The soup was okay (half and half). The potato skin special would have been so much better if they dug out the potato and mixed with the crab and shrimp and some imperial and do like a twice baked thing. As is it's very dry. Crab cake was burned on the tip but the flavor was great. We had two different draft beers and something was off about them; they tasted kind of funny and flat. Bartender was very nice and accommodating!
Not the best place in the world but decent enough to eat now and then. The wings are good and the sandwiches are decent, didn't think the crab cake was all that great though. A bit over priced for the taste. Service is decent enough, mostly because they don't have that many customers.
(3)
Natia J.
I ordered the half & half soup (cream of crab mixed with Md crab), the crab dip and shrimp salad. The soup was really good. However, the crab dip was not so great. The dip did not taste too bad, but it was just too sweet and it had shells in it smh... Out of all the dips I have tasted, this one ranks as the lowest. A slice of cantaloupe is served with the dip. The fruit was fresh and sweet, very good. I was a bit disappointed that this place did not have splenda for my hot tea. The shrimp salad sandwich tasted okay. ***Bottom line is the soup was the only thing I really enjoyed eating. If I had to rate this place based on just what I ate, I would give it 2 stars. I rated it as a 3 star only because the place seems clean and the waiter was nice. They do not have a host at the front entrance, so it may take some time to be greeted smh
(3)
E P.
The service there is a absolutely horrible. This one manager/ bartender is so rude and unprofessional. I have seen on more than one occasion where his rudeness has upset not only me, but other customers as well. The food is great but I will not go back until they get rid of him.
(1)
Kayla J.
Waiter seemed very overwhelmed, when asked what the Vegetable of the day was he was completely blank. The dining area is very outdated, Food was mediocre.. A little over priced. My "crab imperial" had shells in it too many for my liking.. Cream of spinach was tasteless probably straight from the can. Sadly, the best thing was probably the French fries. Experience wasn't completely horrible.. But I wouldn't eat here again.
(2)
Jeffrey A.
This Restaurant Deal is a fraud. We went to Restaurant.com . I*t said you can get this deal: Pay $20.00; get $50.00 worth of food. Fine. Wed go to order; the lady said that's not how it works. I said this is the deal on Restaurant.com . She says no; you have to buy $100.00 in food and then you get $40.00 off. That is not what the deal said. All we could do is stand up & walk out. We will never go back there, nor will we ever go to Restaurant.com . Ever. They are liars and on top of that, they are nasty. Stay away. Be forwarned.
(1)
Steve R.
Visited here tonight using a restaurant.com gift certificate. Was disappointed I couldn't use it for steamed crabs, as a sign on the table informed us. Tried the stuffed mushrooms and oysters on the half shell for an appetizer. Both were delicious! Oysters were large and tasty albeit a bit pricey ($9.50 for 6) Then we had the cream of crab soup (daughter liked it) and the Md crab soup(liked it, not the best I've had or the worst...mid-range). The entrees were next, surf and turf, and their colossal crab cake (20oz). My daughter enjoyed her 6oz crab cake but didn't like her steak. She said it had a funny taste. I tried it and had to agree? Not sure what it was, maybe a weird seasoning or something, but I didn't like it either. I had the colossal crab cake which was plenty big. Mostly regular crab meat makes up the bulk of it with lumps on top. Overall, ok but honestly a bit dry. Probably a byproduct of having to cook such a giant cake. I will mention our server was outstanding! I very nice young man, who was attentive.
(2)
Daniel T.
The price for the crabs are very adorable compared to those fancy ones in inner harbors. Also they served both male and female crabs. But sometimes just be careful that you might get one or two "okay" ones. But if you want to get some not that pricy seafood, this is a good place to go.
(3)
David J.
I went there today, at the end of the O's playoff game. The bar was fairly busy, but not enough to ignore me for 15 minutes. Got a soda and a menu, then got ignored for ten more minutes. When I was acknowledged, the bartender told me he wouldn't take my order until the inning was over. Not he couldnt, not is it OK if he doesnt. He wouldnt. Later I made a remark about resigning a player and he snapped "Are you serious?". The crabcake I got was decent, not the the bartender cared to check til I was done. I have had some ok experiences there, and their food is pretty good. This bartender, on the other hand, was awful. Moved a lot, accomplished very little, and had a piss poor attitude to boot. If you wanna work, work. If you wanna chill and watch baseball, do everyone a favor and stay home.
(2)
Debra C.
Cosmo with a marischino (sp?) cherry? When I asked the server, she said she didn't know anything about the drinks. Tasted okay and was only $3.50 though. Fried calamari was hot as crispy, but had no taste. Seriously needs Gordon Ramsey team -- food, servers, and mostly the decor! Too much going on -- christmas lights, wooden walls, crab post, ceiling fans, big fish, Baltimore pictures, tee shirts -- looks like it hasn t changed since the 50's.
(2)
Santana Ross W.
This is by far one of the worst seafood restaurants that I have come across. The crab cakes are mediocre, the sides are terrible and my son crabs were over steamed. My friend insist on coming to this place, since he came here on a regular basis as a child. Next time, he will come alone!
(1)
Truth B.
One of my favorite restaurants in the word! I always get the Jumbo Crabs. Kind of pricy but worth it! EVERYTHING on the menu is good. Great selection of beers!
(5)
Rani P.
I was visiting family in Baltimore and made a special request for crab since Maryland has forever impressed me with their delicious sea creatures. They had just moved to the area, so researched online for a good place to go (unfortunately, they are not yelpers). When it came down to it, this place seemed close, reasonably priced and had crabs! We get there, and it's part of a strip-mall. Not the worse thing in the world, there have been some great secret treasures in not the most attractive places. The atmosphere was stuffy, and we had to struggle to hold everything on our table so the waitress could put a paper sheet on our table. We ordered crab for the table (which isn't on the menu?) and a pretzel with crab dip. DELICIOUS... then the entrees came. We decided to all split things so we can try everything. The sides reminded me of my elementary school cafeteria food- and the soft shell crabs were not edible- they were so fishy I couldn't even pretend to like them. The crab cakes were to die for- why did we just not order these? I also got a bite of a steak, which tasted like any other steak. Would I recommend it? Maybe. Was it a perfect place to go when there are other options? Nope. Lesson learned, check yelp before you go anywhere? YES.
(2)
Michaek S.
Go in expecting a bar with some decent dishes, you'll be happy. Go in expecting a real, fancy seafood restaurant- you'll be sad. Best times we've had there are eating at the bar, a pound of steamed shrimp- simple, w/ Old Bay, and a big thing of fries, with Happy Hour drafts. Perfect. Interesting East Baltmore local-types (this part of Towson is right on edge of Carney/Parkville), friendly folks and service, just divey enough yet still clean enough to not get scared of eating. BAR IS COOL!! in a retro, neighborhood kinda way. Part of the charm is that it's faux-nautical time-capsule decor and beaten-up furniture makes it the opposite of anything pretentious-- I find it relaxing, the kind of place where you feel it's fine to slouch in your chair and pretend you're a kid out with your parents again in 1968- albeit a kid sucking down cheap beer! Folks malleting away their crabs seem to love those, to. But--- start getting away from simply steamed shrimp/crabs, or deep-fried fish sandwiches....and it gets extremely mediocre. Crab cakes shouldn't need flavorings!! If I want pineapple flavor, I'll eat a freakin' pineapple, not a "Hawaiian Crabcake." I like to taste crab, with a hint of spice; not crab as texture for strong flavorings. All other real meals I tried there-- just disappointing; sides are canned or too plain (like giant hunk of barely steamed, not seasoned one bit, broccoli), most stuff clearly frozen and not of highest quality. Go in for some crabs or steamed shrimp, some fries or deep-fried apps that are tasty despite their generic frozen-ness, (like the always tasty generic food-service mozzerella sticks or jalapeno poppers), cheap beer at Happy Hour-- you'll have a great time!! Just don't venture furhter. PS- if you stay until after 9, the dining room gets converted to ping-pong tables!!
This is one of those restaurants that seems to surf on it's previous glory than for its current goodness. I went there not too long ago with my girlfriend for, what else? Crab cakes. The place was packed with mostly old people who all seemed to be getting into their meals. I'm not a huge crab cake fanatic, not having been born here, but I DO like well made ones. My crab cake seemed rather soggy with a lot of filler, and lacking any flavor. I thought that maybe since their clientele was older they were trying to pan down the spice. My girlfriend felt the same about hers. I recall waiting a long time for our meals to come out and was just very disappointed with the meal and the price they want to charge for them. A step up is the crab cakes at Glory Days Grille...and those are just average.
(1)
Tim W.
Decent crab cakes. Service is good. They offer tons of different flavors of crab cakes like Jerk, Italian and Hawaiian among others. Interior is in desperate need for an Extreme Home Makeover. It looks like an 80's Nautica clothing photo shoot.
(3)
Anna R.
Was a great find! The half cream of crab and half Maryland crab soup was tasty. The crabs were insanely good and caked with Old Bay goodness! Not fancy but a great service and definitely where locals go!
(4)
Frank H.
The service here might be the worst I've ever experienced. I thought it might be a fluke (sometimes that happens), but when it happens 2 times in a row - that's just the way they operate. The first time we were there, our waiter was way more interested in the NBA playoffs than waiting on our table. The second time we went, the waiter seemed incapable of getting our order correct. To be honest, he made so many mistakes I thought perhaps it was a joke. Drinks, none were right and I had to get up from my chair and chase the guy down to get refills. After the second experience, I emailed them. I'm not looking for free food, because I made it clear I wouldn't waste my time in there ever again. But you would think someone would get back to me. Anyway, I tell everyone and everyone to go to Costa's, or Conrads, or one of the other crab houses that actually know what customer service is.
(1)
Eun T.
This is our 3rd time coming here for pick up and they have gotten our order wrong the last two times. We thought the last time was a fluke but they did it again. We ordered via phone at 4pm and asked to have it ready for 5:30pm (You have to order the steamed crabs early to make sure you reserve it just incase they run out later). We got there to pick up our food and the hostess was confused and sure enough they hadn't even started preparing our food. We waited for 23 mins and finally got it. I should have checked to make sure we got what we wanted but didn't see until we got home that we didn't. We got broccoli as a side instead of French fries. We will not be coming back!
(1)
Brittany S.
I've only come here for the bar late at night to see my favorite bartender Larry! I'm really shocked and surprised that this place only has 3 stars! Everybody there is super nice, everybody knows everybody there, if you're a regular they'll have a beer waiting for you at you chair. I love it! The drinks are SUPER cheap and they make them really strong, beer bottles are like $1 and some change. I've gotten pretty drunk off a $10 bill. Now I've never been here for the seafood, I didn't even know they were known for seafood lol but! I can definitely say that their late night menu is really good. The wings are good, their burgers are big and juicy, I even got a free chicken wrap one night that was really yummy. The crab pretzels were delicious, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Every year they have a big Christmas party for their employees and regulars that come to the restaurant and I went for the first time last year and had a BLAST! They put all the tables together like a big family dinner and have a buffet of food, I felt like I was really at a family get together. They also announce their asshole of the year award winner which is super funny and they play games. They had a DJ and everybody was dancing, he played songs everybody knew. I don't know what ya'll are talking about but this place has become my second home since moving here for school. Don't let the bad reviews scare you away! Oh! P.s. they also have a liquor store attached & even when its closed they have a very small selection of liquor you can buy from the bar.
(5)
Miriam B.
What a bad experience!. Looking for seafood restaurant the area we stumbled across this one. My New England clam chowder was a salty/ watery mess!. I had to send it back. For and entree I ordered the surf and turf. My steak was as tough as leather.
(1)
Gilbert C.
Food was just ok. Papas has much better crab cakes. Also the service was poor. Took forever to get check and after it was taken it took forever to get the receipt back to sign. It wasn't even busy
(2)
Andrea G.
The Crackpot may not be fine dining or a chain restaurant that's well known to everyone but it's a great place to feel welcome, like a family. I started going to the bar after work t unwind a little and before I knew it the bartenders knew my name and to have a beer ready for me before I even sat down. It's a great place to go with friends relax have some great food and a few drinks all for a very low price.
(5)
Geoff c.
The menu claims that the crab cakes are "world famous specialty" crab cakes. They were pretty good, but not incredible. The same goes for the sides. The mashed potatoes may have been from powder mix. No complaints about the food, but a bit underwhelmed in general. Lackluster, perhaps. The bill for a hawaiian crab cake sandwich, shrimp cake dinner, and maryland crab cake pounder dinner for two was $81. With tip, $94. Not worth it in my opinion. There is a wide variety of styles of crab cakes. And the shrimp cakes is pretty innovative. I guess... The service was a bit lacking. There were only two servers for the whole restaurant. Granted its not a very big restaurant, but there were still a decent number of diners, and the two servers were overworked. The food took a while to come out. I was with a few friends, so the augmented wait wasn't a big deal - we had good conversations. But in spite that, it still took long enough for me to notice. They also have soft shell crabs, and while I think the experience of taking a mallet to get to your crab meat is something you should experience while visiting Baltimore, Crack Pot doesn't quite do that experience justice. Obrycki's was better.
(2)
Lauren S.
Most of my love for this place comes from memories as a child. My mom and dad ate here long before I was born (in 86), and continued to go well until I was 10. I always, without fail, ordered a tuna sandwhich. I remember loving them and always finishing them. I recall when I was younger, my mom would always mention that her mother ate here all the time. One time she threw a hissy fit because my grandfather forgot to make a reservation for a Friday night, and she couldn't be seated right away. According to my mom, this was the place to be, and seeing as her mom was insane and would do that, I'm inclined to agree. Fast forward to when I was 18. I still longed for the place since my parents stopped going (my dad doesn't eat seafood anymore), and my sister wanted to go back too. So her and I went one summer afternoon. She had a crab cake, I had a tuna sandwhich. It was like a party in my mouth. My sister loved her crabcake, which thus started her fierce love affair with crab cakes. We went back a while later with mom and got crabs. We all had a good time, and the crabs were good. Well, we stopped going again for whatever dumb reason (boggles my mind why we stopped both times. My mom works down the street), but last Friday my boyfriend surprised me and took me there! I'm guessing he got tired of me constantly telling him that we needed to eat there. He got a crabcake, and I got a deep fried crab puff. We both enjoyed our food. The puff was not as good as the tuna, but I wanted to be daring and try something new. I still love this place, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
(5)
Liver P.
the broiled fish was fine. the crabcakes were pretty OK. BUT EVERYTHING else was skimpy, slipshod, out of a can, school cafeteria style. When they put that plate in front of you, you ARE disappointed.
(1)
Jessica L.
We had a lady named Tonee take care of us-she was wonderful!! Our food was delicious. The portions were perfect and the atmosphere was warm. Tonee was a sweetheart-she was attentive, patient, and answered our questions. We will definitely be going back!
The cream of crab soup was bland and didn't have any meat in it. The Aunt Liz's crab dip was okay. It also could have had more crab meat in it. The biggest problem we had with the dip was the bread that came with it. It was so hard we thought we were going to break our teeth biting into it. The old bay wings were hard and could have had more old bay. My husband and sister-in-law liked the crab pretzel, but I thought it was a little sour. Overall, I doubt we'll ever go there again.
(1)
Yan Z.
This is a terrible place. The food is mediocre and the service is ridiculous. Our waiter stood there and talked for like half an hour and never come back to fill our drinks or ask us what we need. We tried to to get his attention by asking other waiters and was told to wait some more. I was so ashamed because I heard that their crab cakes are good and took a few friends with me there. Definitely learn my lesson. Never ever coming back here again. If you want really crab cakes, try the Corner Stable up at Timonium.
I used to live one neighborhood over but didn't try it until after I moved away. Now I try to stop in for a meal every time I visit. My usual order is half a dozen steamed crabs (yes, all for me!). The service is great and the atmosphere is very casual and laid-back.
(4)
Lee M.
Service was average. Food was pitiful. Small portions, horrible salads, burnt steak, rubber tuna, and weak coffee. The decorations are cheeseball. Chipped plates. One of the legs on my chair was missing about 2 inches.
(1)
Jessica L.
The Crackpot Seafood Restaurant was opened in 1971 and offers a casual, comfortable setting, One side of the restaurant has a long, narrow bar area, while the other is all wood-shingled walls, paintings of sailboats, and crab pots around the light fixtures. If you are having crabs the wooden tables are covered with sheets of rough brown paper, and we were given a plastic basket with wooden mallets, paper napkins and plastic knives. The Crackpot offers several crab cake variations, including Italian ones with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and Hawaiian ones with ham and pineapple (plus a few other variations beside a regular crab cake). We got there around 2:00. About 5 people order crabs and the rest of us ordered of the lunch menu whereas, a few ordered off the dinner menu. The lunch menu has many sandwich offerings and light fare orders of certain things. The dinner menu offers a variety of seafood and land items. I started with the Cream of Crab soup. It was good but lacked the kick of sherry that a lot of places put in it. It had an average amount of crab in it- but of course it could have had more. For my main course I had the light fare crab cake that came with 2 sides. The crab cake had a lot of meat but was dry and according to my taste buds lacked flavor. It was also very small compared to a bunch of other places. My broccoli was cooked well but had nothing on it and was served not very hot- in fact when I asked for butter it didn't even melt when I put it on. My French fries were over cooked (however a few other people had some that were done perfectly). Overall, I was very disappointed. Some of the other entrees that were ordered were the Crab Imperial, Stuffed Lobster Tail, Broiled Scallops and Shrimp Basket. The person sitting next to me got the Crab Imperial and was disappointed she ordered it and wishes she got the crab cake. AS for the crabs they were dirty the way they should be and the people eating them were enjoying them. However the price for me that day was a bit step for the size that they were getting. This place may just be good for crabs and that's it. Overall, I must say I was disappointed. I had been here around 4 yrs ago and thought things were pretty good. I am not sure if I will be going back to this place at all to give it another chance (even with the Restaurant.com savings coupon). The only thing I would consider going back for is the crab.
(1)
.Hon H.
The Crackpot was just OK. The place itself is cool - very nautical atmosphere, which is just what you want in a crab joint, ya know? Our server was new to the game, but very sweet and very efficient. We started off with the mushrooms stuffed with crab imperial - delicious. I had an order of the mussels, which was really skimpy. I think I had about a dozen tiny mussels for $8.95 or so. My hon of hons husband and his mother had the crab cakes, which were served with a choice of two sides - baked potato, mashed potato, broccoli, cole slaw, french fries, veggie of the day. The crab cakes were great, but the mashed potatoes were completely devoid of flavor. I had the soft shell crabs, which were inexplicably served on top of slices of white bread. Hmmm???? In any event, an OK place to go, but there are much better crab joints in the area so we probably won't go back again.
(3)
B T.
Good Crabcakes and seafood. good selection of seafood items. Not Spectacular but not bad either.They have a bar and restaurant area.
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 : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Sarah S.
The soup was okay (half and half). The potato skin special would have been so much better if they dug out the potato and mixed with the crab and shrimp and some imperial and do like a twice baked thing. As is it's very dry. Crab cake was burned on the tip but the flavor was great. We had two different draft beers and something was off about them; they tasted kind of funny and flat. Bartender was very nice and accommodating!
(2)ted w.
the seafood entrée $29. each you can get one fried and or have it broiled the broiled one they leave off the oysters ? I asked them why they said the could not broil oyster so I said just give me them raw or fry them they said: No way ! i said: you are ripping off the dinners he reply was it does save us some money
(1)Michael D.
Not the best place in the world but decent enough to eat now and then. The wings are good and the sandwiches are decent, didn't think the crab cake was all that great though. A bit over priced for the taste. Service is decent enough, mostly because they don't have that many customers.
(3)Natia J.
I ordered the half & half soup (cream of crab mixed with Md crab), the crab dip and shrimp salad. The soup was really good. However, the crab dip was not so great. The dip did not taste too bad, but it was just too sweet and it had shells in it smh... Out of all the dips I have tasted, this one ranks as the lowest. A slice of cantaloupe is served with the dip. The fruit was fresh and sweet, very good. I was a bit disappointed that this place did not have splenda for my hot tea. The shrimp salad sandwich tasted okay. ***Bottom line is the soup was the only thing I really enjoyed eating. If I had to rate this place based on just what I ate, I would give it 2 stars. I rated it as a 3 star only because the place seems clean and the waiter was nice. They do not have a host at the front entrance, so it may take some time to be greeted smh
(3)E P.
The service there is a absolutely horrible. This one manager/ bartender is so rude and unprofessional. I have seen on more than one occasion where his rudeness has upset not only me, but other customers as well. The food is great but I will not go back until they get rid of him.
(1)Kayla J.
Waiter seemed very overwhelmed, when asked what the Vegetable of the day was he was completely blank. The dining area is very outdated, Food was mediocre.. A little over priced. My "crab imperial" had shells in it too many for my liking.. Cream of spinach was tasteless probably straight from the can. Sadly, the best thing was probably the French fries. Experience wasn't completely horrible.. But I wouldn't eat here again.
(2)Jeffrey A.
This Restaurant Deal is a fraud. We went to Restaurant.com . I*t said you can get this deal: Pay $20.00; get $50.00 worth of food. Fine. Wed go to order; the lady said that's not how it works. I said this is the deal on Restaurant.com . She says no; you have to buy $100.00 in food and then you get $40.00 off. That is not what the deal said. All we could do is stand up & walk out. We will never go back there, nor will we ever go to Restaurant.com . Ever. They are liars and on top of that, they are nasty. Stay away. Be forwarned.
(1)Steve R.
Visited here tonight using a restaurant.com gift certificate. Was disappointed I couldn't use it for steamed crabs, as a sign on the table informed us. Tried the stuffed mushrooms and oysters on the half shell for an appetizer. Both were delicious! Oysters were large and tasty albeit a bit pricey ($9.50 for 6) Then we had the cream of crab soup (daughter liked it) and the Md crab soup(liked it, not the best I've had or the worst...mid-range). The entrees were next, surf and turf, and their colossal crab cake (20oz). My daughter enjoyed her 6oz crab cake but didn't like her steak. She said it had a funny taste. I tried it and had to agree? Not sure what it was, maybe a weird seasoning or something, but I didn't like it either. I had the colossal crab cake which was plenty big. Mostly regular crab meat makes up the bulk of it with lumps on top. Overall, ok but honestly a bit dry. Probably a byproduct of having to cook such a giant cake. I will mention our server was outstanding! I very nice young man, who was attentive.
(2)Daniel T.
The price for the crabs are very adorable compared to those fancy ones in inner harbors. Also they served both male and female crabs. But sometimes just be careful that you might get one or two "okay" ones. But if you want to get some not that pricy seafood, this is a good place to go.
(3)David J.
I went there today, at the end of the O's playoff game. The bar was fairly busy, but not enough to ignore me for 15 minutes. Got a soda and a menu, then got ignored for ten more minutes. When I was acknowledged, the bartender told me he wouldn't take my order until the inning was over. Not he couldnt, not is it OK if he doesnt. He wouldnt. Later I made a remark about resigning a player and he snapped "Are you serious?". The crabcake I got was decent, not the the bartender cared to check til I was done. I have had some ok experiences there, and their food is pretty good. This bartender, on the other hand, was awful. Moved a lot, accomplished very little, and had a piss poor attitude to boot. If you wanna work, work. If you wanna chill and watch baseball, do everyone a favor and stay home.
(2)Debra C.
Cosmo with a marischino (sp?) cherry? When I asked the server, she said she didn't know anything about the drinks. Tasted okay and was only $3.50 though. Fried calamari was hot as crispy, but had no taste. Seriously needs Gordon Ramsey team -- food, servers, and mostly the decor! Too much going on -- christmas lights, wooden walls, crab post, ceiling fans, big fish, Baltimore pictures, tee shirts -- looks like it hasn t changed since the 50's.
(2)Santana Ross W.
This is by far one of the worst seafood restaurants that I have come across. The crab cakes are mediocre, the sides are terrible and my son crabs were over steamed. My friend insist on coming to this place, since he came here on a regular basis as a child. Next time, he will come alone!
(1)Truth B.
One of my favorite restaurants in the word! I always get the Jumbo Crabs. Kind of pricy but worth it! EVERYTHING on the menu is good. Great selection of beers!
(5)Rani P.
I was visiting family in Baltimore and made a special request for crab since Maryland has forever impressed me with their delicious sea creatures. They had just moved to the area, so researched online for a good place to go (unfortunately, they are not yelpers). When it came down to it, this place seemed close, reasonably priced and had crabs! We get there, and it's part of a strip-mall. Not the worse thing in the world, there have been some great secret treasures in not the most attractive places. The atmosphere was stuffy, and we had to struggle to hold everything on our table so the waitress could put a paper sheet on our table. We ordered crab for the table (which isn't on the menu?) and a pretzel with crab dip. DELICIOUS... then the entrees came. We decided to all split things so we can try everything. The sides reminded me of my elementary school cafeteria food- and the soft shell crabs were not edible- they were so fishy I couldn't even pretend to like them. The crab cakes were to die for- why did we just not order these? I also got a bite of a steak, which tasted like any other steak. Would I recommend it? Maybe. Was it a perfect place to go when there are other options? Nope. Lesson learned, check yelp before you go anywhere? YES.
(2)Michaek S.
Go in expecting a bar with some decent dishes, you'll be happy. Go in expecting a real, fancy seafood restaurant- you'll be sad. Best times we've had there are eating at the bar, a pound of steamed shrimp- simple, w/ Old Bay, and a big thing of fries, with Happy Hour drafts. Perfect. Interesting East Baltmore local-types (this part of Towson is right on edge of Carney/Parkville), friendly folks and service, just divey enough yet still clean enough to not get scared of eating. BAR IS COOL!! in a retro, neighborhood kinda way. Part of the charm is that it's faux-nautical time-capsule decor and beaten-up furniture makes it the opposite of anything pretentious-- I find it relaxing, the kind of place where you feel it's fine to slouch in your chair and pretend you're a kid out with your parents again in 1968- albeit a kid sucking down cheap beer! Folks malleting away their crabs seem to love those, to. But--- start getting away from simply steamed shrimp/crabs, or deep-fried fish sandwiches....and it gets extremely mediocre. Crab cakes shouldn't need flavorings!! If I want pineapple flavor, I'll eat a freakin' pineapple, not a "Hawaiian Crabcake." I like to taste crab, with a hint of spice; not crab as texture for strong flavorings. All other real meals I tried there-- just disappointing; sides are canned or too plain (like giant hunk of barely steamed, not seasoned one bit, broccoli), most stuff clearly frozen and not of highest quality. Go in for some crabs or steamed shrimp, some fries or deep-fried apps that are tasty despite their generic frozen-ness, (like the always tasty generic food-service mozzerella sticks or jalapeno poppers), cheap beer at Happy Hour-- you'll have a great time!! Just don't venture furhter. PS- if you stay until after 9, the dining room gets converted to ping-pong tables!!
(3)Meghna A.
Their crabs were ok. The Cajun seasoned shrimp with sautéed onions is amazing!! When I got no clams from my new England clam chowder, I complained about it ti the waiter.he openly told me that it was right out of the can. Hellloooooooo I can do tht at home!!!
(2)Jim H.
This is one of those restaurants that seems to surf on it's previous glory than for its current goodness. I went there not too long ago with my girlfriend for, what else? Crab cakes. The place was packed with mostly old people who all seemed to be getting into their meals. I'm not a huge crab cake fanatic, not having been born here, but I DO like well made ones. My crab cake seemed rather soggy with a lot of filler, and lacking any flavor. I thought that maybe since their clientele was older they were trying to pan down the spice. My girlfriend felt the same about hers. I recall waiting a long time for our meals to come out and was just very disappointed with the meal and the price they want to charge for them. A step up is the crab cakes at Glory Days Grille...and those are just average.
(1)Tim W.
Decent crab cakes. Service is good. They offer tons of different flavors of crab cakes like Jerk, Italian and Hawaiian among others. Interior is in desperate need for an Extreme Home Makeover. It looks like an 80's Nautica clothing photo shoot.
(3)Anna R.
Was a great find! The half cream of crab and half Maryland crab soup was tasty. The crabs were insanely good and caked with Old Bay goodness! Not fancy but a great service and definitely where locals go!
(4)Frank H.
The service here might be the worst I've ever experienced. I thought it might be a fluke (sometimes that happens), but when it happens 2 times in a row - that's just the way they operate. The first time we were there, our waiter was way more interested in the NBA playoffs than waiting on our table. The second time we went, the waiter seemed incapable of getting our order correct. To be honest, he made so many mistakes I thought perhaps it was a joke. Drinks, none were right and I had to get up from my chair and chase the guy down to get refills. After the second experience, I emailed them. I'm not looking for free food, because I made it clear I wouldn't waste my time in there ever again. But you would think someone would get back to me. Anyway, I tell everyone and everyone to go to Costa's, or Conrads, or one of the other crab houses that actually know what customer service is.
(1)Eun T.
This is our 3rd time coming here for pick up and they have gotten our order wrong the last two times. We thought the last time was a fluke but they did it again. We ordered via phone at 4pm and asked to have it ready for 5:30pm (You have to order the steamed crabs early to make sure you reserve it just incase they run out later). We got there to pick up our food and the hostess was confused and sure enough they hadn't even started preparing our food. We waited for 23 mins and finally got it. I should have checked to make sure we got what we wanted but didn't see until we got home that we didn't. We got broccoli as a side instead of French fries. We will not be coming back!
(1)Brittany S.
I've only come here for the bar late at night to see my favorite bartender Larry! I'm really shocked and surprised that this place only has 3 stars! Everybody there is super nice, everybody knows everybody there, if you're a regular they'll have a beer waiting for you at you chair. I love it! The drinks are SUPER cheap and they make them really strong, beer bottles are like $1 and some change. I've gotten pretty drunk off a $10 bill. Now I've never been here for the seafood, I didn't even know they were known for seafood lol but! I can definitely say that their late night menu is really good. The wings are good, their burgers are big and juicy, I even got a free chicken wrap one night that was really yummy. The crab pretzels were delicious, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Every year they have a big Christmas party for their employees and regulars that come to the restaurant and I went for the first time last year and had a BLAST! They put all the tables together like a big family dinner and have a buffet of food, I felt like I was really at a family get together. They also announce their asshole of the year award winner which is super funny and they play games. They had a DJ and everybody was dancing, he played songs everybody knew. I don't know what ya'll are talking about but this place has become my second home since moving here for school. Don't let the bad reviews scare you away! Oh! P.s. they also have a liquor store attached & even when its closed they have a very small selection of liquor you can buy from the bar.
(5)Miriam B.
What a bad experience!. Looking for seafood restaurant the area we stumbled across this one. My New England clam chowder was a salty/ watery mess!. I had to send it back. For and entree I ordered the surf and turf. My steak was as tough as leather.
(1)Gilbert C.
Food was just ok. Papas has much better crab cakes. Also the service was poor. Took forever to get check and after it was taken it took forever to get the receipt back to sign. It wasn't even busy
(2)Andrea G.
The Crackpot may not be fine dining or a chain restaurant that's well known to everyone but it's a great place to feel welcome, like a family. I started going to the bar after work t unwind a little and before I knew it the bartenders knew my name and to have a beer ready for me before I even sat down. It's a great place to go with friends relax have some great food and a few drinks all for a very low price.
(5)Geoff c.
The menu claims that the crab cakes are "world famous specialty" crab cakes. They were pretty good, but not incredible. The same goes for the sides. The mashed potatoes may have been from powder mix. No complaints about the food, but a bit underwhelmed in general. Lackluster, perhaps. The bill for a hawaiian crab cake sandwich, shrimp cake dinner, and maryland crab cake pounder dinner for two was $81. With tip, $94. Not worth it in my opinion. There is a wide variety of styles of crab cakes. And the shrimp cakes is pretty innovative. I guess... The service was a bit lacking. There were only two servers for the whole restaurant. Granted its not a very big restaurant, but there were still a decent number of diners, and the two servers were overworked. The food took a while to come out. I was with a few friends, so the augmented wait wasn't a big deal - we had good conversations. But in spite that, it still took long enough for me to notice. They also have soft shell crabs, and while I think the experience of taking a mallet to get to your crab meat is something you should experience while visiting Baltimore, Crack Pot doesn't quite do that experience justice. Obrycki's was better.
(2)Lauren S.
Most of my love for this place comes from memories as a child. My mom and dad ate here long before I was born (in 86), and continued to go well until I was 10. I always, without fail, ordered a tuna sandwhich. I remember loving them and always finishing them. I recall when I was younger, my mom would always mention that her mother ate here all the time. One time she threw a hissy fit because my grandfather forgot to make a reservation for a Friday night, and she couldn't be seated right away. According to my mom, this was the place to be, and seeing as her mom was insane and would do that, I'm inclined to agree. Fast forward to when I was 18. I still longed for the place since my parents stopped going (my dad doesn't eat seafood anymore), and my sister wanted to go back too. So her and I went one summer afternoon. She had a crab cake, I had a tuna sandwhich. It was like a party in my mouth. My sister loved her crabcake, which thus started her fierce love affair with crab cakes. We went back a while later with mom and got crabs. We all had a good time, and the crabs were good. Well, we stopped going again for whatever dumb reason (boggles my mind why we stopped both times. My mom works down the street), but last Friday my boyfriend surprised me and took me there! I'm guessing he got tired of me constantly telling him that we needed to eat there. He got a crabcake, and I got a deep fried crab puff. We both enjoyed our food. The puff was not as good as the tuna, but I wanted to be daring and try something new. I still love this place, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
(5)Liver P.
the broiled fish was fine. the crabcakes were pretty OK. BUT EVERYTHING else was skimpy, slipshod, out of a can, school cafeteria style. When they put that plate in front of you, you ARE disappointed.
(1)Jessica L.
We had a lady named Tonee take care of us-she was wonderful!! Our food was delicious. The portions were perfect and the atmosphere was warm. Tonee was a sweetheart-she was attentive, patient, and answered our questions. We will definitely be going back!
(4)Roger G.
I have been going here for decades. It is very good, mediocre and very bad so I have to explain why I will keep going - just not often. First the bad ........... The service is almost ALWAYS bad. I have never seen a MANAGER overseeing the young people who hang together in the back chatting and messaging on their phones. Ever go to a chinese restaurant? There is always something to do. One never sees an idle inattentive staff. On most of my visits I have to ask for a water refill. I did see a manager once when I refused to pay $7.95 for the 3 baked stuffed oysters because the sidewalk special board listed them for $6.95. It took the mortified waitress 3 trips to pass the manager's replies explaining why I was wrong before the manager came out with a piss poor attitude about it, sent someone outside to read the board and then he gruffly pulled a dollar out of his pocket and glared at me without remorse or any hint of apology. It is cold in the winter. The cream of crab soup is terrible. So is their special seafood pot pie - a creamy tasteless slop. Another thing that irks me is that their sides come in little bowls so one must either move your entrée or reach off to the side to eat it. Dribbling across the table is just plain sloppy and so is dragging my coat sleeve across my entrée. And if you have an item like broccoli in large florets there is no way to cut it with without spilling it on the table. Why can't an entrée with 2 sides be placed on 1 plate? Especially at these prices. This is not a sub shop. Last night I was pleased to see the special was broiled rockfish so I ordered it. It was tasteless and overcooked. Rockfish is a prized local delicate fish that should be light, soft and flaky on the fork. The waitress offered to redo the order and I said not if it overcooked and tasteless. So I got a crabcake that was mediocre. Not good for a crab house/seafood restaurant. I am local and I know good crabcakes. And how to cook rockfish. Now the good and why I will go back .............. The steamed crabs are really very good and they know how to set tables for us local crab fiends. First rate. So are the baked oysters imperial. Wrong - they are fabulous and usually very large. Last night they were small and fabulous. The fried soft crabs are also very good. I like to think soft crabs are my specialty and these are in the A class for fried ones. And they cater to children. And sometimes I see an older man - who I sometimes see bus and set tables and keeps the place in order - looking around to pick up stuff from the floor that people drop - like my granddaughter's glove last night. That man is their best employee and probably lowest paid. Definitely as asset to the place. I think he should be the manager - seriously. I think the place prefers to cater to the loud bar drinkers and crab eaters. After all the years, I now know what's good and what to avoid. New people must be highly disappointed as the previous reviews rightly attest. A very good chef manager could really turn this place around. As long as they make money this way I am pessimistic about that possibility under current ownership.
(2)Megan P.
The cream of crab soup was bland and didn't have any meat in it. The Aunt Liz's crab dip was okay. It also could have had more crab meat in it. The biggest problem we had with the dip was the bread that came with it. It was so hard we thought we were going to break our teeth biting into it. The old bay wings were hard and could have had more old bay. My husband and sister-in-law liked the crab pretzel, but I thought it was a little sour. Overall, I doubt we'll ever go there again.
(1)Yan Z.
This is a terrible place. The food is mediocre and the service is ridiculous. Our waiter stood there and talked for like half an hour and never come back to fill our drinks or ask us what we need. We tried to to get his attention by asking other waiters and was told to wait some more. I was so ashamed because I heard that their crab cakes are good and took a few friends with me there. Definitely learn my lesson. Never ever coming back here again. If you want really crab cakes, try the Corner Stable up at Timonium.
(1)Camille C.
Don't even waste your time and money. Overpriced food. Outdated décor. Our server seemed nice but didn't do a good job. He never stayed on top of our refills and wouldn't clear away dirty plates. If Maryland is known for their crabs (and I know they are) then this place is not doing it justice. I had the crab cake sandwich and it was okay. Not good enough to come back to, though. The only thing there that I believe we all enjoyed was the crab stuffed pretzel (It was $13... yikes). If you're looking for a great place that serves good crabs with a relaxed atmosphere... do not go to the Crack Pot (or Crap Pot... that's what all my friends called it once we left). I guess the main reason I wouldn't go back is because they really try to make you feel like it's an upscale restaurant... and I wouldn't mind paying the big bucks if it really was but it's not. It's stuck in the 80s. And beware...they love to add a lot of salt to all of their food. This place needs Gordon Ramsey to teach them a thing or two. Kitchen Nightmares might be calling this place shortly;)
(1)Amy C.
I used to live one neighborhood over but didn't try it until after I moved away. Now I try to stop in for a meal every time I visit. My usual order is half a dozen steamed crabs (yes, all for me!). The service is great and the atmosphere is very casual and laid-back.
(4)Lee M.
Service was average. Food was pitiful. Small portions, horrible salads, burnt steak, rubber tuna, and weak coffee. The decorations are cheeseball. Chipped plates. One of the legs on my chair was missing about 2 inches.
(1)Jessica L.
The Crackpot Seafood Restaurant was opened in 1971 and offers a casual, comfortable setting, One side of the restaurant has a long, narrow bar area, while the other is all wood-shingled walls, paintings of sailboats, and crab pots around the light fixtures. If you are having crabs the wooden tables are covered with sheets of rough brown paper, and we were given a plastic basket with wooden mallets, paper napkins and plastic knives. The Crackpot offers several crab cake variations, including Italian ones with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and Hawaiian ones with ham and pineapple (plus a few other variations beside a regular crab cake). We got there around 2:00. About 5 people order crabs and the rest of us ordered of the lunch menu whereas, a few ordered off the dinner menu. The lunch menu has many sandwich offerings and light fare orders of certain things. The dinner menu offers a variety of seafood and land items. I started with the Cream of Crab soup. It was good but lacked the kick of sherry that a lot of places put in it. It had an average amount of crab in it- but of course it could have had more. For my main course I had the light fare crab cake that came with 2 sides. The crab cake had a lot of meat but was dry and according to my taste buds lacked flavor. It was also very small compared to a bunch of other places. My broccoli was cooked well but had nothing on it and was served not very hot- in fact when I asked for butter it didn't even melt when I put it on. My French fries were over cooked (however a few other people had some that were done perfectly). Overall, I was very disappointed. Some of the other entrees that were ordered were the Crab Imperial, Stuffed Lobster Tail, Broiled Scallops and Shrimp Basket. The person sitting next to me got the Crab Imperial and was disappointed she ordered it and wishes she got the crab cake. AS for the crabs they were dirty the way they should be and the people eating them were enjoying them. However the price for me that day was a bit step for the size that they were getting. This place may just be good for crabs and that's it. Overall, I must say I was disappointed. I had been here around 4 yrs ago and thought things were pretty good. I am not sure if I will be going back to this place at all to give it another chance (even with the Restaurant.com savings coupon). The only thing I would consider going back for is the crab.
(1).Hon H.
The Crackpot was just OK. The place itself is cool - very nautical atmosphere, which is just what you want in a crab joint, ya know? Our server was new to the game, but very sweet and very efficient. We started off with the mushrooms stuffed with crab imperial - delicious. I had an order of the mussels, which was really skimpy. I think I had about a dozen tiny mussels for $8.95 or so. My hon of hons husband and his mother had the crab cakes, which were served with a choice of two sides - baked potato, mashed potato, broccoli, cole slaw, french fries, veggie of the day. The crab cakes were great, but the mashed potatoes were completely devoid of flavor. I had the soft shell crabs, which were inexplicably served on top of slices of white bread. Hmmm???? In any event, an OK place to go, but there are much better crab joints in the area so we probably won't go back again.
(3)B T.
Good Crabcakes and seafood. good selection of seafood items. Not Spectacular but not bad either.They have a bar and restaurant area.
(3)