7 Red Lobster Ordering Mistakes Too Many People Are Still Making In 2026

Dining out at an upscale restaurant can be a richly rewarding experience. But sometimes, you just want to go casual. It saves money and is more relaxing. While a chain such as Red Lobster can fit the bill quite nicely, especially if you are in the mood for seafood, it has its pros and cons like any restaurant. If you are a first-timer, there are things you should know before visiting Red Lobster. Even if you've been there before, there are some typical ordering mistakes you can avoid to maximize your meal and dining experience.

Learning what these mistakes are can be time-consuming with the research involved, and that can take a lot of the fun out of it. You want to have a good meal, not write a thesis. But we've got your back. We let you know that Red Lobster could stand to slow down, and now, we are compiling a list of the seven mistakes people still make in 2026. Let's dive in and find out what to avoid to make your Red Lobster meal everything you hope that it could be.

Saving money is always a good thing. It's one of the reasons people dine at casual restaurants. It's a mistake not to take full advantage of all of a chain's perks. Red Lobster Nation is a rewards program you can sign up for via a handy phone app. It's free to join, and you will get 20% off your first purchase of $30 or more. You will then earn one rewards point for every dollar you spend on an eligible purchase. (The money you spend on alcoholic beverages, gift cards, tips, and taxes doesn't count.) 

Once you've earned 100 points, they can be redeemed for a $10 reward. 150 points equals a $15 reward, 200 points is $20, and so on. Rewards appear in the app and can be used when dining in or ordering to go, but not with third-party delivery apps. You even get a special reward on your birthday. If you're a regular at Red Lobster, it's an easy way to save money on your meals in the long run.

While we're on the topic of saving money on your meal, let's keep going. It can be a mistake not to order at Red Lobster when the prices are lowest. The chain offers a different deal each day, Monday to Friday. Five of Red Lobster's most popular dishes are available at a discount. Drop in on the day your favorite is up.

Mondays feature Endless Shrimp for $24.99. On Tuesdays, you can enjoy a pound of snow crab legs served with crispy potatoes and your choice of side for the same price. Steak and lobster is the deal on Hump Day. For $24.99, you can get a 7-ounce sirloin steak with a Maine lobster tail and your choice of a side. Thursday offers Maine lobster tail with garlic shrimp scampi and a choice of a side for $19.99. Red Lobster closes out the week with a tasty fish and chips served with coleslaw and Chesapeake fries for $15.99.

But wait, there's more. Some locations also offer early bird dine-in specials from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays. You can choose from smaller portions of the fish and chips, crunch-fried flounder, shrimp or chicken linguini Alfredo, or a tasty cheeseburger. Each of these meals costs less than $15.

Sure, you dine out for the taste and the experience of being served a meal. But sometimes it's easy to underestimate the nutritional values of the dishes you are considering, including at Red Lobster, where dishes vary widely in their contents.

When it comes to sodium, several dishes contain more than your daily recommended limit (2,300 milligrams). That includes the Cajun Chicken Linguini Alfredo (2,960 milligrams), the Crunch Fried Flounder Sandwich with fries and ketchup (3,720 milligrams), and the Wild-Caught Crunch-Fried Flounder (3,130 milligrams). Even a few appetizers, such as the Crab Queso (2,100 milligrams), bring you very close to that suggested maximum intake.

If you're watching your salt intake, the good news is that Red Lobster does offer smaller portions of several dishes, as well as dishes with considerably less sodium, such as the Garlic Lover's Filet (960 milligrams) and the Salmon New Orleans (1,180 milligrams). The same wide variety is true for values such as saturated fat and sugar in select dishes. If you have dietary considerations, check out the nutritional content of any dish you are considering. There may be some healthier options.

Red Lobster has a pretty impressive menu with plenty of dishes diners enjoy. You probably have a few favorites yourself. However, there are some meals that have garnered generally unfavorable reviews. There are, in fact, 13 Red Lobster menu items we recommend never ordering for this very reason. 

One of the least-liked is the lobster bisque, one of the two soups the chain offers. Diners say the recipe has changed. A Redditor posted on this topic, saying, "Ever since they changed the recipe it's been horrible. The soup tastes like a red pepper soup NOT the creamy lovely lobster bisque that it used to be. It's a horrible loss ..." Another diner responded, saying how disappointed they were after being excited that the bisque was back.

Another Red Lobster dish you may want to avoid ordering is the Admiral's Feast, which several customers find unappetizing. A diner on Yelp criticized the portion size, writing, "The portions are very small and so were the food items. The scallops were the size of marbles and the shrimp tasted like frozen shrimp." A customer posted an equally unfavorable review of the feast on Facebook, claiming that it's extremely lacking in flavor. "[Tastes] like it was straight from the box," they wrote. Others have shared similar complaints about the quality and portion size, with another Facebook reviewer succinctly nicknaming it a "Corporal's Feast."

Red Lobster is doing a lot of things right these days, despite having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024. Part of the problem was the Endless Shrimp. Who knew giving customers an unlimited supply of a pricey seafood option could cause financial issues? Nevertheless, the chain is doing it again. Red Lobster brought back this money-losing deal in April and again in August. If you are planning to visit Red Lobster, it would be a mistake not to check if it currently has this promotion.

The newly updated Endless Shrimp offering includes dishes such as the Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, Parrot Isle Coconut Shrimp, Walt's Favorite Shrimp, and a new flavor, Garlic Bread-Crusted Shrimp. This all-you-can-eat feast starts at $24.99 and comes with a choice of one side. It's only available for customers who dine in, so get to your local Red Lobster if you like a good shrimp meal.

Dining out can be pretty expensive, even in a casual restaurant, especially if you take the whole family or a large group. If you are in this boat and craving some Red Lobster, don't make the mistake of overlooking its family meals and feasts. The menu includes several seafood boils and feasts with lobster, shrimp, crab, and other tasty seafood. There are pasta and rice dishes, as well as sides and salads, to feed your whole hungry crew. There is even a Game Day Bundle that serves six as you root for your favorite team. Create your own feast with the foods your family loves.

Prices vary by location, but it is a good way to get the foods everyone wants at a cost your wallet can support. Some of the feasts and family meals are only available for takeout — in a thread on Reddit , employees and managers explain that since the deals are so good, Red Lobster doesn't want to add the expense of taking up a table and the time of the servers. However, they're still well worth picking up and eating at home.

Anyone who has ever visited a Red Lobster knows that one of its biggest attraction is the Cheddar Bay biscuits. Every entree comes with two of these delicious treats, and you can get more if, like most people, you agree that two is not enough. Diners really love the biscuits. As one Redditor posted, "It's so good, the outside is crispy and it's soft and fluffy inside. Also buttery with a good cheese and garlic flavor, well seasoned altogether." They may seem perfect as is. However, there is a way that you can make them even tastier.

Some Red Lobster diners have found a hack in which they ask their server for one of the dipping sauces that comes with other meals to dip the biscuits in. Red Lobster fans on TikTok can attest to the tastiness of pairing a biscuit with the raspberry sauce, as well as recommending ordering the piña colada sauce to put a delicious spin on the dish. You could even slice them open and put a protein from your meal on the biscuits for tasty sliders. A little creativity goes a long way.