BY CHRISTEL ALLISON
If you’ve been anywhere but under a rock recently, you know that sales at Red Lobster have spiked due to the lyrics from Beyoncé’s new song Formation.
Red Lobster is a popular seafood franchise that was purchased by San Francisco-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital in 2014. The Kitchener location is at 1732 King St. E. Once you walk in, there’s a bar across from a large window that lets light in. That’s the only area to sit in if you’re interested in feeling the sun on your face. It’s a dimly-lit, bungalow style location with wooden floors and tables.
I usually skip appetizers but I opted for the sweet chili shrimp ($10.79). It’s a reasonably-sized serving of hand-battered shrimp tossed in chili sauce. It was good at first but by the fifth one, I could taste a hint of blue cheese. I wasn’t sure why but it turned me off and I was ready to order the main course. Some of the other seaside starter items include a crispy shrimp lettuce wrap, island jumbo coconut shrimp, seafood-stuffed mushrooms, signature shrimp cocktail and crispy calamari and vegetables. They are all priced at under $15.
For my main course I ordered the Canadian snow crab legs off the lunch menu ($21.49). It was meant to be sweet, steamed and come with a side of roasted corn on the cob and baby gold potatoes. Tasteless is the only word that can properly describe what I was served. It was so bland I reached across the table to pick food off my friend’s plate. He had ordered the crunchy popcorn shrimp. It was dry but edible.
I gave up on the food and sipped from my glass of berry mango daiquiri until the cheque came. The daiquiri was the only thing I could justify paying for. It was done right. The tropical mangoes, although overpowering, complemented the taste of the strawberries.
Red Lobster in Kitchener is worth the visit if you’re looking for bland, reasonably priced seafood and friendly waiters.
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