Sprague’s Lobster

Beautiful spot on the water. The first time I had steamers. Delicious! Lobster roll was good, too. We have a nice time and the wait wasn’t horrible (in October).

Right on the water, it doesn’t get much better than this for Maine seafood. I’m a Mainer, so I know. The prices are fair and based on current market prices. There is a wide range of shellfish and some fish. We had the crab cake basket with fries and a crab roll. There was a generous portion of meat in both dishes and very little filler in the crab cake. It was SO FRESH! The restaurant’s concept is all outdoors with picnic tables on a huge deck facing the water. On the edge, is a shack that you wait in line and order from. No one waits on you, just order and wait for your number to come up then take your food to the tables. This place will not disappoint and it totally beats the lines at Red’s across the street. I am so glad I came here instead. So, show Sprague’s some LOVE!

Order from the main hut. Menu’s taped to the front of the hut. Non-​boiled items are picked up at same place while steamers and lobster meals are picked up from the second shack where they house the steam pots.
About $ 16/​lobster roll as of late 2015. Lobster rolls have way more meat than you can fit in a bite. So at least you’re getting what you paid for. Buns are heavily buttered, nicely toasted. Lobster meat is lightly dressed in mayo so you get plenty of that fishy lobster taste.
I liked the steamers here best, very clean. You could tell they were purged well because when rinsing them in the broth barely brought out any sand or grit.

Quick service and quality ingredients. I love how the bread is slightly a chewy and crunchy texture at the same time. While the place across the street is more popular, this is definitely a stop that should be considered.

Lobster roll was okay. Fish and chips were bland. $ 37 for that and a bottle of water!

Very nice place for the local flare bite to eat! Nice large deck on the water, classic Maine lobster shack ambience. Friendly staff and the food is pretty good. Chowder is a wee bit thinner than some others I’ve had but taste is good besides. One of our party had a burger, which rates a 3… haddock breaded filet was good too, just not my favorite type of breading. Lobster dinners we saw served looked good as well. So too compare to many other places we have gone this is little above average.

Lobster is brought in right off the water. Buy them live or in a roll. They have crab, clams, and fish and chips too. Lobster roll is very clean. Little or no dressing and a great waterfront view.

Went here once and had a great experience.
Got twin lobsters and a hot dog for $ 28. The lobsters were so delicious and fresh, it was like kissing the ocean on the lips. The hot dog was great too.
Service was friendly and relatively quick. There is a $ 1 deposit that you get back after you return your lobster crackers, so the lunch was really only $ 26.
There is picnic Table seating below umbrellas and an ice cream stand and jam and pottery vendors too. Everything is on a dock that looks out to the ocean. Why would you want to stand in line on the side of the street across the way at Red’s???

Great lobster and steamers outdoor seating only. Lobster roll was fresh and cooked just right not chewy or stringy. The steamers were perfect and fresh. They served the steamers with butter and hot sea water to wash the clams. Portion sizes are adequate. Priced okay a little less than the neighboring lobster shack. Worth a try. I would go back.

I went here instead of the «across the street place» because I was pressed for time and boy am I glad that I did. I ordered a lobster roll (my first of the trip) and it came out heaping with sweet, plain lobster meat on a toasted roll. I put nothing on it but a squeeze of lemon and washed it down with a Capt’n Eli’s Black Cherry soda (also from Maine).
They have plenty of waterfront seating, which would be lovely on a warm, sunny afternoon.
During my visit to Maine I tried 4 other lobster rolls throughout the state and I liked none of them as much as this one.

Best lobster roll and mussels.
No fried clams here.
Whole boiled lobster dinners.
Crab rolls.
Hamburgers, cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger.
Try the fried green beans. Get a pound of steamers with fresh drawn butter.
Have a bowl of creamy clam chowder.
The view is spectacular. The line non existent. A cheaper, more convenient alternative to the lovely competition across the street.
Finish with a sundae. Laugh as you drive away full and happy.

What can I say!?! It’s Maine, it’s lobster and it’s great!
So this is across from ‘The Other’ lobster place. It’s great. Not saying it’s faster or better as I haven’t been to the other but the lobster is super delicious.
I do like the seating area, as its larger and has a bunch of picnic tables with umbrellas… which was a huge plus with some of the extra warm temperatures and bright sunny day.
We got crab cakes… tasty. Different from the thick n chubby Maryland Crab cakes but delicious!
Decided to get just the boiled lobster instead of the meal. Just wanted to fill the belly with lobster and didn’t want the corn, rolls, slaw or steamers. Had some steamers the day before and prefer the littleneck clams versus the kind that were served. With fresh lobster… you really can’t go wrong. Super, succulent meat in the tail n claws.
Try this place!!! You won’t be sad!!!

My wife and I had lobster rolls, and spit an order of fries and a cup of clam chowder. The lobster roll was definitely 4 stars, being very traditional with a butter toasted split top bun and over flowing lobster that was completely unadorned but cooked to perfection. We decided to skip the butter/​mayo and enjoyed sweet, succulent lobster at its finest. I took off a star for the chowder. It was basically a cup of buttered milk with a few potatoes and a probably a tablespoon of chopped clams. Once the potatoes and clams were gone there was still ¾ cup of broth. The fries were soggy and a tad undercooked but I didn’t deduct because fries always seem to be hit or miss at these types of shacks and let’s face it, we didn’t come for the fries.
The net is I would recommend Sprague’s for the lobster roll if you don’t have the patience to wait on line at Red’s, but would skip the chowder and fries. They did have a twin lobster special for around $ 23 dollars that the couple next to us really enjoyed so there is that too.

Wife and I got a roll from the more popular place across the street and this one to compare. This roll was good compared to all of ours on the trip as well as the one across the street. Not the best one on the trip but neither was the place across the street.
Served with mayo and my wife prefers Connecticut style with butter but it was as good as the close by competitor and $ 5 less.
Great spot on the water and they had some very good lobster dinner specials which we did not try. Prices are good for what you get.

I’ve been to Sprague’s several times now. Everyone talks about how their Lobster Rolls compare to Red’s Eats (right across the street), and they should. Sprague’s lobster rolls are a great alternative to Red’s if you want to avoid the wait time (and standing as you wait). They have a tremendous amount of meat, comparable to Red’s. I will likely choose Sprague’s in the future for a lobster roll if Red’s wait line is very long. If this review was based solely on their lobster roll, I would give it 4.5 stars.
What everyone seems to miss, is that Sprague’s offers more than just lobster rolls. I ordered a fish & chips dinner last weekend that was just awful. When I picked up the serving box from the window I wondered if they forgot to give me a second box. There were 3 small fish sticks plopped on a bed of cold, soggy fries. The fish sticks were much like the brands you’ll find in the frozen goods section of Hannaford. The outside had a thick, hard casing and the haddock was dry. All this for $ 8.99.
My recommendation is to avoid any of their fried foods, and stick with lobster rolls, steamers, chowders, etc.

May be the best lobster roll I’ve ever had. Did not go to reds due to the line. But, I’m glad I didn’t. Pure lobster ! Would go back in a heartbeat !

Excellent alternative to the long lines at Reds. Much more room to spread out and eat on their many picnic tables, and more selection for those who don’t eat lobster. This is my go-​to lobster roll spot on my way to and from our home in Maine. Delicious frappes as well!
I know Reds is the popular and cliché spot to go, but give Sprague’s a try next time you drive through Wiscasset, you won’t regret it!

Both Reds and Sprague make make a fabulous roll given that they use lobster from the same lobster fishermen and the same bread supplier. They both give you a generous serving of lobster, with Reds giving you more lobster on your roll but for more money. Our roll at Spragues came with no mayo like others have said. We had to ask for butter which you get at a different little boiling shack next door.
So. The rolls themselves are not that different from each other. But the FEEL of the experience is different. Debbie, the daughter of Red of Reds eats, works her tail off and somehow you just feel … I don’t know… The love I guess, in the whole thing. I was at Reds in May woth no line. This time the line stretched round the corner and we had our food ordered and eaten by the time my Marker Lady in the Pink Shirt moved 10 feet.
If you are Jones ing for a lobster roll and have to get out of town and can’t wait them by all means go to Sprague and enjoy. If not the eat then eat lunch early and go to Reds.

You’ll hear this intro more than once: «The epic line dragged on at Red’s Eats, so we opted for Sprague’s.»
Which poses a real problem to Red’s, as I’m now sold on Sprague’s. The $ 15 lobster rolls boasts the same meat weight («a lobster and then some») as their ‘cross the street rivals, is freshly steamed to a tender, creamy consistency that needs no added fat, and rings in at a buck less. Not to say Sprague’s reigns supreme over Red’s, I’m just unsure if I’ve the patience to pass over a expertly crafted and scandalously simple New England staple in favor of hype and a much longer wait.
It needed nothing — no butter, no mayo, no salt. Nothing. It was lobster, plain and simple.
The coleslaw I snacked on the side is cold, crisp and… confused? Whereas most shredded cabbage contenders tend be proudly vinegar based, or mayo based, or sugared to the point of candied, Sprague’s wanted to be all of the above. Tart, mustard-​kissed, herbal and sweet, it caught me off-​guard, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it til I looked down and saw an empty Styrofoam cup.
I learned something new about Wiscasset, and about myself. My name is Damien S, and I’m into confused coleslaw.

Like us, you may be about 40 minutes into waiting in the line at Red’s Eats, staring longingly across the street to the line-​less shack at Sprague’s, wondering, «Is this REALLY worth the wait? Should I skip the madness and just eat the lobster roll at Sprague’s?»
Hard question to answer. We were lucky enough to eat at Red’s two days prior, but decided to skip the hour plus long lines and see if Sprague’s could compare. The smaller portions (but comparably cheaper price, about $ 3 less) do rob you of the «wow» factor that comes with about 2 lobster’s worth of meat overflowing from the bun at Red’s. But quantity aside, five separate diners had a hard time deciding if one roll was significantly better than the other (although there were some decidedly strong opinions that the quality at Red’s was unquestionably superior and I was mad to consider otherwise).
What we could unanimously agree on, however, was that the haddock was poorly battered and bland, and the clam fritters were far too much fritter and far too little clam. The service was bright, friendly and cheery, but unfortunately we were disappointed by the other options, esp. compared to the lobster roll.
So in short, if you are in a rush and just want a lobster roll fix, Sprague’s is fine. However, if you are just in town for a spell and want to be blown away by the biggest lobster roll you’ve ever seen (and have a better palate for lobster rolls then I probably have), stay in line and wait for Red’s. But as for the other items at Sprague’s? They had much more than the haddock or clam fritters, but if you are thinking about ordering those two in particular, I would pass and just get another lobster roll.