Great atmosphere, food was ok kinda of bland in taste
(3)
K. D.
We had dinner here tonight and I have to say I was pleasantly pleased. We shared a couples bucket with King crab, potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage. The seafood was really tasty. We devoured the seafood and the red potatoes. I hate to say it but I had to deduct a star for two reasons. One, our waitress informed me it was happy hour and they charged me $8.69 for one margarita! (If this is the discounted price, I will stick to iced tea) Two, the fresh corn on the cob would have been edible had they removed any of the silk off the ear of corn. As it was I spent so long removing silky strings off of it that when I went back to eat more crab and shrimp they were cold. I have to say even though they are a crab shack, they could make the extra effort to clean corn a little bit better than I got. On a side note, it didn't bother my husband that much. Decor is a bit cheesy, but I know this is typical Joe's and not location specific. Overall, $40.00 for two crab dinners is pretty good, considering we are landlocked here in Tucson. Our server was Taylor and she was very helpful and brought more iced tea for dh without being asked. We will be back again. (I came back to add that yes, they have a Gluten free menu - no prices listed, which seems to be the norm anywhere) and I honestly wasn't as paranoid as I normally am eating out which is maybe 3 times a month. Definitely will be back, hold the corn and double my taters! ;)
(4)
Estefanie N.
I am very disappointed! Walked in and the restaurant was half empty, we were seated quickly but after waiting 15 minutes to even be acknowledged by the waitress we left. There is no way it should take that long to even give drink orders in a half empty restaurant. Joe's isn't a cheap restaurant and I expect better service for the amount of money we were going to pay. We weren't the only ones waiting for the server, several tables around us were waiting and looking for a server.
(1)
Schmidty N.
I expanse was great and the crab was fresh. Great song and dance. Waiter was fun and my name was will in doud
(5)
Carrie B.
Atmosphere: Upon arriving for lunch we were greeted by a hostess who held the door for us and seated us immediately. The interior design of this place is all reclaimed wood, aluminum siding, rope, t-shirts, huge sharks on the ceiling, Christmas lights and 80s/club music. It's very chaotic for a "party" feel, I guess. It seemed ironic since we were there early for lunch and there were only 3 tables seated and about 7 hipster workers standing around by the bar. Our server was a high energy fellow eager to please and he got our orders right away. He also seemed to be doing everyth Food: Hubby ordered a burger while I got the Garlicky Mussels appetizer and a side Caesar. Hubby hated his burger but, liked the fries (as did our baby). Hubby said the bun was stale. I liked my stuff. The mussels were tasty (served in a bucket with dish insert) and came with a couple of wedges of garlic toast for sopping up the soupy sauce. The Caesar dressing on the salad was tasty and the greens were fresh. We dumped all shells and trash in a bucket in the middle of the table. By the end of the meal there were 3 buckets on our table.Drinks were iced tea-no big whoop. Bottom Line: With tip the tab came to $35.00. Not a cheap date but, you could go there for seafood in the desert and have a pretty good time.
(3)
NoraZoe W.
We are frequent visitors of this restaurant, for good reason! We went yesterday for the Tuesday specials, and had an array of fried yummies (all discounted due to Tuesday: fried pickles, crawfish, and popcorn shrimp), as well as some fried clams (not discounted, but I had a free appetizer coupon!), a few $2 Hurricanes, and a steam pot to share. The service was great--our waitress kept our drinks (those we paid for and our waters) full, our empty plates removed, etc.--and very friendly. The food was delicious, and very quick. The restaurant was clean, not very busy (it was a Tuesday at about 5:30pm after all), and comfortable. We also like getting the bibs to wear--they're fun. We will definitely be back, and we recommend it to others!
(4)
Lauren L.
How many times do boys drag me here? Too many. I think it's like once every other week. I get the po' boy. It tastes nothing like it's supposed to but it's the only decent thing I can find on the menu. They do NOT have good crab which would fool anyone by the name of their restaurant. Service is very very slow even in between their songs and dances. Desserts are lacking which is unexpected coming from a chain. Chains should have kick ass desserts. I signed up for their email service online and get coupons at a rate of 1 per month. Free appetizers. The garlicky mussels are good and don't make me fart. The crab dip is not superb contrary to what the waitress will tell you.
(2)
Kevin S.
Server was very upbeat and understandable. He got our order without repeat and the food was AMAZING! Plus there was quite enough food for the 3 of us :). Although after we were all done, it took forever to get the check because the waiter didn't come back to the table for a while
(4)
lee c.
Well it was a while ago when we stopped in. First thing I see is a purse wide open on the greeting counter when we stopped by. We always eat joes crab shack, love 'em. Well, if your going to run a business with local help, have them show up early and clean the place. Or table was sticky, yuk, but the food was good. wake up people! I am your customer, I spend money don't make me wonder about your business when i walk through the door. Shit if your staff is hung over from the night before have your conversation in the back and not at the front counter with your purse sitting there. I am a smart guy and can add things up pretty quick. Have your staff dress down but dress clean, awake for their shift, in touch alert. whats that? oh your right i can spend money where I WANT TO!!
(2)
Brittany A.
I'm from Baltimore and I've really, really been missing my MD blue crabs. Life in the desert just hasn't been the same for me. My sweet fiance decided to take me on my first trip to Joe's Crab Shack to satisfy my hankerin' for crab. I was really hesitant. I'm a seafood snob. Specifically, a crab snob. There is nothing that will beat Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. But I have to say, I had such a great experience here that I would go back any day of the week. We were seated immediately (around 5PM on a Saturday) and our waiter greeted us quickly. He was quick with the drinks and was very prompt and attentive but not pushy or annoyingly clingy. He made sure our drinks were never empty and neither were our plates. We got the crab dip as an appetizer and it was amazing! We got the classic steampot and split it and it was more than enough food for the both of us. The crabs were hot and delicious. The corn on the cob was gross but I guess nobody really eats that. The shrimp was hot and fresh too. While we were eating (we were there maybe an hour and a half), they danced to Stayin' Alive. I cracked up. I didn't know about this part because I've never been here. They also danced to Cotton Eyed Joe. Then there were two birthdays where they made the birthday people's "wishes come true" by making them do something they always wanted to do - i.e., the lady behind us wanted to be a cheerleader so they made her cheer while they sang happy birthday. A few tables over, the gentleman wanted to be a model so they made him a mock runway and made him walk down it while they sang happy birthday. The people were great sports about it and it made for a really funny show. The food was hot, delicious, and prompt. The place was clean and the view was nice. The music wasn't too loud (except when they turned it up to dance). I could hear just fine at my table even with two large parties in the nearby area. We had a very lovely date night and I'm glad we went. It was pretty expensive but it's good for a special treat (just not birthdays :P)
(5)
Asli B.
Not sure why this place got really bad reviews. I have been to other Joe's, we used to go to the one in Sacramento very often and besides being a smaller version of it, I thought this one also had the same standards. Our crabs were pretty tasty, shrimp coctail was really good too. Server was a friendly guy, the decor is always the same. Maybe it's because I love seafood , I can eat anything that comes out of the sea. Tucson unfortunately is not the best place on earth for seafood and in my opinion Joe's helps to improve this fact. Prices are a little high but it's crab so no surprise there. So overall, I like this place and will be back when I have the craving to eat some decent crab.
(4)
Thomas R.
My wife and I went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner on an early Friday evening. We were seated immediately, our server appeared immediately, explained the options, took our drink order and returned with them and took our orders. Our food came in a timely manner, was very well prepared and delicious. Our server checked on us regularly, and was professional, polite and friendly throughout. I think the people who are rating Joe's so low are likely self-centered and immature at worst, delusional at best.
(5)
Kate L.
I'm going to have to do a breakdown of the scoring here... some things were great (SERVICE!!!) others not so awesome (food). We went here the other night, on my husband's request, for my anniversary. It was still early in the evening for the dinner crowd, and only a handful of tables was occupied. We were seated quickly, our server greeted us promptly, and we were off and running. I ordered a mixed drink worthy of a beach resort... with a price tag to match. But it was large and relatively generous with the hard stuff, and tasty to boot. Our server kindly provided my husband with a bib that read "My Server Gave Me Crabs!!!" with the prerequiste arrows pointing downward, hilarity ensues. Cue the funny Facebook picture post with the "my husband has a lot of explaining to do" comment. My husbands order of some steamer pot was large and in charge. I'm not a fan of seafood, but the hubby said it was great. I ordered a hamburger. A chipotle burger, as a matter of fact, as there were very VERY limited non-seafood options. My burger was bad. Aside from leftover patties from yesterday's BBQ that were a little well done in the first place, this was possibly the worst burger I've ever had in my entire life. It was cheap, cheap meat, sauce was way spicy but not tasty, way overcooked. Bad, all around. Twice, while we are sitting there, managers came over to check on how everything was... and even leave business cards (?). Second time, I did decide to speak shyly up, saying the burger wasn't exactly my cup of tea. The removed the item from our bill, and gave me their apologies. And, as we had mentioned it was our anniversary, our server did drag us to the center of the place and force us to sing "You Are My Sunshine" in front of everyone. Very cute, Joe's! But that's the stuff you should expect if you're going there, it's fun kitsch. Service: 5 stars Fun: 5 stars Food: Me, 1 star... maybe zero. Hubby, 4 stars Cost (for what you get): 2 stars (a little too pricey) I won't be back, but I'm sure my husband will. Look for him as the guy with crabs.
(4)
Frank L.
I have been to JCS twice in the past two months. What stands out to me is the service. JCS has a schmarmy service approach where the survey is acting like you are all best buds. On one occasion I watched a "trainer" direct a girl to act like an idiot. I am not your bud, holmes or the man. Now functionally both times the service is heavy on the "Office Space" type of flair but short on refilling drinks or checking back. On one occasion we waited forever for the check. This was from the "trainer" and his trainee. They just never came back. I went to the bar, asked for the check and tipped appropriately (bad). The food....? Really average. The crab last night (not me) really was tasteless. I can think of better ways to drop money.
(2)
Joey H.
Our waitress was so amazing! I don't know why she got wrangled by Joe's. Their food slightly less appetizing compared to the other Joe's I've been to and they maintain their ridiculously high prices. My husband enjoyed himself. His steam pot kicked his butt though. We had a pretty good time. It really was our service that made the difference.
(3)
Chelsey W.
This is my favorite place to eat when I want to splurge. It is a splurge because I must have a crab daddy feast each time, usually with a bucket of hot craw fish too! Yum. Their food has been spot on each time I have went. My boyfriend is not as fond as me, he said that the portions seemed small compared to the Joe's in San Diego last time we went. I thought the portions were large and fair. I really wanted to write this review because as I mentioned this is my favorite place, I chose to go there on my birthday on 3/9/14. We did not get there until around 10:50 p.m. and I was not even sure we would be served because they closed at 12 a.m. but I was worried their kitchen may be closed. Well I was totally THAT PERSON coming right before close to order a huge meal. I was very happy when they checked and made sure they could serve us everything and then gave us a seat. I mean they are open until 12, but a lot of places stop serving at a certain point. We were served fast and friendly and they wished me happy birthday while checking my ID. Most of all they did not seem annoyed that we were the last people there, starting a huge meal at 11. They were actually having fun with their jobs and not being too serious, like cleaning up and singing in good nature. It is nice to see people serving us that are not miserable, and are making the most of closing time with a good attitude even with customers. I have had so many people give me the death eye or just be obviously miserable. It was a nice change. It was also a Saturday night and we left around midnight when they were closing. They served me dessert at midnight too. I always have a server who is just as attentive as they need to be without being formal or checking in too often. I have only gone at night though. I always get just what I expect, good crab and a fun environment. Oh and the amazing s'more dessert they have is to die for! I want to get 2 sometimes... yum. I appreciate this place and hope to see more people have a good experience there, but you know what they say about reviews, people usually only come here to give one when they really have something bad to say. So don't let every bad review deter you, take them with a grain of salt. And butter and lemon.
(5)
Sanford R.
My first time at Joe's Crab Shack was actually quite good, so I am surprised by the low rating so far. I am not even a fan of seafood myself, but the lobster we had was pretty awesome! I think it may have been my first time ever even trying lobster to be honest. I got a kick out of wearing the bib, which was definitely necessary as this was a messy meal. It ended up being pretty expensive, but I would probably return because we had a lot of fun.
(4)
Scott C.
I took my daughter to Tucson to tour the University of Arizona and ended up at this "place" for dinner on a non-descript Tuesday night. The smell should have driven us out at the moment we walked through the door but we decided to stay and tough it out. Place reminds me of Hooters without the clown costumes and they happen to serve fried fish instead. In all honesty, the fish wasn't horrible but there was nothing here to draw me back or impress me in any way. Save the cash and find a Long John Silvers with a Taco Bell attached and go to town!
(1)
Jolene S.
Wow where to begin. Got here for an early lunch today and the place was empty. We still had to wait over 40 minutes for our food. My husband got a cheesy chicken an I got simply grilled salmon. We finally get our food and the salmon already looks way over cooked I got very little vegetables and the crispy potatoes were burnt. The cheesy chicken was loaded with a cheese that was sticky like paste, way over cooked rice that was nasty tasting and broccoli that wasn't cooked. We might as well had fresh broccoli from the store. The chicken was dry and sticky and just gross. Salmon was nasty over cooked and has no seasoning what so ever. Waitress ask us how everything is we say it's not that great. Manager comes over and says what can we do to make it better we are being very nice about the whole thing and say nothing we are just kinda turned off by their food now so I don't want them to remake food or order anything different. So we ask for the check, not eating any of the food. The waitress comes back and says my manager comped it. Thought that was very nice of them, but then my husband said well we can at least pay for our drinks and they actually made us pay for drinks. Then the manager says here's a $20.00 gift certificate to come back and see us followed by the statement next time you can order the crab cause that's what we do best. Then went on to say that they changed the recipe on the cheesy chicken and well the salmon was simply grilled. That's like saying order the crab cause the rest of our menu sucks. Who says that really stand by your food that you serve to the public and make it as awesome as you can. Especially when it's $15 bucks a plate. Thanks for the nice anniversary lunch date with my hubby Joe's Crab Shack.
(1)
Eleanor S.
Went in for lunch on Friday last week. The waitress was very pushy, kept trying to persuade us to try different things. Even tried to get me to order an alcoholic beverage after I said I couldn't because I was driving. I ordered off the lunch menu after first being told I couldn't because it was Saturday! The food was fine.
(2)
Tyler E.
The reviews here almost made me not go to Joe's. But I am so glad I did. The service here was beyond incredible and the food of course was fantastic :) Whatever happened caused the previous reviews must have been fixed. Must go
(5)
John H.
Great place but a bit expensive. I still like to go there on special occasions only because of the prices. Still, the food is good and worth an experience.
(3)
Barek K.
My wife and my experience, was AMAZING! Service and food was outstanding! We will definitely go back for more. The manager, Mark and staff were friendly and professional. Completely helpful and curtious for all our needs. It is easy to see after talking to Mark, that he takes pride in his store, staff and food quality. Thank you for the amazing food and service! Thank you!
(5)
Rocco M.
stay away from the southern fried maine lobster,or should I say essence of lobster...Not worth the price for some barely detectable lobster and breading!
(2)
Melinda C.
We ate at Joe's on Ash Wednesday (2/22/12) and saw a big improvement from last time we tried to eat there and had walked out before even being seated. That was in April 2011. It seems the new manager, Tajonna Lawler, brought in from Chandler, has been working on retraining staff. Having eaten at the Chandler restaurant, we know how well a Joe's can run, so we know she's a good manager. There's hope for this one. The host wasn't at the stand when we came in, but after a second a waiter seated us. Our waiter, Rich Malin, came over immediately, told us about the menu, took our drink order and let us decide what to eat. We ordered a couple of crab pots, but made some changes (no potatoes replaced with broccoli). It took quite a while for our food to come. When it did come, Rich checked it and saw the changes hadn't been made so he went and got our broccoli. He was on the ball and handled everything quickly and efficiently. The food was delicious. The crab was cooked perfectly. We will try Joe's again after Rich's great service. The kitchen staff needs to pay attention to order changes and work faster as the restaurant wasn't busy. I hope they can get it together because there aren't many other places in town to get great crab dinners!
(3)
Casey M.
It's like going to a whole different place! A place different from our own land! It's like I got taken into an outer realm, a dimension not known in this life! It's like time slows down and you embark on an adventure to gaze at eternity itself! An eternity filled with bad service and long wait times for my check. Waited almost two hours for our check. Do you know how long that is? Lord of the Rings is only 40 minutes longer. I could've embarked on a fantastical adventure with Hobbits and big evil eyeballs. Instead, I went here. Never again.
(1)
Alex F.
So, why did I think a crab shack in Tucson would be good? My first clue that I had made a mistake was when we waited a solid five minutes for someone to show up to seat us. Once the hostess noticed us, she had to clean a table before we could be seated. There were plenty open, but none clean. Our waiter was reasonably attentive, but he always seemed like he was in a hurry. My expectations for the food weren't too high, but it turned out to be decent. Overpriced and not amazing, but decent for a seafood chain in the desert.
(2)
Vonne M.
I'm so glad everyone else agrees with me on this. Joe's Crab Shack is a poor excuse for a Seafood restaurant. Okay one star for having a cool, fun, lively atmosphere, but if you are a staunch seafood foodie that has had seafood in a variety of places you will be disappointed. The first meal I had was salmon and shrimp. Dry and bland. I'm forgiving so I came back about a year later. Different meal and same blandness. Both times the food didn't taste right and they were dry. Pros: Fun Atmosphere Fairly nice waiters Cons: Terrible seafood Expensive
(1)
Kim H.
Ummm..should be called the "Crap shack". We arrived here excited to try Joe's crab shack and were seated in the unconditioned area. And we were about to stomp out after waiting to be served for 35 minutes..and we saw waiters standing around. When we finally got our food, I took a few bites and thought I was eating poop. We were both dissapointed at our expensive, tasteless dinner. Never going to come back here.
(1)
karen r.
I'll begin by saying this was my first visit to Joe's Crab Shack and despite the stories I heard about it being overpriced and lackluster food, I opted to try it myself. Loving lobster more than crab I ordered the Arctic steampot which had a whole lobster. There was absolutely no flavor in any of the food in the pot except the smoked sausage. The lobster also was rubbery leading me to believe it was pre-cooked. Not wanting to complain in front of my friends, I came home and filed a complaint online. The manager Mark called me within a couple of hours of posting. He did not address the rubbery, tasteless lobster so I asked him if it was pre-cooked. He said they can't get live lobsters in so it comes in frozen and cooked and they drop it in water for 4 1/2 minutes....and that's exactly what it tasted like..... all the flavor drained out of it and overcooked....... he offered for me to come in again, but I said, "why, unless you get fresh lobster it's only going to taste the same..... no flavor." I told him there should be no excuse for the price they charge people that they should have the lobster, crab and other seafood shipped in live. I also noted that it was a Friday afternoon and there were very few customers dining there. I guess that says it all right there. I will never eat at this restaurant again...................
(2)
Julia R.
I grew up in the pacific NW, so once in a while I get a jones for some seafood. Since the wait at Red Lobster is ridiculous, we decided to try Joe's. BIG mistake. The place is loud, the decor is junky, and the food is way overpriced. The staff is very in-your-face and tries to play the audience-participation card, practically pulling you out of your chair to disco dance with them. Next time, I'll get some frozen crab legs from the grocery store, microwave-steam them in wet paper towels, and spare myself (and my wallet) an embarassing evening.
(1)
Toby J.
was in here the other day ordered shrimp and crab legs. They tasted fresh, not over cooked, fantastic and reasonably priced. i am not sure about anything else on the menu but I can vouch for these two item i ate. VERY GOOD.
(4)
Erika D.
No thanks. This place is a combination between a California hippie frat house and a playground. I didn't care for the "dirty garage" atmosphere either. If you don't like: - A LOUD atmosphere with noisy music and bad singing - Lots of children running around your table screaming - watching staff members dance, sing, and clap every 15 minutes - Unappetizing food served cold for $$ - Sitting next to a window encrusted with dirt and hair (Ahhhhch!) - Staff who disappear for long periods of time.....then I recommend.... Stay super away...far away.
(1)
Jhymae N.
We have ate at this location a few times the past year and it was typically good; however, this visit was fairly poor. We sat at the bar to have dinner and our regular bartender was good and friendly. But, the steam bucket my husband got was not anything like before, no spices/Old Bay seasoning or very minimal at best. We told the waiter/bartender and he didn't even offer to send it back to have them re-season or make a new pot. I ordered the Salmon Orleans; the salmon was a decent size portion but the crawfish tails were just about microscopic as well as the shrimp, dry and overcooked. The women's restroom was a complete disaster! Water and paper was all over the floor, toilet seat covers were ripped out of the compartment holders, doors were filthy yet there were 3 young teenage waitresses all in the bathroom talking and carrying on when they should have cleaned it up for their patrons. VERY DISAPPOINTED AND PROBABLY WON'T RETURN. Especially considering how much you pay for their food - not a cheap place to eat at all.
(2)
Elizabeth L.
I don't see how this place has gotten so few stars so far! I love Joe's!! We went for lunch as a family, which of course can get pricey for seafood, but for a land locked state, Joe's is a great place to curb your sea faring cravings. It was my daughters birthday and the staff sang to her and embarassed her a bit, which of course is hilarious. I had the Sam Adams Steampot, which as a little of everything and it was all delicious (and I'm from Oregon where you can go fishing for it yourself, but this was almost as good)! Even my kids who don't enjoy seafood had choices that made them happy (chicken). I think the atmosphere is fun and the staff polite. I have been here several times and have yet to be disappointed.
(4)
Casey D.
There is a Joe's Crab Shack in Ca where I moved from that is amazing and I love it there, so I had high expectations for this one and was a little disappointed. The service was slow and the shrimp was over cooked quite a bit. It had the same fun atmosphere but just wasn't the same. I'd be willing to give it a second chance though, it wasn't terrible
(3)
Bennie M.
I don't get to eat @ Joe's as often as I'd like, since they're a 45 minute drive from my house. I must say that every time I've been here, I've never been disappointed. They really do an excellent job on their crab!
(5)
Andrew G.
Decorations, are decent...what you'd expect in a place called a crab shack. But nothing to get excited over. The food sucks, no bones about it. Its overpriced for the portion that you get, and your shellfish will be so overcooked as to be disgusting. I got the New Orleans Pot, looking forward to the Crawfish; and was so beyond disappointed. The crawfish was disgusting, with over a quarter of the fish being inedible. The shrimp was over cooked. We waited way to long to get our drinks, considering only a handful of tables were filled. Last time I'll be going there.
(1)
Diane W.
We dined at Joe's Crab Shack three week ends in a row. First time I ordered the sea fool platter and it was copious and good. We had their grilled shrimp appetizer and it was tasty. My husband ordered fish and chips and the fish was fresh. He substituted FF for onion rings and they were good. The second time we ate there, I had one of their sea food Pots cooked in beer. It was o.k.. Not as good as I expected. A lot of work to get the meat out of the crab legs. Lobster claws were on the small size. We ordered their fried calamari as an appetizer and it was very good. Served with tomato sauce for dipping and it all was good. My husband ordered the fish an chips again and the fish was fresh and good. The third time we ate there, it was very disappointing. I ordered their famous "crab cakes". The crab did not taste fresh and the cakes were far too salty. Probably trying to mask the old crab meat they used. Did not finish my dinner. My husband had his favorite fish and chips again, and that time the fish tasted fishy and not fresh. The wait staff is very friendly and they explain the menu well. The service was good too. We ordered their Key Lime Pie for dessert. They served a big square piece of it and it was very good. After the poor 3rd meal of old fish and crab, not sure we would go back. If we do, we will speak with the manager about our last meal there.. It is a lively and somewhat noisy place, but also a fun place with inconsis
(3)
Frieda S.
We had only gone to Joe's once before, maybe 15 years ago. At that time the service was achingly slow, I never got any silverware, and no one refilled my iced tea. But last Saturday afternoon we decided to give it another try because we thought our pre-teen daughter might enjoy the atmosphere. Which she did. Unfortunately, she got to enjoy it for almost an hour before the food arrived. The waitress was very apologetic but I can't understand how seafood, which is cooked as little as possible, could take so long. We had two orders of fried shrimp and one of crab cakes--drop the shrimp in the fryer for eight minutes and Voila!--done! Lunch for three including tip (yes, we tipped) came to $66. Ouch.
(1)
Rebecca F.
I had never eaten at a Joe's Crab Shack before. My boyfriend and I had decided to take his Mom there for her Birthday dinner (along with his niece and my 5 yr old son). I have NEVER been more turned off about food in my entire life!!! They may have seemed perky and upbeat, but nothing helped the fact that we were there waiting for our food for almost 2 HOURS AFTER we ordered!!!! I was so proud of my son for sitting at the table for so long and not eating!!! They even tried to "discount" our food because we were NOT going to pay $100 for a 2 HOUR WAIT!!! (And they weren't even busy! We saw so many employees standing around, talking, laughing and not tending to their customers) We asked them to please pack up our food because we just wanted to leave at that point. They packaged our food and we went on our way... When we got home (right around the corner), the food was cold, not in full portions and totally tasteless. I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for what happened that night, and they were making tons of excuses. Talk about a Crabby Birthday Dinner! We will NEVER go to ANY Joe's Crab Shack after that! (Note to Joe's Crab Shack: Excuses don't matter when people are hungry, ESPECIALLY on special occasions or with young children... If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen)
(1)
Leo B.
Expensive and not that good. Let me edit this. The food isn't that bad especially for Tucson but it is expensive. Its advertisements on TV hawking $5 appetizers is basically a lie. You muse order an entree for each $5 app! The menu isn't much clearer as it looks like you can order all apps for $5 if you buy one entree. Bait and switch. I complained and the manger took off some money. She said last week all the appetizers were ringing up as $5 but then it was changed. A gentleman came over and thanked me for complaining. Overall it seems like a fun place to go for a drink or two and a get together with some friends but corporate needs to get their act together.
(1)
Anthony B.
took my wife here for a date night and holy cow the food has just gone downhill it was soggy and the seafood pots all tasted the same sorry i wont be back
(2)
Jay K.
"Meh" would basically sum up the Joe's experience for me. I grew up on the coast of southern Maine, so I can be a bit of a prat about good seafood. Living in the desert has proven to be a challenge, when it comes to my periodic undersea urges, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, I had some money to burn and decided to take the fam' to Joes. Meh, meh, and more meh. We started with some shrimp that was fine, if a bit bland, and only barely cooked through, and moved on to a crab variety pot. The dungeness crab tasted as though it had been in a deep-freeze for the better part of the past decade, and the Alaskan sweet crab wasn't much better. At least this stuff seemed well-cooked. When it came to the sides, well-cooked was a bit of an understatement. The corn was steamed to the point that the kernels were falling apart, and the potato's starch and skin were only tenuously holding it together. I will say this: the portions were ample. My girlfriend and I were able to split the shrimp app and crab pot (for one) easily between us. We usually don't get desserts when we eat out, but decided to splurge this time and order the praline brownie sundae (or whatever ludicrous, vaguely nautical name they gave it). I wish we hadn't. The brownie was like something I could buy from the counter of a 7-11, the vanilla ice cream was so-so, and there was but a lonely teaspoon of caramel at the bottom of the glass. I could have made it at home while blindfolded and drunk, and probably for a quarter of the price. All-in-all, Joe's reminds me why I generally loathe chain restaurants. You pay through the nose for the "experience" of the place, and then cross your fingers and hope the food is A) cooked well-enough and B)doesn't give you a coronary before the end of the meal. At Joe's, the "experience" is tortoise-slow wait service and the pleasure of listening to the waiters angrily belt out AM-gold favorites of the '70s. Have you ever been to a dive bar on a Friday at 1:30am? The singing is a little bit like that, only minus the alcohol, and devoid of any real mirth. Joe's is one of those places that blows its financial wad on making you feel like you've come to a wacky, irreverent land of crab, where the staff is kooky and anything could happen. The problem is that everything seems forced and choreographed, and you can't help but be pained, given how hard their corporate machine seems to be trying. If the super classy "I got crabs at Joe's" t-shirts aren't enough, the self-consciously kitschy bibs may put you over the top. This is coupled by the fact that the actual food, which is their ostensible stock-in-trade, is relatively miserable. Quick side bar here: the waiter asked me if I wanted him to put on my bib for me, and I figured he had to be making some kind of grotesque joke, so I laughed him off. Then, I saw no fewer than four other people, over the course of our meal, request said privilege. Really? Is that the premium one pays for, nowadays: the honor of flushing one's self-respect down the crapper and being infantilized in public? As Yakoff Smirnoff would say, "What a country!" Joe's is, quite clearly, a product of an over-stimulated, over-fed culture, in which mediocrity is passable, as long as its loud and expensive enough. I think I'll pass from now on.
(2)
Brooke R.
Super expensive for fish in a land locked state. And no, it's not good. The taste comes from the deep frying. You're paying royalty to watch the waiters dance and sing to old songs every half hour, meanwhile your food is at a stand still behind the counter and your water glass will never get refilled. For kids that have parents that don't mind spending a fortune for their happiness this place would be a good place to go to, but otherwise, no. Just don't do it.
(2)
Surranna V.
I loved this place. There were 4 of us and we all ordered the big pots of crab, I can't remember what they are called but mine came with all three types of crab, snow, king, and dungeonus as well as potatoes and corn seasoned with spicy broil. It was so good. I didn't even look at the rest of the menu but I saw most people eating the big pots of random seafood so I figured it was why people were there. As far as the rest of the menu who knows but my big pot of crab was great, there was big legs and claws, yummy! Needless to say all 4 of us thought the crab was pretty damn good for a chain. I also had a very tasty spicy bloody mary, I was shocked that it was so good. The huge chocolate cake we shared was like a big brownie, it was super rich, moist, and dense, yummy. It wasn't cheap but with all the entertainment that was super funny, the delicious food, and good service I will absolutely be back. The staff all looked like they were enjoying the dancing which made it fun to watch.
(4)
Dawn S.
The wait staff were really friendly- 5 stars for them 0 stars for my food. Visiting family in Tucson on 8/1/15 and my husband, sister & brother-in-law had great meals (ahi tacos & crab leg feasts) but I, on the other hand, had a horrible one! My dinner experience has lasted longer than it should've for me. I know now I should've held my ground when when I told the manager that the bacon on the Southern Stuffed Shrimp was still white and light pink (vs. darker and crispy) and the shrimp was pale white (vs. orange & white). But I sent it back thinking they would make me a new plate. Instead the cook put the plate back in the oven & re-served it. I've learned a lesson but won't let it happen again. Three days of misery gave me a lot of time to think about how I should've been more assertive with not settling with something subpar (let alone pay for it). Perhaps it's because the stomach & bsck pain has subsided, or my head doesn't hurt as much, but I can at least see that silver lining.
(1)
Charles P.
Joe's has gone through many ups and downs over the years, and I really think it's because no one in charge has any clue how to run the place. The first time I went there, about 5 years ago, it was great. The atmosphere was uplifting, the wait staff was attentive, and they even did a line dance when a certain song (can't remember what) came on. The food was delicious and quick to the table. Last year it seemed like they were destined to close. The food was undercooked, took forever to get to the table, and the wait staff seemed unconcerned about anything but hiding in the kitchen. Recently things seemed to change. Food was to the table in a reasonable time, but the wait staff walked around like they were waiting for their heads to be cut off. One guy was even fired while we were there, right out in the dining area. The general manager clearly has no idea how to run a kitchen. The atmosphere was like a graveyard. Definitely won't be back.
(1)
Paulina N.
The only reason this place gets any stars is because they are open til midnight! It was convenient that I had a crab craving at 930PM, and of course nothing was going to be opened for much longer. Service is nice. Awkward, kind of... but nice. Attentive enough so that we didn't have to wait on things for very long. Everything we ate was so salty. I swear I drank about three gallons of water when I got home. The bf liked the Cajun one he got, but I didn't like the traditional Joe's Crab Shack special seasoning I got. However, I do appreciate that the crabs/lobster did not taste so bad. The meat was actually sweet and juicy. Lobster was slightly overcooked, but not too bad. Shrimp were way overcooked though. The calamari we ordered tasted like it was taken out of the freezer section at the nearest grocery store. Sigh. Oh well, there went $80. My fault. On with the next one!
(2)
Shijie F.
Joe's is not cheap. Every time we dine there we spend around at least $30 per person plus tips. So if you are spending that amount on food, you better get what Joe's is known for: crab feast or steam pot. All the other food we ordered on the menu is a so-so in most cases From experience, if you order the snow crab feast, you will get a lot of crab; for the king crab "feast," you will get two legs. We like the lemon spice flavor. Service, on the other hand, is completely chaotic and mindless. The server we had during our last visit forgot our order, mixed table orders, brought the wrong check, etc. The problem is, it wasn't an isolated incident. During our meal, we constantly heard other customers pointed out mistakes in the check or order. We still gave a generous tip despite the mess-ups. But we would have pauses to come here again.
(3)
Melissa B.
Omg I am sitting here at the bar on a Tuesday night and across from me is a at least five year old sitting at the bar and the bartender joe is paying no attention to us at all paying all thr attention to the five year old sit ting at the barNever coming here again! And to top it all off the apparent mom is drinking a Peter piper pizza cup and not ordering anything at all and the manager even came over the interacted with her. Wish I would of got that attention for being under age at a bar top
(1)
Charles J.
Years ago, this was a good value. Joe's is right across the street from a bustling hospital. Typically, this would be good news for business. In this case, though, it is good news for the customers. After several years absence, I returned today...Joe's has really gone downhill. The fried chicken arrived frozen on the inside and crispy on the outside... it was probably safe to eat. Crab cake was old, sour, and rancid. I did not want to risk more than two bites. Vile. We waited 40 minutes for our order. Went to the restroom while waiting. The floor was clean except for the big pile of sludge between the stall door and the wall. Bio-hazard! This was a very disappointing visit. I fondly remember having great times (and fabulous meals) at Joe's in years past. Sadly, those times are gone.
(1)
Magic J.
The quality of the food is just OK. If you bill yourself as a seafood place and only have farmed salmon then how good can you actually be? The real problem with this place, however, is the terrible service.
(2)
Raven B.
Terrible. The "chef" didn't know how to shuck oysters and they we full of shell pieces. Looked like a large group of teenagers was in charge and that no one was in charge at all. It was also not very clean, dirty surfaces etc.
(1)
Sirena C.
It is a chain, so there are certain things to expect and fair food is one of them. The lunch meal my boyfriend and I had was good. Obviously not great but we came into Joe's not expecting great so maybe that changes the tone of this review. But our server was Taylor and she was so sweet and and timely! Her service made it such a delight and if we are ever in the area again we will eat there again and request Taylor if she is working!!!! I would say that just because it is a chain don't give it 3 stars automatically, Think about the service you receive and the best they can do as a chain seafood restaurant in Tucson.
(4)
Bash A.
I really used to enjoy the food and atmosphere. However, the food and service has truly diminished. I ate there recently and my crabs were not cooked in the seasoning I asked for, the corn on the con looked really bad, and the service just was not what it used to be. The manager did bring me some crabs cooked in the seasoning I preferred which was a good recovery, but I don't think I will be visiting Joe's anytime soon. On to the next seafood place in Tucson.
(2)
Walt C.
First time to Joe's Crab Shack, wasn't really sure what to expect. Arrived w/ a party of 6 and the booths were just a tad on the small side for 3x adults and 3x children. The service was great and the food was good. Manager even came out to check and make sure everything was going well. Was a good experience overall and the entire family enjoyed it. The bill was a tad higher than expected, but we did order quite a few dishes. Will have to watch it on the next trip out. Will definitely return.
(3)
Craig S.
The place was dead on Saturday afternoon but we were ignored for a good 10 min. Guess they don't need the business. We didn't stay.
(1)
Amanda W.
I have been to Joe's Crab Shack restaurants in East Coast. They are great, so I wanted to try out the one in Tucson. But what do I expect from the State which is no where near ocean? I mean it was ok. Not like the one in East Coast, sorry. While we were dining, waiters and waitress started to dance along the love shack. My son was like, "good intent, but they can't dance." Yeah, I give them for trying. Perhaps they need to work on the management, because it took forever for them bring us our drink and food.
(3)
Ruben R.
Food was decent and service was quick. I was surprised to see how empty the place was for a Friday night and was kinda bummed the the hyped up attitudes and dancing was not in play because of the lack of customers.
(4)
Susan S.
First problem was that no one greeted us at the door. The staff should be attentive to anyone walking in during business hours. The waiter made up for that quickly and the order came quickly. The shrimp and fries were good but the coconut shrimp was lackluster and the tropical sauce may have been out of a jar. It had absolutely no flavor at all. The ice tea also had no flavor. Gotta say that with all the competition of restaurants in town, and the prices charged here Joes may not last.
(3)
Wendy S.
I have always loved crabs and lobsters and Joe's Crab Shack didn't disappoint. I was in nirvana the whole time I was eating the Arctic Bay Steampot. I didn't hesitate to dig in and get my fingers dirty. Service was very good too.
(5)
Nikky P.
Not worth the price you pay. We spent over $100 and had pretty bad food. The lobster was so over cooked that it was like eating a dog toy. We sent the first one back only to get a new one that was equally chewy. We didn't send this one back since we figured the kitchen would just send another grossly overcooked lobster out to us again.. I had to send King crab legs back because they were overcooked to the point of being nothing but mush. The legs were so soft that you couldn't crack them and once you did the meat was inedible. The replacements weren't much better... We sat at the bar to eat and the bartender was attentive and apologetic about the quality of the food. She even mentioned that for how much we paid we should be getting exactly what we want..no joke. For how much we spent we should have had an excellent meal- 50$ a head is crazy for this poor of quality. I will not come back here again or recommend this place to friends.
(1)
Leonard C.
Been to many joes crab shacks this one SUCKS I'll never come back it was terrible The Manger Applied His Discount All In All The Food Was Nowhere Near The Standard I Have For The Food Chain Drinks Were Great But I Didn't Go There For Them If Your In Tuscan I Recommend Skipping The Trip There
(1)
Christy F.
Disclaimer: I'm typically not big into reviewing chains and I'm not a fan of seafood. I'm sure they do a decent job with the seafood, as that is what they are known for. However, you will have to put up with disco lights and signing and dancing waitstaff prancing around to routines while dining. It's just not my thang....really who likes that?? Definitely, not a place for a baby, though with that said mine did just fine- but she is a prodigy. This is not the place for a sirloin. BARF. Complete disregard for temperature. It came out dry and gray. I didn't even take it home for my boys- aka my dogs. They do however serve up some mighty fine and elusive hush puppies. Actually, I've been considering stopping in just for a carry out order of those bad boys.
(2)
Crystal B.
Meh. Food was okay, service was okay. Everything was just okay. We split one of the big steamer pots with lobster, crab, shrimp, and veggies. I will say it was definitely enough food for two people to share and both leave full. However, the lobster and crab both seemed overcooked and mushy and and tasted kind of bland. Which is strange to me because it was all cooked in the same pot but yet the shrimp tasted pretty good and the potatoes were awesome. The potatoes were probably the best part of the whole thing for me. They were so, so yummy. Service was adequate, but not great. Server was friendly enough, but everything just seemed to take a really long time. She forgot to bring hubby a second beer until we reminded her. Just a bunch of little things that didn't really add up to anything terrible, but it definitely could have been better. Will try again eventually, hopefully it was just an off night.
(3)
Luis V.
I wish they had coasters, that and it's a bit pricey if your here by yourself. I like a full meal and at least 1 appetizer. It gets expensive eating dinner every night while you got a baby next door at hospital. Either way I give it a 3.5/5 cut the price and it'll b a 4+
(3)
Susan S.
First problem was that no one greeted us at the door. The staff should be attentive to anyone walking in during business hours. The waiter made up for that quickly and the order came quickly. The shrimp and fries were good but the coconut shrimp was lackluster and the tropical sauce may have been out of a jar. It had absolutely no flavor at all. The ice tea also had no flavor. Gotta say that with all the competition of restaurants in town, and the prices charged here Joes may not last.
(3)
Nikky P.
Not worth the price you pay. We spent over $100 and had pretty bad food. The lobster was so over cooked that it was like eating a dog toy. We sent the first one back only to get a new one that was equally chewy. We didn't send this one back since we figured the kitchen would just send another grossly overcooked lobster out to us again.. I had to send King crab legs back because they were overcooked to the point of being nothing but mush. The legs were so soft that you couldn't crack them and once you did the meat was inedible. The replacements weren't much better... We sat at the bar to eat and the bartender was attentive and apologetic about the quality of the food. She even mentioned that for how much we paid we should be getting exactly what we want..no joke. For how much we spent we should have had an excellent meal- 50$ a head is crazy for this poor of quality. I will not come back here again or recommend this place to friends.
(1)
Leonard C.
Been to many joes crab shacks this one SUCKS I'll never come back it was terrible The Manger Applied His Discount All In All The Food Was Nowhere Near The Standard I Have For The Food Chain Drinks Were Great But I Didn't Go There For Them If Your In Tuscan I Recommend Skipping The Trip There
(1)
Christy F.
Disclaimer: I'm typically not big into reviewing chains and I'm not a fan of seafood. I'm sure they do a decent job with the seafood, as that is what they are known for. However, you will have to put up with disco lights and signing and dancing waitstaff prancing around to routines while dining. It's just not my thang....really who likes that?? Definitely, not a place for a baby, though with that said mine did just fine- but she is a prodigy. This is not the place for a sirloin. BARF. Complete disregard for temperature. It came out dry and gray. I didn't even take it home for my boys- aka my dogs. They do however serve up some mighty fine and elusive hush puppies. Actually, I've been considering stopping in just for a carry out order of those bad boys.
(2)
Crystal B.
Meh. Food was okay, service was okay. Everything was just okay. We split one of the big steamer pots with lobster, crab, shrimp, and veggies. I will say it was definitely enough food for two people to share and both leave full. However, the lobster and crab both seemed overcooked and mushy and and tasted kind of bland. Which is strange to me because it was all cooked in the same pot but yet the shrimp tasted pretty good and the potatoes were awesome. The potatoes were probably the best part of the whole thing for me. They were so, so yummy. Service was adequate, but not great. Server was friendly enough, but everything just seemed to take a really long time. She forgot to bring hubby a second beer until we reminded her. Just a bunch of little things that didn't really add up to anything terrible, but it definitely could have been better. Will try again eventually, hopefully it was just an off night.
(3)
Luis V.
I wish they had coasters, that and it's a bit pricey if your here by yourself. I like a full meal and at least 1 appetizer. It gets expensive eating dinner every night while you got a baby next door at hospital. Either way I give it a 3.5/5 cut the price and it'll b a 4+
(3)
Wendy S.
I have always loved crabs and lobsters and Joe's Crab Shack didn't disappoint. I was in nirvana the whole time I was eating the Arctic Bay Steampot. I didn't hesitate to dig in and get my fingers dirty. Service was very good too.
(5)
Magic J.
The quality of the food is just OK. If you bill yourself as a seafood place and only have farmed salmon then how good can you actually be? The real problem with this place, however, is the terrible service.
(2)
Dawn S.
The wait staff were really friendly- 5 stars for them 0 stars for my food. Visiting family in Tucson on 8/1/15 and my husband, sister & brother-in-law had great meals (ahi tacos & crab leg feasts) but I, on the other hand, had a horrible one! My dinner experience has lasted longer than it should've for me. I know now I should've held my ground when when I told the manager that the bacon on the Southern Stuffed Shrimp was still white and light pink (vs. darker and crispy) and the shrimp was pale white (vs. orange & white). But I sent it back thinking they would make me a new plate. Instead the cook put the plate back in the oven & re-served it. I've learned a lesson but won't let it happen again. Three days of misery gave me a lot of time to think about how I should've been more assertive with not settling with something subpar (let alone pay for it). Perhaps it's because the stomach & bsck pain has subsided, or my head doesn't hurt as much, but I can at least see that silver lining.
(1)
Charles P.
Joe's has gone through many ups and downs over the years, and I really think it's because no one in charge has any clue how to run the place. The first time I went there, about 5 years ago, it was great. The atmosphere was uplifting, the wait staff was attentive, and they even did a line dance when a certain song (can't remember what) came on. The food was delicious and quick to the table. Last year it seemed like they were destined to close. The food was undercooked, took forever to get to the table, and the wait staff seemed unconcerned about anything but hiding in the kitchen. Recently things seemed to change. Food was to the table in a reasonable time, but the wait staff walked around like they were waiting for their heads to be cut off. One guy was even fired while we were there, right out in the dining area. The general manager clearly has no idea how to run a kitchen. The atmosphere was like a graveyard. Definitely won't be back.
(1)
Paulina N.
The only reason this place gets any stars is because they are open til midnight! It was convenient that I had a crab craving at 930PM, and of course nothing was going to be opened for much longer. Service is nice. Awkward, kind of... but nice. Attentive enough so that we didn't have to wait on things for very long. Everything we ate was so salty. I swear I drank about three gallons of water when I got home. The bf liked the Cajun one he got, but I didn't like the traditional Joe's Crab Shack special seasoning I got. However, I do appreciate that the crabs/lobster did not taste so bad. The meat was actually sweet and juicy. Lobster was slightly overcooked, but not too bad. Shrimp were way overcooked though. The calamari we ordered tasted like it was taken out of the freezer section at the nearest grocery store. Sigh. Oh well, there went $80. My fault. On with the next one!
(2)
Raven B.
Terrible. The "chef" didn't know how to shuck oysters and they we full of shell pieces. Looked like a large group of teenagers was in charge and that no one was in charge at all. It was also not very clean, dirty surfaces etc.
(1)
Shijie F.
Joe's is not cheap. Every time we dine there we spend around at least $30 per person plus tips. So if you are spending that amount on food, you better get what Joe's is known for: crab feast or steam pot. All the other food we ordered on the menu is a so-so in most cases From experience, if you order the snow crab feast, you will get a lot of crab; for the king crab "feast," you will get two legs. We like the lemon spice flavor. Service, on the other hand, is completely chaotic and mindless. The server we had during our last visit forgot our order, mixed table orders, brought the wrong check, etc. The problem is, it wasn't an isolated incident. During our meal, we constantly heard other customers pointed out mistakes in the check or order. We still gave a generous tip despite the mess-ups. But we would have pauses to come here again.
(3)
Melissa B.
Omg I am sitting here at the bar on a Tuesday night and across from me is a at least five year old sitting at the bar and the bartender joe is paying no attention to us at all paying all thr attention to the five year old sit ting at the barNever coming here again! And to top it all off the apparent mom is drinking a Peter piper pizza cup and not ordering anything at all and the manager even came over the interacted with her. Wish I would of got that attention for being under age at a bar top
(1)
Charles J.
Years ago, this was a good value. Joe's is right across the street from a bustling hospital. Typically, this would be good news for business. In this case, though, it is good news for the customers. After several years absence, I returned today...Joe's has really gone downhill. The fried chicken arrived frozen on the inside and crispy on the outside... it was probably safe to eat. Crab cake was old, sour, and rancid. I did not want to risk more than two bites. Vile. We waited 40 minutes for our order. Went to the restroom while waiting. The floor was clean except for the big pile of sludge between the stall door and the wall. Bio-hazard! This was a very disappointing visit. I fondly remember having great times (and fabulous meals) at Joe's in years past. Sadly, those times are gone.
(1)
Sirena C.
It is a chain, so there are certain things to expect and fair food is one of them. The lunch meal my boyfriend and I had was good. Obviously not great but we came into Joe's not expecting great so maybe that changes the tone of this review. But our server was Taylor and she was so sweet and and timely! Her service made it such a delight and if we are ever in the area again we will eat there again and request Taylor if she is working!!!! I would say that just because it is a chain don't give it 3 stars automatically, Think about the service you receive and the best they can do as a chain seafood restaurant in Tucson.
(4)
Bash A.
I really used to enjoy the food and atmosphere. However, the food and service has truly diminished. I ate there recently and my crabs were not cooked in the seasoning I asked for, the corn on the con looked really bad, and the service just was not what it used to be. The manager did bring me some crabs cooked in the seasoning I preferred which was a good recovery, but I don't think I will be visiting Joe's anytime soon. On to the next seafood place in Tucson.
(2)
Walt C.
First time to Joe's Crab Shack, wasn't really sure what to expect. Arrived w/ a party of 6 and the booths were just a tad on the small side for 3x adults and 3x children. The service was great and the food was good. Manager even came out to check and make sure everything was going well. Was a good experience overall and the entire family enjoyed it. The bill was a tad higher than expected, but we did order quite a few dishes. Will have to watch it on the next trip out. Will definitely return.
(3)
Craig S.
The place was dead on Saturday afternoon but we were ignored for a good 10 min. Guess they don't need the business. We didn't stay.
(1)
Amanda W.
I have been to Joe's Crab Shack restaurants in East Coast. They are great, so I wanted to try out the one in Tucson. But what do I expect from the State which is no where near ocean? I mean it was ok. Not like the one in East Coast, sorry. While we were dining, waiters and waitress started to dance along the love shack. My son was like, "good intent, but they can't dance." Yeah, I give them for trying. Perhaps they need to work on the management, because it took forever for them bring us our drink and food.
(3)
Ruben R.
Food was decent and service was quick. I was surprised to see how empty the place was for a Friday night and was kinda bummed the the hyped up attitudes and dancing was not in play because of the lack of customers.
(4)
K. D.
We had dinner here tonight and I have to say I was pleasantly pleased. We shared a couples bucket with King crab, potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage. The seafood was really tasty. We devoured the seafood and the red potatoes. I hate to say it but I had to deduct a star for two reasons. One, our waitress informed me it was happy hour and they charged me $8.69 for one margarita! (If this is the discounted price, I will stick to iced tea) Two, the fresh corn on the cob would have been edible had they removed any of the silk off the ear of corn. As it was I spent so long removing silky strings off of it that when I went back to eat more crab and shrimp they were cold. I have to say even though they are a crab shack, they could make the extra effort to clean corn a little bit better than I got. On a side note, it didn't bother my husband that much. Decor is a bit cheesy, but I know this is typical Joe's and not location specific. Overall, $40.00 for two crab dinners is pretty good, considering we are landlocked here in Tucson. Our server was Taylor and she was very helpful and brought more iced tea for dh without being asked. We will be back again. (I came back to add that yes, they have a Gluten free menu - no prices listed, which seems to be the norm anywhere) and I honestly wasn't as paranoid as I normally am eating out which is maybe 3 times a month. Definitely will be back, hold the corn and double my taters! ;)
(4)
Estefanie N.
I am very disappointed! Walked in and the restaurant was half empty, we were seated quickly but after waiting 15 minutes to even be acknowledged by the waitress we left. There is no way it should take that long to even give drink orders in a half empty restaurant. Joe's isn't a cheap restaurant and I expect better service for the amount of money we were going to pay. We weren't the only ones waiting for the server, several tables around us were waiting and looking for a server.
(1)
Schmidty N.
I expanse was great and the crab was fresh. Great song and dance. Waiter was fun and my name was will in doud
(5)
Carrie B.
Atmosphere: Upon arriving for lunch we were greeted by a hostess who held the door for us and seated us immediately. The interior design of this place is all reclaimed wood, aluminum siding, rope, t-shirts, huge sharks on the ceiling, Christmas lights and 80s/club music. It's very chaotic for a "party" feel, I guess. It seemed ironic since we were there early for lunch and there were only 3 tables seated and about 7 hipster workers standing around by the bar. Our server was a high energy fellow eager to please and he got our orders right away. He also seemed to be doing everyth Food: Hubby ordered a burger while I got the Garlicky Mussels appetizer and a side Caesar. Hubby hated his burger but, liked the fries (as did our baby). Hubby said the bun was stale. I liked my stuff. The mussels were tasty (served in a bucket with dish insert) and came with a couple of wedges of garlic toast for sopping up the soupy sauce. The Caesar dressing on the salad was tasty and the greens were fresh. We dumped all shells and trash in a bucket in the middle of the table. By the end of the meal there were 3 buckets on our table.Drinks were iced tea-no big whoop. Bottom Line: With tip the tab came to $35.00. Not a cheap date but, you could go there for seafood in the desert and have a pretty good time.
(3)
NoraZoe W.
We are frequent visitors of this restaurant, for good reason! We went yesterday for the Tuesday specials, and had an array of fried yummies (all discounted due to Tuesday: fried pickles, crawfish, and popcorn shrimp), as well as some fried clams (not discounted, but I had a free appetizer coupon!), a few $2 Hurricanes, and a steam pot to share. The service was great--our waitress kept our drinks (those we paid for and our waters) full, our empty plates removed, etc.--and very friendly. The food was delicious, and very quick. The restaurant was clean, not very busy (it was a Tuesday at about 5:30pm after all), and comfortable. We also like getting the bibs to wear--they're fun. We will definitely be back, and we recommend it to others!
(4)
Kim H.
Ummm..should be called the "Crap shack". We arrived here excited to try Joe's crab shack and were seated in the unconditioned area. And we were about to stomp out after waiting to be served for 35 minutes..and we saw waiters standing around. When we finally got our food, I took a few bites and thought I was eating poop. We were both dissapointed at our expensive, tasteless dinner. Never going to come back here.
(1)
Derek J.
Great atmosphere, food was ok kinda of bland in taste
(3)
Kate L.
I'm going to have to do a breakdown of the scoring here... some things were great (SERVICE!!!) others not so awesome (food). We went here the other night, on my husband's request, for my anniversary. It was still early in the evening for the dinner crowd, and only a handful of tables was occupied. We were seated quickly, our server greeted us promptly, and we were off and running. I ordered a mixed drink worthy of a beach resort... with a price tag to match. But it was large and relatively generous with the hard stuff, and tasty to boot. Our server kindly provided my husband with a bib that read "My Server Gave Me Crabs!!!" with the prerequiste arrows pointing downward, hilarity ensues. Cue the funny Facebook picture post with the "my husband has a lot of explaining to do" comment. My husbands order of some steamer pot was large and in charge. I'm not a fan of seafood, but the hubby said it was great. I ordered a hamburger. A chipotle burger, as a matter of fact, as there were very VERY limited non-seafood options. My burger was bad. Aside from leftover patties from yesterday's BBQ that were a little well done in the first place, this was possibly the worst burger I've ever had in my entire life. It was cheap, cheap meat, sauce was way spicy but not tasty, way overcooked. Bad, all around. Twice, while we are sitting there, managers came over to check on how everything was... and even leave business cards (?). Second time, I did decide to speak shyly up, saying the burger wasn't exactly my cup of tea. The removed the item from our bill, and gave me their apologies. And, as we had mentioned it was our anniversary, our server did drag us to the center of the place and force us to sing "You Are My Sunshine" in front of everyone. Very cute, Joe's! But that's the stuff you should expect if you're going there, it's fun kitsch. Service: 5 stars Fun: 5 stars Food: Me, 1 star... maybe zero. Hubby, 4 stars Cost (for what you get): 2 stars (a little too pricey) I won't be back, but I'm sure my husband will. Look for him as the guy with crabs.
(4)
Frank L.
I have been to JCS twice in the past two months. What stands out to me is the service. JCS has a schmarmy service approach where the survey is acting like you are all best buds. On one occasion I watched a "trainer" direct a girl to act like an idiot. I am not your bud, holmes or the man. Now functionally both times the service is heavy on the "Office Space" type of flair but short on refilling drinks or checking back. On one occasion we waited forever for the check. This was from the "trainer" and his trainee. They just never came back. I went to the bar, asked for the check and tipped appropriately (bad). The food....? Really average. The crab last night (not me) really was tasteless. I can think of better ways to drop money.
(2)
Lauren L.
How many times do boys drag me here? Too many. I think it's like once every other week. I get the po' boy. It tastes nothing like it's supposed to but it's the only decent thing I can find on the menu. They do NOT have good crab which would fool anyone by the name of their restaurant. Service is very very slow even in between their songs and dances. Desserts are lacking which is unexpected coming from a chain. Chains should have kick ass desserts. I signed up for their email service online and get coupons at a rate of 1 per month. Free appetizers. The garlicky mussels are good and don't make me fart. The crab dip is not superb contrary to what the waitress will tell you.
(2)
Chelsey W.
This is my favorite place to eat when I want to splurge. It is a splurge because I must have a crab daddy feast each time, usually with a bucket of hot craw fish too! Yum. Their food has been spot on each time I have went. My boyfriend is not as fond as me, he said that the portions seemed small compared to the Joe's in San Diego last time we went. I thought the portions were large and fair. I really wanted to write this review because as I mentioned this is my favorite place, I chose to go there on my birthday on 3/9/14. We did not get there until around 10:50 p.m. and I was not even sure we would be served because they closed at 12 a.m. but I was worried their kitchen may be closed. Well I was totally THAT PERSON coming right before close to order a huge meal. I was very happy when they checked and made sure they could serve us everything and then gave us a seat. I mean they are open until 12, but a lot of places stop serving at a certain point. We were served fast and friendly and they wished me happy birthday while checking my ID. Most of all they did not seem annoyed that we were the last people there, starting a huge meal at 11. They were actually having fun with their jobs and not being too serious, like cleaning up and singing in good nature. It is nice to see people serving us that are not miserable, and are making the most of closing time with a good attitude even with customers. I have had so many people give me the death eye or just be obviously miserable. It was a nice change. It was also a Saturday night and we left around midnight when they were closing. They served me dessert at midnight too. I always have a server who is just as attentive as they need to be without being formal or checking in too often. I have only gone at night though. I always get just what I expect, good crab and a fun environment. Oh and the amazing s'more dessert they have is to die for! I want to get 2 sometimes... yum. I appreciate this place and hope to see more people have a good experience there, but you know what they say about reviews, people usually only come here to give one when they really have something bad to say. So don't let every bad review deter you, take them with a grain of salt. And butter and lemon.
(5)
Sanford R.
My first time at Joe's Crab Shack was actually quite good, so I am surprised by the low rating so far. I am not even a fan of seafood myself, but the lobster we had was pretty awesome! I think it may have been my first time ever even trying lobster to be honest. I got a kick out of wearing the bib, which was definitely necessary as this was a messy meal. It ended up being pretty expensive, but I would probably return because we had a lot of fun.
(4)
Scott C.
I took my daughter to Tucson to tour the University of Arizona and ended up at this "place" for dinner on a non-descript Tuesday night. The smell should have driven us out at the moment we walked through the door but we decided to stay and tough it out. Place reminds me of Hooters without the clown costumes and they happen to serve fried fish instead. In all honesty, the fish wasn't horrible but there was nothing here to draw me back or impress me in any way. Save the cash and find a Long John Silvers with a Taco Bell attached and go to town!
(1)
Jolene S.
Wow where to begin. Got here for an early lunch today and the place was empty. We still had to wait over 40 minutes for our food. My husband got a cheesy chicken an I got simply grilled salmon. We finally get our food and the salmon already looks way over cooked I got very little vegetables and the crispy potatoes were burnt. The cheesy chicken was loaded with a cheese that was sticky like paste, way over cooked rice that was nasty tasting and broccoli that wasn't cooked. We might as well had fresh broccoli from the store. The chicken was dry and sticky and just gross. Salmon was nasty over cooked and has no seasoning what so ever. Waitress ask us how everything is we say it's not that great. Manager comes over and says what can we do to make it better we are being very nice about the whole thing and say nothing we are just kinda turned off by their food now so I don't want them to remake food or order anything different. So we ask for the check, not eating any of the food. The waitress comes back and says my manager comped it. Thought that was very nice of them, but then my husband said well we can at least pay for our drinks and they actually made us pay for drinks. Then the manager says here's a $20.00 gift certificate to come back and see us followed by the statement next time you can order the crab cause that's what we do best. Then went on to say that they changed the recipe on the cheesy chicken and well the salmon was simply grilled. That's like saying order the crab cause the rest of our menu sucks. Who says that really stand by your food that you serve to the public and make it as awesome as you can. Especially when it's $15 bucks a plate. Thanks for the nice anniversary lunch date with my hubby Joe's Crab Shack.
(1)
Eleanor S.
Went in for lunch on Friday last week. The waitress was very pushy, kept trying to persuade us to try different things. Even tried to get me to order an alcoholic beverage after I said I couldn't because I was driving. I ordered off the lunch menu after first being told I couldn't because it was Saturday! The food was fine.
(2)
Tyler E.
The reviews here almost made me not go to Joe's. But I am so glad I did. The service here was beyond incredible and the food of course was fantastic :) Whatever happened caused the previous reviews must have been fixed. Must go
(5)
John H.
Great place but a bit expensive. I still like to go there on special occasions only because of the prices. Still, the food is good and worth an experience.
(3)
Barek K.
My wife and my experience, was AMAZING! Service and food was outstanding! We will definitely go back for more. The manager, Mark and staff were friendly and professional. Completely helpful and curtious for all our needs. It is easy to see after talking to Mark, that he takes pride in his store, staff and food quality. Thank you for the amazing food and service! Thank you!
(5)
Rocco M.
stay away from the southern fried maine lobster,or should I say essence of lobster...Not worth the price for some barely detectable lobster and breading!
(2)
Kevin S.
Server was very upbeat and understandable. He got our order without repeat and the food was AMAZING! Plus there was quite enough food for the 3 of us :). Although after we were all done, it took forever to get the check because the waiter didn't come back to the table for a while
(4)
Alex F.
So, why did I think a crab shack in Tucson would be good? My first clue that I had made a mistake was when we waited a solid five minutes for someone to show up to seat us. Once the hostess noticed us, she had to clean a table before we could be seated. There were plenty open, but none clean. Our waiter was reasonably attentive, but he always seemed like he was in a hurry. My expectations for the food weren't too high, but it turned out to be decent. Overpriced and not amazing, but decent for a seafood chain in the desert.
(2)
Vonne M.
I'm so glad everyone else agrees with me on this. Joe's Crab Shack is a poor excuse for a Seafood restaurant. Okay one star for having a cool, fun, lively atmosphere, but if you are a staunch seafood foodie that has had seafood in a variety of places you will be disappointed. The first meal I had was salmon and shrimp. Dry and bland. I'm forgiving so I came back about a year later. Different meal and same blandness. Both times the food didn't taste right and they were dry. Pros: Fun Atmosphere Fairly nice waiters Cons: Terrible seafood Expensive
(1)
Brittany A.
I'm from Baltimore and I've really, really been missing my MD blue crabs. Life in the desert just hasn't been the same for me. My sweet fiance decided to take me on my first trip to Joe's Crab Shack to satisfy my hankerin' for crab. I was really hesitant. I'm a seafood snob. Specifically, a crab snob. There is nothing that will beat Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. But I have to say, I had such a great experience here that I would go back any day of the week. We were seated immediately (around 5PM on a Saturday) and our waiter greeted us quickly. He was quick with the drinks and was very prompt and attentive but not pushy or annoyingly clingy. He made sure our drinks were never empty and neither were our plates. We got the crab dip as an appetizer and it was amazing! We got the classic steampot and split it and it was more than enough food for the both of us. The crabs were hot and delicious. The corn on the cob was gross but I guess nobody really eats that. The shrimp was hot and fresh too. While we were eating (we were there maybe an hour and a half), they danced to Stayin' Alive. I cracked up. I didn't know about this part because I've never been here. They also danced to Cotton Eyed Joe. Then there were two birthdays where they made the birthday people's "wishes come true" by making them do something they always wanted to do - i.e., the lady behind us wanted to be a cheerleader so they made her cheer while they sang happy birthday. A few tables over, the gentleman wanted to be a model so they made him a mock runway and made him walk down it while they sang happy birthday. The people were great sports about it and it made for a really funny show. The food was hot, delicious, and prompt. The place was clean and the view was nice. The music wasn't too loud (except when they turned it up to dance). I could hear just fine at my table even with two large parties in the nearby area. We had a very lovely date night and I'm glad we went. It was pretty expensive but it's good for a special treat (just not birthdays :P)
(5)
Asli B.
Not sure why this place got really bad reviews. I have been to other Joe's, we used to go to the one in Sacramento very often and besides being a smaller version of it, I thought this one also had the same standards. Our crabs were pretty tasty, shrimp coctail was really good too. Server was a friendly guy, the decor is always the same. Maybe it's because I love seafood , I can eat anything that comes out of the sea. Tucson unfortunately is not the best place on earth for seafood and in my opinion Joe's helps to improve this fact. Prices are a little high but it's crab so no surprise there. So overall, I like this place and will be back when I have the craving to eat some decent crab.
(4)
karen r.
I'll begin by saying this was my first visit to Joe's Crab Shack and despite the stories I heard about it being overpriced and lackluster food, I opted to try it myself. Loving lobster more than crab I ordered the Arctic steampot which had a whole lobster. There was absolutely no flavor in any of the food in the pot except the smoked sausage. The lobster also was rubbery leading me to believe it was pre-cooked. Not wanting to complain in front of my friends, I came home and filed a complaint online. The manager Mark called me within a couple of hours of posting. He did not address the rubbery, tasteless lobster so I asked him if it was pre-cooked. He said they can't get live lobsters in so it comes in frozen and cooked and they drop it in water for 4 1/2 minutes....and that's exactly what it tasted like..... all the flavor drained out of it and overcooked....... he offered for me to come in again, but I said, "why, unless you get fresh lobster it's only going to taste the same..... no flavor." I told him there should be no excuse for the price they charge people that they should have the lobster, crab and other seafood shipped in live. I also noted that it was a Friday afternoon and there were very few customers dining there. I guess that says it all right there. I will never eat at this restaurant again...................
(2)
Julia R.
I grew up in the pacific NW, so once in a while I get a jones for some seafood. Since the wait at Red Lobster is ridiculous, we decided to try Joe's. BIG mistake. The place is loud, the decor is junky, and the food is way overpriced. The staff is very in-your-face and tries to play the audience-participation card, practically pulling you out of your chair to disco dance with them. Next time, I'll get some frozen crab legs from the grocery store, microwave-steam them in wet paper towels, and spare myself (and my wallet) an embarassing evening.
(1)
Toby J.
was in here the other day ordered shrimp and crab legs. They tasted fresh, not over cooked, fantastic and reasonably priced. i am not sure about anything else on the menu but I can vouch for these two item i ate. VERY GOOD.
(4)
Erika D.
No thanks. This place is a combination between a California hippie frat house and a playground. I didn't care for the "dirty garage" atmosphere either. If you don't like: - A LOUD atmosphere with noisy music and bad singing - Lots of children running around your table screaming - watching staff members dance, sing, and clap every 15 minutes - Unappetizing food served cold for $$ - Sitting next to a window encrusted with dirt and hair (Ahhhhch!) - Staff who disappear for long periods of time.....then I recommend.... Stay super away...far away.
(1)
Joey H.
Our waitress was so amazing! I don't know why she got wrangled by Joe's. Their food slightly less appetizing compared to the other Joe's I've been to and they maintain their ridiculously high prices. My husband enjoyed himself. His steam pot kicked his butt though. We had a pretty good time. It really was our service that made the difference.
(3)
Jhymae N.
We have ate at this location a few times the past year and it was typically good; however, this visit was fairly poor. We sat at the bar to have dinner and our regular bartender was good and friendly. But, the steam bucket my husband got was not anything like before, no spices/Old Bay seasoning or very minimal at best. We told the waiter/bartender and he didn't even offer to send it back to have them re-season or make a new pot. I ordered the Salmon Orleans; the salmon was a decent size portion but the crawfish tails were just about microscopic as well as the shrimp, dry and overcooked. The women's restroom was a complete disaster! Water and paper was all over the floor, toilet seat covers were ripped out of the compartment holders, doors were filthy yet there were 3 young teenage waitresses all in the bathroom talking and carrying on when they should have cleaned it up for their patrons. VERY DISAPPOINTED AND PROBABLY WON'T RETURN. Especially considering how much you pay for their food - not a cheap place to eat at all.
(2)
Elizabeth L.
I don't see how this place has gotten so few stars so far! I love Joe's!! We went for lunch as a family, which of course can get pricey for seafood, but for a land locked state, Joe's is a great place to curb your sea faring cravings. It was my daughters birthday and the staff sang to her and embarassed her a bit, which of course is hilarious. I had the Sam Adams Steampot, which as a little of everything and it was all delicious (and I'm from Oregon where you can go fishing for it yourself, but this was almost as good)! Even my kids who don't enjoy seafood had choices that made them happy (chicken). I think the atmosphere is fun and the staff polite. I have been here several times and have yet to be disappointed.
(4)
Casey D.
There is a Joe's Crab Shack in Ca where I moved from that is amazing and I love it there, so I had high expectations for this one and was a little disappointed. The service was slow and the shrimp was over cooked quite a bit. It had the same fun atmosphere but just wasn't the same. I'd be willing to give it a second chance though, it wasn't terrible
(3)
Bennie M.
I don't get to eat @ Joe's as often as I'd like, since they're a 45 minute drive from my house. I must say that every time I've been here, I've never been disappointed. They really do an excellent job on their crab!
(5)
Andrew G.
Decorations, are decent...what you'd expect in a place called a crab shack. But nothing to get excited over. The food sucks, no bones about it. Its overpriced for the portion that you get, and your shellfish will be so overcooked as to be disgusting. I got the New Orleans Pot, looking forward to the Crawfish; and was so beyond disappointed. The crawfish was disgusting, with over a quarter of the fish being inedible. The shrimp was over cooked. We waited way to long to get our drinks, considering only a handful of tables were filled. Last time I'll be going there.
(1)
Rebecca F.
I had never eaten at a Joe's Crab Shack before. My boyfriend and I had decided to take his Mom there for her Birthday dinner (along with his niece and my 5 yr old son). I have NEVER been more turned off about food in my entire life!!! They may have seemed perky and upbeat, but nothing helped the fact that we were there waiting for our food for almost 2 HOURS AFTER we ordered!!!! I was so proud of my son for sitting at the table for so long and not eating!!! They even tried to "discount" our food because we were NOT going to pay $100 for a 2 HOUR WAIT!!! (And they weren't even busy! We saw so many employees standing around, talking, laughing and not tending to their customers) We asked them to please pack up our food because we just wanted to leave at that point. They packaged our food and we went on our way... When we got home (right around the corner), the food was cold, not in full portions and totally tasteless. I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for what happened that night, and they were making tons of excuses. Talk about a Crabby Birthday Dinner! We will NEVER go to ANY Joe's Crab Shack after that! (Note to Joe's Crab Shack: Excuses don't matter when people are hungry, ESPECIALLY on special occasions or with young children... If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen)
(1)
Leo B.
Expensive and not that good. Let me edit this. The food isn't that bad especially for Tucson but it is expensive. Its advertisements on TV hawking $5 appetizers is basically a lie. You muse order an entree for each $5 app! The menu isn't much clearer as it looks like you can order all apps for $5 if you buy one entree. Bait and switch. I complained and the manger took off some money. She said last week all the appetizers were ringing up as $5 but then it was changed. A gentleman came over and thanked me for complaining. Overall it seems like a fun place to go for a drink or two and a get together with some friends but corporate needs to get their act together.
(1)
Anthony B.
took my wife here for a date night and holy cow the food has just gone downhill it was soggy and the seafood pots all tasted the same sorry i wont be back
(2)
Jay K.
"Meh" would basically sum up the Joe's experience for me. I grew up on the coast of southern Maine, so I can be a bit of a prat about good seafood. Living in the desert has proven to be a challenge, when it comes to my periodic undersea urges, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, I had some money to burn and decided to take the fam' to Joes. Meh, meh, and more meh. We started with some shrimp that was fine, if a bit bland, and only barely cooked through, and moved on to a crab variety pot. The dungeness crab tasted as though it had been in a deep-freeze for the better part of the past decade, and the Alaskan sweet crab wasn't much better. At least this stuff seemed well-cooked. When it came to the sides, well-cooked was a bit of an understatement. The corn was steamed to the point that the kernels were falling apart, and the potato's starch and skin were only tenuously holding it together. I will say this: the portions were ample. My girlfriend and I were able to split the shrimp app and crab pot (for one) easily between us. We usually don't get desserts when we eat out, but decided to splurge this time and order the praline brownie sundae (or whatever ludicrous, vaguely nautical name they gave it). I wish we hadn't. The brownie was like something I could buy from the counter of a 7-11, the vanilla ice cream was so-so, and there was but a lonely teaspoon of caramel at the bottom of the glass. I could have made it at home while blindfolded and drunk, and probably for a quarter of the price. All-in-all, Joe's reminds me why I generally loathe chain restaurants. You pay through the nose for the "experience" of the place, and then cross your fingers and hope the food is A) cooked well-enough and B)doesn't give you a coronary before the end of the meal. At Joe's, the "experience" is tortoise-slow wait service and the pleasure of listening to the waiters angrily belt out AM-gold favorites of the '70s. Have you ever been to a dive bar on a Friday at 1:30am? The singing is a little bit like that, only minus the alcohol, and devoid of any real mirth. Joe's is one of those places that blows its financial wad on making you feel like you've come to a wacky, irreverent land of crab, where the staff is kooky and anything could happen. The problem is that everything seems forced and choreographed, and you can't help but be pained, given how hard their corporate machine seems to be trying. If the super classy "I got crabs at Joe's" t-shirts aren't enough, the self-consciously kitschy bibs may put you over the top. This is coupled by the fact that the actual food, which is their ostensible stock-in-trade, is relatively miserable. Quick side bar here: the waiter asked me if I wanted him to put on my bib for me, and I figured he had to be making some kind of grotesque joke, so I laughed him off. Then, I saw no fewer than four other people, over the course of our meal, request said privilege. Really? Is that the premium one pays for, nowadays: the honor of flushing one's self-respect down the crapper and being infantilized in public? As Yakoff Smirnoff would say, "What a country!" Joe's is, quite clearly, a product of an over-stimulated, over-fed culture, in which mediocrity is passable, as long as its loud and expensive enough. I think I'll pass from now on.
(2)
Brooke R.
Super expensive for fish in a land locked state. And no, it's not good. The taste comes from the deep frying. You're paying royalty to watch the waiters dance and sing to old songs every half hour, meanwhile your food is at a stand still behind the counter and your water glass will never get refilled. For kids that have parents that don't mind spending a fortune for their happiness this place would be a good place to go to, but otherwise, no. Just don't do it.
(2)
Surranna V.
I loved this place. There were 4 of us and we all ordered the big pots of crab, I can't remember what they are called but mine came with all three types of crab, snow, king, and dungeonus as well as potatoes and corn seasoned with spicy broil. It was so good. I didn't even look at the rest of the menu but I saw most people eating the big pots of random seafood so I figured it was why people were there. As far as the rest of the menu who knows but my big pot of crab was great, there was big legs and claws, yummy! Needless to say all 4 of us thought the crab was pretty damn good for a chain. I also had a very tasty spicy bloody mary, I was shocked that it was so good. The huge chocolate cake we shared was like a big brownie, it was super rich, moist, and dense, yummy. It wasn't cheap but with all the entertainment that was super funny, the delicious food, and good service I will absolutely be back. The staff all looked like they were enjoying the dancing which made it fun to watch.
(4)
Thomas R.
My wife and I went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner on an early Friday evening. We were seated immediately, our server appeared immediately, explained the options, took our drink order and returned with them and took our orders. Our food came in a timely manner, was very well prepared and delicious. Our server checked on us regularly, and was professional, polite and friendly throughout. I think the people who are rating Joe's so low are likely self-centered and immature at worst, delusional at best.
(5)
lee c.
Well it was a while ago when we stopped in. First thing I see is a purse wide open on the greeting counter when we stopped by. We always eat joes crab shack, love 'em. Well, if your going to run a business with local help, have them show up early and clean the place. Or table was sticky, yuk, but the food was good. wake up people! I am your customer, I spend money don't make me wonder about your business when i walk through the door. Shit if your staff is hung over from the night before have your conversation in the back and not at the front counter with your purse sitting there. I am a smart guy and can add things up pretty quick. Have your staff dress down but dress clean, awake for their shift, in touch alert. whats that? oh your right i can spend money where I WANT TO!!
(2)
Diane W.
We dined at Joe's Crab Shack three week ends in a row. First time I ordered the sea fool platter and it was copious and good. We had their grilled shrimp appetizer and it was tasty. My husband ordered fish and chips and the fish was fresh. He substituted FF for onion rings and they were good. The second time we ate there, I had one of their sea food Pots cooked in beer. It was o.k.. Not as good as I expected. A lot of work to get the meat out of the crab legs. Lobster claws were on the small size. We ordered their fried calamari as an appetizer and it was very good. Served with tomato sauce for dipping and it all was good. My husband ordered the fish an chips again and the fish was fresh and good. The third time we ate there, it was very disappointing. I ordered their famous "crab cakes". The crab did not taste fresh and the cakes were far too salty. Probably trying to mask the old crab meat they used. Did not finish my dinner. My husband had his favorite fish and chips again, and that time the fish tasted fishy and not fresh. The wait staff is very friendly and they explain the menu well. The service was good too. We ordered their Key Lime Pie for dessert. They served a big square piece of it and it was very good. After the poor 3rd meal of old fish and crab, not sure we would go back. If we do, we will speak with the manager about our last meal there.. It is a lively and somewhat noisy place, but also a fun place with inconsis
(3)
Frieda S.
We had only gone to Joe's once before, maybe 15 years ago. At that time the service was achingly slow, I never got any silverware, and no one refilled my iced tea. But last Saturday afternoon we decided to give it another try because we thought our pre-teen daughter might enjoy the atmosphere. Which she did. Unfortunately, she got to enjoy it for almost an hour before the food arrived. The waitress was very apologetic but I can't understand how seafood, which is cooked as little as possible, could take so long. We had two orders of fried shrimp and one of crab cakes--drop the shrimp in the fryer for eight minutes and Voila!--done! Lunch for three including tip (yes, we tipped) came to $66. Ouch.
(1)
Melinda C.
We ate at Joe's on Ash Wednesday (2/22/12) and saw a big improvement from last time we tried to eat there and had walked out before even being seated. That was in April 2011. It seems the new manager, Tajonna Lawler, brought in from Chandler, has been working on retraining staff. Having eaten at the Chandler restaurant, we know how well a Joe's can run, so we know she's a good manager. There's hope for this one. The host wasn't at the stand when we came in, but after a second a waiter seated us. Our waiter, Rich Malin, came over immediately, told us about the menu, took our drink order and let us decide what to eat. We ordered a couple of crab pots, but made some changes (no potatoes replaced with broccoli). It took quite a while for our food to come. When it did come, Rich checked it and saw the changes hadn't been made so he went and got our broccoli. He was on the ball and handled everything quickly and efficiently. The food was delicious. The crab was cooked perfectly. We will try Joe's again after Rich's great service. The kitchen staff needs to pay attention to order changes and work faster as the restaurant wasn't busy. I hope they can get it together because there aren't many other places in town to get great crab dinners!
(3)
Casey M.
It's like going to a whole different place! A place different from our own land! It's like I got taken into an outer realm, a dimension not known in this life! It's like time slows down and you embark on an adventure to gaze at eternity itself! An eternity filled with bad service and long wait times for my check. Waited almost two hours for our check. Do you know how long that is? Lord of the Rings is only 40 minutes longer. I could've embarked on a fantastical adventure with Hobbits and big evil eyeballs. Instead, I went here. Never again.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Very Loud Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Derek J.
Great atmosphere, food was ok kinda of bland in taste
(3)K. D.
We had dinner here tonight and I have to say I was pleasantly pleased. We shared a couples bucket with King crab, potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage. The seafood was really tasty. We devoured the seafood and the red potatoes. I hate to say it but I had to deduct a star for two reasons. One, our waitress informed me it was happy hour and they charged me $8.69 for one margarita! (If this is the discounted price, I will stick to iced tea) Two, the fresh corn on the cob would have been edible had they removed any of the silk off the ear of corn. As it was I spent so long removing silky strings off of it that when I went back to eat more crab and shrimp they were cold. I have to say even though they are a crab shack, they could make the extra effort to clean corn a little bit better than I got. On a side note, it didn't bother my husband that much. Decor is a bit cheesy, but I know this is typical Joe's and not location specific. Overall, $40.00 for two crab dinners is pretty good, considering we are landlocked here in Tucson. Our server was Taylor and she was very helpful and brought more iced tea for dh without being asked. We will be back again. (I came back to add that yes, they have a Gluten free menu - no prices listed, which seems to be the norm anywhere) and I honestly wasn't as paranoid as I normally am eating out which is maybe 3 times a month. Definitely will be back, hold the corn and double my taters! ;)
(4)Estefanie N.
I am very disappointed! Walked in and the restaurant was half empty, we were seated quickly but after waiting 15 minutes to even be acknowledged by the waitress we left. There is no way it should take that long to even give drink orders in a half empty restaurant. Joe's isn't a cheap restaurant and I expect better service for the amount of money we were going to pay. We weren't the only ones waiting for the server, several tables around us were waiting and looking for a server.
(1)Schmidty N.
I expanse was great and the crab was fresh. Great song and dance. Waiter was fun and my name was will in doud
(5)Carrie B.
Atmosphere: Upon arriving for lunch we were greeted by a hostess who held the door for us and seated us immediately. The interior design of this place is all reclaimed wood, aluminum siding, rope, t-shirts, huge sharks on the ceiling, Christmas lights and 80s/club music. It's very chaotic for a "party" feel, I guess. It seemed ironic since we were there early for lunch and there were only 3 tables seated and about 7 hipster workers standing around by the bar. Our server was a high energy fellow eager to please and he got our orders right away. He also seemed to be doing everyth Food: Hubby ordered a burger while I got the Garlicky Mussels appetizer and a side Caesar. Hubby hated his burger but, liked the fries (as did our baby). Hubby said the bun was stale. I liked my stuff. The mussels were tasty (served in a bucket with dish insert) and came with a couple of wedges of garlic toast for sopping up the soupy sauce. The Caesar dressing on the salad was tasty and the greens were fresh. We dumped all shells and trash in a bucket in the middle of the table. By the end of the meal there were 3 buckets on our table.Drinks were iced tea-no big whoop. Bottom Line: With tip the tab came to $35.00. Not a cheap date but, you could go there for seafood in the desert and have a pretty good time.
(3)NoraZoe W.
We are frequent visitors of this restaurant, for good reason! We went yesterday for the Tuesday specials, and had an array of fried yummies (all discounted due to Tuesday: fried pickles, crawfish, and popcorn shrimp), as well as some fried clams (not discounted, but I had a free appetizer coupon!), a few $2 Hurricanes, and a steam pot to share. The service was great--our waitress kept our drinks (those we paid for and our waters) full, our empty plates removed, etc.--and very friendly. The food was delicious, and very quick. The restaurant was clean, not very busy (it was a Tuesday at about 5:30pm after all), and comfortable. We also like getting the bibs to wear--they're fun. We will definitely be back, and we recommend it to others!
(4)Lauren L.
How many times do boys drag me here? Too many. I think it's like once every other week. I get the po' boy. It tastes nothing like it's supposed to but it's the only decent thing I can find on the menu. They do NOT have good crab which would fool anyone by the name of their restaurant. Service is very very slow even in between their songs and dances. Desserts are lacking which is unexpected coming from a chain. Chains should have kick ass desserts. I signed up for their email service online and get coupons at a rate of 1 per month. Free appetizers. The garlicky mussels are good and don't make me fart. The crab dip is not superb contrary to what the waitress will tell you.
(2)Kevin S.
Server was very upbeat and understandable. He got our order without repeat and the food was AMAZING! Plus there was quite enough food for the 3 of us :). Although after we were all done, it took forever to get the check because the waiter didn't come back to the table for a while
(4)lee c.
Well it was a while ago when we stopped in. First thing I see is a purse wide open on the greeting counter when we stopped by. We always eat joes crab shack, love 'em. Well, if your going to run a business with local help, have them show up early and clean the place. Or table was sticky, yuk, but the food was good. wake up people! I am your customer, I spend money don't make me wonder about your business when i walk through the door. Shit if your staff is hung over from the night before have your conversation in the back and not at the front counter with your purse sitting there. I am a smart guy and can add things up pretty quick. Have your staff dress down but dress clean, awake for their shift, in touch alert. whats that? oh your right i can spend money where I WANT TO!!
(2)Brittany A.
I'm from Baltimore and I've really, really been missing my MD blue crabs. Life in the desert just hasn't been the same for me. My sweet fiance decided to take me on my first trip to Joe's Crab Shack to satisfy my hankerin' for crab. I was really hesitant. I'm a seafood snob. Specifically, a crab snob. There is nothing that will beat Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. But I have to say, I had such a great experience here that I would go back any day of the week. We were seated immediately (around 5PM on a Saturday) and our waiter greeted us quickly. He was quick with the drinks and was very prompt and attentive but not pushy or annoyingly clingy. He made sure our drinks were never empty and neither were our plates. We got the crab dip as an appetizer and it was amazing! We got the classic steampot and split it and it was more than enough food for the both of us. The crabs were hot and delicious. The corn on the cob was gross but I guess nobody really eats that. The shrimp was hot and fresh too. While we were eating (we were there maybe an hour and a half), they danced to Stayin' Alive. I cracked up. I didn't know about this part because I've never been here. They also danced to Cotton Eyed Joe. Then there were two birthdays where they made the birthday people's "wishes come true" by making them do something they always wanted to do - i.e., the lady behind us wanted to be a cheerleader so they made her cheer while they sang happy birthday. A few tables over, the gentleman wanted to be a model so they made him a mock runway and made him walk down it while they sang happy birthday. The people were great sports about it and it made for a really funny show. The food was hot, delicious, and prompt. The place was clean and the view was nice. The music wasn't too loud (except when they turned it up to dance). I could hear just fine at my table even with two large parties in the nearby area. We had a very lovely date night and I'm glad we went. It was pretty expensive but it's good for a special treat (just not birthdays :P)
(5)Asli B.
Not sure why this place got really bad reviews. I have been to other Joe's, we used to go to the one in Sacramento very often and besides being a smaller version of it, I thought this one also had the same standards. Our crabs were pretty tasty, shrimp coctail was really good too. Server was a friendly guy, the decor is always the same. Maybe it's because I love seafood , I can eat anything that comes out of the sea. Tucson unfortunately is not the best place on earth for seafood and in my opinion Joe's helps to improve this fact. Prices are a little high but it's crab so no surprise there. So overall, I like this place and will be back when I have the craving to eat some decent crab.
(4)Thomas R.
My wife and I went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner on an early Friday evening. We were seated immediately, our server appeared immediately, explained the options, took our drink order and returned with them and took our orders. Our food came in a timely manner, was very well prepared and delicious. Our server checked on us regularly, and was professional, polite and friendly throughout. I think the people who are rating Joe's so low are likely self-centered and immature at worst, delusional at best.
(5)Kate L.
I'm going to have to do a breakdown of the scoring here... some things were great (SERVICE!!!) others not so awesome (food). We went here the other night, on my husband's request, for my anniversary. It was still early in the evening for the dinner crowd, and only a handful of tables was occupied. We were seated quickly, our server greeted us promptly, and we were off and running. I ordered a mixed drink worthy of a beach resort... with a price tag to match. But it was large and relatively generous with the hard stuff, and tasty to boot. Our server kindly provided my husband with a bib that read "My Server Gave Me Crabs!!!" with the prerequiste arrows pointing downward, hilarity ensues. Cue the funny Facebook picture post with the "my husband has a lot of explaining to do" comment. My husbands order of some steamer pot was large and in charge. I'm not a fan of seafood, but the hubby said it was great. I ordered a hamburger. A chipotle burger, as a matter of fact, as there were very VERY limited non-seafood options. My burger was bad. Aside from leftover patties from yesterday's BBQ that were a little well done in the first place, this was possibly the worst burger I've ever had in my entire life. It was cheap, cheap meat, sauce was way spicy but not tasty, way overcooked. Bad, all around. Twice, while we are sitting there, managers came over to check on how everything was... and even leave business cards (?). Second time, I did decide to speak shyly up, saying the burger wasn't exactly my cup of tea. The removed the item from our bill, and gave me their apologies. And, as we had mentioned it was our anniversary, our server did drag us to the center of the place and force us to sing "You Are My Sunshine" in front of everyone. Very cute, Joe's! But that's the stuff you should expect if you're going there, it's fun kitsch. Service: 5 stars Fun: 5 stars Food: Me, 1 star... maybe zero. Hubby, 4 stars Cost (for what you get): 2 stars (a little too pricey) I won't be back, but I'm sure my husband will. Look for him as the guy with crabs.
(4)Frank L.
I have been to JCS twice in the past two months. What stands out to me is the service. JCS has a schmarmy service approach where the survey is acting like you are all best buds. On one occasion I watched a "trainer" direct a girl to act like an idiot. I am not your bud, holmes or the man. Now functionally both times the service is heavy on the "Office Space" type of flair but short on refilling drinks or checking back. On one occasion we waited forever for the check. This was from the "trainer" and his trainee. They just never came back. I went to the bar, asked for the check and tipped appropriately (bad). The food....? Really average. The crab last night (not me) really was tasteless. I can think of better ways to drop money.
(2)Joey H.
Our waitress was so amazing! I don't know why she got wrangled by Joe's. Their food slightly less appetizing compared to the other Joe's I've been to and they maintain their ridiculously high prices. My husband enjoyed himself. His steam pot kicked his butt though. We had a pretty good time. It really was our service that made the difference.
(3)Chelsey W.
This is my favorite place to eat when I want to splurge. It is a splurge because I must have a crab daddy feast each time, usually with a bucket of hot craw fish too! Yum. Their food has been spot on each time I have went. My boyfriend is not as fond as me, he said that the portions seemed small compared to the Joe's in San Diego last time we went. I thought the portions were large and fair. I really wanted to write this review because as I mentioned this is my favorite place, I chose to go there on my birthday on 3/9/14. We did not get there until around 10:50 p.m. and I was not even sure we would be served because they closed at 12 a.m. but I was worried their kitchen may be closed. Well I was totally THAT PERSON coming right before close to order a huge meal. I was very happy when they checked and made sure they could serve us everything and then gave us a seat. I mean they are open until 12, but a lot of places stop serving at a certain point. We were served fast and friendly and they wished me happy birthday while checking my ID. Most of all they did not seem annoyed that we were the last people there, starting a huge meal at 11. They were actually having fun with their jobs and not being too serious, like cleaning up and singing in good nature. It is nice to see people serving us that are not miserable, and are making the most of closing time with a good attitude even with customers. I have had so many people give me the death eye or just be obviously miserable. It was a nice change. It was also a Saturday night and we left around midnight when they were closing. They served me dessert at midnight too. I always have a server who is just as attentive as they need to be without being formal or checking in too often. I have only gone at night though. I always get just what I expect, good crab and a fun environment. Oh and the amazing s'more dessert they have is to die for! I want to get 2 sometimes... yum. I appreciate this place and hope to see more people have a good experience there, but you know what they say about reviews, people usually only come here to give one when they really have something bad to say. So don't let every bad review deter you, take them with a grain of salt. And butter and lemon.
(5)Sanford R.
My first time at Joe's Crab Shack was actually quite good, so I am surprised by the low rating so far. I am not even a fan of seafood myself, but the lobster we had was pretty awesome! I think it may have been my first time ever even trying lobster to be honest. I got a kick out of wearing the bib, which was definitely necessary as this was a messy meal. It ended up being pretty expensive, but I would probably return because we had a lot of fun.
(4)Scott C.
I took my daughter to Tucson to tour the University of Arizona and ended up at this "place" for dinner on a non-descript Tuesday night. The smell should have driven us out at the moment we walked through the door but we decided to stay and tough it out. Place reminds me of Hooters without the clown costumes and they happen to serve fried fish instead. In all honesty, the fish wasn't horrible but there was nothing here to draw me back or impress me in any way. Save the cash and find a Long John Silvers with a Taco Bell attached and go to town!
(1)Jolene S.
Wow where to begin. Got here for an early lunch today and the place was empty. We still had to wait over 40 minutes for our food. My husband got a cheesy chicken an I got simply grilled salmon. We finally get our food and the salmon already looks way over cooked I got very little vegetables and the crispy potatoes were burnt. The cheesy chicken was loaded with a cheese that was sticky like paste, way over cooked rice that was nasty tasting and broccoli that wasn't cooked. We might as well had fresh broccoli from the store. The chicken was dry and sticky and just gross. Salmon was nasty over cooked and has no seasoning what so ever. Waitress ask us how everything is we say it's not that great. Manager comes over and says what can we do to make it better we are being very nice about the whole thing and say nothing we are just kinda turned off by their food now so I don't want them to remake food or order anything different. So we ask for the check, not eating any of the food. The waitress comes back and says my manager comped it. Thought that was very nice of them, but then my husband said well we can at least pay for our drinks and they actually made us pay for drinks. Then the manager says here's a $20.00 gift certificate to come back and see us followed by the statement next time you can order the crab cause that's what we do best. Then went on to say that they changed the recipe on the cheesy chicken and well the salmon was simply grilled. That's like saying order the crab cause the rest of our menu sucks. Who says that really stand by your food that you serve to the public and make it as awesome as you can. Especially when it's $15 bucks a plate. Thanks for the nice anniversary lunch date with my hubby Joe's Crab Shack.
(1)Eleanor S.
Went in for lunch on Friday last week. The waitress was very pushy, kept trying to persuade us to try different things. Even tried to get me to order an alcoholic beverage after I said I couldn't because I was driving. I ordered off the lunch menu after first being told I couldn't because it was Saturday! The food was fine.
(2)Tyler E.
The reviews here almost made me not go to Joe's. But I am so glad I did. The service here was beyond incredible and the food of course was fantastic :) Whatever happened caused the previous reviews must have been fixed. Must go
(5)John H.
Great place but a bit expensive. I still like to go there on special occasions only because of the prices. Still, the food is good and worth an experience.
(3)Barek K.
My wife and my experience, was AMAZING! Service and food was outstanding! We will definitely go back for more. The manager, Mark and staff were friendly and professional. Completely helpful and curtious for all our needs. It is easy to see after talking to Mark, that he takes pride in his store, staff and food quality. Thank you for the amazing food and service! Thank you!
(5)Rocco M.
stay away from the southern fried maine lobster,or should I say essence of lobster...Not worth the price for some barely detectable lobster and breading!
(2)Melinda C.
We ate at Joe's on Ash Wednesday (2/22/12) and saw a big improvement from last time we tried to eat there and had walked out before even being seated. That was in April 2011. It seems the new manager, Tajonna Lawler, brought in from Chandler, has been working on retraining staff. Having eaten at the Chandler restaurant, we know how well a Joe's can run, so we know she's a good manager. There's hope for this one. The host wasn't at the stand when we came in, but after a second a waiter seated us. Our waiter, Rich Malin, came over immediately, told us about the menu, took our drink order and let us decide what to eat. We ordered a couple of crab pots, but made some changes (no potatoes replaced with broccoli). It took quite a while for our food to come. When it did come, Rich checked it and saw the changes hadn't been made so he went and got our broccoli. He was on the ball and handled everything quickly and efficiently. The food was delicious. The crab was cooked perfectly. We will try Joe's again after Rich's great service. The kitchen staff needs to pay attention to order changes and work faster as the restaurant wasn't busy. I hope they can get it together because there aren't many other places in town to get great crab dinners!
(3)Casey M.
It's like going to a whole different place! A place different from our own land! It's like I got taken into an outer realm, a dimension not known in this life! It's like time slows down and you embark on an adventure to gaze at eternity itself! An eternity filled with bad service and long wait times for my check. Waited almost two hours for our check. Do you know how long that is? Lord of the Rings is only 40 minutes longer. I could've embarked on a fantastical adventure with Hobbits and big evil eyeballs. Instead, I went here. Never again.
(1)Alex F.
So, why did I think a crab shack in Tucson would be good? My first clue that I had made a mistake was when we waited a solid five minutes for someone to show up to seat us. Once the hostess noticed us, she had to clean a table before we could be seated. There were plenty open, but none clean. Our waiter was reasonably attentive, but he always seemed like he was in a hurry. My expectations for the food weren't too high, but it turned out to be decent. Overpriced and not amazing, but decent for a seafood chain in the desert.
(2)Vonne M.
I'm so glad everyone else agrees with me on this. Joe's Crab Shack is a poor excuse for a Seafood restaurant. Okay one star for having a cool, fun, lively atmosphere, but if you are a staunch seafood foodie that has had seafood in a variety of places you will be disappointed. The first meal I had was salmon and shrimp. Dry and bland. I'm forgiving so I came back about a year later. Different meal and same blandness. Both times the food didn't taste right and they were dry. Pros: Fun Atmosphere Fairly nice waiters Cons: Terrible seafood Expensive
(1)Kim H.
Ummm..should be called the "Crap shack". We arrived here excited to try Joe's crab shack and were seated in the unconditioned area. And we were about to stomp out after waiting to be served for 35 minutes..and we saw waiters standing around. When we finally got our food, I took a few bites and thought I was eating poop. We were both dissapointed at our expensive, tasteless dinner. Never going to come back here.
(1)karen r.
I'll begin by saying this was my first visit to Joe's Crab Shack and despite the stories I heard about it being overpriced and lackluster food, I opted to try it myself. Loving lobster more than crab I ordered the Arctic steampot which had a whole lobster. There was absolutely no flavor in any of the food in the pot except the smoked sausage. The lobster also was rubbery leading me to believe it was pre-cooked. Not wanting to complain in front of my friends, I came home and filed a complaint online. The manager Mark called me within a couple of hours of posting. He did not address the rubbery, tasteless lobster so I asked him if it was pre-cooked. He said they can't get live lobsters in so it comes in frozen and cooked and they drop it in water for 4 1/2 minutes....and that's exactly what it tasted like..... all the flavor drained out of it and overcooked....... he offered for me to come in again, but I said, "why, unless you get fresh lobster it's only going to taste the same..... no flavor." I told him there should be no excuse for the price they charge people that they should have the lobster, crab and other seafood shipped in live. I also noted that it was a Friday afternoon and there were very few customers dining there. I guess that says it all right there. I will never eat at this restaurant again...................
(2)Julia R.
I grew up in the pacific NW, so once in a while I get a jones for some seafood. Since the wait at Red Lobster is ridiculous, we decided to try Joe's. BIG mistake. The place is loud, the decor is junky, and the food is way overpriced. The staff is very in-your-face and tries to play the audience-participation card, practically pulling you out of your chair to disco dance with them. Next time, I'll get some frozen crab legs from the grocery store, microwave-steam them in wet paper towels, and spare myself (and my wallet) an embarassing evening.
(1)Toby J.
was in here the other day ordered shrimp and crab legs. They tasted fresh, not over cooked, fantastic and reasonably priced. i am not sure about anything else on the menu but I can vouch for these two item i ate. VERY GOOD.
(4)Erika D.
No thanks. This place is a combination between a California hippie frat house and a playground. I didn't care for the "dirty garage" atmosphere either. If you don't like: - A LOUD atmosphere with noisy music and bad singing - Lots of children running around your table screaming - watching staff members dance, sing, and clap every 15 minutes - Unappetizing food served cold for $$ - Sitting next to a window encrusted with dirt and hair (Ahhhhch!) - Staff who disappear for long periods of time.....then I recommend.... Stay super away...far away.
(1)Jhymae N.
We have ate at this location a few times the past year and it was typically good; however, this visit was fairly poor. We sat at the bar to have dinner and our regular bartender was good and friendly. But, the steam bucket my husband got was not anything like before, no spices/Old Bay seasoning or very minimal at best. We told the waiter/bartender and he didn't even offer to send it back to have them re-season or make a new pot. I ordered the Salmon Orleans; the salmon was a decent size portion but the crawfish tails were just about microscopic as well as the shrimp, dry and overcooked. The women's restroom was a complete disaster! Water and paper was all over the floor, toilet seat covers were ripped out of the compartment holders, doors were filthy yet there were 3 young teenage waitresses all in the bathroom talking and carrying on when they should have cleaned it up for their patrons. VERY DISAPPOINTED AND PROBABLY WON'T RETURN. Especially considering how much you pay for their food - not a cheap place to eat at all.
(2)Elizabeth L.
I don't see how this place has gotten so few stars so far! I love Joe's!! We went for lunch as a family, which of course can get pricey for seafood, but for a land locked state, Joe's is a great place to curb your sea faring cravings. It was my daughters birthday and the staff sang to her and embarassed her a bit, which of course is hilarious. I had the Sam Adams Steampot, which as a little of everything and it was all delicious (and I'm from Oregon where you can go fishing for it yourself, but this was almost as good)! Even my kids who don't enjoy seafood had choices that made them happy (chicken). I think the atmosphere is fun and the staff polite. I have been here several times and have yet to be disappointed.
(4)Casey D.
There is a Joe's Crab Shack in Ca where I moved from that is amazing and I love it there, so I had high expectations for this one and was a little disappointed. The service was slow and the shrimp was over cooked quite a bit. It had the same fun atmosphere but just wasn't the same. I'd be willing to give it a second chance though, it wasn't terrible
(3)Bennie M.
I don't get to eat @ Joe's as often as I'd like, since they're a 45 minute drive from my house. I must say that every time I've been here, I've never been disappointed. They really do an excellent job on their crab!
(5)Andrew G.
Decorations, are decent...what you'd expect in a place called a crab shack. But nothing to get excited over. The food sucks, no bones about it. Its overpriced for the portion that you get, and your shellfish will be so overcooked as to be disgusting. I got the New Orleans Pot, looking forward to the Crawfish; and was so beyond disappointed. The crawfish was disgusting, with over a quarter of the fish being inedible. The shrimp was over cooked. We waited way to long to get our drinks, considering only a handful of tables were filled. Last time I'll be going there.
(1)Diane W.
We dined at Joe's Crab Shack three week ends in a row. First time I ordered the sea fool platter and it was copious and good. We had their grilled shrimp appetizer and it was tasty. My husband ordered fish and chips and the fish was fresh. He substituted FF for onion rings and they were good. The second time we ate there, I had one of their sea food Pots cooked in beer. It was o.k.. Not as good as I expected. A lot of work to get the meat out of the crab legs. Lobster claws were on the small size. We ordered their fried calamari as an appetizer and it was very good. Served with tomato sauce for dipping and it all was good. My husband ordered the fish an chips again and the fish was fresh and good. The third time we ate there, it was very disappointing. I ordered their famous "crab cakes". The crab did not taste fresh and the cakes were far too salty. Probably trying to mask the old crab meat they used. Did not finish my dinner. My husband had his favorite fish and chips again, and that time the fish tasted fishy and not fresh. The wait staff is very friendly and they explain the menu well. The service was good too. We ordered their Key Lime Pie for dessert. They served a big square piece of it and it was very good. After the poor 3rd meal of old fish and crab, not sure we would go back. If we do, we will speak with the manager about our last meal there.. It is a lively and somewhat noisy place, but also a fun place with inconsis
(3)Frieda S.
We had only gone to Joe's once before, maybe 15 years ago. At that time the service was achingly slow, I never got any silverware, and no one refilled my iced tea. But last Saturday afternoon we decided to give it another try because we thought our pre-teen daughter might enjoy the atmosphere. Which she did. Unfortunately, she got to enjoy it for almost an hour before the food arrived. The waitress was very apologetic but I can't understand how seafood, which is cooked as little as possible, could take so long. We had two orders of fried shrimp and one of crab cakes--drop the shrimp in the fryer for eight minutes and Voila!--done! Lunch for three including tip (yes, we tipped) came to $66. Ouch.
(1)Rebecca F.
I had never eaten at a Joe's Crab Shack before. My boyfriend and I had decided to take his Mom there for her Birthday dinner (along with his niece and my 5 yr old son). I have NEVER been more turned off about food in my entire life!!! They may have seemed perky and upbeat, but nothing helped the fact that we were there waiting for our food for almost 2 HOURS AFTER we ordered!!!! I was so proud of my son for sitting at the table for so long and not eating!!! They even tried to "discount" our food because we were NOT going to pay $100 for a 2 HOUR WAIT!!! (And they weren't even busy! We saw so many employees standing around, talking, laughing and not tending to their customers) We asked them to please pack up our food because we just wanted to leave at that point. They packaged our food and we went on our way... When we got home (right around the corner), the food was cold, not in full portions and totally tasteless. I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for what happened that night, and they were making tons of excuses. Talk about a Crabby Birthday Dinner! We will NEVER go to ANY Joe's Crab Shack after that! (Note to Joe's Crab Shack: Excuses don't matter when people are hungry, ESPECIALLY on special occasions or with young children... If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen)
(1)Leo B.
Expensive and not that good. Let me edit this. The food isn't that bad especially for Tucson but it is expensive. Its advertisements on TV hawking $5 appetizers is basically a lie. You muse order an entree for each $5 app! The menu isn't much clearer as it looks like you can order all apps for $5 if you buy one entree. Bait and switch. I complained and the manger took off some money. She said last week all the appetizers were ringing up as $5 but then it was changed. A gentleman came over and thanked me for complaining. Overall it seems like a fun place to go for a drink or two and a get together with some friends but corporate needs to get their act together.
(1)Anthony B.
took my wife here for a date night and holy cow the food has just gone downhill it was soggy and the seafood pots all tasted the same sorry i wont be back
(2)Jay K.
"Meh" would basically sum up the Joe's experience for me. I grew up on the coast of southern Maine, so I can be a bit of a prat about good seafood. Living in the desert has proven to be a challenge, when it comes to my periodic undersea urges, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, I had some money to burn and decided to take the fam' to Joes. Meh, meh, and more meh. We started with some shrimp that was fine, if a bit bland, and only barely cooked through, and moved on to a crab variety pot. The dungeness crab tasted as though it had been in a deep-freeze for the better part of the past decade, and the Alaskan sweet crab wasn't much better. At least this stuff seemed well-cooked. When it came to the sides, well-cooked was a bit of an understatement. The corn was steamed to the point that the kernels were falling apart, and the potato's starch and skin were only tenuously holding it together. I will say this: the portions were ample. My girlfriend and I were able to split the shrimp app and crab pot (for one) easily between us. We usually don't get desserts when we eat out, but decided to splurge this time and order the praline brownie sundae (or whatever ludicrous, vaguely nautical name they gave it). I wish we hadn't. The brownie was like something I could buy from the counter of a 7-11, the vanilla ice cream was so-so, and there was but a lonely teaspoon of caramel at the bottom of the glass. I could have made it at home while blindfolded and drunk, and probably for a quarter of the price. All-in-all, Joe's reminds me why I generally loathe chain restaurants. You pay through the nose for the "experience" of the place, and then cross your fingers and hope the food is A) cooked well-enough and B)doesn't give you a coronary before the end of the meal. At Joe's, the "experience" is tortoise-slow wait service and the pleasure of listening to the waiters angrily belt out AM-gold favorites of the '70s. Have you ever been to a dive bar on a Friday at 1:30am? The singing is a little bit like that, only minus the alcohol, and devoid of any real mirth. Joe's is one of those places that blows its financial wad on making you feel like you've come to a wacky, irreverent land of crab, where the staff is kooky and anything could happen. The problem is that everything seems forced and choreographed, and you can't help but be pained, given how hard their corporate machine seems to be trying. If the super classy "I got crabs at Joe's" t-shirts aren't enough, the self-consciously kitschy bibs may put you over the top. This is coupled by the fact that the actual food, which is their ostensible stock-in-trade, is relatively miserable. Quick side bar here: the waiter asked me if I wanted him to put on my bib for me, and I figured he had to be making some kind of grotesque joke, so I laughed him off. Then, I saw no fewer than four other people, over the course of our meal, request said privilege. Really? Is that the premium one pays for, nowadays: the honor of flushing one's self-respect down the crapper and being infantilized in public? As Yakoff Smirnoff would say, "What a country!" Joe's is, quite clearly, a product of an over-stimulated, over-fed culture, in which mediocrity is passable, as long as its loud and expensive enough. I think I'll pass from now on.
(2)Brooke R.
Super expensive for fish in a land locked state. And no, it's not good. The taste comes from the deep frying. You're paying royalty to watch the waiters dance and sing to old songs every half hour, meanwhile your food is at a stand still behind the counter and your water glass will never get refilled. For kids that have parents that don't mind spending a fortune for their happiness this place would be a good place to go to, but otherwise, no. Just don't do it.
(2)Surranna V.
I loved this place. There were 4 of us and we all ordered the big pots of crab, I can't remember what they are called but mine came with all three types of crab, snow, king, and dungeonus as well as potatoes and corn seasoned with spicy broil. It was so good. I didn't even look at the rest of the menu but I saw most people eating the big pots of random seafood so I figured it was why people were there. As far as the rest of the menu who knows but my big pot of crab was great, there was big legs and claws, yummy! Needless to say all 4 of us thought the crab was pretty damn good for a chain. I also had a very tasty spicy bloody mary, I was shocked that it was so good. The huge chocolate cake we shared was like a big brownie, it was super rich, moist, and dense, yummy. It wasn't cheap but with all the entertainment that was super funny, the delicious food, and good service I will absolutely be back. The staff all looked like they were enjoying the dancing which made it fun to watch.
(4)Dawn S.
The wait staff were really friendly- 5 stars for them 0 stars for my food. Visiting family in Tucson on 8/1/15 and my husband, sister & brother-in-law had great meals (ahi tacos & crab leg feasts) but I, on the other hand, had a horrible one! My dinner experience has lasted longer than it should've for me. I know now I should've held my ground when when I told the manager that the bacon on the Southern Stuffed Shrimp was still white and light pink (vs. darker and crispy) and the shrimp was pale white (vs. orange & white). But I sent it back thinking they would make me a new plate. Instead the cook put the plate back in the oven & re-served it. I've learned a lesson but won't let it happen again. Three days of misery gave me a lot of time to think about how I should've been more assertive with not settling with something subpar (let alone pay for it). Perhaps it's because the stomach & bsck pain has subsided, or my head doesn't hurt as much, but I can at least see that silver lining.
(1)Charles P.
Joe's has gone through many ups and downs over the years, and I really think it's because no one in charge has any clue how to run the place. The first time I went there, about 5 years ago, it was great. The atmosphere was uplifting, the wait staff was attentive, and they even did a line dance when a certain song (can't remember what) came on. The food was delicious and quick to the table. Last year it seemed like they were destined to close. The food was undercooked, took forever to get to the table, and the wait staff seemed unconcerned about anything but hiding in the kitchen. Recently things seemed to change. Food was to the table in a reasonable time, but the wait staff walked around like they were waiting for their heads to be cut off. One guy was even fired while we were there, right out in the dining area. The general manager clearly has no idea how to run a kitchen. The atmosphere was like a graveyard. Definitely won't be back.
(1)Paulina N.
The only reason this place gets any stars is because they are open til midnight! It was convenient that I had a crab craving at 930PM, and of course nothing was going to be opened for much longer. Service is nice. Awkward, kind of... but nice. Attentive enough so that we didn't have to wait on things for very long. Everything we ate was so salty. I swear I drank about three gallons of water when I got home. The bf liked the Cajun one he got, but I didn't like the traditional Joe's Crab Shack special seasoning I got. However, I do appreciate that the crabs/lobster did not taste so bad. The meat was actually sweet and juicy. Lobster was slightly overcooked, but not too bad. Shrimp were way overcooked though. The calamari we ordered tasted like it was taken out of the freezer section at the nearest grocery store. Sigh. Oh well, there went $80. My fault. On with the next one!
(2)Shijie F.
Joe's is not cheap. Every time we dine there we spend around at least $30 per person plus tips. So if you are spending that amount on food, you better get what Joe's is known for: crab feast or steam pot. All the other food we ordered on the menu is a so-so in most cases From experience, if you order the snow crab feast, you will get a lot of crab; for the king crab "feast," you will get two legs. We like the lemon spice flavor. Service, on the other hand, is completely chaotic and mindless. The server we had during our last visit forgot our order, mixed table orders, brought the wrong check, etc. The problem is, it wasn't an isolated incident. During our meal, we constantly heard other customers pointed out mistakes in the check or order. We still gave a generous tip despite the mess-ups. But we would have pauses to come here again.
(3)Melissa B.
Omg I am sitting here at the bar on a Tuesday night and across from me is a at least five year old sitting at the bar and the bartender joe is paying no attention to us at all paying all thr attention to the five year old sit ting at the barNever coming here again! And to top it all off the apparent mom is drinking a Peter piper pizza cup and not ordering anything at all and the manager even came over the interacted with her. Wish I would of got that attention for being under age at a bar top
(1)Charles J.
Years ago, this was a good value. Joe's is right across the street from a bustling hospital. Typically, this would be good news for business. In this case, though, it is good news for the customers. After several years absence, I returned today...Joe's has really gone downhill. The fried chicken arrived frozen on the inside and crispy on the outside... it was probably safe to eat. Crab cake was old, sour, and rancid. I did not want to risk more than two bites. Vile. We waited 40 minutes for our order. Went to the restroom while waiting. The floor was clean except for the big pile of sludge between the stall door and the wall. Bio-hazard! This was a very disappointing visit. I fondly remember having great times (and fabulous meals) at Joe's in years past. Sadly, those times are gone.
(1)Magic J.
The quality of the food is just OK. If you bill yourself as a seafood place and only have farmed salmon then how good can you actually be? The real problem with this place, however, is the terrible service.
(2)Raven B.
Terrible. The "chef" didn't know how to shuck oysters and they we full of shell pieces. Looked like a large group of teenagers was in charge and that no one was in charge at all. It was also not very clean, dirty surfaces etc.
(1)Sirena C.
It is a chain, so there are certain things to expect and fair food is one of them. The lunch meal my boyfriend and I had was good. Obviously not great but we came into Joe's not expecting great so maybe that changes the tone of this review. But our server was Taylor and she was so sweet and and timely! Her service made it such a delight and if we are ever in the area again we will eat there again and request Taylor if she is working!!!! I would say that just because it is a chain don't give it 3 stars automatically, Think about the service you receive and the best they can do as a chain seafood restaurant in Tucson.
(4)Bash A.
I really used to enjoy the food and atmosphere. However, the food and service has truly diminished. I ate there recently and my crabs were not cooked in the seasoning I asked for, the corn on the con looked really bad, and the service just was not what it used to be. The manager did bring me some crabs cooked in the seasoning I preferred which was a good recovery, but I don't think I will be visiting Joe's anytime soon. On to the next seafood place in Tucson.
(2)Walt C.
First time to Joe's Crab Shack, wasn't really sure what to expect. Arrived w/ a party of 6 and the booths were just a tad on the small side for 3x adults and 3x children. The service was great and the food was good. Manager even came out to check and make sure everything was going well. Was a good experience overall and the entire family enjoyed it. The bill was a tad higher than expected, but we did order quite a few dishes. Will have to watch it on the next trip out. Will definitely return.
(3)Craig S.
The place was dead on Saturday afternoon but we were ignored for a good 10 min. Guess they don't need the business. We didn't stay.
(1)Amanda W.
I have been to Joe's Crab Shack restaurants in East Coast. They are great, so I wanted to try out the one in Tucson. But what do I expect from the State which is no where near ocean? I mean it was ok. Not like the one in East Coast, sorry. While we were dining, waiters and waitress started to dance along the love shack. My son was like, "good intent, but they can't dance." Yeah, I give them for trying. Perhaps they need to work on the management, because it took forever for them bring us our drink and food.
(3)Ruben R.
Food was decent and service was quick. I was surprised to see how empty the place was for a Friday night and was kinda bummed the the hyped up attitudes and dancing was not in play because of the lack of customers.
(4)Susan S.
First problem was that no one greeted us at the door. The staff should be attentive to anyone walking in during business hours. The waiter made up for that quickly and the order came quickly. The shrimp and fries were good but the coconut shrimp was lackluster and the tropical sauce may have been out of a jar. It had absolutely no flavor at all. The ice tea also had no flavor. Gotta say that with all the competition of restaurants in town, and the prices charged here Joes may not last.
(3)Wendy S.
I have always loved crabs and lobsters and Joe's Crab Shack didn't disappoint. I was in nirvana the whole time I was eating the Arctic Bay Steampot. I didn't hesitate to dig in and get my fingers dirty. Service was very good too.
(5)Nikky P.
Not worth the price you pay. We spent over $100 and had pretty bad food. The lobster was so over cooked that it was like eating a dog toy. We sent the first one back only to get a new one that was equally chewy. We didn't send this one back since we figured the kitchen would just send another grossly overcooked lobster out to us again.. I had to send King crab legs back because they were overcooked to the point of being nothing but mush. The legs were so soft that you couldn't crack them and once you did the meat was inedible. The replacements weren't much better... We sat at the bar to eat and the bartender was attentive and apologetic about the quality of the food. She even mentioned that for how much we paid we should be getting exactly what we want..no joke. For how much we spent we should have had an excellent meal- 50$ a head is crazy for this poor of quality. I will not come back here again or recommend this place to friends.
(1)Leonard C.
Been to many joes crab shacks this one SUCKS I'll never come back it was terrible The Manger Applied His Discount All In All The Food Was Nowhere Near The Standard I Have For The Food Chain Drinks Were Great But I Didn't Go There For Them If Your In Tuscan I Recommend Skipping The Trip There
(1)Christy F.
Disclaimer: I'm typically not big into reviewing chains and I'm not a fan of seafood. I'm sure they do a decent job with the seafood, as that is what they are known for. However, you will have to put up with disco lights and signing and dancing waitstaff prancing around to routines while dining. It's just not my thang....really who likes that?? Definitely, not a place for a baby, though with that said mine did just fine- but she is a prodigy. This is not the place for a sirloin. BARF. Complete disregard for temperature. It came out dry and gray. I didn't even take it home for my boys- aka my dogs. They do however serve up some mighty fine and elusive hush puppies. Actually, I've been considering stopping in just for a carry out order of those bad boys.
(2)Crystal B.
Meh. Food was okay, service was okay. Everything was just okay. We split one of the big steamer pots with lobster, crab, shrimp, and veggies. I will say it was definitely enough food for two people to share and both leave full. However, the lobster and crab both seemed overcooked and mushy and and tasted kind of bland. Which is strange to me because it was all cooked in the same pot but yet the shrimp tasted pretty good and the potatoes were awesome. The potatoes were probably the best part of the whole thing for me. They were so, so yummy. Service was adequate, but not great. Server was friendly enough, but everything just seemed to take a really long time. She forgot to bring hubby a second beer until we reminded her. Just a bunch of little things that didn't really add up to anything terrible, but it definitely could have been better. Will try again eventually, hopefully it was just an off night.
(3)Luis V.
I wish they had coasters, that and it's a bit pricey if your here by yourself. I like a full meal and at least 1 appetizer. It gets expensive eating dinner every night while you got a baby next door at hospital. Either way I give it a 3.5/5 cut the price and it'll b a 4+
(3)Susan S.
First problem was that no one greeted us at the door. The staff should be attentive to anyone walking in during business hours. The waiter made up for that quickly and the order came quickly. The shrimp and fries were good but the coconut shrimp was lackluster and the tropical sauce may have been out of a jar. It had absolutely no flavor at all. The ice tea also had no flavor. Gotta say that with all the competition of restaurants in town, and the prices charged here Joes may not last.
(3)Nikky P.
Not worth the price you pay. We spent over $100 and had pretty bad food. The lobster was so over cooked that it was like eating a dog toy. We sent the first one back only to get a new one that was equally chewy. We didn't send this one back since we figured the kitchen would just send another grossly overcooked lobster out to us again.. I had to send King crab legs back because they were overcooked to the point of being nothing but mush. The legs were so soft that you couldn't crack them and once you did the meat was inedible. The replacements weren't much better... We sat at the bar to eat and the bartender was attentive and apologetic about the quality of the food. She even mentioned that for how much we paid we should be getting exactly what we want..no joke. For how much we spent we should have had an excellent meal- 50$ a head is crazy for this poor of quality. I will not come back here again or recommend this place to friends.
(1)Leonard C.
Been to many joes crab shacks this one SUCKS I'll never come back it was terrible The Manger Applied His Discount All In All The Food Was Nowhere Near The Standard I Have For The Food Chain Drinks Were Great But I Didn't Go There For Them If Your In Tuscan I Recommend Skipping The Trip There
(1)Christy F.
Disclaimer: I'm typically not big into reviewing chains and I'm not a fan of seafood. I'm sure they do a decent job with the seafood, as that is what they are known for. However, you will have to put up with disco lights and signing and dancing waitstaff prancing around to routines while dining. It's just not my thang....really who likes that?? Definitely, not a place for a baby, though with that said mine did just fine- but she is a prodigy. This is not the place for a sirloin. BARF. Complete disregard for temperature. It came out dry and gray. I didn't even take it home for my boys- aka my dogs. They do however serve up some mighty fine and elusive hush puppies. Actually, I've been considering stopping in just for a carry out order of those bad boys.
(2)Crystal B.
Meh. Food was okay, service was okay. Everything was just okay. We split one of the big steamer pots with lobster, crab, shrimp, and veggies. I will say it was definitely enough food for two people to share and both leave full. However, the lobster and crab both seemed overcooked and mushy and and tasted kind of bland. Which is strange to me because it was all cooked in the same pot but yet the shrimp tasted pretty good and the potatoes were awesome. The potatoes were probably the best part of the whole thing for me. They were so, so yummy. Service was adequate, but not great. Server was friendly enough, but everything just seemed to take a really long time. She forgot to bring hubby a second beer until we reminded her. Just a bunch of little things that didn't really add up to anything terrible, but it definitely could have been better. Will try again eventually, hopefully it was just an off night.
(3)Luis V.
I wish they had coasters, that and it's a bit pricey if your here by yourself. I like a full meal and at least 1 appetizer. It gets expensive eating dinner every night while you got a baby next door at hospital. Either way I give it a 3.5/5 cut the price and it'll b a 4+
(3)Wendy S.
I have always loved crabs and lobsters and Joe's Crab Shack didn't disappoint. I was in nirvana the whole time I was eating the Arctic Bay Steampot. I didn't hesitate to dig in and get my fingers dirty. Service was very good too.
(5)Magic J.
The quality of the food is just OK. If you bill yourself as a seafood place and only have farmed salmon then how good can you actually be? The real problem with this place, however, is the terrible service.
(2)Dawn S.
The wait staff were really friendly- 5 stars for them 0 stars for my food. Visiting family in Tucson on 8/1/15 and my husband, sister & brother-in-law had great meals (ahi tacos & crab leg feasts) but I, on the other hand, had a horrible one! My dinner experience has lasted longer than it should've for me. I know now I should've held my ground when when I told the manager that the bacon on the Southern Stuffed Shrimp was still white and light pink (vs. darker and crispy) and the shrimp was pale white (vs. orange & white). But I sent it back thinking they would make me a new plate. Instead the cook put the plate back in the oven & re-served it. I've learned a lesson but won't let it happen again. Three days of misery gave me a lot of time to think about how I should've been more assertive with not settling with something subpar (let alone pay for it). Perhaps it's because the stomach & bsck pain has subsided, or my head doesn't hurt as much, but I can at least see that silver lining.
(1)Charles P.
Joe's has gone through many ups and downs over the years, and I really think it's because no one in charge has any clue how to run the place. The first time I went there, about 5 years ago, it was great. The atmosphere was uplifting, the wait staff was attentive, and they even did a line dance when a certain song (can't remember what) came on. The food was delicious and quick to the table. Last year it seemed like they were destined to close. The food was undercooked, took forever to get to the table, and the wait staff seemed unconcerned about anything but hiding in the kitchen. Recently things seemed to change. Food was to the table in a reasonable time, but the wait staff walked around like they were waiting for their heads to be cut off. One guy was even fired while we were there, right out in the dining area. The general manager clearly has no idea how to run a kitchen. The atmosphere was like a graveyard. Definitely won't be back.
(1)Paulina N.
The only reason this place gets any stars is because they are open til midnight! It was convenient that I had a crab craving at 930PM, and of course nothing was going to be opened for much longer. Service is nice. Awkward, kind of... but nice. Attentive enough so that we didn't have to wait on things for very long. Everything we ate was so salty. I swear I drank about three gallons of water when I got home. The bf liked the Cajun one he got, but I didn't like the traditional Joe's Crab Shack special seasoning I got. However, I do appreciate that the crabs/lobster did not taste so bad. The meat was actually sweet and juicy. Lobster was slightly overcooked, but not too bad. Shrimp were way overcooked though. The calamari we ordered tasted like it was taken out of the freezer section at the nearest grocery store. Sigh. Oh well, there went $80. My fault. On with the next one!
(2)Raven B.
Terrible. The "chef" didn't know how to shuck oysters and they we full of shell pieces. Looked like a large group of teenagers was in charge and that no one was in charge at all. It was also not very clean, dirty surfaces etc.
(1)Shijie F.
Joe's is not cheap. Every time we dine there we spend around at least $30 per person plus tips. So if you are spending that amount on food, you better get what Joe's is known for: crab feast or steam pot. All the other food we ordered on the menu is a so-so in most cases From experience, if you order the snow crab feast, you will get a lot of crab; for the king crab "feast," you will get two legs. We like the lemon spice flavor. Service, on the other hand, is completely chaotic and mindless. The server we had during our last visit forgot our order, mixed table orders, brought the wrong check, etc. The problem is, it wasn't an isolated incident. During our meal, we constantly heard other customers pointed out mistakes in the check or order. We still gave a generous tip despite the mess-ups. But we would have pauses to come here again.
(3)Melissa B.
Omg I am sitting here at the bar on a Tuesday night and across from me is a at least five year old sitting at the bar and the bartender joe is paying no attention to us at all paying all thr attention to the five year old sit ting at the barNever coming here again! And to top it all off the apparent mom is drinking a Peter piper pizza cup and not ordering anything at all and the manager even came over the interacted with her. Wish I would of got that attention for being under age at a bar top
(1)Charles J.
Years ago, this was a good value. Joe's is right across the street from a bustling hospital. Typically, this would be good news for business. In this case, though, it is good news for the customers. After several years absence, I returned today...Joe's has really gone downhill. The fried chicken arrived frozen on the inside and crispy on the outside... it was probably safe to eat. Crab cake was old, sour, and rancid. I did not want to risk more than two bites. Vile. We waited 40 minutes for our order. Went to the restroom while waiting. The floor was clean except for the big pile of sludge between the stall door and the wall. Bio-hazard! This was a very disappointing visit. I fondly remember having great times (and fabulous meals) at Joe's in years past. Sadly, those times are gone.
(1)Sirena C.
It is a chain, so there are certain things to expect and fair food is one of them. The lunch meal my boyfriend and I had was good. Obviously not great but we came into Joe's not expecting great so maybe that changes the tone of this review. But our server was Taylor and she was so sweet and and timely! Her service made it such a delight and if we are ever in the area again we will eat there again and request Taylor if she is working!!!! I would say that just because it is a chain don't give it 3 stars automatically, Think about the service you receive and the best they can do as a chain seafood restaurant in Tucson.
(4)Bash A.
I really used to enjoy the food and atmosphere. However, the food and service has truly diminished. I ate there recently and my crabs were not cooked in the seasoning I asked for, the corn on the con looked really bad, and the service just was not what it used to be. The manager did bring me some crabs cooked in the seasoning I preferred which was a good recovery, but I don't think I will be visiting Joe's anytime soon. On to the next seafood place in Tucson.
(2)Walt C.
First time to Joe's Crab Shack, wasn't really sure what to expect. Arrived w/ a party of 6 and the booths were just a tad on the small side for 3x adults and 3x children. The service was great and the food was good. Manager even came out to check and make sure everything was going well. Was a good experience overall and the entire family enjoyed it. The bill was a tad higher than expected, but we did order quite a few dishes. Will have to watch it on the next trip out. Will definitely return.
(3)Craig S.
The place was dead on Saturday afternoon but we were ignored for a good 10 min. Guess they don't need the business. We didn't stay.
(1)Amanda W.
I have been to Joe's Crab Shack restaurants in East Coast. They are great, so I wanted to try out the one in Tucson. But what do I expect from the State which is no where near ocean? I mean it was ok. Not like the one in East Coast, sorry. While we were dining, waiters and waitress started to dance along the love shack. My son was like, "good intent, but they can't dance." Yeah, I give them for trying. Perhaps they need to work on the management, because it took forever for them bring us our drink and food.
(3)Ruben R.
Food was decent and service was quick. I was surprised to see how empty the place was for a Friday night and was kinda bummed the the hyped up attitudes and dancing was not in play because of the lack of customers.
(4)K. D.
We had dinner here tonight and I have to say I was pleasantly pleased. We shared a couples bucket with King crab, potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage. The seafood was really tasty. We devoured the seafood and the red potatoes. I hate to say it but I had to deduct a star for two reasons. One, our waitress informed me it was happy hour and they charged me $8.69 for one margarita! (If this is the discounted price, I will stick to iced tea) Two, the fresh corn on the cob would have been edible had they removed any of the silk off the ear of corn. As it was I spent so long removing silky strings off of it that when I went back to eat more crab and shrimp they were cold. I have to say even though they are a crab shack, they could make the extra effort to clean corn a little bit better than I got. On a side note, it didn't bother my husband that much. Decor is a bit cheesy, but I know this is typical Joe's and not location specific. Overall, $40.00 for two crab dinners is pretty good, considering we are landlocked here in Tucson. Our server was Taylor and she was very helpful and brought more iced tea for dh without being asked. We will be back again. (I came back to add that yes, they have a Gluten free menu - no prices listed, which seems to be the norm anywhere) and I honestly wasn't as paranoid as I normally am eating out which is maybe 3 times a month. Definitely will be back, hold the corn and double my taters! ;)
(4)Estefanie N.
I am very disappointed! Walked in and the restaurant was half empty, we were seated quickly but after waiting 15 minutes to even be acknowledged by the waitress we left. There is no way it should take that long to even give drink orders in a half empty restaurant. Joe's isn't a cheap restaurant and I expect better service for the amount of money we were going to pay. We weren't the only ones waiting for the server, several tables around us were waiting and looking for a server.
(1)Schmidty N.
I expanse was great and the crab was fresh. Great song and dance. Waiter was fun and my name was will in doud
(5)Carrie B.
Atmosphere: Upon arriving for lunch we were greeted by a hostess who held the door for us and seated us immediately. The interior design of this place is all reclaimed wood, aluminum siding, rope, t-shirts, huge sharks on the ceiling, Christmas lights and 80s/club music. It's very chaotic for a "party" feel, I guess. It seemed ironic since we were there early for lunch and there were only 3 tables seated and about 7 hipster workers standing around by the bar. Our server was a high energy fellow eager to please and he got our orders right away. He also seemed to be doing everyth Food: Hubby ordered a burger while I got the Garlicky Mussels appetizer and a side Caesar. Hubby hated his burger but, liked the fries (as did our baby). Hubby said the bun was stale. I liked my stuff. The mussels were tasty (served in a bucket with dish insert) and came with a couple of wedges of garlic toast for sopping up the soupy sauce. The Caesar dressing on the salad was tasty and the greens were fresh. We dumped all shells and trash in a bucket in the middle of the table. By the end of the meal there were 3 buckets on our table.Drinks were iced tea-no big whoop. Bottom Line: With tip the tab came to $35.00. Not a cheap date but, you could go there for seafood in the desert and have a pretty good time.
(3)NoraZoe W.
We are frequent visitors of this restaurant, for good reason! We went yesterday for the Tuesday specials, and had an array of fried yummies (all discounted due to Tuesday: fried pickles, crawfish, and popcorn shrimp), as well as some fried clams (not discounted, but I had a free appetizer coupon!), a few $2 Hurricanes, and a steam pot to share. The service was great--our waitress kept our drinks (those we paid for and our waters) full, our empty plates removed, etc.--and very friendly. The food was delicious, and very quick. The restaurant was clean, not very busy (it was a Tuesday at about 5:30pm after all), and comfortable. We also like getting the bibs to wear--they're fun. We will definitely be back, and we recommend it to others!
(4)Kim H.
Ummm..should be called the "Crap shack". We arrived here excited to try Joe's crab shack and were seated in the unconditioned area. And we were about to stomp out after waiting to be served for 35 minutes..and we saw waiters standing around. When we finally got our food, I took a few bites and thought I was eating poop. We were both dissapointed at our expensive, tasteless dinner. Never going to come back here.
(1)Derek J.
Great atmosphere, food was ok kinda of bland in taste
(3)Kate L.
I'm going to have to do a breakdown of the scoring here... some things were great (SERVICE!!!) others not so awesome (food). We went here the other night, on my husband's request, for my anniversary. It was still early in the evening for the dinner crowd, and only a handful of tables was occupied. We were seated quickly, our server greeted us promptly, and we were off and running. I ordered a mixed drink worthy of a beach resort... with a price tag to match. But it was large and relatively generous with the hard stuff, and tasty to boot. Our server kindly provided my husband with a bib that read "My Server Gave Me Crabs!!!" with the prerequiste arrows pointing downward, hilarity ensues. Cue the funny Facebook picture post with the "my husband has a lot of explaining to do" comment. My husbands order of some steamer pot was large and in charge. I'm not a fan of seafood, but the hubby said it was great. I ordered a hamburger. A chipotle burger, as a matter of fact, as there were very VERY limited non-seafood options. My burger was bad. Aside from leftover patties from yesterday's BBQ that were a little well done in the first place, this was possibly the worst burger I've ever had in my entire life. It was cheap, cheap meat, sauce was way spicy but not tasty, way overcooked. Bad, all around. Twice, while we are sitting there, managers came over to check on how everything was... and even leave business cards (?). Second time, I did decide to speak shyly up, saying the burger wasn't exactly my cup of tea. The removed the item from our bill, and gave me their apologies. And, as we had mentioned it was our anniversary, our server did drag us to the center of the place and force us to sing "You Are My Sunshine" in front of everyone. Very cute, Joe's! But that's the stuff you should expect if you're going there, it's fun kitsch. Service: 5 stars Fun: 5 stars Food: Me, 1 star... maybe zero. Hubby, 4 stars Cost (for what you get): 2 stars (a little too pricey) I won't be back, but I'm sure my husband will. Look for him as the guy with crabs.
(4)Frank L.
I have been to JCS twice in the past two months. What stands out to me is the service. JCS has a schmarmy service approach where the survey is acting like you are all best buds. On one occasion I watched a "trainer" direct a girl to act like an idiot. I am not your bud, holmes or the man. Now functionally both times the service is heavy on the "Office Space" type of flair but short on refilling drinks or checking back. On one occasion we waited forever for the check. This was from the "trainer" and his trainee. They just never came back. I went to the bar, asked for the check and tipped appropriately (bad). The food....? Really average. The crab last night (not me) really was tasteless. I can think of better ways to drop money.
(2)Lauren L.
How many times do boys drag me here? Too many. I think it's like once every other week. I get the po' boy. It tastes nothing like it's supposed to but it's the only decent thing I can find on the menu. They do NOT have good crab which would fool anyone by the name of their restaurant. Service is very very slow even in between their songs and dances. Desserts are lacking which is unexpected coming from a chain. Chains should have kick ass desserts. I signed up for their email service online and get coupons at a rate of 1 per month. Free appetizers. The garlicky mussels are good and don't make me fart. The crab dip is not superb contrary to what the waitress will tell you.
(2)Chelsey W.
This is my favorite place to eat when I want to splurge. It is a splurge because I must have a crab daddy feast each time, usually with a bucket of hot craw fish too! Yum. Their food has been spot on each time I have went. My boyfriend is not as fond as me, he said that the portions seemed small compared to the Joe's in San Diego last time we went. I thought the portions were large and fair. I really wanted to write this review because as I mentioned this is my favorite place, I chose to go there on my birthday on 3/9/14. We did not get there until around 10:50 p.m. and I was not even sure we would be served because they closed at 12 a.m. but I was worried their kitchen may be closed. Well I was totally THAT PERSON coming right before close to order a huge meal. I was very happy when they checked and made sure they could serve us everything and then gave us a seat. I mean they are open until 12, but a lot of places stop serving at a certain point. We were served fast and friendly and they wished me happy birthday while checking my ID. Most of all they did not seem annoyed that we were the last people there, starting a huge meal at 11. They were actually having fun with their jobs and not being too serious, like cleaning up and singing in good nature. It is nice to see people serving us that are not miserable, and are making the most of closing time with a good attitude even with customers. I have had so many people give me the death eye or just be obviously miserable. It was a nice change. It was also a Saturday night and we left around midnight when they were closing. They served me dessert at midnight too. I always have a server who is just as attentive as they need to be without being formal or checking in too often. I have only gone at night though. I always get just what I expect, good crab and a fun environment. Oh and the amazing s'more dessert they have is to die for! I want to get 2 sometimes... yum. I appreciate this place and hope to see more people have a good experience there, but you know what they say about reviews, people usually only come here to give one when they really have something bad to say. So don't let every bad review deter you, take them with a grain of salt. And butter and lemon.
(5)Sanford R.
My first time at Joe's Crab Shack was actually quite good, so I am surprised by the low rating so far. I am not even a fan of seafood myself, but the lobster we had was pretty awesome! I think it may have been my first time ever even trying lobster to be honest. I got a kick out of wearing the bib, which was definitely necessary as this was a messy meal. It ended up being pretty expensive, but I would probably return because we had a lot of fun.
(4)Scott C.
I took my daughter to Tucson to tour the University of Arizona and ended up at this "place" for dinner on a non-descript Tuesday night. The smell should have driven us out at the moment we walked through the door but we decided to stay and tough it out. Place reminds me of Hooters without the clown costumes and they happen to serve fried fish instead. In all honesty, the fish wasn't horrible but there was nothing here to draw me back or impress me in any way. Save the cash and find a Long John Silvers with a Taco Bell attached and go to town!
(1)Jolene S.
Wow where to begin. Got here for an early lunch today and the place was empty. We still had to wait over 40 minutes for our food. My husband got a cheesy chicken an I got simply grilled salmon. We finally get our food and the salmon already looks way over cooked I got very little vegetables and the crispy potatoes were burnt. The cheesy chicken was loaded with a cheese that was sticky like paste, way over cooked rice that was nasty tasting and broccoli that wasn't cooked. We might as well had fresh broccoli from the store. The chicken was dry and sticky and just gross. Salmon was nasty over cooked and has no seasoning what so ever. Waitress ask us how everything is we say it's not that great. Manager comes over and says what can we do to make it better we are being very nice about the whole thing and say nothing we are just kinda turned off by their food now so I don't want them to remake food or order anything different. So we ask for the check, not eating any of the food. The waitress comes back and says my manager comped it. Thought that was very nice of them, but then my husband said well we can at least pay for our drinks and they actually made us pay for drinks. Then the manager says here's a $20.00 gift certificate to come back and see us followed by the statement next time you can order the crab cause that's what we do best. Then went on to say that they changed the recipe on the cheesy chicken and well the salmon was simply grilled. That's like saying order the crab cause the rest of our menu sucks. Who says that really stand by your food that you serve to the public and make it as awesome as you can. Especially when it's $15 bucks a plate. Thanks for the nice anniversary lunch date with my hubby Joe's Crab Shack.
(1)Eleanor S.
Went in for lunch on Friday last week. The waitress was very pushy, kept trying to persuade us to try different things. Even tried to get me to order an alcoholic beverage after I said I couldn't because I was driving. I ordered off the lunch menu after first being told I couldn't because it was Saturday! The food was fine.
(2)Tyler E.
The reviews here almost made me not go to Joe's. But I am so glad I did. The service here was beyond incredible and the food of course was fantastic :) Whatever happened caused the previous reviews must have been fixed. Must go
(5)John H.
Great place but a bit expensive. I still like to go there on special occasions only because of the prices. Still, the food is good and worth an experience.
(3)Barek K.
My wife and my experience, was AMAZING! Service and food was outstanding! We will definitely go back for more. The manager, Mark and staff were friendly and professional. Completely helpful and curtious for all our needs. It is easy to see after talking to Mark, that he takes pride in his store, staff and food quality. Thank you for the amazing food and service! Thank you!
(5)Rocco M.
stay away from the southern fried maine lobster,or should I say essence of lobster...Not worth the price for some barely detectable lobster and breading!
(2)Kevin S.
Server was very upbeat and understandable. He got our order without repeat and the food was AMAZING! Plus there was quite enough food for the 3 of us :). Although after we were all done, it took forever to get the check because the waiter didn't come back to the table for a while
(4)Alex F.
So, why did I think a crab shack in Tucson would be good? My first clue that I had made a mistake was when we waited a solid five minutes for someone to show up to seat us. Once the hostess noticed us, she had to clean a table before we could be seated. There were plenty open, but none clean. Our waiter was reasonably attentive, but he always seemed like he was in a hurry. My expectations for the food weren't too high, but it turned out to be decent. Overpriced and not amazing, but decent for a seafood chain in the desert.
(2)Vonne M.
I'm so glad everyone else agrees with me on this. Joe's Crab Shack is a poor excuse for a Seafood restaurant. Okay one star for having a cool, fun, lively atmosphere, but if you are a staunch seafood foodie that has had seafood in a variety of places you will be disappointed. The first meal I had was salmon and shrimp. Dry and bland. I'm forgiving so I came back about a year later. Different meal and same blandness. Both times the food didn't taste right and they were dry. Pros: Fun Atmosphere Fairly nice waiters Cons: Terrible seafood Expensive
(1)Brittany A.
I'm from Baltimore and I've really, really been missing my MD blue crabs. Life in the desert just hasn't been the same for me. My sweet fiance decided to take me on my first trip to Joe's Crab Shack to satisfy my hankerin' for crab. I was really hesitant. I'm a seafood snob. Specifically, a crab snob. There is nothing that will beat Chesapeake Bay blue crabs. But I have to say, I had such a great experience here that I would go back any day of the week. We were seated immediately (around 5PM on a Saturday) and our waiter greeted us quickly. He was quick with the drinks and was very prompt and attentive but not pushy or annoyingly clingy. He made sure our drinks were never empty and neither were our plates. We got the crab dip as an appetizer and it was amazing! We got the classic steampot and split it and it was more than enough food for the both of us. The crabs were hot and delicious. The corn on the cob was gross but I guess nobody really eats that. The shrimp was hot and fresh too. While we were eating (we were there maybe an hour and a half), they danced to Stayin' Alive. I cracked up. I didn't know about this part because I've never been here. They also danced to Cotton Eyed Joe. Then there were two birthdays where they made the birthday people's "wishes come true" by making them do something they always wanted to do - i.e., the lady behind us wanted to be a cheerleader so they made her cheer while they sang happy birthday. A few tables over, the gentleman wanted to be a model so they made him a mock runway and made him walk down it while they sang happy birthday. The people were great sports about it and it made for a really funny show. The food was hot, delicious, and prompt. The place was clean and the view was nice. The music wasn't too loud (except when they turned it up to dance). I could hear just fine at my table even with two large parties in the nearby area. We had a very lovely date night and I'm glad we went. It was pretty expensive but it's good for a special treat (just not birthdays :P)
(5)Asli B.
Not sure why this place got really bad reviews. I have been to other Joe's, we used to go to the one in Sacramento very often and besides being a smaller version of it, I thought this one also had the same standards. Our crabs were pretty tasty, shrimp coctail was really good too. Server was a friendly guy, the decor is always the same. Maybe it's because I love seafood , I can eat anything that comes out of the sea. Tucson unfortunately is not the best place on earth for seafood and in my opinion Joe's helps to improve this fact. Prices are a little high but it's crab so no surprise there. So overall, I like this place and will be back when I have the craving to eat some decent crab.
(4)karen r.
I'll begin by saying this was my first visit to Joe's Crab Shack and despite the stories I heard about it being overpriced and lackluster food, I opted to try it myself. Loving lobster more than crab I ordered the Arctic steampot which had a whole lobster. There was absolutely no flavor in any of the food in the pot except the smoked sausage. The lobster also was rubbery leading me to believe it was pre-cooked. Not wanting to complain in front of my friends, I came home and filed a complaint online. The manager Mark called me within a couple of hours of posting. He did not address the rubbery, tasteless lobster so I asked him if it was pre-cooked. He said they can't get live lobsters in so it comes in frozen and cooked and they drop it in water for 4 1/2 minutes....and that's exactly what it tasted like..... all the flavor drained out of it and overcooked....... he offered for me to come in again, but I said, "why, unless you get fresh lobster it's only going to taste the same..... no flavor." I told him there should be no excuse for the price they charge people that they should have the lobster, crab and other seafood shipped in live. I also noted that it was a Friday afternoon and there were very few customers dining there. I guess that says it all right there. I will never eat at this restaurant again...................
(2)Julia R.
I grew up in the pacific NW, so once in a while I get a jones for some seafood. Since the wait at Red Lobster is ridiculous, we decided to try Joe's. BIG mistake. The place is loud, the decor is junky, and the food is way overpriced. The staff is very in-your-face and tries to play the audience-participation card, practically pulling you out of your chair to disco dance with them. Next time, I'll get some frozen crab legs from the grocery store, microwave-steam them in wet paper towels, and spare myself (and my wallet) an embarassing evening.
(1)Toby J.
was in here the other day ordered shrimp and crab legs. They tasted fresh, not over cooked, fantastic and reasonably priced. i am not sure about anything else on the menu but I can vouch for these two item i ate. VERY GOOD.
(4)Erika D.
No thanks. This place is a combination between a California hippie frat house and a playground. I didn't care for the "dirty garage" atmosphere either. If you don't like: - A LOUD atmosphere with noisy music and bad singing - Lots of children running around your table screaming - watching staff members dance, sing, and clap every 15 minutes - Unappetizing food served cold for $$ - Sitting next to a window encrusted with dirt and hair (Ahhhhch!) - Staff who disappear for long periods of time.....then I recommend.... Stay super away...far away.
(1)Joey H.
Our waitress was so amazing! I don't know why she got wrangled by Joe's. Their food slightly less appetizing compared to the other Joe's I've been to and they maintain their ridiculously high prices. My husband enjoyed himself. His steam pot kicked his butt though. We had a pretty good time. It really was our service that made the difference.
(3)Jhymae N.
We have ate at this location a few times the past year and it was typically good; however, this visit was fairly poor. We sat at the bar to have dinner and our regular bartender was good and friendly. But, the steam bucket my husband got was not anything like before, no spices/Old Bay seasoning or very minimal at best. We told the waiter/bartender and he didn't even offer to send it back to have them re-season or make a new pot. I ordered the Salmon Orleans; the salmon was a decent size portion but the crawfish tails were just about microscopic as well as the shrimp, dry and overcooked. The women's restroom was a complete disaster! Water and paper was all over the floor, toilet seat covers were ripped out of the compartment holders, doors were filthy yet there were 3 young teenage waitresses all in the bathroom talking and carrying on when they should have cleaned it up for their patrons. VERY DISAPPOINTED AND PROBABLY WON'T RETURN. Especially considering how much you pay for their food - not a cheap place to eat at all.
(2)Elizabeth L.
I don't see how this place has gotten so few stars so far! I love Joe's!! We went for lunch as a family, which of course can get pricey for seafood, but for a land locked state, Joe's is a great place to curb your sea faring cravings. It was my daughters birthday and the staff sang to her and embarassed her a bit, which of course is hilarious. I had the Sam Adams Steampot, which as a little of everything and it was all delicious (and I'm from Oregon where you can go fishing for it yourself, but this was almost as good)! Even my kids who don't enjoy seafood had choices that made them happy (chicken). I think the atmosphere is fun and the staff polite. I have been here several times and have yet to be disappointed.
(4)Casey D.
There is a Joe's Crab Shack in Ca where I moved from that is amazing and I love it there, so I had high expectations for this one and was a little disappointed. The service was slow and the shrimp was over cooked quite a bit. It had the same fun atmosphere but just wasn't the same. I'd be willing to give it a second chance though, it wasn't terrible
(3)Bennie M.
I don't get to eat @ Joe's as often as I'd like, since they're a 45 minute drive from my house. I must say that every time I've been here, I've never been disappointed. They really do an excellent job on their crab!
(5)Andrew G.
Decorations, are decent...what you'd expect in a place called a crab shack. But nothing to get excited over. The food sucks, no bones about it. Its overpriced for the portion that you get, and your shellfish will be so overcooked as to be disgusting. I got the New Orleans Pot, looking forward to the Crawfish; and was so beyond disappointed. The crawfish was disgusting, with over a quarter of the fish being inedible. The shrimp was over cooked. We waited way to long to get our drinks, considering only a handful of tables were filled. Last time I'll be going there.
(1)Rebecca F.
I had never eaten at a Joe's Crab Shack before. My boyfriend and I had decided to take his Mom there for her Birthday dinner (along with his niece and my 5 yr old son). I have NEVER been more turned off about food in my entire life!!! They may have seemed perky and upbeat, but nothing helped the fact that we were there waiting for our food for almost 2 HOURS AFTER we ordered!!!! I was so proud of my son for sitting at the table for so long and not eating!!! They even tried to "discount" our food because we were NOT going to pay $100 for a 2 HOUR WAIT!!! (And they weren't even busy! We saw so many employees standing around, talking, laughing and not tending to their customers) We asked them to please pack up our food because we just wanted to leave at that point. They packaged our food and we went on our way... When we got home (right around the corner), the food was cold, not in full portions and totally tasteless. I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for what happened that night, and they were making tons of excuses. Talk about a Crabby Birthday Dinner! We will NEVER go to ANY Joe's Crab Shack after that! (Note to Joe's Crab Shack: Excuses don't matter when people are hungry, ESPECIALLY on special occasions or with young children... If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen)
(1)Leo B.
Expensive and not that good. Let me edit this. The food isn't that bad especially for Tucson but it is expensive. Its advertisements on TV hawking $5 appetizers is basically a lie. You muse order an entree for each $5 app! The menu isn't much clearer as it looks like you can order all apps for $5 if you buy one entree. Bait and switch. I complained and the manger took off some money. She said last week all the appetizers were ringing up as $5 but then it was changed. A gentleman came over and thanked me for complaining. Overall it seems like a fun place to go for a drink or two and a get together with some friends but corporate needs to get their act together.
(1)Anthony B.
took my wife here for a date night and holy cow the food has just gone downhill it was soggy and the seafood pots all tasted the same sorry i wont be back
(2)Jay K.
"Meh" would basically sum up the Joe's experience for me. I grew up on the coast of southern Maine, so I can be a bit of a prat about good seafood. Living in the desert has proven to be a challenge, when it comes to my periodic undersea urges, for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, I had some money to burn and decided to take the fam' to Joes. Meh, meh, and more meh. We started with some shrimp that was fine, if a bit bland, and only barely cooked through, and moved on to a crab variety pot. The dungeness crab tasted as though it had been in a deep-freeze for the better part of the past decade, and the Alaskan sweet crab wasn't much better. At least this stuff seemed well-cooked. When it came to the sides, well-cooked was a bit of an understatement. The corn was steamed to the point that the kernels were falling apart, and the potato's starch and skin were only tenuously holding it together. I will say this: the portions were ample. My girlfriend and I were able to split the shrimp app and crab pot (for one) easily between us. We usually don't get desserts when we eat out, but decided to splurge this time and order the praline brownie sundae (or whatever ludicrous, vaguely nautical name they gave it). I wish we hadn't. The brownie was like something I could buy from the counter of a 7-11, the vanilla ice cream was so-so, and there was but a lonely teaspoon of caramel at the bottom of the glass. I could have made it at home while blindfolded and drunk, and probably for a quarter of the price. All-in-all, Joe's reminds me why I generally loathe chain restaurants. You pay through the nose for the "experience" of the place, and then cross your fingers and hope the food is A) cooked well-enough and B)doesn't give you a coronary before the end of the meal. At Joe's, the "experience" is tortoise-slow wait service and the pleasure of listening to the waiters angrily belt out AM-gold favorites of the '70s. Have you ever been to a dive bar on a Friday at 1:30am? The singing is a little bit like that, only minus the alcohol, and devoid of any real mirth. Joe's is one of those places that blows its financial wad on making you feel like you've come to a wacky, irreverent land of crab, where the staff is kooky and anything could happen. The problem is that everything seems forced and choreographed, and you can't help but be pained, given how hard their corporate machine seems to be trying. If the super classy "I got crabs at Joe's" t-shirts aren't enough, the self-consciously kitschy bibs may put you over the top. This is coupled by the fact that the actual food, which is their ostensible stock-in-trade, is relatively miserable. Quick side bar here: the waiter asked me if I wanted him to put on my bib for me, and I figured he had to be making some kind of grotesque joke, so I laughed him off. Then, I saw no fewer than four other people, over the course of our meal, request said privilege. Really? Is that the premium one pays for, nowadays: the honor of flushing one's self-respect down the crapper and being infantilized in public? As Yakoff Smirnoff would say, "What a country!" Joe's is, quite clearly, a product of an over-stimulated, over-fed culture, in which mediocrity is passable, as long as its loud and expensive enough. I think I'll pass from now on.
(2)Brooke R.
Super expensive for fish in a land locked state. And no, it's not good. The taste comes from the deep frying. You're paying royalty to watch the waiters dance and sing to old songs every half hour, meanwhile your food is at a stand still behind the counter and your water glass will never get refilled. For kids that have parents that don't mind spending a fortune for their happiness this place would be a good place to go to, but otherwise, no. Just don't do it.
(2)Surranna V.
I loved this place. There were 4 of us and we all ordered the big pots of crab, I can't remember what they are called but mine came with all three types of crab, snow, king, and dungeonus as well as potatoes and corn seasoned with spicy broil. It was so good. I didn't even look at the rest of the menu but I saw most people eating the big pots of random seafood so I figured it was why people were there. As far as the rest of the menu who knows but my big pot of crab was great, there was big legs and claws, yummy! Needless to say all 4 of us thought the crab was pretty damn good for a chain. I also had a very tasty spicy bloody mary, I was shocked that it was so good. The huge chocolate cake we shared was like a big brownie, it was super rich, moist, and dense, yummy. It wasn't cheap but with all the entertainment that was super funny, the delicious food, and good service I will absolutely be back. The staff all looked like they were enjoying the dancing which made it fun to watch.
(4)Thomas R.
My wife and I went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner on an early Friday evening. We were seated immediately, our server appeared immediately, explained the options, took our drink order and returned with them and took our orders. Our food came in a timely manner, was very well prepared and delicious. Our server checked on us regularly, and was professional, polite and friendly throughout. I think the people who are rating Joe's so low are likely self-centered and immature at worst, delusional at best.
(5)lee c.
Well it was a while ago when we stopped in. First thing I see is a purse wide open on the greeting counter when we stopped by. We always eat joes crab shack, love 'em. Well, if your going to run a business with local help, have them show up early and clean the place. Or table was sticky, yuk, but the food was good. wake up people! I am your customer, I spend money don't make me wonder about your business when i walk through the door. Shit if your staff is hung over from the night before have your conversation in the back and not at the front counter with your purse sitting there. I am a smart guy and can add things up pretty quick. Have your staff dress down but dress clean, awake for their shift, in touch alert. whats that? oh your right i can spend money where I WANT TO!!
(2)Diane W.
We dined at Joe's Crab Shack three week ends in a row. First time I ordered the sea fool platter and it was copious and good. We had their grilled shrimp appetizer and it was tasty. My husband ordered fish and chips and the fish was fresh. He substituted FF for onion rings and they were good. The second time we ate there, I had one of their sea food Pots cooked in beer. It was o.k.. Not as good as I expected. A lot of work to get the meat out of the crab legs. Lobster claws were on the small size. We ordered their fried calamari as an appetizer and it was very good. Served with tomato sauce for dipping and it all was good. My husband ordered the fish an chips again and the fish was fresh and good. The third time we ate there, it was very disappointing. I ordered their famous "crab cakes". The crab did not taste fresh and the cakes were far too salty. Probably trying to mask the old crab meat they used. Did not finish my dinner. My husband had his favorite fish and chips again, and that time the fish tasted fishy and not fresh. The wait staff is very friendly and they explain the menu well. The service was good too. We ordered their Key Lime Pie for dessert. They served a big square piece of it and it was very good. After the poor 3rd meal of old fish and crab, not sure we would go back. If we do, we will speak with the manager about our last meal there.. It is a lively and somewhat noisy place, but also a fun place with inconsis
(3)Frieda S.
We had only gone to Joe's once before, maybe 15 years ago. At that time the service was achingly slow, I never got any silverware, and no one refilled my iced tea. But last Saturday afternoon we decided to give it another try because we thought our pre-teen daughter might enjoy the atmosphere. Which she did. Unfortunately, she got to enjoy it for almost an hour before the food arrived. The waitress was very apologetic but I can't understand how seafood, which is cooked as little as possible, could take so long. We had two orders of fried shrimp and one of crab cakes--drop the shrimp in the fryer for eight minutes and Voila!--done! Lunch for three including tip (yes, we tipped) came to $66. Ouch.
(1)Melinda C.
We ate at Joe's on Ash Wednesday (2/22/12) and saw a big improvement from last time we tried to eat there and had walked out before even being seated. That was in April 2011. It seems the new manager, Tajonna Lawler, brought in from Chandler, has been working on retraining staff. Having eaten at the Chandler restaurant, we know how well a Joe's can run, so we know she's a good manager. There's hope for this one. The host wasn't at the stand when we came in, but after a second a waiter seated us. Our waiter, Rich Malin, came over immediately, told us about the menu, took our drink order and let us decide what to eat. We ordered a couple of crab pots, but made some changes (no potatoes replaced with broccoli). It took quite a while for our food to come. When it did come, Rich checked it and saw the changes hadn't been made so he went and got our broccoli. He was on the ball and handled everything quickly and efficiently. The food was delicious. The crab was cooked perfectly. We will try Joe's again after Rich's great service. The kitchen staff needs to pay attention to order changes and work faster as the restaurant wasn't busy. I hope they can get it together because there aren't many other places in town to get great crab dinners!
(3)Casey M.
It's like going to a whole different place! A place different from our own land! It's like I got taken into an outer realm, a dimension not known in this life! It's like time slows down and you embark on an adventure to gaze at eternity itself! An eternity filled with bad service and long wait times for my check. Waited almost two hours for our check. Do you know how long that is? Lord of the Rings is only 40 minutes longer. I could've embarked on a fantastical adventure with Hobbits and big evil eyeballs. Instead, I went here. Never again.
(1)