Viral “girl math” has found its latest application: Profiting from Red Lobster’s endless shrimp deal.
In her latest viral video, TikTok user Rachel (@rachhhyl) demonstrated her at-home process for discovering just how many bowls of shrimp a customer should order at the seafood restaurant, taking into account the free side and Cheddar biscuits.
Showing a color-coded breakdown of costs, Rachel explained that she paid $9.99 for a bag of roughly 30 shrimp and another $5.99 for a bag of Cheddar biscuits from Target, totaling $15.98. “We’re just going to assume that that price you’re paying is for yourself,” she noted in her video, which has been viewed over 106,700 times since it was first posted Oct. 16.
@rachhhyl Replying to @Baby Alien 👽 RED LOBSTAH’S ENDLESS SHRIMP BABYYYY #redlobster #endlessshrimp #dealsandsteals #restaurantdeals #redlobstercheddarbiscuits ♬ original sound – Rachel | The Daily Slay ✨
Rachel compared that price to the cost of Red Lobster’s endless shrimp deal, which cost approximately $26.40 when adding tax and tip.
The deal begins with three bowls—six shrimp in each—and then decreases to two bowls. Assuming this, Rachel determined that a customer received 30 shrimp in just two orders. “All in all, I think you’re profiting and in the green just after two orders,” she stated in her video, reminding viewers to take into account their free Cheddar biscuits and choice of side.
“After the second order, you can order the third and take it to go,” she added, showing a hand-drawn graph of the number of shrimp bowls ordered versus price.
“At Bowl 15, you’re only paying $1.76 per bowl,” she emphasized.
Many viewers applauded Rachel’s process, stating that not having to spend time cleaning the kitchen was an added bonus.
“I’ve never tried Red Lobster but your due diligence got me planning to try this out,” one viewer revealed. “I’ll do 15 bowls plus.”
Another viewer performed their own breakdown of how they get the most out of their trip to Red Lobster. “They always let us order 2 at a time. So when we get close to full one of the orders is gonna be the pasta and shrimp and then scampi to add in,” user @gfoodieman explained. “Then you get a full nice take home meal add on.”
Others pointed out flaws in Rachel’s math, including not taking into account meal preparation times and ingredients for making different kinds of shrimp offered in the deal.
“Not to mention they probably get their shrimp for cheaper than that,” user @psyrics added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Rachel and Red Lobster via email.