Red Lobster - Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill

Red Lobster - Silas Deane Highway, Rocky Hill

A lunch that clearly defines microwaved mediocrity.

THE OVERALL RATINGS:

Food: Unfortunately below average considering I ordered a menu staple. Freezer to microwave to a "fresh from the dishwasher" plate complete with old knife wounds. Don't order the salad. Biscuits were wonderful, however.

Service: Extremely friendly, attentive, and quick. Conversational and pleasant. "Chrissy" was outstanding.

Ambience: Clean, but somewhat barren of warmth. Tables were comfortable and well-dressed. The darkened lobster tank appears as you first enter and gives the ominous and chilling sense of a crustacean death row. But the muzak was pleasant enough.

THE EXPERIENCE:

The Approach: Heading south on the Silas Deane after finishing work for the day, I swung a left into the shared Red Lobster/Comfort Inn parking lot. Ample spaces with lots of room. Lot was clean. Upon entering, the entryway was clean but dark, giving the lobster tank an extra bit of gloom. We were led to our table by a host who was a bit sullen, but not necessarily at us. Hey, we all have bad days.

Seating: Table was clean, booth seats were comfy. Our waitress was the best part of our experience by far. Friendly, conversational, attentive, efficient. The biscuits were GREAT. Salty, fluffy, cheesy, garlicy. Mmmm.

Lunch: My fiancee ordered a meal that came with a salad. The salad was atrocious. Several random leaves thrown on a plate, with a random raw onion ring and a depressing cupette of dressing. Some leaves were of the darker and wetter variety that shouldnt have made the plate. The cut edges were that awful dessicated and reddish tinge like they were from an old grocery salad bag. I had the Fish and Chips for lunch. The fries looked appealing, and while they were hot and nice smelling, they had the inner mealy-ness of a bulk frozen fry bag. The fish was Haddock and had a crispy yet smooth batter. The fish was cooked so much that it was board stiff and my knife had to be used to dislodge the flakes. My fiancee had broiled flounder with fries. It came nude except for some paprika and wasn't bad, but was a bit wet (as in a 16th of an inch of hot water covered the bottom of the plate). Why do seniors rave about this place, again? At least the prices were reasonable. These lunches were about 9 dollars stem to stern.

The Cons: A shorter list might be the "pros" which were the service, biscuits, and maybe the fries when they first came out.

Rating (out of 10): 3 (Not worth your time). If it wasn't for the biscuits and our excellent waitress, we are looking at a 2.

Recommendation: If you have a gift card, get something fried and keep asking for biscuits. If you don't have a gift card, try your luck at the Denny's nearby. Or get a lollipop at People's Bank next door and call it a day.