The Lobster Trap

I'm sure many of you (and I do mean many) got the dealfind coupon to The Lobster Trap last week ($39 for an $80 voucher). A total of 6,912 coupons were sold by the time the deal was done; that's the most coupons I've seen sold ever on these deal sites! The deal was especially appealing to me because it was only a week or two ago that I drove by the restaurant and thought "I still haven't been to The Lobster Trap!". I've heard so much about this restaurant ever since I immigrated to Toronto, so I was absolutely thrilled about this dealfind deal.


I thought it would be nice to treat my parents for dinner at The Lobster Trap before their month-long trip to Asia next week. My friend, Steph, warned me that the wait was over an hour for her when she went last weekend (the restaurant does not take reservations). Baring that in mind, I thought it would be wise to go on a weeknight, LATE on a weeknight at that, to avoid the crowd and the rush hour traffic. Well, traffic turned out great when we left the house at 7:30pm. HOWEVER, when we got to The Lobster Trap around 8pm, there was still a long wait. We waited close to 45 minutes on a late Thursday night. What gives?!


I'm sure the coupon was the main reason why The Lobster Trap was packed last night. I can't even begin to imagine how it is like there on weekends. So a warning everyone, avoid weekends if possible.

Lobsters accompany you as you wait for a table. Or, you can think of it as they are waiting to be eaten by you.

A person from the back came out twice during my 45 minute wait to grab a few of these bad boys.

The lobsters were all very lively and moved a lot.

As a side note, The Lobster Trap is now invaded by Asians (LOL) which I heard has been the case for awhile already. Yesterday night, I think the restaurant was about 95% Asians. Not surprised since we sure love good deals (and lobsters). Also, beware of the noise level if you do go; although it wasn't bad last night, I hear that it could get quite noisy (due to the reason above) =D

The Lobster Trap is a very casual restaurant, not fine dining for sure. It almost has a family restaurant feel to it; not much of a decor unless you think blue and white checkered table cloths and wooden chairs count as "like being in a marina" (which I guess it kinda does haha). This may seem out of sync given that their lobsters ain't cheap, but bare in mind, The Lobster Trap has built quite a reputation for many years now for their fresh lobsters. Generally speaking, lobsters, in any restaurant, is relatively more expensive than anything else on the menu anyway. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, given The Lobster Trap's reputation, this maybe the place where one can justify poor decor with high prices.

I'm sure most of you who got the coupon would be wondering how much everything is, that's why I will be listing the prices of what I ate so you can have a better idea how much everything is for 3 people.

Bottle of Pinot Griogio ($22).

For appetizers, we got the Coconut Shrimp ($9.75) to share. I loved this. They were perfectly fried and crispy; the shredded coconut gave a sweet flavor which balanced the lemon's tangy-ness. The shrimps themselves were also very fresh.

The garlic bread came with our dinner. It was soft and warm (bonus, I love warm bread). 

Besides the lobsters, the Lobster Bisque ($8.95) is a must-order at The Lobster Trap  (according to my friend Steph and a few other online reviews). We ordered two lobster bisques. I gotta agree that this was one yummy bisque! Make sure you use your spoon to get all the lobster meat buried at the bottom of the bowl.

Butter being warmed up. It was such a tease looking at this warm butter in front of me without any lobster on the table yet :S

Tada! The grand finale with the 3 of us each chowing down a 1.5 lb lobster  ($43.00 per lobster).  

This lobster was incredible. We all ordered "broiled" (a choice of broiled or steamed). The garlic seasoning on top of the lobster meat was divine. The lobster was cooked just right (I was a bit nervous because Steph did mention to me that hers was a bit over cooked). Well not mine! Also, the lobster was just so MEATY. The meat was so fresh and ..."spongy",  unlike stale lobsters which are..."mushy". As you can tell I'm having a tough time finding words here to describe my lobster. Let me just say, plain and simple: IT WAS REALLY YUMMY!

Not sure why these claws look so small in this picture but it was anything but small in real life. There was so much meat inside that claw. Gotta say again that lobster + melted butter = ♥♥♥ + *drool*. Speaking of butter, I saw a woman sitting at the table beside us bust out a tub of margarine out of her purse during dinner  O_o


The final total, with the $80 discount, came to $121.87.

The Lobster Trap totally exceeded my expectations. Everything we ordered was incredibly delicious. We were so stuffed afterwards. In hindsight, even a 1 lb lobster would've been enough (given if we had the same appetizers). I know I know, when you hear 1 lb, or 1.5 lbs, or even 2 lbs, it just sounds so small and puny but believe me when I say that I was really really full from my 1.5 lb lobster.


Our server, Kelly, was super friendly and attentive. Which brings me to the following point: please remember to tip from the before-discount total and not the after-discount total. Throughout the night, our server had to bring, at separate times: water --> wine--> bread --> the shrimps --> the bisques --> bibs --> butter, then light the candle beneath the butter --> the lobsters --> checked up on us --> the lemon water to clean our hands--> the bill, all of that with a smile on her face. I understand that good service is not 100% of the time, but if you do get a good server, please tip generously. Especially when its coupon time, servers are much busier than normal already and deserves a tip based on the before-discount amount, not after.


I'm so glad I got two coupons to The Lobster Trap. It will be awhile until I go back though, so thumbs up for no expiry date! =D