Sadly, You Should Avoid Ordering This Enticing Seafood Feast At Red Lobster

Fried shrimp, wild-caught flounder, clam strips, and bay scallops — all in one dish and served with cocktail and tartar sauces and two sides. It seems like a seafood lover's culinary fever dream. What could possibly go wrong?

Enter Red Lobster's Admiral's Feast. What once was a well-loved seafood chain icon has certainly had better days. In fact, its feast tops the list of 10 menu items we suggest avoiding on your next trip to Red Lobster. While you might criticize the price at around $26 (depending on location), it's actually reasonable for the amount of seafood you're getting here along with your choice of two sides. You might also get taken aback by the sheer amount of calories — 1,670 to be exact. But let's be real here: If you're ordering a menu item composed of nothing but fried food with "feast" in its name, you pretty much know what you're getting.

The biggest problem with Red Lobster's Admiral's Feast comes down to simple quality and execution. Review after review on the internet speaks to these issues, and it's not specific to one location. It seems like the Admiral's Feast has capsized.

Bitter, soggy, rubbery, and cold

Bitter. Awful. Soggy. Weird aftertastes. Rubbery. Cold. Smaller portion sizes. Those are just several of the descriptors that reviewers use to describe Red Lobster's Admiral's Feast. Despite what seems to be an enormous amount of food, the seafood chain has been accused of taking "shrinkflation" measures with many of its menu items as well — including this feast and its famous Cheddar Bay biscuits.

Despite all the negative reviews, for fairness's sake, the Admiral's Feast does get positive feedback as well. That just speaks to the chain's inconsistency in executing the dish. A customer in Fresno, California, should expect the same quality and standards as a customer in Atlanta, Georgia. So if your nearby Red Lobster serves up a delicious, crispy fried feast of flounder, shrimp, clam strips, and bay scallops, simply tip your cap and be thankful that the Red Lobster franchising gods shined down upon your location.

And one more positive note about the chain's seafood selection. Compared to other large restaurant chains, Red Lobster has some of the better quality seafood in the industry. The company is very open about sustainable seafood practices and says all of their seafood is 100% traceable to a known and trusted source. So even if the chain's execution of its Admiral's Feast isn't consistent, you can at least know you're eating quality seafood. That said, you might be better off skipping the feast and ordering the salmon, crab legs, or just a simple grilled Maine lobster. Those have to be better options than a plate of soggy, fried seafood.

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