Red Lobster may not offer up every kind of shrimp dish there is, but what they might
lack in variety they make up for in quantity with their annual Endless Shrimp celebration.
With such specialties like Crispy Sriracha, it's pretty hard not to be tempted by this
shrimp bonanza. So is there a catch?
Well, to start, Red Lobster's Endless Shrimp is actually a spinoff of a much less profitable
promotion the company tried in the early 2000s called Endless Crab. Testing the public's
ability to eat endless crab cost Red Lobster millions and resulted in its then-president
getting the boot after a $405.9 million loss in stock value.
It turns out diners needed to eat a whole lot of crab to fill up, which was definitely
not good for Red Lobster's bottom line. Shrimp are a lot cheaper than crab though, which
is why Endless Shrimp made its debut a year after the crab experiment ended.
Here's the thing with getting your money's worth when it comes to Endless Shrimp, though
it's going to take some serious willpower. Take, for instance, Red Lobster's Cheddar
Bay Biscuits. As tempting as they may be, you would be wise to avoid touching those.
They're free, you can make them at home, and they'll just fill you up.
The quicker a person fills up on carbs or the array of sugary drinks and sides that
Red Lobster offers, the less shrimp they'll eat.
Now for the question on everyone's minds: Is this festival of bottomless shrimp really
endless, or will management eventually step in? Well, according to one longtime employee
on Reddit, it does sound as though you can eat until you have to be wheelbarrowed out
of the restaurant.
When asked if the deal really was endless, the Red Lobster employee said:
"If you mean that if you were to come in at open and eat til close, [then] yes."
The employee did have a strong opinion on anyone who might consider that, though, continuing with,
"However, that's truly disgusting and you better have a [...] good tip in tow."
To really test out the endless factor, two employees at Business Insider put their own
shrimp eating capabilities to the test and devoured 350 shrimp before tossing in the
towel. Sounds pretty endless to us.
To really get your Endless Shrimp money's worth, the Red Lobster employee said a person
would have to eat between two and four times beyond the initial meal. So whether it's wiser
to spend your money on the endless shrimp special or a regular meal really boils down
to one's own stamina with this seafood marathon.
"We're endless shrimp fans."
"And we see food differently."
With Red Lobster's Endless Shrimp extravaganza returning year after year, it's obviously
a winning sales strategy for the company. Rather than rest on their laurels and offer
up the same flavors, Red Lobster likes to mix things up and did so in a big way in 2019.
To drum up extra excitement and ignite a shrimp craving in its customers, the chain announced
that in addition to its 2019 shrimp offerings there would also be a secret menu.
Never mind the fact that it negates the very definition of secret when you issue a press
release about it that's beside the point. Red Lobster's standard menu that year of endless
shrimp included: Garlic Shrimp Scampi, Hand-breaded Shrimp, Crispy Sriracha Honey Shrimp, Shrimp
Linguini Alfredo and Teriyaki Grilled Shrimp.
"...there's pineapple shrimp, and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp…"
You could even order secret shrimp dishes that were not on the menu, including: Coconut
Shrimp Bites, Garlic-Grilled Shrimp Skewers, and perhaps the most exciting of all Nashville
Hot Shrimp.
As for the Nashville Hot Shrimp, it was Red Lobster's take on Nashville's hot chicken
food trend and featured a spicy rub on deep-fried shrimp topped with honey. Some folks on social
media loved it, while others called the brand out for trying too hard.
We should also note that Crunchy Popcorn Shrimp was also part of the secret menu, but that
meal is on the menu every day, which again, doesn't exactly make it a secret.
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