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Joe's Crab Shack
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
14 reviews for Joe's Crab Shack
The food is good when you stick to the simple items.. stockpot, fresh shrimp boil, etc. When you venture too far off you will stumble into a tragic version of Crapplebees. I love the location and love going when I can sit outside on the water.
When I have to sit inside I feel excessively awkward due to the extreme lengths the decor goes to in order to feel hip and cool. And please please stop the dancing. It's like watching that really awkward kid from high school try to dance the first time. Your not sure whether to keep watching to be polite or look away to save the shame for everyone. Friends don't let servers do a line dance......
My girlfriend has been raving on and on about going to this place the next time we're in town and finally we made it, but it was not the best of experience if you ask me. Sadly to say the best part of our encounter here at this mediocre "Crab Shack" would be the sight of one of their signature t-shirts (which they sell) and on that shirt it read "My waitress gave me crabs" I thought that was hillarious!
Upon arriving there was a 20 minute wait for a table, no biggie. Finally seated outside around 8:30 which was cold and I requested a table inside then. After ordering our food the wait time for our food was roughly 20 minutes which was understandable given the level of occupancy they had, but food without utensils or a bib like everyone else had just brought up red flags for me all the way. I had to wave down our waiter for utensils and requested bibs for everyone since we all had seafood pots which can get messy and wearing a white shirt can't be pretty. My first thought after getting our food was "this is it?!" I am paying 25 bucks for this?! Seasoning on my crab was wayyyyyyyyyyy too heavy to the point it was just salty, the sauce that came with the coconut prawns was plum sauce(from Chinese restaurants), and the waiter never came back to fill any drinks for us during the duration of our time there until I mentioned it to a manager!
Final thoughts: Stick to The Crab Pot in Seattle. Much better experience for a fraction of what I paid down there, but if you really have no other options just stay home because disappointment is how I would rate it.
I'm pretty much with DK on this one. The Shari's of seafood. It's passable for alright, but the crabcake tasted off, and my coconut shrimp were butterflied and seriously looked like breaded nuts, like ballsack nuts. Dipped in a strange plum pineapple sauce? Methinks no.
Anecdotely (sp?), my first roomate in college was from Dallas, Oregon, and she thought McGrath's Fish House was a high end seafood spot, a restaurant for a high class date. I'm not saying that people feel the same about Joes, I mean how could you with Miller, Bud, and Corona neon all about, but if this place passes for good ocean food in the 'Couv, then drive me across the river.
And you know what, I'm a food snob.
I used to go to the shack a lot when I lived in San Diego but it's a bit of trek for me to go to this one. It is totally worth it though. I like it better than any other seafood chain restaurant. If you feel like escaping to some remote beach on a nice sunny day and are in the mood for some corporate style seafood bake, this is the place.
We got the steam pot for 2 flavored with garlic herb and it was delicious. The crabs were moist and tasty. The butter dip tasted like butter and the fact that it taste like what is supposed to taste like is very important to me. it doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to taste like how it is advertised. If you have advertised it tasted like styrofoam and I tried it, I would be satisfied because you were honest.
Anyways, I always enjoy myself when I come here and always leave satisfied. The only thing I could do without is the random dancing, especially when the place is empty. C'mon Joe, you don't have to fancy me like that!
Just got done having a couple of bloody marys and a bucket of shrimp. Gotta say, for a Sunday lazy afternoon, there's nothing much better than the grub food at Joe's.
Hubby's surf and turf burger was huge and well cooked. Fries were a bit oversalted (and I'm a salt lover!) but better than no salt. Bloody's were fantastic, and the peel and eat shrimp were spicy and fresh. Cocktail sauce didn't really work with the seasoning on the shrimp. I would serve the remoulade sauce that came on the burger instead.
I would have given five stars, but the place could use some deep cleaning. Debris and crumbs litter the windowsill and bench seating. Either get a professional in to deep clean, or have the servers work a little harder! I'm in the business, so I look for that kind of thing.
Also, kudos to the manager, who greeted us professionally and with a sincerity I haven't seen in a while. Has a russian accent? Didn't get his name. Very nice person. I will be back...
I'm from Virginia, where Joe's is more plentiful. My boyfriend and I went on a trip to VA in August-September, and while we were there we had some Joe's (his first time). We got back home to Kent, WA and had a hankering for crab and lobster, so we drove the 2 1/2 hours to Vancouver (!!!) to go to JCS. Luckily we didn't have to wait even though it was really busy, because we were starving by the time we got there and just wanted to eat. We ordered the seafood fondue as an appetizer, I got the Beantown Bake for me (2 lobsters, 1 pound of clams, shrimp in the shell, corn on the cob, and potatoes) and he got a steampot that had a couple different types of crab and clams, shrimp, etc. We ordered several drinks as well. Maybe it was because the bar was right behind our table, but we received our mixed drinks before our water. Our waitress was too busy flirting with the guys at the table next to us to come take our order for the next 10 minutes or so, so we just sat there twiddling our thumbs. Finally she took our orders, and eventually we received our food. My boyfriend's crab was really tasty but my lobsters were bland and didn't have the right consistency (they were very rubbery). I didn't even eat the tail meat out of the second one because I was so over it by then. We were both surprised because we had such an awesome experience at the Joe's in Chesapeake, VA a couple of weeks before that, so we were very disappointed. We didn't witness any "dancing" at the JCS in VA but in this one the waitresses would randomly start dancing, which was really awkward. Overall... a waste of gas and a substantial amount of $$$.
Ok, to be fair, I ordered their snapper dish and not their famous steampot (steamed crab and other stuff) dish which by the name of the establishment should've been a given as to what I SHOULD order. My dish, while edible - didn't really satisfy me..like, at all. I was just NOT feeling it.
Also, their really expensive, watered down "alcoholic" beverages sucked. I totally hate when that happens.
Welcome to Joe's Crap Shack!
To say the least, I wasn't impressed. The stench of the place sort of lost my appetite from the beginning, so I ordered a hamburger and even that wasn't really the best. It was noisy and the decor was like a cafeteria of a cannery. The service was questionable, and we went between lunch and dinner. This place is definitely not worth the price. The crabs here aren't the greatest either according to the other people who ate with me. I would say the only reason why you would go is the view, but there's other restaurants with a similar view.
FUC'n NASTY, YO.
If there were zero stars available, that is what I would choose. Although I don't know which is worse: this place or the Who Song and Larry's next door.
The ONLY thing Joe's has going for it is the view of the river. Very nice. Everything else? Very NOT.
Service was pretty annoying. Our server came to our table every five minutes for one reason or another, and when our check came, we felt like they wanted us out, even though there was a lot of room in the restaurant.
The hushpuppies tasted fine, but the presentation sucked. And my dad ordered them to come with his meal, but they gave it to him as an appetizer.
Everything else tasted very "off," which, when talking about a seafood restaurant, is not a good thing.
My sister's popcorn shrimp was very soggy. My crabcake sandwich tasted just strange. My dad's fish-and-chips came with pollock fish, which they tried to tell us was a normal fish for the dish, but it came looking all curled up instead of in fillets. And my mom got this crab nacho that again tasted funky. Really creamy and soggy and kind of cold. YUCK.
And, I'm REALLY not into places that have obnoxious decorations and make you dance for your food. They had sharks hanging from the ceiling, TVs, and George W. stapled overhead. It's where the middle-aged obese men hang out in their Hawaiian shirts with cell-phones harnessed on their beltloops, to try to act like a frat boy and wear a bib.
It was my sister's birthday, and I know that it's the tradition for many places to make a big racket, and then give a free dessert. This place made her dance around with a boa and oversized sunglasses, and they couldn't even spare a scoop of ice cream. Another birthday party there was made to spell their names with their butts while being sung to.
Classy.
Yup, not my place, and I can't imagine why it would be anyone's place. It's overpriced and underdelicious and just plain obnoxious.
So, it's the hottest day ever and I wanted to eat somewhere with outdoor seating on the river, breezy and cool. I ate at another Joe's location in Colorado, and remember it being pretty tasty, so I gave this spot a try.
Here's what I have to say:
1. Our server was nice. Other employees looked unhappy to be at work, which is always sort of a downer when you're trying to enjoy lunch.
2. Yummy crab stuffed mushroom appetizer.
3. Shrimp Po'Boy Sandwich was a little dry and kinda just alright.
4. Shrimp Cobb Salad was good but not great.
5. Margaritas were a little watery but still hit the spot on a hot day like today.
All in all, it was kind of just filler food. Not great but not bad either. I didn't leave especially unhappy, just sorta neutral. Sorry Joe.
Ok, the stuffed mushrooms, and the crab were good, the buckets ok. The rest left me wondering who taught them to cook seafood. Yes the atmosphere was fun and our friends certainly enjoyed it. Location, lets face it.. AWESOME. Service so so, and it wasn't all that busy. Yes we'll go again, but I think except for the crab and the mushrooms, Long John Silvers does it cheaper, better and has a drive through.
I lived in Beaverton, OR (about 45 minutes away) for 8 years. I started going to Joe's Crab Shack about 4 years ago and have gone two or three times a year ever since. I moved to California a year ago and I still consider Joe's Crab Shack a destination when hooking up with friends and family.
PRO's:
- Excellent Crab
- Top Notch View of the Columbia River
- Great Service
- Great Ambiance
- OK to be loud with a group of friends.
- Funny and Witty slogans on t-shirts etc.
- Service can be good.
- Good location (easy to get to from Portland/Vancouver)
CON's:
- Somewhat expensive, though not unbearably so.
- Service can be mediocre. It depends on the waiter/waitress.
- I don't like the bread, but some people do.
I can't even believe that I'm giving Joes 4 stars...I've eaten at others throughout the country and thought they were tasteless, cheesy, nasty food on a par with Red Lobster. I'm always so mad because they snag the best locations, ALWAYS!
Well, consider me pleasantly surprised by my recent visit! We lucked out and even though it was lunchtime, they were offering a wide selection of appetizers for just $4 each. We ordered the crab stuffed mushrooms (decadently good) and peel and eat shrimp (nice sized and fresh tasting). Tasty food, beverages enjoyed on an awesome day on the river, made for one heck of a great afternoon.
Joe's has good food with a fun atmosphere!
