John L.
Yelp
The food is overrated, and I'll explain why. Mason's is a FAST food franchise company started in 2014. This location opened in August 2022 and is owned by franchisees. They say on their website, "At Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls, the focus is on simplicity and indulgence. Our lobster rolls are prepared according to tradition. With no bells, no whistles, and no pretention. And we serve them with only the basics: Lemon. Butter. Mayo. Maybe a little celery. Nothing extra to distract you. Just enough to seduce you." My wife and I weren't seduced. We don't even want to come back. Their food is simple alright, too simple. Their lobsters would have to be incredibly flavorful and succulent to rely on such basic ingredients as mayo, butter, and lemon to make their food outstanding. They're not going to get that with frozen lobsters supplied in huge numbers. Here's what we found with the dishes we bought.
1) Lobster Bisque
It was watery with a few thin strands of lobster. It wasn't rich or buttery, and it lacked sherry flavor. It was a basic soup with flavors of milk, lobster, salt, pepper, garlic, and a hint of tomato. It wasn't worth the price. Lobster meat can be added for an extra charge. It needed a lot more than that to make it appealing.
2) Lobster BLT Roll
It had chunks of lobster meat, bacon, lettuce, and tomato in a New England split-top roll. It was supposed to have mayo and lemon butter. Someone forgot to put it in. We got it as a combo meal with The Bar Harbor. Combos come with a side and a drink. The side choices are: coleslaw, potato salad, tater tots, and Cape Cod chips. The Bar Harbor means you get 50% more lobster meat, which includes lobster tail. The lobster was moist and slightly chewy with little flavor. The lobster should have been cut into smaller pieces. Not everyone has a big mouth, literally. The bacon was thick sliced, not salty, and had good flavor. The New England split-top roll was toasted and soft inside. It tasted like plain white bread. Overall, the flavor was the sum of the parts. The mayo and lemon butter were sorely needed for flavor and moisture.
3) Lobster Salad Roll
It had chunks of lobster meat with diced celery, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a New England split-top roll. We got it as a combo meal with The Bar Harbor. The lobster was moist, slightly sweet, and a bit chewy. It tasted good, not great. The big chunks with dressing were messy to eat. The dressing tasted like mayonnaise with a little cream, salt, and pepper. Overall, it tasted okay, but it wasn't special. I've had better in Maine, and even then, they were nothing to rave about. They were made the traditional way also. They had fresh lobsters, not frozen, which gave them more flavor and tenderness.
4) Coleslaw
It was a side dish that we picked for our combo meal. It had shredded green and red cabbage and shredded carrots. The dressing tasted like mayonnaise with vinegar, salt, and sugar. Plain and simple, that's all.
5) Potato Salad
We picked this as a side dish for the combo meal. It had red potatoes, relish, mayonnaise, vinegar, salt, pepper, and Dijon mustard. It was the most flavorful dish in our order. It's hard to believe that this potato salad, of all things, had the most complete flavor profile.
The service was polite, informative, and helpful. The dining room and restroom were clean. They have self-serve fountain sodas. Plastic forks and spoons, napkins, straws, and cup lids are available at a counter near the soda dispenser. There is a parking garage and a bus stop nearby. After reading many positive reviews, I was expecting some flavorful dishes. But they're not, they're simple like Mason's posted. I can only hope that the food was made wrong. A traditional lobster roll can be enjoyable, but the flavor profile doesn't have much depth. There are much better tasting lobster rolls out there. The flavorful ones use ingredients that are nontraditional. As it is, Mason's is for people who love simple seafood dishes prepared like fast food. Mason's is the McDonald's of lobster rolls.
