Luke’s Lobster NYC

One thing that rarely comes to mind when discussing New York City’s many attributes is “amazing seafood.”  Be that as it may, over the past several years the New England seafood shack has been a favorite concept restaurant in the city (see Brooklyn Fish Camp, Pearl Oyster Bar, Ed’s Lobster Shack, &c)  They all have lobster rolls, raw bars and Old Bay seasoning, and they are all absurdly expensive.

UNTIL NOW.

Luke Holden, a 25 year-old guy from Cape Elizabeth, Maine was dismayed to move to NYC for a career in finance only to discover that the greatest city in the world was smothering the greatest seafood in the world under seas of mayonnaise, celery and extraneous seasoning.  Luke called up his dad who owns the Portland Shellfish Seafood Processing plant in Maine, and the two joined forces to create Luke’s Lobster, bringing  the tastiest lobster, crab and shrimp rolls imaginable to the East Village at a fraction of the cost of any other spot.

When my best friend and I arrived at 9PM on a Friday night I was flabbergasted to see that there was no line–Caracas next door had a wait an hour long but we sailed up to the counter, ordered the “Seafood Boat”, a small shrimp sandwich, lobster roll, crab roll, Empress Crab claw, chips and a drink for 20 bucks. Our food arrived instantly,and dammit, it was perfect.

The buns were toasted to buttery perfection and the seafood was seasoned well but delicately; just enough to bring out the subtle flavors of the meat but not so much that it was overwhelming .  These guys definitely know what they’re doing and with an $8 snack-sized lobster roll and a $14 4 oz.-er you can even afford to get your briny seafood fix once a week.

Go before the lines are down the block.

Luke’s Lobster
93 E 7th St.
New York, NY 10009