Red Lobster Vs Bonefish Grill: Who Has Better Shrimp?

Midway through 2024, Red Lobster closed dozens of locations at once after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While its Endless Shrimp deal didn't single-handedly bankrupt Red Lobster, an all-you-can-eat option at a relatively low price point was all but confirmed to be a contributing factor. Ultimately, Red Lobster survived its troubles and even introduced a revamped version of Endless Shrimp called Shrimp Your Way. Portions are no longer endless, but customers can order two, three, or four kinds of shrimp with a side at value-oriented price points.

Of course, Red Lobster isn't the only chain restaurant known for its shrimp. The mold-breaking sit-down seafood chain Bonefish Grill is one of Red Lobster's closest competitors, anchored by a signature Asian fusion dish called Bang Bang Shrimp. In order to find out who does shrimp better, I picked up four kinds of shrimp from Red Lobster and three varieties of shrimp on the menu at Bonefish Grill, pitting them against one another in a head-to-head showdown. I compared the shrimp from each chain in nine categories before crowning both the best of all seven shrimp dishes I ate as well as the superior shrimp chain overall. Here's everything I found out about Red Lobster and Bonefish Grill's distinct approaches to shrimp.

The difference in philosophy behind the food at Red Lobster and Bonefish Grill was plenty apparent in just the look of the shrimp I ordered from each restaurant. First off, shrimp from Red Lobster communicates adventurousness. While the safe and simple Red Lobster Grilled Shrimp provides a sort of standard baseline, Crispy Dragon Shrimp, Walt's Favorite Shrimp, and Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp are all prepared with distinct visual flair. Notably, both the Walt's Favorite Shrimp — effectively just breaded shrimp — and the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp are butterflied, resulting in a degree of fun that would be missing without that extra little step. The Crispy Red Dragon Shrimp is coated in a neon orange sauce, providing a similar sort of visual pop.

Meanwhile, Bonefish Grill's shrimp communicates culinary excellence. Both the breaded shrimp in the Bang Bang Shrimp dish and my Crispy Fried Shrimp were coated in comparatively craggier breading, resulting in a wilder, more naturalistic look. Accomplishing a similar effect, the chain's Grilled Shrimp is tossed in a visible seasoning blend. Altogether, the Bonefish Grill shrimp seems just about as gourmet as possible for food from a large chain restaurant. I found that naturalistic, gourmet style more appealing than Red Lobster's fun but kind of artificial look, earning Bonefish Grill a check in the win column for appearance.

For some customers size can matter just as much as, if not more than, taste. Simply put, sometimes it's satisfying to bite into a big ol' hunk of meat. So, while the sizes of individual shrimps may not be a huge factor for everyone — personally, I'd prefer a small and delicious shrimp to a large and bland alternative — I still found this category worth exploring for the sake of all the shrimp size aficionados walking the Earth.

For what it's worth, I eliminated Red Lobster's Crispy Dragon Shrimp and Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp from the size discussion, because they're more so meant to be bite-size morsels. With that said, the largest shrimp at Red Lobster is the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp. On average, mine were about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide, with a short depth of about ¼ inch given their butterflied form. Walt's Favorite Shrimp is like a scaled-down version of the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp, shorter in both length and width. Finally, my Grilled Shrimp were about 3 inches long and ½ inch both wide and deep.

My largest shrimp overall were Bonefish Grill's Grilled Shrimp. They averaged 4 ½ inches long, ¾ inch wide, and ½ inch deep. The Crispy Fried Shrimp were a just slightly shorter 4 inches long while a little wider and deeper, albeit most likely because of the breading. Overall, then, Bonefish Grill serves larger shrimp on average than Red Lobster.

Of the shrimp I tried from Red Lobster, Walt's Favorite Shrimp and Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp are prepared with two distinctly different styles of breading. The former is coated in a light layer of tiny breadcrumbs, providing just a slight crispiness. I also noticed a prominent butter flavor, suggesting that the coating is flavored with more than just breadcrumbs. The Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp genuinely delivers on the promise of its name — not only are coconut shreds visible on its outer layer, but it tastes pretty strongly of coconut while maintaining a nice crunch too.

Though the shrimp in the Bang Bang Shrimp dish from Bonefish Grill are technically breaded, it's with an intentionally humdrum coating simply meant to hold the sauce that serves as the dish's backbone. The only noteworthy breaded shrimp from Bonefish Grill, then, is the Crispy Fried Shrimp. That breading is made with a thicker, toastier variety of breadcrumb, providing more of a crunch and even a bit more of a noticeable bread flavor. With that said, even if that thicker breadcrumb coating is of a slightly higher quality, I'm going with Red Lobster's breading as my winner. This is based on the combined strength of the buttery batter in Walt's Favorite Shrimp and the surprisingly deft execution of an inventive coconut breading on the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp.

While I didn't try every variety of shrimp from Red Lobster — the Shrimp Your Way deal can also include two shrimp pastas or Popcorn Shrimp, the very dish that helped Red Lobster become so popular — I opted for each of the most unique shrimp-only options. Despite the Grilled Shrimp seeming boring in theory, it's prepared with a noticeable grilled flavor, imbuing an otherwise kind of bland shrimp base with a prominent note of charcoal. Of course, the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp tastes mostly like coconut. Plain Walt's Favorite Shrimp is maybe the least interesting flavor-wise, albeit defined by a solid butteriness from its breading. Finally, the Crispy Red Dragon Shrimp is Red Lobster's showstopper, combining a thick, sweet, and tangy Orange Chicken-adjacent glaze with more spice than I was expecting from a big chain restaurant.

Bonefish Grill also does a better job than I was expecting at flavoring its Grilled Shrimp dish, coating each shrimp in what I would describe as a blackened seasoning blend. That said, while Bang Bang Shrimp may well be the chain's single most popular menu item, I was unimpressed. Its saucy coating tasted like mayo first and foremost, with just slight hints of other spicy and salty flavors. For both variety and consistency, Red Lobster wins this category.

Since every shrimp option at Red Lobster is breaded or flavored — even the grilled shrimp tastes strongly of charcoal — the quality of the shrimp at the chain is really of secondary importance. Simply put, Red Lobster's shrimp tastes good, and its quality isn't so bad, at least, that it affects the taste of any dish negatively.

Nevertheless, Red Lobster's shrimp is of a noticeably lower quality than the shrimp at Bonefish Grill. Whereas the Red Lobster shrimp doesn't taste all that strongly of anything, there's a prominent buttery, umami flavor in Bonefish Grill's shrimp. Plus, it's a little firmer, compared to a texturally softer shrimp at Red Lobster. A higher level of quality, in fact, is key to how Bonefish Grill prepares its shrimp. The chain's flavors may not be as bold, but because they're accentuating a richer shrimp base, they don't need to be. Bonefish Grill, then, wins this category as the chain with the higher quality shrimp.

Overall, I received two dipping sauces from Red Lobster and one from Bonefish Grill. At Red Lobster, Walt's Favorite Shrimp comes with a standard cocktail sauce, and the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp comes with a distinctly non-standard piña colada sauce. The former, for what it's worth, is just a replacement-level cocktail sauce, remarkable only for the fact that it was just a tad spicier than I was expecting. The piña colada sauce, however, is shockingly bold, tasting strongly of coconut, pineapple, and straight sugar. Altogether, it's unique, interesting, and a skillfully executed idea. But in the end, I preferred my Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp without those dessert flavors. That sauce, it's with noting, did still help the Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp earn the third-place spot on a Mashed list of Red Lobster's most popular menu items ranked.

With my Crispy Fried Shrimp from Bonefish Grill I was expecting both cocktail sauce and tartar sauce based on the online menu description, but I ended up with just tartar sauce. That said, the tartar sauce was so good I didn't mind that I was perhaps shortchanged. Like a high quality tartar sauce should be, Bonefish Grill's version is thick, chunky, tart, and prominently pickle-y. Whereas I didn't find my sauces at Red Lobster necessary, the Bonefish Grill tartar sauce elevated the shrimp I dipped in it. On the strength of that single excellent sauce, then, Bonefish Grill takes the win.

My shrimp dishes from Red Lobster — Grilled Shrimp, Crispy Dragon Shrimp, Walt's Favorite Shrimp, and Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp — were all part of a single Shrimp Your Way order. Also offered are Garlic Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Linguini Alfredo, and Popcorn Shrimp options. Other distinct, non-seasonal shrimp dishes on the Red Lobster menu include a Black Tiger Shrimp Cocktail, a Southwest Shrimp Bowl, Salmon New Orleans (salmon topped with shrimp in a Cajun sauce), and a Garlic-Grilled Shrimp kids meal.

Meanwhile, the Grilled Shrimp I ordered in my Bonefish Grill kids meal is likewise included in various entrée combos, alongside scallops, mahi-mahi, chicken, or steak. Bang Bang Shrimp is also available as a taco protein. The single other shrimp option at Bonefish Grill, aside from the Crispy Fried Shrimp I ordered, is a Cajun pasta that includes roasted shrimp. Red Lobster, then, is pretty handily the chain with a wider variety of shrimp on its menu.

Since there are too many shrimp options at both restaurants to analyze in detail and I was attempting to balance variety with value in my selections, I'm limiting this value category to just items I ordered from my closest locations near Las Vegas. First off, my cheapest shrimp order from either chain was Bonefish Grill's Kids Grilled Shrimp at $9.50. That said, one order includes a mere 80-calorie serving of shrimp along with a side and a water or juice, making it effectively a side order for anyone other than a child.

Meanwhile, Shrimp Your Way at Red Lobster starts at $17.99, including two shrimp selections, a side, and Cheddar Bay Biscuits — the very item that led 46% of those polled about the seafood chain with the best side dishes to select Red Lobster. Choosing the highest-calorie shrimp options would result in a 1,240 calorie meal, which could serve as either a large dinner or even a lunch for two. At Bonefish Grill, one order of Crispy Fried Shrimp totals $19.90 for a comparable 1,230-calorie helping of shrimp and fries. With larger Shrimp Your Way platters available at reasonable upcharges and no equivalent way to add onto a Bonefish Grill shrimp order without ordering another dish, it's safe to say that Red Lobster is the superior choice if dollar value is a concern.

First off, the most heavy shrimp dishes I ordered from each chain were the Crispy Dragon Shrimp at Red Lobster and the Crispy Fried Shrimp at Bonefish Grill, so anyone looking for a healthy choice should avoid either of those dishes. That said, they're hard to compare directly, primarily because Bonefish Grill's nutritional data factors a side of fries into the Crispy Fried Shrimp's numbers.

Comparing each chain's healthiest options, then, one serving of the Red Lobster Grilled Shrimp totals 250 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 of which is saturated fat, 120 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,130 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 16 grams of protein. Comparatively, three servings of Bonefish Grill's Kids Grilled Shrimp add up to a nearly equivalent 240 calories, as well as 0 grams of fat, 480 milligrams of cholesterol, 285 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbs, and 60 grams of protein. While it seems likely that the nutritional info for Red Lobster's Grilled Shrimp factors in the side of rice that comes standard with an order, the discrepancies in protein, carbs, fat, and even sugar more than make up for the strangely higher cholesterol in Bonefish Grill's shrimp. The nutritionally preferable shrimp option, then, comes from Bonefish Grill.

Since I ate seven kinds of shrimp from two different restaurants, before sharing my pick for the best chain restaurant for shrimp overall, I thought this could serve as a unique opportunity to determine the single best version of shrimp from either chain. After eating ample portions of all seven shrimp dishes, my single favorite was the Crispy Fried Shrimp from Bonefish Grill.

The Crispy Fried Shrimp may not be flashy like some of Red Lobster's best offerings — for what it's worth, my favorite of those was the Crispy Dragon Shrimp — but it succeeds, rather, on mastery of the fundamentals. As I mentioned in the shrimp quality category, Bonefish Grill's shrimp tastes great on its own, with the same kind of prominent umami savoriness found in lobster or crab. While that's present in Bonefish Grill's Grilled Shrimp too, the breadcrumb coating on the Crispy Fried Shrimp is both of apparently high-quality and indulgent to an extent the spices that flavor the Grilled Shrimp don't quite equal. Paired with my favorite dipping sauce from either chain, the Bonefish Grill Crispy Fried Shrimp is well-balanced and full of flavor, excelling in virtually every key category.

While Bonefish Grill may have won a larger number of categories than Red Lobster, I decided that Red Lobster is the better chain for shrimp. To come to this conclusion, I asked myself which I would rather visit for a shrimp meal, knowing what I now know about each chain's shrimp. My honest answer was Red Lobster. Working backwards from that gut feeling, I realized that, even if things taste a little better at Bonefish Grill — like its breading, sauce, and even the shrimp itself — Red Lobster offers the better package overall.

First and foremost, the variety at Red Lobster is a huge factor. Even if the Crispy Fried Shrimp at Bonefish Grill was the single best shrimp I tried, the only real way to order it as a full meal. Red Lobster, however, practically requires customers to order at least two different kinds of shrimp. Pairing, say, the relatively normal Walt's Favorite Shrimp with the more adventurous Crispy Dragon Shrimp is simply a more enticing order, aided by its lower cost. Things only get better from there, with ample varieties of shrimp available to add on to an order, whereas orders of shrimp at Bonefish Grill don't allow for much customization. Plus, the Bang Bang Shrimp was my number-one letdown. This was a close race, and despite Bonefish Grill typically serving a higher-quality product, Red Lobster's versatility just barely surpassed its competition.

From Red Lobster I ordered a single Shrimp Your Way platter with four shrimp options. I chose Grilled Shrimp, Crispy Dragon Shrimp, Walt's Favorite Shrimp, and Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp. From Bonefish Grill I ordered a Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer, a Kids Grilled Shrimp, and a Crispy Fried Shrimp entree. For both restaurants I submitted online orders and used their scheduling options to pick them up as close to one another as possible. While in-restaurant may ensure fresher and warmer food, I prioritized the unique opportunity to eat everything in a single setting and all at once. That way, variables like superior service or a cleaner table, say, wouldn't impact my opinions, and I could directly compare similar items from both chains to one another.

Once I brought all my food home, I started up a Jimmy Buffet greatest hits album to set the mood and tasted all seven shrimp dishes in a methodical manner. That meant deconstructing some pieces of shrimp in order to take notes on factors like shrimp quality or breading before having at least two pieces of each kind of shrimp as they're intended to be eaten. I picked my food up from locations in the suburbs of Las Vegas. Neither restaurant had any indication that my orders were for the sake of an article and not just a regular lunch.