Luke's Lobster, Penn Quarter - Second Location Now Open in Bethesda

[stockwatch_1999]

Has anyone been yet? I have friends in NYC who rave about this place.

[snuffer]

Went today. Had a "schooner combo", which is a roll (lobster, crab, or shrimp), a soda, chips, and a pickle. Sodas are from Maine Root, sweetened with cane syrup, and very good. Chips are from Miss Vickie's, a Dallas-based company. Not as good as Route 11 imo, but fine. Pickle was...a pickle.

As for the roll, I had lobster, which is served cold on a lightly toasted 6 inch New England-style split-top roll. Dab of mayo on the roll, splash of butter and a sprinkle of a black pepper-based seasoning on top. The lobster is all claw meat. Is that typical of a Maine loster roll? Not my favorite taste and texture for lobster.

All in all, I don't think I'll be hurrying back. Seafood had little flavor other than butter and pepper. Place only has about 10 seats, half of which are at the window counter. And just under $19 with tax isn't a great deal for a quick lunch in that neighborhood.

[darkstar965]

Went today. Had a "schooner combo", which is a roll (lobster, crab, or shrimp), a soda, chips, and a pickle. Sodas are from Maine Root, sweetened with cane syrup, and very good. Chips are from Miss Vickie's, a Dallas-based company. Not as good as Route 11 imo, but fine. Pickle was...a pickle.

As for the roll, I had lobster, which is served cold on a lightly toasted 6 inch New England-style split-top roll. Dab of mayo on the roll, splash of butter and a sprinkle of a black pepper-based seasoning on top. The lobster is all claw meat. Is that typical of a Maine loster roll? Not my favorite taste and texture for lobster.

All in all, I don't think I'll be hurrying back. Seafood had little flavor other than butter and pepper. Place only has about 10 seats, half of which are at the window counter. And just under $19 with tax isn't a great deal for a quick lunch in that neighborhood.

One, 'admittedly off-topic but still right for this response' word: Freddy's

[oh, and two other words for better quality, better value lobster rolls if not in Bethesda where Freddy's is: Red Hook]

[DPop]

For $19 including tax, I can think of about 1000 things better than the lobster roll (that's served on a bun the size of a small hot dog and has frozen lobster on it), a bag of chips and a root beer to eat in DC. I think this place might succeed based on location alone but I will absolutely not be rushing back here when I can get a lunch entree at Fiola a couple blocks down for the same price.

Do people really like lobster rolls that much?

[Psinderbrand]

Agreed! Been serving on a jury for the past month, so have been trying some new places for lunch (my office being in the West End, I normally don't get to lunch around the Verizon Center). Was looking forward to Luke's opening, since it seemed ideal for my limited lunch hour. When the best thing that can be said is that the sodas are great, you know Luke's has a problem. I tried the lobster roll and the shrimp roll -- both were small and relatively tasteless. The bun, at least , was nicely toasted and buttered. More proof, I'm afraid, that New York hype is not necessarily going to translate into DC success.

[youngfood]

Meh on the lobster rolls. A welcome addition to the area, but surprisingly uninspired for a place that's supposed to specialize in them. I've had worse, but I've had many that were much better. Can't compare to Freddy's, but I strongly prefer the ones at Liberty Tree on H Street.

[jandres374]

Apparently Luke is not intimidated by Freddy's, coming soon to Bethesda Row: http://www.bethesdamagazine.com/Blogs/Table-Talk/March-April-2012/Lukes-Lobster-Vino-Volo-coming-to-Bethesda-Row/

[DonRocks]

Apparently Luke is not intimidated by Freddy's, coming soon to Bethesda Row: http://www.bethesdam...o-Bethesda-Row/

It's now open.

[rockcreek]

Anybody up for lunch on Tuesday?

[rockcreek]

Went for lunch (maybe 10 days ago, and then the lights went out.)

I got the Schooner Combo also. Lobster is my favorite; I rather like claw meat, and these are big and meaty with just enough mayo. (I have to say: the hot butter lobster roll variety just isn't my thing.)

Shrimp roll and crab roll were both ... nice. Fresh, prepared well. The shrimp were a proper size and slightly sweet, which kind of betrayed a slight under-seasoning. The crab was light and very shredded. I'm thinking I prefer the crab lumped, which may explain why I enjoyed the lobster the most.

Maine Root is nice on a hot day, and I don't drink sugar soda (I know. Heathen.) I'd like to see a sugarless offering - unsweetened tea, heck, even seltzer and lime would be fine. But that's a nit.

Staff was nice; we sat outside and the wait was maybe 5 mins. Not bad at all. As for the price curve, I accept that seafood is more expensive than most things. And we should have consistently better seafood cooking around here than we do (and I live waaay too far from Fishnet.) Yes, $19 is a lot to drop on a casual lunch. Business models are not my thing. :-)

Also: how do we know the lobster is frozen?

best, R

(Picture, L to R: crab, lobster, shrimp roll.)

[hm212]

Stopped in for lunch today - Would not go back;

Crab - Don't think it was Maryland Crab (they never claimed to be), very shredded and little taste.

Shrimp - I would swear that shrimp was frozen and maybe that explains it (texture issues and flavorless)

Lobster - not sweet meat

While not cheap pricing on par with Freddy's but when I eat at Freddy's I have a smile on my face - this lunch was a disappointment.