The Lobster Trap, Asheville

My wife and I visited this resturant for Valentine s Day after finding it on the web. The place is small. Nearly half of the floor space is bar, kitchen and restrooms so arriving just after opening, the seating was already half full. We discussed the menu with our waitress to which she explained the the front page was seasonal selections by a Chef Mike and the following page was their usual fare. My wife, wanting lobster, and asked specific questions concerning the differences between a seasonal selection called Lobster Carbonara and the Wicked Lobster. The waitress indicated that the Wicked Lobster was a whole maine lobster in the shell whereas with the Carbonara, the lobster was out of the shell and distributed over the dish (and she used her hands to demonstrate this). You would think that with a dish, called Lobster Carbonara , that the primary ingredent would be lobster. The description on the menu listed lobster as the first ingredent along with fettucine noodles, peas and sliced mushrooms with a chesse sauce. Based on the description from the wait staff and the menu, I ordered this dish. The dish was 95% noodles, a half dozen mushroom slices and peas were included. There were a few tidbits of lobster like the chicken in Campbell s Chicken Noodle Soup. A more accurate name for this dish is Lobster Flavored Fettucine. This dish was $22 dollars which would be $7 at any Olive Garden or similar resturant with the same quality. My wife s dish was the whole lobster with two (2) sides which she enjoyed. The table adjacent to us got the whole lobster and crablegs. Both of those dishes appeared good. As a rating, my dish gets an F and my wife s an A. When I did not finish my dish the waitress asked if I wanted a box and I said no. She asked if I didn t like it and I said no as it was not what I was expecting, as it was not what I was lead to believe it was. Her only comment was sorry. I placed a note on the reciept including email address and telephone number in the designated locations. As of three (3) weeks, no response. Based on other reviews on this site, I don t expect one (1). Our bill including tip with no beverages, salads or bread was nearly $72. These are high-end prices. Quality of dishes should be more consistent.

WARNING - The Lobster Trap is appropriately named. This past Saturday, I went to the Lobster Trap with two friends. On the menu was listed oysters for $13.00 a dozen. All of us love oysters so we each bought a dozen and asked if they could be blue points (we really enjoy this type). After enjoying our oysters and a beer, we decided to get another dozen each. At $13.00 a dozen, we were okay with this price. So, six dozen oysters later, I received the bill. The charge was $24.00 a dozen for the oysters. We called the waitress over as to the discrepancy who immediately got the manager for us to discuss this exhorbitant bill ($195.00) for six dozen oysters and a few beers. The manager was demeaning, rude, and basically said that we were stuck with the bill and should know that blue points were more expensive. Well, the menu said oysters...it did not specify any particular type. So, no apology for false advertising, no discount, no free beer...NOTHING! Oh, and I forgot to mention that we were also charged an automatic 20% gratuity on our bill!!! It was a special weekend so they took it upon themselves to charge everyone who entered an automatic 20% gratuity. The three of us, will NEVER frequent this establishment again...and will certainly warn others not to do so as well. S Roy

been here twice living in asheville as a local and the food here is not that great. got the shrim and grits with a bottle of wine, snapper dinner and mussles as an app. mussles were plain and lack the zest as carrabas or local chains. snapper was over sauted and lacked an rich flavor i would expect in there marinade. also the shrimp and grits looked like a grit pudding not appitizing and not flavorfull. for a 90buck dinner i should have gone to bone fish....... will not be back

If you get the crab legs you will not be disapppointed though they are expensive ...however -the oyster appetizer - inedible..and the shrimp and grits and mango shrimp - really terrible. Would not recommend unless you just want good crab legs.

Overrated. When we arrived in Asheville, we stopped by the visitor's Center and quickly noticed a brochure for a local seafood restaurant--The Lobster Trap. My wife and I love seafood, so we decided to give it a whirl. We were disappointed. I ordered lobster. It was cold when it arrived (which is okay, I guess, but it seems that it had been sitting for a while--particularly since it took a long time to get our order). I ordered two side items--squash and broccoli casserole. The squash was unseasoned, so there wasn't much to it. The broccoli casserole was little more than broccoli with heavy whipping cream poured over it. My wife ordered scallops. They were nice and large, but the flavor of the scallops was ruined by a marinade. On the up side, the environment was great and the server was very friendly. I don't think Red Lobster has particularly great seafood, but it's a lot better than what we had at the Lobster Trap. Hopefully, it was just an off night, but if not, save your money.

Great atmosphere, great food. I highly recomend the lobster roll. The bar was tad slow getting drinks out. It was paacked, so I was not surprised. The staff was very helpfull with suggestions etc.