Red Lobster unveils revamped Crabfest menu, $5 cocktails
(NewsNation) — A lot has been going on over at Red Lobster.
The seafood chain, which earlier this month announced its exit from bankruptcy protection, has a new CEO along with a plethora of new dishes to try this summer.
The new dining options are being introduced in conjunction with the return of Red Lobster’s popular Crabfest event. The offerings include two all-new Seafood Boils, which the restaurant states are “shaken right at your table.”
According to a news release, the Mariner’s Boil includes a Maine lobster tail, a dozen shrimp, snow crab legs, corn and red potatoes. The Sailor’s Boil features shrimp, smoked sausage, corn and red potatoes.
Each boil is seasoned with a choice of three flavors: roasted garlic butter, Cajun butter or Old Bay seasoning.
“Red Lobster’s Crabfest is the ultimate summer dining experience, featuring exciting and flavorful dishes like our new Seafood Boils,” Nichole Robillard, Red Lobster’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Whether you’re a longtime Red Lobster lover or participating in Crabfest for the first time, we’ve got something to bring everyone joy.”
Crabfest runs from June 23 to Sept. 14.
Additional new dishes include crab-stuffed mushrooms, crab-topped asparagus and a crab-stuffed baked potato. The restaurant has also added Steak Oscar, a sirloin steak topped with lump crab meat in a cream sauce, and Salmon Oscar.
Red Lobster is offering new drink flights, including Seaside Sangria flights with mango berry, tropical white and triple berry flavors, Delish reported. The Main Deck Margarita flights come in Caribbean blue, passionfruit and watermelon flavors.
The restaurant is also introducing the “Festival Summer of Sips,” which offers three additional cocktails:
Headliner: Purple Haze by Dre & Snoop, featuring STILL G.I.N. by Dre and Snoop, desert pear, handcrafted lemonade and sparkling gold shimmer.
Opening Act: Passion Star Spritz, featuring Tito's Handmade Vodka and passionfruit, topped with Wycliff Sparkling Wine and garnished with a gold-dusted dried starfruit.
Encore: Starry Eyed Surprise, featuring Patron Silver Tequila, guava and blue curacao, topped with Starry® Lemon-Lime and garnished with sugar sprinkles.
During Happy Hour, the restaurant will have $5 cocktail specials.
Returning customer favorites include Crab Your Way, which boats a pound of crab legs, prepared how the customer wants and served over a bed of potatoes. The diner chooses either snow crab or Bairdi crab served in one of several flavors: simply steamed, roasted garlic butter, Cajun butter or an Old Bay-parmesan flavoring.
According to Men’s Journal, both longtime customers and potential new ones welcomed the news with excitement on social media. Many praised the new CEO, Damola Adamolekun, with one person stating that Adamolekun “knows the market.”
“Aye they hired that new CEO — and he came out the gate swinging,” another social media user said. “See y’all soon.”
A third person said he would “skidaddle back over to Red Lobster” to try the new items, and another user wrote that the restaurant would become the next “new spot” in dining.
“This is a CEO that knows what he’s doing,” the user said. “He’s tapped in. He knows what the people want. And consumers want to feel heard and seen.
“I’m all in. Keep the biscuits coming.”
Adamolekun, who in 2020 became the first Black CEO of P.F. Chang’s, was named as Red Lobster’s chief executive last August. At 36, he is the youngest CEO in the company’s history.