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The Lobster Review

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The Lobster

$$-$$$$, Seafood, Santa Monica

User Rating: *** 3.5

Fodor's Review:

Anchoring the beach end of the festive Santa Monica Pier, the Lobster usually teems with locals and tourists alike, who come here for the hip scene, the great view, and the comfort seafood of chef Allyson Thurber. Start with lobster cocktail with tarragon-lemon aïoli, spicy snow crab soup, lobster salad with sweet corn pancakes, or fried calamari. For entrées, the restaurant's namesake is the main attraction -- you'll find both Maine and Pacific spiny varieties -- but dishes like king salmon in herb sauce are equally satisfying. Weather permitting, request a table on the terrace, both for the views and for an escape from the high-decibel interior.

Member Reviews & Ratings:

Excelletn seafood, limited view

Posted by mscarls from Carlsbad, CA on 1/1/08

Our food was excellent. I was amazed at how much lobster and other expensive seafood was in my cioppino. However, we waited 40 minutes for a window table but ended up with one at which only one person had a good view. The tables are too close together.

FOOD: 5.0

ATMOSPHERE: 3.0

SERVICE: 4.0

VALUE: 4.0

RATING: 4.2

Nope, Sorry.

Posted by Todd from Florida on 10/20/06

Although the dining area is nice at sunset, it's cramped and VERY noisy (we were there on a TUESDAY, by the way), and the food really wasn't anything to get too worked up over. My rec: Have a sunset drink in the Veranda lounge at Casa Del Mar, then head out to Typhoon for some terrific Asian.

FOOD: 3.0

ATMOSPHERE: 3.0

SERVICE: 3.0

VALUE: 4.0

RATING: 3.2