America's Best Lobster Rolls

By Food & Wine
June 15, 2016
Never mind the tired regional debate—whether they’re best Maine style (chilled, with mayonnaise) or Connecticut (warm, with drawn butter). Lobster rolls are delicious, and in addition to honoring the classic styles, seafood-obsessed 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 favorites.
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The Clam Shack; Kennebunkport, ME

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 oversize, locally baked burger bun. Customers choose between a swipe of mayo, a drizzle of warm butter or a little of both. The Clam Shack even sells lobster roll kits, shipped fresh overnight. clamshack.net

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Neptune Oyster; Boston

This North End restaurant’s famous hot lobster roll 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. neptuneoyster.com

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Bob’s Clam Hut; Kittery, ME

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

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The Ordinary; Charleston, SC

Chef Mike Lata’s new seafood hall 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. eattheordinary.com

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Red Hook Lobster Pound; Brooklyn, NY

This food truck and storefront operation 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, the meat drizzled with melted butter. To keep things strictly New England, both versions come in a Country Kitchen-brand split-top bun from Maine. redhooklobster.com

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The Bayside Restaurant; Westport, MA

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

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Hinoki & the Bird; Los Angeles

This visual stunner comes from the new outpost of F&W Best New Chef 1999 David Myers. 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. hinokiandthebird.com

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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, one warmed with a citrus butter. Both come on a soft split-top bun. oysterhousephilly.com

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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. woodhousefish.com

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Bite Into Maine; Cape Elizabeth, ME

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 roll. Along with curry, wasabi and chipotle, the signature picnic-style includes a layer of homemade coleslaw and a brushing of drawn butter. biteintomaine.com

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Frank’s Oyster House & Champagne Parlor; Seattle

At this Pacific Northwest tribute to Boston’s vintage oyster houses, the 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. franksoysterhouse.com

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Acadia; Chicago

Chef Ryan McCaskey spent his childhood summers in Maine, so he understands the importance of using the simplest bread for lobster rolls. He ships 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. acadiachicago.com

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GT Fish and Oyster; Chicago

F&W BNC 2009 Giuseppe Tentori crams his house-made brioche roll with lobster dressed in his own mayonnaise. For extra crunch, Tentori tosses the meat with diced celery, and serves the rolls alongside crisp house-made pickles and fried onions. gtoyster.com

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The Raw Bar; Mashpee, MA

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 owner Bob Weekes. Make that almost a pound of lobster, heaped into a signature split-top torpedo roll. Fork optional. therawbar.com

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Champlin’s; Narragansett, RI

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. They tuck a lettuce leaf into the New England hot dog roll to prevent sogginess. champlins.com

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Luke's Lobster; New York City and Washington, DC

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 both a squirt of mayo along the bun and butter over the top, plus a propriety seasoning featuring celery salt. lukeslobster.com

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Smack Shack; Minneapolis

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

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Littlefork; Los Angeles

At this ode to his native New England, chef Jason Travi flies in live lobsters from Massachusetts three times a week. He mixes the poached meat with chopped celery, aioli, cayenne pepper and salt—just like he learned at his family’s restaurant on Massachusetts’s South Shore. Then he spoons it all into a buttered, toasted, torpedo-shaped Parker House bun. littleforkla.com

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Sam’s Chowder House; Half Moon Bay, CA

Never mind the stellar view of the Pacific. For this restaurant’s rolls, chef Lewis Rossman (an East Coast native) gets his lobster shipped straight fro the Atlantic. Then he prepares it “naked style”: Hold the mayo. Only drawn butter, fresh herbs and diced celery, served in a custom-baked, toasted torpedo bun. samschowderhouse.com

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The Optimist; Atlanta

It requires optimism to open a beachside seafood shack in landlocked Atlanta. 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 alongside. theoptimistrestaurant.com

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MC Perkins Cove; Ogunquit, ME

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

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Thurston’s Lobster Pound; Bernard, ME

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. Thurstonslobster.com

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Bostwick’s Chowder House; East Hampton, NY

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. bostwickschowderhouse.com

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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. bandgoysters.com

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