Cj’s Restaurant
10117 Reisterstown Rd, Owings Mills, MD, 21117
Cj’s Restaurant Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Owings Mills for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Owings Mills for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Owings Mills for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
10117 Reisterstown Rd
Owings Mills, MD, 21117 - Phone (410) 363-6694
- Website https://cjscrabs.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:30 am - 10
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, 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
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Shannan R.
celebrated a family outing with my husband and family and the waitress name Debbie with black short hair was not tentative at all. We were a party of 10. we didnt all arrive at once we were traveling from different locations. first things first, we were waiting for our appetizers for a long time but the table next to us of 4 very loud women was being treated with more attention than our party of ten. Debbie refused to bring everyone their own dishes they ordered we were forced to send each plate around to its rightful owner however, there was plenty of room for her to walk around the table. When ordering we asked for separate checks simply because my husband and I like to keep receipts to stay on budget. She denied us. So when our table got the bill it was 294.00 18% grat. In my opinion she didn't deserve that much because she was not interactive enough. Our appetitizer dishes were still on the table when we received our entree. we had to keep asking for refills. She didnt know the menu. over charged us for sides that we were told were included in the meal. If you do want to go to this restaurant make sure you dont get DEBBIE...... she was the worst. Lastly, this restaurant brags on how long they have been in business but the place looks dusty and dirty. And most of the recipes have NO FLAVOR. I ordered a crab cake and a little salt and pepper would have made it way better!
(1)Meatdowntown C.
Dirty, crappy and simply BAD. The wait staff are rude and in a rush wanting you to eat whatever the most expensive dish is. Most people were eating crab so I guess I should have done that. The cream of crab was AWFUL and looked like Campbell soup out of a can with no crab and lots of butter. The expensive CRAB CAKE was the WORSE I have had in Maryland, it was totally dry and almost rubbery with no flavor at all. Do not even attempt to get desserts. My stupidity after having a bad meal...made me order a dessert. I got the chocolate cake...well it was a PRONTO cake with a cherry on top and warm Hershey's syrup....a total joke! Don't go to this place! This place is a joke. The food and service are terrible. I was experimenting for good crab cakes in the northwest area and decided to try this place. First of all, the waitress was acting as she was making me a favor serving me. I hit the cream of cram soup and it was awful, it was very thick (almost solid), tasteless and with few pieces of shredded crab. I left half of it since I decided to keep myself hungry for the crab cakes. The crab cakes arrived and the presentation was not good at all and the taste was just like plain rubber and bland. So DO NOT order the crab cakes!! I saw lots of families eating crabs and hitting them with a mallard. Probably this his what needs to be ordered. That's it and now being charged $56 for a crappy dinner (one person) is unacceptable for this crappy place. Avoid this place unless you know it is good for steamed crabs. Here was my original review about this place:
(1)Andy J.
It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. I had the soft shell crab and a cup of soup. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit the place but I wouldn't avoid it either.
(3)MaryAnn C.
CJ's is our most favorite place to go in the area. We go for the snow crab legs, the crab dip and for drinks. They have the best prices around but is nothing fancy inside- we like that we can go to a casual atmosphere and everyone there now knows us. We go in to watch the games, eat crab and relax for a few hours and appreciate the staff doesn't try to push you out the door as soon as they think you are done eating.
(5)Jessica C.
I am literally so surprised that I am giving this place 5 stars, I can hardly believe it. I went there today for a business lunch and was skeptical. I've passed by CJ's a literal million times and never felt any desire to check it out. And why would I? It's in what essentially amounts to a baby blue shack on Reisterstown Road. Their website is antiquated and is basically designed using clip art, and their parking lot looks like a pile of rubble. But someone from out of town wanted to try a taste of Maryland and this was the place closest to the office so I figured... why the hell not? Inside it's like a no frills sports bar with ample seating, several TV's and a fully stocked bar. They have a surprising amount of merchandise (who has ever purchased a CJ's t-shirt?) and some indication that maybe celebrities have dined here? (At least Tony Danza, anyway). The decor is like a cross between beach theme (literally any and every beach - I sat across from a poster of Waikiki) and Maryland theme (particularly the flag / Ravens / Orioles / Terps). This is a place that would fit in VERY well in Ocean City. It's not at all what I expected. The waitresses were very stereotypical Baltimore, as well. They wore very old school style uniforms and I could see them as waitresses in the 50's at a diner serving burnt toast and black coffee. Alternately, for those of you in the know, they seemed a little bit like they were straight out of Hampden. I partially expected my waitress to swing by with a Natty Boh saying, "welcome to Bawlmer, hon!" I started with the cream of crab soup. Let me just say: wow. It was SO GOOD. There was lots of lump crab meat that seemed freshly picked (as indicated by the unfortunate small piece of shell I found in my bowl). It was, by far, the best cream of crab soup I've had to date. Then we ordered a dozen medium crabs (which came out to around $45 or so). They were definitely on the smaller side, but I think that's probably true across the board. They were piping hot and covered in a lot of seasoning. I assumed it was Old Bay but I read in someone's review that they make their own crab seasoning. In any case, it was good, and the crabs had a good amount of meat. The waitress came by with drink refills often and cleaned out our shell bowls every 15 minutes or so, which is very appreciated. I really could have spent the entire afternoon there eating crabs and hanging out. A couple of weird things: someone in my party ordered a salad with grilled shrimp on top and the waitress came back out because the kitchen wanted to know how many shrimp he wanted. Is there a right answer? Also, and this almost knocked the review down to 4 stars for me, they had no wet naps! Don't serve me crabs covered in seasoning without wet naps! In any case, it felt like summer in Maryland today, and they have a new customer.
(5)Allison L.
Came back here a few days ago, it was another good dinner. It was, again, a weekend night at like 7:30-8 and we were immediately seated at a table. Our waitress this time was actually pleasant (unlike our waitress last time) which was nice. I got the clamstrips basket and the boyfriend got the broiled seafood platter (crabcake, shrimp, scallops... some other stuff...). We also split a pound of the snow crab legs. There are only a few minor complaints for the food... the crabcake was a little too seasoned , the snow crab legs didn't have much meat at all (and believe me, I know snow crab legs don't have much but this was an extremely small amount) and the rolls they serve are basically microwaved potato rolls. Still, a pretty good place in Owings Mills, esp. for seafood.
(3)Jeff S.
Had the fried soft shell crab, as it was apparently too early for MD blues. Good and attentive service was the high point of the meal. Unfortunately, the oil was old, and the corn was both undercooked and lukewarm.
(2)Ed H.
Been there a few times on a biz trip due to location and the fact that it has a full bar. Totally different experiences based on your waitress. Not awesome vs terrible, more like normal vs WTF. Strange..but maybe that's the norm. Not sure, I'm not local. Anyway the food is good but like everywhere else, when it isn't crab season don't expect bombass crab. I've had the lump crab cakes, chicken imperial and breaded shrimp. All were decent, but side salads were no bueno. Looks and tastes like pre-bagged iceburg lettuce salad, maybe a day older than it should be. Big ups on the drinks! Yuengling on tap and the night I went with gin and tonic they were nice I strong. I'm from CA so I'm always stoked to get a pitcher of the Yueng. If you're stuck in Owings Mills, try this place out. If you can get to Baltimore...
(3)Valerie G.
THE PLACE: - Easily booked a reservation for party of 16 on a Saturday evening at 8PM - They gave us a private room! - The restaurant is VERY large and spacious.. I don't think it looked ghetto at all like in other Yelpers' reviews... & I'm from New York! Place was about 60% full. THE GRUB: - Sangria: never heard of a seafood restaurant that served sangria.. interesting pairing. Probably 99.9% juice. Not super sweet either. - Oysters: lots of meat on these babys! Come out in huge trays of dozens. - Clams: extremely salty :( Not a big fan - Crab Dip: Comes with warm bundles of breadsticks (or what I like to call them - sticks of joy). I don't recall tasting as much crab in the dip as I did cream/cheese but it was good nontheless. - Crab Pizza: I kept wondering if these would turn out like the Artichoke crab slice (i.e., creamy) but I was pleasantly surprised to see chunks of fresh crab over marina sauce on a not-too-thin-not-too-thick crust. This was a good choice for those who are too lazy to work for their food (i.e., me). - and the Maryland crabs!!! I hate hate hate to work ridiculously hard for my food, mainly bcus I feel like the amount of food you get from 1 crab does not correlate with the amount of time it takes to open them up, but I actually sucked it up and ate 2 of these. There was actually SOOO much meat in these crabs that it may have changed my crabbing ways forever! A few friends mentioned that they couldn't feel their lips from all the Old Bay seasoning. Maryland crabs + Old Bay + a lil bit of that butter sauce = heaven. We ended up spending $45pp incl tip + tax for all this food and a few pitchers. Great time with awesome friends and prompt friendly service.
(4)Natalya M.
My crab cake expertise is novice, but so far this is by far the best crab cake I've had! We also ordered the steamed clams & two large crabs, but after the meal I felt that I would of happily skipped the crabs and clams to have two of these. This isn't saying that they weren't good. The crabs were covered in this delicious seasoning that they make in house, and is similar to old bay. My only qualm with them was that for "large" crabs there wasn't much too them. This could be that I am from California and when you buy crabs at the grocery store they are much bigger. These there wasn't much to eat except for the front claws and the body. The crab meat was delicious though! The clams on the other hand were the biggest clams I've seen and they were also delicious. But like I said, in my option the Crabcakes were the star item! Not fancy, has a great crab house vibe to it. Our waitress was a riot, seemed like she had been working there for years and she knew her crab! I wish it was closer to the city so that when I live in Baltimore starting this summer I would be able to eat here more often!
(4)Tricia S.
I have come here way more times than I remember to check in. Anyway, I always enjoy coming here. The staff is friendly and very accommodating. I come here for the crabs. For the most part, the crabs are delish. Today however, the crabs were fair. I had a few hallow crabs that I had to send back. This is the first time this has happened to me here though. I usually come on Monday or Tuesday when they sell their medium crabs for $2.75 each (used to be $2.50 last year). You can get any quantity. I recently have grown fond of their buffalo wings with no buffalo sauce because the wings have a kick to them without the sauce; as well as their cream of crab soup. Today they had some good corn on the cob. I wish I could write more about this place, but I only come for crabs. This is so random, but I wish they had more than one toilet.
(4)Shane F.
The wife and I are happy to have found this place. The food is always what I'd expect or better. The prices are reasonable. The staff is helpful, attentive and friendly. And we can almost always walk right in and get a table - even on a Friday night. Granted, this is not the kind of place I'd go for an anniversary or the like (paper on the tables - old cafeteria-style glasses, etc) but as a regular, after-the-errands, once-a-week kind of place - it's perfect. Comfortable and relaxed.
(4)Steve N.
Really good Crab, nice environment. Outside looks a tad shady but don't let that stop you from checking the place out. Really good service as well, super friendly.
(3)Cindy L.
My bf has been coming down here for years with his family so we have conveniently picked it up as one of our go-to's in this area. Sometimes my bf likes to just come down here for crabs so he's obsessed. I'm not as obsessed with I appreciate the good food at Cj's. We've been here so many times I can pretty much run down the menu of our opinion of tons of food. When in season, I absolutely devour their oysters. They're cheap (1.25) but they are the largest oysters I have ever seen. They're also juicy and fresh. 1. Crab dib -- cheesy crabby goodness served hot in a bread bowl & with bread sticks. Not really that crabby but creamy/cheesy goodness infused with crab taste. Love it 2. Crab balls - little crab cakes! not bad if you feel like eating crab balls -- wish they gave more on a tray (about 8) 3. clams on half shells - not a fan, tastes too "sea-y" if that makes sense 4. crab pizza - just pizza with crab on it. interesting concept but I'm not crazy for it 5. Shrimp covered in old bay & onions -- we always get it & pretty much tastes as the description says 6. Fried oysters: not worth it they were like tiny greasy french fries 7. onion rings - huge!!! I know it's not seafood but if you like onion rings, I would get them 8. fries with gravy -- they're just fries. I don't know why my bf ordered them but sometimes I think he just likes to order a feast all the time. 9. CRABS CRABS -- get the jumbo! I usually can down about 3 old bay covered crabs but I admit by the 3rd one I'm so tired of all the searching for meat. When I get the crab meat though & dip it in butter, it makes all the trouble worthwhile. You'll get messy -- real messy & you're hands will smell like old bay even after washing them. You can ask them for a bib if you want too! (don't wear your fave clothes here if you're eating crabs) It's always crowded but I've never had to wait for a table. I like the booth seating -- gives you some privacy while you're destroying the crabs for meat. Waitresses are also friendly & most of them have worked there for awhile so they def know what they're doing.
(4)Maurie A.
2nd review: Came again and got the $2 crab special and the choco-chip cookie pie. Just as good as I remember! You won't be disappointed! Head on over and ask for Linda!!!
(4)Ted S.
Does Yelp not allow a "zero star" review?? Nothing at all redeeming about my carry-out of 1/2 dozen large steamed crabs tonight (at $57/dozen). Part of my negative reaction is subjective - the crab seasoning. I guess I think they aren't really steamed crabs without Old Bay. This tasted like black pepper, paprika and salt. Just did nothing for the crabs. Not that Old Bay would have helped. I would guess that the crabs that I picked up at 6pm had been steamed three hours earlier and had been sitting in hot water for the interim. The meat in every one of them was a bit mushy and just ... wrong. Not that I was able to eat all 6. We have to omit the one that was all shell and no meat at all. You know how much you hate finding one of these lightweight "empties" when you go out for crabs? At least if you are in the restaurant you can hand it over to a server and get a replacement. How can they not tell this when handling them in the kitchen? I'm no crab expert, but I knew as soon as I lifted it from the bag. That leaves 5 more. No, wait.... make that FOUR more. One of them was covered with some sort of mottled green algae-looking stuff all over the shell. But, again, I'm no crab expert, so I thought that maybe it was some natural crab shell aberration I had not seen before. Well - I thought that until I opened the crab. The crab meat was black. I decided not to taste that one. Perhaps it was not mushy, but I didn't want to find out. The other four were okay. Ignoring the strange unappealing texture, they were all very light and had little meat in the body or claws. Overall, very disappointing since I was so looking forward to an evening dinner alone with crabs and Yeungling. I'm still very hungry. I should make the 15 minute drive back to the restaurant. I'm to blame for not going back to complain. But, (a) I don't want to leave the house again tonight and (b) more importantly, I really have no desire for two more crabs if they agreed to replace the two that all would agree were bad. So - time to peruse Yelp to see if there are any carryout crab places in/near Owings Mills that I should try next time.
(1)linda f.
VERY UNAPPEALING AND DIRTY. This place has been there at least 35 years. And it looks like it has not been thoroughly cleaned in 35 years. The floors are imbedded with dirt, and grime. Even the table's legs and base, the chairs are just plain dirty.They are usualaly somewhat busy, but if they cleaned up, their business would even be better. Who knows what the kitchen looks like ??? And, 1 men's room, 1 ladies room, each with 1 toilet. this is a big place, and why not more toilets ? The food : AVERAGE AND EXPENSIVE. We had medium steamed crabs ( only served warm, NOT hot ), large cheese pizza ( good pizza and a good value ). The rest of the food is a bit pricy. I don't know about you, but I want good food, with an attractive and clean atmosphere.
(2)Chad F.
(FYI - I initially wrote this review in July 2009, but forgot to post until now.) First visited here last Nov when visiting a client. Had the Crab pretzel and a lump crab cake sandwich. Both were phenominal! I saw a few people eating whole crabs, but it seemed like too much work for dinner. It's July now and apparently it's crab season! I'm sitting in the restaurant right now and the place is packed! Apparently, Mon and Tues night is $2 crab night. I stuck with my same order. Still just as good! Anytime I've in the greater Baltimore area I will definitiely make the excursion to CJ's.
(4)Kevin L.
We have been to this place twice. The first time, we had a very nice experience. The waitress was very friendly and patient. She explained the choices and price very clearly. The food was okay but draft beer was much diluted. This year we decided to come again. The experience with the waitress "Sharon" was horrible. After we were seated, I got a phone call from my friend. Almost at the end of my conversation, Sharon came by and asked my wife what we ordered to drink. Apparently she was impatient after seeing me on the phone and immediately said she had several tables to serve even before my wife told her to come back check on us in 5 min. So I had to dropped my conversation and told her what we wanted for drink. First battle. Drink and salad were served quickly but she just had no emotion on her face. I guess she must have had a bad day. When we ordered the crabs, I was clearly hearing that she told my wife the price for large size (dozen), nothing about extra large. We don't come to this restaurant often so we have no clue how big the large size is. Okay, after getting the check, my wife noticed that she charged us the price for extra large size, which is about 20% more than that of large size. So we had to stop another waitress and asked her about the price difference. She got hold of Sharon, who came by with poker face. My wife told her she never mentioned the price for extra large size when we were placing the order, how come you charged us with that option? She immediately said okay, took the check and went to cashier. We got the corrected bill in less than one minute. Well, should I go back again to this crab house? I don't know. It is close to where we are and very convenient. I hope this Sharon won't be there the next time we stop by.
(2)Tiffany N.
Good food, reasonable price, friendly staff! What is not to like here. I will definitely be back
(4)Moises R.
I had an awsome experience and the food was great. If you like seafood and especially crab, this is the spot to go to in Baltimore, Maryland area.
(4)Bob E.
CJs has good crabs year around, and great Maryland crabs in season. Classic seafood restaurant interior, no frills. They have many other items, even if you don't like seafood. Can dress casual. Bar area has a few tables and a few flat screen TVs. Carry-out business is brisk in crab season. Plenty of parking.
(4)Tiffany W.
Had dinner here while visiting my boyfriend who was staying nearby for business. We both got the Broiled seafood combo. The crabcakes and scallops were great. My fish was good but my boyfriends fillet was filled with bones. Not just one or two, but 10+. Id definitely go back if I lived in the area.
(4)Robyn H.
Good crabs... the price is right. Food is pretty good. Go during the week for best prices and specials. The servers could stand some socialization training, but overall the place is ok.
(4)Eric L.
2$ crabs were pretty impressive for 2$ crabs.
(4)Ericka T.
Ugh .. Every time I try to give this place a second chance ..... Honestly .. The crabs are good , food average.. Sort of hit and miss .. but the CUSTOMER SERVICE is AWFUL ... It's just not worth it to me anymore , I'll take my chances elsewhere.
(1)Amber J.
Once again i came and decided to try the broiled lobster tail..lets just say it was tasteless, dry, and overcooked. But i will say the steamed shrimp are always amazing! But i kept a smile on my face because no need get mad with the server when its the cook's fault.
(1)Latonya H.
I am giving the cashier at the carry out 1 star (and that is to many). She is very rude and curt with customers. I left out today and didnt order because i asked her 1 thing and she acted as if I asked her for her first born. CJ's will lose alot of business ifshe doesn't get her coustomer service skills in order. I was the today June 20,2015 around 7:18pm. I have eaten at the restaurant plenty of times and the food and service is excellent.
(1)Rich L.
Stopped in to buy some beer to go (nice having an option on a Sunday when I felt like chillin' with a beer after work). The bartender was rude from the start and, after I paid in cash, she apparently assumed that she could keep the change (even though it wasn't very much) and didn't even offer it to me.
(1)Tamara B.
Not at all as good as I expected! The service was horrible. I ordered soup that I never got. Asked for the price on 1/2 pitcher of Sangria and the server did not know nor did she find out like she said she would. They served a ceasar salad with regular leafy lettuce and grated shaky Parmesan cheese as if it had come out of one of those green bottles you get at a grocery. my food was served first and was not quite hot while the person I was with was not served and the waitress looked at him and said oh...I owe you shrimp, right? I will not go back to this place while in town. My first impression was horrible!!!
(2)Ashley J.
I love this place. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because it is a bit pricey. I've only been there once but, I had a good experience. My friends and I went there for crabs. The crabs were a bit pricey ($45 per dozen for mediums, $79 per dozen for large, and $95 per dozen for X-large). The crabs were really good, hot, and juicy. We order the mediums and we each ate 4 crabs and we were pretty full. I didn't like that there was a charge for $3 charge for butter and garlic though. We also order a patron margarita. It was the best patron margarita that I've ever had. It was very sweet, yet it contained enough alcohol to get you tipsy. I enjoyed this place, it was well worth the money.I'll definitely be attending again the next time I decide to have crabs.
(4)Maria V.
I took my brother and his son there by chance because we were closes by at a LAX tournament. We were a little skeptical when we pulled up and looked at the place (kind of a hole in the wall), but the parking lot was packed. The service was a little slow, but we were not in a hurry. And the place has ALOT of character. We had the crab ball appetizer and soft shell crab sandwich. Both were delicious! My brother just loved it! It was one of those local "finds" where the place isn't pretty but the food is great. Lots of fun.
(4)Thais J.
I've been a long time fan of CJs, for over 15 years. And just recommended this restaurant to a friend, however I have just had the most dissapointing service, I'm certain I will not return. Upon entering, me and my guest found two chairs in the bar area. As soon as we were seated, the bartender (a woman with blondish/white hair) gave my guest an unwelcoming glance, and proceeded to tell me, " move your bar stool over sweetie, there's someone sitting next to you". I found her remark to be very rude and impolite. I had been looking forward to a CJs meal for some time now, but I can honestly say, I will unlikely return.
(1)James S.
Food is pretty good. To bad the lady in the back with all the tattoos has a major attitude problem every time. If someone is that miserable at their job they should probably find a new one. My friends that have picked up food there too have commented on her wonderful phone and people skills lol.
(2)Joel M.
Very disappointing experience with carry out crabs at CJ's. Paid for large crabs and were mostly very light and not worth at all what we paid. Will not be going back. We called to express our dissatisfaction but manager didn't really care. Unfortunately this wasn't our first bad experience. We thought we would give them another chance. I feel like we have been ripped off.
(1)Gerald F.
If you want a typical fish restaurant in Maryland with a bar, this is it. Absolutely delicious soups. In fact I took 2 quarts home and we ate every morsel. The fried oysters were very good, large flat and meaty. And, very tasty homemade tartar. You have to be careful in a place like this and ask what is fresh made. But I was very impressed and will take my wife, with the cleanliness and superb staff. Cudo's for keeping it the way it should be.
(4)Ed A.
Whoa what a spot to eat. Where should I begin? I guess I'll start with the great parking (tell tell sign #1) on a Friday night at that, I parked right out front by the way. So I started my night with a Long Island Iced tea looked at the menu and said wow what great prices, Received my food and oh my first thought I had was "what is this" my wife asked me do I want her food I told her she should at least taste it first. I then cut into my steak made of rubber I'm not even going to go any further on how disgusting the food was but I will say this the chef must have thought I had high blood pressure because the food was bland as hell no seasoning at all. The 2 good things I can say is the waiters were great and the salad taste good ps I guess they get the Crabs locally as the also taste like they come straight out of the Baltimore Harbor.
(1)Lisa G.
Based on reviews we were excited to visit. Pulling into parking lot should have been our first clue to run! Outside is just as important as inside! Door was dirty and knob so small we were afraid it was not the door! Only one other couple in entire restaurant. No steamed shrimp-steamer broken! Ok... Soup and salad. Not too hard to mess up unless you have more dressing than lettuce! Peach crumb pie on menu but they don't want to serve it yet because it just came out of oven! Great decor... Service was fine... Won't be on my list! I'll keep going to Faidley's!
(1)Brian P.
I was in Pikesville for a class and the teacher showed me an article in the NY times saying this place could have the best crab cake in the country, so I had high hopes. I had just had a Bluestone crab cake the night before and I had proclaimed it was the best crab cake I had ever had. I ordered two crab cakes with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Coleslaw was bland, and lacked any seasoning. The mash tasted like instant so I was 0 for 2. Now to the star of the plate, the crab cakes. They were two 6oz jumbo lump crab cakes. There were a few large lumps but it wasn't lumpy like the Bluestone cakes were. There was way more filler in these cakes. Do t get me wrong the CJ's cakes were good they just don't compare to the Bluestone cakes. If you are in the Pikesville area I would make the 15 minute drive up 695 to Bluestone in Timonium.
(3)P. D.
After an afternoon of shopping around Baltimore with my fiance and my brother, we consulted Yelp for a good seafood restaurant. Many thanks to my Yelp brothers and sisters! A quick check of street view maps helped me recognize our destination after dark. We arrived slightly after 9:00 at night on a Saturday to a simple blue wooden establishment. We were in luck...open until 11:30. We entered into a clean, homey atmosphere. A very nice hostess immediately seated us. Dining tables and booths were in the area we were seated. There was an elevated bar area with more tables. We perused the menu, which was a seafood lover's delight. Pages of choices to behold. To start, we chose the crab dip served in a bread bowl accompanied by breadsticks. Delicious! I chose fried oysters for my entree with sides of potato salad and applesauce. Absolutely scrumptious! Eight huge oysters was a very pleasant and tasty surprise. Both my fiance and brother ordered the combo, one fried and one broiled. My fiance raved about the scallops and crabcake. My brother said the clam strips were incredible. Both my fiance and brother drooled over the sides of coleslaw and potato salad. The applesauce was chunky and yummy. Portions were very generous; dessert was out of the question, unfortunately. Prices are on the on the slightly high side, but it is so worth it. It was unanimously agreed we will return!
(4)Ryan D.
Typical seafood joint atmosphere. Came on a Tuesday night, they were having a sale on Medium crabs -- only $27.50 a dozen. We shrugged our shoulders and figured that, well, larges are $75, so even if the mediums are only half full we'll come out ahead. Well, let me tell you: They do not serve empty crabs here. Out of the 3 dozen mediums we ended up ordering, exactly one of them was anything less than heavy and full. Definitely recommend if you're in the area and need a crab fix. Good service, decent atmosphere, and ample seating. Definitely planning on going back.
(5)Key S.
Went here for lunch with my parents. We ordered the crab balls, Maryland crab soup and salad and 2 CJ Fried Combo platters. The food was excellent! Our waitress was very attentive and courteous. We will definitely be back!
(4)David B.
I wanted crabcakes when we were passing through Pikesville, MD recently and I got exactly what I was hoping for when we arrived at CJ's. You could smell Old Bay Seasoning in the parking lot as you're walking in. The atmosphere is a friendly sports bar. The crabcakes were amazing. But the thing I give five stars, is the Crab Imperial Over Oysters appetizer. Whoah. Words just can't describe it (so I took a picture)
(4)Marcus B.
Crabs were good. A lot of old bay on them but you can ask them to wash it down... clean spot and great atmosphere
(4)Qionah B.
Not the best crabs, I like mine made to order. However the food is decent and the have a nice staff. So we return. If you love French fries this is the spot!
(3)Ray R.
*Honeycomb Hideout Alert* Yep! This is one of my get low spots where I go to unwinddd for a nice timeeee & feel fineeee. I visit CJs on an occasional Sunday during football season but never for a Ravens games. #1-because we usually play at 1pm & at that time I'm still attached to my bed & remote and #2-although there are a good number of TVs in the place, if you don't get there early, you might not have a good enough view of game...at least for my preference anyway. CJs fits the taste of any seafood lover. They have $2 crab specials, steamed shrimp specials and also deals on the oysters, mussels etc on Sundays. The food is pretty decent too! Staff is always friendly and the drinks (which are average in price) can be good and stiff depending on who's pouring. The place misses my 5-star Whoa Nelly due to them only having two bathrooms. And no I dont mean a men & women's, I mean two small rooms, each with one toilet & one sink. For someone like me whose bladder gets hyper after a few libations, every now & again I find myself having to buss my latest pee-pee dance moves while waiting for either bathroom to free up.
(4)Renee B.
Yes service is great from the door to the seat. I was invited here by my sister and her friend. I had always heard about this place but, because I don't like to drive the highway I never made it. None the less we came for crabs. But we also had steamed shrimp, crab pretzel and oreo cheese cake and strawberry cake. They lost the one star do to the oreo cake. That was just not a hit for me. But,, everything else was amazing. I would like to go back sooner than later. We went on a Sunday around 7:30pm and it was not crowded. I hear they also have a great happy hour. Hopefully I get to try it soon.
(4)Miriam B.
Just had another amazing seafood dinner at one of the best crab restaurants in the area. The service is always warm and friendly. Seafood is perfectly cooked and fresh. They have great bar specials. I recommend the oysters Chesapeake , surf and turf, soft shell crab sandwich and my husband's favorite dish the crab pretzel. I don't understand the one star reviews here. Never had a bad meal or bad service. And we are regulars.
(5)Bruce R.
We first came here in 1988 and have been coming back every year since. Every time we feel like we need to have crabs we drive down from NYC. They have the best crabs out all the places in or near Baltimore and you've got to have their strawberry pie, it's the greatest
(4)Charlotte N.
We were over the moon when we saw that there was a crab/seafood restaurant , more or less right next door! Especially with great deals during the week days - like $9lbs crab legs every Wednesday, and some days you can find crab for as low as $2, it all depends what the special is, but its always something good!! Fits any seafood lover's palette! It's not overwhelmingly nice inside, but it really feels like it could be right on the beach front (the should open one in the inner harbor or Ocean City. Just sayin') I have had their other entrees and wasn't impressed. But, this is typical of a lot of seafood restaurants. They still have a seafood seasoning that has yet to be topped by any other place in the area, even on the harbor. I know it's mainly Old Bay, but there has to be something else!!! It's always PERFECTLY cooked. Huge, beautiful, meaty oysters. I always hate when restaurants serve you bowls of "1lbs" you dished out your life savings for, only to break all of them open and find barely any meat. THESE ARE AMAZING. So much perfectly cooked meat inside. Over all, it's no fine dining atmosphere, and if you want a steak go someplace else. But this place, hands down, has the best seafood for the price!
(4)Dan Y.
First off the service was horrible. The waitress seemed annoyed at the size of our party. Would you have rather had an empty restaurant and no tip? Who knows what was crawling up her skirt that night. To top it, she was annoyed when some one in our party asked what the market price of the special was!! The fact that she didnt know the answer is hardly the customers fault. Crabs were large and seasoned with old bay, about what you would expect from a crab house. Crab legs were a sad portion for the $$. Crab cakes broiled were dry and a total waste of all the lump meat. Fried, dry beyond edible.
(1)Glenn S.
I was disappointed when they were out of their special. Lobster and shrimp but that is not the reason for the rating. I ended up ordering the steak and crab cake. The crab cake was very good. The steak was supposed to be a ribeye medium rare. It was hardly a rib eye thin and grisly cooked medium well with absolutely no seasoning on it. The rolls were chewy like they were microwaved and the sheesh in the potato was one big clump. The service was not great either. Had to wait a long time for initial service as waiters kept walking past me. When I ran out if drink again waited a long while before the waitress finally came around. Then I had to ask her for more instead of her offering. The final annoyance was a twenty something calling me honey. I found it slightly rude considering I'm in my fifties.
(2)Lauren S.
Everything I had here was good. The crabs were good. The crab pretzel was good. My tuna sandwich was fantastic. An the strawberry pie was awesome. This place might look dingy and old, but whatever. The food is fantastic! The service is fast and friendly too.
(4)Carlos C.
The best place for steamed crab legs. Love it plus the service is really good the staf make you feel like home
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