Joe’s Crab Shack

Quality of the seafood has gone down. Now that the tipping policy has changed, prices went upnand service has gone down. They eliminated the 2 lobster bucket. Will not be returning to this franchise.

The song and dance crap is getting old, I just want good food at a reasonable price. Joe’s is getting kind of tiresome with the schtick. And their food is only so-​so, I’ve had better at a lower price. Not on my A-​list, not on my B-​list either.
Or my C-​list.

Walked in with immediate seating… It took 15 minutes for the hostess to notice no one was coming to our table. 25 minutes to get the meal. Waitress forgot to bring water. My margarita was empty for a half hour? I would have had more drinks! Nobody cleaned off my appetizer plate the entire meal? My son ordered the all you can eat, but with 20 minutes between servings, we just gave up and left shortly after. Theresa (Manager) tried to help us, but something about our table didn’t have a number assigned? I travel for a living and eat at Joe’s often. Food was good as usual, but service was awful?

Joe’s Crab Shack is okay. I wouldn’t suggest going there but might go there once a year upon someone else’s suggestion. Without a coupon it may be prohibitively expensive, given the inflated prices (taking into account that no additional tip is required).
The sampler appetizer was nothing to speak of. I thought the dip was the best tasting, once the congealed coating of cheese on top was removed. Maybe I should have gotten the fish tacos instead — we had already signed up for 200% of our daily protein requirements by getting a steam pot…
The lobster and crab saved the day. It was pretty fresh, making the shell removal process (relatively) painless.
The fact that waiters/​waitresses aren’t working for a specific tip makes me lower my standards somewhat. There’s little to no incentive to provide excellent service. Service was okay but we went on a Sunday around 3 – 4 when it wasn’t busy.

My husbsnd and I went there for our 21^st wedding anniversary. I was excited all day to have a nice date night out… only to be disgusted and horrified at our experience. Our waitress Kym was definitely on something. She sat us at a dirty table and said «oh theres alot if shit on here» so moved us to another one… she was very over the top with swearing throughout our dinner. I ordered the clam chowder. which she forgot to bring. .she came to our table and took our order 2 times and said she kept forgetting what we wanted… my husband ordered a beer 3 times before she brought it out. The food was ok. She repeatedly said she would bring us water… nvr got it. I had ordered the shore grill dinner which i did Not get all of it. Then she said it didnt come with what i had ordered. After that… she said «im going to sneak out for a cigarette. .»…she never came back. she was in the parking lot with other employees with loud music going. The place has failed miserably. And it was empty. I will NEVER return there. I have 2 free steampots as coupons they gave me but i refuse to use them. If you go there… beware. it costs way too much.

I recently ate here for lunch the other day. Worst service ever by Kym! Our soup took 15 minutes to get to our table and our entrees took 45 minutes which was just appetizers!
Kym said the computers went down. But why did other people get their food after we got here???
If the manager knew that the computers went down then why wouldn’t you let your guest know immediately instead of us having to wait that long?
Kym said she will be right back with a water but however all I hear is her laughing in the kitchen with the cooks.
The restaurant smelt like moldy rotten wood and the ceiling was dripping water.
It’s funny though to see how quick it was for her to come get the bill to see what tip we left her.
But attitude when she realized she wasn’t getting a tip.
I will definitely not be returning here!

I come to this area a couple times a year on business. About twice a year for the past 10 years I guess. So I usually eat here about twice a year. It is usually pretty decent. Regardless of the no tipping policy, I usually leave a few bucks anyway. Not this time. The garlic mussles were completely dry and yet cold when I finally got them. The stuffed shrimp were hot but nothing to brag about. Server was friendly enough the one time I saw her again. Never did ask if I wanted another drink or anything else. This is very likely my last time here.

After reading the terrible reviews I came in with very low expectations and therefor was pleasantly surprised. The crab dip is delicious and so was the calamari. Get the steamer pots!!! They are good. Service DID leave a bit to bed edited but overall experience was good and I would come back for the crab pot.

Joe’s, Joe’s, Joe’s…
The food quality varied from «bleh» (stuffed shrimp: 2 inches of mushy goop fried over uncleaned shrimp) to «good,» (crab legs) but was definitely overpriced. When comparing prices from before the no-​tipping policy was enacted, the prices have been raised about 20% across the board. The quality of the food has not been improved, unfortunately, and the service took a nosedive.
Several people in our party noticed that their shrimp had not been cleaned or deveined – with their prices, they can’t take a few moments to properly clean the shrimp? C’mon.
Service was unfortunately very bad. It started off fine enough: the waiter took our orders quickly and refilled everyone’s drink once after bringing out the appetizer. After that, we barely saw him even though the restaurant wasn’t very busy. I asked for some additional condiments which were never provided. He frequently wandered in and out of the section but never came to the table to see if we needed anything, or responded to the very obvious sight of everyone’s empty glasses. In total there was a period of about 40 minutes where he did not bother coming to the table. We eventually got him to come over and asked for a refill for one drink – and he ran off without asking if anyone else needed one. By the time he came back with the refill (10 minutes) we wanted to get going and asked for the check. Waited 20 minutes for the check. Then waited 15 minutes for him to come pick it up – at which point we had to ask another waiter to go find him. He showed up 5 minutes later.
All in all, I would not return to Joe’s Crab Shack. The food was not always cleaned properly, and the crab was the only real saving grace. I wouldn’t mind the increase in food price if it didn’t come at the expense of the service. Unfortunately, while the prices rose by 20%, the quality of service declined by 100%.

I had a gift certificate for this place for over a year, so I figured I’d bust it out and get it over with. They started a «no-​tipping» policy, and it’s definitely reflected in their prices. Most dishes have had a 20%+ increase, and their service has gone to hell. Our waitress disappeared for long periods of time, and was not attentive.
That said, I have to say, my steak was shockingly good. It didn’t seem hand cut, or cooked over an open flame, but it did have good flavor and it wasn’t overcooked. Unfortunately due to not cooking it over an open flame, the outside wasn’t good and charred, but it wasn’t shit. That’s always a plus. I was super disappointed that they got rid of the cheesy chicken. I recommended it for my date after looking at the menu online, but they no longer carry the dish.
I would have given it a 3 if the service didn’t suck. It’s not a place that I would go on my own, but it’s better than Red Lobster.

Joe’s has now started a ‘no-​tipping’ policy at all their restaurants. Thought we’d give it a try last night and see how it was working.
Well, in theory, the ‘no-​tipping’ sounds good, but in practice, I don’t think it’s working – not at this place anyway. As expected, they did raise their prices a bit to compensate, but they weren’t too out of line. They did change their menu a bit too, eliminating one of my favorite dishes, but I was able to find something else I wanted, so no big deal there.
As far as the food, it wasn’t bad, although it took a LONG time to get it and it wasn’t exactly hot when it arrived. And getting silverware was a major chore – it was so difficult to get a dang fork, we started joking that maybe they changed THAT policy too and we’d have to pay extra for it!
And the service was just plain … bad. The waitress who first waited on us was friendly enough, but we rarely saw her after she gave us our drinks & took our order. Some random kitchen dude brought our food out — we never were exactly sure who he was, although we finally got some silverware from him which was a relief – we could actually eat our food now! But we never saw our waitress for a long long time after that; and when she finally brought our bill, we then waited 15 minutes for her to pick it up, but no luck. We finally scrounged together the exact change (no tipping you know!), just left it on the table and walked out.
Maybe they’re still working the bugs out of this ‘no tipping’ concept, but right now, it’s just not working very well.

Dislike all the way no refill on your beverage you have to mention it, the food I ordered was nothing like it was adverdices (new smothered shrimp thingy) and the all you can eat snow crab … Tzzzz that’s a joke it takes 20 minutes to get a new plate infront of you and the place is not even busy… I send my meal back and now I’m waiting on my husband to finish that’s only a matter of hours … I am so upset don’t waist your time here!

You can see into the kitchen from the dining room here and the kitchen is filthy. At one point it even looked like the kitchen staff were chasing something in the kitchen. There was one cook in the kitchen that kept rubbing his face and his hair and not washing his hands after. Just continuing with food prep. He would take his earbuds in and out and not wash. He would play with his phone and not wash. The place even smells like it hasn’t been cleaned in a very long time. I have been in dirty restaurants before and this one was one of the worst. I was so surprised. I have eaten at Joe’s all over this country and I will never eat here again.

Worst service ever waited 10 minutes (NOT CROWDED) several open tables to be seated then waited another 10 to 15 minutes for someone who wasn’t my server to put drinks water on the table. I would never ever eat at Joe’s! At least not this one!

Barely anyone in the restaurant, waited 5 minutes to be seated. Over an hour for our dinner. The celery was NASTY! They just lost my patronage ! I used to love this place too bad I have to give one star

My mom and I like coming here for lunch. We have never had a problem. The food is always good. We like getting the spinach artichoke and crab dip appetizer. I like the stuffed shrimp for an entrée. I am looking forward to going back soon.

Worst experience ever. If I could give 0 stars I would. We ordered hush puppies for an appetizer and they never came. We tried to order them again once we got our entrees and after the 3^rd time I gave up. Our waitress, Tiffany, was more interested in hanging out with her fellow staff members than helping customers. We ran out of everything butter, napkins, drinks you name it. She knew we were upset and gave us gift cards to come back however you could clearly tell she didn’t care about our horrible experience at all. I left the gift cards as her tip (I’m at least a 20% tipper anywhere I go) and I vow never to eat at joes again! Go to red lobster!

I just came back from Joe’s Crab Shack a couple hours ago and must say that it was an unique experience. First off, we must have came at a busy time (6ish) because we ended up having to wait 40 minutes before being seated (so make sure you call ahead and have your name written down on the list!). After an excruciating 40 minutes (I haven’t eaten all day. The wait was pretty brutal), my boyfriend and I ordered the snow crab, classic appetizer sample, and spiked sweet tea. When the sampler came out, my boyfriend and I were slightly disappointed. There was barely any calamari sauce and it was just overall very average (this is the critique from a person who hasn’t eaten all day! Everything at that point shouldve tasted like heaven for me: p). We waited about 10 more minutes and our crab finally came out, this was a game changer. The crab was soft and perfectly cooked. It also came with potatoes and corn. Overall, I would come here again just for the crab!
Ps: our waitress only stopped by our table once, but the manager came by several times to make sure my boyfriend and I were satisfied. This gesture saved the rating to three stars instead of two.
Pps: the spiked iced tea was pretty good (even served in a cute mason jar), but the price wasn’t listed on the menu and I was shocked that it was $ 9. Beware!

Absolutely terrible. We sat at the bar on a Friday evening. Let’s start with the fact that with 3 bartenders it took them 15 mins to clear the dirty glasses in front of us from the previous customers. We ordered stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer and shared a meal. The mushrooms came out completely raw. We said something to our server but at this point our food was ready so it wasn’t worth waiting for new ones. Half an hour later the manager who happened to be the hostess as well came over and asked how our food was. We told her about the mushrooms. She said «yeah we have a hard time cooking them right in the microwave.» What?!? You are a restaurant why would you cook stuffed mushrooms in a microwave? Mushrooms take 5 mins to cook! Unbelievable that a manager would even say that. The food was terrible, clearly the staff are not properly trained. We will never be going back there.

Our waitress Kym was extremely nice and courteous! The customer service was great!
Other than that the food was extremely mediocre. I previously ate there before and the food and service was great but that was like three years ago.
I ordered the KJ steam pot and I was extremely disappointed!!! My scallops were burnt to the point my whole steam pot reeked of burnt seafood. My mussels were also extremely over cooked; dry and disgusting like sand paper. My crab legs (snow) were inconsistent some extremely small and some the typical size they are supposed to be. Not to mention my potatoes were half way rotten and they still served them to me. The best thing about my meal was the corn.
Sad to say I used to love this place but I would probably never come here again. Horrible experience. The drinks were awesome though. I had the hurricane and got a nice buzz from it which completely got blew from my horrible food!!!