Free Range Fish & Lobster

They made a mistake on our order and one lobster was diseased. We ordered 3 x 1.5 - 2 lb hardshell and about 3 lbs of steamer (self picked). The steamers were perfect. When we got home and pulled them out for the pot, we instead had 4x soft shells and one (pictured) had shell disease and bad tasting (tail) meat, which we discarded with the rest. Check your order BEFORE you leave.

Great value for lobster by the pound. We had them steam them for us and went to a park to enjoy them. Employees were super helpful! Highly recommend.

I live in Florida and was traveling in Maine heading to Mass and bought four large lobsters and scallops here. The people were super helpful as well as genuinely friendly. I will definitely go back and highly recommend them for their service and quality. BTW the lobsters were tender even though they were over 2.5 lbs each as were the scallops.

Stopped in a couple days before we flew home to MN. The staff was very well let’s wait helpful and knowledgeable on what and what the best way to get fresh seafood back to MN. Paid $50 for a checked bag instead of $150 shipping and bright back fresh lobster, shrimp, haddock, and salmon.

The people make all the difference. The quality and price for their seafood is excellent. Every time I'm in Portland I plan to stop here. Highly recommend the haddock, scallops and lobster among other fine seafood. Excellent service with great young people who enjoy what they do.

Kind and knowledgeable staff. Great variety of fresh seafood. Store is filled with seafood pairings, recipe necessities and also local alcohols ; very good attention to detail in each section. Definitely recommend visiting if in Portland!

Several dead lobsters in the tank (at least four) which is a major health risk (lobsters spoil quickly releasing large amounts of ammonia). Left immediately as I wouldn’t trust a place with lobster in the name that can’t take care of the lobster tanks. Be cautious folks.

Can’t think of a better way to leave this foodie mecca than with a final stop at FRF&L. They made it so easy to pick with their helpful service, reasonable prices, and easy to pack bags incl. free ice. As others have said, their smoked salmon done in house is excellent! Picked up some nice Nova Scotia mini skrimp and some beautiful fish fillets. Made it all the way home two states over and the fish was still nice and fresh!

Great choices. Bags for ice, bags for seafood. Friendly staff. Reasonable prices. Good parking.

This is my favorite place to buy fish or seafood. They have a nice selection of fresh produce, beer wine and other things to complement or complete your meal for one stop shopping. I swear the food is better here than even other places on the wharf. Ifyou want fresh, I'd recommend you buy it here!

The cod I bought looked old and was definitely previously frozen. I should've never bought it. Upon closer inspection, it had weird white dots on it too. The fish foamed A LOT in the pan and did not have the texture of fresh fish. SHAME on them for serving this garbage at the docks. Go to Harbor Fish up the street. It's busier but I've never gotten a bad piece of fish there. superior freshness, not even close.

This fresh catch service offers it all! As out of town travelers from a landlocked state, we had no idea how anything worked but the guys behind the counter were great at helping us. They can boil lobster right on site -- only takes 15 minutes & they bring it out to your car when it's ready. This is the only thing that is ready to eat on site. If you're a local, they have a lot of fresh seafood for you to take to prepare at home. They offer a ton of alcoholic beverages for you to purchase, along with refrigerated cheeses and desserts. Free parking right out front, easy to get to and find!

While visiting Portland, Maine, my husband wanted to make sure that we ate lobster, but preferred to get a lobster fresh (and cheaper) at a seafood market. He decided Free Range Fish & Lobster would be the place to get our lobster dinner, especially since they steam lobsters for free, with purchase. Also unlike another seafood market that we had gone to previously (Harbor Fish Market a few miles away), you do not have to give a 24 hour notice prior to have it steamed. Anyways, my husband ended up getting a lobster from the tank (well he had an employee pick one out for us) and then waited about 15- 20 minutes for it to be steamed after my husband paid for it. My husband got about a 1.4 lobster, that cost $15.40. This lobster was sweet and tender. I thought it was steamed perfectly. Service was friendly and would come back. Free Range Fish & Lobster is an easy find off of Commercial St with a good amount of parking right out front. There is also a large red lobster coming out of the wall in front (kind of fun to see).

This place is how the locals do it with lobsters. If you are a purist like me about lobsters and just want them fresh, steamed, no fluff, at a fair price, (and eat at the comfort of your accommodation) this is the place! You just call in at least an hour before your pickup time. I got a 1 1/4 for under $15 and 1 1/2 under $20, soft shell. Can't beat that! I probably would never go anywhere else for lobsters when I'm in Portland.

Stopped here on our way home from Nova Scotia to grab fresh lobsters and we were ever so pleased with the quality, price and service. VERY helpful staff!! This will be our go to place whenever in this area!

This was my first visit. Good variety of seafood and other staples you may need for your recipe. I did not see seafood stuffing . The blond young man behind the fish counter was very helpful! I had a few questions regarding mussels and monk fish . Great prices . I purchased mussels and haddock . No bag or tag on or with the mussels so it was hard to tell between the two types and how fresh they were .. Purchased yesterday to cook today .

This place was so cool. The lobster is fresh, and the options are plentiful. The staff member Josiah was so nice to us. We were clearly tourists who knew nothing about lobsters. But he patiently explained our options and even let my son take a photo with a 4-pound lobster. We'll be back.

I bought raw oysters here the other day and they were delicious. I also got some amazing scallops. The place is clean and bright and open. The parking is easy right in front as well. I am glad we have this shop in downtown Portland. It's right on the waterfront and so authentic!

We bought two quarter lbs lobsters and some hot dog buns for around $35! The purchase didn't hurt our pockets and the lobster turned out delicious. We were a bit disappointed that the steamer was out of commission but managed by boiling ourselves at home. Highly recommend and would return again!

Another trip here and another successful one. Found almost everything I was looking for. Employees friendly and helpful

What a pleasant experience! We stayed at an AirBnB with a kitchen while in Portland, so it was our goal to make some meals using local ingredients. After some research, we knew this was the place to go to for lobster. The outside looks like any other place, nothing special, but then you go in and you realize this place IS special. We were met by the friendliest staff that quickly asked if we had any questions. We were honestly overwhelmed, in the best possible way, by all of the fresh seafood - we got a couple lobsters and some tuna, and it was all fairly priced. Not only do they offer seafood but they also have vegetables, local wines, local beers, bread, and just a bit of all! We plan to come back again soon!

Great at what they do. ...friendly and helpful. Great lobster, clams and oysters! Highly recommend.

We're vacationing here and decided to try out this place. Workers were nice but this is definitely a tourist trap. They charge $13.99 a pound for the lobster above the chix size. I contacted a friend of mine that lives in Maine and she suggested a much cheaper place, a place charging $7.99 a pound. Please shop around before going here. I understand they can charge whatever they like but just warning others that this place is expensive.

My wife and I stayed in a hotel down the street. We had them steam some lobsters for us and took them back to the hotel to eat. They were perfectly steamed and the meat was soft, tender, and sweet. We loved them so much that we decided to take some on our flight home. We got four quarter sized hard shelled lobsters. They packaged them in a cooler with gel packs. We got to Boston Logan airport about three hours later and got through security without any issues. I was able to fit the cooler under the seat. But I decided to put it in the overhead bin since it was a pretty empty flight and a ton of bin space left. I had no issues with any liquids leaking By the time we got home, it had been around 12 hours since we bought the lobsters and they were all still alive.

Love this place a lot! The service was great, everyone was so helpful and they steam the lobsters when I order. The lobsters are fresh out of the water and you can basically find anything you need in the store for a great meal. Their $1 local beer deal was a plus!! We also got some oysters, they were yummy too!

Major major props to Free Range Fish and Lobster! I showed up one Thursday and asked if they could pre-cook 20 soft shell lobsters for me to pick up the following morning at 11 am. No problem! No money down, pay at pick-up. I showed up the next morning, all 20 lobsters were warm and carefully packed up to take back to the house. I brought everything to the back yard when I got home and six people feasted on lobster with butter and corn. It was all pretty epic. The very best part of this entire wonderful family lobster feast was that I didn't have to pull out the huge lobster pot, wait for the water to boil, put the lobsters in a few at a time and clean up all the mess!

We stopped in at Free Range Fish & Lobster before returning to Connecticut, buying a few pounds of lobster meat before coming home. They limit the number of people that can be inside the store at any one time and everyone wears masks and gloves to serve the public. Service was quick and the lobster meat was worth the stop! Great selection of fresh fish at pretty fair prices.

Want to avoid the line and overpriced lobster rolls? Get a little creative and I've got a better option for you. We popped in hear early Saturday morning after grabbing coffee & a biscuit. Select your lobster and ask them to steam it. Takes about 20 min. (Walk to Omi's 5 min away for coffee or walk past the place with a line down the street & laugh because you have a whole lobster coming your way). We got two decent sized ones for $21 total (yes, two whole steamed lobster for $21.) They'll hand it to you in a bag that may drip. Ask for a plastic one to put it in up front. We then drove down to Eastern Promenade and enjoyed our lobster on a picnic bench with a beautiful view. It was unique & awesome lobster experience. When it's that fresh, you don't need butter. Just don't forget to bring napkins!

I was excited to buy fresh lobster while visiting Portland. Free Range Fish and Lobster seemed like a good choice as it had good reviews and wasn't right in the middle of the more tourist-laden area. They had choices of hard and soft shells for the smaller sized lobsters (more $ for the hard shell, as expected). That option didn't apply for the select/larger lobsters. Unfortunately, when I got home and cooked the 2.9 pound lobster I bought, it was a new/soft shell variety that was mostly water and light on the meat. I've had lobsters that were 1 1/2 pound and smaller that had more meat. I assume they knew what they were selling me. Good news, it was alive and kicking after my 6+ hour drive home!

Visiting Free Range Fish & Lobster was probably the best decision we made in our short weekend trip to Portland, ME. The goal for this trip was to "lobster-out"- eat as much lobster as possible that we will feel sick of it. After couple lobster rolls, my husband and I realized it would be impossible to do so at sit-down restaurants. This brought us to visit this place on our last few hours to pick our own and get the freshest steamed lobsters we could during our time in Portland. Free Range Fish & Lobster is a local, rather small fish market that is located right next to the dock where they get access to the seafood they sell. They have lobsters of all size from 1lb chix to ~3 lbs special select. We went all out and decided to get the special select ones and MAY have over-ordered. Since it wasn't lobster season, the special select lobsters were $13 per pound, so we actually ended up spending quite a bit on these. However, it was worth every penny. They steam it in their oven for you- which takes about 20 minutes, so plan accordingly- without extra charge. We brought it back to our room and ate it at home. Basically, these lobsters carried the taste of the sea. They needed no seasoning- they were perfectly salty and shell-fishy. The claws were the size of our hands. They had so much meat in them that we were actually full after our first lobster. I would definitely recommend this place and would go back if I'm visiting the area again!

Fun times at Free Range fish. Following the previous Yelp reviews, we asked for two lobsters to be steamed and perhaps also get some butter. Unfortunately, we didn't have any tools to crack the shells with since we were on the move. After they finished steaming the lobster (20 minute wait), the kind cashier gave us swathes of paper towels and we found a spot in the small park across the street to just start eating somehow. One of the best lobsters I have ever eaten in my life, btw. Also, many thanks to the super friendly people who work here. Just know beforehand that this is very much in the industrial area of Portland, and to take your lobsters and enjoy them at home.

Free Range is the best fish market because of the location and accessibility by car. It's on the end of Commercial St with fewer businesses and foot traffic and they have parking! I can always get in and out unlike other places in Portland. Haddock is always a good deal, they sometimes have crabmeat and have everything else you could imagine. Super fresh off the boat. Being an islander, I am picky about seafood and Free Range is the best.

The women at the front was soooo rude. Yelled at my friend to get put because he was waiting in line while I paid for his food. Told us to stay 6 feet apart when we walked in together to buy our meats. Just couldn't believe how rude. We were wearing masks and the only people in there.... COVID or not I am never going there again.

I had to drive 5+ hours back to New Jersey and I was looking for a place that sold fresh lobsters, at the local price, and that would pack them for my long drive. I scoured Yelp and found Free Range Fish & Lobster. They had great reviews and I can attest that this place is a must if you are looking for fresh lobsters and are packing to travel. I was immediately helped upon entering the store. I told the young man how man lobsters I was looking to purchase. I brought my own cooler and he packed my cooler with the lobsters, fresh seaweed, and gel ice packs. Seaweed was at no cost but you purchase the gel ice packs. They also have styrofoam coolers if you didn't bring your own cooler. I purchased 20 Hard Shell Chix size lobsters at $6.99 a pound. When I got back to Jersey after my 5+ drive, the lobsters were still cool and alive! We cooked all of them and they tasted so fresh and very meaty. Next time I'm in Portland, I will come back to Free Range Fish and Lobster! They also had shellfish, fresh fish, and local beer for purchase.

First and foremost Fish is one of the best foods you can eat , absolutely when you look at the Spanish people diet the eat close to 80% seafood rather than meat. I have to say being a fisherman two thirds of my life .. I think in fairness Free Range do a great job, clean store with a great selection of almost all the fish or seafood you might need including Lobster's which I believe the ship to customers all over the United States even a wine selection to make your meal more memorable..

This seafood market is great. They have a large sign outside posting prices that change daily. I have had their scallops, haddock and tuna. All tasted amazing and you can't beat the prices.

We were looking for value on lobster and found this place. It is a seafood market near the port. It is not a place to eat in but staff were extremely accommodating. They steamed our lobster, de-shelled, packaged with butter and wet naps so we can enjoy immediately. It was pure lobster joy!

Great location. Easy parking Helpful employees. I've gone there for 20 years. You can't beat it.

Hands down the best place in Portland to buy fish and seafood! The easy parking, awesome selection and prices and the knowledgeable employees have been keeping me coming here from Yarmouth at least once a week for years. Very Covid-19 accommodating and they even have fresh bread, produce and beer/wine. Love the haddock!!

My go-to place for all things fishy. Absolutely fresh fish, knowledgeable, friendly staff, and prices that are always below, often by a dollar or even more per pound, than competitors (example: I called my wife from Whole Foods: "hey, they have a special on swordfish here, $14.99 a pound: should I get some?" Her response, "Free Range has it at $9.99". And they did. Can't go wrong. (UPDATE): I see from a bit of browsing that some reviewers complain that the store isn't a comfortable place to dine. That's not surprising, because it's a fish store, not a restaurant. My suggestion for those visiting Portland is to have them cook you up some lobsters (call ahead, if you like), then get back in your car and drive east (take a right) on Commercial Street and travel maybe a mile, mile-and-a-half to the Eastern Promenade. Even with summer tourist congestion it shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes, and probably less. The Promenade has plenty of parking, benches, and a fantastic view over Casco Bay. I can't think of a finer place to chow down on lobster, and between the reasonable prices at Free Range and the free view on the Promenade, you'll have the best dining in town, and you'll be far ahead of what you'd pay had you'd hit one of the restaurants on the wharfs. (That's if it's a nice day, of course. You might want to pay up for shelter in inclement weather.)

Stopped here twice on my way out of town. The staff is friendly, the prices are reasonable and the fish is fresh. I also was pleasantly surprised to find fresh fiddleheads in season!

Staff is self important and rude. Plenty of places to get seafood in Portland where you don't feel like an inconvenience while you're spending a lot of money. Brought a family member from away in to show the market, and he was immediately told to leave for one person per party Covid rules. This is despite the fact he was going to buy his own. If you're from away, stay away from here.

This place always has very fresh seafood! The prices are reasonable for the quality and quantity... Much cheaper than you will find in stores. The crab cakes are huge and has minimal filler.. What is surprising is that a lot of the fish is not sourced locally.. The trout is from Idaho... A bit weird, but tastes good! The earlier you go the better, they run out of things as the day goes on.

Friendly staff that was happy too help. Not a large variety to pick from but the prices were spot on with others in the area. The fish we got looked fresh and when we cooked it it fried up nicely. When we went in there was no lobster that we could find. Looking forward to going back.

We just tried to eat the "dry" scallops I bought yesterday, and they were obviously "wet" that is, chemically treated to increase their weight and shelf-life. How could I tell: they would not brown in a hot pan and they had a salty, chemical taste, almost soapy. I've bought good scallops there before, but there is no excuse for a fresh seafood store in Portland Maine to be selling wet scallops as dry in season.

I bought some frozen lobsters (5-6 inch size) from your store on 5/24/2019. Your staff packed the lobsters in a styrofoam box and put them in your freezer overnight before taking them home with me on my flight back to Nevada the next day. I put the lobsters in my freezer when I got home. I cooked a few lobsters last night. Two of the lobsters had their meat stay intact and the whole tail came out as one piece. But one of the lobsters was not fresh, and the meat fell apart when I peeled the shell off. The worst thing was that I gave some lobsters to my friend, and he had the same experience with his lobster meat falling into pieces. I felt embarrassed to my friend about the lobster instead of sharing happiness of eating lobster. It is not worth to pay $24.99 per pound for frozen lobster that is not fresh. Please remind your supplier when seafood is too old, consumers can taste the difference even when it is frozen. June 2, 2019

Great place to purchase fresh seafood. The folks at the counter are very knowledgeable and willing to provide suggestions and advice. They were quick and we barely had to wait (we got in about 3:30 pm). They have a relatively small parking lot though, so beware, you may have to find street parking. It was mid-October and we enjoyed fresh steamers, scallops, and lobsters, all for a reasonable price. I didn't find the lobster to be any more extraordinary than I found at other places, but I thought the steamers and scallops were exceptionally sweet. There were other seafood options such as calamari, tuna, salmon, and more. If you're lazy with your lobster, they have just the meat by the pound as well. They have a few other items besides seafood like beer, wine, condiments, seasoning, lemons, etc. in case you are missing some accompaniments.

We stopped at Free range Fish and Lobster before returning to MA as the boy promised lobster to his brother's family for dinner. All the staff there are wearing masks and are doing everything per covid requirements. They do require people going in I believe at this time to wear a mask still. They have fresh seafood, and some sides (potato salad, i forget what else) in the fridge case. They have plenty of wine and beer for your imbibing needs while eating all that fresh seafood. They do ship lobster via FedEx or UPS i forget but there is a form that you fill out. They will send the lobster next day, while we didnt opt for this we overheard someone buying lobster this way. They will ship Friday for Saturday delivery -- with extra costs. The lobster we got from them was live and we packed it with ice and drove it back down to MA with no issues. In fact, they asked if we wanted to bring our cooler in to get ice from their supply in the back but our cooler was packed into the car and we opted for grabbing their small bags of ice. (We do have a cooler similar to a yeti -- its a Rovr so it kept the ice quite solid for the 3+ hour drive home)

Oh. My. What a steal! $39.99 for a pound of lobster TAILS. Thats about 7 lobster tails. Already pealed. Which is what we all want anyway because anyone who says they just "enjoy the ritual of cracking the shell and working for the meat" (me yesterday) is lying and doesn't realize this is an option. It was too good a deal to pass up so we got ourselves a bag and just ate them in the hotel like we were gonna die the next day. Also, caveat, the warehouse is the building by the docks. The real store is towards the beginning of commercial street.

For some reason people have been leaving reviews for this place as a restaurant. It's a great place to get fresh lobster, steamed or raw, but it IS NOT a restaurant. They have not been a restaurant for the past 20 years so I don't know what place people are talking about. They are very nice, though.

We bought a rare large blue lobster (3.25 lb) from this store and they steamed it for us for free. It is so huge that it took us the whole afternoon to fight to open it up. But it's incredibly delicious. And the price is equivalent to a small lobster we ate at a restaurant. The staff there were very friendly. They also helped us open fresh oysters which tasted great. Definitely worth visiting if you are in Portland, Maine. But bring a lobster cracker and a scissor with you.

Traveled 2 hours - special trip to purchase fresh haddock, salmon, etc. for the winter. Kid behind the counter was RUDE and we obviously were bothering him. No inventory available except some haddock. Never been here before, but will pay full price at home ($3/lb. more) instead of coming back.

This place doesn't always sell maine lobster. Easy way to tell check the bands that are wrapped around the claws the ones we got said Canada on them after we asked twice and the persons selling hand on excuse why they said it. A Maine lobsterman is not going to use anyone bands except ones that say Maine on them or their home island. It's out of pride. Know what your buying, the other fish pounds on the road I have never had or seen this issue with. I hate being lied to. Lie about one thing what else they dishonest about. One more thing double check your weight of the lobster and clams trust me we had that had this issue as well. Their scales are heavy as well.

Not a Restaurant, a Lobster pound and fresh fish market. F.R.F.&L. gives very helpful, friendly service. Drove by on way to downtown Portland. Chix lobsters (soft shell) about one pound for $3.99/# were a special on their sign outside. We bought four. They cooked and cracked with a hammer for us, bagged them and we cleaned them in the evening at our motel, Saved the best parts on ice for two days and had a feast on top of Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park at sunset, warming our butter over the engine manifold. Outstanding. They also have a wide selection of fish, shellfish and larger lobsters. Also an interesting selection of wines, sauces, and some veggies to go with your seafood. We stopped in again, southbound to Boston, bought 6 more lobsters, ~7# total, cleaned yielding 1.5# meat for $28. We enjoyed the results after our return home to California the next day. Very satisfied with the value, quality and freshness.

I was visiting my boyfriend in Portland and we wanted to eat fresh fish while we were so close to the coast. I had noticed Free Range Fish's large sign when driving by and came in due to lots of positive Yelp reviews. It has convenient parking spots right in front, is located just outside of the downtown area so it's easy to grab some fillets and steamers for dinner quickly. I was extremely happy with the prices and fish specials. Got some amazing haddock for $4.99 and enjoyed it so much I got more a few days later. The interior is clean, attractive, and organized. There is a small fresh produce area with seasonal basics like corn, potatoes, herbs, and dried spices. They also have a freezer section with frozen side dishes. I stuck to the fresh fish and shellfish. To pay, the guys behind the fish counter hand you a slip with the weights and types of fish you bought and you bring the slip to the cashier. Friendly, fast service each time I visited. Would definitely recommend. They do not serve hot prepared food here.

I've got the haddock, cod, scallops, hake, swordfish, smelts, mackerel, and some clams here already. All good quality at great prices. I want to try the razor clams, but I don't trust myself, what a lame-o.... They don't seem to ever have bluefish, what's up with that? Not nearly as just-so as Harbor Fish down the road, but I like this place for its simplicity! Definitely will come back for more fish at this joint.

My husband and I stopped here today. We were drawn in by the sign Haddock $4.99 pound. Great deal we thought. Had iced and headed back to Portsmouth. Went to fry it up and to our horror saw worms in the fish!! When a deal sounds to good to be true it is. Buyer Beware!!