Here's Why You Should Avoid French Fries At Red Lobster

Red Lobster sign and restaurant in California

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Red Lobster has many popular menu items that we adore, including the fan favorite cheddar bay biscuits and seafood dishes like the white wine and garlic mussels and the Bar Harbor Lobster Bake. However, there are also tons of menu items you should think twice about ordering from Red Lobster. And, somewhat surprisingly, one dish you should definitely avoid is their french fries. This is pretty shocking because french fries usually taste better at a restaurant than at home, but this sadly isn’t the case at Red Lobster. We were hoping for crisp, hot fries fresh out of the fryer, and what we got instead was a mushy mess. The potatoes they use are anything but fresh, let alone hand-cut. It was obvious that they were just frozen fries haphazardly thrown into a fryer with none of the care and precision required of the process.

These fries were soggy, soft, and super oily, lacking all of the textures and flavors you’d expect of french fries or even just fried food in general. There was no crunchy exterior to contrast a pillowy interior pulp either. They were also flavorless, a sad reality that not even copious amounts of ketchup could overcome. So, simply avoid this mushy mess and leave french fries out of your Red Lobster order. Apparently, potatoes in general aren’t their forte as Tasting Table also felt that the baked potato is another side that this chain restaurant somehow managed to botch completely.

Customer complaints about Red Lobster’s french fries to match our own

A plate of French fries

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Reading Red Lobster customer reviews on Reddit, it becomes clear that the chain may have changed their recipe. As one user wrote, “I could have sworn they tasted very different years ago but now they feel softer, have a worse texture, and just taste bad. They used to be crispier.” Another Redditor theorized that their fries might have changed for the worse because “Red Lobster went in and out of bankruptcy and has a new CEO.” Another reckons there’s a simple solution for the soggy fries: More time in the fryer. As a user purporting to be a Red Lobster employee reasoned, “When they are fresh they are actually pretty good.” Still, it’s not worth holding out hope that your specific Red Lobster location will serve fresh, perfectly fried french fries on the day.

If you’re looking for the best fries in America, we’ve got restaurant recommendations from the east coast to the west. But, honestly, even fast food french fries would be better than Red Lobster’s. Despite our warning, you might still be tempted to get them, especially if you order the fish and chips, which we reviewed favorably. Luckily, there are some great ways to rescue soggy fries with the help of your air fryer; spread fries in an even layer over an air fryer basket to reheat at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes and you might end up with a crisp that wasn’t there to begin with.