America's Best Lobster Rolls

Maine lobster roll — Photo:
Getty Images

Never mind the tired regional debate — whether they're the best Maine style (chilled, with mayonnaise) or Connecticut (warm, with drawn butter). Lobster rolls are delicious, and beyond honoring the classic styles, seafood-focused chefs have embraced new possibilities. From a modern Asian spin with a charcoal-lacquered bun to a torpedo bun laden with a whole pound of meat, here are our favorite lobster rolls you can try right now across the United States.

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The Clam Shack (Kennebunkport, Maine)

The Clam Shack; Kennebunkport, ME — Photo © J. Steven Kingston

Overlooking the scenic Kennebunk River, at the peak of the summer season, the cooks at The Clam Shack shell roughly 1,000 pounds of local lobster a day. For their assembled-to-order rolls, they pile a little of each part (claw, knuckle, tail) onto an oversized, locally baked burger bun. Customers choose between a swipe of mayo, a drizzle of warm butter, or both. The Clam Shack even sells lobster roll kits, shipped fresh overnight.

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Neptune Oyster (Boston)

The famous hot lobster roll at Neptune Oyster in Boston's North End features succulent pieces of lobster tail, claw, and knuckle meat drizzled with clarified butter, served on a grilled and buttered brioche hot dog bun. A mayo-based cold roll is also available for purists. (And don't miss the lobster roe slaw for a side.)

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Bob’s Clam Hut (Kittery, Maine)

Bob’s Clam Hut; Kittery, ME — Photo © Dani Piderman

Bob’s Clam Hut hasn’t changed its lobster roll recipe for more than 50 years, for good reason: There’s no better way to serve the juicy chunks of Maine lobster than to toss them with mayonnaise and pack them into a grilled, buttered hot dog bun.

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The Ordinary (Charleston, South Carolina)

The Ordinary; Charleston, SC — Photo © Squire Fox

Chef Mike Lata’s seafood hall, The Ordinary celebrates the “merroir” (ocean terroir) of the entire East Coast with a wide range of sustainably caught fish. His spin on the New England lobster roll includes a whopping half-pound of lobster meat bought straight off a Maine day boat. The mayo dressing is zingy with Tabasco, lemon, celery, garlic, mustard, chives, shallot, and a light dusting of Old Bay.

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Red Hook Lobster Pound (Brooklyn, New York)

Red Hook Lobster Pound; Brooklyn, NY — Photo courtesy of Red Hook Lobster Pound

Food truck and storefront operation Red Hook Lobster Pound serves its Maine claw and knuckle meat rolls two ways: Maine style, with the lobster dressed in a lemony house-made mayo, or Connecticut style, drizzling melted butter on the meat. To keep things strictly New England, both versions come in a Country Kitchen-brand split-top bun from Maine.

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The Bayside Restaurant (Westport, Massachusetts)

To complement the stunning views of Buzzards Bay and an Audubon wildlife sanctuary, this waterfront restaurant keeps its rolls simple. The Bayside Restaurant packs five ounces of naked meat into a toasted hot dog bun, then offers everything else on the side: a choice of mayo or melted butter for the lobster, plus hand-cut fries or house-made coleslaw.

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Hinoki & the Bird (Los Angeles)

This visual stunner comes from 1999 F&W Best New Chef David Myers. Hinoki & the Bird chef de cuisine Kuniko Yagi flavors the lobster meat with a Vietnamese green curry aioli and fresh Thai basil. She gives the roll its striking color by toasting it with a charcoal powder from Japan’s Nara Prefecture, which Yagi’s mom ships directly to her.

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Oyster House (Philadelphia)

A third-generation restaurateur, owner Sam Mink serves meat only from Maine lobsters that have come out of the water fewer than 24 hours before. The Oyster House makes two kinds: one chilled and one warmed with citrus butter. Both come on a soft split-top bun.

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Woodhouse Fish Co. (San Francisco)

Woodhouse starts with lobster flown in from the East Coast. The claw and knuckle meat is dressed with a creamy house-made mayo and a sprinkling of chives, then loaded into a soft, custom-baked buttered hot dog bun.

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Bite Into Maine (Cape Elizabeth, Maine)

Bite Into Maine; Cape Elizabeth, ME — Photo courtesy of Malcolm Bedell, FromAway.com

The Portland Head Light historic lighthouse in Fort Williams Park is a backdrop for this tiny food truck, which offers no fewer than six varieties of lobster rolls. Along with curry, wasabi, and chipotle, Bite Into Maine's signature picnic-style includes a layer of homemade coleslaw and a brushing of drawn butter.

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Frank’s Oyster House & Champagne Parlor (Seattle)

At this Pacific Northwest tribute to Boston’s vintage oyster houses, Frank's owners, husband and wife Felix and Sara Penn, make mini lobster rolls inspired by summers on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They even had their bun molds custom-made. The poached Maine lobster meat is pulled, not cut, into hefty chunks, tossed with a creamy house-made aioli, and spooned into fresh-off-the-griddle buttered buns.

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Acadia (Chicago)

Acadia chef Ryan McCaskey spent his childhood summers in Maine, so he understands the importance of using the simplest bread for lobster rolls. He sources his split-top buns from the Maine-based Hannaford supermarket chain. He seasons his lobster with fresh chive mayo, which he finishes with paprika and a squeeze of lemon. House-made salt-and-vinegar potato chips come on the side.

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The Raw Bar (Mashpee, Massachusetts)

Since opening in 1984, this stalwart hasn’t messed with its basic lobster roll formula. “Just lobster and mayo and a little bit of love,” says The Raw Bar owner Bob Weekes. Make that almost a pound of lobster, heaped into a signature split-top torpedo roll. Fork optional.

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Champlin’s (Narragansett, Rhode Island)

Champlin’s; Narragansett, RI — Photo courtesy of Champlin’s

Open since 1962, this dockside fishing port restaurant gets lobsters from a fleet of day boats. Along with the usual knuckle and claw meat, Champlin’s folds in tail meat for added richness, celery for crunch, and just enough mayo to coat, then tucks a lettuce leaf into the New England hot dog roll to prevent sogginess.

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Luke's Lobster (New York City and Washington, D.C.)

Luke's Lobster chef-owner Luke Holden is the son of a Maine lobsterman. His urban lobster shacks use only Maine lobster meat and emphasize Maine products, from the split-top buns to the Maine Root soda, craft beers, and Gifford’s Ice Cream. Tender claw-and-knuckle meat rolls are served with a squirt of mayo along the bun, butter over the top, and a proprietary seasoning featuring celery salt.

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Smack Shack (Minneapolis)

This lobster-centric restaurant features custom-built tanks big enough to hold 400 live lobsters. Smack Shack's signature rolls come with tart lemon aioli, fresh tarragon, and crisp diced cucumber, piled into a split, griddled pain au lait, custom-made by the local bakery Salty Tart.

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Sam’s Chowder House (Half Moon Bay, California)

For this restaurant’s rolls, chef Lewis Rossman (an East Coast native) gets his lobster shipped straight from the Atlantic. Then he prepares it “naked style”: Hold the mayo. Only drawn butter, fresh herbs, and diced celery are served in a custom-baked, toasted torpedo bun at Sam's Chowder House.

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The Optimist (Atlanta)

It requires optimism to open a beachside seafood shack in landlocked Atlanta. The Optimist chef-owner Ford Fry and executive chef Adam Evans, a veteran of Craft in New York City, take their Maine style up a notch by butter-poaching Maine lobster to order. They dress the meat with mayo, chives, and a squeeze of lemon, then overstuff split-top buns and pile house-made shoestring fries on the side.

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MC Perkins Cove (Ogunquit, Maine)

MC Perkins Cove; Ogunquit, ME — Photo courtesy of MC Perkins Cove

Run by James Beard Award-winning chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier of neighboring Arrows Restaurant, this waterfront raw bar and restaurant serves an incredible lobster roll with views of the Atlantic. The classic take at MC Perkins Cove includes a buttered and grilled top-loader bun, tangy house-made lemon mayo, and herbs picked from Arrows’ garden.

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Thurston’s Lobster Pound (Bernard, Maine)

Thurston’s Lobster Pound; Bernard, ME — Photo Courtesy of Thurston's Lobster Pound

In Maine, lobster shacks are known as lobster pounds, and Thurston’s is a postcard example. Perched on a working dock, the rustic spot overlooks the fishing village of Bass Harbor. The roll boasts briny chunks of mayo-dressed lobster with lettuce in a split-top bun.

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Bostwick’s Chowder House (East Hampton, New York)

Bostwick’s Chowder House; East Hampton, NY — Photo © Eric Striffler

This Hamptons institution regularly draws celebrities for laid-back al fresco meals. Bostwick’s lobster roll contains six ounces of fresh-caught meat lightly seasoned with mayonnaise, celery, and parsley. It comes in a checkered-paperlined basket, alongside crunchy coleslaw and a choice of warm fries, potato chips, or creamy potato salad.

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B&G Oysters (Boston)

Chef Barbara Lynch serves perfect fried clams at her South End seafood bar and a fantastic Maine lobster roll with mayo, celery, and the chef-ly addition of chives in a split-top bun that is warmed to perfection.

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