Ed’s Lobster Bar Kiosk

Cutie Patroller Patrolling Report
Hello is it summer in the city (^_​^) in February? This place brings the feel of New England /​Long Island fish shack right to Soho. It’s the middle of winter and I’m imagining wearing a summer sundress & flip flops with the bright light, white walls & marble counter and open raw bar kitchen. Though the place is small with a dining room in back, the best location is the counter so make sure to grab a good seat. Order a chilled Sauvignon Blanc and watch the guy crack open the lobsters and oysters. This place is famous for its lobster roll ($ 27 market price) & raw bar but I didn’t order any of that as I want to try something new. I started with the crab & artichoke dip (great but Freeman’s artichoke dip places the bar high) and enjoyed their tuna tartar with sea salted zucchini tempura. The skate, the fresh fish of the day, was a great choice simply seasoned and seared in olive oil & butter. P. S. Who’s Ed? Owner/​chef Ed McFarland worked at Pearl Oyster Bar, which I adore for 6 years before opening his own place. Make sense!
ps Ed’s Lobster bar now has 3 location in city of New York. I can’t wait to patrol neweast Lower East Side location.
Cutie Patroller is always on the prowl in downtown NYC for cute places and great food.

Ed’s Lobster Bar Kiosk is located on the outdoor patio area of the World Financial Center /​Winter Garden. It’s easiest to reach there by walking through either of those indoor shopping centers first.
Ed’s lobster roll was good! They are open until 10/​31, and open up from 11am, though I’m not sure if they are open on the weekend. I’m not sure if this is the first year of operation for this stand. It is the same Ed’s as the restaurant in SoHo on Lafayette.
My friend said he liked it better than Urban Lobster. The meat isn’t as chunky as Luke’s, but it’s still good.
It’s a nice option on days with nice weather b/​c you can sit on the steps while eating your $ 13 lobster roll. The $ 25 Ed’s roll is not worth it. You receive a bit more lobster meat, but other than that, it’s the same size roll.
Both the small sized and Ed sized rolls come with greasy potato chips.

Just okay.
Went on opening day for their lobster bar KIOSK on the plaza in front of the World Financial Center. It was kind of a cold day to be chilling outside having a lobster roll unfortunately, but nevertheless, I grinned and bared the weather for what I thought would be an awesome lobstah roll. Ed’s sort of fell short for me. For $ 13 I opted for the small roll which meant it had about 3 oz of lobster in it. It was drenched in mayonnaise which just took away from what I presumed to be the fresh seafood taste I usually look forward to when I eat lobster. In my opinion, you don’t need to do much to lobster to make it taste nice. Adding a ton of mayo does nothing good for it. Just a little dab will do ya.
I was a little disappointed with the lobster roll here. It was plentiful as far as portion sizes go, I will give them that, but I think they went to heavy on the mayo. Also, the bun was toasted nicely too and I love fresh pickles! That was pretty decent. In any event, I doubt I will return here. Oh and don’t forget, you get a free soda if you buy the full sized lobster roll for $ 25.

While spring may not have returned just yet, Ed’s Lobster Bar Kiosk has made the return to the plaza in front of the World Financial Center. With warm weather ever off in the distance, we just decided to brave a visit here for lunch in less than hospitable weather. Being the first day the kiosk was back, the setup was fraught with difficulties. The credit card machine was down so one had to have cash on hand and plenty of it. Even the plastic silverware was mostly gone and not the cleanest. I am hoping they have ironed out all of these kinks by now, but it was certainly an issue for us during our visit.
One has two choices for the lobster roll, either filled to the level of the bun ($ 13) or heaping over the bun ($ 25). I went with the larger version in hopes that my appetite for lobster would be satiated, but honestly it only seemed a little bit larger than the other version that my girlfriend had. On quantity alone, you are probably better off just ordering two of the smaller rolls rather than one of the larger ones. The lobster roll itself was decent but not great. The bun was superb boasting a lovely, buttery taste and the slight toasting gave it a wonderful textural backdrop. It was functional too since it held up to the weight of all that lobster without becoming soggy. The lobster meat was, surprisingly, mostly big chunks and it was pretty tasty. Unfortunately, the taste of the lobster was undermined a bit by the overuse of mayonnaise. The quality of the lobster was too high for such a measure. This bordered more on lobster salad rather than a lobster roll. Enjoyable, but I will stick with Red Hook Lobster Pound and Luke’s for my lobster roll needs. I just prefer a cleaner, more coherent taste when it comes to such things. Still, I definitely recommend a stop here if just for the venue. On a warm day, the view of the marina, the Hudson, and NJ off in the distance is exceptional.

The small roll — $ 15 — is a little pricey, but over paying for decent food masquerading as good food is a way of life down in the FiDi.
Lobster rolls, like religion and politics, is just one of those things that are beat-​down, drag-​out divisive. Butter? Mayo? Too much, too little? Who’s to say what a «true» lobster roll is anyhow?
Ed’s version is good. I’m gonna leave it at that.

BEST. LOBSTER. ROLL. EVER.
I have had a lot of lobster rolls in my day and this is 100% the best.
Only drawback was price. As you can see in other reviews, it seems to bother quite a bit of people. My theory is I live once and it’s worth trying once and I am glad I did. Unfortunately, my loyalty will not remain due to this drawback.
That said, the roll was a tad mayoish more then it could have been but the overall chunks of lobster was phenom and there was a lemony taste that kicks in along with whatever delish was mixed in. The roll was toasted and buttery and melted in your mouth.
Plus the location is perfect. Thank goodness I dont work down there, I would sit out by the water all the time!

I love Ed’s Lobster Bar and I was so happy to hear about their kiosk. Paid $ 15 for the 3 ounce lobster roll.
It was not as much lobster as I would have liked, and I like the one in the actual restaurant more. I’d go back if I have an undeniable urge for a lobster roll during lunch though.

I was initially very excited to hear bout Ed’s Lobster Bar coming to the WFC for the summer… but oh how they let me down…
The small lobster roll — $ 15 — is very small… and has too much mayo!
Since I’ve experienced a REAL LOBSTER roll from LUKE’S LOBSTER –there are no comparisons… Luke’s has huge chunks!!! huge claws!!! lightly dressed with seasoning and butter…(read my review)
Ed’s was chopped with more mayo and reminded me of a coleslaw consistency… and the bun was not light and buttery…
I won’t be trying them again…
Nice try. but no cigar.

How thrilled was I to hear that one of my favorite seafood establishments in Soho was opening up a summer kiosk one block from my apartment!
Ed’s Lobster Bar opened their satellite kiosk yesterday at the North Cove Marina outside World Financial Center. It is slated to be open everyday 11:00AM — 8:00PM through October 31^st (except when it rains).
The menu includes their classic 6oz lobster roll for around $ 27 or the new 3oz lobster roll for $ 15 (both come with Cape Cod potato chips). I’m looking forward to trying the shrimp po’ boy ($ 12) next time. They also have grilled corn which is very popular, cole slaw, shrimp skewers, and a few other things on the menu.
The kiosk is not at the address listed, but inside the WFC plaza at the marina (where Southwest NY & PJ O’Clarke’s have their outdoor seating).
A great lobster roll, though I’d recommend getting some sides as the 3oz is not very filling. Credit card minimum is $ 15, which won’t be a problem here. Grab a table in the public seating area and enjoy the sunset while you inhale the best thing to ever come out of a kiosk.