Tell me about Joe's Crabshack!

[Towncrier]

Our engineering group used to go to the Joe's Crabshack near work for our annual Christmas (or should I say Holiday) dinner. I say "used to" because the particular retaurant we went to had a bit of a quality problem. Seems that the quality of service and of food went steadily downhill to the point that we found someplace else to celebrate.

It's a shame too, because my first experience there was fantastic. The last one was definitely ho-hum.

BTW - I saw the same coupons that you did and I simply threw them in the recycle bin. I thought about taking the family there, but had second thoughts.

There are so many other good restaurants here in NE Ohio. Don't waste your time on Joe's Crabshack.

 

[kelleigh1]

As someone who loves seafood and lives in New England where we get some great seafood, Joe's just doesn't do anything for me. But then again, neither does Red Lobster. I guess I'm spoiled because we have access to fresh, delicious seafood all the time and both Joe's and Red Lobster are chains that survive on frozen and battered seafood.

But I guess for those living in the middle of the country and not anywhere near the ocean where you can get fresh seafood, your options are pretty limited.

We did try the one in Orlando during our January trip and didn't really enjoy it. I had been to one previously in Ohio which was much better in my opinion but still not the same quality of what I can get here at home. I pretty much stay away from seafood when I'm traveling unless it's a regional place that specializes in seafood also - such as Maryland. Now those are some good crabs!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

As someone who loves seafood and lives in New England where we get some great seafood, Joe's just doesn't do anything for me. But then again, neither does Red Lobster. I guess I'm spoiled because we have access to fresh, delicious seafood all the time and both Joe's and Red Lobster are chains that survive on frozen and battered seafood.

Oh yeah..rub it in...

 

[Darth Cupcake]

We went once and will not be going again. IMO the food was horrible.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

I've never tried Joe's yet but I think they are owned by the same people that own Rainforest Cafe. I have the RC discount card and it's good for Joe's as well. I've been tempted to try it but I'm not so sure now with the mixed reviews. How's the pricing compared to RC?

LOT cheaper then Rainforest! I live in galveston and go to Joes several times a yr and Rainforest about once a yr. When I had my b-day at Joes they made me dance while holding the salt and pepper shaker. Lots of fun every time we go

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

I thought the food was okay there....I met our own Buzz Lightyear there when DaisyDebbie came to San Antonio to visit me.

IMO, Red Lobster is expensive and not that great...and it always seems to be full of the same clientele as the people who go to those all-you-can-eat buffets. I'm always afraid I'm going to have to witness someone putting his/her teeth in at the dinner table just before saying grace....

 

[Denine]

Thanks for all the replies! I guess I'll have to think about it more. I was just trying to think of somplace different. I'll have to check out there website!

 

[mrsstats]

Food is okay. But is is a real fun place to go. Ever hour they play music and all the wait staff dance around the restaurant

 

[KimR]

I don't care for it at all. Food is mediocre and honestly, I despise places where the waitstaff doubles as the entertainment. It took forever to get another drink because our waitress was too busy dancing around the restaurant to wait on us. We will never go back.

 

[brerrabbit]

I can take or leave Joes Crab Shack, the food is sometimes good, sometimes not so good. It's another example of good things gone bad. Joes is owned by a corporation that had its roots in the Houston area. There are a lot of resturants under the corporate umbrella. There is Landry's which is upscale seafood, Saltgrass Steakhouse, Willie G's, another more cajun seafood place, Cadallac Bar and Grill, Rainforest Cafe, and I think a plkace called the Aquarium which is another seafood place that has as a main attraction a huge Aquarium in the middle of the resturant. I know there are more but I can't think of them right now. Several of these places started as single site, unique, really good resturants that were bought by a guy named Tilman Fertada, a fellow U of H graduate. He franchised them all and thats when the quality went downhill. For example the Cadallac Grill was a mexican food resturant on Shepard in Houston that had good food, great drinks and a wierd habit of handing everybody who walked through the door a marker and invited you to leave your autograph anywhere you wanted, on the table, the wall, the ceiling fan, literally anywhere. Prices were decent as well. After he bought it and starting opening others the overall quality just went down. Another example is Johnnie Carraba's. When the original opened in Houston the food and service was outstanding, then he (Johnnie) and his uncle (Damian) partnered with the guys from Outback Steakhouse and franchised the concept and the quality suffered. Joes has suffered the same fate.

 

[LK03]

DH, my good friend and I tried Joe's two weekends ago and waited forever. It took over 10 minutes to get drinks, another ten minutes for the waitress to come back and take our orders, never saw the waitress again. Our drinks didn't have any ice left since they had melted and she never bothered to refill them. The food was real bland. I had shrimp and I couldn't taste shrimp at all, just breading. We were there for two hours total and left saying, never going back. Red Lobster is much better in my opinion and cheaper than Joe's.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

It's loud, expensive, and the food is not very good.

 

[Stacerita]

We enjoy it. The food has always been good. The place is loud though, which is good with kids. Our servers have always been friendly. We love seeing them dance and be silly. Plus, the one here by my house has a playground for the kids. We really love that.

 

[tinkerbell1967]

My husband and I just ate at the one in Myrtle Beach a week ago and thought it was very good. We had a shrimp dinner that was wonderful! It was 30 shrimp with salad and fries for $12.99 which we didn't think was bad, service and food were fine.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm surprised by some of the comments. Our local Red Lobster is about on the same level as Long John Silver foodwise while Joe's is way better. I don't like Joe's as well as the Pappas chain but it's decent.

 

[MomofKatie]

DD loves Joe's Crab Shack! She is a crab leg lover, and always gets them. She also loves that she can go and play outside on the playground while waiting for dinner. I like it because it is really informal- no one minds the kids running around.

I've never witnessed the employees dancing around our Joe's- the atmosphere is more laid-back Key West dive than "gimmicky dancing server restaurant".

I'd rather go to Joe's than Red Lobster any day. Food is about the same, but atmosphere much more loose and fun.