Our first time here for dinner, we were seated inside near the bar in a booth. No waiting. Our waiter Adrian was also managing the bar. He was very friendly and got our order correct and timely. Hush puppies came out with the salads, that was a nice surprise.We ordered the crab cakes as an appetizer, they were delicious cooked just right. The clam chowder was bland, that was the only negative thing about the whole meal. Our dinners were both excellent: strip steak with crab cake and the broiled stuffed shrimp. The crab imperial stuffing was very rich tasting, just fabulous! Good serving sizes, we had lots to wrap up to go. We would definitely come back here again.
(4)
Jonathan R.
I should have known better....crab bag was an hour and half wait so we headed to Higgins Big mistake Waitress was beyond terrible The best part of the meal was the corn on the cob Crab cakes were ok Crabs were small and not worth the price Stuffed shrimp were miniscule Save your money
(2)
Steven M.
Let's start off with a big pro - we came on a Saturday night and got a table right away. 2 adults and a toddler. They have a lot of seating, and several nearby restaurants had wait times. Some may see this as a sign that the restaurant isn't the best quality - I'm a bit more hopeful than that. We did the all you can eat crabs and shrimp and got a smaller plate of shrimp for the little one. Server was pretty good at checking in on us. Food arrived in a decent amount of time. The crabs, yes, they are a bit small as reviews have stated. I don't know what you're really expecting when you do an all you can eat crab feast; they're not going to give you the cream of the crop in that situation unless you pay significantly more. I wasn't deterred. Crabs and shrimp were well seasoned with old-bay and came with butter and vinegar on the side. You also get corn on the cob, fries, chicken, and hush puppies. As much as you can eat. It's not like a buffet - they bring the food to your table. It was great. Honestly, it was great food. I have no complaints. It's not the best but definitely a bit above average. I will hit this place up next time I'm in the area. The prices were right, food was very good, they serve you timely, and we got a seat right away on a busy night. You can't beat that sort of combination in a tourist town.
(5)
Chrissy L.
Wish there was a zero stars options! Pros from our visit : Anastasia the waitress was excellent. The hush puppies are amazing. The corn on the cob was great also! Cons: Everything else Everything was cold, hard or just not good. We ended up tipping her and leaving. Actually a few other tables left also. The manager was by the bat hunched over the entire time playing on his cell phone. What a joke !
(1)
Andy B.
Always delicious. We ate here as a party of nine for lunch before heading out of town and back to reality on Sunday. Service. We were immediately sat and drink orders placed. Hush puppies were delivered upon our waiter greeting us and the menu explained. Food Lots of kids options here, both seafood and not. A simple Pb&j always makes me kids happy. I ordered an appetizer of crab legs and ribs for my lunch. Who would think that a crab place would have amazing ribs. These fall off the bone ribs were delicious. Crab legs were on a nice platter hot and warm. Atmosphere. This is what I imagine a crab house to look like, paper on the tables, concrete floors with crab decor all over the place. The food was delicious and the place was fun to eat at.
(5)
Amanda C.
My son and I shared the snow crab meal and couldn't finish it! Generous portion and our waiter was nice. They were a little overwhelmed so the service was a bit slow but still a good experience. Stay away from the steak though, it was just very bland.
(4)
Greg B.
Carry out order. Called in and order was handled well for crabs. No oversell or fluff. Arrived and it was what we expected - half bushel, fresh steamed in old bay and ready to go. The reviews are a little brutal for this place, but we are given a very strong recommendation. It paid off. I will be back for crabs next year,
(4)
Benjamin W.
I'm not sure what people expect from a crab house, and from all you can eat crabs. My wife and I came here around 5 pm on a Saturday and got sat at the bar. The bartender waited on us and was a treat. We got AYCE crabs and were not disappointed. The crabs will be smaller because they're all you can eat! That's the way it always is, so if you don't like that, order larger ones by the dozen or bushel. And our bartender brought out a second tray without us even asking! I've never had that happen at any other AYCE crab place. This was a very enjoyable experience! The only gripe I had was that the bathrooms could've been a little cleaner, but it's not unexpected for a crab shack.
(5)
Drew S.
The crabs here were very good, as well were the steamed shrimp. The ribs on the other hand were dry, so I would certainly avoid them. Service and all were good, still a good option when looking for steamed crabs and comparing wait times
(3)
Drew L.
Ayce crabs a staple here. Everything else is sub par. Rockfish was dry, bland and rubber like. The ribs were cut into smaller portions, hard as a rock and doused with bbq sauce to cover up their poor quality. Sides were just ok. Come here for quantity, not quality. Prices are steep for what you get.
(2)
Adeline P.
Absolutely loved the fresh seafood here. I enjoyed the steamed shrimp, but I recommend the shrimp appetizer rather than the dinner because it's much cheaper and a better portion than the full dinner option. I also really appreciated the dining atmosphere. Higgins has a nautical theme and features a neat collection of sailing and navigational instruments. The food was expensive, but it was very tasty. The menu is limited to seafood items, but they have a nice selection of side dishes to accompany the fresh local seafood. If you're looking for fresh seafood in Ocean City, Higgins is the place for you!
(5)
Sandra S.
5 guests including 1 child $180 ( with tip) for mediocre food. The ribs were slathered in sauce. The steak was the frozen kind with the grill marks already on it. The chicken fingers kid meal was standard. The broiled platter had the driest piece of swordfish ever. The waitress was the best though. Very friendly and attentive. I don't think I'll eat there again. It's not about the money. The quality is just poor.
(3)
Ernie C.
Tried going to crab bag for dinner but wait was too long so we just figured stop here This place is mediocre at best! I ordered the AUCE ribs n shrimp. Ribs were bland and smothered in sauce. Shrimps were ok but some still had black vein on top Wife got the snow crabs. She said they were ok. Fries were blah. My nieces got the steak. They all only ate a little because they didn't like them And place isn't that cheap Go somewhere else
(2)
John W.
All you can eat crab legs gave my girlfriend the feeling of having to take a dump. 4 stars.
(4)
Gabrielle L.
This restaurant experience actually prompted me to join Yelp and write a review. My boyfriend and I went around 7pm on a Friday night. Fully expecting a wait I was surprised to be seated right away. We were seated outside at one of the various picnic tables. We waited a few minutes for our server and he got our food and drink order since by that time we knew what we wanted. I went with a small house salad and the 25 count steamed clams, my boyfriend got the AYCE steamed shrimp - that includes fries, corn, coleslaw and fried chicken. The food came out rather quickly but noticed immediately it looked subpar to other AYCE feasts in the area. The fries were a frozen battered variety, the coleslaw was DISGUSTING - like it had been spoiled (and I love coleslaw), we opened the corn that was steamed in the husk and there was a section of it that was black and rotten (not really their fault since they couldn't tell but we never got a replacement), the shrimp were tough and flavorless. We also never received the chicken that comes the meal- even after our server said it would be right out. As for my clams, they were so dirty and muddy I could not eat them. I had to actually wipe the muck off any to try them. He brought my boyfriend the wrong beer but at that point we decided to just let it go. We had to wait a very long time in between visits from our server who did not seem overly concerned with the quality of the meal. Save your money and go elsewhere. Not worth it.
(1)
Real V.
Seafood is below average, Service is way below average. Whenever we ordered food we were asked twice, and the first seating we said was right below the air conditioner was so cold. They did serve us kids birthday party cakes however we had to tell them four times to make it to happen to different employees.
(2)
Eric V.
Stopped in for the all you can eat crabs.We were seated as soon as we walked in.WOW ! No wait time!!! Service was excellent and they made sure that we always had hot crabs on our tray and our glasses were topped off. I was impressed with their seasoning.True Maryland style with Old Bay and course salt( it's all in the seasoning and amount of steam time when it comes to the taste of crabs )Bonus with the crabs is they are now getting them local. Support our local watermark !Corn was in the husk and tasty too.Atmosphere was warm and inviting. A great place for families to dine after a day at the beach or sit out under the covered porch and enjoy your crabs in the shade and breeze.
(5)
Rosalind M.
We come here every year for a family fun filled crab eating marathon! It's very fun, a little expensive but a great, quintessential Maryland experience! Love ocmd!
(5)
Eric M.
This is currently our favorite all you can eat crabs on the beach, good size crabs, good customer service, and fresh cold beer!
(5)
Lindsey L.
Our Waitress was awesome, except the food wasn't. The AYCE crabs were terrible! Crabs were small and didn't have any meat to them, not to mention they were very dry. When my boyfriend and I got home we were sick to our stomachs. We won't be coming back anytime soon. :/
(1)
Lisa C.
My husband and I had just arrived in OC and found this place when driving down 528 from our resort. Definitely should have checked out reviews beforehand. When we walked, we were told there would be a 30 to 40 min wait but there were no other parties waiting. Then "miraculously" we were seated less than 5 min later. This should have been a sign of what was to come. We sat there for a while before the server came over to get our drink order so we just ordered our food then too. My husband ordered a soft shell crab sandwich and I ordered fried shrimp. They server hush puppies while you wait. This should have been the next sign. Then we waited and waited and waited. Hubby had ordered a salad but even that did not come out until the rest of the food arrived. All I can say about the food is T E R R I B L E and WAY overpriced. Husband's sandwich was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. Tiny crabs on top of barely toasted yet soggy white sandwich bread for $13. My shrimp for $23 was mediocre at best. Had to ask for cocktail sauce and wait for the server to remember to bring it. I will say she kept my hubby's water glass full which was the best thing about our visit. Do yourself a favor and keep driving.
(1)
John C.
The wait staff was very pleasant, but the kitchen was quite slow and the food took quite a while. We ordered the Crab Cake special which was underwhelming to say the least. What's worse, the baked potatoes were very much undercooked. All in all, quite a disappointment. For the money, there are much better choices in Ocean City.
(2)
Jessica L.
I love all you can eat crabs, but I have had WAY better elsewhere. The crabs came out looking like they had been sitting for a while and judging by the temperature, they had. Only 6 crabs come out at first then a piece of dried out over fried chicken and an ear of corn. After 6 crabs are gone you wait for another 20 minutes to get more. Its as if they want you to get tired of waiting or eat the dried out chicken piece so you don't ask for more crabs. Service was ok. Place was clean but the crabs were not spectacular by any means.
(2)
Andrew D.
One word describes this place: overpriced! We stopped by on our way down south for our next mini golf course in our marathon of mini golf and were somewhat surprised at how empty it was for being the height of the lunch hour. We are no longer surprised. My wife ordered the shrimp skewer starter for lunch, which had a (6) next to it. We assumed that meant she was getting six skewers. No, it meant she was getting six shrimp on one skewer, at a whopping $7.99.nit came with nothing on the side but a sad looking orange spiral. I ordered the Maryland crab soup, which was basically vegetable soup out of a can with a couple pieces of crab thrown in, and the chicken tenders (4 tenders), again with just a sad looking orange spiral as accompaniment. With a small beer and a diet coke, this fairly pathetic meal came to an eye watering $32.48. I think it's fair to say that we would not recommend this place to the unwary traveler.
(1)
Stephanie M.
My family ate at Higgins on 7/20/14 and 7/24/14. We first ate at Higgins in 2013 and had a decent experience. When we returned to Ocean City in July 2014 we thought about trying other places that had better reviews but came back to Higgins because of the lower prices. The crabs are small but it's all you can eat so you still leave full. On 7/20/14 we had a nice but unenthusiastic waitress. The crabs were inconsistent. Although they were small, some were quite good and some had an odd taste. Still, we returned on 7/24/14 hoping our last visit was a fluke. And we had much better luck this time. Our waiter was great - he had a great sense of humor and really seemed to enjoy his job. The crabs were much better, too. Still small but they tasted great! We were glad we gave Higgins a second chance that week. Neither time was too crowded even at dinner time. I think this place might be hit or miss but they are definitely less expensive than the other places we priced.
(3)
Doug G.
Took my family as our first stop in OC for our week vacation. The food was a disappointment at best. My kids got the crabs and chicken kids meals, the chicken looked good but the two crabs a piece they got we so light there was barely any crab meat in any of them. I got the cajun catfish. For $20 I figured I would get a decent size piece of fish. It was very small and hardly worth the money. Their food is very over priced.
(1)
Kerry A.
Wow! What a great experience! Our server Billy made sure we had a great time. He was so wonderful, efficient, and accommodating. It was like he knew the second we walked in that we were there to destroy crabs. On top of his game, witty (but not over bearing), and extremely pleasant to be around. Our meal and overall experience was that much more enjoyable simply because of our waiter. Do yourself and your family a favor...next time you are in Ocean City, head over to Higgins and make sure you call ahead and ask for Billy....you certainly will not regret it!!!
(4)
Racquel P.
I was here at Higgins last week when it was a pretty dreary weekend in OCMD. We were a pretty big group (over 30+) so the weather being bad was kind of a blessing in disguise as they sat us all. The wait staff was pretty good - very nice, understanding, and patient with our party of 30+. However, the crabs were unfortunately nothing special. My table was considering the AYCE crabs, but they would be the small size ones. We figure we would get the dozen large crabs since we had them the day before at PGN and they were good/filling. For the table, we also got crab chowder, soft shell crab platter, and crab balls. We also got ears of corn. I am not sure how they serve the crabs here at Higgins in general, but I did request to go light on the old bay seasoning - when they came out, we had no seasoning on them at all. They did give us ramekins of seasoning but it would have tasted better if they were cooked in it. Also, the large crabs were kind of on the light side, and the claws were dry. I had really great large crabs at PGN so was disappointed with the crabs when I ate at Higgins. The soft shell crab platter was good when dipped in the vinegar. Not sure if I would come here again. It is definitely a huge place so if you are with a big party, then it's a n ok choice; however, I would probably go somewhere else as i have had better crabs at other places.
(3)
Rosalind T.
I came here last year and loved it!!! I came back this year and fell in love all over again and so did the rest of the family!! I sooooooo love their crabs and fried chicken it's a shame I was too hungry I forgot to get a pic lol... The only complaint I have was my medium crabs came out and they were extremely small but Our waitress Kristin straightened it out very quickly she was awesome... I wanna go back again tonight but I'm outnumbered hopefully tomorrow they will give in... Until Nxt time
(5)
Jim S.
This is an all you can eat place that should be a $$$ price point. It is very expensive if you do not want the all you can eat options as the small plate options are few and still $15. I ordered the fried shrimp for $22 and it was a $12 value at best. The baked potato was cool, broccoli very small portion, and the shrimp were small while tasting frozen. Picture added. The all you can eat crab price was 29.99 and that is was most people were ordering so if you come I would think that is what you should get. The restaurant had a damp smell so we had dinner out side on picnic tables. The service was average and our food did not all come out at the same time and one person didn't get their dinner till we were almost done with ours. Not a place I will visit again.
(2)
Katy K.
I can only review the carry out steamed crabs not the sit-in restaurant. They were excellent crabs and full! We bought a half bushel for the night. We had plenty to pick for crab cakes for the next night. We had a coupon from one of the vacation coupon books. Our 1/2 bushel was $100 (size 2 which were med-large) plus 15 medium crab cakes for the next night totally worth it!
(5)
Donald P.
Great customer service! Crab feast was phenomenal and heavily seasoned. Crabs were small but it was all you can eat! Kid friendly atmosphere.
(4)
Vicky I.
Horrible Hostess, Horrible Customer Service I was there this weekend with my family a party of 12. And the hostess with bleach blonde hair first saw us and didn't even great us, she was talking among the other hostess. When they saw us standing there they ask how many of us where there and then told us that they didn't have any seat for us. Guest where coming in and they were being seated, even a party of 8. After I ask her if she could split us up she told us that we still had to wait an hour. Felt discriminated because we were a family with children and the people that where being seated where young adults. She never once apologies for the inconvenience. I asked her that I felt that she was being rude and why was she being rude to us and she had the nerve to reply back saying that we didn't know what we wanted and the other people that walked in did. I could just imagine what kind of service we would have had if we were seated.
(1)
Renee D.
I was so disappointed..we got crab cakes at a crab house and they were small and grey.. Really they had no flavor and I questioned if it was safe to eat. The meal came with corn and a iceberg lettuce salad. It was $63. We had no cocktails just ice tea .. The service was awful..Go to the crab cake factory down the street. We visited 9/11/2014
(1)
Nadine A.
Went to Higgins during dinner rush and 'Cruisers week' a busy time, one would think. I should known by the tumble weeds blowing through the parking lot that this place was a disaster. Walked in to a practically empty restaurant with plenty of employees who really enjoy rolling their eyes. Checked out the menu which was absolutely way OVER priced. $45 for AYCE shrimp and king crab legs and $22 for an 8oz N.Y. strip steak. Being too exhausted and hungry to go anywhere else I decided to stay. The eye rolling waitress delivered us a salad that was more brown than green and tomatoes that were more the consistency of a paste. When I asked her to bring me a fresh salad I guess she thought I would be too dumb to notice that she just picked out the brown lettuce, forgot the mushy tomatoes and brought me the same exact salad back. Okay fine. I'll let the salad fly. I'm starving. After listening to 4/5 waitresses incessantly gossip at the bar while waiting for our dinner, we get served their 'famous' chicken which is included in the AYCE. First few bites were not too bad, then I pulled it apart only to see the thing still had a pulse. It wasn't just a little under cooked, it was still bleeding. That's when I decided to skip the salmonella poisoning and leave. Tried waving down a waitress but they were still busy gossiping. Finally had enough, had to get up and ask for a manager and made my complaints known. He was a very nice guy. Apologetic and kind. Unlike the waitresses who found it comical I was pissed. That's okay with me because you just saved me a bunch of money on a tip!
(1)
Carrie O.
Here's the short version of this review: save your money. And I do not say this lightly, trust me. There was unfortunately a huge 2 hour wait at the Crab Bag up the street; we weren't willing to wait that long, so we elected to come here. In retrospect, we SHOULD have stayed put, because while these crabs weren't the absolute worst I've ever had - they are damned close. We only had a 45 minute wait for a table, and the server was very personable. Unfortunately, things started going downhill fast. The hush puppies were actually pretty good. So was the corn (steamed in the husk) - I will say that the corn was damned awesome. But when you're paying 100+ for a meal, the corn had better not be the best part of the dinner. We got the #1 AYCE special - just the steamed crabs with the ubiquitous fried chicken and fries stuff. Now, before any of you start up about how small the AYCE crabs are and how I should know better - I KNOW that they give you small and medium, and that's fine with us, we're native Marylanders and can put down dozens and dozens of them, so size makes no difference to us. The problem here wasn't the size - no crab house is actually in control of that. It was the way they were cooked. And a crab house IS in control of that. The first round of crabs were actually nearly ICE COLD. Now, I don't personally mind cold crabs - but seriously? This isn't the way to make a first impression, guys. As we proceeded to go through the batch, we started noticing more problems - these crabs were waterlogged. I mean, really, if you open a crab, you do NOT expect a ton of water to come dripping down your arms. NOT a good sign. I should have said something then and there, but I figured that, hey, it's a first batch, maybe the next will be better. The next one came - hey, wait a damned minute. We paid the 5-spot extra charge for males. Why do the backs of these crabs have a shape like the U.S. Capitol? Because they're FEMALES, maybe??? These were at least hot. But I tried opening one - and it literally would NOT OPEN. Not with fingers, a mallet, a knife, nothing. These crabs were SO overcooked that they actually would NOT open. My husband was going to eat them anyway, but I said "no, stop right now, this is not what we paid for". We waited for the server to come back - it took him a while - and we were like, "what is this crap?", only nicer. He did apologize profusely, to his credit, and said he'd bring out a new batch. Only it took him 25 minutes to do it. By this time, we were royally pissed off. The server only had 4 tables in the entire place. Three of which were starting to get angry about the service, the sad quality of the food, etc. I could hear complaints being raised all around, and was it any wonder? The server finally came back with a fresh lot of crabs. Okay, these were males, these were hot. But full of meat? That would be a no. Waterlogged, very little meat, just all-around bad. I have never had such awful crabs in my life, and I've been eating them for almost 40 years. Seriously? The table next to us finally got the manager and started a litany of complaints about the paltry food, service, etc. The manager took our server aside and I don't know what was said to him, but he came back and was like, "more?" and when I said, "No, I want the check", his face fell. I think he knew that he'd screwed up. Quite frankly, while the service was slower than a cold bottle of molasses, it was really the sub-par quality of the food that's brought this rating down to the bottom of the barrel. We should have waited for the Crab Bag - and it would have only been 45 minutes, as they called us while we were opening our ice cold crabs. More fools us. Final insult to injury: the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting, male and female alike. I actually stood up while using the restroom, that's how disgusting it was. Just completely unhygienic. Don't waste your money here. Seriously, trust us on this. You'll do better at Crab Bag, or PGN on 28th Street. Paying 100 dollars plus for this meal was an absolute travesty. I have never felt so ripped off in my life. NOT RECOMMENDED. Tip for Diabetics: IF you have to come here, the crabs, shrimp and ribs are of course safe - no carbs. Be careful with things like the fries or any breaded item. The hush puppies are not safe (unfortunate, because it's one of the better items that I'd had here). I was okay with my choices, but every diabetic is different. Plan accordingly. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. YMMV. Seek medical advice and tailor my review to your situation. I simply provide opinion.
(1)
Tony D.
This review is on this experience as whole. I came here for lunch with my girlfriend who wanted crab legs. I am not a huge seafood eater myself, so i ordered the fish and chips. I can honestly say they were the worst i have ever had. I know this would not be the specialty in a place like this, but i still expected better. They tasted like they were bought frozen from the grocery store and heated up in a microwave. My girlfriend tasted them and agreed. The fries also were not very good. They were not crisp and were not warm. My girlfriend said her crab legs were excellent. Also the hush puppies they bring out when you first arrive were very good. The waitress noticed my displeasure with my dish as I only ate 1 of the 3 fish and chips, but really didnt say anything about it. With no alcohol, our bill was around $60, which was much too high for what we got. They are much better places to go in OC. Dont waste your money.
(2)
Brad P.
Typical tourist trap in OC. Foods ok, crabs were small and not real hot. Our waitress was great and helpful. One of those places that you just go to if you have a big group to socialize while you eat.
(3)
Kristine O.
Terrible staff and service. Waited 20 minutes for service until we finally walked out. Too expensive to deal with such horrible service. Can't comment on food , but their all you can eat charges for extra. ??
(1)
L. Eliza C.
Yes I am a vegetarian and I only came here because all my house-mates were dying to come here. Pros: 1. My flesh eating friends seemed they were in heaven eating the crabs. 2. It is packed. Cons: 1. If you are a vegetarian, you are in TOUGH LUCK! 2. I can't believe this place will charge you $3 for a small side of broccoli which constitutes of ONE single small stalk, yes one stalk. There were 2 of us vegetarians in a group of 12 so we ordered about 12 sides of broccoli and we actually paid more than some of our crab eating friends.
(1)
Kelly D.
"Okay" for all you can eat crabs. Pretty small crabs and a lot of work to get your monies worth. Very nice staff and atmosphere.
(3)
Jen S.
All-you-can-eat crab and fixins. Food was delicious and our waitress was the best I have ever had at a vacation spot. She was friendly, prompt and would anticipate our needs. The bill was a little high but I am not sure that we didn't actually eat that much crab.
(4)
Francisca A.
I ordered the cajun catfish with 2 sides (cole slaw and French fries). Cajun catfish was dry and french fries tasted like they were fried in the same oil as chicken. I don't eat chicken cause I'm a pescaterian. So neither less to say I just eat the coleslaw.
(2)
Martin M.
Terrible service. Overpriced. Stay away. Asked if food was gluten free fries. Waiter said yes. Turns out they weren't. Also steamed crabs must have been steamed some time ago as they were served cold.
(1)
Matt K.
This is the place we have been going to for all you can eat crabs for years in North Ocean City. We have been to quite a few different places for all you can eat and Higgins is always reasonably priced and the crabs are always good quality. We enjoy spending the evening outside picking crabs at Higgins!
(5)
Michael Y.
We had a wonderful experience at Higgins north! We have never been there before, but we will definitely be back. We were greeted by a very personable staff, one of which was a hostess. Her name was Haley and she rocked! We also had a great experience with the service, our waiter tended to us and did everything in a timely fashion. All around good time!
(5)
Lauren H.
If I could give zero stars I would.. DO NOT EAT HERE!! I ordered the all you can eat crabs. They served me BABIES. Not small BABIES! I was so disgusted! My husband ordered a crab cake sandwich and he took one bite and almost threw up. This place is a disgrace to seafood restaurants! The manager wasn't even knowledgable about crab sizes and what is legal and what's not. I'll say it again GO ANYWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR SEAFOOD!!
(1)
Sofia E.
Warning! This place should be investigated for selling baby size crabs as large. I've been here twice (yes, I gave it a second chance because the crab bag wait was over an hour and I was dying to eat crabs) and both times the crabs were Cold, dry, old and tiny! I should have checked yelp first and realized there was a reason the place was empty. Don't even bother unless you want to waste 100. You'd probably get more meat out of a sand crab.
(1)
Jen F.
My friends and I came to Higgins and did the all you can eat crabs and corn for $24. It was a great deal for some mid-summer crab smashing. You have to eat roughly 12 crabs for it to pay off, so stay a while and bring an appetite. The crabs are on the small side although sometimes there were some mediums thrown in. The corn was sweet and delicious- it complemented the crabs well. My main issue was the service. Our waiter was not very attentive even though the place was empty and you have to wait 15 minutes to request another platter of crabs for the all you can eat. Thus it made for some unhappy moments when we desparately needed to order more crabs but couldn't find out server.
(3)
Brian F.
Don't go here. I hate writing a bad review but I have no choice for Higgins North Crabhouse. There is a long and frustrating story that resulted in my terrible experience that I really just don't want to talk about. Let me keep things short, this place sucks. Bad crabs. Bad manager. Never going here again.
(1)
Mike D.
Many staff members require customer service skills. A group of hostesses and servers standing around near the entrance did not pay attention to arriving customers (no proper greetings, etc.). Lacked initiative and appeared occupied with other things besides doing their job. In addition, the hostess that took me to my table had a poor attitude. I was taken to one seating area only to be diverted by her co-worker to a table on the other side of the restaurant. There were plenty of tables available throughout, so it's a mystery to me as to why this happened. It's unlikely this was done to scatter customers evenly for wait staff. When departing the restaurant, one staff member was wise enough to smile and such; the rest of the group standing around, not so much. Suffice to say the definition of "apathy" fits perfectly here and definitely justifies my 2-star rating. Sure wish I would've read reviews ahead and went elsewhere. Now a few positive comments. I cannot speak for the crabs and other dishes they serve. Evidently I made a good choice with my meal. I decided to get the all you can eat shrimp, which was surprisingly cooked to perfection, considering it's all you can eat, but the cocktail sauce was still a bit frozen, but it wasn't a big deal. The fixings (slaw, hush puppies) were very good and my beer was icy cold. My waitress seemed to be the only representative with superb customer service skills and she went the extra mile. She did an outstanding job and I'm very impressed with her positive, can-do attitude. This was refreshing following the issues earlier. Unfortunately, these positive experiences alone were not enough for a higher rating, but they changed my mind not to reach out to management. First impressions are key for me in the area of customer service. That said perhaps management should implement customer service refresher training to correct negative aspects described above.
(2)
Tony X.
Run away from this place! My wife and I made the mistake of stopping at this place with our three young sons. Two hours and $240 later, we left aggravated, nauseous and eaten alive by mosquitos. Their outdoor seating consists of rickety wooden picnic tables covered in sticky paint. There are lights along a railing behind all of the outdoor tables that were literally covered with spider webs. Once the sun set, those lights attracted every variety of flying insect known to man. We were inundated by these insects during most of our meal. The worst part by far, however, was the quality of the food. My son and I ordered the crab legs. They were totally soggy on the outside and waterlogged on the inside. They gave out shell crackers that were made of a soft plastic and totally useless for the task of cracking shells. One of my sons asked for ketchup for his fries. The waitress brought a warm ketchup container that was so dirty on the cap with dried and clumped ketchup that I stopped him from using it. This place was just gross in every possible way. Save yourself from this type of experience and go somewhere else.
(1)
Claudette A.
Over priced and beware "all you can" eat is not all eat. They charge a extra charge every time you ask for another round for Alaskan King crab legs. On top of that... the quality of the seafood was not great. We will not be going back!
(1)
Jessica K.
Only reason they are getting one star is b/c I have to. Every thing on their menu is frozen. Nothing has any flavor what so ever. The blooming onion was burnt to a crisp. The stuffed shrimp was like chewing on a rubber band. Chicken teriyaki was disgusting! Thankfully the manager was smart enough to remove everything but our drinks. Never again. Wow!
(1)
Cq ..
waaay over priced dirty tables dirty bathrooms and the food was gross.Walk by don't stop.
(1)
Bill M.
Went this afternoon (5/20/13) and had the all you can eat crabs. We elected to pay the extra $5 per person to get males (menu prices are for females). The crabs were somewhat smaller than expected but were cooked to perfection as we're the sides. The crabs were great and the service (Hunter) was attentive. A very good day at Higgins.
(4)
Terry p.
Had a 1/2 dozen "large steamed crabs" (which were more expensive than their small and medium.) Two days before I had an assorted dozen steamed crabs at the nearby Phillips Restaurant. (The waiter at Phillips told me they would be small and mediums.) The Phillips small and medium were larger and meatier than the large here. One of the crabs was a midget crab - hardly any meat. The Rumanian waitress was very nice but admitted she knew nothing about crabs. Avoid this restaurant.
(1)
Courtney D.
This is a pretty casual place, with rather high menu prices. Sure, you can get all-you can-eat crab legs... but they're 40 bux. And if you get the good kind (who wants the crappy kind?), it's not ACTUALLY all-you-can eat. Well it is all-you-can-eat if you want to spend a million dollars. After the initial plate, each additional plate is $4.50. If you want crab legs, you're better off going for the ones for $34 and just getting one plate. I didn't get the crab legs, but most of my large party did. I got the shrimp stuffed with crab meat, which was $27, and delicious (since it was loaded with butter). But don't order this entree if you're actually hungry. I was literally done before some of the girls in the party cracked open their first leg I guess I"m a fatass). And the shrimp had very obviously come from a bag in the freezer... not fresh. The place was not crowded AT ALL, but the service was still slow. If you want a place for crab legs, I'd probably try somewhere else. The end.
(2)
Zach L.
Higgins has a casual setting, and the main attraction has to be the "All You Can Eat" Crabs Special, this order comes with the works: corn on the cob, fried chicken, and French fries. The crabs were pretty meaty, decent sized crabs and loaded with old bay seasoning. The only down side to this place was the service, our waitress was not very attentive and not very accommodating. Prices are comparable with the other crab houses in the area.
(3)
Meredith K.
While the service was poor, it was her first night. But the food was all around poor, on top of receiving the wrong items, missing condiments, etc.
(1)
Shakeem B.
Anytime I'm at the beach, visiting a seafood buffet for dinner is a MUST!!! I'm not big on buffets ilke; Golden Corral, Teppanyaki Grill, etc. but a seafood buffet like Bon Fire (Ocean City, MD and Captain George's VA beach) are always a hit. I mainly go for the all you can eat crab legs and shrimp at these places. I searched here on Yelp and other google sites for the best AYCE restaurants Ocean City had to offer. I came across Higgins. It was actually less than a block away from where we stayed. Plus! I checked out the menu and saw they offered several AYCE combinations...there it was.....AYCE Alaskan crablegs and shrimp! I was immediately sold! I checked out the information in red, "*Due to the extremely large increase in the price of Alaskan Crab Legs, we charge $4.50 per one pound refill on Alaskan Crab Leg "All You Can Eat" WHAT??? $4.50 FOR refill on AYCE?? Where they do that at??!!!! Being the food critic/connoisseur I am, I had to call this place and give them a piece of my hungry, crab-filled mind! The young lady who answered didn't understand or speak english very well and told me that it was $4.50 per pound after my initial serving. Ok....so who goes to an AYCE restaurant and asks that their next refill be one pound? I call back and speak with the manager and he clarified that my initial serving would be about 3lbs. OK! Now we're talking. I thought I would be able to consume at least 4lbs but I was wrong. You are given hush puppies as a starter. They happened to be quite tasty and even had powdered sugar on top. This was new but I liked it. Along with the AYCE orders, you also get fried chicken, french fries, cole slaw and corn on the cob, which all are also AYCE. I got the Alaskan crab legs and shrimp. I only got one refill on the shrimp and 0 refills on my crab legs that I fought so hard for. **side note** A couple at a table beside ours told us that the chicken was rotten and not to eat it. There was a couple at the table before us who complained of the smell and another table who sent theirs back. We're told the manager said, "Oh I thought they threw all of that out" Guess not! The chicken that laid the rotten egg actually hatched on someone's plate! I didn't bother with the chicken at all but the corn was pretty tasty. The prices are ok for ayce and they offer a nice variety of seafood. I would definitely give them another try again when visiting OC.
(3)
Donna J.
WORST crabs I've ever eaten. Every single crab was practically hollow. I would pick one up and my fingers would crush straight through the shell. They served us females too. Total tourist trap. Do yourself a favor and go to Crab Bag or Mickey's in Bethany. The wait might be a little longer, but it's well worth it.
(1)
Robyn H.
My bf and I ate here twice over the past 2 summers, and were about to eat there again THIS summer. Why didn't we? Well, we found out they now charge $4 for each additional helping of snow crabs they give you? HUH? So then.... is it REALLY "All You Can Eat????" Technically, I guess so, but who wants to pay extra for each additional serving? That's insane! They claim it's because of the cost of seafood, but what does that matter to ME? That's too much to spend at a place like this. We ended up going to Joe's Crab Shack instead.
(3)
Katlyn H.
We had several issues this evening during our dinner. First and foremost, I am 100% positive that the tuna I ate caused a case of Scombroid poisoning due to being kept at improper temperatures somewhere along the line. The worst part of this was not the rash and stomach symptoms, but that when we called, rather than pull the remaining tuna and avoid sickening any other customers, the manager insisted that it was impossible that the tuna caused a problem because food poisonong does not set on that fast. Clearly if you research Scombroid it onsets between 10 minutes and 1 hour of consumption. This manager is not concerned with the safety of his customers. Aside from the food poisoning in case you are not convinced, our food was cold upon reciept, better crabcakes could be found in a diner, and the fried scallops were a watery mess. Our family has visited Higgins before and enjoyed it, but we wish we had read the declining Yelp reviews before we went this evening, as it is obvious something there has changed.
(1)
Anthony P.
My wife and I accidentally stumbled across this restaurant one night. It was an accident we were glad to have made. While cruising Ocean City for a seafood restaurant we had not yet tried, we turned into the parking lot for Higgins before realizing it was a restaurant (they advertise their liquor store). We were not disappointed by the portion size or quality. This location closes during the off season (meaning non-summer months), but the Higgins South location stays open. Make sure you get in early or you may get shut out!
(4)
Andre C.
I'm pretty understanding/forgiving when it comes to restaurants, I've worked in one for 6 years, and I am not a fan of Higgins. The wait didn't bother me: rainy day, cruisin' weekend, rush hours, not a problem. Server was a strange girl, kinda slow, again not a deal breaker. Food service, quality, and execution were hilariously bad; all you can eat deal for $30ish included undersized (borderline illegal) and poorly seasoned crabs, never seen an all black crab before. Clam chowder was almost literally cubed potatoes in milk, no exaggeration. The sides: fries, corn, etc, were similarly poor. The rest of my group had the same impression so I wasn't alone. It's a turn-and-burn sort of establishment, no frills, below-average food that is unremarkable one way or another. Afterwards I asked afew locals for their thoughts on Higgins and they were of like mind, several offered the Crab Bag as their personal favorites.
(1)
Jack Z.
We visited Ocean City the week before Memorial Day weekend, and we were in the mood for some hard crabs. We normally go to either Higgins on 34th Street or Hooper's on Route 50 just over the bridge in West Ocean City. We tried Hooper's first on Monday evening, (You can see my review of that disaster under Hooper's) they didn't have Extra Large or Jumbo crabs only the "All You Can Eat" special that has become very popular with tourists. These specials usually consist of some small crabs, some fried chicken, a few steamed shrimp, corn, etc. You end up spending much of your $30 or so, for corn, chicken, and hush puppies. If you want to experience real Maryland steamed crabs, forget the special and order the largest, heaviest crabs you can get, by the dozen. These are a little more expensive, but you pay for the crabs, not a lot of filler. I called several Crab Houses and Higgin's promised extra large would be available in their North Ocean City location. We arrived early, and were the only people in the dining room. We started off with a bowl of Cream Of Crab Soup ($8). It was loaded with lump crab meat, and tasted of fresh cream, not flour. It was so good I wanted to lick the bowl, even though we were alone in the dining room, my wife wouldn't let me do that. We were also served complimentary Hush Puppies which were excellent. Then we ordered a dozen of their Extra Large ($80) crabs. We really wanted Jumbo's or larger, but settled for these. I'm not sorry we did. The crabs were heavy, which is more important than size, and very, very sweet. My only complaint was some of the crabs were a little cool in the center. It was like they had been steamed earlier and warmed up, maybe in a microwave. Some Crab Houses do that at peak times, however it's not a good thing to do. Crabs fresh from the steamer, hot and juicy are always best. However these were very, very good, so good in fact we went back two nights later. This time the crabs were fresh from the steamer, hot, sweet, and oh so good. In the past we've eaten at Higgin's on 34th Street and received excellent crabs. I wouldn't be afraid to recommend either of Higgin's locations to anyone looking for Maryland Steamed Crabs. Just stay away from the "All You Can Eat" tourist specials.
(4)
TJ S.
Best crabs we have had on the East Coast! Very meaty also, and what's even cooler is that they're gluten free!
(5)
Bill B.
Well, let me start off simply by saying "It Sucks". Food ... Hummm. I guess that's what it was. If ya like cold crab legs (and who doesn't?????) the were ! Delicious was the Heinz ketchup....and the complimentary hush puppies were the best. It went crashing down from their. My advice go to McDonalds at their slop is hot! Went to Sunset Grill and had a FANTASTIC dinner 2 nights later...on the water...same amount of $$$$ ! Stay away unless you just want to strap on a feed bag. Gross.
(1)
Alyce D.
Let's start with the positive: nice atmosphere and service that is both friendly and efficient. The food, however, left more than a little to be desired. I had the broiled shrimp "stuffed" with imperial lump crab meat. For $28 I got 5 small shellfish drowning (although this verb would suggest they were fresh, which I can assure you is not the case) in butter to mask a general flavor that was nonexistent. I got the steamed broccoli with it and was handed two huge florets, the size of saplings. The salad at the beginning of the meal was a plate of wilty iceberg lettuce with half of a tomato gracing the top of the plate. The dressing was a welcome distraction as to the flavorless produce. The rest of the people at the table were also not impressed with the softshell crabs. I will concede, that the fries were tasty and essential to wash down the other less-than-palatable fare. The food would have been passable, had it not been upwards of $30 a plate. It was at best the sort of restaurant that you would pay $15/plate and expect an animatronic crab to play banjo and sing old sea chanties. If you see the sign, grab your wallet and loved ones tight and keep driving.
(1)
Michael K.
I'm a little surprised that previous ratings are as low as they are. Admittedly, I have a slight bias for this place since I've been coming here since I was a kid whenever the family came down to Ocean City (as we did this past week), but nostalgia aside, Higgins offers very solid fare. Is it the best place on Coastal Highway? Probably not. I suspect that Higgins has become more of a tourist spot and I imagine that the locals have some crab shack gems tucked away. However, Higgins offers everything to satisfy your Maryland crab cravings. They offer a fun, clean environment with your standard crab shack/seaside decor. Not that I'm an expert on authentic seaside decor or anything but they pull it off and helps get you in the mood for your crabs. The majority of the help are young hs/college kids, probably ranging anywhere between 16 - 22 years of age. They were all friendly and helpful and I definitely appreciated the fact that these kids work so hard during their summers to earn a little scratch. In fact, our waitress was cleaning off some other tables when she noticed that we had not been helped yet and immediately stopped to help and serve us. We ordered New England clam chowder and clam steamers to start and 1.5 dozen large crabs for our main course. The clam chowder wasn't earth shattering by any means but still very tasty. The steamers were surprisingly disappointing. I would not recommend getting steamers here. The best way to describe them would be that they are just plain old clams. Definitely can do MUCH better out on Ocean City. Now, the Main Event! The crabs are fantastic. It had been a long time since I'd been back to Ocean City so I was really looking forward to cracking into some delicious crabs and they did not disappoint! The salt/herb rub is DELICIOUS and is a big part of what makes Higgins so great. The meat is very soft and sweet and is incredibly satisfying. It's also quite easy to pick out the meat from the nooks and crannies of the crab so you know they are cooked right. Based on my experience here and comparing it to some of the other places I've tried in Ocean City, a fairer rating would probably be 3.5 stars but I round up for the nostalgia factor :) I would not let some of the more negative/neutral reviews deter you. You will not go wrong with Higgins. Hey, they didn't get all those locations in OC for nothing!
(4)
Nathan C.
During the 2009 Edition of our Ocean City vacation, we decided we wanted seafood. And, as we were driving, we noticed the big sign out front with the key words "Great Kids Menu". In we went. Then out again - not leaving, but rather grabbing an outdoor table on a beautiful summer day. The view of the parking lot is not exactly picturesque - but it's outside! Let's get to the food. They have an extensive combinatoric selection of AYCE food - every combination of Maryland Crabs, Alaskan Crab Legs, Ribs and Steamed Shrimp you can come up with. All the AYCE deals come with unlimited Maryland Crab Soup (OK), fries (good), fried chicken (REALLY good), cole slaw (meh), and corn on the cob (great, and in season!). So you can binge on whatever your poison happens to be. Not being in a crab-pickin' mood, I opted for the AYCE Shrimp + Ribs. The shrimp were great - perfectly cooked and substantial. The ribs tasted fine but probably never went near a smoker - they were completely falling apart. Also, they didn't remove the membrane on them (which actually is probably the only reason they held together). That's what I get for ordering pork at a seafood shack. Prices run from about $20 - $40 if you go the AYCE route. They also sell crabs singly, or by the dozen or bushel. My wife got one (!) jumbo crab and it was pretty big. She also got the hush puppies, which were very tasty. The kids had the old standby chicken fingers and hot dogs, and were, thankfully, happy. Especially with the mallets. The service was excellent - they kept everything topped off and fresh. I'd hands-down recommend this place, but to get full advantage of it you probably want to bring a crowd of mallet-wielding hungry people along and put the hurt on the All You Can Eat policy.
(4)
Mark S.
If I could give a zero I would. We ordered unlimited steamed crabs. They brought hush puppies and 15 minutes later a piece of burnt up chicken. We asked why they would not bring crabs?? Well we see why....they brought out cold extra small and hollow as shit... We complained and the manger said we can pay more for real crabs... Basically we rolled out... We're that stupid enough to be scammed...an embarrassment to ocean city, md..... This place can suck my crab balls
(1)
Brian S.
Now what is the purpose of coming to Ocean City? My purpose is to eat CRABS!! There are hundreds of different establishments to choose from in eating crabs. As I browsed thru Yelp, I came across Higgins. Higgins and few other places were offering the recession specials. At 19.99 for AYCE crab & corn on the cob, how cool is that. When we walked in the place was packed, inside & outside people were taking advantage of the recession specials. The crabs were small, but who cares, its an AYCE. The crabs were warm and seasoning was good (not too salty). Service was friendly, she kept filling my drinks and crabs. After 2 hours and picking the meat out of 43 crabs later, that was it for me. I couldn't eat another crab. Word of advise. You'll need total focus & concentration so that you don't puncture your fingers with the sharp crab shells. If that happens, you are done eating crabs. With the salt and hot spices touching the wound, you will have unbearable pain.
(4)
Clare D.
This place is gross.... Typical OC dining with amateur and carless staff and overpriced mediocre food. The corn on the cob was good, but that's about the only positive thing I can say. Our waitress literally forgot to bring us our drinks and we had to ask several times for everything we wanted. She even had to come back to take our orders again because she didn't write it down properly. After this they messed up at least two of our orders. When the staff came out to wish a patron happy birthday, they sang the song and mumbled her name, not knowing what it was and then walked away giggling and saying "oops! I don't even know what her name was!" SERIOUS lack of any semblance of professionalism. Again, pretty standard for this hellhole of a tourist town, but way too expensive for such subpar mediocrity. Save your money and pick up crabs from somewhere else.
(1)
Amanda C.
Skip it. Rude staff.
(1)
Kim H.
We got the all you can eat crabs and corn on the cob for $23.95. Higgins was hit or miss. We ended up going through three trays of crabs and only the second tray had good crabs on it. The first batch were very watery while the second batch tasted like it had just been cooked. It was just OK.
(3)
Paul C.
It's not the best, not the worst place. I didn't get the all you can eat crabs and corn deal. Here are the highlights. Service: Extremely friendly waitresses and hostesses, most of them are young, probably 16-22. The waitress I had was very nice, but a little forgetful. Crabs: I got half a dozen large crabs, but it was kind of a tweener; it was a size a little smaller than your average large, but a little bigger than your average medium. The crabs were okay, nothing to write home about. Rest of the food: Shrimp was large and good, corn on the cobs were good, soft shell and crabcake was average. Again, nothing to write home about. Would I go back? Probably not, but I wouldn't say it's bad to try out.
(3)
A. C.
(06/07/2011) Our usual fave crab place, Old Mill, was closed for renovations, so saw this one and decided to check it out. Was not impressed. We had the All-U-Can-Eat steamed crab special that comes with hush puppies, coleslaw, fries, fried chicken, corn on the cob. Overall quality of the food was poor (coleslaw too mayonnaisey, fries and chicken wan, bland, greasy, corn and hush puppies were OK). The crabs were disappointing, small, light, cold, and not sweet. Our server was earnest and eager, but it was her very first day and I doubt she was old enough to even serve our beer. They do have a nice deck with plenty of picnic tables, so, if you like al fresco dining, this is it's only bonus. With so many better choices around this town, will probably not return.
(1)
Michael D.
I've come here a few times, and each time they over-charge my credit card by about 300%. The hostesses seemed to be a little clueless. Our waitress was good. The first round of crabs was awful, but the subsequent rounds were great!
(2)
Tiffany H.
A friend and I gave Higgins a try on a trip to Ocean City. We ordered the crab legs and lobster tails and were extremely disappointed. The crabs were waterlogged and flavorless. They served up hushpuppies (ummm...not even close to what they should taste like..) French fries and fried chicken as fillers before the entrees arrive, and I was not impressed with their greasy offering... The waitress was texting on her phone in plain view the entire time. It was not a pleasant experience and the food was terrible.
(2)
Derek O.
We decided as a group to stop here on a friday night because it was close to our condo while vacationing in OCMD. When we arrived the place was dead, which was a little odd given it was a beautiful friday night and the place across the street from our condo was jammed. As we were ushered to our table we noticed that a few other tables in our vicinity had remained uncleared and stayed that way through the completion of our meal which was unpleasant. As for the crabs, most seemed to not be fresh and had an unpleasant aroma, oh and overcooked. I think I should have checked the yelp reviews before stopping in . . . . .
(1)
Grant F.
The four of us had a great time eating all you can eat steamed crabs and corn. Fun spacious crab house atmosphere with great service.
(4)
Keith F.
This was horrible dining experience. Read the rest of the 1 star reviews and sums up out visit. Rubber scallops, bad crabs, doughy clams, tough over-cooked steak, etc. Nothing was fresh and everything was over-priced. Do yourself a favor and skip this joint.
(1)
Chuck S.
Friendly service however, we live on the Chesapeake Bay and frequently go crabbing, the crabs they served tonight were very small, but worse hey were what are called white bellies. This means shortly after a molt so there was very little meat and what there was becomes soggy. This is due to the thin shell. Meet nice people there but will not return. We wanted to go to the crab bag but there was no parking so tried Higgins? Don't bother!
(2)
Margaret M.
Poor service. Bland overcooked food. Boring salad. Obviously re-heated crabs, and I believe they were smaller than what we purchased. NEVER AGAIN!
(1)
Melissa G.
Worst meal I have had. The seafood platter was bad and cold, the broiled shrimp with crab imperial was just as bad. Beer was not too cold. Service ok. Bathrooms were gross. We should of complained but didn't. I've been in food service for 25 years and I should of known to walk out as soon as we sat down, but being out of towners we gave it a try. 2 adult meals and a child's meal with 2 pitchers of beer for $100. + tip. We learned our lesson the hard way. Never again
(1)
Courtney C.
Watery crabs make Courtney crabby! There's nothing I hate more when eating crabs than having smelly salt water run from my hands and down my arms. Yuck. This about sums up my experience at Higgins. The ladies and I (10 girls from the bachelorette party) headed here on a Saturday night for some AYCE crabs! I chose this place because of the mix and match AYCE menu and all of the additional options that come with the meal. We called ahead to let them know we were coming in with a big party and were seated right away when we got there. The food: Crabs-over cooked, just sad in the meat department, and tasted boiled and not steamed. An overall disappointment Shrimp-highlight of the entire meal! Large, perfectly cooked, seasoned just how I like them, easy to peel, and the only thing that made this worth the trip. Just order a pound of the shrimp and call it a night. Alaskan Crab Legs-over cooked and they charge an extra $5ish per pound on the AYCE because of cost increases. Defeats the AYCE purpose to me. They were average. Ribs-pretty descent. Smothered in BBQ so you can't really taste the meat, but eh, not so bad for AYCE. MD Crab soup-vegetable soup with a shred of crab. Not impressed. Corn-I liked it, but my eating companions ranged from hate it to its okay. Interesting that they steam it in the husk. I'm trying this at home! Everything else that comes with the AYCE (chicken, fries, coleslaw)-typical and what I expected. The real downer here was the Service! We had a foreign exchange student, possibly?! He could speak English, but couldn't understand much. He was incredibly slow and had to check the ticket he wrote our orders on about 500 times!!! We had to ask for everything at least twice and he took 20 min to get our check and 30 min to get us change! It was REALLY bad. I won't be back based on the service alone! Only one person got a second order on the AYCE and everyone was easy going until we were trying to leave, but he couldn't figure out how to give change?! Yikes! Atmosphere and bathroom were okay. With all of the AYCE options in Ocean City, I would suggest somewhere else. A crab house that serves watery crabs isn't going to see me again (as I wipe the drips off my elbows).
(2)
Erik R.
Uhhh, Crabs, here!!!! This place was packed although I happen to go during Memorial Day weekend. Like others, I did not get he All You Can Eat Crabs... On second though Since everywhere in OC is practically Seafood, I couldn't escape the feast. I had the baked fish, hush puppies. It was hot, cooked well and was fresh.
(4)
IH K.
If you're looking for crab shacks in OC, you'll quickly find that there's no shortage of AYCE deals. So which one do you pick? We were stuck in a very similar dilemma and decided to ask a local. Apparently, Higgins is the place to go. AT 19.99 AYCE, the prices paralleled nearby shacks advertisements. However, unlike the other crab establishments - this place was packed. On the outside, it doesn't seem like much. Actually, that look doesn't exactly improve when you move inside. But you'll find friendly service and a house full of people enjoying their meals. We considered the recommendations as good advice and feel no need to venture anywhere else on our next trip.
(4)
John K.
When I come to Ocean City, I have to go to two places - Seacrets and Higgins. Sure there is Bonfire Buffet and other buffets off of Coastal Highway, but Higgins keeps in simple. All you can eat crabs All you can eat fried chicken All you can eat ribs All you can eat snow crab legs All you can eat spiced shrimp That's it. That's all you need. All decent quality. I think there was a shortage of snow crab legs, so they're not all you can eat anymore. But I'll stick with the crabs.
(4)
Xing X.
The price was right at $22.95, for AYCE crabs and corn. The server was not only pretty, she was overly attentive as well. These are all wonderful features that would be the beginning of a typical "favorite", but, here's the catch; all the crab were females and really small, i mean so small they weren't much larger than embryos. I'm surprised they were even legal to catch! This wasn't even the worst part though, I can eat 50 small ones to compensate; these dang crabs gave me the runs. My stomach made sounds typical of earthquakes and tornadoes. My rectum felt like a blow torch was used on it extensively. Even worse, I lost a good pair of underwear out of this deal. So to conclude, you get what you pay for, except for this place, they didnt even include imodium with the meal. Never will eat here again and you shouldnt either.
(1)
John R.
We had take out and only ordered a bushel of #1s so I cannot comment on AYCE while dining in. We were happy with the crabs we received and while waiting at the take out place on the side (which is also a liquor store) we were surprised to see better pricing on alcohol that we unfortunately purchased elsewhere, more drink accessories as well -- pineapple juice, etc, and when joking that the place had everything we needed I then see Charter Fishing was even on the grab and go menu!
(4)
Christina L.
On vacation in Bethany Beach, read the reviews and decided to go here. Didn't take long to get to the restaurant, about 15 minutes or less from the center of Bethany Beach. In my opinion I think the restaurant knows they can have sub par food because it's vacationers who don't know better. The all you can eat crab lets are technically all you can eat but the crab legs were not. For every additional dozen of crag legs it was $3.95. The crab legs were extremely time consuming. The legs were soft so you had a hard time cracking them and then the meat was stuck to the sides of the legs so it was difficult to get out. The whole crabs were very good, as well as the shrimp. The scallops got a "they were alright" The crackers for the crab were plastic, our waitress said that was all they had. They definitely need better "crackers" I, along with 2 others got the Alaskan crab legs and had the same opinion about the amount of meat you get. I got corn on the cob with my crab but it was not in good shape and had a lot of bruises. The service was excellent though. There were 8 of us and our waitress did a great job. She was very attentive and she had the orders right. I would not recommend this restaurant. It wasn't horrible, I just think there's a lot more places around, the really good hole in the wall places that have great food.
(3)
Victoria B.
HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! Worst ever. The service sucked, the food was crap, it was over expensive. Never ever ever ever go there. I don't want to be rude but this is literally the sh*ttiest place 2 be.
(1)
Jennifer H.
This should probably really be a 3-star review, but I have such fond family memories of eating here on our family vacations as a kid, that it bumps it up. It's been over ten years since I was in OC, but we vacationed there last week and went here with a big group. I ordered the all-you-can-eat crabs and shrimp. My husband got the all-you-can-eat crabs and ribs. The ribs were really good - they fell off the bone and were loaded with BBQ sauce. The shrimp were also really good. The crabs were good too, but they really are a pain in the butt to open for so little meat, but I still think it's a must-have at least once while you're in OC. Since they're hard to open though, it gets frustrating, which is why I think it's good to get a combo with something else that's a little easier to get to. Before the main food comes out you also get hush puppies, fries, and fried chicken....you surely won't go hungry here. It's a fun place where they basically just keep dumping more food on the table.
(4)
Mick H.
Got the XL CRABS@ $90 dozen what a joke, I think they were the AYCE crabs! Ended up going to Ledo's afterwards!
(1)
Sarah B.
Horrible. The crab cakes were all filler. For a place that touts big, meaty crabs you'd think they could make a decent crab cake. Also ordered the corn on the cob to go with it and the corn was steamed to death in the husk. Ick. Baked potatoes were small and had bad spots in them. I cringe at the thought of how much money we spent on sup-par food.
(1)
William F.
You sure do get a lot to eat for the price at Higgins. AYCE Crabs and Corn for $22.99..... what a great value in Ocean City, they are the AYCE headquarters.... from Steamed Shrimp and Baby Back Ribs, to Crabs and Baby Back Ribs... there's an AYCE combo for everyone.... the crabs are very well seasoned and prepared, and that's what I go there for... crabs! This location loses the old time crab shack appearance inside and out, in favor of a more modern spin on this ambiance.....
(5)
ann s.
REALLY BAD! We waited 20 minutes after sitting down for our server and I had to go to find someone to get our drinks. The food is horrible and over priced. My friend and I split the 2 crab cake meal and the crab cakes were small and disgusting!! The french fries were gross as well AND I rather had eaten at Mcdonalds or any thing but this place. 2 soft drinks were 6 dollars! Ridiculous! We both ended up paying 21$ each for a shared one person meal that was disgusting. They need to close this place down! NEVER AGAIN!!!
(1)
Tara M.
Great place to eat AYCE crabs. Their hush puppies are awesome the corn was also very fresh and tasty. The crabs were fresh but on the smaller side. Even though they were small in size they were full of meat. I'd definitely eat there again.
(4)
Alison V.
This was the first time we had visited this location. Service was really bad (maybe attribute it to being the beginning of the summer). Actually had to go to the hostess stand to let them know a server hadn't come by in the 20 minutes we had been there. After that, service was great, management gave us free apps and drinks to make up for the wait. Came for crabs and they were excellent. If it weren't for the service, would be giving 5 stars.
(3)
Matthew S.
The food was fine but the service was terriable. We were never given our appetizer, despite being told that our crabs came with chicken and fries we had to ask for it again, we ordered our drinks at the bar because the waiter never brought them out, and we had to ask for hammers and forks in order to actually eat our food. Would definitly not eat there again or recomend it,
(1)
C K.
We wanted some shrimp and Higgins had what we wanted. They had an all u can eat option for 27.00. It comes with unlimited fries, fried chicken, hush puppies, and Cole slaw. The shrimp were medium sized and of course all u can eat. Overall I thought it was good. My wife got the crabcake platter which we thought was small and overpriced at 18.99 for one and 25.99 for two. Our waitress was excellent. She brought what we needed when we needed it. She did not drag her feet on the food refills. We would go back.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Accepts Bitcoin : No Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Bobbi G.
Our first time here for dinner, we were seated inside near the bar in a booth. No waiting. Our waiter Adrian was also managing the bar. He was very friendly and got our order correct and timely. Hush puppies came out with the salads, that was a nice surprise.We ordered the crab cakes as an appetizer, they were delicious cooked just right. The clam chowder was bland, that was the only negative thing about the whole meal. Our dinners were both excellent: strip steak with crab cake and the broiled stuffed shrimp. The crab imperial stuffing was very rich tasting, just fabulous! Good serving sizes, we had lots to wrap up to go. We would definitely come back here again.
(4)Jonathan R.
I should have known better....crab bag was an hour and half wait so we headed to Higgins Big mistake Waitress was beyond terrible The best part of the meal was the corn on the cob Crab cakes were ok Crabs were small and not worth the price Stuffed shrimp were miniscule Save your money
(2)Steven M.
Let's start off with a big pro - we came on a Saturday night and got a table right away. 2 adults and a toddler. They have a lot of seating, and several nearby restaurants had wait times. Some may see this as a sign that the restaurant isn't the best quality - I'm a bit more hopeful than that. We did the all you can eat crabs and shrimp and got a smaller plate of shrimp for the little one. Server was pretty good at checking in on us. Food arrived in a decent amount of time. The crabs, yes, they are a bit small as reviews have stated. I don't know what you're really expecting when you do an all you can eat crab feast; they're not going to give you the cream of the crop in that situation unless you pay significantly more. I wasn't deterred. Crabs and shrimp were well seasoned with old-bay and came with butter and vinegar on the side. You also get corn on the cob, fries, chicken, and hush puppies. As much as you can eat. It's not like a buffet - they bring the food to your table. It was great. Honestly, it was great food. I have no complaints. It's not the best but definitely a bit above average. I will hit this place up next time I'm in the area. The prices were right, food was very good, they serve you timely, and we got a seat right away on a busy night. You can't beat that sort of combination in a tourist town.
(5)Chrissy L.
Wish there was a zero stars options! Pros from our visit : Anastasia the waitress was excellent. The hush puppies are amazing. The corn on the cob was great also! Cons: Everything else Everything was cold, hard or just not good. We ended up tipping her and leaving. Actually a few other tables left also. The manager was by the bat hunched over the entire time playing on his cell phone. What a joke !
(1)Andy B.
Always delicious. We ate here as a party of nine for lunch before heading out of town and back to reality on Sunday. Service. We were immediately sat and drink orders placed. Hush puppies were delivered upon our waiter greeting us and the menu explained. Food Lots of kids options here, both seafood and not. A simple Pb&j always makes me kids happy. I ordered an appetizer of crab legs and ribs for my lunch. Who would think that a crab place would have amazing ribs. These fall off the bone ribs were delicious. Crab legs were on a nice platter hot and warm. Atmosphere. This is what I imagine a crab house to look like, paper on the tables, concrete floors with crab decor all over the place. The food was delicious and the place was fun to eat at.
(5)Amanda C.
My son and I shared the snow crab meal and couldn't finish it! Generous portion and our waiter was nice. They were a little overwhelmed so the service was a bit slow but still a good experience. Stay away from the steak though, it was just very bland.
(4)Greg B.
Carry out order. Called in and order was handled well for crabs. No oversell or fluff. Arrived and it was what we expected - half bushel, fresh steamed in old bay and ready to go. The reviews are a little brutal for this place, but we are given a very strong recommendation. It paid off. I will be back for crabs next year,
(4)Benjamin W.
I'm not sure what people expect from a crab house, and from all you can eat crabs. My wife and I came here around 5 pm on a Saturday and got sat at the bar. The bartender waited on us and was a treat. We got AYCE crabs and were not disappointed. The crabs will be smaller because they're all you can eat! That's the way it always is, so if you don't like that, order larger ones by the dozen or bushel. And our bartender brought out a second tray without us even asking! I've never had that happen at any other AYCE crab place. This was a very enjoyable experience! The only gripe I had was that the bathrooms could've been a little cleaner, but it's not unexpected for a crab shack.
(5)Drew S.
The crabs here were very good, as well were the steamed shrimp. The ribs on the other hand were dry, so I would certainly avoid them. Service and all were good, still a good option when looking for steamed crabs and comparing wait times
(3)Drew L.
Ayce crabs a staple here. Everything else is sub par. Rockfish was dry, bland and rubber like. The ribs were cut into smaller portions, hard as a rock and doused with bbq sauce to cover up their poor quality. Sides were just ok. Come here for quantity, not quality. Prices are steep for what you get.
(2)Adeline P.
Absolutely loved the fresh seafood here. I enjoyed the steamed shrimp, but I recommend the shrimp appetizer rather than the dinner because it's much cheaper and a better portion than the full dinner option. I also really appreciated the dining atmosphere. Higgins has a nautical theme and features a neat collection of sailing and navigational instruments. The food was expensive, but it was very tasty. The menu is limited to seafood items, but they have a nice selection of side dishes to accompany the fresh local seafood. If you're looking for fresh seafood in Ocean City, Higgins is the place for you!
(5)Sandra S.
5 guests including 1 child $180 ( with tip) for mediocre food. The ribs were slathered in sauce. The steak was the frozen kind with the grill marks already on it. The chicken fingers kid meal was standard. The broiled platter had the driest piece of swordfish ever. The waitress was the best though. Very friendly and attentive. I don't think I'll eat there again. It's not about the money. The quality is just poor.
(3)Ernie C.
Tried going to crab bag for dinner but wait was too long so we just figured stop here This place is mediocre at best! I ordered the AUCE ribs n shrimp. Ribs were bland and smothered in sauce. Shrimps were ok but some still had black vein on top Wife got the snow crabs. She said they were ok. Fries were blah. My nieces got the steak. They all only ate a little because they didn't like them And place isn't that cheap Go somewhere else
(2)John W.
All you can eat crab legs gave my girlfriend the feeling of having to take a dump. 4 stars.
(4)Gabrielle L.
This restaurant experience actually prompted me to join Yelp and write a review. My boyfriend and I went around 7pm on a Friday night. Fully expecting a wait I was surprised to be seated right away. We were seated outside at one of the various picnic tables. We waited a few minutes for our server and he got our food and drink order since by that time we knew what we wanted. I went with a small house salad and the 25 count steamed clams, my boyfriend got the AYCE steamed shrimp - that includes fries, corn, coleslaw and fried chicken. The food came out rather quickly but noticed immediately it looked subpar to other AYCE feasts in the area. The fries were a frozen battered variety, the coleslaw was DISGUSTING - like it had been spoiled (and I love coleslaw), we opened the corn that was steamed in the husk and there was a section of it that was black and rotten (not really their fault since they couldn't tell but we never got a replacement), the shrimp were tough and flavorless. We also never received the chicken that comes the meal- even after our server said it would be right out. As for my clams, they were so dirty and muddy I could not eat them. I had to actually wipe the muck off any to try them. He brought my boyfriend the wrong beer but at that point we decided to just let it go. We had to wait a very long time in between visits from our server who did not seem overly concerned with the quality of the meal. Save your money and go elsewhere. Not worth it.
(1)Real V.
Seafood is below average, Service is way below average. Whenever we ordered food we were asked twice, and the first seating we said was right below the air conditioner was so cold. They did serve us kids birthday party cakes however we had to tell them four times to make it to happen to different employees.
(2)Eric V.
Stopped in for the all you can eat crabs.We were seated as soon as we walked in.WOW ! No wait time!!! Service was excellent and they made sure that we always had hot crabs on our tray and our glasses were topped off. I was impressed with their seasoning.True Maryland style with Old Bay and course salt( it's all in the seasoning and amount of steam time when it comes to the taste of crabs )Bonus with the crabs is they are now getting them local. Support our local watermark !Corn was in the husk and tasty too.Atmosphere was warm and inviting. A great place for families to dine after a day at the beach or sit out under the covered porch and enjoy your crabs in the shade and breeze.
(5)Rosalind M.
We come here every year for a family fun filled crab eating marathon! It's very fun, a little expensive but a great, quintessential Maryland experience! Love ocmd!
(5)Eric M.
This is currently our favorite all you can eat crabs on the beach, good size crabs, good customer service, and fresh cold beer!
(5)Lindsey L.
Our Waitress was awesome, except the food wasn't. The AYCE crabs were terrible! Crabs were small and didn't have any meat to them, not to mention they were very dry. When my boyfriend and I got home we were sick to our stomachs. We won't be coming back anytime soon. :/
(1)Lisa C.
My husband and I had just arrived in OC and found this place when driving down 528 from our resort. Definitely should have checked out reviews beforehand. When we walked, we were told there would be a 30 to 40 min wait but there were no other parties waiting. Then "miraculously" we were seated less than 5 min later. This should have been a sign of what was to come. We sat there for a while before the server came over to get our drink order so we just ordered our food then too. My husband ordered a soft shell crab sandwich and I ordered fried shrimp. They server hush puppies while you wait. This should have been the next sign. Then we waited and waited and waited. Hubby had ordered a salad but even that did not come out until the rest of the food arrived. All I can say about the food is T E R R I B L E and WAY overpriced. Husband's sandwich was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. Tiny crabs on top of barely toasted yet soggy white sandwich bread for $13. My shrimp for $23 was mediocre at best. Had to ask for cocktail sauce and wait for the server to remember to bring it. I will say she kept my hubby's water glass full which was the best thing about our visit. Do yourself a favor and keep driving.
(1)John C.
The wait staff was very pleasant, but the kitchen was quite slow and the food took quite a while. We ordered the Crab Cake special which was underwhelming to say the least. What's worse, the baked potatoes were very much undercooked. All in all, quite a disappointment. For the money, there are much better choices in Ocean City.
(2)Jessica L.
I love all you can eat crabs, but I have had WAY better elsewhere. The crabs came out looking like they had been sitting for a while and judging by the temperature, they had. Only 6 crabs come out at first then a piece of dried out over fried chicken and an ear of corn. After 6 crabs are gone you wait for another 20 minutes to get more. Its as if they want you to get tired of waiting or eat the dried out chicken piece so you don't ask for more crabs. Service was ok. Place was clean but the crabs were not spectacular by any means.
(2)Andrew D.
One word describes this place: overpriced! We stopped by on our way down south for our next mini golf course in our marathon of mini golf and were somewhat surprised at how empty it was for being the height of the lunch hour. We are no longer surprised. My wife ordered the shrimp skewer starter for lunch, which had a (6) next to it. We assumed that meant she was getting six skewers. No, it meant she was getting six shrimp on one skewer, at a whopping $7.99.nit came with nothing on the side but a sad looking orange spiral. I ordered the Maryland crab soup, which was basically vegetable soup out of a can with a couple pieces of crab thrown in, and the chicken tenders (4 tenders), again with just a sad looking orange spiral as accompaniment. With a small beer and a diet coke, this fairly pathetic meal came to an eye watering $32.48. I think it's fair to say that we would not recommend this place to the unwary traveler.
(1)Stephanie M.
My family ate at Higgins on 7/20/14 and 7/24/14. We first ate at Higgins in 2013 and had a decent experience. When we returned to Ocean City in July 2014 we thought about trying other places that had better reviews but came back to Higgins because of the lower prices. The crabs are small but it's all you can eat so you still leave full. On 7/20/14 we had a nice but unenthusiastic waitress. The crabs were inconsistent. Although they were small, some were quite good and some had an odd taste. Still, we returned on 7/24/14 hoping our last visit was a fluke. And we had much better luck this time. Our waiter was great - he had a great sense of humor and really seemed to enjoy his job. The crabs were much better, too. Still small but they tasted great! We were glad we gave Higgins a second chance that week. Neither time was too crowded even at dinner time. I think this place might be hit or miss but they are definitely less expensive than the other places we priced.
(3)Doug G.
Took my family as our first stop in OC for our week vacation. The food was a disappointment at best. My kids got the crabs and chicken kids meals, the chicken looked good but the two crabs a piece they got we so light there was barely any crab meat in any of them. I got the cajun catfish. For $20 I figured I would get a decent size piece of fish. It was very small and hardly worth the money. Their food is very over priced.
(1)Kerry A.
Wow! What a great experience! Our server Billy made sure we had a great time. He was so wonderful, efficient, and accommodating. It was like he knew the second we walked in that we were there to destroy crabs. On top of his game, witty (but not over bearing), and extremely pleasant to be around. Our meal and overall experience was that much more enjoyable simply because of our waiter. Do yourself and your family a favor...next time you are in Ocean City, head over to Higgins and make sure you call ahead and ask for Billy....you certainly will not regret it!!!
(4)Racquel P.
I was here at Higgins last week when it was a pretty dreary weekend in OCMD. We were a pretty big group (over 30+) so the weather being bad was kind of a blessing in disguise as they sat us all. The wait staff was pretty good - very nice, understanding, and patient with our party of 30+. However, the crabs were unfortunately nothing special. My table was considering the AYCE crabs, but they would be the small size ones. We figure we would get the dozen large crabs since we had them the day before at PGN and they were good/filling. For the table, we also got crab chowder, soft shell crab platter, and crab balls. We also got ears of corn. I am not sure how they serve the crabs here at Higgins in general, but I did request to go light on the old bay seasoning - when they came out, we had no seasoning on them at all. They did give us ramekins of seasoning but it would have tasted better if they were cooked in it. Also, the large crabs were kind of on the light side, and the claws were dry. I had really great large crabs at PGN so was disappointed with the crabs when I ate at Higgins. The soft shell crab platter was good when dipped in the vinegar. Not sure if I would come here again. It is definitely a huge place so if you are with a big party, then it's a n ok choice; however, I would probably go somewhere else as i have had better crabs at other places.
(3)Rosalind T.
I came here last year and loved it!!! I came back this year and fell in love all over again and so did the rest of the family!! I sooooooo love their crabs and fried chicken it's a shame I was too hungry I forgot to get a pic lol... The only complaint I have was my medium crabs came out and they were extremely small but Our waitress Kristin straightened it out very quickly she was awesome... I wanna go back again tonight but I'm outnumbered hopefully tomorrow they will give in... Until Nxt time
(5)Jim S.
This is an all you can eat place that should be a $$$ price point. It is very expensive if you do not want the all you can eat options as the small plate options are few and still $15. I ordered the fried shrimp for $22 and it was a $12 value at best. The baked potato was cool, broccoli very small portion, and the shrimp were small while tasting frozen. Picture added. The all you can eat crab price was 29.99 and that is was most people were ordering so if you come I would think that is what you should get. The restaurant had a damp smell so we had dinner out side on picnic tables. The service was average and our food did not all come out at the same time and one person didn't get their dinner till we were almost done with ours. Not a place I will visit again.
(2)Katy K.
I can only review the carry out steamed crabs not the sit-in restaurant. They were excellent crabs and full! We bought a half bushel for the night. We had plenty to pick for crab cakes for the next night. We had a coupon from one of the vacation coupon books. Our 1/2 bushel was $100 (size 2 which were med-large) plus 15 medium crab cakes for the next night totally worth it!
(5)Donald P.
Great customer service! Crab feast was phenomenal and heavily seasoned. Crabs were small but it was all you can eat! Kid friendly atmosphere.
(4)Vicky I.
Horrible Hostess, Horrible Customer Service I was there this weekend with my family a party of 12. And the hostess with bleach blonde hair first saw us and didn't even great us, she was talking among the other hostess. When they saw us standing there they ask how many of us where there and then told us that they didn't have any seat for us. Guest where coming in and they were being seated, even a party of 8. After I ask her if she could split us up she told us that we still had to wait an hour. Felt discriminated because we were a family with children and the people that where being seated where young adults. She never once apologies for the inconvenience. I asked her that I felt that she was being rude and why was she being rude to us and she had the nerve to reply back saying that we didn't know what we wanted and the other people that walked in did. I could just imagine what kind of service we would have had if we were seated.
(1)Renee D.
I was so disappointed..we got crab cakes at a crab house and they were small and grey.. Really they had no flavor and I questioned if it was safe to eat. The meal came with corn and a iceberg lettuce salad. It was $63. We had no cocktails just ice tea .. The service was awful..Go to the crab cake factory down the street. We visited 9/11/2014
(1)Nadine A.
Went to Higgins during dinner rush and 'Cruisers week' a busy time, one would think. I should known by the tumble weeds blowing through the parking lot that this place was a disaster. Walked in to a practically empty restaurant with plenty of employees who really enjoy rolling their eyes. Checked out the menu which was absolutely way OVER priced. $45 for AYCE shrimp and king crab legs and $22 for an 8oz N.Y. strip steak. Being too exhausted and hungry to go anywhere else I decided to stay. The eye rolling waitress delivered us a salad that was more brown than green and tomatoes that were more the consistency of a paste. When I asked her to bring me a fresh salad I guess she thought I would be too dumb to notice that she just picked out the brown lettuce, forgot the mushy tomatoes and brought me the same exact salad back. Okay fine. I'll let the salad fly. I'm starving. After listening to 4/5 waitresses incessantly gossip at the bar while waiting for our dinner, we get served their 'famous' chicken which is included in the AYCE. First few bites were not too bad, then I pulled it apart only to see the thing still had a pulse. It wasn't just a little under cooked, it was still bleeding. That's when I decided to skip the salmonella poisoning and leave. Tried waving down a waitress but they were still busy gossiping. Finally had enough, had to get up and ask for a manager and made my complaints known. He was a very nice guy. Apologetic and kind. Unlike the waitresses who found it comical I was pissed. That's okay with me because you just saved me a bunch of money on a tip!
(1)Carrie O.
Here's the short version of this review: save your money. And I do not say this lightly, trust me. There was unfortunately a huge 2 hour wait at the Crab Bag up the street; we weren't willing to wait that long, so we elected to come here. In retrospect, we SHOULD have stayed put, because while these crabs weren't the absolute worst I've ever had - they are damned close. We only had a 45 minute wait for a table, and the server was very personable. Unfortunately, things started going downhill fast. The hush puppies were actually pretty good. So was the corn (steamed in the husk) - I will say that the corn was damned awesome. But when you're paying 100+ for a meal, the corn had better not be the best part of the dinner. We got the #1 AYCE special - just the steamed crabs with the ubiquitous fried chicken and fries stuff. Now, before any of you start up about how small the AYCE crabs are and how I should know better - I KNOW that they give you small and medium, and that's fine with us, we're native Marylanders and can put down dozens and dozens of them, so size makes no difference to us. The problem here wasn't the size - no crab house is actually in control of that. It was the way they were cooked. And a crab house IS in control of that. The first round of crabs were actually nearly ICE COLD. Now, I don't personally mind cold crabs - but seriously? This isn't the way to make a first impression, guys. As we proceeded to go through the batch, we started noticing more problems - these crabs were waterlogged. I mean, really, if you open a crab, you do NOT expect a ton of water to come dripping down your arms. NOT a good sign. I should have said something then and there, but I figured that, hey, it's a first batch, maybe the next will be better. The next one came - hey, wait a damned minute. We paid the 5-spot extra charge for males. Why do the backs of these crabs have a shape like the U.S. Capitol? Because they're FEMALES, maybe??? These were at least hot. But I tried opening one - and it literally would NOT OPEN. Not with fingers, a mallet, a knife, nothing. These crabs were SO overcooked that they actually would NOT open. My husband was going to eat them anyway, but I said "no, stop right now, this is not what we paid for". We waited for the server to come back - it took him a while - and we were like, "what is this crap?", only nicer. He did apologize profusely, to his credit, and said he'd bring out a new batch. Only it took him 25 minutes to do it. By this time, we were royally pissed off. The server only had 4 tables in the entire place. Three of which were starting to get angry about the service, the sad quality of the food, etc. I could hear complaints being raised all around, and was it any wonder? The server finally came back with a fresh lot of crabs. Okay, these were males, these were hot. But full of meat? That would be a no. Waterlogged, very little meat, just all-around bad. I have never had such awful crabs in my life, and I've been eating them for almost 40 years. Seriously? The table next to us finally got the manager and started a litany of complaints about the paltry food, service, etc. The manager took our server aside and I don't know what was said to him, but he came back and was like, "more?" and when I said, "No, I want the check", his face fell. I think he knew that he'd screwed up. Quite frankly, while the service was slower than a cold bottle of molasses, it was really the sub-par quality of the food that's brought this rating down to the bottom of the barrel. We should have waited for the Crab Bag - and it would have only been 45 minutes, as they called us while we were opening our ice cold crabs. More fools us. Final insult to injury: the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting, male and female alike. I actually stood up while using the restroom, that's how disgusting it was. Just completely unhygienic. Don't waste your money here. Seriously, trust us on this. You'll do better at Crab Bag, or PGN on 28th Street. Paying 100 dollars plus for this meal was an absolute travesty. I have never felt so ripped off in my life. NOT RECOMMENDED. Tip for Diabetics: IF you have to come here, the crabs, shrimp and ribs are of course safe - no carbs. Be careful with things like the fries or any breaded item. The hush puppies are not safe (unfortunate, because it's one of the better items that I'd had here). I was okay with my choices, but every diabetic is different. Plan accordingly. Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor. YMMV. Seek medical advice and tailor my review to your situation. I simply provide opinion.
(1)Tony D.
This review is on this experience as whole. I came here for lunch with my girlfriend who wanted crab legs. I am not a huge seafood eater myself, so i ordered the fish and chips. I can honestly say they were the worst i have ever had. I know this would not be the specialty in a place like this, but i still expected better. They tasted like they were bought frozen from the grocery store and heated up in a microwave. My girlfriend tasted them and agreed. The fries also were not very good. They were not crisp and were not warm. My girlfriend said her crab legs were excellent. Also the hush puppies they bring out when you first arrive were very good. The waitress noticed my displeasure with my dish as I only ate 1 of the 3 fish and chips, but really didnt say anything about it. With no alcohol, our bill was around $60, which was much too high for what we got. They are much better places to go in OC. Dont waste your money.
(2)Brad P.
Typical tourist trap in OC. Foods ok, crabs were small and not real hot. Our waitress was great and helpful. One of those places that you just go to if you have a big group to socialize while you eat.
(3)Kristine O.
Terrible staff and service. Waited 20 minutes for service until we finally walked out. Too expensive to deal with such horrible service. Can't comment on food , but their all you can eat charges for extra. ??
(1)L. Eliza C.
Yes I am a vegetarian and I only came here because all my house-mates were dying to come here. Pros: 1. My flesh eating friends seemed they were in heaven eating the crabs. 2. It is packed. Cons: 1. If you are a vegetarian, you are in TOUGH LUCK! 2. I can't believe this place will charge you $3 for a small side of broccoli which constitutes of ONE single small stalk, yes one stalk. There were 2 of us vegetarians in a group of 12 so we ordered about 12 sides of broccoli and we actually paid more than some of our crab eating friends.
(1)Kelly D.
"Okay" for all you can eat crabs. Pretty small crabs and a lot of work to get your monies worth. Very nice staff and atmosphere.
(3)Jen S.
All-you-can-eat crab and fixins. Food was delicious and our waitress was the best I have ever had at a vacation spot. She was friendly, prompt and would anticipate our needs. The bill was a little high but I am not sure that we didn't actually eat that much crab.
(4)Francisca A.
I ordered the cajun catfish with 2 sides (cole slaw and French fries). Cajun catfish was dry and french fries tasted like they were fried in the same oil as chicken. I don't eat chicken cause I'm a pescaterian. So neither less to say I just eat the coleslaw.
(2)Martin M.
Terrible service. Overpriced. Stay away. Asked if food was gluten free fries. Waiter said yes. Turns out they weren't. Also steamed crabs must have been steamed some time ago as they were served cold.
(1)Matt K.
This is the place we have been going to for all you can eat crabs for years in North Ocean City. We have been to quite a few different places for all you can eat and Higgins is always reasonably priced and the crabs are always good quality. We enjoy spending the evening outside picking crabs at Higgins!
(5)Michael Y.
We had a wonderful experience at Higgins north! We have never been there before, but we will definitely be back. We were greeted by a very personable staff, one of which was a hostess. Her name was Haley and she rocked! We also had a great experience with the service, our waiter tended to us and did everything in a timely fashion. All around good time!
(5)Lauren H.
If I could give zero stars I would.. DO NOT EAT HERE!! I ordered the all you can eat crabs. They served me BABIES. Not small BABIES! I was so disgusted! My husband ordered a crab cake sandwich and he took one bite and almost threw up. This place is a disgrace to seafood restaurants! The manager wasn't even knowledgable about crab sizes and what is legal and what's not. I'll say it again GO ANYWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR SEAFOOD!!
(1)Sofia E.
Warning! This place should be investigated for selling baby size crabs as large. I've been here twice (yes, I gave it a second chance because the crab bag wait was over an hour and I was dying to eat crabs) and both times the crabs were Cold, dry, old and tiny! I should have checked yelp first and realized there was a reason the place was empty. Don't even bother unless you want to waste 100. You'd probably get more meat out of a sand crab.
(1)Jen F.
My friends and I came to Higgins and did the all you can eat crabs and corn for $24. It was a great deal for some mid-summer crab smashing. You have to eat roughly 12 crabs for it to pay off, so stay a while and bring an appetite. The crabs are on the small side although sometimes there were some mediums thrown in. The corn was sweet and delicious- it complemented the crabs well. My main issue was the service. Our waiter was not very attentive even though the place was empty and you have to wait 15 minutes to request another platter of crabs for the all you can eat. Thus it made for some unhappy moments when we desparately needed to order more crabs but couldn't find out server.
(3)Brian F.
Don't go here. I hate writing a bad review but I have no choice for Higgins North Crabhouse. There is a long and frustrating story that resulted in my terrible experience that I really just don't want to talk about. Let me keep things short, this place sucks. Bad crabs. Bad manager. Never going here again.
(1)Mike D.
Many staff members require customer service skills. A group of hostesses and servers standing around near the entrance did not pay attention to arriving customers (no proper greetings, etc.). Lacked initiative and appeared occupied with other things besides doing their job. In addition, the hostess that took me to my table had a poor attitude. I was taken to one seating area only to be diverted by her co-worker to a table on the other side of the restaurant. There were plenty of tables available throughout, so it's a mystery to me as to why this happened. It's unlikely this was done to scatter customers evenly for wait staff. When departing the restaurant, one staff member was wise enough to smile and such; the rest of the group standing around, not so much. Suffice to say the definition of "apathy" fits perfectly here and definitely justifies my 2-star rating. Sure wish I would've read reviews ahead and went elsewhere. Now a few positive comments. I cannot speak for the crabs and other dishes they serve. Evidently I made a good choice with my meal. I decided to get the all you can eat shrimp, which was surprisingly cooked to perfection, considering it's all you can eat, but the cocktail sauce was still a bit frozen, but it wasn't a big deal. The fixings (slaw, hush puppies) were very good and my beer was icy cold. My waitress seemed to be the only representative with superb customer service skills and she went the extra mile. She did an outstanding job and I'm very impressed with her positive, can-do attitude. This was refreshing following the issues earlier. Unfortunately, these positive experiences alone were not enough for a higher rating, but they changed my mind not to reach out to management. First impressions are key for me in the area of customer service. That said perhaps management should implement customer service refresher training to correct negative aspects described above.
(2)Tony X.
Run away from this place! My wife and I made the mistake of stopping at this place with our three young sons. Two hours and $240 later, we left aggravated, nauseous and eaten alive by mosquitos. Their outdoor seating consists of rickety wooden picnic tables covered in sticky paint. There are lights along a railing behind all of the outdoor tables that were literally covered with spider webs. Once the sun set, those lights attracted every variety of flying insect known to man. We were inundated by these insects during most of our meal. The worst part by far, however, was the quality of the food. My son and I ordered the crab legs. They were totally soggy on the outside and waterlogged on the inside. They gave out shell crackers that were made of a soft plastic and totally useless for the task of cracking shells. One of my sons asked for ketchup for his fries. The waitress brought a warm ketchup container that was so dirty on the cap with dried and clumped ketchup that I stopped him from using it. This place was just gross in every possible way. Save yourself from this type of experience and go somewhere else.
(1)Claudette A.
Over priced and beware "all you can" eat is not all eat. They charge a extra charge every time you ask for another round for Alaskan King crab legs. On top of that... the quality of the seafood was not great. We will not be going back!
(1)Jessica K.
Only reason they are getting one star is b/c I have to. Every thing on their menu is frozen. Nothing has any flavor what so ever. The blooming onion was burnt to a crisp. The stuffed shrimp was like chewing on a rubber band. Chicken teriyaki was disgusting! Thankfully the manager was smart enough to remove everything but our drinks. Never again. Wow!
(1)Cq ..
waaay over priced dirty tables dirty bathrooms and the food was gross.Walk by don't stop.
(1)Bill M.
Went this afternoon (5/20/13) and had the all you can eat crabs. We elected to pay the extra $5 per person to get males (menu prices are for females). The crabs were somewhat smaller than expected but were cooked to perfection as we're the sides. The crabs were great and the service (Hunter) was attentive. A very good day at Higgins.
(4)Terry p.
Had a 1/2 dozen "large steamed crabs" (which were more expensive than their small and medium.) Two days before I had an assorted dozen steamed crabs at the nearby Phillips Restaurant. (The waiter at Phillips told me they would be small and mediums.) The Phillips small and medium were larger and meatier than the large here. One of the crabs was a midget crab - hardly any meat. The Rumanian waitress was very nice but admitted she knew nothing about crabs. Avoid this restaurant.
(1)Courtney D.
This is a pretty casual place, with rather high menu prices. Sure, you can get all-you can-eat crab legs... but they're 40 bux. And if you get the good kind (who wants the crappy kind?), it's not ACTUALLY all-you-can eat. Well it is all-you-can-eat if you want to spend a million dollars. After the initial plate, each additional plate is $4.50. If you want crab legs, you're better off going for the ones for $34 and just getting one plate. I didn't get the crab legs, but most of my large party did. I got the shrimp stuffed with crab meat, which was $27, and delicious (since it was loaded with butter). But don't order this entree if you're actually hungry. I was literally done before some of the girls in the party cracked open their first leg I guess I"m a fatass). And the shrimp had very obviously come from a bag in the freezer... not fresh. The place was not crowded AT ALL, but the service was still slow. If you want a place for crab legs, I'd probably try somewhere else. The end.
(2)Zach L.
Higgins has a casual setting, and the main attraction has to be the "All You Can Eat" Crabs Special, this order comes with the works: corn on the cob, fried chicken, and French fries. The crabs were pretty meaty, decent sized crabs and loaded with old bay seasoning. The only down side to this place was the service, our waitress was not very attentive and not very accommodating. Prices are comparable with the other crab houses in the area.
(3)Meredith K.
While the service was poor, it was her first night. But the food was all around poor, on top of receiving the wrong items, missing condiments, etc.
(1)Shakeem B.
Anytime I'm at the beach, visiting a seafood buffet for dinner is a MUST!!! I'm not big on buffets ilke; Golden Corral, Teppanyaki Grill, etc. but a seafood buffet like Bon Fire (Ocean City, MD and Captain George's VA beach) are always a hit. I mainly go for the all you can eat crab legs and shrimp at these places. I searched here on Yelp and other google sites for the best AYCE restaurants Ocean City had to offer. I came across Higgins. It was actually less than a block away from where we stayed. Plus! I checked out the menu and saw they offered several AYCE combinations...there it was.....AYCE Alaskan crablegs and shrimp! I was immediately sold! I checked out the information in red, "*Due to the extremely large increase in the price of Alaskan Crab Legs, we charge $4.50 per one pound refill on Alaskan Crab Leg "All You Can Eat" WHAT??? $4.50 FOR refill on AYCE?? Where they do that at??!!!! Being the food critic/connoisseur I am, I had to call this place and give them a piece of my hungry, crab-filled mind! The young lady who answered didn't understand or speak english very well and told me that it was $4.50 per pound after my initial serving. Ok....so who goes to an AYCE restaurant and asks that their next refill be one pound? I call back and speak with the manager and he clarified that my initial serving would be about 3lbs. OK! Now we're talking. I thought I would be able to consume at least 4lbs but I was wrong. You are given hush puppies as a starter. They happened to be quite tasty and even had powdered sugar on top. This was new but I liked it. Along with the AYCE orders, you also get fried chicken, french fries, cole slaw and corn on the cob, which all are also AYCE. I got the Alaskan crab legs and shrimp. I only got one refill on the shrimp and 0 refills on my crab legs that I fought so hard for. **side note** A couple at a table beside ours told us that the chicken was rotten and not to eat it. There was a couple at the table before us who complained of the smell and another table who sent theirs back. We're told the manager said, "Oh I thought they threw all of that out" Guess not! The chicken that laid the rotten egg actually hatched on someone's plate! I didn't bother with the chicken at all but the corn was pretty tasty. The prices are ok for ayce and they offer a nice variety of seafood. I would definitely give them another try again when visiting OC.
(3)Donna J.
WORST crabs I've ever eaten. Every single crab was practically hollow. I would pick one up and my fingers would crush straight through the shell. They served us females too. Total tourist trap. Do yourself a favor and go to Crab Bag or Mickey's in Bethany. The wait might be a little longer, but it's well worth it.
(1)Robyn H.
My bf and I ate here twice over the past 2 summers, and were about to eat there again THIS summer. Why didn't we? Well, we found out they now charge $4 for each additional helping of snow crabs they give you? HUH? So then.... is it REALLY "All You Can Eat????" Technically, I guess so, but who wants to pay extra for each additional serving? That's insane! They claim it's because of the cost of seafood, but what does that matter to ME? That's too much to spend at a place like this. We ended up going to Joe's Crab Shack instead.
(3)Katlyn H.
We had several issues this evening during our dinner. First and foremost, I am 100% positive that the tuna I ate caused a case of Scombroid poisoning due to being kept at improper temperatures somewhere along the line. The worst part of this was not the rash and stomach symptoms, but that when we called, rather than pull the remaining tuna and avoid sickening any other customers, the manager insisted that it was impossible that the tuna caused a problem because food poisonong does not set on that fast. Clearly if you research Scombroid it onsets between 10 minutes and 1 hour of consumption. This manager is not concerned with the safety of his customers. Aside from the food poisoning in case you are not convinced, our food was cold upon reciept, better crabcakes could be found in a diner, and the fried scallops were a watery mess. Our family has visited Higgins before and enjoyed it, but we wish we had read the declining Yelp reviews before we went this evening, as it is obvious something there has changed.
(1)Anthony P.
My wife and I accidentally stumbled across this restaurant one night. It was an accident we were glad to have made. While cruising Ocean City for a seafood restaurant we had not yet tried, we turned into the parking lot for Higgins before realizing it was a restaurant (they advertise their liquor store). We were not disappointed by the portion size or quality. This location closes during the off season (meaning non-summer months), but the Higgins South location stays open. Make sure you get in early or you may get shut out!
(4)Andre C.
I'm pretty understanding/forgiving when it comes to restaurants, I've worked in one for 6 years, and I am not a fan of Higgins. The wait didn't bother me: rainy day, cruisin' weekend, rush hours, not a problem. Server was a strange girl, kinda slow, again not a deal breaker. Food service, quality, and execution were hilariously bad; all you can eat deal for $30ish included undersized (borderline illegal) and poorly seasoned crabs, never seen an all black crab before. Clam chowder was almost literally cubed potatoes in milk, no exaggeration. The sides: fries, corn, etc, were similarly poor. The rest of my group had the same impression so I wasn't alone. It's a turn-and-burn sort of establishment, no frills, below-average food that is unremarkable one way or another. Afterwards I asked afew locals for their thoughts on Higgins and they were of like mind, several offered the Crab Bag as their personal favorites.
(1)Jack Z.
We visited Ocean City the week before Memorial Day weekend, and we were in the mood for some hard crabs. We normally go to either Higgins on 34th Street or Hooper's on Route 50 just over the bridge in West Ocean City. We tried Hooper's first on Monday evening, (You can see my review of that disaster under Hooper's) they didn't have Extra Large or Jumbo crabs only the "All You Can Eat" special that has become very popular with tourists. These specials usually consist of some small crabs, some fried chicken, a few steamed shrimp, corn, etc. You end up spending much of your $30 or so, for corn, chicken, and hush puppies. If you want to experience real Maryland steamed crabs, forget the special and order the largest, heaviest crabs you can get, by the dozen. These are a little more expensive, but you pay for the crabs, not a lot of filler. I called several Crab Houses and Higgin's promised extra large would be available in their North Ocean City location. We arrived early, and were the only people in the dining room. We started off with a bowl of Cream Of Crab Soup ($8). It was loaded with lump crab meat, and tasted of fresh cream, not flour. It was so good I wanted to lick the bowl, even though we were alone in the dining room, my wife wouldn't let me do that. We were also served complimentary Hush Puppies which were excellent. Then we ordered a dozen of their Extra Large ($80) crabs. We really wanted Jumbo's or larger, but settled for these. I'm not sorry we did. The crabs were heavy, which is more important than size, and very, very sweet. My only complaint was some of the crabs were a little cool in the center. It was like they had been steamed earlier and warmed up, maybe in a microwave. Some Crab Houses do that at peak times, however it's not a good thing to do. Crabs fresh from the steamer, hot and juicy are always best. However these were very, very good, so good in fact we went back two nights later. This time the crabs were fresh from the steamer, hot, sweet, and oh so good. In the past we've eaten at Higgin's on 34th Street and received excellent crabs. I wouldn't be afraid to recommend either of Higgin's locations to anyone looking for Maryland Steamed Crabs. Just stay away from the "All You Can Eat" tourist specials.
(4)TJ S.
Best crabs we have had on the East Coast! Very meaty also, and what's even cooler is that they're gluten free!
(5)Bill B.
Well, let me start off simply by saying "It Sucks". Food ... Hummm. I guess that's what it was. If ya like cold crab legs (and who doesn't?????) the were ! Delicious was the Heinz ketchup....and the complimentary hush puppies were the best. It went crashing down from their. My advice go to McDonalds at their slop is hot! Went to Sunset Grill and had a FANTASTIC dinner 2 nights later...on the water...same amount of $$$$ ! Stay away unless you just want to strap on a feed bag. Gross.
(1)Alyce D.
Let's start with the positive: nice atmosphere and service that is both friendly and efficient. The food, however, left more than a little to be desired. I had the broiled shrimp "stuffed" with imperial lump crab meat. For $28 I got 5 small shellfish drowning (although this verb would suggest they were fresh, which I can assure you is not the case) in butter to mask a general flavor that was nonexistent. I got the steamed broccoli with it and was handed two huge florets, the size of saplings. The salad at the beginning of the meal was a plate of wilty iceberg lettuce with half of a tomato gracing the top of the plate. The dressing was a welcome distraction as to the flavorless produce. The rest of the people at the table were also not impressed with the softshell crabs. I will concede, that the fries were tasty and essential to wash down the other less-than-palatable fare. The food would have been passable, had it not been upwards of $30 a plate. It was at best the sort of restaurant that you would pay $15/plate and expect an animatronic crab to play banjo and sing old sea chanties. If you see the sign, grab your wallet and loved ones tight and keep driving.
(1)Michael K.
I'm a little surprised that previous ratings are as low as they are. Admittedly, I have a slight bias for this place since I've been coming here since I was a kid whenever the family came down to Ocean City (as we did this past week), but nostalgia aside, Higgins offers very solid fare. Is it the best place on Coastal Highway? Probably not. I suspect that Higgins has become more of a tourist spot and I imagine that the locals have some crab shack gems tucked away. However, Higgins offers everything to satisfy your Maryland crab cravings. They offer a fun, clean environment with your standard crab shack/seaside decor. Not that I'm an expert on authentic seaside decor or anything but they pull it off and helps get you in the mood for your crabs. The majority of the help are young hs/college kids, probably ranging anywhere between 16 - 22 years of age. They were all friendly and helpful and I definitely appreciated the fact that these kids work so hard during their summers to earn a little scratch. In fact, our waitress was cleaning off some other tables when she noticed that we had not been helped yet and immediately stopped to help and serve us. We ordered New England clam chowder and clam steamers to start and 1.5 dozen large crabs for our main course. The clam chowder wasn't earth shattering by any means but still very tasty. The steamers were surprisingly disappointing. I would not recommend getting steamers here. The best way to describe them would be that they are just plain old clams. Definitely can do MUCH better out on Ocean City. Now, the Main Event! The crabs are fantastic. It had been a long time since I'd been back to Ocean City so I was really looking forward to cracking into some delicious crabs and they did not disappoint! The salt/herb rub is DELICIOUS and is a big part of what makes Higgins so great. The meat is very soft and sweet and is incredibly satisfying. It's also quite easy to pick out the meat from the nooks and crannies of the crab so you know they are cooked right. Based on my experience here and comparing it to some of the other places I've tried in Ocean City, a fairer rating would probably be 3.5 stars but I round up for the nostalgia factor :) I would not let some of the more negative/neutral reviews deter you. You will not go wrong with Higgins. Hey, they didn't get all those locations in OC for nothing!
(4)Nathan C.
During the 2009 Edition of our Ocean City vacation, we decided we wanted seafood. And, as we were driving, we noticed the big sign out front with the key words "Great Kids Menu". In we went. Then out again - not leaving, but rather grabbing an outdoor table on a beautiful summer day. The view of the parking lot is not exactly picturesque - but it's outside! Let's get to the food. They have an extensive combinatoric selection of AYCE food - every combination of Maryland Crabs, Alaskan Crab Legs, Ribs and Steamed Shrimp you can come up with. All the AYCE deals come with unlimited Maryland Crab Soup (OK), fries (good), fried chicken (REALLY good), cole slaw (meh), and corn on the cob (great, and in season!). So you can binge on whatever your poison happens to be. Not being in a crab-pickin' mood, I opted for the AYCE Shrimp + Ribs. The shrimp were great - perfectly cooked and substantial. The ribs tasted fine but probably never went near a smoker - they were completely falling apart. Also, they didn't remove the membrane on them (which actually is probably the only reason they held together). That's what I get for ordering pork at a seafood shack. Prices run from about $20 - $40 if you go the AYCE route. They also sell crabs singly, or by the dozen or bushel. My wife got one (!) jumbo crab and it was pretty big. She also got the hush puppies, which were very tasty. The kids had the old standby chicken fingers and hot dogs, and were, thankfully, happy. Especially with the mallets. The service was excellent - they kept everything topped off and fresh. I'd hands-down recommend this place, but to get full advantage of it you probably want to bring a crowd of mallet-wielding hungry people along and put the hurt on the All You Can Eat policy.
(4)Mark S.
If I could give a zero I would. We ordered unlimited steamed crabs. They brought hush puppies and 15 minutes later a piece of burnt up chicken. We asked why they would not bring crabs?? Well we see why....they brought out cold extra small and hollow as shit... We complained and the manger said we can pay more for real crabs... Basically we rolled out... We're that stupid enough to be scammed...an embarrassment to ocean city, md..... This place can suck my crab balls
(1)Brian S.
Now what is the purpose of coming to Ocean City? My purpose is to eat CRABS!! There are hundreds of different establishments to choose from in eating crabs. As I browsed thru Yelp, I came across Higgins. Higgins and few other places were offering the recession specials. At 19.99 for AYCE crab & corn on the cob, how cool is that. When we walked in the place was packed, inside & outside people were taking advantage of the recession specials. The crabs were small, but who cares, its an AYCE. The crabs were warm and seasoning was good (not too salty). Service was friendly, she kept filling my drinks and crabs. After 2 hours and picking the meat out of 43 crabs later, that was it for me. I couldn't eat another crab. Word of advise. You'll need total focus & concentration so that you don't puncture your fingers with the sharp crab shells. If that happens, you are done eating crabs. With the salt and hot spices touching the wound, you will have unbearable pain.
(4)Clare D.
This place is gross.... Typical OC dining with amateur and carless staff and overpriced mediocre food. The corn on the cob was good, but that's about the only positive thing I can say. Our waitress literally forgot to bring us our drinks and we had to ask several times for everything we wanted. She even had to come back to take our orders again because she didn't write it down properly. After this they messed up at least two of our orders. When the staff came out to wish a patron happy birthday, they sang the song and mumbled her name, not knowing what it was and then walked away giggling and saying "oops! I don't even know what her name was!" SERIOUS lack of any semblance of professionalism. Again, pretty standard for this hellhole of a tourist town, but way too expensive for such subpar mediocrity. Save your money and pick up crabs from somewhere else.
(1)Amanda C.
Skip it. Rude staff.
(1)Kim H.
We got the all you can eat crabs and corn on the cob for $23.95. Higgins was hit or miss. We ended up going through three trays of crabs and only the second tray had good crabs on it. The first batch were very watery while the second batch tasted like it had just been cooked. It was just OK.
(3)Paul C.
It's not the best, not the worst place. I didn't get the all you can eat crabs and corn deal. Here are the highlights. Service: Extremely friendly waitresses and hostesses, most of them are young, probably 16-22. The waitress I had was very nice, but a little forgetful. Crabs: I got half a dozen large crabs, but it was kind of a tweener; it was a size a little smaller than your average large, but a little bigger than your average medium. The crabs were okay, nothing to write home about. Rest of the food: Shrimp was large and good, corn on the cobs were good, soft shell and crabcake was average. Again, nothing to write home about. Would I go back? Probably not, but I wouldn't say it's bad to try out.
(3)A. C.
(06/07/2011) Our usual fave crab place, Old Mill, was closed for renovations, so saw this one and decided to check it out. Was not impressed. We had the All-U-Can-Eat steamed crab special that comes with hush puppies, coleslaw, fries, fried chicken, corn on the cob. Overall quality of the food was poor (coleslaw too mayonnaisey, fries and chicken wan, bland, greasy, corn and hush puppies were OK). The crabs were disappointing, small, light, cold, and not sweet. Our server was earnest and eager, but it was her very first day and I doubt she was old enough to even serve our beer. They do have a nice deck with plenty of picnic tables, so, if you like al fresco dining, this is it's only bonus. With so many better choices around this town, will probably not return.
(1)Michael D.
I've come here a few times, and each time they over-charge my credit card by about 300%. The hostesses seemed to be a little clueless. Our waitress was good. The first round of crabs was awful, but the subsequent rounds were great!
(2)Tiffany H.
A friend and I gave Higgins a try on a trip to Ocean City. We ordered the crab legs and lobster tails and were extremely disappointed. The crabs were waterlogged and flavorless. They served up hushpuppies (ummm...not even close to what they should taste like..) French fries and fried chicken as fillers before the entrees arrive, and I was not impressed with their greasy offering... The waitress was texting on her phone in plain view the entire time. It was not a pleasant experience and the food was terrible.
(2)Derek O.
We decided as a group to stop here on a friday night because it was close to our condo while vacationing in OCMD. When we arrived the place was dead, which was a little odd given it was a beautiful friday night and the place across the street from our condo was jammed. As we were ushered to our table we noticed that a few other tables in our vicinity had remained uncleared and stayed that way through the completion of our meal which was unpleasant. As for the crabs, most seemed to not be fresh and had an unpleasant aroma, oh and overcooked. I think I should have checked the yelp reviews before stopping in . . . . .
(1)Grant F.
The four of us had a great time eating all you can eat steamed crabs and corn. Fun spacious crab house atmosphere with great service.
(4)Keith F.
This was horrible dining experience. Read the rest of the 1 star reviews and sums up out visit. Rubber scallops, bad crabs, doughy clams, tough over-cooked steak, etc. Nothing was fresh and everything was over-priced. Do yourself a favor and skip this joint.
(1)Chuck S.
Friendly service however, we live on the Chesapeake Bay and frequently go crabbing, the crabs they served tonight were very small, but worse hey were what are called white bellies. This means shortly after a molt so there was very little meat and what there was becomes soggy. This is due to the thin shell. Meet nice people there but will not return. We wanted to go to the crab bag but there was no parking so tried Higgins? Don't bother!
(2)Margaret M.
Poor service. Bland overcooked food. Boring salad. Obviously re-heated crabs, and I believe they were smaller than what we purchased. NEVER AGAIN!
(1)Melissa G.
Worst meal I have had. The seafood platter was bad and cold, the broiled shrimp with crab imperial was just as bad. Beer was not too cold. Service ok. Bathrooms were gross. We should of complained but didn't. I've been in food service for 25 years and I should of known to walk out as soon as we sat down, but being out of towners we gave it a try. 2 adult meals and a child's meal with 2 pitchers of beer for $100. + tip. We learned our lesson the hard way. Never again
(1)Courtney C.
Watery crabs make Courtney crabby! There's nothing I hate more when eating crabs than having smelly salt water run from my hands and down my arms. Yuck. This about sums up my experience at Higgins. The ladies and I (10 girls from the bachelorette party) headed here on a Saturday night for some AYCE crabs! I chose this place because of the mix and match AYCE menu and all of the additional options that come with the meal. We called ahead to let them know we were coming in with a big party and were seated right away when we got there. The food: Crabs-over cooked, just sad in the meat department, and tasted boiled and not steamed. An overall disappointment Shrimp-highlight of the entire meal! Large, perfectly cooked, seasoned just how I like them, easy to peel, and the only thing that made this worth the trip. Just order a pound of the shrimp and call it a night. Alaskan Crab Legs-over cooked and they charge an extra $5ish per pound on the AYCE because of cost increases. Defeats the AYCE purpose to me. They were average. Ribs-pretty descent. Smothered in BBQ so you can't really taste the meat, but eh, not so bad for AYCE. MD Crab soup-vegetable soup with a shred of crab. Not impressed. Corn-I liked it, but my eating companions ranged from hate it to its okay. Interesting that they steam it in the husk. I'm trying this at home! Everything else that comes with the AYCE (chicken, fries, coleslaw)-typical and what I expected. The real downer here was the Service! We had a foreign exchange student, possibly?! He could speak English, but couldn't understand much. He was incredibly slow and had to check the ticket he wrote our orders on about 500 times!!! We had to ask for everything at least twice and he took 20 min to get our check and 30 min to get us change! It was REALLY bad. I won't be back based on the service alone! Only one person got a second order on the AYCE and everyone was easy going until we were trying to leave, but he couldn't figure out how to give change?! Yikes! Atmosphere and bathroom were okay. With all of the AYCE options in Ocean City, I would suggest somewhere else. A crab house that serves watery crabs isn't going to see me again (as I wipe the drips off my elbows).
(2)Erik R.
Uhhh, Crabs, here!!!! This place was packed although I happen to go during Memorial Day weekend. Like others, I did not get he All You Can Eat Crabs... On second though Since everywhere in OC is practically Seafood, I couldn't escape the feast. I had the baked fish, hush puppies. It was hot, cooked well and was fresh.
(4)IH K.
If you're looking for crab shacks in OC, you'll quickly find that there's no shortage of AYCE deals. So which one do you pick? We were stuck in a very similar dilemma and decided to ask a local. Apparently, Higgins is the place to go. AT 19.99 AYCE, the prices paralleled nearby shacks advertisements. However, unlike the other crab establishments - this place was packed. On the outside, it doesn't seem like much. Actually, that look doesn't exactly improve when you move inside. But you'll find friendly service and a house full of people enjoying their meals. We considered the recommendations as good advice and feel no need to venture anywhere else on our next trip.
(4)John K.
When I come to Ocean City, I have to go to two places - Seacrets and Higgins. Sure there is Bonfire Buffet and other buffets off of Coastal Highway, but Higgins keeps in simple. All you can eat crabs All you can eat fried chicken All you can eat ribs All you can eat snow crab legs All you can eat spiced shrimp That's it. That's all you need. All decent quality. I think there was a shortage of snow crab legs, so they're not all you can eat anymore. But I'll stick with the crabs.
(4)Xing X.
The price was right at $22.95, for AYCE crabs and corn. The server was not only pretty, she was overly attentive as well. These are all wonderful features that would be the beginning of a typical "favorite", but, here's the catch; all the crab were females and really small, i mean so small they weren't much larger than embryos. I'm surprised they were even legal to catch! This wasn't even the worst part though, I can eat 50 small ones to compensate; these dang crabs gave me the runs. My stomach made sounds typical of earthquakes and tornadoes. My rectum felt like a blow torch was used on it extensively. Even worse, I lost a good pair of underwear out of this deal. So to conclude, you get what you pay for, except for this place, they didnt even include imodium with the meal. Never will eat here again and you shouldnt either.
(1)John R.
We had take out and only ordered a bushel of #1s so I cannot comment on AYCE while dining in. We were happy with the crabs we received and while waiting at the take out place on the side (which is also a liquor store) we were surprised to see better pricing on alcohol that we unfortunately purchased elsewhere, more drink accessories as well -- pineapple juice, etc, and when joking that the place had everything we needed I then see Charter Fishing was even on the grab and go menu!
(4)Christina L.
On vacation in Bethany Beach, read the reviews and decided to go here. Didn't take long to get to the restaurant, about 15 minutes or less from the center of Bethany Beach. In my opinion I think the restaurant knows they can have sub par food because it's vacationers who don't know better. The all you can eat crab lets are technically all you can eat but the crab legs were not. For every additional dozen of crag legs it was $3.95. The crab legs were extremely time consuming. The legs were soft so you had a hard time cracking them and then the meat was stuck to the sides of the legs so it was difficult to get out. The whole crabs were very good, as well as the shrimp. The scallops got a "they were alright" The crackers for the crab were plastic, our waitress said that was all they had. They definitely need better "crackers" I, along with 2 others got the Alaskan crab legs and had the same opinion about the amount of meat you get. I got corn on the cob with my crab but it was not in good shape and had a lot of bruises. The service was excellent though. There were 8 of us and our waitress did a great job. She was very attentive and she had the orders right. I would not recommend this restaurant. It wasn't horrible, I just think there's a lot more places around, the really good hole in the wall places that have great food.
(3)Victoria B.
HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT! Worst ever. The service sucked, the food was crap, it was over expensive. Never ever ever ever go there. I don't want to be rude but this is literally the sh*ttiest place 2 be.
(1)Jennifer H.
This should probably really be a 3-star review, but I have such fond family memories of eating here on our family vacations as a kid, that it bumps it up. It's been over ten years since I was in OC, but we vacationed there last week and went here with a big group. I ordered the all-you-can-eat crabs and shrimp. My husband got the all-you-can-eat crabs and ribs. The ribs were really good - they fell off the bone and were loaded with BBQ sauce. The shrimp were also really good. The crabs were good too, but they really are a pain in the butt to open for so little meat, but I still think it's a must-have at least once while you're in OC. Since they're hard to open though, it gets frustrating, which is why I think it's good to get a combo with something else that's a little easier to get to. Before the main food comes out you also get hush puppies, fries, and fried chicken....you surely won't go hungry here. It's a fun place where they basically just keep dumping more food on the table.
(4)Mick H.
Got the XL CRABS@ $90 dozen what a joke, I think they were the AYCE crabs! Ended up going to Ledo's afterwards!
(1)Sarah B.
Horrible. The crab cakes were all filler. For a place that touts big, meaty crabs you'd think they could make a decent crab cake. Also ordered the corn on the cob to go with it and the corn was steamed to death in the husk. Ick. Baked potatoes were small and had bad spots in them. I cringe at the thought of how much money we spent on sup-par food.
(1)William F.
You sure do get a lot to eat for the price at Higgins. AYCE Crabs and Corn for $22.99..... what a great value in Ocean City, they are the AYCE headquarters.... from Steamed Shrimp and Baby Back Ribs, to Crabs and Baby Back Ribs... there's an AYCE combo for everyone.... the crabs are very well seasoned and prepared, and that's what I go there for... crabs! This location loses the old time crab shack appearance inside and out, in favor of a more modern spin on this ambiance.....
(5)ann s.
REALLY BAD! We waited 20 minutes after sitting down for our server and I had to go to find someone to get our drinks. The food is horrible and over priced. My friend and I split the 2 crab cake meal and the crab cakes were small and disgusting!! The french fries were gross as well AND I rather had eaten at Mcdonalds or any thing but this place. 2 soft drinks were 6 dollars! Ridiculous! We both ended up paying 21$ each for a shared one person meal that was disgusting. They need to close this place down! NEVER AGAIN!!!
(1)Tara M.
Great place to eat AYCE crabs. Their hush puppies are awesome the corn was also very fresh and tasty. The crabs were fresh but on the smaller side. Even though they were small in size they were full of meat. I'd definitely eat there again.
(4)Alison V.
This was the first time we had visited this location. Service was really bad (maybe attribute it to being the beginning of the summer). Actually had to go to the hostess stand to let them know a server hadn't come by in the 20 minutes we had been there. After that, service was great, management gave us free apps and drinks to make up for the wait. Came for crabs and they were excellent. If it weren't for the service, would be giving 5 stars.
(3)Matthew S.
The food was fine but the service was terriable. We were never given our appetizer, despite being told that our crabs came with chicken and fries we had to ask for it again, we ordered our drinks at the bar because the waiter never brought them out, and we had to ask for hammers and forks in order to actually eat our food. Would definitly not eat there again or recomend it,
(1)C K.
We wanted some shrimp and Higgins had what we wanted. They had an all u can eat option for 27.00. It comes with unlimited fries, fried chicken, hush puppies, and Cole slaw. The shrimp were medium sized and of course all u can eat. Overall I thought it was good. My wife got the crabcake platter which we thought was small and overpriced at 18.99 for one and 25.99 for two. Our waitress was excellent. She brought what we needed when we needed it. She did not drag her feet on the food refills. We would go back.
(4)