When in Boston, it is always nice to have a yummy lobster roll. This was my thought when I saw the special at Durgin-Park.

Tired and hungry after attending a convention, my colleagues and I tried to secure a last-minute reservation for nine people. We scanned OpenTable: Boston Restaurants. Every recommended establishment had no reservations available, so we settled for Durgin-Park. McDonald’s would have been better — at least you know what to expect there.

The restaurant is located at 340 Faneuil Hall Marketplace in downtown Boston. The key to its success is the location, which funnels tourists into the restaurant, not knowing of the poor service and food. I doubt it receives many repeats.

My clam chowder, which the waitress said was one of the best, tasted like it came from a can and they used one clam shell to flavor the pot. There were hardly any clams. We all wanted to try the lobster roll and were told it was one of their best dishes. The roll came with coleslaw, baked beans and fries. The baked beans tasted like the Campbell’s version, but the coleslaw was very good. Now for the lobster roll . . . I have never been so disappointed by a dish in my life. New England is said to have the best lobster rolls; Maine and Cape Cod always have some of the greatest, and Durgin-Park claimed to be king of them all — it was not. The service and cuisine were abysmal. When leaving Boston, I had a lobster roll at Legal Seafoods in Logan International Airport (BOS); it was great. This proves chain restaurants can get it right — Durgin gets everything wrong.

Or if you’re in Chicago, go to the Drake Hotel. The bar, Drake Brothers, has the best lobster roll I have ever had!

— Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO