Portland Waterfront Lobster Roll: Portland Lobster Company

There aren't many spots along Portland's waterfront as cool as Portland Lobster Company. It sits on a pier to the right of DiMillo's and smack dab amidst the bustle of Commercial Street. PLC appears to be just a tiny spot from the outside, but once you order your food and head out back to the covered outdoor seating area, you see how massive the place really is. We went on a Monday, arrived at just about noon on the dot and the place was already 90% full.

They offer live entertainment all summer long and boast a pretty decent beer list. There's a great view of the harbor and working waterfront. And don't fret... if your party contains some non-lobster lovers (blasphemous!), there's plenty of items on the menu to satisfy those landlubbers. I love this spot... especially on a day when it's too hot to be baking in the sun and the covered seating area is a welcome reprieve when you just want to sit outside.

They have just one lobster roll on the menu - but one that was Voted BEST OF PORTLAND 2017.

THE LOBSTER ROLL - Fresh picked meat from one pound lobster, brushed with sweet butter. Served on a toasted roll with both mayonnaise and lemon, cole slaw and french fries on the side. MARKET

The market price was $16.99 that day which was a pleasant surprise. The big shock, however, was the lobster roll itself. It could be I expected too much from a place voted Best Of... or maybe they were bogged down with orders and didn't spend enough time preparing my lobster roll. Regardless, I was disappointed.

The roll was poorly toasted. It appeared to have no butter on it and may have been toasted for about eleven seconds. For me, this seems like the easiest thing to do so I'm always annoyed when it comes to me in this state. If you're going to say it's toasted, just make sure the damn thing is actually toasted. Is anyone tired of me saying "toasted" yet? Now it doesn't even sound like a real world...

There was a fair amount of lobster meat on the bun – a little haphazardly tossed on maybe, but an acceptable amount nonetheless. It was lightly dressed with butter which hardly tasted sweet and I was offered no mayo on the side (which I may have actually used this time!) The meat was a mix of claw and tail and well-cooked, but the lobster oddly tasted bland. This is not my first trip to PLC and I don't remember my previous lobster rolls to be tasteless so I'm confused what they did or didn't do.

Definitely, don't let this review sway you from visiting Portland Lobster Co. It's a great spot in Portland's Old Port and since this lobster roll was voted Best of, I feel like maybe there were just having an off day. They could've been short-staffed, their bun toaster might have called in sick... I just find it hard to believe that this is the quality of lobster roll that everyone is getting.