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| We Tried Red Lobster’s Endless Shrimp—Here’s the Truth |
Red Lobster is one of the most well-known chain restaurants in the United States. You can find them in strip malls and along highways all over the country. Many people say it's a seafood haven because it brings cheap seafood from the sea to all parts of America. There are a lot of specials and well-known classics on the menu, like the appropriately named Lobsterfest and the chain's famous Cheddar Bay biscuits. The Ultimate Endless Shrimp deal at Red Lobster might be the most important one they have.
There are many all-you-can-eat deals at chain restaurants, but Red Lobster's Ultimate Endless Shrimp is the only one of its kind. It began as a promotion to get more people to come in, but it was so popular that Red Lobster made it a permanent part of their menu in the summer of 2023. While it was on the menu, it became too popular for its price, and the chain lost $11 million in the same quarter that Ultimate Endless Shrimp became a permanent item. Even though Red Lobster has since changed its prices to reflect how popular Ultimate Endless Shrimp is, I knew that when I had the chance, I had to try this luxurious seafood treat for myself.
What is the best endless shrimp at Red Lobster?
Ultimate Endless Shrimp is based on a pretty simple idea:
As of this writing, the price has gone up from $20 to $25 per person, and for that price, you can eat as much shrimp as your heart desires. There is one side dish and seven different shrimp dishes on the special. Four of the dishes are breaded. People can order as many dishes as they want at once and for as long as they want. Oh, and the Cheddar Bay biscuits, which are probably Red Lobster's most popular dish, go well with it.
My girlfriend and I went to the Red Lobster near my home in New Jersey after going without food for almost the whole day. In the worst case, I thought it would be an interesting test of our relationship. In the best case, it would be a fun meal to share. How much harm could all these shrimp really do?
One of the workers showed us to a round table in the middle of the room that could fit six or seven people. I was thrilled. This was the perfect place for the shrimp feast we were about to have, so a booth wouldn't have worked. Karl, our server, was so nice. He talked us through the menu like a referee telling two fighters who are about to start a fight the rules. They were looked over with fake thought, as if we didn't already know the exact order. After about a minute, we each got a beer, water, and the first round of Endless Shrimp.
Round 1: Seared shrimp on a stick
After about 10 minutes, our first plate arrived. It was an oval slab with our first three Endless Shrimp options: grilled shrimp skewer, Parrot Isle jumbo coconut shrimp, and shrimp linguini alfredo. The skewer was the first thing we ate. It had six grilled shrimp on top of orzo and a slice of lemon. In addition to being the most simple dish, it was also the most humble. That wasn't a bad thing.
There was some rubberiness and dryness in the shrimp, but a little lemon juice fixed that. They also went well with the broccoli we chose as a side dish. It was steamed and very salty. It might have been meant to have a Mediterranean feel, which is hard to do when you put it next to a pile of shrimp alfredo, but it kind of worked. We knew there would be a lot of eating later, but the skewer started things off on a light, almost refreshing note. They should have made that last longer!
Jumbo coconut shrimp from Parrot Isle
We don't know where Parrot Isle is, but the coconut shrimp that gives it its name can be found somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle of starters, main courses, and fried desserts. Even though Red Lobster's shrimp were jumbo, they were hard to describe. They were well breaded and shaped like butterfly wings. Along the edges, strands of browned coconut poked out, giving the savory shellfish below a sweet coating.
If you didn't look closely at the flared shrimp tail, you might think you were eating a zeppole or a beignet. The only thing that's not clear is whether the Parrot Isle jumbo coconut shrimp should also be on Red Lobster's dessert menu. If it was, I don't think I'd be upset about it.
It was full-send coconut shrimp in every way of that brand-new phrase. The first real blow in our Endless Shrimp fight came from this dish. Fried sweets always hit hard, though. Coconut shrimp always have a little sweetness to them, but these might make your teeth hurt. Another thing that made it taste even worse was a white coconut sauce dip that kind of tasted like cake frosting.
Alpa linguine with shrimp
The coconut shrimp was like a jab, and the shrimp linguine alfredo was like a straight blow. We finally knew what we were up against. This dish, which was just shrimp on top of pasta and white sauce, was simple but also much more indulgent than the other two on the plate, and we could tell from the first bite.
The sauce itself was milky and didn't cover the linguini. This meant that some of the pasta strands at the bottom were disappointingly dry. It did catch the shrimp, which looked like they had just been boiled. It was hard to taste the shrimp, though, because the sauce was so creamy. When you go to a restaurant, you should probably avoid the pasta with alfredo sauce because it's pretty simple and has a lot of dairy. Our love for this Alfredo kept us coming back for more, even though we didn't know how. We weren't sure if we could go on until our server Karl rang the bell for our second round with a sarcastic tone.
Round 2: Scampi with garlic shrimp
We needed every second of the time that went by between the first Endless Shrimp plate and our second order. Taking small sips of Modelo and lemon water here and there wasn't exactly clearing the air, since the Alfredo was making things more difficult. We went straight into the dairy, though, and ordered garlic shrimp scampi and "Walt's Favorite Shrimp." We were also given a second grilled shrimp skewer as a surprise, which we gladly accepted with a groan.
We were glad that the scampi didn't come with pasta because we already had a lot, but it might have helped us soak up some of the butter sauce that had separated and pooled in the small, round plates that the shrimp were served on. These were the tiniest shellfish we got. They might have been grilled like the shrimp on skewers, but the butter made it impossible to tell. When I grabbed one with my hands, I turned into King Midas out of butter until I could wipe my greasy paws on a napkin. All of a sudden, it looked like Endless Shrimp was almost over.
Walt's favorite shrimp
There was Walt's Favorite Shrimp next to the scampi. It was named for Walt King, who was reportedly one of Red Lobster's first employees. We couldn't fully enjoy the unique texture of these because our stomachs started to rebel against us. They were butterflied and tightly breaded. To whomever Walt is, we say thank you. Plain old breaded shrimp wouldn't stand out here.
Still, time started to slow down at this point in the meal. It seemed like an hour had gone by since Walt's last shrimp was taken off our plate, but it still wasn't enough. I knew we had more shrimp to try, though.
The shrimp were good, but the cocktail sauce that came with them was the real star. If this was meant to be homemade cocktail sauce, it's clear that Red Lobster leaned more toward the ketchup than the horseradish. But this was not as sweet as the coconut shrimp. The sweetness added a nice touch that made the whole plate more enjoyable. Before anyone could see, I even dipped a few of the extra shrimp on skewers into it.
Round 3: Sea salt and vinegar shrimp that are crispy
With only two more kinds of shrimp to choose from, our choice was pretty much made for us. We quickly found out, though, that this Red Lobster had just run out of popcorn shrimp. We got a second order of our last shellfish instead—the limited-edition "Crispy Sea Salt & Vinegar Shrimp."
Another shrimp dish that was breaded. You could really taste the salt and vinegar in these. The coating was a little wet, like it had been tossed in a sauce. No matter what, the flavor was there. Even though the huge amount of shrimp had already taken over our bodies, the dish was surprisingly satisfying.
They were hard to stab with my fork and dip in Red Lobster's house ranch, which was just rich enough to make me take a few more bites. You'll sweat like crazy if you eat salt and vinegar or shrimp. Not many of these will be made, which is a good thing, because Red Lobster could run out of these too.
Should you try Ultimate Endless Shrimp?
We looked like some of the shrimp we ate way too many of by the time our meal was over. We went to Red Lobster to see how far Ultimate Endless Shrimp would go, and the house won by a vote of every single person.
Our web host Karl joked and asked if we'd be up for a fourth round of shrimp. We weren't. I told him that we would have been able to keep going forever if the shrimp hadn't gotten to us. He joked that he was curious about how far we'd go after seeing customers order Endless Shrimp for hours on end. The fact that he was funny made the meal a lot better, even though I felt bad about letting him down when I left. I hope he hadn't bet that we would last longer than three rounds.
It's hard to put a number on Red Lobster's Ultimate Endless Shrimp's worth. It might be worth it if you're eating with a family of hungry kids or a college student who can't stop eating. It probably isn't if you're watching your weight or trying to eat something that looks like a meal. Even though we had our favorites, I wouldn't say that every shrimp dish we tried was the best. But there's no doubt that this deal will fill you up for a good price. But even if you think you love Red Lobster shrimp more than anything else, be careful: the shrimp may not end, but your desire for it will.
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