Peace River Seafood & Crab Shack

A fun experience
It is a long ways from home but we went down to Peace River Crab Shack for a late lunch. They offer blue crabs with newspaper and mallets, kind of a do it yourself meal where it is up to you to get out that crab meat. My wife went for the crabs. I thought I copped out and got a seafood stew called Bull Bay Stew, but the crab part of my stew still involved using a mallet.
The stew was quite good, it had a sweet tomato base with a few shrimp, a few clams, a few scallops, and of course, the crabs. My wife enjoyed the crabs and brought a few home for us to break into tomorrow. We finished our meal by sharing a slice of tart Key Lime Pie.
They have seating inside and out, we opted for outside so we never got a chance to see how the décor and lighting was inside. We sure liked sitting outside while the days are cool, listening to Gaspar the Parrot.
Service was lacking. Whether this is normal or something unusual we don’t know. We do know a couple of large groups showed up while we were there. Our server was doing some serious hustling, but was just juggling too much.

Tried Peace River the other day. It’s a little bit off the beaten path but that’s nice during the high season in this area. Probably won’t be back.
It appears they started out as a wholesale seafood place. They have a wholesale warehouse and sorting area in a large building on the back of the property. The restaurant is an older home that’s been converted into a restaurant.
We sat outside it was nice. It was 7 o’clock and they were out of the grouper and the gumbo. It took a tremendously long time for the food to come out. Very slow.
For starters we had the «whorehouse» appetizer 1 pound shrimp, middle neck clams and oysters. I think the price was around $ 36. This was the star of the meal the only knocks I would give it was the shrimp or peel yourself and they had not been purged they were very full of shrimp Dookie.
By the way there is no kids menu so you youngsters will be ordering adult meals. I had one get the cat fish fillet sandwich Yother one doesn’t like seafood so had the burger. Both were quite good and a relative bargain.
I found the shrimp Creole extremely bland and swimming in canned tomatoes. It had about two or three small pieces of andouille sausage. The shrimp also had not been deveined. Gross!
The Bull Bay stew was very similar to the creole. Way too many tomatoes that weren’t cooked enough right out of the can. The shrimp were not deveined and the scallops were more like just the abductor muscles.
So 5 meals were 2 burgers, 1 catfish sandwich, one creole and one bull bay stew. That with 3 sodas and two waters was $ 118 plus tip. I may just be cheap but I thought that was on the high side to eat at a picnic table outside with paper plates and plastic utensils.
Sorry guys.

I went to Peace River Seafood in PG for the first time tonight. The 3 of us got there just after 6pm and were told it would be a 20 minute wait. No problem; it’s season. One of my friends went inside and got beers for each of us. After a few minutes (maybe 6 or 7, but no more than 10) we were told our table was ready. We were taken to our table and found that we were sharing a picnic table with another couple. Weird, but, okay. I did see they had signs saying that during season you might be sharing tables. Our waitress explained the specials of the evening and then told us she’d be back to take our order.
In the meantime, the couple we were sharing the table with paid for their meal and left. Another couple was quickly seated there. They ordered (and received) their drinks, ordered (and received) their chowder, and ordered their meals before we had given our order. One of my friends called the waitress over and told her we’d like to order. «Oh. Okay» was the response. We ordered and waited. And waited. And waited. The couple next to us was finished with their meal before our food even arrived. We had to ask about our food, and were told it would be «right up», with no explanation of the delay. Not one of us ordered anything unusual or with any special request: A catfish sandwich, boiled shrimp (which was the special), and a seafood stew.
The food was good, but not exceptional. The wait, however, was unreasonable. They weren’t overly busy; there were always empty tables available. The restaurant cleared out quickly. When we left, more than ¾ of the tables were empty. It really felt like we were more of an inconvenience to them than a customer. I paid my bill, leaving only a 15% tip. I usually leave considerably more. I may be back; I may not. But if I do go back, it will be because someone I’m with wants to eat there, not by my choice.

After talking my group into going, I was very unimpressed by the seafood.
High point: Servers were friendly and awesome.
Prices were approximately double what they should’ve been for the portion sizes.
You would think that silverware and plates would be included at a $ 40/​person price point. Shrimp were huge but tasteless, and the blue crabs weren’t worth the trouble. A pound of snow crab from Publix would’ve been better.

Quaint spot. A little crammed inside (it was 51 degrees outside). Speaking of cold, they had the front door open. And the back door. Which created a breeze. And a lot of it. And the ceiling fans were all on. Did I mention it was 51 degrees outside? This must not have been a one off situation because all the employees were wearing heavy jackets and hats, etc. We ate six hours ago, and I’m still trying to figure that one out. Maybe they are trying to get people through their meal faster? It worked for us.
Overall the food was OK. The Gator Gumbo was pretty decent. Bottom line is dinner for four was $ 160 before tip. There wasn’t really anything remarkable about the food. Decent, good, you won’t be sending anything back, but nothing wows. A lot of people seem to LOVE this place. I just don’t get it. I’m not saying they’re wrong, but I’ll hit a few other place for $ 40/​meal rather than this place.

Three of us had lunch at the restaurant today.
We had shrimp (I forget the actual name of the dish), Bull Base (Bass?) Stew, Gator Gumbo, and Key Lime Pie.
All of the food was excellent, and the service was friendly and helpful, although we got less attention from the servers than we would have liked once the restaurant filled up.
It was a sunny day, and the door were all open, allowing a mild breeze into the restaurant. We loved the relaxed, informal atmosphere.
Minus one star for plasticware (have you tried peeling shrimp with a plastic fork?!), and not good plasticware, at that.

Ok, so it’s an old Florida style home converted to a fish market to a full seafood restaurant. Why not? According to our very vivacious server, they have about a dozen local fishermen that bring fresh local catch back here to serve up daily. Everything is fresh except the farm raised catfish, and they fillet their grouper right off the bone on premises.
This place has a ton of stories to tell, and many of them are the dollar bills stapled to the walls and inscribed by patrons past. Not to mention the various newspaper clippings giving a glimpse into the history of the place. But, with picnic tables inside and out on a spacious deck to accommodate the huge crowd of locals diving into UFO sized platters of spicy blue crabs and no kidding, a bath tub still in the restroom, this feels like a party at your best friends house. Every staff member makes you feel at home.
Super spicy chowders and gator gumbos, steamed clams and oysters to cheeseburgers the size of frisbees and crispy fries just to name a few. All served with buckets of beer, you’ve gotta check this old time dive out. Just remember to say hi to the parrot by the front door on the way in.

Excellent food and the waitress was very friendly.
Not fancy but the food was great! We had the fried lobster bites. Would definitely have again.

Very casual. I mean VERY casual, but lots of charm and good food. Rolls of paper towels on the table as napkins and you may have to share your picnic table with strangers but that can be fun!
Their shrimp were all jumbo size, very fresh and nicely cooked. The conch chowder, though, had undercooked vegetables and a thin broth. The key lime pie was authentic and delicious.
All in all, a great place to stop for lunch while traveling. Beats corporate places hands down.