Joe's Crab Shack
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
45 reviews
Costa Mesa, CA
"I have been coming to Scott's since i was a little girl and it has always been one of my favorite restaurants! The calamari is amazing(the…" read more »
20 Reviews for Joe's Crab Shack
Fun times! Came to this place for my Birthday! They had me doing the Hula for the entire restaurant in a coconut bra, they know how to entertain. The food was pretty good as well! They have a gift shop with lots of cool item to pick-up! Overall a good experience!
We seem to like it here it's been good to us. I guess because you're near the water it feels nice.
The shack's menu has a pretty good selection of choices especially with large groups, everyone wants something different.
The drinks are pretty good and strong.
We usually get the crispy calamari appetizer then add a salad for .89 cents (now it's probably 1.25) rasberry vinaigrette.
The kid and I love getting the pound and a half of BBQ Dungeness.
Th wife chooses something different every time.
We had a going away party for my good friend Jennifer she was moving back to Colorado, it was a blast. Plenty of Cadillac margaritas.
Cheers!!
Ha. We were originally trying to go to Schooner or Later but there was an hour wait...so, we did the unspeakable.
We walked to Joe's Crab Shack.
Ugh.
One hostess in the entire restaurant.
ONE person. The line was getting longer...even though the place looked very empty.
I thought Gladstones was bad...this place wins the Garbage Award.
I guess we should have ordered the bucket o' crab/shrimp...but we opted for our own dishes...
Eeeesh.
It just wasn't amazing enough for me to say "wow, this be some good skrimps."
It just failed miserably in my eyes.
And the Pineapple/Cinnamon Mojito hardly tasted like a Mojito.
It was all pineapple juice with cinnamon sprinkles.
Huh?
It was terrible.
I left extremely disappointed.
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Schooner or Later told you, you have to wait 2 hours for a table? Well, what ever you do, DO NOT walk down to Joe's Crap Shack. The food is so mediocre here if not just plain bad.
I am beginning to think that ALL of the restaurants at the Long Beach marina are bad. A better bet would be to drive to the In-And-Out on PCH.
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We ordered crab stuffed mushrooms as our appetizer which was pretty freakin good!
Got the fish n chips, but they weren't flaky the way fish is supposed to be. It was very rubbery and dry.
Daniel got the mahi mahi sandwich, which he stated was pretty nice.
The best part was definitely watching them dance! So funny, and they all looked so embarrased! I love when people get embarrased; gives me an opportunity to laugh at their expense!
Anyways, got some of their chocolate cake to-go, and it was sooooooo goooood! We happened to have some fresh strawberries on hand to put on top, so we just cut them up and VOILA! Our fruit for the day!
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This place is exactly what you would expect from a tacky seafood joint. I thought that the crab was pretty good. Order your crab in the traditional style though - the flavored versions only make your hands smell like a garlic factory and add nothing to the meat itself. The calamari is not rubbery either and worth the price for an appetizer. Don't sit on the "patio" though - it is enclosed with plexi-glass and heats up like a greenhouse. The ocean breezes outside the plastic barrier are just an insult.
I have stopped here several times to eat, but recently I was very impressed. I left a $300 pair of sunglasses at my table and didn't realize it until the next day. I stopped in to see if by chance they had them still and they did. The waitress that served me was working again this day and said she came into the parking lot to find me when she realized I left them. I know if I was her, I would have a new pair of sunglasses... so kudos to this place! :)
I'm crazy about crab, but not about Joe's.
I understand why this restaurant exists. Most sit-downs for crab are stuffy and geriatric, not to mention expensive. Someone, probably a guy named Joe, must have thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to sing and dance and hang gaudy decorations at a seafood place? I wonder if I can replicate the unique charm of a sand side crab shack and then sell out to a massive restaurant corporation?"
And so you get Joe's Crab Shack which is loud, tacky, and predictable. You certainly need to be in a easy-going mood to enjoy you meal here. And if you married into a family of perpetual mumblers like I did, you can all but forget conversation.
Maybe if I was drunk or looking to be obnoxious I would choose Joe's over Red Lobster. Otherwise, I'm not a big fan. The food? Forgettable.
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thank goodness for that crazy mcd's commercial for bringing "the cha cha slide" into the jukebox at joe's crab shack. there is nothing, i mean NOTHING, like watching those poor, rhythm-less servers TRY to get down. but here's a thought, instead of dancing (and shakin' your FAKE rack around), why not SERVE ME MY FOOD! why, WHY, does it take 20 minutes for a cup of soup? and why did we have to ask for ketchup 3 times? the place was an hour a way from closing, only had a few tables, and we waited, and waited, and waited. the dancing did change my mood, though i almost choked on my shrimp po' boy (boy did that suck!) from laughing so much. anyway, if you love tacky decor, a bucket of paper towels, and cute (but dumb) servers, stop on by. hope you enjoy the wait, cuz food-wise, it AINT worth it!
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This is a place you can take your kids and no one will notice if they are loud. This is a place that you can find your missing shoe that washed away with the tide last summer, only here it's considered "art" and will be hanging on the wall. The service here is always fantastic. The staff are all "livley" and dace too, no extra charge. Upstairs the music can get a bit loud, so not a place for a first date, unless you know it's going that bad from the get-go.
The food is always good, especially the SOUP. Boring as that may sound it's sooo good.
And you have to love the staff shirts with comments like "got crabs?" A great place just to people watch.
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The seafood here is phenominal, but the service is a little too in your face for my style.
and the concept of take-out seafood creeps me out.
We came here because the wait at Schooner or Later was TWO hours. Uh yeah, no thanks. This place was ok. Its exactly what you would expect from another chain restaurant - similar to Chili's or Friday's or any of those others - silly stuff all over the walls and a cheesy waitstaff. Its not bad though. The place has floor to ceiling windows so you get great views of the Marina. We were seated in a little side room which was nice because the music got super loud at one point - the waiters performed some choreographed dance to "Cotton Eye Joe" that went on a bit too long - we were glad we didn't have to be in the main room to experience that. We got the "double dip" to start, I thought their crab dip was surprisingly tasty. We had to wait quite a while for it though, the manager came out and told us that they had burnt it so they were making another one, and they gave us free dessert as a result, so no complaints. I got the crunchy fish sandwich... it was good, nothing special, and the fries were decent. I don't think I'd go out of my way to come back to Joe's Crab Shack, but it certainly wasn't bad.
I suppose if I hadn't cooked my own crab or were a 10yr old child, this place would be awesome. But I have cooked my own crab & I'm not a 10yr old child (some might think differently), so it's not so awesome. Don't get me wrong, the food is not bad, just dramatically overpriced & a bit average in taste. You almost always have to wait a tremendous amount of time (unless it's the middle of the day or you have a small party) and the service can be hit or miss. If you go there on your birthday be prepared to prance around on a fake horse or as a cheerleader. Can't say I'll never go back, but I'm not going to make a strong effort.
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I've been around Long Beach for some time now and finally decided to go to this place. It's right on the Marina but we were inside the bar so couldn't tell that. I had coconut shrimp (crab is sooo much trouble to eat) and my husband had calimari appetizer. Both were quite tasty and satisfying. We sat in the bar because there was a 30 minute wait for restaurant seating. The bartender came to our table, took our orders promptly, made great drinks (a martini and a margarita) and was cheerful and fun. it was really quite enjoyable!
My only complaint about the place was that it felt dirty, like it needed a good deep cleaning really bad. That's why I give it three stars. Everything else was satisfying in an almost 'chain establishment' sort of way.
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I really don't have much to complain about my visit last night, which is why I have to give this place four stars. Having read the reviews, I wasn't expecting a fine dining establishment, so I was pleasantly surprised. It's basically, like a seafood dive. (I happen to like dives, so it's not exactly a dig.) I was sitting at the bar, so that may have colored my experience as well.
My friend and I ordered the crab dip sampler, which came with that and two other choices. We chose the peel and eat shrimp and the popcorn shrimp. All were absolutely delicious, but I don't think I've come across more difficult shrimp to peel. Then we split the Aruba salad with coconut shrimp, which was an interesting pairing, but also quite tasty.
Something left to be desired was the music. I thought we were hitting an all time low when the Friends theme song started blaring through the speakers, but I was distracted enough by the food and my well-prepared margarita.
Only if you are in the mood for fried seafood and can tolerate a kitschy atmosphere do I recommend this place. And if you are in that mood, this place will surely satisfy.
ok its a cheesy place but the bar is fantastic! I guess they get you liquor'd up then seat you! A great smile can lead to free drinks and a good tip also goes a long way here. Crab legs are deelicious and the lobster here was a wee bit disappointing.
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I've been to Joe's Crab Shack twice this location and the on in Redondo beach and here's what i have to say...
Stop dancing and fill my Ice Tea dammit!
The food is just o.k. it's over seasoned most likely to mask the low quality. I'm just not impressed with this place at all. Someone change my mind and tell me something good about it please.
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If you don't want to do a cheer while wearing a cheerleader skirt and pom-poms, ride around on a toy pony or run around the restaurant wearing a stupid cape - then don't let anyone drag you to Joe's Crab Shack on your birthday.
If you don't want to eat overpriced deep fried food - then don't let anyone drag you to Joe's Crab Shack at all.
I'm not exactly sure what it is, but something about this place irks the hell out of me. Probably all of the ridiculous decor and the birthday rituals every 15 minutes. The food is okay and some of it is actually pretty good, namely the coconut shrimp.
Not a place to go for "real" seafood, but if you are wanting some deep fried shrimp covered in deep fried coconut the go here.
Thumbs Up:
-Coconut Shrimp
-Semi-decent prices
Thumbs Down:
-Everything is fried
-Stupid birthday crap
-Mediocre service
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The food was good, but the wait can be a little long. It's always fun there, as the wait staff is energetic and very friendly. It's family-friendly and kids can enjoy their birthday there while the rest of the patrons sing along! It's fun and the food is good and tasty. I really enjoyed it there, the wait was less than stellar, but still worth it!
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Maybe a teeny bit pricy, but hey, it's a seafood restaraunt. And it's pretty good. Their entrees can be a little on the greasy side (not a bad thing, really!). I like their crab cakes, but almost anything you get there will be satisfying (with the exception of the fish and chips where the fish isn't beer-battered. Always get the beer-battered).
What makes this place stand out is the atmosphere. It's a good place to take your friend if you want them to humiliate themselves by "performing" along with the enthusiastic, effervescent wait staff. The servers sing, dance, and sometimes make you put on a cowboy hat and ride a broomstick horsie around the dining room (especially if it's your birthday). That's what they made my friend do, anyway.
So the place can be very loud. But most of the time, it's very fun.
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Why, why, why would you want to go here? Go someplace interesting with good food, ie NOT HERE.
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