Ogunquit Lobster Pound Restaurant

Ogunquit Lobster Pound is a spacious, working seafood operation where the main event is choosing your own live lobster from the tank before the kitchen turns it into dinner. It draws families, couples, and serious seafood eaters who don't mind the casual setup and Friday-Sunday-only hours (5 to 8 pm). The place runs like a system: you order, grab a table number, head outside to pick your crustacean, then bring the ticket back to your server. Lobster fettuccine and whole steamed lobsters are the draws, precracked and swimming in clarified butter.

• Pick your own live lobster straight from the tank.
• Lobster fettuccine loaded with tender, fresh chunks.
• Perfectly cooked steamer clams, incredibly clean and fresh.
• Staff tracks down left items and mails them home.

Get the lobster fettuccine (come with penne or long noodles) if you want pasta loaded with actual lobster meat. The whole steamed lobster precracked is the main event, dipped in clarified butter. Steamer clams arrive clean and don't need rinsing. Skip the green beans and unseasoned sides, but the blueberry pie is worth taking home if you're too full to eat it on the spot.

Spacious and casual, with most of the excitement outside at the lobster tanks. Inside is lively but not loud, the kind of working seafood house that prioritizes freshness over fancy decor.

Come here if you want lobster that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is: fresh, sweet, and simply cooked. The kitchen also does lobster pasta (fettuccine or penne), steamer clams, and a few non-seafood options like steak, though seafood is where the skill shows. One recent visitor called it "one of the best seafood dinners we've ever had." Skip the green beans, stick to what they do best.

Guests rave about the quality and sweetness of the lobster, the system of picking your own, and the staff's knowledge and kindness. One diner described it as "one of the best seafood dinners we've ever had." People remember the place long after their trip, especially the care staff shows when something goes wrong.