About Crab Shack and reviews

We trusted yelp reviews and they did not let us down. This is a divey eclectic restaurant sitting on the river. The servers are really fast and friendly. We had the buffalo shrimp, the fried shrimp dinner and fish n chips. All shared the same light tasting but thick enough batter. The shrimp where large and all the seafood is sourced from Louisiana. Everything was super tasty and not greasy. The servings were large enough to fill up a teenager. And if you need more than food, the  beer is cold and cheep.

Been passing the hanging shark for a while and we finally stopped to check it out. It's a small locals hang out. There are a few docks which is nice for boaters to access the restaurant by water. The space is all outdoor and covered by a large thatch roof. Overall it's been left in a weathered state. There are daily specials just not Sunday. Menu seemed like it had a good variety of seafood etc. but food prices were higher then I assumed. We didn't eat there so can't comment on food. Server was very friendly, and they had live music.

Crab Shack is a good place to go to sit by the water, chill, have a drink and get some eats.They've been kind of hit or miss with the food. I love that they offer grouper, frog's legs, alligator and other waterside favorites. This particular visit, I ordered the soft shell crab dinner with a vegetable side. The crab was fried well and the veggies cooked as they should be.Other times I've ordered 'to go' and it's been either over cooked or just not cooked correctly.I recommend, if you like the fried but want seasoning order blackened fried for the most flavor.This place has so much potential but the service has lacked, the atmosphere seems lack luster and they don't seem to be striving to make the Crab Shack a seller experience.

The Crab Shack looks great on paper.. However, the service horrendously slow. I waited maybe 20-25 mins for a half dozen of oysters.. Raw oysters The shack margarita, on the other hand, is pretty delicious. Nice pairing with the stone crabs. Too bad we had to doctor them up, though. No seasoning, and it only comes with butter. Added a little old bay seasoning and it made a difference. Unless you have to time to spare or you just want a deink, I wouldn't suggest coming here.

Great food, perfect location, excellent wait staff!! My home away from home!! The coconut shrimp so so delicious, must try the fried gator!!!

We ate here last night.  Apparently they had a reduced menu due to an earlier boat parade which was over when we arrived. Three of us wound up ordering burgers due to the reduced menu which we were disappointed about already.  My sister and I ordered medium rare burgers and our friend ordered a medium one.  Mine arrived so well done it was totally grey and dry.  Sisters was medium well with barely pink in the middle.  Or medium burger arrived rare! These took a very long time to get to us in the first place.  Fine it was busy.  The staff was nice and the waitress was also fine and offered to take my hockey puck back but I declined as I was hungry and didn't want to wait.  Here comes the worst part.  Apparently the manager felt the need to come to our table and announced she had pushed the cook against the wall for messing up our order.  She then felt the need to excuse the cooking on an earlier boat parade.  And then said I was the only one to complain all day.  I said I didn't care what happened earlier that was no excuse.  The manager walked away and offered nothing for our inconvenience. Why did she even bother us to tell about her abusive behavior towards her cook? Beats me.

Its a cool place, right on the water that you can get to by boat. It has a neighborhood feel to it at the bar. But the food is just meh, ok. I had the seafood boil which had almost zero flavor. The shrimps were tiny (from being in the boil the entire time) and the crab leg shells were soft, again too long in the water. I thought the drinks were good and Emily is a good bartender but no matter how cute she is it didnt save the food. Fix the food and they'll be a place that I'd love to come back to!

This was by far the best restaurant that me and my wife have been to during our trip to Florida this year! We sat right on the waterfront and had AMAZING food! Will definitely be back here on future trips to the area!

I was celebrating my 75th birthday with my daughter and two friends today, and we went to the Crab Shack, where we had been many times before.  They have new owners, who were there.  We were treated rudely.  The crab legs were spongy and you couldn't snap them like you usually can.  The other lady with me ordered a Cuban sandwich and was given a Reuben; when she asked for the order to be fixed, the waitress brought back a Cuban that seemed to have odd meat in it which did not taste right; when told about this, the waitress put the Cuban in a "doggy bag" and said the owner told her to "take it home with her"!  I am so upset, as this used to be a "go to" place for me and my family.  Not any more.

Was not impressed at all! The appearance is very cute but food sucked! We ordered crab clusters and a fried crab came out. Gross. The waitress did feel bad and brought us out the clusters but they were full of water. The alligator nuggets were so greasy and just full of grissel. I will not be back to this place.

Fun little place. They got good bar seafood and great drinks. I had the gator nuggets which were awesome. I was looking for a golden crust but I think they were a bit overcooked but not to an extreme , they were honestly great. The swai tacos were delicious. A bigger piece of fish on the taco would be better. But they were delicious along with the beans and rice. The crab cake sandwich is also a must. The grapefruit beer is very refreshing. The margaritas are on point.

The new owners started off barking orders to the servers as we walked in, no one there, got seated w numerous ants, took a while to get drinks which were very weak, ordered stuffed shrimp and mushrooms, both were obviously frozen, no atmosphere, no music, could be a great place if owners had a clue how to run a bar, this place needs chef Ramsey asap, don't need 50 items on the menu, master 5 items, make stiff drinks, ALWAYS PLAY MUSIC

Went back and just as good and even better than first time around. Tried the shrimp fritters like I said I would and they were delicious. The sauce it came with was flavorful and had a bit of spice to it. Very nice on the taste buds. Bits of shrimp was inside of tasty hushpuppy balls. They cost about .99. So I couldn't stop from getting the fish-n-chips yet again. Still amazing!

Chocolate lava cake was delicious. But watch for the falling lava off your spoon. A bit messy. Fried pickles - dipped in ranch! Awesome Blackened grouper - yummy but a little spicy for me. Fried oysters -first time trying would have them againFried clams - wow the size of them! Up north they are so small. Captain Dan's platter. Loads of food - all fried still good.

I love this place! The bartenders bust their tails to get drinks out, the fish dinner is so so good! Great atmosphere dining on the water. It's great!!

So it seems that this place recently underwent some major changes, which would explain why my visit here was fantastic! My boyfriend and I noticed that "that little place on the water" finally opened back up for us to try. First thing I did when I sat down was check in on Yelp, and it was then that I saw the bad reviews and low star rating. I decided to give it a try anyway. The view is great for staying locally (we have Sam's beach bar, but the menu is limited and boring), and the waitress was funny and nice so I figured what the heck.Well, our waitress Marleen never disappointed. She was consistently likable, hospitable, and kept a good eye on when I needed refills despite us sitting further from the other folks that were dining. Our appetizer was fried pickles. Much different from the traditional ones you seem to get everywhere else. Not sure what it was but the batter had a different taste to it - different seasonings. HUGE slices of pickle as well.I ordered the crab cake sandwich, and my boyfriend ordered the shrimp po boy. Holy shrimp! The menu said popcorn shrimp so I pictured small tasteless crap. Theirs was a decent size and tasted awesome. My crab cake sandwich tasted and looked fresh (I was fearing a frozen patty), and their signature sauce that it comes with was very different and delicious. It has both a sweet and spicy taste to it.Both orders came with fries and coleslaw. There are other sides you can upgrade to on the menu. Normally I don't really eat my fries, but that signature sauce of theirs gave me an excuse to since I had some left over. You can sit inside or outside. Very casual place. My only complaint was the price for the crab cake sandwich. It was the only price I thought was a little much for what it was (). Maybe if it was a little thicker? Overall, I was shocked and very pleased. Whatever changes they have made must be big ones because I will absolutely be back. We have been needing a non-chain restaurant that is close to home and on the water, and this one did not disappoint. Looking forward to trying more of what they offer and enjoying the relaxing settling. Five stars for being great local food with a beautiful view and have their own twist on certain menu items.

LJ was our waitress, she was sweet, friendly, checked on us often but didn't hang over our table.   LJ made sure we were taken care of.  We are easy going, not demanding, we enjoyed our meal and the friendliness of staff.

The food was average. Service was a little on the slow side. It wouldn't keep me from going back again. I will probably return.

Our 2nd visit in 2 days..Great grouper & shrimp, friendly staff, fantastic view on the water. Good place to hang on a nice afternoon

MAN I love this place. Well yeah the service was slow but it was worth the waitThe onion rings are AWESOME. and behind you is a river with the wind blowing  in your hair. And they are not RAW oysters they are fresh oysters. Overall this place is the bomb digity .