5 reasons to reconsider Tacoma’s iconic Lobster Shop restaurant — and lobster isn’t No. 1

The American lobster is not native to Puget Sound, so Lobster Shop was a bold name for the Ruston Way restaurant that opened in 1981 as a companion to the 1977 original in Dash Point.

Early menus offered $15 entrees of swordfish and mahi mahi with broccoli, carrots and red potatoes, according to a 1988 review in The Morning News Tribune, the same year the Cape Cod-gray clapboard building was renovated for $350,000. In 2013, the founder, Dennis Driscoll, wondered aloud if the concept had grown tired as he closed the Northeast Tacoma location. Just a few years ago, on Ruston Way, lobster meat dotted quesadillas and dips. A whole specimen — a theoretical guarantee of a shop called lobster — was, it seems, never to be found. The namesake, sourced from Maine or Australia, sacrificed only its tail, the protein plucked from inside and placed atop the shell, served simply with drawn butter, potatoes and asparagus on an off-white, oval-shaped, everyday plate.

It’s what I ordered on my first and admittedly only visit before the year-in new owners, Seattle-based E3 Restaurant Group, closed Lobster Shop last January for extensive renovations and a brand overhaul. Certain aspects of the space (sorry, fish tank), the menu and the presentation felt dated, sure, but the bisque was rich and the martini cold and strong. I could understand how it had lasted this long: The vaulted ceilings and dark wood felt classic and celebratory in the way a good ol’ surf-and-turf spot should. The service was studied, if a bit casual for the price tag. The food was far from mind-bending but I’ve had wildly overcooked fish elsewhere in town, but never here. It was all perfectly acceptable — for the view, anyway.

E3 spent almost $4 million to convince us that Lobster Shop deserves to remain a destination in Tacoma and the South Sound, amid steady growth of fun and interesting restaurants from an ambitious new generation. To be the choice to impress out-of-town guests with great food and a great view. To celebrate an anniversary or a Friday. To have a $2 oyster at happy hour or a $42 hunk of halibut at dinner.

Several meals later, I’m here to tell you if it worked.

But first, a confession: I still have not had a whole lobster at Lobster Shop, but you can, at last, order one. It was $99 on a recent visit, with roasted squash, asparagus and pavé potatoes. I’ve had whole lobster, including at a waterfront restaurant in Portland, Maine, of the same vein as the restaurant of discussion. I wanted to know about everything else because I suspect a whole lobster still isn’t the reason to choose the Lobster Shop.

REASON #5: SEAFOOD & SERVICE

We walked into a pleasant table by the window on a recent Saturday afternoon. It was temperate enough, partly sunny and dry to the point that I would have sat outside, but the deck furniture had been stacked and tied for the winter.

Our server, now clad in a marine-blue shirt rather than retro white, was cheery and attentive. As our dinner server had for the pork belly wedge, paired with candied pecans and bleu cheese, he said the kitchen would split the salad we intended to share. This gesture — and the long oak pepper grind, tableside — felt as timeless as the understated remodel by architects at Skidmore Janette, which, by the way, involved plumbing, electrical and ventilation improvements you can’t see, as well as new kitchen equipment, lighting fixtures, tables and chairs, upgraded private dining rooms and wine storage.

He also double-checked that we wanted anchovies on the Caesar. Why would you say no? They were plump and delicate, compensating for the thin dressing.

Under executive chef Don Hoots, core dishes like the pan-seared halibut, lightly enrobed in crushed pecans and panko, enjoy seasonal platings. In summer, it was toasted quinoa with snappy asparagus and chimichurri; for fall, it’s sweet potato with Swiss chard and a rosemary-infused bourbon cream sauce.

The deceivingly deep, wide-brimmed bowl of cioppino held a layered broth, viscous and properly redolent of the creatures therein, with more than enough halibut, shrimp, clams and, in a nod to the Northwest, salmon to offset its $37 cost.

Is it mind-bendingly good? That might depend on why you’re here. I’m here for seafood treated with respect, which means letting it live on the plate as it did in the sea: simply.

REASON #4: LUNCH

Lobster Shop’s founder gave up on lunch for a spell in the late 1980s, following that recession and related “labor shortage.” It was difficult to find qualified staff to accept less in tips (see note below), diners didn’t view daytime restaurants as worthy of their evening, and Ruston Way had by then attracted other “fine-dining” choices, as an article about the decision in The News Tribune outlined.

Times have changed, of course, and it’s very easy to spend more than $100 at Lobster Shop today (or anywhere, really). But when it means a griddled split-top roll with a wealth of warm, buttered lobster meat and crispy herbed shoestring fries, you lunch at the place you’ve only been for dinner. (It’s also available cold, as is common in Maine, but my allegiance lies with the Connecticut style.)

Also exclusive to this menu: fried rockfish, a wagyu burger with Gruyère, prawn Louie.

REASON #3: DUNGENESS CRAB & OTHER EARTHLY LUXURIES

On a weekend night, we told the host we had no reservation and put our names in for a patio table. A frothy pineapple pisco sour and Red Mountain cab in hand, we later relinquished the offer to move outside. Our server had been so on it that I didn’t want to let her go. Besides, the sun had set, and our high-top table, abutting a heightened wall in the lounge to bring privacy to the diners below, provided still-stunning views. Before, said E3 CEO Jim Rowe, guests seated at the since-removed banquette sat with their backs to the water. The windows didn’t get any bigger, but here is as fine a seat as any.

We were also actively devouring the most luscious chilled Dungeness crab, whose firm, silky claw meat had me apologizing to the neighboring tiger prawns. I find midcentury luxuries like steak Oscar (béarnaise on crab on beef) besides the point, but if the kitchen treats the crustacean this way, I could be convinced otherwise. E3 has added prime steaks — sensible given the group’s ownership of Metropolitan Grill.

REASON #2: OYSTERS & HAPPY HOUR

Shortly after the July reopening, we arrived in time to catch the best excuse to leave work early: cheap(ish) oysters.

Considering its proximity to waters renowned for their prized bivalves, Tacoma is weirdly lacking in specialized outlets to enjoy them.

I wish we could see the cold storage and live-action shucking from the lounge, where you must sit for happy-hour pricing, but the choice to keep it inside the kitchen was a practical necessity, said Rowe. The variety — around eight daily, thanks to established producer relationships through sister Elliott’s Oyster House in Seattle — makes up for it.

In the 4 o’clock hour, we slurped a dozen, dappled by rosé granita, at $3 a pop. The prior hour they were $2 — a real steal for an icy bed that might include the briny Kusshi of Vancouver Island or the sweet and salty Little Skookums of nearby Shelton. This “progressive” model adds $1 through 6 p.m. At 5, you might consider the standard pricing of $4.25 (and any seat in the house) to choose the ones you want.

“Our hope is to make the Lobster Shop a really vibrant bar scene,” Rowe told me in a phone call, noting the menu of $9 snacks and wine pours plus $10 cocktails. There’s no cheap martini, but the seasonal spritz or a glass of prosecco are built for this moment.

The batter of the shrimp corn dogs was a bit heavy and loose, and the creole ketchup strewn in the bottom of the serving bowl cumbersome to scoop, but the sweet-and-salty, sea-meets-Fair combination was successfully playful. Similarly, the quinoa cakes are a clever light bite — little cubes of the nutrient-rich seeds over chickpea purée drizzled with a tomato-olive “tapenade” and a tzatziki-like yogurt. They crumbled at first fork, but the textural idea shows a willingness to venture into territory that some might appreciate and others may distrust.

Therein lies the challenging seesaw E3’s Lobster Shop must balance: please the old-timers, the customers who have kept the place alive for 42 years, or excite the locals (and probably plenty of visitors) who have overlooked it in favor of fresh blood, bay view be damned.

REASON #1

The view!

LOBSTER SHOP

▪ 4013 Ruston Way, Tacoma, 253-759-2165, lobstershop.com

▪ Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (lunch until 3 p.m., dinner at 4 p.m. weekdays/3 p.m. weekends)

▪ Happy Hour: Monday-Friday 3-6 p.m. in the lounge

▪ Reservations: recommended for dinner and parties 5+; complimentary valet at dinner; open Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve

TNT DINER TAKE

▪ Value: great — $120-$200 for two starters, two seafood mains and drinks with knowledgeable service in a waterfront setting

▪ Quality: high-quality seafood, much sourced locally; classic platings as well as seasonal changes keep things interesting

▪ Atmosphere: timeless waterfront dining, now with a more modern yet minimalist aesthetic — hushed but active, views from every seat

▪ Returnability: E3 has updated the space in a way that retains its “classical seafood restaurant” charm but vaulted it into the 21st century, hopefully for another 40-plus years. Return for oysters, especially at happy hour, lobster lunch, that cold crab, and dinner to celebrate a special occasion or yourself.

*Reporter’s Note: Lobster Shop adds a 20% service charge to every bill, which is clearly explained on the website, on the menu, on a big sign by the bathrooms, on the receipt and by your server. E3 previously transitioned to this model at its other restaurants. Staff is paid in part through a commission model that this charge helps support. Per Washington state law, it must be taxed. If you have questions about how it works, just ask. Extra gratuity is not required or expected, but, of course, happily accepted should you wish to reward the hospitality. I would add that any out-of-pocket difference you sense might be little more than perception: In December 2022, pre-service charge, my bill was $136 including tax; with a 20% tip, about $160. For a similar experience in 2023, with service charge and tax, the total was $150.

This story was originally published December 15, 2023 at 5:45 AM.