Lobster Rolls For The People: Under $30 Unheard of in Boston

I decided to do a story on lobster rolls that were $30 or less before checking the going rate for lobster rolls these days. It turns out that lobster rolls for the summer of 2026 do not go for the $35ish dollars I was expecting, but closer to $40 or $45. I am a stubborn person though, and I didn’t want to disappoint my boss (yes my boss is me), so I stuck to my plan. A few places I had hoped to be able to include didn’t fit the bill, but I will mention them on Instagram when I get my next lobster roll (I have had more than my fair share writing this) because I still love those old and new spots that are selling their lobster rolls for a totally fair price that just doesn’t happen to fit this range.

Of the four places that have lobster rolls for under $30 each roll they held a good amount of lobster, most were cold with mayonnaise style, and as a mayo-phobe I was happily surprised to find that none of them had too much mayo nor were they made with sad little shredded up previously-frozen messes of lobster. I would have any of these again, each for different reasons.

Steamers Seafood Market, located in Newton, makes their lobster roll on a braided roll. Steamers is located in Nonantum, also known as The Lake, not far from Watertown. Steamers is a seafood market with a small selection of fresh fish and shellfish as well as a full takeout menu. The menu includes items from shrimp scampi pasta to lobster or Maine crab meat rolls. You can add fries on for $2 (the online menu is not up to date for that). You can get fish on the grill with grilled veggies, rice pilaf, bread & butter, and a lemon classic or Cajun style among other things.

I only tried the lobster roll off the menu at Steamers. For $27, it was decent. It was perhaps a little less impressive than some of the others because the bun dwarfed the lobster meat. I did appreciate the braided roll despite it being too big for the contents. Steamers is a fish market, so this is a grab and go situation.

Sullivan’s on Castle Island is a whole vibe (as the young’uns say). I love a visit to Castle Island for a treat and a stroll. Summers in the city are hot and stuffy, but something about going to Castle Island feels like a mini urban vacation especially if you get a lobster roll with a raspberry lime rickey (because who doesn’t love a raspberry lime rickey?) and sit by the water for a little solo dinner, dinner date, or family picnic. Castle Island is iconic (in the not overused sense of the word) Boston. It is a rare city spot to be able to sit outside of a fortress and watch planes come and go at seemingly arms length; watch as boats, ships and ferries come in and out of port while sitting on a pier, a grassy spot or at a picnic table, with a view of Boston across Dorchester Bay and the Boston harbour. So Castle Island is already getting high marks for location alone. But, if we set all that aside, the lobster roll was just right.

The Sullivan’s Castle Island lobster roll was also loaded with plenty of big chunks of lobster with not too much mayonnaise. The bun was an untouched hot dog bun, which was a decent vehicle for the lobster roll. On the menu it says a toasted hot dog bun, so either I got unlucky that day or it was imperceptibly toasted, but I can only report back on what I was served. Either way, i’d go back for another before the summer is over.

Sullivan’s makes the raspberry lime rickey just right with soda water and not soda, which is how we like it in our family. The Sullivan’s lobster roll is $24.95 which makes it a very reasonable treat. There are plenty of options for your lobster roll dining experience on Castle Island: picnic tables on the grass, beach area with lifeguards, and a boardwalk with plenty of benches along the whole stretch of beach There are benches on the pier if you want to watch the boats go by without getting sand anywhere near your supper too.

Burton’s Grill and Bar is the only one on this list that has the option of cold or hot buttered lobster rolls. It is also the only sit down restaurant. Burton’s lobster rolls were impressive with entire claws of meat toppling off the golden griddled brioche bun.

The Burton’s Grill and Bar lobster rolls are available warm and buttered or chilled with their house-made aioli and served with fries. I am not a sweet potato fry person but I devoured theirs and would get them again. You can however also get regular white potato fries. The Burton’s lobster rolls are available for $29 through August 31st.

If you want a nice sit down dinner or lunch then Burton’s is the place to go for your lobster roll. I think this was also the most generously stuffed lobster roll for the price that I tried. Although, many of the rolls on this list said that their rolls contain 5 oz of lobster meat, so some of it boils down to presentation and bread to lobster meat balance perhaps.

Joe’s Variety has their summer lobster roll available despite their website being in full winter holidays “season’s greetings” mode. Plan to treat yourself to a Friday lobster roll, but call ahead earlier in the week. For Joe’s Variety, in Watertown, you call on Monday (or early in the week) to reserve your Friday lobster roll. Joe’s Variety’s lobster roll is another one on a griddled bun topped with generously sized pieces of lobster and, once again, just light enough mayonnaise.

Joe’s lobster roll is $25 and comes with a bag of chips and a can of soda. This makes their lobster roll the least expensive of them all. It does require a little planning, but in a pinch I think you could also show up or call on a Friday after 11:30 and hope to get one. They do ask that you order starting on Monday each week and pick up every Friday after 11:30 AM. The number to call to reserve your lobster roll is (617) 924-9798 .

If you don’t mind breaking down a lobster, than the best deal, and one of my favourite way to have a lobster roll is to get a lobster steamed at Market Basket (the price ranges from $8.99 to $10.99 a pound lately) and you can usually wait about 20 minutes for the lobster to be steamed or you can grab a pre-cooked lobster from the case. They usually have at least a couple ready to go. I recently paid $24 for one giant lobster (I always go for the smaller lobsters when I get them steamed) but I saw this one in the case cooked and ready to go and I wanted to see how much lobster meat by weight I would get.

Of course I get the bonus of eating the meat out of the tiny claws (which are not included in the total) and I enjoy breaking down lobsters. If there is roe you can add it to the butter for your lobster roll or tomalley can be added to the mayo, which you can’t get otherwise. I also like to add some chives from the garden. You can also use any bread you like. I like to get the potato bread from Hi Rise Bread Co. or their corn bread which is a nice sandwich bread with cornmeal and corn niblets in it. From this one large Market Basket lobster, I got enough for about three 5 oz lobster rolls for the $24, which doesn’t take into account the cost of the bread butter or mayonnaise but you get the idea.

Someone commented on Instagram that 5 oz was not enough for them, but I find a 5 oz lobster roll to be just right for me. Here is what 5 oz of lobster meat looks like.