cocktails - wine was sour and super warm and the old fashioned tasted like water & a little burboun - pretty nasty but asking for glasses of water helped. Ordered the Tilapia "Special" which should have come with parmesan crab on top, but instead came without anything on top and was very dry. Hubs ordered a meal based upon waitresses recommendation and substituted the shrimp for scallops. Supposed to get salmon, scallops & lobster tail. Instead, got lobser tail and 2 skewers of scallops....no salmon at all. When he asked about it, he was told that THAT combination would have been an entirely different meal. Pretty disappointing. Had our choice of here or Ford's Fish Shak - next time we r craving seafood, Ford's will be our choice. To be fair tho - the quickness of service has gotten much better and my granddaughter's Alfredo pasta was nice and "wet" with sauce, whereas in the past, sauces have been very scarce. read more

I had a hankering for some garlic cheddar biscuits and the waiter helped me out by getting my a fresh batch and that is the only reason I gave this place a star. I ordered the seafood alfredo and as I ate the gooey gelatinous sauce and the shrimp I could feel the food poisoning going down. I ate little and my stomach was revolting against my dinner decision. Will not go back again. read more

Last Saturday, my wife and I decided to visit the local Red Lobster restaurant. We ordered the $15 seafood feast and were positively surprised. The New England Clam Chowder soup was tasty, the garlic biscuits freshly baked, and the salad fresh and clean. Even though we expected the entrees to be small, their size were very generous and I had problems to finish my dessert (Fresh Brownie with ice cream). The waitress, a lady in her 50s was very friendly and made us feel welcome. read more

Let's cut to the chase. This is your standard chain restaurant with standard fare. It's decent, sometimes above average, but never great. Never revolutionary. But each chain does something that makes it stand out, something that nobody else does or does quite the way it can. And for Red Lobster it's the Cheddar Bar Biscuits. I can not smash enough of them into my face. They're so good. TOO good. I know they're, what, 6,012 calories a pop... but I can eat the entire lil' basket of them without thinking about it. As for the actual restaurant? Service is usually decent (had a mix of good and bad) but it's been consistent overall. For a place with "lobster" in the name they don't really do lobster that well. But, again, it's a chain. The food's acceptable and the biscuits are nothing short of fluffy addiction. read more

Well this visit really was a pleasant suprise! My girlfriend and I had a serious craving for some of the Parrot Bay coconut shrimp so obviously there was a trip to RL in our future. If you have never had these coconut shrimp and like the ones offered at Outback or other restaurants you NEED to give these a try!!!! They are served with a pina colada dipping sauce and they have a hint of spiciness that makes them incredibly delicious. We went in at around 6:30 and there was no wait but the restaurant was full. I have never been to a newer Red Lobster before and I am not completely sold on the decor, my usual RL is in Fairfax. I ordered the pick two dinner, and I got a sirloin and the Parrot Bay shrimp and my girlfriend got the coconut shrimp bites and fried shrimp (mmm fried seafood!). We both got salad with our entree and the salad was very fresh and a decent size. My entree came out and it was fantastic! The steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned, to top things off it was very tender and seemed like a good cut of meat. The shrimp were just as good as I had remembered them. My fries were a little on the undercooked side but that never really bothers me, it is better than overcooked to a crisp. Our waitress, Jennifer, was very friendly and efficient with bringing out our food and clearing the table when we were finished and we never felt pressured to hurry out the door even though the place was somewhat busy. The food came out quickly and correctly, maybe Charlie P. went on a bad night which all restaurants have from time to time. I will try my favorite Red Lobster in Fairfax to see if this was a fluke, of if the quality of the food has really gone up that quickly with the introduction of the "wood grilled" entrees. read more

Always loved the bread. BEST DAMN CAESAR SALAD I'VE EVER HAD. & I love caesar salad. The croutons were so fresh & the dressing so good. I got the cajun chicken w/ afredo sauce on linguine for lunch today. The chicken was not cajun (not spicy) but it was still good! read more

My daughter's favorite restaurant. We come here a lot. The experience, I have to say, is completely hit or miss. On good nights, which are the majority, the service is friendly and quick. There is usually a wait, so the place stays busy. My daughter gets shrimp and loves them. I alternate between the salmon, the fish-and-chips, and the maple chicken. The fish and chips is awesome. I'm not sure what's in the stuff, but it tastes unbelievably better than many other places I've tried the same. This is not the frozen Gorton's filets you buy in the supermarket, but a massive slab of flakey whitefish. The maple chicken reminds me of the Jack Daniels stuff they serve at Fridays, but a bit sweeter. It's a nice alternative when I don't want fish and don't want to drive into Herndon to find a Fridays. The salmon... oh boy. The salmon is my nemesis. Atlantic Salmon is always on the fresh fish menu, but at wildly fluctuating price points. I've seen it as low as 12.99, and as high as 23.99. I only order if it's 14.99 or less. I will always order it blackened, which if you are unfamiliar, means caked on seasoning seared in butter in a cast iron skillet. Red Lobster is the reason I own such a skillet and learned to make my own, because sadly, I can do it better. For about a year now, they started serving salmon with the skin still on. It's a minor thing to take it off, but that means it's just as easy for them to do it in the kitchen. I guess it's easier to plate that way, but it's harder for me to enjoy eating. They skimp on the butter and the seasoning, making what should be mouth-watering explosions of flavor often a bland and dry meal. If it's cheap, and my family wants to go there, I'll try it every so often to see if it gets better. If the food seems hit or miss, then that reflects in the service as well. Again, most nights are great. However, we have had more experiences here than any other restaurant in the area with being seated and then ignored. On several occassions, I have had to go to the hostess to ask to move tables simply because no one ever came to take an order. This seems to be worst in the booths next to and left of the bar; we never have problems in the corner sections. I have to think that's a planning issue with how they zone the servers. There are precious few seafood places in town, so don't let the bad reviews turn you away. Odds are, you'll enjoy the trip. Be prepared to speak up though, especially if you feel they've forgotten about you, or you need more biscuits. They'll always bring more if you ask. read more

Endless Shrimp was great. Party of 10 at 7pm, so getting seated in 45 mins was reasonable. I waited at the bar and the bartender cost this place a star. Finished my beer and 25 mins later I had to ask for my check. I would have ordered another beer if he had paid any attention. Service at our table was excellent. I don't know who they hired to renovate the restrooms, but as a tradesman, its obvious it went to the lowest (and least skilled) bidder. I hope they fix the tile before they finish. I would say this is likely a 3 star restaurant and I got Lucky with a four star experience. I won't be in any hurry to go back. read more

I will always love Red Lobster haha. I always go for the cheddar biscuits! I know most everyone else does too ;D Usually though it can be kinda meh but at THIS one I feel we always have a good time :) Good service and did I mention biscuits? read more

Went there 2 nights ago for endless shrimp! TERRIBLE doesn't begin to describe our experience! we were seated and not greeted for 10 minutes! (they came by and said we are short on waiters....but we saw waiters standing around, talking, riding on broom sticks (yes. not a joke. he actually was doing that). ) someone (other than our server) could have easily come by and greeted us and taken our order. didn't happen. shrimp came out cold. ate it in 5 minutes, ordered second batch....it took 15 minutes! called the guy and asked him why it's taking so long, he said it will take another 5 minutes! 20 minutes into ordering the second batch, it arrived. by then, we were filled up on bread.....(maybe that was their plan all along!) terrible experience. for 17 bucks a person, i expected a lot more! ps. the coconut shrimp was good when it came out. read more

So we went there for lobster-fest and the waitress dropped soda and water on our table...barely missing my husband's leg which was in a cast. Yeah. But the point is, she missed :D. I love RL and will keep going back. read more

Always great service here! The manager is awesome as well, very friendly. One time I left my entire wallet at the table and he rushed right out to give it to me! We will be back soon for sure. read more

Back in the day, you used to wait in line for 30-60 minutes to get a table at Red Lobster. Those days are far gone and today's service is a constant reminder of how good restaurants die because of poor service. The host sat us at a table and it was fairly quiet in the dining area with maybe 8-10 seated tables and 6 waitstaff. When the host sat us, he mentioned that some waitress would be taking care of us. She never showed. The host came back by and took our drink order and then came back by to take our dinner order. Still no waitress. Our dinners were served by someone from the kitchen. Finally, the waitress came by and asked if we got everything; at this time I asked for a refill. For the next 15 minutes, no one approached our table and no refill. Finally, the waitress showed up and told me she forgot my refill. I canceled the request and asked for boxes for leftovers. The waitress never showed up again to ask about dessert or to close out the meal. Sorry, but this type of service and inattention is poor service and disrespectful of your customers. Tonight I crossed this restaurant location off my potential dining list. read more

Made a to go order. Simple. Lobster tails, cheddar bay biscuits, salad; just cheese, with ranch dressing. Drove all the way there from my hotel and came all the way back only to discover that I had no dressing. No fork. Salad with all the fixings even though I specifically said just lettuce because I'm allergic to some of the regular toppings. There are no condiments where I am and I'm unwilling to make the 20 minute drive back because by then my food will surely be cold. Pissed is not the word. Over 30 dollars for you guys to mess it up. I should have listened to my gut and passed due to he bad reviews. Lesson learned. I'm only here in a visit so I'll most likely never return. Only 2 stars because the lobster tastes as it should. read more

I love, love, love Red Lobster. I've been coming here for years and was always pretty satisfied. I don't know what's gone on lately, though, but my past two experiences have been HORRIBLE! I went out to dinner with a friend. We had separate checks - gave the waiter separate credit cards in SEPARATE folders. Turns out, he charged both dinners on my account. Now, I understand that mistakes happen, I get that. But when I called the restaurant to let them know what happened, I was not apologized to and told I either had to wait a week for it to go through corporate, or come BACK to the restaurant to have the money put back. I wasn't offered an apology, a coupon - nothing. Their mistake, but I had to waste my time and gas to fix it - unaccpetable. The last time I was there, about 2 weeks ago, our waitress informed us it was her last night of training and her boss would be kinda "watchcing" from afar. Well, she made SEVERAL mistakes. After the meal was over, the manager came over and asked how she did. We told him how terrible it went and all the mistakes she made. He thanked us for the "feedback" and brought us our check. He DIDN'T DISCOUNT ANYTHING! We just sat here and told you we had a crummy experience and you smile and say "thanks" and walk away? Yeah, I won't be back.....and I suggest no one else go either. There are too many other restaurants at this location to go to that will offer much better customer service. read more

The place is nice like any usual Reb Lobster, only problem is the silverware is always dirty, I think the people working there they don't care about that. Also the take out orders they are always messed up, wrong sauce, missing biscuits etc. Wish I had another one close to my place. read more

We went to Red Lobster today July 9, 2010. We were seated by the bar and the bartender was our waitress. We ordered 2 Arnold Palmer drinks and I ordered the Lobster roll with french fries. The lobster roll looked terrible hardly any lobster and the salad didn't even fill up the roll and it had no taste. And the french fries were cold. I returned the Lobster roll and I got the lobster pizza instead. When my husband asked the bar tender for another drink she stood at the bar and flirted with this customer. The bottom line is never get seated in the section where the bartender is your waitress because your food will be cold and she will not have your full attention. There was a older Latina woman at the door when we was leaving that was very nice and share was us to come back so with a small. The manager was walking around however he had know idea what was going on and my not really cared lol. read more

This location sucks. It left me missing the Red Lobsters in the mid-west. We ordered food for pick-up for three people. The food was average in that average, good sort of way where it does the job of filling you up but doesn't really stand out in taste, portion size, or uniqueness to where you can't wait to try it again. It was mostly edible. Low points: The grilled salmon was rubbery and still had skin on one side. The lady said they don't have gravy for the mashed potatoes. The Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta was a coagulated, white stuck-together mess of of Alfredo pasta with grilled chicken, no Cajun seasonings or flavor or even a tinge of color like the same dish we recently had at a Red Lobsters in the mid-west. The ceasar salad was sooooo salty it was inedible, just drenched in dressing and salty. And another thing, they left out one side and one salad. There was miscommunication on the phone where the woman rushing to take the order, asked me: "Do you want one order of that?" I was ordering two of the same sides and two of the same salads for 2 different entrees so I said: "Yes, Cesar salad and mashed potatoes for both." It turned out I only got 1 mashed potatoes and 1 Cesar salad. Too bad the person that I sent to pick up the food did not notice either when he was there. But the biscuits, that was the worst part of the meal. Talk about beimg stingy! At the end, when I ordered, I confirmed over the phone, that she was packing some biscuits too, right? She said, "I was going to pack 4, do you want 2 more or not?" Ahhhh....of course I want 2 more measely biscuits when I ordered 3 entrees. But alas! The bag only had FIVE biscuits when my partner got home. The lady who took the order straight up lied. Forget the missing a salad and side. Where was that lone biscuit? The bag could have definitely held more biscuits but I was hoping the three of us could have had at least 2 biscuits a piece. Oh, well! No more take-out from here. The customer service and the food was just not up to par with what I spent and what I've had in other locations. read more

There was a time Red Lobster was a go-to seafood place, but I'm afraid that time has passed. They are clearly chasing a price point, a very, very low price point. And it shows in both the food (shrimp come that small?) but much more importantly in the service. Once to take your order, once to deliver drinks and bred, once to drop off food and refills, once for the check. In my experience you will never see a server more than that at a Red Lobster, it must be in the training. Eat all your bread or drink all your beverage and you'll be waiting a long time for refills. Every time I go, usually by having a group decide for me, I think the same thing. For an extra like $1 per entree, they could probably offer much better service, and even better quality food. Sometimes a $9 dish doesn't beat a $10, or $11 one. read more

Started out with a 25 minute wait-- which isn't bad considering was Father's Day. When our turn came, there was a bit of confusion with our table, they sat someone else there so we had a bit if running around the restaurant to find another table. The food was pretty good, the biscuits were great, especially when warm. My moms only comment: "Everything tastes good with a stick of butter." read more

Terrible! The tomato's were rotten and they treated us as if that was our fault! Lol Hilarious read more

The service at this location is refreshing. Monica made it a pleasant and memorable occasion for us. As well as her team and the manager. Thanks guys! read more

Just placed a To Go Order! Was looking forward in having a Lobster Roll. When I opened the container it was half Lobster & Half Shrimp ! Guess I will not be returning there again!!! read more

Shouldn't even give them 1 star! Just left there bc the young host asked us to stand outside in the cold weather to wait 25 minutes for a table! There was lots of open space inside, lots of room to maintain social distancing! We left and had no problems at Chili's going straight to a table. Their loss, not going back! read more

I have never been to a Red Lobster before and my husband and I were craving seafood but didn't want to break the bank, so we decided to pop my RL cherry. I have to say, I had regarded it as a cheap fast food place not worth much of anything, but I actually really enjoyed our visit! The drinks and food were delicious, I finally tried those famous cheddar biscuits and now see what the big deal was (that was all I ever heard about it) and our server was great. The food all came out quickly and was generously portioned. I'm def coming back! read more

Ok, so I'm not a huge fan of Red Lobsters. I used to go many years ago and always felt like they never gave us enough food and it was poorly put together. But last night changed everything. I ordered the Shrimp Trio and loved it. Ton of Shrimp (they also seemed much bigger than what I remembered) and flavored to perfection. The service was awesome and the food came out quick. Now here's how you get 5 stars instead of 4......Wait for it..... GET SEATING! Yes, this means move the huge lobster tank from the front entrance and put a bench or something there. I saw two elderly couples come in, that had a 15 min wait time and had nowhere to sit and wait. This is unacceptable. Two kid size benches won't cut it. A restaurant like this should be able to accommodate a waiting area for at least 5 adults, c'mon. read more

The service here was exceptional. When my young son asked if they had any dairy-free biscuits (as opposed to their signature cheddar garlic biscuits, obviously for allergy reasons), our server came back to let us know that they were making him a special batch! So kind! read more

Toke my mom to Red Lobster last night for Valentines Day. I wanted to make reservations but they werent taking them. When we checked our name in they said our wait was 50 to 55 minutes. We sat and watched all the people coming in and out. 20 minutes in our buzzer was going off. For as many people that there I was sure we were going to have to wait the who 55 minutes. Our server came and toke our drink orders. And then our food order. I think the longest part was waiting on our food. Food was good and hot once it came. Considering the people they had they did good. At one point I didn't like red lobster food but they have stepped their game up read more

We arrived for our lunch "hour", 10 of us at 11:30. It took 15 minutes to seat us. The waitress had our drinks to us in another 15 minutes. Half the normal lunch hour gone. By the time they served the salads, it was another 15 minutes. The shrimp started rolling out 50 minutes after we arrived, it was as expected, but the waitress waited 15 more minutes to take more orders for shrimp!! The only saving grace was our boss was with us since we ended staying almost 2 hours eating. If we adhered to our one hour lunch we would have gotten only our first order of "endless shrimp" ! read more

Really this should be a one star based on the food, drink, and price. It should also be a one star based on how long it took the kitchen to get out the food. Most likely I will not return to this location, and really only go to Red Lobster during endless shrimp, but decided to get a quick meal at the bar after work here. Here is the reason I am giving this place 3 stars. While the kitchen sucked, the food had a freezer burnt taste, the beer was not that cold, the Bartender and manager were AWESOME! I have been to some of the best restaurants in the area, and the level of attentiveness they both gave me rivals some 5 star places. So if they can fix the food and the beer, I would go back, but until then, I hope those two find new jobs were they can make some real money and not be held back by others ineptitude. read more

Overall the experience was decent. The pricing was fair for the food we received. Don't come here looking for excellent service and food- the best part were the cheddar rolls. I ordered a "pick 3" option which included crab legs, grilled shrimp, and shrimp linguini (which the server forgot). The crab was cooked to heck- it was dry and hard when I bit into it. The broccoli was dry and microwaved. I will say the shrimp skewer was AMAZING. I wish I had ordered three more of those. Now onto the service. We were told our wait was 20 minutes but it ended up being about 35. We got drinks at the bar before being seated and the bartender was slow and rude, pushing the bill at us as soon as we ordered our drinks and then taking about 10 mins to even get our drinks even though the bar was empty. Once we were sat, the server took a good 5 minutes to greet us. Then when we needed him to order more drinks, we couldn't find him for a good 10 mins! And no other server/manager seemed to care that we were looking anxiously around for someone to serve us. After we found him, he was consistent and served us decently for the remainder of the time. Overall I would come back but it wouldn't be my first choice. read more

Plain and simple we were not sat -- we asked why and they told us it wasn't our turn. The manager told us we weren't going to be sat because it wasn't our turn -- 5 other parties were being sat who came in before us. Each time I asked what the hold up was there was an excuse as to why we couldn't be sat. I decided I didn't want to eat here but because it was my daughters graduation I ordered her a to-go order. I tried to talk to the manger civil and professional and her responses were rude and uncooperative. read more

Just simply amazing. Went in today as a party of 5 for my sister's birthday. RL in Sterling has never let us down not to mention we usually never make reservations. Our waiter Freddy was great! He was so attentive even though he had a full section and he was very knowledgeable as well. Me having worked in the restaurant industry really appreciate the service that is given here. Love it read more

Red Lobster - Seafood Near Me - Sterling, Virginia

Inept can't even begin to describe this place. Lots of empty booths and you have a 10 minute wait. Then they sit you at a booth that was empty. The manager is clueless and it flows to his staff. Can't wait to see how bad the service is read more

We finally returned to use the 50 dollar gift card given to us by the manager because of the poor service the last time we were in the restaurant. We came during their "lobster fest." I really didn't want to go over the 50 dollars, so I ordered the lobster tacos. My husband ordered two mini lobster rolls. We also ordered calamari probably because we were hungry. So my first suggestion is ... don't go when you are hungry. The calamari was good. I have had better, but not really complaining. The lobster tacos, three of them, probably had a total of less than a mouthful of lobster. It was coated with some type of sauce that took away any joy of finding a speck of lobster. The lobster rolls were soaked with butter and the amount of lobster again was not very substantial. This will be our last visit. I think we should have just given the gift card to someone in the restaurant. read more

I was a little hesitant coming here because I read the reviews and wasn't sure I would be satisfied... I was pleasantly surprised! The service from the moment we walked in was excellent, the food was hot and delicious and we got exactly what we ordered. We were all very happy with the dinner. The managers kept walking around and asking everyone how their meal and service was, very attentive. I like that. Definitely coming here again! read more