Abbott's Lobster in the Rough

Posted By Michael Stern on December 9, 2006 10:32 PM

Abbott’s is a long-running lobster picnic. Hugely crowded on nice summer evenings, it specializes in warm-weather shore dinners. Start with bracing, steel-gray chowder, then littlenecks on the half shell and/or steamers or mussels by the bucket with broth and butter for dipping. If you arrive with a big appetite, you will need to eat many hors d’oeuvre because the lobsters, cooked to order, can take a while. They are beauties, available whatever size you need, up to ten pounds!; but if you don’t have the energy to crack, pick, suck, and pluck your way through a whole one, this is a grand place to have a hot lobster roll – nothing but hunks of pink sweet meat bathed in butter, sandwiched inside a warm bun. (Cold lobster salad rolls are also available, as are hot and cold crab rolls.)

Abbott’s is one of the prettiest places in Connecticut to dine al fresco. Seating is at bare wooden tables, either in the open or under tents. Some civilized sorts actually bring their own tablecloths as well as their own wine. The air is filled with the salty smack of shore breezes, and background music is provided by gulls screeching in the sky (but kept away from the tables by invisible netting).

Abbott's generally opens early in May, but at first only on weekends. It is open every day through Labor day, then weekends-only again in October.

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Posted By CARTER on September 9, 2010 3:03 PM

My wife and I were there on the weekday of 09/03/2010. We both had the Lobster Dinner. Have to say the view was nice but the lobster was overcooked and tuff. The ratings I have seen are not anywhere near what I expected. This was a dissapointment since this was the first place we stopped coming from Pennsylvania on our mini vacation to Mystic. I fell flat due to commenting to my wife about the reviews I have read abut this place. We will not go back if visiting in the future.

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Lobster Dinner

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Posted By Margaret Bernstein on August 12, 2009 12:45 PM

We recently took a road trip across New England, and stopped at Abbott's after a long day in the air and the car. It was a beautiful summer night and these weary travellers couldn't have been happier with our decision to leave the highway and enjoy a delicious waterfront dinner.

Two of us had the highly recommended hot lobster roll, one had the cold lobster salad, and our landlubber had the roasted chicken. All were delicious! The line was not too long, and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs while waiting for the food. There was a group of about 12 celebrating a birthday at a nearby table, complete with candles, wine, and birthday cake. The place was a little hard to find, but well worth the effort.

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Posted By Tracy Dumont on March 12, 2008 1:21 PM

Everyone in the state talks about going to Abbott's for a seafood feast. I thought I would give it a try. Parking is tough, but doable. The wait to order is long, but there are entertaining signs, and there's the menu to ponder while waiting. The waitstaff is efficient, and friendly enough.

But the prices and the setting are ridiculous. There is never a clean table, and while there are some sort of wires overhead to keep the seagulls from dive-bombing your food, the birds manage to leave their "remnants" everywhere. It looked like we were dining on an abandoned seashore of a country under attack!

While the food is good... it isn't great, not at these prices! I much prefer dining at Capt. Scott's in New London for the same effect that Abbott's was trying for, only it is cleaner, and the prices are more affordable.

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