Letter of Recommendation New York
How Red Hook Lobster Pound Rivals Maine’s Best Lobster Shacks
Published:
If you’re raised along the coast of Maine, lobster is all but part of the elementary school curriculum. You’re surrounded by it — and all its fanfare — even if you never crack a single claw.
I first learned about lobster during summers on my dad’s boat. We’d drop traps along the ocean floor marked with green-and-orange-striped buoys, then pull them up to check for crustaceans.
Once I became a food writer, I started interviewing lobster experts, getting out on the water with commercial fishermen, and writing articles about how to steam lobster at home and assemble top-notch lobster rolls.
It’s safe to say I know my lobster — but when I’m asked to recommend a lobster joint outside of my hometown of Portland, Maine, I pause. Why not just get a hearty roll straight from the source? Besides, lobster rolls from outside the state are often skimpy on the meat and heavy on the mayonnaise.
Red Hook Lobster Pound is a welcome exception to this trend, and it’s the only place I’ll eat a lobster roll outside of Maine.
Red Hook Lobster Pound
By the Numbers
-
Pounds of lobster sold per week in summer:
3,000 -
Menu items containing lobster:
18 -
Weight of lobsters used to make each roll:
1.4 to 1.6 pounds
-
Price changes from 2009 to 2025:
A lobster roll from Red Hook Lobster Pound’s original Smorgasburg pop-ups cost just $14. Lobster rolls now start at $39.50. -
Hours driven from Maine to Red Hook with live lobster in tow when the restaurant first opened:
Seven
Far from the shredded, unrecognizable meat you find on many lobster rolls, Red Hook Lobster Pound takes a light-touch approach. Top-quality seafood straight from waters off the coast of Maine fills every roll, so there’s no need to overcomplicate it.
The restaurant nails Maine’s quintessential summer meal by taking large pieces of tender lobster, lightly coated in mayonnaise, and serving them on a buttery, grilled bun.
They’ve also nailed the location. Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, with its waterfront and familiar salty air, feels a little bit like the small towns in coastal Maine. That’s part of what drew Susan Povich, a Maine native, to open Red Hook Lobster Pound in 2009.
“The community of Red Hook is filled with scrappy, pull yourself up by the bootstraps types,” she says. “It’s cold, the wind whips, and the community is a bit grizzled but incredibly supportive of each other, so it reminded me of Maine in that way.”
Red Hook Lobster Pound is the only place I’ll eat a lobster roll outside of Maine.
Red Hook Lobster Pound feels like it was picked up from Kennebunkport and plopped down in Brooklyn. Inside, you’ll find nautical flag decor, worn wood paneling, and red accents, plus large tanks with live lobsters for sale — making it a proper lobster pound.
It’s the kind of place my friends worked in high school while I was down the street scooping ice cream, and Povich was inspired by her own summertime favorites, including Five Islands Lobster Co., Lobster Wharf, and Red’s Eats when building out the space.
Still, none of those lovely, nostalgic aesthetics would carry this place if it didn’t take its lobster seriously. Povich and her husband Ralph Gorham have been dedicated to sourcing since day one.
Back in 2009, the couple would drive more than 300 miles from the coast of Maine to Red Hook with a truck full of live lobsters. I laughed as Povich told me about her husband calling from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to say that their catch was dying in the heat of their unrefrigerated truck — but that do-it-yourself attitude aligns perfectly with Maine’s blue-collar reputation. (Their business quickly scaled up, and they began working with a local Maine distributor 16 years ago.)
Today, the couple’s devotion remains clear from the quality of their offerings. Take my word for it and go for a Maine-style roll: You’ll get four or six ounces (your choice) of lobster — as in, whole claws and big chunks of knuckle meat from lobster that was pulled out of the water just before you put it in your mouth — lightly tossed in doctored-up Duke’s Mayonnaise, piled high on a buttered, griddled, split-top bun from Country Kitchen.
Using this bun requires ordering from a special distributor, but it’s well worth the effort to recreate an authentic lobster roll. This New England brand of simple, pillowy roll’s nostalgia-inducing flavor can’t be beat, especially after being toasted to golden, crispy perfection.
The finished product isn’t fancy — its secret ingredient is expert sourcing. More decadent lobster rolls, dripping in brown butter or topped with caviar, surely abound around New York City. But a no-frills roll that lets the lobster shine — the style that’s exemplified at Red Hook Lobster Pound — is exactly what a real Mainer wants.
Red Hook Lobster Pound is open from noon to 9 p.m. from Sunday through Thursday, and from noon to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. You can also catch Red Hook Lobster Pound at pop-ups and seasonal locations around the city.
Liz Provencher is a Brooklyn-based writer covering food and drink in NYC and beyond. Her work has been published in Architectural Digest, Eater, Imbibe, Travel + Leisure, Thrillist, Wine Enthusiast, and more. Follow her on Instagram. Follow Resy, too.
