The Red House
Two types of lobster rolls. A bowl of lobster carbonara. And one very photogenic split lobster seafood stew.
If you’re a lover of lobster, you’ll get the red carpet treatment at The Red House.
Nestled in this adorable spot, right in the middle of Harvard Square, The Red House has been a fixture in the area dating back to the early eighteen hundreds, and it was recently taken over by present owners Molly and Ryan Lindbergh.
“The Red House has been a lot of different things. It used to be just a legit historic house. It got built out into like a 200 person restaurant in 2001. And it ran that way for about 20 years. And then I took it over and we turned it into a seafood restaurant.”
However, this transformation had one problem. A global pandemic. So the two got creative, keeping the business afloat with concepts on their airy porch, a temporary pivot they now intend on keeping.
“The first one was a fish and chips stand and we just started slinging lobster rolls out of it. And it was awesome. And from that we built like a beach club. In the winter we decided to do the winter chalet. And once we did the winter chalet, we just kind of kept going and decided that every season would be something else.”
And while the porch is certainly special, the comfort food menu, with a focus on seafood can also be enjoyed inside their cozy dining room.
“We really focus on trying to build an atmosphere that is conducive to sitting down and actually enjoying each other's company put people down with good food and great cocktails and just let them be with each other.”
Since seafood is their specialty, a Shellfish Sampler is always a great way to start your Red House experience loaded up with fresh oysters, shrimp, octopus and ceviche. Or the hot and steamy empanadas stuffed with a blend of fresh seafood and three different cheeses.
“It's kind of like a Hot Pocket almost. You bite into it. You've got a bunch of different cheeses and delicious fresh seafood. You can just bite into and you get everything in there.”
There’s flavor packed Street Corn topped with parmesan, lime, smoked paprika and ranch dressing. Or for a true New England classic, nothing quite compares to the clam chowder.
“So it is a thick chowder. It's a cream based and you have big chunks of potato. You have the whole clams in there and bacon, celery, onion, and we try to keep it very New England based. And it really works well I think.”
It’s tough deciding between The Red House signature Lobster Rolls. There’s the classic version full of claw and knuckle meat.
“It's a classic mayonnaise base. So if you go anywhere, kind of a New England, it's what you're gonna find. And we do it on a brioche roll nicely toasted with a little bit of butter base. It's kind of an ode to the classic as kind of the name would suggest.”
If you want something a bit outside the box, try Red House’s Sriracha Lobster Roll.
“The sriracha mayo gives it a little bit of a spicy kick, and then avocado that adds a little bit of fattiness to it. So it allows you to kind of get a very mixed palette."
Lobster also makes its way into a pasta dish in the form of the Lobster Carbonara.
“We have a pasta machine..my dad actually brought over from Italy. We're still using it. Every day we make fresh pasta. You get pasta pancetta lobster fresh Parmesan cheese and the fresh fresh pasta. It's a creamy feel good, fresh pasta dish. It seriously the best.”
Other seafood dishes include beer battered fish and chips and if you’re serious about shellfish, the Seafood Stew is for you. This ocean-fresh extravaganza has scallops, mussels, shrimp, clams and a half lobster in a flavorful saffron broth and is so eye-popping, people usually reach for their cameras before their forks.
"It's got the steam coming out of it. Smells delicious to get the big lobster tail on the side. So definitely people look at it and order it when they see it.”
Of course, meat eaters are not an afterthought at The Red House, with options like their grass fed burger, topped with crispy bacon, caramelized onions and your choice of cheese or the slow braised pork tacos.
“We braise it. So that it really is a really succulent dish. We put a little bit of lettuce underneath and we put this sriracha mayo on top so it gives you another kick…when you bite into it. Like, whoa.”
And your palate will continue to be impressed right through dessert if you order the Key Lime Pie- made with an old family recipe.
“We use only a pure lime juice. So we literally squeezed lime juice. It takes a lot of effort to make. And I think that's why it tastes so good. There's a lot of love in it.”
It seems there’s a lot of love at being served here, making it easy to feel at home at The Red House.
