The Story of How the Lobster Roll Became New England’s Most Iconic Dish

Few dishes evoke New England summer like the lobster roll. These sandwiches are as iconic as the lighthouses and forgotten r’s of the Northeastern region’s unique Yankee dialects. Once a simple working lunch for fishermen, the lobster roll is now in such demand that Hannaford Supermarkets has announced a $10 version of the coastal classic, available in all stores through Labor Day.

“New England tourism has grown, and so has the lobster roll,” says Evan Hennessey, chef and owner of Stages at One Washington and the Living Room in Dover, New Hampshire. “It’s incredible, flavorful, New England cuisine that comes straight from the ocean and, and this is the key, you can eat it while you’re walking.”

History of the Lobster Roll

Lobster wasn’t always so glamorous. In the past, the crustaceans were so abundant that they were easy to catch in shallow waters. “For a long time, (lobster) was just a local food, something you ate if you lived on the coast,” says Megan Elias, a food historian at Boston University.

Branden Lewis, chef and professor of sustainability at Johnson & The University of Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, says English and Portuguese sailors, shipwrights and fishermen created the first version of the lobster roll by placing leftover tail and claw meat between pieces of bread.

Lobster recipes didn’t gain cultural capital until the country’s burgeoning elite began vacationing along the East Coast, particularly in states like Rhode Island, where they built summer “cottages.” Lobster rolls were a mainstay until the early 1960s, when the country became fascinated with Julia Child’s “proper” cooking techniques.

The iconic New England sandwich came back into fashion in the 1990s, with a renewed interest in regional American dishes. “Back then, lobster was even more expensive,” Elias says. “It’s even less available. So you think, ‘Oh, it’s regional and it’s hard to find, so it must be cool.’”

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Lobster population in decline

Freshness doesn’t always equal sustainability. A 2023 assessment of the Gulf of Maine lobster population showed a 40% population loss over a three-year period. In southern New England, the hardest-hit areas include Buzzard’s Bay, between Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod, and Long Island Sound, off the coast of Connecticut, where the harvest has declined by 97% since 1998.

Jeremy Collie, a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, attributes the decline to declining production, predation of smaller lobsters by larger fish, shell diseases (which are not dangerous to humans) and overfishing. All but the last “are directly or indirectly related to rising (ocean) temperatures,” Collie says.

(Is climate change endangering the lobster roll?)

Is it okay to eat lobster rolls?

“The answer is yes,” Collie says, thanks to strict regulations that include minimum shell size and catch limits, and the release of breeding females, which can carry 20,000 eggs under their tails. While laws vary by state, anglers who break the rules face fines starting at $500 per violation. Repeat offenders can lose their fishing license.

Lewis recommends that visitors diversify their seafood choices to reduce the risk of overfishing and ask restaurants where their lobsters come from. “The United States has the most regulated fishing waters in the world, so if you buy American-caught products, you’re making a more sustainable choice,” Lewis says, noting that there are rules in place to prevent seafood fraud.

Where to Find the Best Lobster Rolls in New England

The perennial debate over the lobster roll centers on its two predominant types. The Connecticut style, served hot with melted butter, is sometimes attributed to Perry’s Diner in Milford, now defunct. The Maine style sandwich, sometimes attributed to Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, Maine, uses a cold sauce of mayonnaise and lemon juice seasoned with herbs such as chives or chervil. Some say it is a version derived from an 1829 recipe. The American Frugal Housewife cookbook combining lobster meat with egg yolks, oil, vinegar, mustard and cayenne pepper.

One constant in the evolution of lobster, at least since the 1920s, has been its delivery method: the hot dog bun. The mix of high-end and low-end products is part of the sandwich’s appeal, Elias says. “It’s not complicated. Americans like food that doesn’t require a fork and knife to eat it. We’re just crazy about anything we can get our hands on.”

Attend one or more of New England’s iconic seafood festivals (see sidebar below) to try both styles. Or look for chefs who are finding creative ways to honor the lobster roll’s history while modernizing it for adventurous modern palates.

At Stages at One Washington, Hennessey serves a Connecticut-style sandwich, swapping out white bread for potato bun and warming the steamed meat with a lobster reduction. He seasons it with smoked butter, pickled seaweed, citrus peel, cumin, cilantro and chives.

In Portland, Maine, Mimi Weissenborn, executive chef of Sur Lie, was inspired by regional nostalgia. “I thought it would be a good idea to fill a popover, another classic New England dish, with something,” she says. Inside the air pocket of the bread, she tucks a corn and fontina purée, along with butter-blanched lobster.

Hennessey also recommends the Lobster Shack in Ogunquit, Maine, which serves a heaping Maine- or Connecticut-style sandwich on a toasted hot dog bun. Lewis cites Providence’s Dune Brothers, which combines mayonnaise and warm butter in its bread. Weissenborn says the Maine-style Luke’s Lobster in Portland offers the freshest flavor, straight off the boat.

Still can’t decide? Hook + Line in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood serves a Maine-style roll and a Connecticut-style roll on the same plate.