Best Lobster Rolls in Houston: Connecticut vs. Maine, 1,500 Miles Away

Houston has nine places to get a proper lobster roll right now — split-top buns, real knuckle and claw meat, served either Maine-style (chilled, lightly dressed in mayo) or Connecticut-style (warm, bathed in melted butter). Every spot on this list was confirmed open via its own official site or official social page before publication. Prices start at $17.50, top out around $50, and the geographic spread is wide enough that one of these is probably close to wherever you are.

The Connecticut warm-butter roll is actually the older of the two. Perry’s restaurant in New Haven claims it invented the hot-buttered lobster roll around 1929 — warm lobster, drawn butter, toasted split roll, no mayo involved. The cold-mayo Maine version caught on later and is what most people argue about. Both styles have Houston defenders 1,500 miles from the source.

The quick list

• Most affordable, Maine-style: Maine-ly Sandwiches, Northwest Houston, from $17.50
• Best date-night roll: Hudson House, River Oaks, $30.80
• The warm-butter case, made properly: Millie’s Kitchen and Cocktails, Oak Forest, $38
• Kerrygold butter, named one of the country’s best: Loch Bar, Uptown, $50.40
• Your choice of style: The Annie Café and Bar, Galleria/Uptown, $48
• Food truck, both styles, New England rolls: Cousins Maine Lobster Truck, roaming
• Hybrid: drawn butter and lemon aioli: Clark’s Oyster Bar, Montrose, $39
• Upscale Southern brasserie version: State of Grace, River Oaks, $37
• Vietnamese-fusion take: Drunken Lobster, Bellaire/Asiatown, $29.95

How we chose

Every spot on this list had to show a current lobster roll on its menu, confirmed via its own official website, official social page, or a food media source dated within six months of publication. We excluded any restaurant whose lobster roll had been removed after a menu redesign or reported closure. If we could not confirm a specific style (Maine or Connecticut) from an official source, we say so. Hours and prices change; treat every figure here as “typically” and check the venue’s own site before you go. For more seafood restaurants in Houston, our dedicated guide covers the wider Gulf Coast and fine-dining options.

Maine-style: chilled, mayo-dressed

Maine-style lobster rolls are served cold or at room temperature. The meat — typically claw and knuckle — is tossed in a light mayo dressing, sometimes with celery, lemon, or seasoning salt, and piled into a toasted split-top bun.

Maine-ly Sandwiches — Northwest Houston

7620 Katy Fwy #225 (near Spring Branch) · from $17.50 · Maine-style cold mayo

This is the most committed lobster roll shop on the list. Maine-ly Sandwiches opened in Northwest Houston and has been making one thing well ever since: fresh steamed lobster tossed in a little mayo, loaded into a warm butter-toasted split roll. It’s the closest thing to a Maine roadside shack you’ll find in Houston. The “Maine’iac Roll” ($40+) adds tail meat to the usual claw and knuckle, served with drawn butter on the side. Regular rolls start at $17.50 — the most affordable option on this list.

Best for: anyone who wants the real thing at an honest price. This is also the move when you are eating near Spring Branch and want something other than tacos or crawfish.

Hudson House — River Oaks

1966 W Gray St · $30.80 · New England style, lemon mayo, house-baked roll

Hudson House on West Gray is an East Coast-inspired seafood and American restaurant that bakes its own New England-style rolls in-house rather than importing them. The lobster roll here is a quarter-pound of Atlantic lobster meat dressed in lemon mayo, served on that house-baked roll with skinny fries and ketchup. At $30.80, it hits the middle of the Houston price range with a result that earns loyal repeat customers.

The restaurant is open Monday–Wednesday 11am to 9pm, Thursday–Friday 11am to 10pm; check the site for current weekend and brunch hours.

Best for: a casual weekday lunch or date-night seafood dinner in River Oaks. More options on the River Oaks restaurant guide.

Connecticut-style: warm, butter-bathed

Connecticut-style rolls are served warm. The lobster meat is poached in or tossed with melted butter, then placed into a hot buttered bun. No mayo. The result is richer and warmer, closer in spirit to a classic French preparation than a New England picnic.

Millie’s Kitchen and Cocktails — Oak Forest

3542 Oak Forest Dr · $38 · Connecticut warm butter, New England claw and knuckle

Millie’s is a neighborhood seafood restaurant in Oak Forest that leans explicitly into the Connecticut style. Their lobster roll features three ounces of butter-poached New England claw and knuckle meat served with melted butter, with your choice of fries, house salad, or chips on the side. It’s not the flashiest room in town, but the kitchen takes the preparation seriously and the price is fair for what you get.

Typically open daily; hours vary by day, with Sunday closing in the early afternoon — check the official site for the current schedule.

Best for: a weeknight Connecticut-style fix without the Uptown prices.

Loch Bar — Uptown/Highland Village

4444 Westheimer Rd, Suite G110 · $50.40 · Connecticut warm Kerrygold butter, toasted split bun

Loch Bar is a Scottish-influenced seafood tavern with one of the city’s largest raw bars and live music seven nights a week. The lobster roll here is served warm, the meat tossed in Kerrygold butter with chives and celery leaf, on a toasted split bun with your choice of salad or hand-cut fries. At $50.40, it is the most expensive roll on this list.

Loch Bar is open until midnight most nights, which makes it useful for a late-night splurge after a show. The Galleria/Uptown area guide covers what else is nearby.

Best for: the full Connecticut warm-butter experience in a lively, after-dark setting.

Both styles, your choice

The Annie Café and Bar — Galleria/Uptown

1800 Post Oak Blvd · $48 · Maine or Connecticut, your choice · with spiced corn ribs and housemade potato chips

The Annie, a long-running upscale American restaurant at 1800 Post Oak Blvd, serves the “B.B. Lemon Lobster Roll” — a recipe that came over when B.B. Lemon on Washington closed. At $48, it is served Maine-style or Connecticut-style at your choosing, alongside spiced corn ribs and housemade chips. The bun and style both match your mood that night.

The restaurant is open Monday–Thursday 11am–9pm, Friday–Saturday 11am–10pm, Sunday 11am–8pm.

Best for: a group where people disagree on style, or when you want the higher-end Galleria/Uptown dining setting. The Annie regularly appears on Houston Restaurant Weeks menus and takes reservations.

Cousins Maine Lobster Truck — Roaming Houston

Mobile truck · Maine-style or Connecticut-style · New England split-top rolls imported from Maine

Cousins Maine Lobster runs a food truck that operates across Houston and imports New England split-top rolls (the real, properly-sided kind you cannot find in a Texas grocery store). They serve the Maine-style roll chilled with a touch of mayo, the Connecticut-style roll warm with lemon butter, and a garlic-butter version with parmesan and herbs. Their truck schedule changes, so check their official website or social accounts (@CMLobsterHouston) for the current week’s locations before you chase one down.

Best for: catching a genuine New England split-top roll without a sit-down price tag. Track the truck on Instagram for pop-up locations.

Other Houston spots worth knowing

Clark’s Oyster Bar — Montrose

3807 Montrose Blvd · $41 · Drawn butter and lemon aioli on a buttered toasted bun

Clark’s opened in a former Montrose auto shop in 2023 and quickly became one of the neighborhood’s go-to seafood rooms. Their lobster roll is a hybrid of both traditions: the meat is brushed with drawn butter (warm, Connecticut-leaning) but finished with lemon aioli (a nod to the mayo camp), layered with bibb lettuce, and served on a buttered toasted bun with matchstick fries. The see-and-be-seen patio and the Instagram-ready aquarium in the dining room make it as much a scene as a meal.

Best for: Montrose locals and anyone who wants the lobster roll plus an oyster happy hour on the patio. Full neighborhood options in our Montrose restaurant guide.

State of Grace — River Oaks/Upper Kirby

3258 Westheimer Rd · $37 · with simple green salad

State of Grace is a Ford Fry restaurant that shifted from Gulf Coast American to a European brasserie concept. The lobster roll remained through the redesign at $37 with a simple green salad. The preparation style is not formally listed as Maine or Connecticut on the current menu, so ask your server. The setting — a designed, high-ceilinged room in a prime Westheimer location — makes it the most polished environment on this list for a casual lunch roll or a pre-theater dinner. Check the official site for current hours, as the kitchen closes in the afternoon.

Best for: a proper sit-down lunch with the River Oaks crowd.

Drunken Lobster — Bellaire/Asiatown

10804 Bellaire Blvd · $29.95 · Vietnamese-fusion seafood

Drunken Lobster is a Vietnamese-American seafood restaurant on Bellaire Boulevard, the main corridor of Houston’s Asiatown. Their lobster roll at $29.95 is not a New England-style roll; it is a Vietnamese-influenced preparation that fits the restaurant’s garlic noodle and fusion seafood menu. If you want a break from the traditional debate and a roll that tastes distinctly like Houston’s international cooking culture, this is worth a stop. The restaurant is typically open Tuesday through Sunday with split lunch and dinner service; check their official site for the current schedule.

Best for: a Bellaire run that pairs the lobster roll with garlic noodles and Vietnamese seafood sides. Also see our Vietnamese restaurants in Houston guide.

Save this: how to eat your way through Houston’s lobster rolls

Nine restaurants is too many for one outing. Pick a lane first.

If you want the definitive Maine cold-mayo roll: Maine-ly Sandwiches on Katy Freeway, then Hudson House on West Gray for comparison. Bring cash for the former and a card for the latter.

If you want the Connecticut warm-butter case made properly: Millie’s in Oak Forest for the neighborhood version, then Loch Bar in Uptown for the full splurge.

If you want to let someone else decide: The Annie Café and Bar on Post Oak Blvd, where you pick the style at the table.

The quick checklist before you go:

• Confirm the restaurant is open that day (many close Monday or Tuesday).
• Ask for the roll style if it is not labeled on the menu (State of Grace does not list it currently).
• The Cousins Maine Lobster truck schedule changes weekly — check @CMLobsterHouston.
• At Loch Bar, the late-night hours mean you can go after a concert; it is open until midnight.
• Drunken Lobster is Vietnamese fusion, not a New England-style roll; order the garlic noodles alongside it.

For the wider picture, our best seafood restaurants in Houston guide covers Gulf oysters, stone crab, and white-tablecloth fish rooms across the city.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get a lobster roll in Houston?

Nine Houston spots currently serve lobster rolls: Maine-ly Sandwiches (Northwest Houston, from $17.50), Hudson House (River Oaks, $30.80), Millie's Kitchen and Cocktails (Oak Forest, $38), Clark's Oyster Bar (Montrose, $39), State of Grace (River Oaks, $37), The Annie Café and Bar (Galleria/Uptown, $48), Loch Bar (Uptown, $50.40), Drunken Lobster (Bellaire, $29.95), and the Cousins Maine Lobster food truck (roaming, schedule on their site).

What is the difference between a Maine lobster roll and a Connecticut lobster roll?

A Maine-style lobster roll is served cold or at room temperature, with the meat lightly dressed in mayo and piled into a toasted split-top bun. A Connecticut-style roll is served warm, with the meat poached in or tossed with melted butter, no mayo. The Connecticut warm-butter version is older — Perry's restaurant in New Haven claims credit for it around 1929.

What is the cheapest lobster roll in Houston?

Maine-ly Sandwiches in Northwest Houston (7620 Katy Fwy #225) starts lobster rolls at $17.50 — the most affordable on the list. They use fresh steamed lobster with light mayo on a warm butter-toasted roll.

Which Houston lobster roll has been named one of the best in the country?

Loch Bar at 4444 Westheimer Rd in Houston's Uptown area has been named one of the country's top lobster rolls by Tasting Table. Their Connecticut-style lobster roll uses Maine lobster meat, served warm in Kerrygold butter with chives and celery leaf on a toasted split bun, priced at $50.40.

Is there a lobster roll food truck in Houston?

Yes. Cousins Maine Lobster operates a food truck in Houston, serving both Maine-style (chilled, mayo) and Connecticut-style (warm, lemon butter) rolls on imported New England split-top rolls. Their schedule changes weekly — check their official site or @CMLobsterHouston on Instagram for current locations.

Which Houston restaurants serve both Maine and Connecticut style lobster rolls?

The Annie Café and Bar (1800 Post Oak Blvd, $48) lets you choose Maine or Connecticut style at the table. Cousins Maine Lobster Truck also offers both styles, plus a garlic-butter version.