Critic's Review
The Red Lobster transition is supposedly under way; Darden sold the chain to CPK owners Golden Gate Capital in May and the deal closed in July; some changes in the menu have begun.
The lunch deal at Red Lobster is a good one so I thought I'd get some fish. They have a pretty large waiting area at this location; perhaps left over from the good old days and more useful on weekends than at lunch during the week. One thing I noticed was that the lobster tank was completely empty. I asked if they were out of lobsters, partially in jest, but the hostess was unwilling to discuss it. She whisked me off to a table after trying to get me to sit at the bar. The bar didn't seem like a comfortable place to eat lunch.
I've never been to this location before, so I don't know when it was last remodeled. They're not doing much business at lunch, as the place was extremely empty.
They have a menu which shows you the kinds of fish they have available. It's $2 less at during lunch.
My impression was that the prices weren't all that great. I sort of think of the Red Lobster as a bargain kind of place. $27 for snapper is more of a Las Olas price. Of course you do get a salad and biscuits here.
The decor here isn't bad; I'm not sure if the flags have a point because there really isn't anything international about the place.
I'd seen the stuffed flounder on the menu before coming, but I decided to change to plain flounder and I ordered it fried. For some reason I was thinking of a nice filet fried in butter; delusional as it turns out. I also ordered an iced tea.
The $9.79 Flounder comes with a salad, which makes me wonder why the "small" tilapia is $12.79 on the Fresh Fish Menu. The salad is your basic side salad; Note to restaurants: STOP with the croutons already. They're stupid, nobody likes them and they don't belong on any salad except for Caesar.
It was a pretty good salad. I like the places that give you a decent side salad. I can't tell you how much I dislike paying $10 for a salad with $1 worth of ingredients.
As with my visit to the Fort Lauderdale Location, the "Cheddar Bay Biscuits" didn't come out until I was half done with the salad. Once Again, served without butter; are you really supposed to eat these things dry? I had to ask for, and wait for..butter.
Good biscuits although i STILL can't taste the cheese.
Music here isn't bad; "Keep the Car Running", "Boy" and "After All". Could be worse. The service is just seems lethargic; people moving around really slowly.
When the flounder came out, I obviously realized that I had made a mistake.
I guess the new owners haven't figured out that you can fry fish without it coming out looking like something from Long John Silver's. The unfortunate breading sort of ruined this for me. I should have ordered it broiled or stuffed. I did like the rice; this would have been good if the fish was lightly breaded and fried in some oil and butter.
The servers here also don't remove little pieces of trash from the table; the sign of a poorly trained staff.
Conclusion
Adding fresh fish at a 20% higher price point than regular menu items isn't going to save this place; they need to remake their image. The empty lobster case in the foyer is a bad start; the fast-food like fried food finished the tale. There is still a good deal to be had here, but I don't see any changes that are going to get me to come here more often; if ever again.