Joe’s Crab Shack
25 Fairfield Ave, Bellevue, KY, 41073
Joe’s Crab Shack Menu
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Address :
25 Fairfield Ave
Bellevue, KY, 41073 - Phone (859) 581-6333
- Website https://www.joescrabshack.com/locations/10714
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 12
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : No
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
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Sheila G.
We had reservations for 10 at 8 p.m. on a Saturday. It was a beautiful night to sit outside by the river and Joe's Crab Shack was hopping. Within about 40 minutes, we had our drinks. Our food order was taken, maybe, by one hour and a half. I was sitting at a table with 5 good friends. Because of the setting, the restaurant got the A-OK rating. The food was also very tasty. I ordered the appetizer of shrimp in a bucket (very good served warm), with a side salad (not remarkable), and yummmmmmmy hush puppies. They had an amber beer on draft that was delicious, but I don't recall the name. Except for the disgusting film on the menus, the long waits between service and the fact that we did not receive silverware until 10 minutes after our food arrived- all was well at Joe's Crab Shack. I knew going into this that Yelp reviews indicated service as reduced.
(3)Taryn W.
I went to Joes tonight with my Mom since she was in town and we had a pretty good experience last time we went. I asked to be seated on the patio because the great view. We waited for over 20 minutes to be greeted after 6 different servers had walked by our table. Being in the restaurant industry I found this completely unacceptable. We finally went in to get a manager, she said she'd be taking care of us for the rest of the night. She took our order and brought us waters then ended up passing us off to two other server. We got our app for free which was the "garlicky mussels." The mussel themselves were gritty and no longer attached to their there broken shells scattered throughout what was a pool of melted butter. I can't believe they actually let those leave the kitchen. Anyone who has worked in a restaurant that has served seafood should have recognized the poor food quality immediately. When we received our check we realized the manager also did not make us aware of a $9 up charge on our entree. Overall their staff seemed completely unaware of their surroundings, taking multiple smoke breaks, standing around the bathrooms, as well as openly being frustrated with each other. It's almost embarrassing they are still open. Especially with the closing of multiple Joes Crab Shacks throughout Ohio. It was a disappointment and not worth the $60 check we were left with.
(1)DúMond H.
My family and I went to this place today for my aunts birthday. We're finally seated after an hour and a half wait, only to wait another twenty minutes for a waitress to come over and take our orders. Upon ordering, we find out that there is no corn on the cob, which comes with everything, French fries, or a couple of other sides. After ordering, we wait nearly an hour for our food to come out. There were about 15 of us, however, every order came out without having side dishes. After our waitress dropped off the main courses, she left for about 30 to 45 minutes, while we ate, and then came back with a huge tray of side items. Of course we were all finished eating by then, so nobody wanted them, and I can't leave out the fact that in all of this time, no one received a refill to there drink. In addition to all of that, the steam pots came with about 2 or 3 pieces of shrimp in them. So after we were told that there was no corn, we observed tables being served corn, all over the restaurant. We arrived at about 5:15pm, we didn't end up leaving until about 9:20pm. After all of the complaints, and the manager arranging discounts, it took about 30 minutes to settle the checks.
(1)Charles R.
I can't even give 1 star , service sucked big time was so disappointed , there was 6 of us and 3 of us ordered the 33 shrimp plate and the shrimp was overcooked , fries was overcook , 1 other of our party ordered chicken strips the strips were overcooked and so small I seen kid 4 piece chicken nugget meals have more chicken and worst of all there was a hair in her food . After 20 minutes no waitress o personally had to get up from my meal and get a staff member to get me a manager . After getting the manager she did fix it but didn't seem to be to concern about what happened . The wait wasn't bad but service and food majorly was crappy and would not recommend them to anyone in the future unless I hear they have improved operations starting with management .
(1)April H.
Two stars? This business has great service,food, and prices. AND open late!!! What is there not to love ?!? Don't tell them it's your birthday lol.
(5)Betty V.
We went there today for lunch. We were greeted and shown to our table with a great view of the river. It was a bit too chilly for the deck. There were four of us. Two ordered the steamer pots. They raved about the crab, mussels, crayfish, etc. They both commented on the perfect., sweet corn. Another had the fish and chips. That was quite good. I ordered the crab dip appetizer~ ~ fabulous! My entree was the coconut shrimp. The reason first four stars. It was good, but slightly overcooked. All in all it was a pleasant lunch by the river.
(4)Travis L.
The food was good, the service was awful. I think we had a training waiter and once we got our food, he only came to give us our bill. He never checked on us for drink refills or how our food was. This will prevent me from coming back to this location. Another think that annoyed me was the staff was sweeping the floor with a dirty broom at 8:30pm to clean up for closing while people were STILL eating. Not only is that disgusting, but think of all the dirt that she was sweeping that got thrown into the air. Come on Joe's, you are much better than that. Too many staff members standing around and not giving any service.
(2)Sheila G.
We had reservations for 10 at 8 p.m. on a Saturday. It was a beautiful night to sit outside by the river and Joe's Crab Shack was hopping. Within about 40 minutes, we had our drinks. Our food order was taken, maybe, by one hour and a half. I was sitting at a table with 5 good friends. Because of the setting, the restaurant got the A-OK rating. The food was also very tasty. I ordered the appetizer of shrimp in a bucket (very good served warm), with a side salad (not remarkable), and yummmmmmmy hush puppies. They had an amber beer on draft that was delicious, but I don't recall the name. Except for the disgusting film on the menus, the long waits between service and the fact that we did not receive silverware until 10 minutes after our food arrived- all was well at Joe's Crab Shack. I knew going into this that Yelp reviews indicated service as reduced.
(3)Mitch H.
The atmosphere is fantastic, definitely makes you feel like you're in Florida on the coast. Unfortunately that was the only good thing about this restaurant. The service was okay, but the food was unbelievably bad. I ordered the shrimp and it was extremely overcooked, but cold when I got it. My expectations were sky high when I saw the price of the food, $70 for two people and I would've enjoyed the food at a fast-food place more.
(1)Karen B.
without a doubt, the Worst run chain restaurant out there. Corporate customer relations has no interest in taking complaints. Their suggestion was to eat somewhere else because obviously I cannot be pleased at theirs. Way to run a business....
(1)Taryn W.
I went to Joes tonight with my Mom since she was in town and we had a pretty good experience last time we went. I asked to be seated on the patio because the great view. We waited for over 20 minutes to be greeted after 6 different servers had walked by our table. Being in the restaurant industry I found this completely unacceptable. We finally went in to get a manager, she said she'd be taking care of us for the rest of the night. She took our order and brought us waters then ended up passing us off to two other server. We got our app for free which was the "garlicky mussels." The mussel themselves were gritty and no longer attached to their there broken shells scattered throughout what was a pool of melted butter. I can't believe they actually let those leave the kitchen. Anyone who has worked in a restaurant that has served seafood should have recognized the poor food quality immediately. When we received our check we realized the manager also did not make us aware of a $9 up charge on our entree. Overall their staff seemed completely unaware of their surroundings, taking multiple smoke breaks, standing around the bathrooms, as well as openly being frustrated with each other. It's almost embarrassing they are still open. Especially with the closing of multiple Joes Crab Shacks throughout Ohio. It was a disappointment and not worth the $60 check we were left with.
(1)DúMond H.
My family and I went to this place today for my aunts birthday. We're finally seated after an hour and a half wait, only to wait another twenty minutes for a waitress to come over and take our orders. Upon ordering, we find out that there is no corn on the cob, which comes with everything, French fries, or a couple of other sides. After ordering, we wait nearly an hour for our food to come out. There were about 15 of us, however, every order came out without having side dishes. After our waitress dropped off the main courses, she left for about 30 to 45 minutes, while we ate, and then came back with a huge tray of side items. Of course we were all finished eating by then, so nobody wanted them, and I can't leave out the fact that in all of this time, no one received a refill to there drink. In addition to all of that, the steam pots came with about 2 or 3 pieces of shrimp in them. So after we were told that there was no corn, we observed tables being served corn, all over the restaurant. We arrived at about 5:15pm, we didn't end up leaving until about 9:20pm. After all of the complaints, and the manager arranging discounts, it took about 30 minutes to settle the checks.
(1)Amber C.
I had Joe's for the first time on a busy Saturday night. We got seated quickly, and our waiter was kind and very attendant to us. Food came out SO FAST! The queen crab bucket is amazing. We also tried the sampler appetizer, which was great! For being as busy as they were, we felt our server took good care of us and the food was speedy and delicious!
(5)Sherry T.
About once per year, typically for Father's Day or a birthday, Paul requests a meal at Joe's. Every year I silently object and go anyway. I don't know if Joe's has gotten progressively worse over the years or if my palette has improved, but I really, really, REALLY hate their food. The guys ordered the crab nachos, which looked so awful I refused to even try them. The chips to everything else ratio was way off (far too many chips and not much of everything else), and the everything else looked like pet food. Nasty. I ordered the Classic Steampot and was thoroughly disappointed. The shrimp were overcooked and the crab were undercooked. Fighting with that stupid net in the pot was just, well . . . stupid. I went with the hush puppies and fries instead of the usual corn on the cob--big mistake. The fries were okay, but the hush puppies were like eating a glob of grease. That's all I could taste. I'm hoping that since Paul's lobster was also overcooked, this will be the last visit to Joe's. The only thing that kept this from being a one star review was service. As much as people complain about it on Yelp, our server did a great job.
(2)Christopher S.
Eh I've gone a couple of years to this place. parking Is almost impossible. The food is fried and okay I don't prefer crabs so that limits me. The service is terrible we had to grab the waitress for drinks and weren't asked about dessert.
(2)Angela M.
The bartender's Jenny & Laura are great & so much fun!!! The food's hit or miss on my visits there. Recommend not getting anything "breaded" or fried, stick with steamed or boiled seafood items. Most of the staff is moody & not very service friendly. I went in to pick up a to go order one night & no one seemed to know who was "in charge" of To-Go orders. While I just stood there looking like a clueless wonder for almost 10 min's, several other staff members walked by & no one even asked me if I had already been helped?! I had to finally ask someone to go get a manager to get my food. Honestly, if it weren't for the awesome bartenders--I don't know if I would keep going back. Most of the other staff is moody & not very service friendly.
(3)Charles R.
I can't even give 1 star , service sucked big time was so disappointed , there was 6 of us and 3 of us ordered the 33 shrimp plate and the shrimp was overcooked , fries was overcook , 1 other of our party ordered chicken strips the strips were overcooked and so small I seen kid 4 piece chicken nugget meals have more chicken and worst of all there was a hair in her food . After 20 minutes no waitress o personally had to get up from my meal and get a staff member to get me a manager . After getting the manager she did fix it but didn't seem to be to concern about what happened . The wait wasn't bad but service and food majorly was crappy and would not recommend them to anyone in the future unless I hear they have improved operations starting with management .
(1)April H.
Two stars? This business has great service,food, and prices. AND open late!!! What is there not to love ?!? Don't tell them it's your birthday lol.
(5)Tiera A.
After my experience this weekend at Joe's I quickly realized that it has become the "unofficial birthday restuarant" (my words, not theirs). It seemed like just about every table had someone celebrating a birthday which prompted the servers to sing, dance and put on a show. Yes, this is funny the first few times, but after 5 or 6 renditions of "Happy Birthday" I had about enough. Not only that, but our food took over an hour and a half to arrive at our table. We waited patiently without any knowledge of what was going on. Not once did our waitress stop by our table to apologize for the wait or offer any sort of discount. The only reason why we waited was because we were hungry and had waited for so long. We waited for about 2.5 hours to be exact, if you include the time we had already waitied to be seated. What a disappointment. Sorry Joe's but I won't be back anytime soon. The service was seriously lacking and the food was mediocre.
(2)Betty V.
We went there today for lunch. We were greeted and shown to our table with a great view of the river. It was a bit too chilly for the deck. There were four of us. Two ordered the steamer pots. They raved about the crab, mussels, crayfish, etc. They both commented on the perfect., sweet corn. Another had the fish and chips. That was quite good. I ordered the crab dip appetizer~ ~ fabulous! My entree was the coconut shrimp. The reason first four stars. It was good, but slightly overcooked. All in all it was a pleasant lunch by the river.
(4)Travis L.
The food was good, the service was awful. I think we had a training waiter and once we got our food, he only came to give us our bill. He never checked on us for drink refills or how our food was. This will prevent me from coming back to this location. Another think that annoyed me was the staff was sweeping the floor with a dirty broom at 8:30pm to clean up for closing while people were STILL eating. Not only is that disgusting, but think of all the dirt that she was sweeping that got thrown into the air. Come on Joe's, you are much better than that. Too many staff members standing around and not giving any service.
(2)Scott R.
This is one of those places we seem to return to about once a year.. That most likely won't happen again.. I always forget why until my food comes out. The atmosphere is fun, and reminds us of being on vacation in the gulf.. So do the Prices, but for special occasions I figure what the heck.. Slow service, not allowed changes for diet on menu, and then the food comes out.. I went for the Signature steam bucket. I figured it should be a good choice, I mean it is a signature item after all.. It took the food a while to come out, and we couldn't find our waitress with a search warrant for a refill of drinks, but it was a nice night and we enjoyed the patio.. Then the food came out. My wife and kids plates looked pretty good, and to be fair, they didn't have any real complaints.. But when I took the lid off of my oversized under filled steam bucket my wife must have seen my face, because she immediately asked me what was wrong.. I politely said it was fine to the waitress, trying to mot be difficult, but it was literally three crab legs and 2 claws, a couple nearly raw shrimp, a nasty sausage, and an ear of corn with some gross over boiled potatoes.. I ate the sausage crab and a shrimp or 2 , but stopped over fear of getting sick from raw seafood.. Needless to say IF WE GO BACK, I will get a sandwich or maybe the salmon, my wife said it was ok..
(2)Jeff P.
We have been hearing so much about Joe's Crab Shack and we finally decided to try the food after much anticipation. The restaurant is nicely located on the Ohio River and if you choose to eat outside you're in for a real treat. It's a majestic, picturesque setting that would be great if you wanted to impress a person on your first date. The staff was extremely great, the service was timely, and are food came out approximately 10 mins after seating. Now for the food, I tried the Red Fish and Lobster because it looked really delicious. The food was cooked great and the crab rice was awesome. The fish could have been seasoned a bit more because it was bland. The lobster sauce was ok, could've used less cheese and more spices to compensate for the bland fish. I would recommend you try the appetizer sampler because it gives you the best of all worlds. The crab dip is the best and the other appetizers are a bit underwhelming. Overall, I would recommend this place but suggest you try a steampot full of crabs and sausages.
(3)Jenny B.
I've always wanted to try joes. And for some reason I was expecting a lot more. I'm so used to kicking crab and boiling crab, so I guess I'm being biased. I ordered the steam pot for 2. The food was a little too salty for my taste. I wish they offered bigger portions. My server was very friendly and for that, I'm giving them 3 stars. If you've never tried it, go for it. Just don't have any high expectations for this place. For the price, you're better off going to the casinos that offer Friday seafood buffets.
(3)Jessie T.
The location and view of this place is amazing and I love the beachy atmosphere of it, but I've come here twice hoping the second time would be better than the first.. I was still disappointed. The service was pretty slow and subpar on both accounts. The food is also overpriced for the mediocre quality and quantity.. the steampots are very underwhelming in the amount of crab legs it comes with and it does not taste that fresh. Let's just say I will not be planning to come again because it's just not worth what you pay for.
(2)Tom S.
I don't complain often. But raw mahi is not good, and $13 for chicken fingers over cooked and not enough of a portion for a small child is a bit much.
(1)Ashleigh J.
Went there for lunch today. Quality of food is not what it used to be. Service is mediocre, food is overpriced and feels a bit dirty. Still better than red lobster, but still a little disappointed..
(2)Tamara S.
I was so very disappointed in my food and service here yesterday. I typically order a crab steam pot but, at $30+, I chose the Mahi Fish Tacos instead. The tacos were soaked inside and out with the sauce and the fish was the consistency of jerky and there was one piece of it in each taco the size of a McD's french fry. When the server finally came back to check on us, I voiced my disappointment, she asked if I would like an extra piece of the fish...ummm, no thanks! My grandmother ordered the Crab cake sandwich and it was bland and a bit grey in color. The server never returned to refill our drinks even after we asked. She simply dropped off our overpriced bill and didn't return. Oh, we were her only table to boot! Will not return!
(1)Ashley M.
Valentine's Day night, we waited 1:45, I'm not mad about that because that was reasonable for that day. I got the Shark Bite drink from the bar which was good and had a cute appearance. But they are really over priced, I got the Lobster Daddy Feast and it just wasn't great quality, the red new potatoes weren't cooked, it just wasn't pleasing and not what I expected for $30.99. I don't think I could go back.
(1)Shelby P.
My last visit to Joes was a big let down. I was there for a meeting and our service was not good at all. I usually love going to joes and was sad that my crab was over cooked. Our wait was so long that everyone got desert to go. The food tasted fine but the experience was not good.
(3)Beth K.
Sorry I can't give negative stars. Went on Mothers Day. Got there when they opened at 11. Waitress was great considering it was her 3rd day. Food came out at different times. Husbands fish and chips was all breading. Very little fish. I got shrimp boil it was the last thing to come out. No hush puppies. No cole slaw. The shrimp almost all had veins. When we said something to manager she replied that's how it always comes. I have never had that much nit deveined. She tried to blame waitress for not telling her there was a problem. I told her she would have known if she made her rounds outside. She explained she just got there then who opened? The table behind us couldn't get drawn butter for crab legs it came out clumpy and frozen. Never saw the manager again. Emailed Joe's haven't heard back so I emailed again!!
(1)Kathy P.
We went to Joe's Crab Shack Saturday, May 9, 2015. We arrived around 5 p.m. and we were seated immediately thanks to call-ahead seating. We sat outside on the covered patio. It was really nice & I recommend it if it's not too hot. I ordered the 'bucket of queen crab' legs with new potatoes and corn. I really wish I took a picture of what I was served - a bucket with netting containing small crab legs, 2 halves of a new potato + one very small whole new potato (size of a golf ball) and an ear of corn with shriveled kernels. Everything was cold. We had to request melted butter from our server, which I thought was odd since it should have come with the meal. My mom ordered the fish tacos and she reported that they were extremely bland. For the money, it should have been better. The service was pretty good, but the food was just really sub-par. Maybe they were having a bad day in the kitchen. The women's restroom was a MESS, too - water all over the floor because there were no paper towels at the sink. Lots of families with small kids, too. thanks for reading!
(1)Sarah F.
I have mixed feelings about this place. It's campy to the point of being annoying (particularly obnoxious indoors) and the food is over-priced and of variable quality; however, sitting on the patio on the river in the summer is pretty nice. I've had much better luck with seafood of the breaded and fried variety (the quality is just not high enough to make healthier choices palatable) and the hush puppies are pretty darn tasty. So if you go, make it in nice weather, sit on the patio, order something fried and enjoy the river with a beer or two.
(3)Allison B.
I enjoy the food at Joe's and because of it's close proximity to where I work, it's an easy choice for lunch or a quick dinner. Unfortunately, on multiple occasions we've experienced unreasonably slow service- even on occasions in which we specifically requested to expedite our orders in advance because we had places to be. My dinner last night took over an hour and a half, and it was simply because the server couldn't be bothered to even look at our table. After our food was dropped off, our server (a larger bald gentleman) didn't even stop by to ask how things were, much less refill my water. It almost felt as if we were in the twilight zone - we couldn't get anyone's attention. I could understand if the house was packed and they were in a hurry, but for the number of servers there, no one could be bothered to pay attention to the guests at all. Even the manager! It seemed he partway acknowledged giving us poor service when he dropped off his check, I believe in an attempt to play nice and make conversation in hopes of receiving a good tip, but honestly at that point it wasn't appreciated. Dinner had already taken much longer than we had intended and we just wanted to get out. Unfortunately, it took him another 15 minutes to remember to swing by the table again just to pick up our credit cards. I keep giving them a chance, but I don't know how much longer I can continue to do so with such poor and inattentive service. This isn't the first time this has occured, either. No wonder the place was empty! If you're in a hurry, or want to justify the high prices of the decent seafood at this place, save your money and go someplace else. It's not worth the hassle.
(2)Bobby J.
The staff was great but the bacon wrapped shrimp seemed like had sat under a warmer for an hour. Sad way to spend $50
(2)Mary V.
Unique dining place. Stopped on way thru town. Good food and service. Will stop again. Menu had many selections I would like to try. Charbroiled oysters were excellent. Along with crab cakes.
(4)Robert M.
Past Ten years have been a nightmare. The Food and Service have been terrible. Food is old and re-heated. If you want to throw away $100.00 for bad food and service, Joe's is the place for you
(1)Dana J.
It's a good place to eat but to me it's pricy for what you get! The best thing in the menus is the steam pots but I don't wanna pay 30-50 dollars. It's nice being on the river and in the summer to have a drink outside in the patio.
(3)Lynne S.
This was my first visit and I won't return. The steam pot of crab, potatoes, and corn was delivered to the table without a plate, utensils, bib, or butter. Begging 2 different servers for these items, they were finally brought to us, but by then all the food was cold. Crab legs were skinny and under seasoned. Crab cake salad was 85 percent lettuce. Despite spending over $50., the 2 of us left hungry and disappointed.
(2)Janelle L.
Really nice view of the river and the city from the outdoor patio. The food is just ok. Pretty greasy depending what you order and not super fresh tasting. And some of those fun, pretty looking cocktail drinks on the menu are sooooo overly sweet and syrupy tasting. Way too heavy handed with the artificial fruit flavoring. In the future if I find myself at a Joe's Crabshack, I will just order a beer or rum and coke.
(3)Lisa G.
Terrible experience. Poorly managed. Our food took 45 minutes and people that got there after us got their orders and were finishing up by the time we received ours. To top it off the food was like warm, the broccoli was dried out and the crab cakes tasted horrible. My husbands dish Redfish Orleans was ok, but not hot. It was definitely not worth $60. The server obviously forgot to ring our food in and then lied about it. Management just blew the whole incident off like oh well sorry. Poorly run establishment . I would not recommend it.
(1)Tom L.
Ok waiting 80 min for dinner is disappointing to say the least. The service on a busy Saturday was very slow. Onx e food arrived fish was over cooked. Crab cake was good as was the stuffed shrimp and crab legs were average. Manager responded slowly. Notice other tables calling him over. ..he did pay close attention to one group but no other tables
(1)Mary V.
By far one of the worst food we've ever had served to us. Three out of four dinners were cold and when they returned the food it was brought back having been Dropped in the frier and had so much grease on each plate five napkins did not take the oil off the plate .
(1)Mic F.
Horrible experience! Never going back. Long wait. Terrible food. All around bad. Stay away. Go anywhere else.
(1)Beth F.
Wow.. I'm really surprised to see all the negative reviews of this place! Every time I go we have fun, and the food has always been fantastic. The staff are usually always alot of fun and super nice & I watched my boyfriend single handedly eat a steam pot of food all by himself in a matter of hours. He even let me try a bite... haha The view is pretty and I really enjoy sitting outside in the summer time. Every meal I've ever had was great and even the left overs I usually end up with the next day are good as well. Maybe I've just gotten lucky the few times I've gone or something? The topper for me was the dessert... OMG. Smore's in a mini skillet.. are you serious?? I KNOW I could make it at home, but id' never look this pretty.. it was so good and I smiled the rest of the night. I just mentioned it to the boyfriend since I'm reviewing it and he wanted to go right now.... The only reason it's not 5 stars is because it's not the BEST seafood I've ever had, but I'd go there any time.
(4)Ashley H.
My order was incorrect. The crab legs were poor quality. I took my son to the restroom and came back to find my nearly uneaten food gone. The server was very nice and friendly. The manager laughed and thought it was hilarious. Then acted like I should be thankful she discounted my meal 50%.
(1)Mark E.
Disappointed is an understatement. It has been a while since I was there and may never return. Watered down drinks, smaller portions, undercooked sides, over cooked entrees, deteriorating exterior all added up to a less than pleasing evening out...especially as $80. Sorry Joe 's I think you lost me.
(1)Michelle Y.
The meal I ate at this restaurant was the worst meal I have ever had, and cannot remember having ever ordered food and then sent it back because it tasted horrible (which is what I did here). Everything is obviously frozen, packaged, or made from a can. I ordered the appetizer sampler just to try a few things out, and the fried calamari was rubbery, chewy, and the batter was so soggy with grease that it fell off of the calamari when I tried to eat it. Nothing had any real, true flavor. I sent it back and got a burger instead (thinking the seafood was a waste), and the burger was made from a pre-formed patty, and instead of a slice of cheese it had shredded cheese on top! I ate a few bites of the burger just to get out of there. If you are used to eating REAL food, this place will not be able to serve you anything worthwhile. I will never go back...
(1)Karina M.
Ennnhhh...that about sums up my appraisal of Joe's Crab Shack. I'm really a lover of all things crustacean, but living in Northern Kentucky, I don't often get to indulge this culinary romance. Joe just complicates my relationship, making it love/hate. I've returned to this kitschy seafood chain several times, hoping each time my previous visit was just a one-off experience. Nope, the food is just mediocre. Though the portions are ample, prices reasonable, and service good, I just don't think Joe's lives up to the expectations I have about a place that specializes in crabs. The product is often blemished and the place smells, um, fishy.
(3)Tiera A.
After my experience this weekend at Joe's I quickly realized that it has become the "unofficial birthday restuarant" (my words, not theirs). It seemed like just about every table had someone celebrating a birthday which prompted the servers to sing, dance and put on a show. Yes, this is funny the first few times, but after 5 or 6 renditions of "Happy Birthday" I had about enough. Not only that, but our food took over an hour and a half to arrive at our table. We waited patiently without any knowledge of what was going on. Not once did our waitress stop by our table to apologize for the wait or offer any sort of discount. The only reason why we waited was because we were hungry and had waited for so long. We waited for about 2.5 hours to be exact, if you include the time we had already waitied to be seated. What a disappointment. Sorry Joe's but I won't be back anytime soon. The service was seriously lacking and the food was mediocre.
(2)Justin M.
Blah. I think that is the best word for Joe's Crab Shack. I don't have a problem with chain restaurants at all, I do however have a problem with Joe's attempt at seafood. I've never been to other Joe's Crab Shacks so I can't speak on if this is an isolated experience or not. I love seafood and have been looking for a go to seafood joint that isn't going to set me back and unfortunately Joe's is a no go for me. The problem here is pretty simple. Low quality food priced way too high. I made the mistake of ordering my favorite fish, salmon. After eating the dry depleted small nugget of fish I almost vowed to never eat salmon again but then I remembered how good salmon can actually be when done right. The peel and eat shrimp (4) was priced ridiculously high especially for a restaurant that offers you shrimp that look like they were from Kroger out of the frozen food aisle. That's not really the problem. I would be (almost) fine if they actually tasted good. But it honestly seemed like they popped them in the microwave. The decor is nice. It does offer you that sailor type atmosphere that is fun for families and groups. There are marlins hanging on the wall and ocean inspired pictures gracing the restaurant. They seem to be crowded on Friday and Saturday nights which is normal, even more so for chain joints like this. I enjoyed Joe's Crab Shack as a child because I ordered fried foods like popcorn shrimp and fish sticks but that's really hard to mess up. When it comes to entrees the quality is just not sufficient enough for me to go here regularly or even at all. I don't think I'll go back to Joes. They just don't offer up anything special. They have a great patio on the river which is unfortunate because it is being wasted in my opinion. The price is bad the food is worse and not even a well themed dining room area can save it. So unfortunately Joe your restaurant sinks in my mind because your Shack is a total shipwreck. Sorry, just telling it like it is.
(1)Grady B.
This review is for a one time experience. Tonight not being a good night. The place had about thirty people and the dinning area seemed about 1/4 full. We got drinks 10-15 minutes. The waitress was courteous and friendly though. She even helped with suggestions. However the wait for the food seemed to taking some time. Once it arrived my mothers food was fine just needing some fresh lemon which was requested twice. My crab pot was less desirable. The pot had two clusters of four, one being legless and the other had one full leg and another chopped in half. After telling the waitress the issue she got it fixed. Now the queen crab legs were very good, the snow was tasty also. However the King Crab was bitter and tasted bad. I'd tell all of you car legs are my fav and would eat at joes before I ever would tell you to go to red lobster. However even with the extra crab I was told I was given then the free soft drinks that weren't free was kind of a slap in the face. I am not one to try for free meals but I wouldn't recommend joes until the fix there supply problem I overheard the staff talking about plus the manager telling two that he was sending people home due to lack of customers.
(2)Crystal M.
Slow/poor service. Went here for lunch and they weren't that busy. I ordered the coconut shrimp and it was SUPER greasy. Yuck. Not impressed.
(2)Dan L.
The one and two star ratings are inexplicable. This is the finest crab place in Cincinnati. The place is festive. The servers are very friendly and welcoming. The corn on the cob is to die for.
(5)Rick O.
Possibly the worst restaurant experience I have ever had, they might be successful if they move to North Korea. Our party cleaned our own table, received chips dripping with oil, 3 of 4 entrees were incorrect, and one was missing 50% of the ingredients. Our waitress, CC, was heroic. Too bad she works under this management and kitchen staff.
(1)Rod J.
Had lunch there today and server we had was pretty good but the value for what you pay leaves something to be desired. The steampot that I had was ok tastewise but the amount was limiting. The dessert was very good but cost more than it should have versus its competitors. The beer selection was also not to great as no true craft beers were on hand. Overall, it was not horrible but was a lot less than expected.
(2)Grady B.
This review is for a one time experience. Tonight not being a good night. The place had about thirty people and the dinning area seemed about 1/4 full. We got drinks 10-15 minutes. The waitress was courteous and friendly though. She even helped with suggestions. However the wait for the food seemed to taking some time. Once it arrived my mothers food was fine just needing some fresh lemon which was requested twice. My crab pot was less desirable. The pot had two clusters of four, one being legless and the other had one full leg and another chopped in half. After telling the waitress the issue she got it fixed. Now the queen crab legs were very good, the snow was tasty also. However the King Crab was bitter and tasted bad. I'd tell all of you car legs are my fav and would eat at joes before I ever would tell you to go to red lobster. However even with the extra crab I was told I was given then the free soft drinks that weren't free was kind of a slap in the face. I am not one to try for free meals but I wouldn't recommend joes until the fix there supply problem I overheard the staff talking about plus the manager telling two that he was sending people home due to lack of customers.
(2)Bob C.
Ate at Joes Crab Shack last night and had nothing but issues from the time we hit the front door. The 2 bartenders they had working on a Friday night were very inattentive, as we sat at a bar that smelled like a college restroom. They took 15 minutes to greet us and ask our drink order, only to go to wash glasses and get another order for the next 5 minutes. Once seated at the table we were asked for drink orders and they served me a bud light and tried to pass off as land shark when they said the keg blew. The food was good, once they finally got the order right, only to be mischarged. Will never eat at another Joes!
(1)Krissy G.
We were very disappointed in our service at Joe's Crab Shack. We arrived at 6 p.m with a group of 10 (all 23 years old or older). We were seated rather quickly because we had reservations and the dinner rush hadn't arrived yet. We ordered and ate our food, which was mediocre at best. Meanwhile, we had empty cups and no waiter in sight to refill them. After we finished our food, we chatted while we waited for our server to bring us our checks or maybe clear some of the dishes that were literally covering the entire table. 32 minutes went by with no check or not even an acknowledgement that we were still in the restaurant. I typically don't cause a fuss, but 9 people in our party were being picked up by their parents (who were waiting outside). I asked who I thought was the manager if she could print the tickets, since it has now been over a half hour since we finished our meal. She said "oh yes, I can print them right now". She did no such thing. She didn't even walk towards a register or mention anything to our server....she just went about her business like we didn't just have a conversation. Finally, our server handed me a handful of checks. He didn't give them to the people in my party individually. Note, we very nicely asked to all be on separate checks prior to ordering our food. I handed everyone their appropriate checks and my group gathered their money to pay. 3 of us paid in credit card and 7 paid in cash. Seeing this, our server said "hand me the checks in order of who needs the least amount of change". So, we did just that to help. Apparently, the restaurant doesn't carry change because our server asked other servers to "break a $20" and when they didn't have change either - ONE OF THE PARENTS WAITING TO PICK UP THEIR SON GAVE THE WAITER CHANGE FOR A $20!!! After about 10 minutes, everyone had their change. However, it was $10 dollar bills. How can anyone leave a 20% tip on a $12 meal if you give them a $10 bill back?! In the meantime, there were so many dishes on our table, we had to use another table to sign our credit card receipts. I have never had such POOR customer service! Needless to say, Joe's Crab Shack lost 10 customers and their parents!
(1)Nate S.
Strawberry Daiquiri #2 - The Daiquiri was so-so, couldn't really taste much alcohol. This was definitely a mix, I'm hoping I can find a place that uses fresh fruit or something. So, I used to love the food when I worked there, but my last experience was less the mediocre. I will say that the service was great, but it was my friend, so I'm partial to giving a good review for her. However, I do have to say, if you want a truly amazing server, request Louiza!! As for the food....blech. I got the Crab Nachos, but the chips were stale, the plate was painfully warm, and yet the food itself was medium warm....what's up with that.
(2)Nathaniel G.
Garbage. Waitress was decent at best. Food was absolutely horrible. Everything was extremely over cooked and dry. I got the Sam Adams steam pot and I couldn't even eat the lobster claws. So sent them back. Waitress said she couldn't do anything because the manager was on the phone. Finally 15 mins after everyone finished eating she brought me three "fresh" lobster claws. These were worse than the first. At that point I was done. All the manager could do was take $6 off the bill. Horrible customer service. I will never ever return. Plus it's over priced for the quality.
(1)Kristin C.
Horrible service & food. Badly described chariry events and they gave.me food poisioning and ruined my weekend
(1)Kammy M.
Well sheesh according to the other reviews I got lucky! I'm a huge fan of Joe's and since we don't have one where I live I always find one when i'm out of town. This past weekend me and my best friend went on a Friday night around 10. Wasn't very crowded at all and no wait if you wanted to be seated inside.There was a 20 minute wait for the patio. Our waiter was cool, not spectacular but he got the job done. Food was really good as usual!
(4)Justin M.
Blah. I think that is the best word for Joe's Crab Shack. I don't have a problem with chain restaurants at all, I do however have a problem with Joe's attempt at seafood. I've never been to other Joe's Crab Shacks so I can't speak on if this is an isolated experience or not. I love seafood and have been looking for a go to seafood joint that isn't going to set me back and unfortunately Joe's is a no go for me. The problem here is pretty simple. Low quality food priced way too high. I made the mistake of ordering my favorite fish, salmon. After eating the dry depleted small nugget of fish I almost vowed to never eat salmon again but then I remembered how good salmon can actually be when done right. The peel and eat shrimp (4) was priced ridiculously high especially for a restaurant that offers you shrimp that look like they were from Kroger out of the frozen food aisle. That's not really the problem. I would be (almost) fine if they actually tasted good. But it honestly seemed like they popped them in the microwave. The decor is nice. It does offer you that sailor type atmosphere that is fun for families and groups. There are marlins hanging on the wall and ocean inspired pictures gracing the restaurant. They seem to be crowded on Friday and Saturday nights which is normal, even more so for chain joints like this. I enjoyed Joe's Crab Shack as a child because I ordered fried foods like popcorn shrimp and fish sticks but that's really hard to mess up. When it comes to entrees the quality is just not sufficient enough for me to go here regularly or even at all. I don't think I'll go back to Joes. They just don't offer up anything special. They have a great patio on the river which is unfortunate because it is being wasted in my opinion. The price is bad the food is worse and not even a well themed dining room area can save it. So unfortunately Joe your restaurant sinks in my mind because your Shack is a total shipwreck. Sorry, just telling it like it is.
(1)Ron K.
Our group eats out every Friday night. We had reservations for 18 at 7:45 and we were seated at 7:46 in an area at the back of the Restuarant which helped with noise. Our server was there quickly to get drink orders and was extremely friendly. What a great start to our evening. When it comes to dinner there was mixed reviews on food quality from great to ok on seafood choices. Seemed everyone agreed french fries very lack luster mostly because they had been prepared in advance and slightly under cooked. Considering they specialize in fried foods and serve fries with many dishes this is a shame I ordered ribs which were so tough you couldn't cut them with a knife and trying to pull the meat off with my teeth was impossible. I alerted the serve who quickly responded by telling me he would notify the manager. There appeared to me to be a short delay while this process took place. I see other reviews on here about this process. When a guest has an issue with food quality the server should have the authority to react immediately. I was offered the option of another rib dinner or another choice. Against my better judgement I chose another rib dinner. My thought that all the ribs for this evening likely were under cooked was correct. At least you could eat these and by this time everyone else was almost done eating so no way would I have asked for another dinner. The manager did stop by and apologized and when I informed him these weren't great he did offer to replace them with another dinner. He was business like but certainly not warm and cheerful. By the way the BBQ sauce was a very cheap poor quality sauce that would have been a distraction to good ribs. We did enjoy the dancing and requested later in the evening they do it again and we all danced. We did celebrate a birthday with a dance through the Restuarant which was fun If you want to cut lose a little this can be fun but I understand others find this a distraction. Our sever was great and may have only had our party so no issues with anything from a service stand point. One issue was with bar menu not showing pricing and server didn't know all the prices on wine. Also our table was near an exit from the kitchen were a large (lake like) spill of water was on the floor for more than an hour with everyone including us walking through it. I would think from an employee safety stand point this would have been cleaned up in seconds not to mention the impression on customers. The most amazing part was the manager walked through it dozens and dozens of times. So if you want a quiet dinner this isn't for you. If you have a problem expect this manger involvement policy to create a delay. If you like seafood you can find some good choices. If you like ribs go someplace else. And while some reviews talk about poor service for our evening that was 10 stars for every staff member we had contact with except made the manager who is way to stuffy We did have a good time.
(3)Cathy R.
On a summer evening, we stopped by Joe's Crab Shack for a late dinner. We ate on the patio, but they were out of something that should have been a staple, don't remember if it was steamed shrimp or exactly what. We chose two other selections that were ok. Good casual atmosphere, average food and prices. Service was slow. Haven't been back since nothing was out of the ordinary.
(3)Robert M.
Ok seafood. Nice location. Its a chain. Though the portions are ample, prices reasonable, and service good
(3)Katie U.
The one positive: it's on the river. But its neighbor (buckhead's) beats it in price, selection, taste, atmosphere, service... This is WAY overpriced. The server was inattentive. The food took forever to come out and was not nicely plated and not attractive. I got a salad that was thrown together and 99% lettuce (only 2 pieces of chicken and only 2 small chunks of the avocado they promised). Someone else got shrimp alfredo and it was almost all noodles. To top it off, the music wad SO loud that we could barely talk. I will not be going back
(1)Kelly B.
Mediocre food and worse service. Unless you are going just to sit outside and look at the river, go elsewhere. I can't help but think that this is a management problem. None of the wait-staff seemed the least bit interested in doing a good job...trickle down apathy.
(1)Kasey M.
We visited on a Saturday night around 8pm. It was slammed when we got there and only waited 20 minutes for a table. The environment was fun and family-friendly. The food was fantastic. I only gave 4 stars because the service was awful. Not sure if our waitress was having a bad night but ALL of the tables in her section were complaining to the managers. Once seated, the restaurant had cleared out but it took 30 minutes to get our drinks and put our order in. Either way, we relaxed and had a great time and cut the waitress some slack. :)
(4)Jacquelynn A.
My boyfriend, a girlfriend, and I all went here one night about a month ago and we had a blast. Our server was hilarious and got a huge tip because he was a doll. If you are looking for good food and a happy atmosphere this is the place.
(4)David G.
The food is good, but for the prices they charge, the crab should be cracked for you. For the money, Mitchells is a better option.
(2)Erika D.
The employees try to make it fun to distract you from the crappy food. I've visited a few times and the crab is always cold and waterlogged. Enough said.
(2)Alex L.
So I'll start with the caveat that generally I'm not really full after going to an all seafood restaurant. Joe's Crab Shack looks like your typical seafood restaurant. The atmosphere is a very friendly environment with good service and a nice location by the river. Their menu consists of various buckets of seafood as their main draws. Getting to the food now. The food is not cheap for what you get. I got the Classic Steampot and got it in the Sunset fire-grilled variant, which theoretically should be spiced. When the pot arrived, I was a little disappointed by the quantity and the taste. The shrimp was not the freshest and the crab legs weren't as filled with meat as I would have liked. Sadly the best tasting part of the meal was actually their corn on the cob. That and there was no spicy taste at all. At the end of the day, it was definitely not a cheap meal and outside of the atmosphere it really is not worth the price.
(2)Debbie M.
UUgh. Joe's Crab Shack is the most over-rated, over-priced seafood place I have ever come across. I thought it was crappy when I first tried it in Florida over 10 years ago. I don't know why I thought it would be less crappy when they built one across the river from my hometown. We went for lunch (two of us) and the only good thing I can say about the place (well, two things) is that the staff was very efficient and friendly, and the view of the Cincinnati Skyline was nice. Other than that, I could have scooped carp out of the Ohio River and it probably would have tasted just as good. We both got seafood "sampler" platters that basically consisted of a heap of different seafood all fried in the same manner, thus all tasting alike. Add a few drinks in the "souvenir mason jars" and our total was over $80!! THAT'S EIGHTY DOLLARS...FOR LUNCH!! I'll never go back. I don't care if someone else is paying. I'd rather have chain seafood like Red Lobster or preferably...take a little walk down the way and eat real seafood at the Chart House. Uugh.
(1)Amber C.
I had Joe's for the first time on a busy Saturday night. We got seated quickly, and our waiter was kind and very attendant to us. Food came out SO FAST! The queen crab bucket is amazing. We also tried the sampler appetizer, which was great! For being as busy as they were, we felt our server took good care of us and the food was speedy and delicious!
(5)Sherry T.
About once per year, typically for Father's Day or a birthday, Paul requests a meal at Joe's. Every year I silently object and go anyway. I don't know if Joe's has gotten progressively worse over the years or if my palette has improved, but I really, really, REALLY hate their food. The guys ordered the crab nachos, which looked so awful I refused to even try them. The chips to everything else ratio was way off (far too many chips and not much of everything else), and the everything else looked like pet food. Nasty. I ordered the Classic Steampot and was thoroughly disappointed. The shrimp were overcooked and the crab were undercooked. Fighting with that stupid net in the pot was just, well . . . stupid. I went with the hush puppies and fries instead of the usual corn on the cob--big mistake. The fries were okay, but the hush puppies were like eating a glob of grease. That's all I could taste. I'm hoping that since Paul's lobster was also overcooked, this will be the last visit to Joe's. The only thing that kept this from being a one star review was service. As much as people complain about it on Yelp, our server did a great job.
(2)Christopher S.
Eh I've gone a couple of years to this place. parking Is almost impossible. The food is fried and okay I don't prefer crabs so that limits me. The service is terrible we had to grab the waitress for drinks and weren't asked about dessert.
(2)Angela M.
The bartender's Jenny & Laura are great & so much fun!!! The food's hit or miss on my visits there. Recommend not getting anything "breaded" or fried, stick with steamed or boiled seafood items. Most of the staff is moody & not very service friendly. I went in to pick up a to go order one night & no one seemed to know who was "in charge" of To-Go orders. While I just stood there looking like a clueless wonder for almost 10 min's, several other staff members walked by & no one even asked me if I had already been helped?! I had to finally ask someone to go get a manager to get my food. Honestly, if it weren't for the awesome bartenders--I don't know if I would keep going back. Most of the other staff is moody & not very service friendly.
(3)Scott R.
This is one of those places we seem to return to about once a year.. That most likely won't happen again.. I always forget why until my food comes out. The atmosphere is fun, and reminds us of being on vacation in the gulf.. So do the Prices, but for special occasions I figure what the heck.. Slow service, not allowed changes for diet on menu, and then the food comes out.. I went for the Signature steam bucket. I figured it should be a good choice, I mean it is a signature item after all.. It took the food a while to come out, and we couldn't find our waitress with a search warrant for a refill of drinks, but it was a nice night and we enjoyed the patio.. Then the food came out. My wife and kids plates looked pretty good, and to be fair, they didn't have any real complaints.. But when I took the lid off of my oversized under filled steam bucket my wife must have seen my face, because she immediately asked me what was wrong.. I politely said it was fine to the waitress, trying to mot be difficult, but it was literally three crab legs and 2 claws, a couple nearly raw shrimp, a nasty sausage, and an ear of corn with some gross over boiled potatoes.. I ate the sausage crab and a shrimp or 2 , but stopped over fear of getting sick from raw seafood.. Needless to say IF WE GO BACK, I will get a sandwich or maybe the salmon, my wife said it was ok..
(2)Mitch H.
The atmosphere is fantastic, definitely makes you feel like you're in Florida on the coast. Unfortunately that was the only good thing about this restaurant. The service was okay, but the food was unbelievably bad. I ordered the shrimp and it was extremely overcooked, but cold when I got it. My expectations were sky high when I saw the price of the food, $70 for two people and I would've enjoyed the food at a fast-food place more.
(1)Karen B.
without a doubt, the Worst run chain restaurant out there. Corporate customer relations has no interest in taking complaints. Their suggestion was to eat somewhere else because obviously I cannot be pleased at theirs. Way to run a business....
(1)Ashley M.
Valentine's Day night, we waited 1:45, I'm not mad about that because that was reasonable for that day. I got the Shark Bite drink from the bar which was good and had a cute appearance. But they are really over priced, I got the Lobster Daddy Feast and it just wasn't great quality, the red new potatoes weren't cooked, it just wasn't pleasing and not what I expected for $30.99. I don't think I could go back.
(1)Jeff P.
We have been hearing so much about Joe's Crab Shack and we finally decided to try the food after much anticipation. The restaurant is nicely located on the Ohio River and if you choose to eat outside you're in for a real treat. It's a majestic, picturesque setting that would be great if you wanted to impress a person on your first date. The staff was extremely great, the service was timely, and are food came out approximately 10 mins after seating. Now for the food, I tried the Red Fish and Lobster because it looked really delicious. The food was cooked great and the crab rice was awesome. The fish could have been seasoned a bit more because it was bland. The lobster sauce was ok, could've used less cheese and more spices to compensate for the bland fish. I would recommend you try the appetizer sampler because it gives you the best of all worlds. The crab dip is the best and the other appetizers are a bit underwhelming. Overall, I would recommend this place but suggest you try a steampot full of crabs and sausages.
(3)Jenny B.
I've always wanted to try joes. And for some reason I was expecting a lot more. I'm so used to kicking crab and boiling crab, so I guess I'm being biased. I ordered the steam pot for 2. The food was a little too salty for my taste. I wish they offered bigger portions. My server was very friendly and for that, I'm giving them 3 stars. If you've never tried it, go for it. Just don't have any high expectations for this place. For the price, you're better off going to the casinos that offer Friday seafood buffets.
(3)Jessie T.
The location and view of this place is amazing and I love the beachy atmosphere of it, but I've come here twice hoping the second time would be better than the first.. I was still disappointed. The service was pretty slow and subpar on both accounts. The food is also overpriced for the mediocre quality and quantity.. the steampots are very underwhelming in the amount of crab legs it comes with and it does not taste that fresh. Let's just say I will not be planning to come again because it's just not worth what you pay for.
(2)Tom S.
I don't complain often. But raw mahi is not good, and $13 for chicken fingers over cooked and not enough of a portion for a small child is a bit much.
(1)Ashleigh J.
Went there for lunch today. Quality of food is not what it used to be. Service is mediocre, food is overpriced and feels a bit dirty. Still better than red lobster, but still a little disappointed..
(2)Tamara S.
I was so very disappointed in my food and service here yesterday. I typically order a crab steam pot but, at $30+, I chose the Mahi Fish Tacos instead. The tacos were soaked inside and out with the sauce and the fish was the consistency of jerky and there was one piece of it in each taco the size of a McD's french fry. When the server finally came back to check on us, I voiced my disappointment, she asked if I would like an extra piece of the fish...ummm, no thanks! My grandmother ordered the Crab cake sandwich and it was bland and a bit grey in color. The server never returned to refill our drinks even after we asked. She simply dropped off our overpriced bill and didn't return. Oh, we were her only table to boot! Will not return!
(1)Shelby P.
My last visit to Joes was a big let down. I was there for a meeting and our service was not good at all. I usually love going to joes and was sad that my crab was over cooked. Our wait was so long that everyone got desert to go. The food tasted fine but the experience was not good.
(3)Beth K.
Sorry I can't give negative stars. Went on Mothers Day. Got there when they opened at 11. Waitress was great considering it was her 3rd day. Food came out at different times. Husbands fish and chips was all breading. Very little fish. I got shrimp boil it was the last thing to come out. No hush puppies. No cole slaw. The shrimp almost all had veins. When we said something to manager she replied that's how it always comes. I have never had that much nit deveined. She tried to blame waitress for not telling her there was a problem. I told her she would have known if she made her rounds outside. She explained she just got there then who opened? The table behind us couldn't get drawn butter for crab legs it came out clumpy and frozen. Never saw the manager again. Emailed Joe's haven't heard back so I emailed again!!
(1)Kathy P.
We went to Joe's Crab Shack Saturday, May 9, 2015. We arrived around 5 p.m. and we were seated immediately thanks to call-ahead seating. We sat outside on the covered patio. It was really nice & I recommend it if it's not too hot. I ordered the 'bucket of queen crab' legs with new potatoes and corn. I really wish I took a picture of what I was served - a bucket with netting containing small crab legs, 2 halves of a new potato + one very small whole new potato (size of a golf ball) and an ear of corn with shriveled kernels. Everything was cold. We had to request melted butter from our server, which I thought was odd since it should have come with the meal. My mom ordered the fish tacos and she reported that they were extremely bland. For the money, it should have been better. The service was pretty good, but the food was just really sub-par. Maybe they were having a bad day in the kitchen. The women's restroom was a MESS, too - water all over the floor because there were no paper towels at the sink. Lots of families with small kids, too. thanks for reading!
(1)Sarah F.
I have mixed feelings about this place. It's campy to the point of being annoying (particularly obnoxious indoors) and the food is over-priced and of variable quality; however, sitting on the patio on the river in the summer is pretty nice. I've had much better luck with seafood of the breaded and fried variety (the quality is just not high enough to make healthier choices palatable) and the hush puppies are pretty darn tasty. So if you go, make it in nice weather, sit on the patio, order something fried and enjoy the river with a beer or two.
(3)Janelle L.
Really nice view of the river and the city from the outdoor patio. The food is just ok. Pretty greasy depending what you order and not super fresh tasting. And some of those fun, pretty looking cocktail drinks on the menu are sooooo overly sweet and syrupy tasting. Way too heavy handed with the artificial fruit flavoring. In the future if I find myself at a Joe's Crabshack, I will just order a beer or rum and coke.
(3)Allison B.
I enjoy the food at Joe's and because of it's close proximity to where I work, it's an easy choice for lunch or a quick dinner. Unfortunately, on multiple occasions we've experienced unreasonably slow service- even on occasions in which we specifically requested to expedite our orders in advance because we had places to be. My dinner last night took over an hour and a half, and it was simply because the server couldn't be bothered to even look at our table. After our food was dropped off, our server (a larger bald gentleman) didn't even stop by to ask how things were, much less refill my water. It almost felt as if we were in the twilight zone - we couldn't get anyone's attention. I could understand if the house was packed and they were in a hurry, but for the number of servers there, no one could be bothered to pay attention to the guests at all. Even the manager! It seemed he partway acknowledged giving us poor service when he dropped off his check, I believe in an attempt to play nice and make conversation in hopes of receiving a good tip, but honestly at that point it wasn't appreciated. Dinner had already taken much longer than we had intended and we just wanted to get out. Unfortunately, it took him another 15 minutes to remember to swing by the table again just to pick up our credit cards. I keep giving them a chance, but I don't know how much longer I can continue to do so with such poor and inattentive service. This isn't the first time this has occured, either. No wonder the place was empty! If you're in a hurry, or want to justify the high prices of the decent seafood at this place, save your money and go someplace else. It's not worth the hassle.
(2)Bobby J.
The staff was great but the bacon wrapped shrimp seemed like had sat under a warmer for an hour. Sad way to spend $50
(2)Mary V.
Unique dining place. Stopped on way thru town. Good food and service. Will stop again. Menu had many selections I would like to try. Charbroiled oysters were excellent. Along with crab cakes.
(4)Robert M.
Past Ten years have been a nightmare. The Food and Service have been terrible. Food is old and re-heated. If you want to throw away $100.00 for bad food and service, Joe's is the place for you
(1)Dana J.
It's a good place to eat but to me it's pricy for what you get! The best thing in the menus is the steam pots but I don't wanna pay 30-50 dollars. It's nice being on the river and in the summer to have a drink outside in the patio.
(3)Lynne S.
This was my first visit and I won't return. The steam pot of crab, potatoes, and corn was delivered to the table without a plate, utensils, bib, or butter. Begging 2 different servers for these items, they were finally brought to us, but by then all the food was cold. Crab legs were skinny and under seasoned. Crab cake salad was 85 percent lettuce. Despite spending over $50., the 2 of us left hungry and disappointed.
(2)Lisa G.
Terrible experience. Poorly managed. Our food took 45 minutes and people that got there after us got their orders and were finishing up by the time we received ours. To top it off the food was like warm, the broccoli was dried out and the crab cakes tasted horrible. My husbands dish Redfish Orleans was ok, but not hot. It was definitely not worth $60. The server obviously forgot to ring our food in and then lied about it. Management just blew the whole incident off like oh well sorry. Poorly run establishment . I would not recommend it.
(1)Tom L.
Ok waiting 80 min for dinner is disappointing to say the least. The service on a busy Saturday was very slow. Onx e food arrived fish was over cooked. Crab cake was good as was the stuffed shrimp and crab legs were average. Manager responded slowly. Notice other tables calling him over. ..he did pay close attention to one group but no other tables
(1)Mary V.
By far one of the worst food we've ever had served to us. Three out of four dinners were cold and when they returned the food it was brought back having been Dropped in the frier and had so much grease on each plate five napkins did not take the oil off the plate .
(1)Mic F.
Horrible experience! Never going back. Long wait. Terrible food. All around bad. Stay away. Go anywhere else.
(1)Beth F.
Wow.. I'm really surprised to see all the negative reviews of this place! Every time I go we have fun, and the food has always been fantastic. The staff are usually always alot of fun and super nice & I watched my boyfriend single handedly eat a steam pot of food all by himself in a matter of hours. He even let me try a bite... haha The view is pretty and I really enjoy sitting outside in the summer time. Every meal I've ever had was great and even the left overs I usually end up with the next day are good as well. Maybe I've just gotten lucky the few times I've gone or something? The topper for me was the dessert... OMG. Smore's in a mini skillet.. are you serious?? I KNOW I could make it at home, but id' never look this pretty.. it was so good and I smiled the rest of the night. I just mentioned it to the boyfriend since I'm reviewing it and he wanted to go right now.... The only reason it's not 5 stars is because it's not the BEST seafood I've ever had, but I'd go there any time.
(4)Ashley H.
My order was incorrect. The crab legs were poor quality. I took my son to the restroom and came back to find my nearly uneaten food gone. The server was very nice and friendly. The manager laughed and thought it was hilarious. Then acted like I should be thankful she discounted my meal 50%.
(1)Mark E.
Disappointed is an understatement. It has been a while since I was there and may never return. Watered down drinks, smaller portions, undercooked sides, over cooked entrees, deteriorating exterior all added up to a less than pleasing evening out...especially as $80. Sorry Joe 's I think you lost me.
(1)Katie U.
The one positive: it's on the river. But its neighbor (buckhead's) beats it in price, selection, taste, atmosphere, service... This is WAY overpriced. The server was inattentive. The food took forever to come out and was not nicely plated and not attractive. I got a salad that was thrown together and 99% lettuce (only 2 pieces of chicken and only 2 small chunks of the avocado they promised). Someone else got shrimp alfredo and it was almost all noodles. To top it off, the music wad SO loud that we could barely talk. I will not be going back
(1)Kelly B.
Mediocre food and worse service. Unless you are going just to sit outside and look at the river, go elsewhere. I can't help but think that this is a management problem. None of the wait-staff seemed the least bit interested in doing a good job...trickle down apathy.
(1)Rick O.
Possibly the worst restaurant experience I have ever had, they might be successful if they move to North Korea. Our party cleaned our own table, received chips dripping with oil, 3 of 4 entrees were incorrect, and one was missing 50% of the ingredients. Our waitress, CC, was heroic. Too bad she works under this management and kitchen staff.
(1)Dan L.
The one and two star ratings are inexplicable. This is the finest crab place in Cincinnati. The place is festive. The servers are very friendly and welcoming. The corn on the cob is to die for.
(5)Rod J.
Had lunch there today and server we had was pretty good but the value for what you pay leaves something to be desired. The steampot that I had was ok tastewise but the amount was limiting. The dessert was very good but cost more than it should have versus its competitors. The beer selection was also not to great as no true craft beers were on hand. Overall, it was not horrible but was a lot less than expected.
(2)Bob C.
Ate at Joes Crab Shack last night and had nothing but issues from the time we hit the front door. The 2 bartenders they had working on a Friday night were very inattentive, as we sat at a bar that smelled like a college restroom. They took 15 minutes to greet us and ask our drink order, only to go to wash glasses and get another order for the next 5 minutes. Once seated at the table we were asked for drink orders and they served me a bud light and tried to pass off as land shark when they said the keg blew. The food was good, once they finally got the order right, only to be mischarged. Will never eat at another Joes!
(1)Kammy M.
Well sheesh according to the other reviews I got lucky! I'm a huge fan of Joe's and since we don't have one where I live I always find one when i'm out of town. This past weekend me and my best friend went on a Friday night around 10. Wasn't very crowded at all and no wait if you wanted to be seated inside.There was a 20 minute wait for the patio. Our waiter was cool, not spectacular but he got the job done. Food was really good as usual!
(4)Krissy G.
We were very disappointed in our service at Joe's Crab Shack. We arrived at 6 p.m with a group of 10 (all 23 years old or older). We were seated rather quickly because we had reservations and the dinner rush hadn't arrived yet. We ordered and ate our food, which was mediocre at best. Meanwhile, we had empty cups and no waiter in sight to refill them. After we finished our food, we chatted while we waited for our server to bring us our checks or maybe clear some of the dishes that were literally covering the entire table. 32 minutes went by with no check or not even an acknowledgement that we were still in the restaurant. I typically don't cause a fuss, but 9 people in our party were being picked up by their parents (who were waiting outside). I asked who I thought was the manager if she could print the tickets, since it has now been over a half hour since we finished our meal. She said "oh yes, I can print them right now". She did no such thing. She didn't even walk towards a register or mention anything to our server....she just went about her business like we didn't just have a conversation. Finally, our server handed me a handful of checks. He didn't give them to the people in my party individually. Note, we very nicely asked to all be on separate checks prior to ordering our food. I handed everyone their appropriate checks and my group gathered their money to pay. 3 of us paid in credit card and 7 paid in cash. Seeing this, our server said "hand me the checks in order of who needs the least amount of change". So, we did just that to help. Apparently, the restaurant doesn't carry change because our server asked other servers to "break a $20" and when they didn't have change either - ONE OF THE PARENTS WAITING TO PICK UP THEIR SON GAVE THE WAITER CHANGE FOR A $20!!! After about 10 minutes, everyone had their change. However, it was $10 dollar bills. How can anyone leave a 20% tip on a $12 meal if you give them a $10 bill back?! In the meantime, there were so many dishes on our table, we had to use another table to sign our credit card receipts. I have never had such POOR customer service! Needless to say, Joe's Crab Shack lost 10 customers and their parents!
(1)Nate S.
Strawberry Daiquiri #2 - The Daiquiri was so-so, couldn't really taste much alcohol. This was definitely a mix, I'm hoping I can find a place that uses fresh fruit or something. So, I used to love the food when I worked there, but my last experience was less the mediocre. I will say that the service was great, but it was my friend, so I'm partial to giving a good review for her. However, I do have to say, if you want a truly amazing server, request Louiza!! As for the food....blech. I got the Crab Nachos, but the chips were stale, the plate was painfully warm, and yet the food itself was medium warm....what's up with that.
(2)Nathaniel G.
Garbage. Waitress was decent at best. Food was absolutely horrible. Everything was extremely over cooked and dry. I got the Sam Adams steam pot and I couldn't even eat the lobster claws. So sent them back. Waitress said she couldn't do anything because the manager was on the phone. Finally 15 mins after everyone finished eating she brought me three "fresh" lobster claws. These were worse than the first. At that point I was done. All the manager could do was take $6 off the bill. Horrible customer service. I will never ever return. Plus it's over priced for the quality.
(1)Kristin C.
Horrible service & food. Badly described chariry events and they gave.me food poisioning and ruined my weekend
(1)Warrington W.
The view was wonderful, our server was great. Food was a very over price and over cooked, clams rubbery no flavor and also the lobsters. How can you not have flavor in seafood???
(1)Tara M.
Can you give zero stars? Food is bland, seafood tastes like it came straight out of the dirty Ohio river, not fresh, no meat. Don't come here! HUGE waste of money.
(1)Karina M.
Ennnhhh...that about sums up my appraisal of Joe's Crab Shack. I'm really a lover of all things crustacean, but living in Northern Kentucky, I don't often get to indulge this culinary romance. Joe just complicates my relationship, making it love/hate. I've returned to this kitschy seafood chain several times, hoping each time my previous visit was just a one-off experience. Nope, the food is just mediocre. Though the portions are ample, prices reasonable, and service good, I just don't think Joe's lives up to the expectations I have about a place that specializes in crabs. The product is often blemished and the place smells, um, fishy.
(3)Sarah P.
A little slice of hell: noisy, white-trash atmosphere, mediocre food, terrible service. Last time we went, we waited something like 20 minutes for our check, all the while having to endure watching the servers dance a conga line through the restaurant. Like they don't have time to wait tables because management's making them do stupid tricks. The icing on the cake was being offered bread by the server, then being charged for it. From that experience I learned the lesson that if asked about anything, never assume it's free. But I still think charging for something that usually IS free is pretty cheesy. I hate Joe's so much I'd go hungry before I'd eat there again.
(1)Crystal M.
Slow/poor service. Went here for lunch and they weren't that busy. I ordered the coconut shrimp and it was SUPER greasy. Yuck. Not impressed.
(2)Kasey M.
We visited on a Saturday night around 8pm. It was slammed when we got there and only waited 20 minutes for a table. The environment was fun and family-friendly. The food was fantastic. I only gave 4 stars because the service was awful. Not sure if our waitress was having a bad night but ALL of the tables in her section were complaining to the managers. Once seated, the restaurant had cleared out but it took 30 minutes to get our drinks and put our order in. Either way, we relaxed and had a great time and cut the waitress some slack. :)
(4)Cathy R.
On a summer evening, we stopped by Joe's Crab Shack for a late dinner. We ate on the patio, but they were out of something that should have been a staple, don't remember if it was steamed shrimp or exactly what. We chose two other selections that were ok. Good casual atmosphere, average food and prices. Service was slow. Haven't been back since nothing was out of the ordinary.
(3)Robert M.
Ok seafood. Nice location. Its a chain. Though the portions are ample, prices reasonable, and service good
(3)Ron K.
Our group eats out every Friday night. We had reservations for 18 at 7:45 and we were seated at 7:46 in an area at the back of the Restuarant which helped with noise. Our server was there quickly to get drink orders and was extremely friendly. What a great start to our evening. When it comes to dinner there was mixed reviews on food quality from great to ok on seafood choices. Seemed everyone agreed french fries very lack luster mostly because they had been prepared in advance and slightly under cooked. Considering they specialize in fried foods and serve fries with many dishes this is a shame I ordered ribs which were so tough you couldn't cut them with a knife and trying to pull the meat off with my teeth was impossible. I alerted the serve who quickly responded by telling me he would notify the manager. There appeared to me to be a short delay while this process took place. I see other reviews on here about this process. When a guest has an issue with food quality the server should have the authority to react immediately. I was offered the option of another rib dinner or another choice. Against my better judgement I chose another rib dinner. My thought that all the ribs for this evening likely were under cooked was correct. At least you could eat these and by this time everyone else was almost done eating so no way would I have asked for another dinner. The manager did stop by and apologized and when I informed him these weren't great he did offer to replace them with another dinner. He was business like but certainly not warm and cheerful. By the way the BBQ sauce was a very cheap poor quality sauce that would have been a distraction to good ribs. We did enjoy the dancing and requested later in the evening they do it again and we all danced. We did celebrate a birthday with a dance through the Restuarant which was fun If you want to cut lose a little this can be fun but I understand others find this a distraction. Our sever was great and may have only had our party so no issues with anything from a service stand point. One issue was with bar menu not showing pricing and server didn't know all the prices on wine. Also our table was near an exit from the kitchen were a large (lake like) spill of water was on the floor for more than an hour with everyone including us walking through it. I would think from an employee safety stand point this would have been cleaned up in seconds not to mention the impression on customers. The most amazing part was the manager walked through it dozens and dozens of times. So if you want a quiet dinner this isn't for you. If you have a problem expect this manger involvement policy to create a delay. If you like seafood you can find some good choices. If you like ribs go someplace else. And while some reviews talk about poor service for our evening that was 10 stars for every staff member we had contact with except made the manager who is way to stuffy We did have a good time.
(3)Benjamin W.
Having been to a number of Joe's in my time, I expect a certain level of service and food quality. In my most recent visit to this location, they lost our call-in reservation, but seated us right away when we arrived anyway. The servers do a great job, and are always entertaining. What got me is that the food quality was not quite what I was expecting. The crab dip was great, but the clam chowder was a little runnier than usual. My fish was perfectly prepared, but the dirty rice and steamed broccoli remained on my plate. I think I was hoping for a little more out of the visit.
(3)Christopher H.
A long time ago when I was much younger I used to be a fan of Joe's. I've since outgrown that phase, but alas sometimes convenience just wins out over venturing out somewhere new. Since Joe's was in the same parking lot as my hotel, it made for an easy dinner a couple of nights this week. Joe's has a very simple menu now, featuring a lot of steamed/boiled items. They have different "pots" with different combinations of shell fish, crabs steamed/bbq'ed and seasoned in different ways, a few fried items and generally nothing overly fancy. I think on the whole it works for them, although I have to say their food still seemed to take an inordinately long time to come out. The first night I was there I did the dungeness crab with Old Bay seasoning - good but nothing outstanding. The second night it was stuffed shrimp (picture shrimp scampi with a crab meat stuffing) that was also just OK. If you have kids and are looking for a quasi-party atmosphere, Joe's is a great place to go. If you're looking for good seafood, drive on by.
(3)Debbie M.
UUgh. Joe's Crab Shack is the most over-rated, over-priced seafood place I have ever come across. I thought it was crappy when I first tried it in Florida over 10 years ago. I don't know why I thought it would be less crappy when they built one across the river from my hometown. We went for lunch (two of us) and the only good thing I can say about the place (well, two things) is that the staff was very efficient and friendly, and the view of the Cincinnati Skyline was nice. Other than that, I could have scooped carp out of the Ohio River and it probably would have tasted just as good. We both got seafood "sampler" platters that basically consisted of a heap of different seafood all fried in the same manner, thus all tasting alike. Add a few drinks in the "souvenir mason jars" and our total was over $80!! THAT'S EIGHTY DOLLARS...FOR LUNCH!! I'll never go back. I don't care if someone else is paying. I'd rather have chain seafood like Red Lobster or preferably...take a little walk down the way and eat real seafood at the Chart House. Uugh.
(1)Jacquelynn A.
My boyfriend, a girlfriend, and I all went here one night about a month ago and we had a blast. Our server was hilarious and got a huge tip because he was a doll. If you are looking for good food and a happy atmosphere this is the place.
(4)David G.
The food is good, but for the prices they charge, the crab should be cracked for you. For the money, Mitchells is a better option.
(2)Erika D.
The employees try to make it fun to distract you from the crappy food. I've visited a few times and the crab is always cold and waterlogged. Enough said.
(2)Michelle Y.
The meal I ate at this restaurant was the worst meal I have ever had, and cannot remember having ever ordered food and then sent it back because it tasted horrible (which is what I did here). Everything is obviously frozen, packaged, or made from a can. I ordered the appetizer sampler just to try a few things out, and the fried calamari was rubbery, chewy, and the batter was so soggy with grease that it fell off of the calamari when I tried to eat it. Nothing had any real, true flavor. I sent it back and got a burger instead (thinking the seafood was a waste), and the burger was made from a pre-formed patty, and instead of a slice of cheese it had shredded cheese on top! I ate a few bites of the burger just to get out of there. If you are used to eating REAL food, this place will not be able to serve you anything worthwhile. I will never go back...
(1)Alex L.
So I'll start with the caveat that generally I'm not really full after going to an all seafood restaurant. Joe's Crab Shack looks like your typical seafood restaurant. The atmosphere is a very friendly environment with good service and a nice location by the river. Their menu consists of various buckets of seafood as their main draws. Getting to the food now. The food is not cheap for what you get. I got the Classic Steampot and got it in the Sunset fire-grilled variant, which theoretically should be spiced. When the pot arrived, I was a little disappointed by the quantity and the taste. The shrimp was not the freshest and the crab legs weren't as filled with meat as I would have liked. Sadly the best tasting part of the meal was actually their corn on the cob. That and there was no spicy taste at all. At the end of the day, it was definitely not a cheap meal and outside of the atmosphere it really is not worth the price.
(2)Warrington W.
The view was wonderful, our server was great. Food was a very over price and over cooked, clams rubbery no flavor and also the lobsters. How can you not have flavor in seafood???
(1)Tara M.
Can you give zero stars? Food is bland, seafood tastes like it came straight out of the dirty Ohio river, not fresh, no meat. Don't come here! HUGE waste of money.
(1)Steve M.
I too my cousin here when she visited Cincinnati for the first time (among other laces, duh!). I know that Joe's in a national chain (went to the one in San Diego when I did the RNR Marathon there a few years ago), thinking that all the coastal states would have these restaurants. I was taken aback when I found out that there was one in Colorado and some more of the inland states. The location is great, especially in summer (we saw a Red's game {we won!} after eating) because you get to see the river and all the steamboats (Belle of Cincinnati), sports boats, and jet skis. I got the shrimp trio (crab stuffed shrimp, Malibu shrimp, and coconut shrimp!) and she got the Caribbean Feat (coconut shrimp, Maui mahi, and shrimp sauteed in a smokey chipotle sauce full of pineapple, bell pepper and onion). We shared and sampled each others. As for drinks, she got a Wikiwiki Wave (Bacardi Coco Rum, blue curacao, banana liqueur, pineapple juice, and sweet & sour) and I got the Shark Bite (Bacardi Limón Rum, Skyy Vodka, blue curacao, sweet & sour and grenadine {comes in small tube with a small plastic shark on the end!} - when you mix in the grenadine, it looks like a shark just bite into a animal/person, hence the name! I would say that the downside is that it is rather expensive to go here (maybe once in a while).
(4)Sarah P.
A little slice of hell: noisy, white-trash atmosphere, mediocre food, terrible service. Last time we went, we waited something like 20 minutes for our check, all the while having to endure watching the servers dance a conga line through the restaurant. Like they don't have time to wait tables because management's making them do stupid tricks. The icing on the cake was being offered bread by the server, then being charged for it. From that experience I learned the lesson that if asked about anything, never assume it's free. But I still think charging for something that usually IS free is pretty cheesy. I hate Joe's so much I'd go hungry before I'd eat there again.
(1)Benjamin W.
Having been to a number of Joe's in my time, I expect a certain level of service and food quality. In my most recent visit to this location, they lost our call-in reservation, but seated us right away when we arrived anyway. The servers do a great job, and are always entertaining. What got me is that the food quality was not quite what I was expecting. The crab dip was great, but the clam chowder was a little runnier than usual. My fish was perfectly prepared, but the dirty rice and steamed broccoli remained on my plate. I think I was hoping for a little more out of the visit.
(3)Steve M.
I too my cousin here when she visited Cincinnati for the first time (among other laces, duh!). I know that Joe's in a national chain (went to the one in San Diego when I did the RNR Marathon there a few years ago), thinking that all the coastal states would have these restaurants. I was taken aback when I found out that there was one in Colorado and some more of the inland states. The location is great, especially in summer (we saw a Red's game {we won!} after eating) because you get to see the river and all the steamboats (Belle of Cincinnati), sports boats, and jet skis. I got the shrimp trio (crab stuffed shrimp, Malibu shrimp, and coconut shrimp!) and she got the Caribbean Feat (coconut shrimp, Maui mahi, and shrimp sauteed in a smokey chipotle sauce full of pineapple, bell pepper and onion). We shared and sampled each others. As for drinks, she got a Wikiwiki Wave (Bacardi Coco Rum, blue curacao, banana liqueur, pineapple juice, and sweet & sour) and I got the Shark Bite (Bacardi Limón Rum, Skyy Vodka, blue curacao, sweet & sour and grenadine {comes in small tube with a small plastic shark on the end!} - when you mix in the grenadine, it looks like a shark just bite into a animal/person, hence the name! I would say that the downside is that it is rather expensive to go here (maybe once in a while).
(4)Christopher H.
A long time ago when I was much younger I used to be a fan of Joe's. I've since outgrown that phase, but alas sometimes convenience just wins out over venturing out somewhere new. Since Joe's was in the same parking lot as my hotel, it made for an easy dinner a couple of nights this week. Joe's has a very simple menu now, featuring a lot of steamed/boiled items. They have different "pots" with different combinations of shell fish, crabs steamed/bbq'ed and seasoned in different ways, a few fried items and generally nothing overly fancy. I think on the whole it works for them, although I have to say their food still seemed to take an inordinately long time to come out. The first night I was there I did the dungeness crab with Old Bay seasoning - good but nothing outstanding. The second night it was stuffed shrimp (picture shrimp scampi with a crab meat stuffing) that was also just OK. If you have kids and are looking for a quasi-party atmosphere, Joe's is a great place to go. If you're looking for good seafood, drive on by.
(3)