Where We’re Eating: Luke’s Lobster

Two things you need to know about Luke’s Lobster. One, you should go right now. And two, if you didn’t hear me the first time, GO RIGHT NOW. This is the first Philly location of the small, beloved, Maine-based, Manhattan-centered nine-outlet chain that serves idealized roadside-shack lobster rolls. Yeah, yeah, there are crab rolls ($12) and shrimp rolls ($8) and blah blah blah. But what matters here—really, all that matters here—is the $15 lobster roll, done as the lobster gods intended.

Luke’s gets the buns right (New England-style, buttered and grilled) and stuffs them with lots of big chunks of lobster claw and knuckle and nothing else—no filler, no celery chunks, nothing but a wisp of mayo on the roll. This is not some lobster salad sandwich (as lobster rolls have become at so many other places around Philly); it’s the real deal. And at only $15 a pop, you’re getting the honest article significantly cheaper than anywhere else in Philly, too.

Luke’s Lobster
130 south 17th Street
215-564-1415

First appeared in the July, 2013 issue of Philadelphia magazine.