the food is dilicied and testy it is my 1st time here also
(5)
Suhana A.
I went there for the first time Saturday night. I pass it all the time and always see good crowd so I decided to give it a try. I thought the food was okay. I ordered sample platter (to get taste of this and that) and stuffed clams. I love seafood but this place is okay for seafood. So far in Atlanta, my favorite place for seafood is Marietta Fish Market-- OMG sooo good!!! ( mariettafishmarket.net ). They give so much more food and YUMMIER for the same price you get at Joe's.
(2)
Kris H.
My cravings for a crab boil led me to Joe's. I'd thought about it an entire week and couldn't take it any longer, so I grabbed a friend and went. The amazing smell of seafood hits you when you're about twenty feet away from the building. Even when we were told that the wait was upwards of 30 minutes, it convinced us to stay. The fun atmosphere and music really helped the time fly. When we finally got a table, I was half crazy for a TASTE of crab. My friend and I ordered individual steampots-I ordered Joe's Classic. They both arrived within 15 minutes. After the waiting, the smelling, and insane hunger, I received a meal that was just okay. I'm not complaining at all. The server (Jesse) was great, my friend and I had fun, and we ate everything on our plates. The flavor was great and nothing was super salty...It just wasn't out of the park fabulous. I'd give it another try, though. The menu looks worth a second visit.
(3)
Kristal L.
Sooooo....this was kinda the a last minute stop even though I've rode past this place a million times. My husband and I walked in and there was 4 people standing in the front attempting to seat us. A bit confusing since we didn't know who to follow. After we were seated, our waitor (Innocent) was rather nice but super slow. Our food took almost 45 minutes for 2 orders of popcorn shrimp and fries. WTF?! Not to mention we didn't recieve any silverwear for 10 minutes after that. I won't be going back here again.
(1)
Lisa C.
Wasn't the first choice. This is the restaurant I ended up going to for Mother's day. Our first choice was entirely too crowded and the wait was ridiculous! However, after the experience I had at Joe's Crab Shack I wish I would have went with the other one. The first thing that the waitress said to us was, "I'm tired, but welcome to Joe's Crab Shack". Excuse me?? That alone should have warned me for what was to come. She was rushing when she took our order. She got our order wrong. While we were trying to eat our food, she kept coming over to our table asking us if we needed anything. And if we did need anything she was gone before we could answer which led us to believe she was not sincere in her asking. The table was dirty, the forks and knives, we had to ask for new ones. We waited for a while to be seated (granted it was Mother's Day and the wait was to be expected) but when we finally got inside all we saw was empty tables as far as we could see. We asked about that and her response was they were short of staff. Are you kidding me? Short of staff on Mother's Day??? It was time to move on! The food was ok, maybe it would have tasted better had I been enjoying myself but that clearly wasn't the case. I was just grateful that dinner wasn't the only thing I did for Mother's day. In spite of a horrible time at dinner I had a fabulous Mother's Day - no thanks to the shack though!
(1)
Shan P.
Food and service is great..our waitress destinee was very attentive..and the GM came to our table and made sure we were being taken care of..
(5)
Tina D.
We've ate here many times. We usually get a steam pot. They have several to choose from. Today's visit was not up to par to what we are use to. I think they must have forgotten that this is Memorial Day weekend and business would be booming. The service was very slow. We never had the same person checking on us and halfway thru our meal our ticket was brought to us with a " if there's anything else we can get you let us know speech". What the heck.
(2)
Paul R.
I've never had a problem with this place and I've been there plenty of times. The time I would normally go is 11 at opening time for lunch. It's hard to have to wait on food when a place just opened. For those of you that may have had slow service it depends on the time of day you get in there. Most of the time they're only using one server for the whole place. If they had more servers there wouldn't be much of a wait time. I can only rate them from the time I go for lunch as I've never had any problems. I have found out they're very crowded on weekends so you may want to stay clear. I always get a steampot everytime I go and they're delicious. The tea is good also, not like most places where you can pour it on pancakes. So I rate them a 4 from my own personal service and experience with them.
(4)
Dan O.
Joes Crab Shack... I've frequented this JCS several times for several years. Every time I enter JCS, I know it's going to be a dice roll on if our service will be reasonable or just plain crappy. More times then not, my girlfriend and I have had great experiences here. We both enjoy the crab bowls they offer - I recommend the Sunset Fire Grilled or Ragin' Cajun steam pots if you enjoy some spice in your life. I would give a better rating if I haven't have had one just awful experience. My girlfriend and I ordered a calamari appetizer and the Original Crab Leg Steampot for two. We never received our calamari and when the waitress brought our Steampot-naturally- we dug in. I was preparing to crack into what I thought was going to be a hot, delicious crab leg. Instead, it was a cold, partially frozen set of legs. The manager came over (after they did their stupid little dance routine for five minutes) and apologized. She removed our steampot and brought it back to the kitchen. What she did not remove from my plate was the cold, frozen set of legs that we had complained about. The manager was also nice enough to comp the appetizer we never received... Overall, my experiences with this particular restaurant have been cordial. I would definitely recommend if you have the extra scratch laying around and are in the mood for crab. Oh yes, the chocolate cake is to die for. I always bring a slice home.
(3)
Sean S.
Had the lobster stuffed shrimp. Pretty good...not great.
(3)
Laura P.
I ran across this in the listings as I was looking for something else and was time warped back about 5 years to when I visited this restaurant. Sadly from the other reviews I read it does not sound like it has improved. This was the only time I have ever been to a Joes. I was with a group on a work related trip. Without a long story I had been up for nearly 30 hours straight and was ready to eat and get to the bed in the hotel nearby. It took forever for them to get us drinks and take our orders. We all are in the restaurant industry ourselves so we can be very understanding. However we also are not shy to go behind the counter when we could not even get drink refills. Believe me when I say I am not exaggerating that it was 2 hours before we got our food. In the meantime I almost begged one of my companions to hike across the parking lit to a different restaurant but she would not. Needless to say it made a very long day even longer. On a sidenote I actually was quite pleased with the food itself although I was very irritated.
(1)
Jackmin H.
Joe's Carb Shack on Pleasanthill road very pleasant service and waiter have very good personality. One black guy waiter dancing singing country music like white people, very entertaining and funnie. One time I take ghetto girl with me to Joe and he order the classic steam pot. When the steam pot come out she complaining it look nothing like menu picture. She yelling at waiter top he lungs that snow carb to small. I think she just no understanding picture are photoshoot. So she yelling for manager to come out. The manager very professional and calming he down by giving he extra sausage and red potatoe. I very embrassing at what he do and very sorry for waiter. Next time I go for me birthday, I no take he with me. I love carb nacho very much, my favorite, tasty and big.
(5)
Brad B.
I remember nearly 10 years ago having to wait for a table at JCS. Now, you can be one of 5 other people in there. The food is meh. The food reminds me of items you'd find on the frozen food aisle at Publix. The staff was OK. Not great, just OK. For the frozen food aisle taste, you're paying $15-20 a plate. I'd be surprised if this place is still open 2 years from now.
(2)
Julia L.
omg. this place is really bad. the waitress was awful, didnt offer us a bib, flatware or small plates. The salmon was chewy and tastless. The garlic and herb snowcrabs hadnt been seasoned as we hoped it would be. i wasted fifty dollars on the experience. will not ever go back, not worth it. stay home and cook, it will taste better that Joe's
(1)
Jan H.
We went there last night and got there in the middle of their dance.... Finally got seated and had to wait half an hour for our dinner. Terrible service! Had to ask for tea refills, ask about our dinner when it was taking so long. The place wasn't crowded either so there was no excuse. Although the food was good, I think I'll find another seafood place in the future.
(2)
Linda A.
Dinner last night was delish! My husband and I and our daughter and her husband shared one steam pot per couple! The appetizers were great! Crab legs, shrimp and sausage! Yummy! We all enjoyed it!
(4)
C B.
Food is decent if a little pricey. It's ok for when I get a craving for crab legs. I do think the dancing is annoying. I hate it when restaurants rely on gimmicks, let your food do the talking.
(3)
Sarah F.
I've been to a JCS years ago, and I remember having an ok experience. I tried to go again for lunch and was sorely disappointed. The food was below average. I wasn't impressed with anything that was brought out, or the service. They're like a second-rate seafood restaraunt. This was the last nail in their coffin - I will not be going back.
(1)
Greg O.
Stop that goofy dancin' and bring me another beer!
(3)
April C.
I usually love giving reviews on yelp, but this 1 star hurts to give. We went on a Friday night, hour wait, so we sat at the bar. The bartender, a female, didn't even give us a second look. The bar was sticky, so were the menus. Behind the bar was an absolute disaster. Dirty glasses, plates, food were everywhere. The other bartender/server seemed almost promising. Not sure if he was new or just wasn't that great but he told us he would get us drinks and then never returned. Our food was mediocre. It came out wrong and we voiced it, but it was never fixed. I work in the business so I left $5 on my half of the bill ($30) but I will never go back there again. Everyone seemed either flustered or just incompetent.
(1)
Wavydavy ..
Great food and great service. The people here are always alert and ready to take your order. They also have a great selection of alcoholic drinks.
(4)
Billy M.
Great seafood place. Went with my wife and daughter as well as brother in law. Seafood is never cheap and not sure if I'd want to eat cheap seafood but the price was not bad. The portions were big and that's a must for me. The only down side would have been on the restrooms. My wife said the woman's restroom needed some attention and was very displeased with it. I won't go into details. But that aside everything else was great! Would definitely go back
(5)
terrell d.
Let's start with the stuff is great. Playful at times happy to be there. The food is great. Money well spent. An you don't have to wait a hour for your food
(5)
Linda A.
Staff was great. manager was friendly and attentive to making our night enjoyable .food was good this is,my second time here and this time was much better last time had no complaints but this time more of a friendly atmosphere.
(4)
Self-Proclaimed C.
Awful experience. Out of the sampler platter - Fried calamari was frozen, crab dip was frozen and the crab balls were gooey and not edible...so slimy I could not swallow it. 18 steamed shrimp - shimp were not de-veined. They were steamed but I all I heard was crunch as I chewed shrimp poo. Why?? Margarita - terrible mix...no flavor...minimal alcohol, no garnish on the glass. Spouse had a beer, it was safe. We cut our loses and ended there. The waiter was nice...but noticed that all the wait staff seemed to have unkempt hair; not ideal for waitstaff as hair can drop in the food. I blame management/leadership at this location...they should know better. I blame corporate for pushing frozen food off to consumers.
(1)
Michelle H.
I was extremely disappointed with the customer service. In my mind, as a former server, I thought a business maintained success by making sure the staff was, at the least, knowledgable of their product. My husband and I asked our ditzy server how many pieces of fish come with the platter. Her only response was, "I don't know." We asked her if more shrimp could be added to a platter She said only, "No." I then asked could we just purchase an order of shrimp. She only said, "Yes." I asked how many shrimp come in an order. She held up her five fingers like she was 3 years old. Then as she was about to leave our table, I asked my husband if he would like a drink (since she hadn't offered). I gave myself a pat on the back by not displaying my frustration in the restaurant. However, after paying almost $60 for a couple of forgettable meals and terrible service, I had to at least vent of my disappointment on this site.
(2)
Joe U.
Good food, but service was not so good. Got there early on Friday night and it took 20 minutes to get service.
(2)
Steve B.
Sad, just sad. I am a fan of the franchise. They used to have a location on my side of town. Whomp Whomp but whatever. Kinda disappointed with the location in Gwinett because it had little business. Maybe because of the day I went. Just shocked it has not had more business. Last of a dying breed, Man I swear I tell ya. Grade: D
(2)
Shamika H.
Came for graduation dinner with my husband. Service was just as awesome as the food. Best place to come for crab cakes!
(5)
Tim D.
Food was incredible service lacked a little. Management seemed overwhelmed. Our waitress left in the middle of our meal and took awhile for someone to acknowledge us after that but the food made up for it
(4)
Ricky T.
Sticky menus, unnecessarily crowded, dirty tables, mediocre service... and to top this!! a crab leg basket ranging from $20 - $30?? I just don't get it. I could go to a chinese buffet for $15 a person and get unlimited crab legs!! I guess going to Joe's Crab Shack is the American thing to do...
(1)
Conie J.
Great food, great price, great ambiance. We will be back soon and more frequently. The music was great, the staff was friendly, our waitress was great.
(5)
Wayne M.
30 minutes wait for a table and over an hour for our luke warm food. No silverware, napkins or refills. Lobster smelled like it sat on the dock in the sun for days. Horrible service. Only good thing was the manager.
(1)
Kenya R.
This Joes was just OKAY to me. I am use to going to other Joes and having a better experience. My crab legs were not season as I wanted them to be. I requested extra old baye but thats not what I got. The other items were just average. The place seem to be a tad bit old and could really use some updating. The service I must say was pretty good and our server was very attentive. Will I be back? Yeah if I'm in the area and REALLY want some seafood.
(3)
Rickelle G.
one word! amazing! The crab was great and the service is great as well! Everyone working there was so nice and sweet. :)
(5)
Pamela M.
Not a great experience at all. Joe's is currently running a special on 33 shrimp for 11.99. BE AWARE! NO substituting! You will get a variety of shrimp including popcorn, that may be doubled together or simply batter, bbq shrimp, and beer-battered shrimp. As long as you are aware of what you're getting prior to ordering, you'll be okay. However in our case, the waitress (very nice and tried her best) did not advise us of that until we noticed it on the plate. We had also ordered the $2 crawfish appetizers and regular priced clam strip appetizer. Well, the $2 app was cold and sent back and it came back with added crawfish and still cold. The clam strips was warmer. The waitress alerted the manager and he did remove the app from the bill and provided extra shrimp that was missing from the supposedly 33 shrimp. The shrimp was hot, yayyyy! Unfortunately, he really showed no real concern about the situation...just fixing it. Crab clusters we're also ordered and guess what... they too we're barely warm. The ONLY positive experience were the $2 drinks (actually ok) and the 5 piping shrimp that replaced the miscounted 33 shrimp.
(2)
Elizabeth N.
This is not necessary my favorite seafood place but it's not bad. Their drinks are decent and their seafood pots have been consistently good. I'm beginning to prefer this spot over Bahama Breeze.
(3)
Dijan M.
I have passed by this place many times but never really cared to stop by and check it out, until recently. A friend of mine and I wanted to have seafood for dinner the other night and I thought we should give this place a try. I've actually never had real crab in my life (it's simply not part of my regular diet and my culture isn't seafood oriented). It was definitely an experience. We had some good laughs about the silly bibs and the interesting utensils. For my drink I had a margarita served in a mason jar. It was decent, not overly alcoholic (I'm trying to have dinner, not get drunk). We ordered the double dip for the appetizer. It's actually two dishes. One is the crab dip and the other is the artichoke and spinach dip which are served with chips. The dips were really good! I especially liked the crab dip. For our main meal, we ordered the Joe's Classic Steampot for 2 which comes with 2 large queen crabs, 2 sweet snow crabs, lots of shrimp, 2 smoked sausages, 2 corn on the cob, and plenty of potatoes. It was definitely more than enough for the two of us, but it was delicious! The crabs were well seasoned and the corn on the cob was good, too. This location also has a very large outdoor playground for the kids. I got to keep the mason jar. Who doesn't like mason jars??
(4)
Sandy W.
This review is for service because I didn't eat, after waiting to be seated when the restaurant was only half full then seated at a dirty table. After waiting over 15 mins for drinks and for someone to wipe the table down we decided it was best to just leave.
(1)
Cindy M.
Loved the food! Great service and atmosphere!!! Will definitely be coming back again!
(5)
Stephen F.
Just so-so. This is the second time I've eaten here and I really don't get the allure. Party of 10, we were seated immediately and the service was perfect but the food was just OK, actually the desert was better than the meal. Just not my place.
Being a Louisianan, it is hard to get great seafood elsewhere. Joe's Crab Shack don't disappoint but at his particular location, it seemed as if I was shorted some items. In Louisiana my bucket was filled to the gills with food. I always get the "The Ragin Cajun" bucket. However, I did enjoy my meal.
(3)
Sonya M.
Absolutely delicious! Loved the atmosphere. Staff are very friendly and attentive. Manager very courteous. Food came out hot, fast and fresh. Very clean restaurant. Will come back again. :-)
(5)
Anthony Z.
I had a bad experience there....the quality of seafood was low .....And i been over charged 18bucks...i tried to contact the manager....but i never got respond ....never go back again..........
(1)
Brenda L.
Tried the appetizer sampler. It was okay. Staff was very nice and pleasant.
(3)
Tiffany B.
This location is utterly terrible. There are a bunch of females in there with terrible attitudes. They act like they're doing you a favor or something. Our waitress was Kiara or however you spell it and she was terrible. She kept bringing us sodas with no syrup in them after repeatedly being told something was wrong with it. We had to ASK for refills more than once. Then on top of that she brought out our check while we were literally in the middle of our meal. Like we were still stuffing our face & this not so bright person is bringing around a check. Who does that?!? Her alone makes me NEVER want to come to this location again. She's the worst. The manager Byron was very apologetic and discounted some of our food so that made things better but they should really do better with hiring these hoodrats.
(1)
Ricky B.
When you order from the menu you have the expectation that you will receive all items that is stated for that dish. When I received my order I noticed I did not have onion straws nor did I have hushpuppies. This should have been discussed before my order was delivered to the table. It was not mentioned until I brought it up. I was then told they were out but they could make some onion straws but it would take too long for the hushpuppies. This is not acceptable I would have ordered something else if I would have been notified of this. The manager could also be more involved and check on the customers instead of sitting at the bar talking to his buddies.
(1)
MD W.
It was nice. We sat in the bar area, and the bartender was very helpful and attentive. I would come back.
(4)
Tom E.
Ever since Joe's closed their location at North Point Mall, I was pissed. It was close to home, and always busy. But they got evicted- which I found to be complete horse crap. So my fix for huge buckets of crab had been shattered. Since living in MEM, I have not found crab like I am used to seeing (maybe I just have not looked hard enough)- so when I went back to ATL on my last visit, I was jonesin for crab like it was going out of style. So it was my mom, my sis, her sons, and myself. It was empty that night, and I couldn't realize why. When we sat down, maybe the baby that sat next to us with the ear piercing shrieks emptied the place. Who cares, I just wanted some crab. When viewing the menu here, everything looks mouth watering. I mean everything. If I had 2 hollow legs and $1000, I would have probably gotten one of each steampot. But I ended up sticking to the Rajun Cajun Steampot- which consisted of crab, shrimp, sausage, and potatoes. After my bib was put on, my mouth was watering. From the pictures on the menu- it looked amazing. And when I got my steampot, I almost cried. It looked nothing like in the picture! What a tease! So one thing I have learned about Joe's- they do some awesome marketing, unfortunately, they can't come close to matching what it looks like in the pictures, which to me, is a shame. I still ate it all. Then I shared dessert with my mom. We got a smore's brownie. It was pretty yum! All in all, if you want decent drinks, come here. However, don't expect a leaning tower of crab or anything. Seems like this place has taken a hit over the years...
(3)
Brittany C.
Horrible service & the manager is not very bright and very immature. I was seated, waited 10 min before someone even came by to try and take our order, I ordered an Arnold Palmer she brought me a Sweet Tea, I ordered cold shrimp, they brought me Hot shrimp, I ordered a Cesar salad, my waiter Waited 10 min to inform me they were not serving anything with Caesar dressing because they were all out! Which makes no sense, just give me ranch instead! So I ordered the fish and chips...DISGUSTING, my boyfriend ordered a salad and said he wanted nothing on it but chicken, dressing and cheese...the bring us a salad with EVERYTHING on it (hush puppies, tomatoes & Fish etc.) By this point I requested the manager, he gave me a sorry apology and tried to tell jokes and then had the nerve to tell my boyfriend "I'm sorry you're hungry" and then laugh. This really upset my boyfriend and he was almost ready to go off. They bring the check and it was WRONG, I had to wait another 10 min for the manager to finally fix it so that all I paid for was my drink... My FIRST and LAST time here. Horrible service and an idiot manager.
(1)
Tiffany H.
Where are the half stars when you REALLLLYYY need them? I visited here while I was "OTP"... Everything was "MEH", except the Beer and Hushpuppies! It's a chain, which I tend to resent, but with very few choices on Pleasant Hill, we went with it. We sampled a variety of things from their menu: A Lobster Tail: (2 stars) It was very chewy and almost "dry". East Coast Platter: It was a hunk of fried seafood, French fries, and fried onions. The crab cake was solid, I must admit. Atlantic "Insert Cheeky Name" Here Bucket: It was chocked full of low quality scallops, crab, shrimp, and mussels. Don't forget the Old Bay, Kendall Jackson, Corn, and Potatoes! We should have donated the $29.99 to the Pine Street Shelter. Nuff said. Hush Puppies: I COULD SING HYMNS TO THEE! They were fabulous! Then again, how hard is it to mess up a hushpuppy? :) I ate all EIGHT of them, and didn't feel one ounce of guilt! Turtle Sundae: Exactly how it sounds, with an insane amount of chocolate syrup! LADIES: If you're watching your weight, stay away. I'm fit, work out daily, and stand in at 119 lbs. After I sampled the corn from the bucket, the buttons on my linen pants popped! I kid you not...I eat out often, it's insanely rare that my usually washboard stomach swells! I immediately put down the corn, took my last swig of beer, and thought, "What the hell is in this stuff? I can't be actual food!" Lol All in all, it was a good time. The only drawback is that the steampots showcase the low quality of the seafood, and it sucks for you insanely if you end up here and don't eat everything fried. Yeah, everyone gets the steampots, but let's admit it, they're not very good. :) LaKeisha, the manager was very friendly, and gave us two coupons to return. She recognized my friend from a previous horrible experience. That's such great customer service! (It saved them a 2 star review?) The Verdict: Joe's Crab Shack is the perfect guilty pleasure.
(3)
Mark R.
Menu looks awesome! The food tasty sub-par! The bartender was young cocky little piece of SHIT! DONE!
(2)
S. C.
Yuck! This crew never heard of the word "CLEAN". The entire restaurant is filthy. Dust all over the windowsills & dust balls and hair on top of each booth, windows streaky with grime, sticky tables, sticky salt & pepper shakers, floors laden with food. They never clean here! You can see a lot when the sun shines in! Two table bussers were cleaning up at table of 12 that just left & never wiped down the table!!!! This was a super lazy team of 2 guys! He grabbed a piece of paper towel off the roll on the table & merely brushed all the scraps right onto the floor! Can you imagine how many germs are on that table?! We ordered the mozzarella sticks for appy & was told they had no more appetizer plates so we would have to use large dinner plates. Hey, this was only around 6pm!! My "Seaside" entree promised fish & chips, scallops & crispy shrimp. I got that, but I got measly 3 scallops about the size of a quarter if that with the breading falling off, fish was a thin, tubular skinny piece that didn't even make sense to serve & the shrimp to be fair was perfect. All of their sauces are terrible. From cocktail sauce, butter/tabasco, tartar & whatever creepy concoction they serve for the hushpuppies are all gross! This was our 2nd visit. I guess I forgot about our first visit 5 months ago, but I knew I was leery about going again. Save your money & stay away from Joe's Crab Crap!
(1)
Thorne C.
Had a horrible experience here. Went with a group of friends during a visit. Totally excited to get crab legs. It was crazy busy, the service was so slow. The server must have been on break or something. Hr finally showed up and we ordered drinks. We placed our order and waited another 45 minutes. I was starving. When we got our food, every single one of our orders was wrong. One of my friends and I ordered just regular crab (simple) and it came out seasoned (dredged in old bay). My friend and I sent ours back to get new ones. The server told us saying that we ordered the Chesapeake crab. Hmmm. I know what I ordered and it wasn't that style. We got "new" crab legs but it ended up it was the same crab just had the seasoning washed off. We left.
(2)
Chris E.
I have been going here for years since I moved in the area over 10 years ago. As a seafood lover, this has always been my favorite restaurant by far. There was a time I would come here at least once or twice every week for crab legs. However since things have changed, its not wise for me to visit as often, but I still make a point to come here a few times a year. In the past I would have given this place 5 stars across the board (as I have on another site), but sadly it looks like things are changing. First of all it seems your portion sizes are getting smaller and smaller while prices are slowly inching up. I don't think the crab buckets and steam pots are priced accordingly to what you get. While this will certainty limit my visits, its not enough for me to stop coming here altogether. My biggest issue is it seems that the service is degrading. When I first started coming here, it didn't matter if you just sat at the bar or ate in the dining area, you were almost guaranteed to get great service with servers who were polite, professional, and seemed to enjoy being there. However my past few visits have been anything but. In my experience the servers seemed like they didn't want to be there and frankly it seemed that they didn't want me there as a customer either. While they weren't downright rude, they just seemed to irritated to even be there. I can tell when someone doesn't enjoy their job and it just seems many of the staff here don't. In addition in the past, my drinks were always kept full with me rarely having to even ask, these days I constantly have to call someone over for a refill as it seems many won't come over unless you flag them down. There are still some waiters/waitresses here as evidenced by the excellent service I received when I came here with my son last year, but for the most part excellent or even good service is becoming rare. One thing I have noticed is that the managers occasionally walk around the restaurant asking customers how is everything. This is good so maybe the managers are already aware of the problems with the service and are slowly working to improve. I really hope this is the case. Other than a popular chain restaurant, there aren't any other seafood places I can go to in my area. Honestly I think Joe's tastes better than that other place, but if things continue to go downhill, I will be forced to no longer come here.
(3)
FoodSnob D.
yep 5 stars dammit! I ate here 2 days straight and got the queen crab bucket. The legs were large, meaty, and had a great taste to them. Now here is what inspired my review. Not on the dessert menu, but located within the the menu is a pineapple upside down cake. OMG... I done died and went to pineapple cove where sponge bob lives. Ok, it was warm with chunks of FRESH not canned, pineapples, with toasted coconut on top.. They give you a hot rum flavored caramel sauce to pour on top... It was by far, hands down theeee best pineapple upside down cake I ever had. It also goes into my top 10 of best desserts. I was completely shocked..... Get ureself one.
(5)
Jazen L.
Had went to joes crab shack for my sister in law birthday. We had a reservation at 7 and they had not prepare the table for us. We had to wait another 30 mins to be seated. Serve was mediocre and slow. Took them at least 30 mins to get our drinks, one hour to get our food and another hour wait to get the check. Are you serious!!! A hour for my check!!! Food was okay. Would rather eat at redcrawfish at sugarloaf. Not coming back.
(1)
Diari C.
I've given this place four stars in the past, but my recent experience was a little disappointing. We got the Crazy Sampler which includes this crab dip that is ALWAYS good, fried calamari, fried cheese, and nacho chips. Very Good... For my entree, I ordered my usual, the Crab Daddy Feast. I usually get the Barbeque flavor, but switched it up this time and got the Chesapeake Bay flavor. Let's just say, the crabs were soggy, had very little seasoning on them, and they had a weird smell...like an ammonium smell. I usually eat my entire bucket - seafood, potatoes, corn and all, but this time, I only ate half. I just couldn't get pass the smell and the lack of flavor. Also, the waitress committed a pretty significant VIOLATION in my eyes...SHE DIDN'T BRING MELTED BUTTER until well after our buckets were brought to the table. By the time the butter came, I was slightly annoyed, slightly disappointed, and slightly over it. It hurts my heart to give these guys two stars, but it's hard out here on these streets! You gotta be consistent with your service and quality of food. No exceptions!
(2)
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Address :1590 Pleasant Hill Road
Duluth, GA, 30096
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Lynn S.
the food is dilicied and testy it is my 1st time here also
(5)Suhana A.
I went there for the first time Saturday night. I pass it all the time and always see good crowd so I decided to give it a try. I thought the food was okay. I ordered sample platter (to get taste of this and that) and stuffed clams. I love seafood but this place is okay for seafood. So far in Atlanta, my favorite place for seafood is Marietta Fish Market-- OMG sooo good!!! ( mariettafishmarket.net ). They give so much more food and YUMMIER for the same price you get at Joe's.
(2)Kris H.
My cravings for a crab boil led me to Joe's. I'd thought about it an entire week and couldn't take it any longer, so I grabbed a friend and went. The amazing smell of seafood hits you when you're about twenty feet away from the building. Even when we were told that the wait was upwards of 30 minutes, it convinced us to stay. The fun atmosphere and music really helped the time fly. When we finally got a table, I was half crazy for a TASTE of crab. My friend and I ordered individual steampots-I ordered Joe's Classic. They both arrived within 15 minutes. After the waiting, the smelling, and insane hunger, I received a meal that was just okay. I'm not complaining at all. The server (Jesse) was great, my friend and I had fun, and we ate everything on our plates. The flavor was great and nothing was super salty...It just wasn't out of the park fabulous. I'd give it another try, though. The menu looks worth a second visit.
(3)Kristal L.
Sooooo....this was kinda the a last minute stop even though I've rode past this place a million times. My husband and I walked in and there was 4 people standing in the front attempting to seat us. A bit confusing since we didn't know who to follow. After we were seated, our waitor (Innocent) was rather nice but super slow. Our food took almost 45 minutes for 2 orders of popcorn shrimp and fries. WTF?! Not to mention we didn't recieve any silverwear for 10 minutes after that. I won't be going back here again.
(1)Lisa C.
Wasn't the first choice. This is the restaurant I ended up going to for Mother's day. Our first choice was entirely too crowded and the wait was ridiculous! However, after the experience I had at Joe's Crab Shack I wish I would have went with the other one. The first thing that the waitress said to us was, "I'm tired, but welcome to Joe's Crab Shack". Excuse me?? That alone should have warned me for what was to come. She was rushing when she took our order. She got our order wrong. While we were trying to eat our food, she kept coming over to our table asking us if we needed anything. And if we did need anything she was gone before we could answer which led us to believe she was not sincere in her asking. The table was dirty, the forks and knives, we had to ask for new ones. We waited for a while to be seated (granted it was Mother's Day and the wait was to be expected) but when we finally got inside all we saw was empty tables as far as we could see. We asked about that and her response was they were short of staff. Are you kidding me? Short of staff on Mother's Day??? It was time to move on! The food was ok, maybe it would have tasted better had I been enjoying myself but that clearly wasn't the case. I was just grateful that dinner wasn't the only thing I did for Mother's day. In spite of a horrible time at dinner I had a fabulous Mother's Day - no thanks to the shack though!
(1)Shan P.
Food and service is great..our waitress destinee was very attentive..and the GM came to our table and made sure we were being taken care of..
(5)Tina D.
We've ate here many times. We usually get a steam pot. They have several to choose from. Today's visit was not up to par to what we are use to. I think they must have forgotten that this is Memorial Day weekend and business would be booming. The service was very slow. We never had the same person checking on us and halfway thru our meal our ticket was brought to us with a " if there's anything else we can get you let us know speech". What the heck.
(2)Paul R.
I've never had a problem with this place and I've been there plenty of times. The time I would normally go is 11 at opening time for lunch. It's hard to have to wait on food when a place just opened. For those of you that may have had slow service it depends on the time of day you get in there. Most of the time they're only using one server for the whole place. If they had more servers there wouldn't be much of a wait time. I can only rate them from the time I go for lunch as I've never had any problems. I have found out they're very crowded on weekends so you may want to stay clear. I always get a steampot everytime I go and they're delicious. The tea is good also, not like most places where you can pour it on pancakes. So I rate them a 4 from my own personal service and experience with them.
(4)Dan O.
Joes Crab Shack... I've frequented this JCS several times for several years. Every time I enter JCS, I know it's going to be a dice roll on if our service will be reasonable or just plain crappy. More times then not, my girlfriend and I have had great experiences here. We both enjoy the crab bowls they offer - I recommend the Sunset Fire Grilled or Ragin' Cajun steam pots if you enjoy some spice in your life. I would give a better rating if I haven't have had one just awful experience. My girlfriend and I ordered a calamari appetizer and the Original Crab Leg Steampot for two. We never received our calamari and when the waitress brought our Steampot-naturally- we dug in. I was preparing to crack into what I thought was going to be a hot, delicious crab leg. Instead, it was a cold, partially frozen set of legs. The manager came over (after they did their stupid little dance routine for five minutes) and apologized. She removed our steampot and brought it back to the kitchen. What she did not remove from my plate was the cold, frozen set of legs that we had complained about. The manager was also nice enough to comp the appetizer we never received... Overall, my experiences with this particular restaurant have been cordial. I would definitely recommend if you have the extra scratch laying around and are in the mood for crab. Oh yes, the chocolate cake is to die for. I always bring a slice home.
(3)Sean S.
Had the lobster stuffed shrimp. Pretty good...not great.
(3)Laura P.
I ran across this in the listings as I was looking for something else and was time warped back about 5 years to when I visited this restaurant. Sadly from the other reviews I read it does not sound like it has improved. This was the only time I have ever been to a Joes. I was with a group on a work related trip. Without a long story I had been up for nearly 30 hours straight and was ready to eat and get to the bed in the hotel nearby. It took forever for them to get us drinks and take our orders. We all are in the restaurant industry ourselves so we can be very understanding. However we also are not shy to go behind the counter when we could not even get drink refills. Believe me when I say I am not exaggerating that it was 2 hours before we got our food. In the meantime I almost begged one of my companions to hike across the parking lit to a different restaurant but she would not. Needless to say it made a very long day even longer. On a sidenote I actually was quite pleased with the food itself although I was very irritated.
(1)Jackmin H.
Joe's Carb Shack on Pleasanthill road very pleasant service and waiter have very good personality. One black guy waiter dancing singing country music like white people, very entertaining and funnie. One time I take ghetto girl with me to Joe and he order the classic steam pot. When the steam pot come out she complaining it look nothing like menu picture. She yelling at waiter top he lungs that snow carb to small. I think she just no understanding picture are photoshoot. So she yelling for manager to come out. The manager very professional and calming he down by giving he extra sausage and red potatoe. I very embrassing at what he do and very sorry for waiter. Next time I go for me birthday, I no take he with me. I love carb nacho very much, my favorite, tasty and big.
(5)Brad B.
I remember nearly 10 years ago having to wait for a table at JCS. Now, you can be one of 5 other people in there. The food is meh. The food reminds me of items you'd find on the frozen food aisle at Publix. The staff was OK. Not great, just OK. For the frozen food aisle taste, you're paying $15-20 a plate. I'd be surprised if this place is still open 2 years from now.
(2)Julia L.
omg. this place is really bad. the waitress was awful, didnt offer us a bib, flatware or small plates. The salmon was chewy and tastless. The garlic and herb snowcrabs hadnt been seasoned as we hoped it would be. i wasted fifty dollars on the experience. will not ever go back, not worth it. stay home and cook, it will taste better that Joe's
(1)Jan H.
We went there last night and got there in the middle of their dance.... Finally got seated and had to wait half an hour for our dinner. Terrible service! Had to ask for tea refills, ask about our dinner when it was taking so long. The place wasn't crowded either so there was no excuse. Although the food was good, I think I'll find another seafood place in the future.
(2)Linda A.
Dinner last night was delish! My husband and I and our daughter and her husband shared one steam pot per couple! The appetizers were great! Crab legs, shrimp and sausage! Yummy! We all enjoyed it!
(4)C B.
Food is decent if a little pricey. It's ok for when I get a craving for crab legs. I do think the dancing is annoying. I hate it when restaurants rely on gimmicks, let your food do the talking.
(3)Sarah F.
I've been to a JCS years ago, and I remember having an ok experience. I tried to go again for lunch and was sorely disappointed. The food was below average. I wasn't impressed with anything that was brought out, or the service. They're like a second-rate seafood restaraunt. This was the last nail in their coffin - I will not be going back.
(1)Greg O.
Stop that goofy dancin' and bring me another beer!
(3)April C.
I usually love giving reviews on yelp, but this 1 star hurts to give. We went on a Friday night, hour wait, so we sat at the bar. The bartender, a female, didn't even give us a second look. The bar was sticky, so were the menus. Behind the bar was an absolute disaster. Dirty glasses, plates, food were everywhere. The other bartender/server seemed almost promising. Not sure if he was new or just wasn't that great but he told us he would get us drinks and then never returned. Our food was mediocre. It came out wrong and we voiced it, but it was never fixed. I work in the business so I left $5 on my half of the bill ($30) but I will never go back there again. Everyone seemed either flustered or just incompetent.
(1)Wavydavy ..
Great food and great service. The people here are always alert and ready to take your order. They also have a great selection of alcoholic drinks.
(4)Billy M.
Great seafood place. Went with my wife and daughter as well as brother in law. Seafood is never cheap and not sure if I'd want to eat cheap seafood but the price was not bad. The portions were big and that's a must for me. The only down side would have been on the restrooms. My wife said the woman's restroom needed some attention and was very displeased with it. I won't go into details. But that aside everything else was great! Would definitely go back
(5)terrell d.
Let's start with the stuff is great. Playful at times happy to be there. The food is great. Money well spent. An you don't have to wait a hour for your food
(5)Linda A.
Staff was great. manager was friendly and attentive to making our night enjoyable .food was good this is,my second time here and this time was much better last time had no complaints but this time more of a friendly atmosphere.
(4)Self-Proclaimed C.
Awful experience. Out of the sampler platter - Fried calamari was frozen, crab dip was frozen and the crab balls were gooey and not edible...so slimy I could not swallow it. 18 steamed shrimp - shimp were not de-veined. They were steamed but I all I heard was crunch as I chewed shrimp poo. Why?? Margarita - terrible mix...no flavor...minimal alcohol, no garnish on the glass. Spouse had a beer, it was safe. We cut our loses and ended there. The waiter was nice...but noticed that all the wait staff seemed to have unkempt hair; not ideal for waitstaff as hair can drop in the food. I blame management/leadership at this location...they should know better. I blame corporate for pushing frozen food off to consumers.
(1)Michelle H.
I was extremely disappointed with the customer service. In my mind, as a former server, I thought a business maintained success by making sure the staff was, at the least, knowledgable of their product. My husband and I asked our ditzy server how many pieces of fish come with the platter. Her only response was, "I don't know." We asked her if more shrimp could be added to a platter She said only, "No." I then asked could we just purchase an order of shrimp. She only said, "Yes." I asked how many shrimp come in an order. She held up her five fingers like she was 3 years old. Then as she was about to leave our table, I asked my husband if he would like a drink (since she hadn't offered). I gave myself a pat on the back by not displaying my frustration in the restaurant. However, after paying almost $60 for a couple of forgettable meals and terrible service, I had to at least vent of my disappointment on this site.
(2)Joe U.
Good food, but service was not so good. Got there early on Friday night and it took 20 minutes to get service.
(2)Steve B.
Sad, just sad. I am a fan of the franchise. They used to have a location on my side of town. Whomp Whomp but whatever. Kinda disappointed with the location in Gwinett because it had little business. Maybe because of the day I went. Just shocked it has not had more business. Last of a dying breed, Man I swear I tell ya. Grade: D
(2)Shamika H.
Came for graduation dinner with my husband. Service was just as awesome as the food. Best place to come for crab cakes!
(5)Tim D.
Food was incredible service lacked a little. Management seemed overwhelmed. Our waitress left in the middle of our meal and took awhile for someone to acknowledge us after that but the food made up for it
(4)Ricky T.
Sticky menus, unnecessarily crowded, dirty tables, mediocre service... and to top this!! a crab leg basket ranging from $20 - $30?? I just don't get it. I could go to a chinese buffet for $15 a person and get unlimited crab legs!! I guess going to Joe's Crab Shack is the American thing to do...
(1)Conie J.
Great food, great price, great ambiance. We will be back soon and more frequently. The music was great, the staff was friendly, our waitress was great.
(5)Wayne M.
30 minutes wait for a table and over an hour for our luke warm food. No silverware, napkins or refills. Lobster smelled like it sat on the dock in the sun for days. Horrible service. Only good thing was the manager.
(1)Kenya R.
This Joes was just OKAY to me. I am use to going to other Joes and having a better experience. My crab legs were not season as I wanted them to be. I requested extra old baye but thats not what I got. The other items were just average. The place seem to be a tad bit old and could really use some updating. The service I must say was pretty good and our server was very attentive. Will I be back? Yeah if I'm in the area and REALLY want some seafood.
(3)Rickelle G.
one word! amazing! The crab was great and the service is great as well! Everyone working there was so nice and sweet. :)
(5)Pamela M.
Not a great experience at all. Joe's is currently running a special on 33 shrimp for 11.99. BE AWARE! NO substituting! You will get a variety of shrimp including popcorn, that may be doubled together or simply batter, bbq shrimp, and beer-battered shrimp. As long as you are aware of what you're getting prior to ordering, you'll be okay. However in our case, the waitress (very nice and tried her best) did not advise us of that until we noticed it on the plate. We had also ordered the $2 crawfish appetizers and regular priced clam strip appetizer. Well, the $2 app was cold and sent back and it came back with added crawfish and still cold. The clam strips was warmer. The waitress alerted the manager and he did remove the app from the bill and provided extra shrimp that was missing from the supposedly 33 shrimp. The shrimp was hot, yayyyy! Unfortunately, he really showed no real concern about the situation...just fixing it. Crab clusters we're also ordered and guess what... they too we're barely warm. The ONLY positive experience were the $2 drinks (actually ok) and the 5 piping shrimp that replaced the miscounted 33 shrimp.
(2)Elizabeth N.
This is not necessary my favorite seafood place but it's not bad. Their drinks are decent and their seafood pots have been consistently good. I'm beginning to prefer this spot over Bahama Breeze.
(3)Dijan M.
I have passed by this place many times but never really cared to stop by and check it out, until recently. A friend of mine and I wanted to have seafood for dinner the other night and I thought we should give this place a try. I've actually never had real crab in my life (it's simply not part of my regular diet and my culture isn't seafood oriented). It was definitely an experience. We had some good laughs about the silly bibs and the interesting utensils. For my drink I had a margarita served in a mason jar. It was decent, not overly alcoholic (I'm trying to have dinner, not get drunk). We ordered the double dip for the appetizer. It's actually two dishes. One is the crab dip and the other is the artichoke and spinach dip which are served with chips. The dips were really good! I especially liked the crab dip. For our main meal, we ordered the Joe's Classic Steampot for 2 which comes with 2 large queen crabs, 2 sweet snow crabs, lots of shrimp, 2 smoked sausages, 2 corn on the cob, and plenty of potatoes. It was definitely more than enough for the two of us, but it was delicious! The crabs were well seasoned and the corn on the cob was good, too. This location also has a very large outdoor playground for the kids. I got to keep the mason jar. Who doesn't like mason jars??
(4)Sandy W.
This review is for service because I didn't eat, after waiting to be seated when the restaurant was only half full then seated at a dirty table. After waiting over 15 mins for drinks and for someone to wipe the table down we decided it was best to just leave.
(1)Cindy M.
Loved the food! Great service and atmosphere!!! Will definitely be coming back again!
(5)Stephen F.
Just so-so. This is the second time I've eaten here and I really don't get the allure. Party of 10, we were seated immediately and the service was perfect but the food was just OK, actually the desert was better than the meal. Just not my place.
(2)Adrian C.
Typical Joe's crab shack. Typical salty food. Typical mediocre sea food. Typical "got crabs" t-shirts.
(3)Jermainne B.
Being a Louisianan, it is hard to get great seafood elsewhere. Joe's Crab Shack don't disappoint but at his particular location, it seemed as if I was shorted some items. In Louisiana my bucket was filled to the gills with food. I always get the "The Ragin Cajun" bucket. However, I did enjoy my meal.
(3)Sonya M.
Absolutely delicious! Loved the atmosphere. Staff are very friendly and attentive. Manager very courteous. Food came out hot, fast and fresh. Very clean restaurant. Will come back again. :-)
(5)Anthony Z.
I had a bad experience there....the quality of seafood was low .....And i been over charged 18bucks...i tried to contact the manager....but i never got respond ....never go back again..........
(1)Brenda L.
Tried the appetizer sampler. It was okay. Staff was very nice and pleasant.
(3)Tiffany B.
This location is utterly terrible. There are a bunch of females in there with terrible attitudes. They act like they're doing you a favor or something. Our waitress was Kiara or however you spell it and she was terrible. She kept bringing us sodas with no syrup in them after repeatedly being told something was wrong with it. We had to ASK for refills more than once. Then on top of that she brought out our check while we were literally in the middle of our meal. Like we were still stuffing our face & this not so bright person is bringing around a check. Who does that?!? Her alone makes me NEVER want to come to this location again. She's the worst. The manager Byron was very apologetic and discounted some of our food so that made things better but they should really do better with hiring these hoodrats.
(1)Ricky B.
When you order from the menu you have the expectation that you will receive all items that is stated for that dish. When I received my order I noticed I did not have onion straws nor did I have hushpuppies. This should have been discussed before my order was delivered to the table. It was not mentioned until I brought it up. I was then told they were out but they could make some onion straws but it would take too long for the hushpuppies. This is not acceptable I would have ordered something else if I would have been notified of this. The manager could also be more involved and check on the customers instead of sitting at the bar talking to his buddies.
(1)MD W.
It was nice. We sat in the bar area, and the bartender was very helpful and attentive. I would come back.
(4)Tom E.
Ever since Joe's closed their location at North Point Mall, I was pissed. It was close to home, and always busy. But they got evicted- which I found to be complete horse crap. So my fix for huge buckets of crab had been shattered. Since living in MEM, I have not found crab like I am used to seeing (maybe I just have not looked hard enough)- so when I went back to ATL on my last visit, I was jonesin for crab like it was going out of style. So it was my mom, my sis, her sons, and myself. It was empty that night, and I couldn't realize why. When we sat down, maybe the baby that sat next to us with the ear piercing shrieks emptied the place. Who cares, I just wanted some crab. When viewing the menu here, everything looks mouth watering. I mean everything. If I had 2 hollow legs and $1000, I would have probably gotten one of each steampot. But I ended up sticking to the Rajun Cajun Steampot- which consisted of crab, shrimp, sausage, and potatoes. After my bib was put on, my mouth was watering. From the pictures on the menu- it looked amazing. And when I got my steampot, I almost cried. It looked nothing like in the picture! What a tease! So one thing I have learned about Joe's- they do some awesome marketing, unfortunately, they can't come close to matching what it looks like in the pictures, which to me, is a shame. I still ate it all. Then I shared dessert with my mom. We got a smore's brownie. It was pretty yum! All in all, if you want decent drinks, come here. However, don't expect a leaning tower of crab or anything. Seems like this place has taken a hit over the years...
(3)Brittany C.
Horrible service & the manager is not very bright and very immature. I was seated, waited 10 min before someone even came by to try and take our order, I ordered an Arnold Palmer she brought me a Sweet Tea, I ordered cold shrimp, they brought me Hot shrimp, I ordered a Cesar salad, my waiter Waited 10 min to inform me they were not serving anything with Caesar dressing because they were all out! Which makes no sense, just give me ranch instead! So I ordered the fish and chips...DISGUSTING, my boyfriend ordered a salad and said he wanted nothing on it but chicken, dressing and cheese...the bring us a salad with EVERYTHING on it (hush puppies, tomatoes & Fish etc.) By this point I requested the manager, he gave me a sorry apology and tried to tell jokes and then had the nerve to tell my boyfriend "I'm sorry you're hungry" and then laugh. This really upset my boyfriend and he was almost ready to go off. They bring the check and it was WRONG, I had to wait another 10 min for the manager to finally fix it so that all I paid for was my drink... My FIRST and LAST time here. Horrible service and an idiot manager.
(1)Tiffany H.
Where are the half stars when you REALLLLYYY need them? I visited here while I was "OTP"... Everything was "MEH", except the Beer and Hushpuppies! It's a chain, which I tend to resent, but with very few choices on Pleasant Hill, we went with it. We sampled a variety of things from their menu: A Lobster Tail: (2 stars) It was very chewy and almost "dry". East Coast Platter: It was a hunk of fried seafood, French fries, and fried onions. The crab cake was solid, I must admit. Atlantic "Insert Cheeky Name" Here Bucket: It was chocked full of low quality scallops, crab, shrimp, and mussels. Don't forget the Old Bay, Kendall Jackson, Corn, and Potatoes! We should have donated the $29.99 to the Pine Street Shelter. Nuff said. Hush Puppies: I COULD SING HYMNS TO THEE! They were fabulous! Then again, how hard is it to mess up a hushpuppy? :) I ate all EIGHT of them, and didn't feel one ounce of guilt! Turtle Sundae: Exactly how it sounds, with an insane amount of chocolate syrup! LADIES: If you're watching your weight, stay away. I'm fit, work out daily, and stand in at 119 lbs. After I sampled the corn from the bucket, the buttons on my linen pants popped! I kid you not...I eat out often, it's insanely rare that my usually washboard stomach swells! I immediately put down the corn, took my last swig of beer, and thought, "What the hell is in this stuff? I can't be actual food!" Lol All in all, it was a good time. The only drawback is that the steampots showcase the low quality of the seafood, and it sucks for you insanely if you end up here and don't eat everything fried. Yeah, everyone gets the steampots, but let's admit it, they're not very good. :) LaKeisha, the manager was very friendly, and gave us two coupons to return. She recognized my friend from a previous horrible experience. That's such great customer service! (It saved them a 2 star review?) The Verdict: Joe's Crab Shack is the perfect guilty pleasure.
(3)Mark R.
Menu looks awesome! The food tasty sub-par! The bartender was young cocky little piece of SHIT! DONE!
(2)S. C.
Yuck! This crew never heard of the word "CLEAN". The entire restaurant is filthy. Dust all over the windowsills & dust balls and hair on top of each booth, windows streaky with grime, sticky tables, sticky salt & pepper shakers, floors laden with food. They never clean here! You can see a lot when the sun shines in! Two table bussers were cleaning up at table of 12 that just left & never wiped down the table!!!! This was a super lazy team of 2 guys! He grabbed a piece of paper towel off the roll on the table & merely brushed all the scraps right onto the floor! Can you imagine how many germs are on that table?! We ordered the mozzarella sticks for appy & was told they had no more appetizer plates so we would have to use large dinner plates. Hey, this was only around 6pm!! My "Seaside" entree promised fish & chips, scallops & crispy shrimp. I got that, but I got measly 3 scallops about the size of a quarter if that with the breading falling off, fish was a thin, tubular skinny piece that didn't even make sense to serve & the shrimp to be fair was perfect. All of their sauces are terrible. From cocktail sauce, butter/tabasco, tartar & whatever creepy concoction they serve for the hushpuppies are all gross! This was our 2nd visit. I guess I forgot about our first visit 5 months ago, but I knew I was leery about going again. Save your money & stay away from Joe's Crab Crap!
(1)Thorne C.
Had a horrible experience here. Went with a group of friends during a visit. Totally excited to get crab legs. It was crazy busy, the service was so slow. The server must have been on break or something. Hr finally showed up and we ordered drinks. We placed our order and waited another 45 minutes. I was starving. When we got our food, every single one of our orders was wrong. One of my friends and I ordered just regular crab (simple) and it came out seasoned (dredged in old bay). My friend and I sent ours back to get new ones. The server told us saying that we ordered the Chesapeake crab. Hmmm. I know what I ordered and it wasn't that style. We got "new" crab legs but it ended up it was the same crab just had the seasoning washed off. We left.
(2)Chris E.
I have been going here for years since I moved in the area over 10 years ago. As a seafood lover, this has always been my favorite restaurant by far. There was a time I would come here at least once or twice every week for crab legs. However since things have changed, its not wise for me to visit as often, but I still make a point to come here a few times a year. In the past I would have given this place 5 stars across the board (as I have on another site), but sadly it looks like things are changing. First of all it seems your portion sizes are getting smaller and smaller while prices are slowly inching up. I don't think the crab buckets and steam pots are priced accordingly to what you get. While this will certainty limit my visits, its not enough for me to stop coming here altogether. My biggest issue is it seems that the service is degrading. When I first started coming here, it didn't matter if you just sat at the bar or ate in the dining area, you were almost guaranteed to get great service with servers who were polite, professional, and seemed to enjoy being there. However my past few visits have been anything but. In my experience the servers seemed like they didn't want to be there and frankly it seemed that they didn't want me there as a customer either. While they weren't downright rude, they just seemed to irritated to even be there. I can tell when someone doesn't enjoy their job and it just seems many of the staff here don't. In addition in the past, my drinks were always kept full with me rarely having to even ask, these days I constantly have to call someone over for a refill as it seems many won't come over unless you flag them down. There are still some waiters/waitresses here as evidenced by the excellent service I received when I came here with my son last year, but for the most part excellent or even good service is becoming rare. One thing I have noticed is that the managers occasionally walk around the restaurant asking customers how is everything. This is good so maybe the managers are already aware of the problems with the service and are slowly working to improve. I really hope this is the case. Other than a popular chain restaurant, there aren't any other seafood places I can go to in my area. Honestly I think Joe's tastes better than that other place, but if things continue to go downhill, I will be forced to no longer come here.
(3)FoodSnob D.
yep 5 stars dammit! I ate here 2 days straight and got the queen crab bucket. The legs were large, meaty, and had a great taste to them. Now here is what inspired my review. Not on the dessert menu, but located within the the menu is a pineapple upside down cake. OMG... I done died and went to pineapple cove where sponge bob lives. Ok, it was warm with chunks of FRESH not canned, pineapples, with toasted coconut on top.. They give you a hot rum flavored caramel sauce to pour on top... It was by far, hands down theeee best pineapple upside down cake I ever had. It also goes into my top 10 of best desserts. I was completely shocked..... Get ureself one.
(5)Jazen L.
Had went to joes crab shack for my sister in law birthday. We had a reservation at 7 and they had not prepare the table for us. We had to wait another 30 mins to be seated. Serve was mediocre and slow. Took them at least 30 mins to get our drinks, one hour to get our food and another hour wait to get the check. Are you serious!!! A hour for my check!!! Food was okay. Would rather eat at redcrawfish at sugarloaf. Not coming back.
(1)Diari C.
I've given this place four stars in the past, but my recent experience was a little disappointing. We got the Crazy Sampler which includes this crab dip that is ALWAYS good, fried calamari, fried cheese, and nacho chips. Very Good... For my entree, I ordered my usual, the Crab Daddy Feast. I usually get the Barbeque flavor, but switched it up this time and got the Chesapeake Bay flavor. Let's just say, the crabs were soggy, had very little seasoning on them, and they had a weird smell...like an ammonium smell. I usually eat my entire bucket - seafood, potatoes, corn and all, but this time, I only ate half. I just couldn't get pass the smell and the lack of flavor. Also, the waitress committed a pretty significant VIOLATION in my eyes...SHE DIDN'T BRING MELTED BUTTER until well after our buckets were brought to the table. By the time the butter came, I was slightly annoyed, slightly disappointed, and slightly over it. It hurts my heart to give these guys two stars, but it's hard out here on these streets! You gotta be consistent with your service and quality of food. No exceptions!
(2)