Lobster Alive

Someone from this business manages this listing.

1,299 reviews

#1 of 138 Restaurants in Bridgetown££ - £££, Caribbean, Seafood, Gluten free options

+1 246-435-0305+ Add website

Hours

Sun

12:00 - 16:00

Mon

12:00 - 21:00

Fri

12:00 - 21:00

Sat

12:00 - 21:00

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Ratings and reviews

4.0

1,299 reviews

#1 of 138 Restaurants in Bridgetown

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

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PRICE RANGE

£31.00 – £153.00

CUISINES

Caribbean, Seafood

Special Diets

Gluten free options

meals, features

Location and contact

Wesley House Bay Street, Bridgetown Barbados

+1 246-435-0305

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Is this location primarily known for Bars & Pubs?

Yes

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About

* Lobster Alive Restaurant The restaurant initially began as a wholesale distributor for the island’s hotels and restaurants. A Cooked take-away service was added; along with a friendly free beer while you wait. Shortly after that the health inspector demanded we go the whole way or “wholesale only”. This was around 1998. So long time friend, and fellow musician with the local VSOP Jazz band “Stu Jenkins”, became the resident artist (designer) and we named the up coming restaurant “LOBSTER ALIVE and all that Jazz”. After feeling our way around, the restaurant soon grew to become a hit with international critics, restaurant guide books, and our many repeat customers. Now we seat up to 80 customers, cater to weddings, private parties, boat trips, and have organically grown into one of the best live jazz hubs on the island.

PRICE RANGE

£31.00 – £153.00

CUISINES

Caribbean, Seafood

Special Diets

Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner

FEATURES

Takeout, Reservations, Seating, Parking Available, Street Parking, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music, Waterfront, Jazz Bar, Beach

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4.0

1,299 reviews

Excellent

650

Very good

387

Average

146

Poor

Terrible

Sally P

Newport Pagnell

Not Just Fab Lobster - on the beach at a good price

Dec 2019 • none

We booked at Lobster alive (can book online in advance but they will squeeze people if they can. I would imagine weekends are a definate pre book) which is just up from the boatyard set on the calm beach close to Bridgetown. Lobsters are exactly as described...Alive - so dont be sqeamish! You can go and see the latest ones in their tank and have a picture taken with your meal!! Three levels to sit, inside, on the deck or get your feet in the sand and sit on the beach. All covered beautifully lit and a lovely live jazz band playing whilst you eat. Staff were absolutely lovely and service was quick and with a smile. Lobster is spiny tailed I believe so no claws but cooked as you like, thermidor, plain, with butter etc. For the less fishy or kids there are plenty of options. Not too pricey and the dress code is as you like it, not too smart not tooooo casual but just comfortable. If you have just spent a day at the Boatyard with the kids, its a quick walk up the beach and ideal to finish off the evening. just pop your shorts and a top on and relax and watch the sun go down and the little jetty light up whilst having a cool beer! which is exactly what we did!

Written 25 January 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ryan K

Dallas

By far the best meal on vacation

Dec 2019 • none

This was the best dining experience on the vacation. It was very romantic and the food was great but the service was even better. Shanice was our server and she made our evening very memorable. They located our table right on the beach per our request. So, you are literally on the beach with a candle lit table eating some of the best caribbean lobster on the planet. There was a live jazz band playing music and they let you take a photo with a huge lobster out of the tank of you wish. This dinner isn't cheap but if you are looking for a special dinner for a special occasion this place fits the bill. The most memorable dinner experience on the trip.

Written 20 January 2020

goaliemother

Canada

Great restaurant on the beach!

Jan 2020 • couples

Be sure to make a reservation, even for lunch. This place gets extremely busy. Lobsters are sold by size-small, medium or large and are priced accordingly. I had a medium and it was plenty. The lobster came cut in half. I chose fries and salad......all great! There is a band that plays. The seats are on the beach. If it rains, you will get wet. Best to take a rain poncho or jacket in case.

Written 13 January 2020

ezz100

Milton Keynes

You only get HALF a Lobster

Jan 2020 • none

This was meant to be the highlight of our trip as 2 of our party love lobster. Lovely setting but The menu is basic and at best the way the lobster pricing is set out is confusing. It refers to small, medium and large lobster and says their lobsters are meaty and then says ‘half a lobster makes a serving !’. We read this as you’ll only need half because that will be enough. (What it should say is HALF a small, medium or large lobster.) Our 2 men chose to share a large lobster and told the waiter this - the waiter said nothing. Only one person got HALF a lobster and the other got an empty plate. When we challenged this the waiter then said ‘well you should have ordered the sharing plate then!’ We felt conned but accepted we had misread the menu but felt the waiter could have explained it better - the two men ate their tiny meal which was nothing special. I ordered a large conche soup - it wasn’t large it was a two thirds full normal bowl with 4 tiny slices of the the thinnest french bread I have ever seen. From that point we were ignored ....no drinks top ups...no offer of the desert menu. It took 15 minutes to get the bill. The bill says large lobster $180 when it should say HALF a large lobster . I queried the service charge and that prompted the manager to come over. He apologised for the lack of service and removed this from the bill and the charge for one of our bottles of wine which was good. We left the restaurant still hungry and vowed never to return.

Written 10 January 2020

Samuel T

We do not usually respond to reviews, but feel this deserves an explanation and an apology. We are very sorry you had this confusing experience, and were not given the polite clear guidance from your waiter on our unique style of dining in Barbados. With this in mind I invite you to call the restaurant and ask for my personal cell number and reach out. Sam Taylor. For the sake of clarity for anyone else reading this I want to explain what went wrong here. We are a small family restaurant and occasionally we get things wrong. We are striving like everyone else to get it right every time, but the strange nature of our offering can be a tricky subject to train. We have a 25 foot long lobster tank that we supply fresh lobster to our own and other restaurants. The species of lobster we serve is the Caribbean Spiny lobster, which ranges from 1.25-6lbs each usually. The terminology on our menu is written, small medium and large, in an effort to guide the guest into what a usual meal size is (1.25-2.2lbs). Our lobsters are best served in the 3-4.5lb range, which I hope you can agree is an excessive one person serving. As such, half of a 2.5 - 4.5lb is served on the plate as a serving instead. Small 1.25lbs (half of a 2.5lb lobster) Medium 1.65lbs (half of a 3.5lb lobster) Large 2.2lbs (half of a 4.5lb lobster) This is done specifically so that you can enjoy the meat available in the legs and head, which is in our opinion, the most tasty parts of the lobster, and most fun to extract. The communication failure in this experience above is that the guests said they wanted to share a large lobster, and the waiter took that to mean the two men were to share a 2.2lb serving, which when presented, would have been half of a 4.5lb lobster. Clearly not enough for two hungry men, and something the waiter should have questioned. This is a error in judgement on our waiter's part, who are usually well versed on these miss communications. What should have been suggested is that the two gentlemen order a large each (2.2lbs/serving) and they would have been presented with a 4.5lb monster lobster, split in half and served with all the legs and head meat presented to you. Would have filled the table. I hope this helps clarify this experience and inform readers and future guests how our strange little restaurant works and pleases so many guests each year. Again to the writer, I hope you can make contact with me before you leave the island. Regards Sam Taylor

Written 11 January 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Kay B

United Kingdom

Reservation lost

Jan 2020 • couples

My husband made a reservation for 2 for Sunday lunch a week in advance. This Sunday we arrived promptly at 1pm they couldn't find our reservation although they were given our hotel name where we staying which was Coconut Court and the room number 66 - therefore no lunch. The waiter didn't apologise and he was very curt. So just be wary when making a reservation they are totally unprofessional.

Written 5 January 2020

tankgirlxx2015

Yummy Lobster

Dec 2019 • none

Booked in for the Sunday jazz lunch and it was great. Some old guys playing live music, great food and right on the beach. It was on the pricey side, but what isn't in Barbados. The lobsters are flown in from one of the neighbouring islands by the owner who is also a pilot. The staff were all very attentive and friendly.

Written 25 February 2020

246jamell

Barbados

Lobster and Steak Dinner

Jan 2020 • friends

It's been a few years since dining here but I'll be making this spot a regular after last night. The service was smooth sailing and quick as soon as we were seated by the hostess our server Kendra came over and made us feel right at home. For the amount of people in the restaurant it didn't take long for our orders to reach the table and that is something very impressive. Food was flavorsome, well prepared and the portions were very filling. Absolutely nothing negative to say about this experience at all.

Written 26 January 2020

Octavian D

Bucharest

An excellent restaurant in Bridgetown

Jan 2020 • none

An excellent restaurant, located on the beach, very close to Bridgetown. The lobster’s tank provides a really fresh meal. The lobsters are cooked on the grill accompanied by aides on your option. Good services, nice people and warm atmosphere. A salut to the old jazz performer. Don’t miss this place!

Written 27 January 2020

Nael C

Greater London

Lobster Extravaganza

Mar 2020 • none

Starters of lobster bisque and clam chowder were full of flavour. The lobster thermidor was perfect, lots of flesh to pick out from the shell & legs served with on/ skin fries. Jazz band was excellent that played to 9.30am . Can there & back from Worthing area $20. A really special beachfront setting and charming staff who threw in a bread pudding as it was my wife’s birthday. Pricy but worth it!

Written 13 March 2020

Larry K

Plantation

Expect to pay. This is the

Feb 2020 • couples

Expect to pay. This is the place for fresh lobsters. The menu write up says the owner also supplies the island with lobsters due to their scarcity and I believe it. Parking is tight. We had started with lobster bisque which was missing flavor. The conch simosas had a weird texture and were a bit greasy. But the lobster and lemon rice was great. Lobster was cooked perfectly, par boiled in salt water then grilled. Very meaty 2lb tail enough for 2. Pina Colada was not the best. But again, go there for the lobster and limit the before and afters for the meal.

Written 16 February 2020

H M

Birmingham

Disappointing Experience

Mar 2022 • couples

We had heard much about this restaurant but it didn’t bode well, when we received an email warning of no lobsters for the next 6 days. We decided to continue with our booking as, although a small menu, they had other dishes of interest. When we arrived we were told that they actually had lobsters, but only large ones, so we could only have it if we both wanted lobster. When looking to order they also didn’t have the crab backs (starter) and only had half of the white wine list. When we ordered the Greek salad it came without the feta cheese (the key ingredient in a Greek salad) and we had to ask for some which arrived in a separate bowl. We also ordered one of the few remaining bottles of white wine, but when it was brought to us, they apologised that it was a different vineyard than on the menu, as the one on the menu was sold out! We were expecting jazz music to accompany our meal which wasn’t provided on the day we visited. There was a man playing a steel drum which was lovely, but drowned out by the pop music from the next door bar. In addition, the music finished around 9pm, well before the guests had finished eating, and we were left with no music whilst the performer packed up. To finish off our poor experience of this restaurant, the staff started packing up and stacking chairs around us as we finished our meal, making us feel like we were being quite an inconvenience! Overall this was an incredibly disappointing experience of a restaurant that had been recommended. We will not be returning.

Written 22 March 2022

FJ1195SA

Helsinki

ABSOLUTELY WORTHY OF A VISIT!

Dec 2019 • none

I definitely recommend anybody to stop by and enjoy a juicy lobster in these premises. ...and obviously you must eat LOBSTERS here (I would avoid ordering other things). Good food. Ok Service. Pricing is correct for what you get. A MUST in the island if you are around...!

Written 2 January 2020

Holly F

Sunday lunch and no lobster? And ran out of Minuty?

Jan 2022 • couples

Having been to Lobster Alive on a number of occasions over the years where we have always enjoyed beautifully cooked lobster with friends and family washed down with chilled glasses of rose in this unique setting we didn’t hesitate this year to ensure our last Sunday lunch would be here. How disappointing to be told that Lobster Alive (it’s in the name) had run out of fresh lobster. We were offered a frozen alternative of lobster tail. After some discussion and a chat with the Manageress we decided to stay and have the lobster pasta which was nice but not quite the fresh lobster we had come for. To soften the blow we asked for another bottle of Minuty Rose to be told they had run out of that too! Please don’t get greedy with your customers and don’t accept bookings if you cannot fulfil them.

Written 23 January 2022

sam18and22

Brighton

Lobster very alive if you don’t mind feeling the Pinch.

Sept 2022 • couples

My fiancé and I dined here twice in our recent trip to Barbados, we treated each other. Both experience were good to very good and the final visit was the best. A couple disclaimers before we get into the food, it is a expensive restaurant, some would say very expensive (all though far from pretentious) with service you are looking between £250-300 without going mad. Bottle of wine , cocktail to start, shares starter and a decent lobster main each. Secondly, half the tables are on the beach which means you’re at the mercy of the weather, if you choose the beach and it rains , if there’s no space inside you could be in trouble , so the terrace but not beach is probably the best option. The service was very good, a lot of service in Barbados has been a little remise but theirs was way above average , friendly staff who got the orders right and were friendly and attentive , no need for bottled water the local filtered water was topped up every 10 mins. Now to the food, for starters over the two visits we shared the Conch Samosa and the Lobster spring rolls, both very night but the Conch was probably better to share due to there being 6, the lobster spring rolls were extravagant and had plenty of lobster in but the chilli sauce on balance probably over powered the sweet lobster. Onto the mains, both times we had the medium and large lobster mains. Both times very healthy sizes and much bigger than i’ve had in UK for a long time the large half a lobster weighed at least 900g , having a tail the size of a steak is a novelty and a treat unlike i’ve had. For me the lobster was sweet and juicy , some may say a little chewy than they are use to, i didn’t mind that they were far from tough but made you work just that bit extra , i’m not sure if that’s down to their cooking technique , the locals preferred taste or the fact the lobsters are a lot bigger than various regions meaning they have more muscle. The garlic butter was amazing and the perfect accompaniment, the chips were also above average. We only had a dessert one night and that was given to us free due to our anniversary which was a very nice touch and was a taste deluxe banana bread with sauce. All in a very pleasant experience, as mentioned the price might put some people off and the lobster may be a little chewier than some people are use to but far from tough.

Written 20 September 2022

Steve A

Brighton

Watch out for the no claws clause (or lack of it) …

Oct 2022 • none

Firstly, although this is unashamedly a lobster ‘experience’ perhaps we have little credibility when critising the steak, but for USD400 for a lobster and steak (two dishes, no starter or desert - a few drinks) the steak was small, overcooked and tough. Agree completely with a recent review that a sharp knife, and quite a lot of effort, needed to tackle it. And it was tasteless. Now, as for the lobster thermidor, this came with no claw or claw meat. And for USD200 one would expect a whole lobster, but half is delivered on the plate. When questioning the lack of claw meat we were told by the waitress that the claw meat was in other dishes, but afterwards when we looked at the lobster tank, another member of staff said that the lobster is delivered to the restaurant without claws. This could be simply handled by a statement on the menu that you get half a lobster with no claw-meat. We both said that our meals were not as expected, but this was met by complete indifference.

Written 23 October 2022

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