Restaurant Review: Brown’s Lobster Pound

15 Nov 2010

Just because summer is over doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy a seafood dinner near the beach! Brown’s Lobster Pound in Seabrook, NH is open year round and serves everything from boiled lobster to fried seafood. Similar to the popular Chauncey Creek restaurant, basics can be ordered at the counter and the rest is up to you. Let’s get started!

The Vibe
The Brown’s philosophy is BYOE (bring your own everything) so eating here can be super casual or fancy shmancy—because the dining experience is totally up to you! Once you’ve ordered from the counter and taken a peek in the open lobster tank, head into Brown’s dining area which is a large open room filled with individual rectangular tables with wooden benches (during the summer, the outside deck is also open). There are windows on all sides and when facing north, patrons have a nice backdrop of the marsh and, if you hit it right, a spectacularly brilliant view of the sunset.

Time to set up shop! This is my family’s favorite part. We always bring a table cloth, an assortment of random things from around the house to create a kooky centerpiece (my son’s favorite pick is my 3^rd grade spelling bee trophy, ha ha!), plastic plates and cups from home and some games to play (Uno, or the seafood-themed Go Fish, naturally) while we wait for our order to be called over the loud speaker.

Because the prices at Brown’s are not exactly inexpensive, we usually bring our own extras like drinks (parents can bring beer and wine), appetizers, salads, dessert, etc. This keeps food costs low while insuring that everything on the “menu” includes our favorites.

The Menu
In addition to market priced lobsters, Brown’s also has a large menu of fried or baked seafood plates ($10-$20), chowders ($3.35-$6.15) and burgers and rolls ($2.75-$11.75). If you’re not a seafood fan, you can circumvent the pricier meals by ordering the less expensive options like hot dogs and hamburgers (less than $3) and grilled cheeses are only $1.65! They also have ice cream, frappes and floats ($2.25-$3.95) if you’re craving something sweet.

For dinner, we each ordered a lobster which comes broken in all the right places (no need for lobster crackers), and clean up is a cinch since there is a sink area in the dining room where you can wash your hands (love this!). The fish chowder had a thin base, which I like, but had way more potatoes than fish, boo. I have not tried any of the fried seafood yet, but it sure did smell good! It’s also worth mentioning how clean everything is—you wouldn’t think so with all those lobster shells and paper goods, but the tables and floors are always spotless.

What’s The Damage?
We ordered two 1 lb. lobsters, two 1 ½ lb. lobsters, a large fish chowder and a large order of french fries which came to about $70. Not cheap whatsoever, but if you’re looking to splurge for a family night out, Brown’s can be a blast. By bringing all of our own personal goodies, snacks and games, it made a typical dinner out into a fantastic experience. No contest, this restaurant is my kids’ favorite place to go.

P.S. Brown’s is a cash-only establishment; however they do have an ATM on site.

The Bottom Line (based on a five-star rating):
Distraction Offering: This one’s totally up to you! Bring your own goodies from home to occupy the troops.
Atmosphere: ??? (the view of the sunset and marsh is nice, but again, the atmosphere is what you make of it)
Food: ???½ (lobsters were great and I’m looking forward to trying the fried seafood)
Affordability: ?? (the seafood is pricey, but there are less expensive options available)
Service: ???? (not a tremendous amount of interaction, but the dining area is always extremely clean)