We drove to southern Maryland to pick crabs. Captain John's has in the past been dependably good. This time the food did not disappoint but the service was very rough. We ordered a dozen crabs, a pound of jumbo shrimp, a bowl of cream of crab soup, an order of hush puppies and an order of fried pickles. The soup had plenty of lumps of crab meat and a nice flavor, and the portion was ample. The crabs were described as jumbo but were closer to large. At $115 for the crabs, a dozen was enough. (Side note: when the market price is that high you really should disclose it on a specials sheet or chalkboard or something. The first mention of it was on the final bill.) The crabs were steamed well and did not taste muddy at all. The shrimp likewise was perfectly cooked. The pickles and puppies were delicious. Total bill before tip came to $200. On the high side versus expectations but not alarming. Service was worse than spotty. At times it was clear that the server had tables in multiple areas of the restaurant and needed roller skates to keep up. And there were times that she was sitting talking to other employees or with her regulars. Several things we had to ask for multiple times (melted butter for crab, drink refills, a few crackers) some of which we finally gave up on ever getting and went to the bar to request. Things like silverware had to be requested. Getting the bill took longer than necessary. All in all, service was 2 to 3 stars. Setting: Worn chairs and tables. Many televisions, all set to Maryland Lottery channels for fake horse races and keno that ran nonstop. Large lottery machine near the bar that did a steady business. This was distracting and not conducive to pleasant dining. Overall the food made the trip worth it. Will go back but not for the atmosphere or the service. read more

Down home feel with nice customer service. Very casual but gets to businesses for core seafood items. I had a nice seafood platter with haddock, oysters, scallops, shrimp and a crab cake. The hush puppies are the best I've had since Chesapeake Seafood House. Pretty good potato salad and a large salad are side options. The coconut cake was good, moist, flavorful and large. The drinks were not a strength maybe beer is more of a safe bet. It's on the water eith indoor and outdoor seating in a very casual environment. read more

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We met 4 family members here on Saturday at 5pm. We were told 15 minute wait which turned into 70 minutes. We were told they were short staffed and the bus boy was behind. Apparently they asked another young man to help him so we watched the 2 of them bussing a table, only to see one of them eating off of the food left on the plate. Even the other teenage employee appeared shocked. The bar only had 4 drink options because the bartender was on vacation. The staff was certainly hustling their butts off though. Our waitress was doing her best and told us they only had two cooks tonight so they're behind abit. The food arrived about 45 minutes after ordering. Apparently the two cooks they had were their best two because the dinner was AMAZING. I mean jumbo crabs were massive and steamed perfectly. The onion rings and sauce were delicious, my crab cake was perfect and my wife, who doesn't eat seafood, said her cheesesteak was really good! After dinner someone decided to change the music and that WAP song came on. My parents in their 70s were not amused. Service was good but way understaffed and maybe lacked some professionalism. Prices were very high but food was GREAT so not a deal breaker for us. Setting is gorgeous too. We will go back at least once more. read more

Love it! Great service and fresh seafood. What else could you want? Pro tip: watch their Facebook page for updates on food offerings. Parking can be tough sometimes so get there early. They also have a seafood market that is worth checking out. read more

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Don't have crabs And it was all you eat the crawfish wasn't fresh came out the freezer and the clams Anna no seasons 2/10 Drink was weak 3/10 read more

Sorry Food was terrible $200 later I got seafood platter my wife got fried shrimp both terrible soup even sucked

Crawfish was dry with no seasoning when we as my ed for heavy seasoning. They had a all you can eat crab day start at 12 noon . We got there at 5pm . But no crabs. Shrimp wasn't jumbo . I ordered jumbo. The margarita was weak without any liquor Hush puppies was hard. No glass of water with food or alcohol. I guess I didn't need it after all the margarita tasted like a fruit punch read more

Really outdated place. Every booth had dirty tables and I had to ask a worker to clean a table off for us. They weren't busy maybe 3 tables eating. Someone not keeping up. The flounder sandwich literally was sad looking placed on 2 pieces of white bread. Crab dip $20 tasted of heavy mayo, flounder sandwich $15, one dozen colossal crabs and colossal priced $145. The 2 pieces of corn didn't come out until we were done eating crabs. The only nice thing here was the view and the crabs tasted good even though slightly overcooked-one was mushy...the rest tasted great. I didn't care for the pepper salt seasoning they use-old bay would have been better. Sad they have a prime location and let it go and need improving on the food and prices are just ridiculous. I can get cheaper colossal crabs in Central VA that were crabbed that morning and brought in lol... read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Colossal crab size - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

My honest rating is 3 1/2 stars. Went down to Cobb Island to get seafood. We had a good but not great experience. Our overall impression was that the food was well prepared and the ingredients were super fresh, but the taste was a bit bland and ambience was staid. We had seafood platters, one broiled and the other fried. The fish and crab were super fresh and cooked correctly. The high quality was apparent. Our onion rings were fried perfectly. The seafood and fish, however, lacked seasoning, especially on the broiled platter. I needed the cocktail sauce to enhance flavor. Other sides, like the coleslaw, were also bland. They had an all-you-can-eat crab promotion. I was happy that i declined because the crabs didn't have any visible spice on them. My only other criticism was that the crabcake was a bit too moist inside. Slightly undercooked. My rating for this restaurant is a solid good. It is great for someone who prefers to keep it simple. read more

Great crabs and shrimp and neat dockside location for our family of 13 reunion visit. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

Its good. I like the area it is in. This is a local's place, although I saw a lot of DC cars in the parking lot. Ambiance - Pretty casual in a old school restaurant setting with booths. Has the paper mats with local business advertised. Old school decor as well. I didn't see outdoor seating. Service - very friendly. When I checked in, there is an offer of 1/2 of crab dip. I asked the server if we could use it and it caused a bit of confusion as no one seemed to realize they were running a check in offer on Yelp. Good news - they accepted it. Food - not bad. it is seafood in SOMD, so lots of high expectations. There are just a few restaurants down in this peninsula off the Potomac. Price seems right. Not fancy, but good food. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - the menu - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

Steam crabs were fresh, but pricey even though it's crab season. $145 per dozen, $12 per crab. Service is ok. Ambiance was ok. This restaurant needs to be remodeled. read more

The food was okay, it's wasn't bad but it also wasn't great. The service was pretty good, the ambiance is very old, I would say your typical crab restaurant. read more

If you're out this way and want some seafood by the water, this is your place. No fuss or frills, but tasty food. I went with the crab legs (I expected them to be a bit bigger, but filling) and onion rings. My sister had the crabs (mediums looked small). We checked in on Yelp and scored the free crab dip with bread. It was pretty good! We enjoyed our carefree afternoon, nice service and catching up. Private parking lot is clutch. read more

Broiled seafood platter: Crabcakes: I spent 5 bucks extra for crab "imperial" Their imperial means lump crab meat.. when I received my crab "imperial" I was like "wtf" is this?.... Anyway, it tastes good, but still smh. Scallops:... plain.. but ok 3 "Jumbo Shrimp: There was NOTHING "Jumbo" about these 3 pewny a$$ shrimp.. they are getting over on people... and it was dry Fish: I paid 2 extra bucks to change the fish from tilapia to .... I forgot wtf I exchanged it for, but it still look like tilapia to me, and it was dry Baked potato: I didn't eat it Potato Salad: plain but ok 1/2 lb Steamed Shrimp: some were sticking to the shell but taste ok I ate half my food. Most of it I had to soak it in butter, cocktail sauce, and tarter sauce to give it moisture and taste Coming back? No thanks read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Broiled Broiled Seafood Platter - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

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Have come here on average 1 or twice per year for the last 35 years...Was wanting a crab cake but don't think I will be back for awhile knowing my 5 year old son just woke up in the middle of the night, throwing up all his food in bed. We paid $75 for two simple dinners and a kids meal. The kids meal options are horrible, overly processed chicken nuggets definitely made him sick. Should have the option for a small grilled chicken and real food. My husband ordered the side salad and he said the salad bar looked picked over and empty! It was only 5 pm so it should be stocked... Booth was dirty, had to wipe crumbs off the seat... Also, the owner's reply below is ridiculous, acting as if I gave a good review! I'm posting this at 2 am after my son just threw up his meal! read more

Last Saturday we had a great time at this place. My man, my sister and her man. Everything taste great, our server was good and the atmosphere was chill. Steamed shrimp were cooked perfectly. Would definitely go back. read more

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So fun fact, my mom is a seafood lover and @llcoolj #1 fan so I planned a mini girls trip to Baltimore to take her to see him! On our way we made a pit stop to one of our favorite seafood restaurants and they did not disappoint! From our super sweet waitress to our usual order! We typically get a crab cake platter and a shrimp platter and split it. Man those hush puppies with corn and a cup of honey butter (5/5) piping hot and flavorful and the crab cakes were fried to perfection (5/5)! Meaty with minimal filler (just enough to combine the meat), super good! Butterflied shrimp were hot but just ok this time (3.5/5). Not bad but not as good as our last trip! Mimi (normally gets whole crabs) opted to try their fried chicken (4/5), white meat was even juicy (I tried a piece) her only vice was they could have been fried a bit harder! The slaw (5/5) sweet like KFC. The fries and my baked potato were just ok (3/5). If ever in the area give @captainjohnsseafood a try! And yes my mom had a blast at the concert! #seafood #seafoodlover #crabcakes #friedshrimp #coleslaw #hushpuppies #maryland #marylandseafood read more

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I went to lunch/dinner on Saturday and ordered what was supposed to be 4 LARGE crab legs and an order of fried scallops and two draft beers. The crab legs were so small and two of them did not have crab claws, the beers were room temperature and served in two small plastic mugs and the scallops tasted like ammonia of which after I googled it means the scallops were bad. I waited till now because I ate two scallops to make sure I did not get food poisoning which thankfully I did not. The waitress apologized and took the scallops off of my bill, but the manager never came over to speak with us. This was my first and last visit. The only item that was good was the coleslaw. I do not recommend this restaurant. read more

The food is great but the thing is the money is over the top. The service can be bad at times. It's rarely packed there and I can see why. One time being that I got food poisoning it wasn't the best wasn't hospitalized or anything won't sue. It was because of the food being way too undercooked, don't try it. Skip the manager can be a piece of crap sometimes. Overall, it's OK. The food can be nice. Sometimes the service can be OK to overall general two star out of 5 read more

Get the all you can eat crab feast. You won't be disappointed. The crabs are meaty. The downside is if you stay too long they will bring out small crabs to let you know it's time for you to leave.. You just let them know to bring out more bigger crabs and they will unless they want a bad review and I don't think they will like it if I did. read more

Terrible Quality!! We drive an hour and a half to have lunch here every few months and noticed our last visit that the food was terrible. Because we had great food a couple of times in the beginning we continued to come back hoping it was just a bad day for the kitchen. Yesterday's visit was the last straw, the food was without a doubt terrible. Nothing tasted good at all. We spent $216 plus the $33 tip leaving feeling like we just threw money away. We ordered the fried oysters for an appetizer- the batter was gooey, oysters clumped together and tasted as if it was super salty as if it was fried in old grease. Next we had Captain John's seafood platter which everything was fried and had the same salty/ old oil taste, not to mention the clams were still cold inside, scallops were soggy as ig it had been in a warmer. definitely not freshly fried. Crab cake was a waste, after one bite I refused to eat any more. The fish was also soggy. Needless to say not much was touched on my plate. My husband and grandson each had the shrimp and crab leg platter. The crab legs were mushy and COLD. The shrimp was mediocore with no flavor. Unacceptable for $50 a plate. I rarely ever leave reviews but this is horrible to serve food that seems as if you just ran to Sam's and threw it on a plate. Heck, I've made better seafood than that when purchased from Sam's. Don't waste your time or money. We tried to give them a coiple of chances but apparently, it is what it is now. Terrible food. read more

Drove over an hour away this past weekend for a birthday dinner with my immediate family. The food was horrible. Service was horrible and slow. Drinks was horrible on top of that. They charge miscellaneous charges like how do you do that will never come here again. Don't recommend. read more

Food was fair at best Service was slow Ambulance nice Had large group of people they had over month notice.. gave 100 deposit to hold room read more

We had dinner here one afternoon and the food was cooked perfectly. We ordered a broiled seafood platter and a crab cake. Everything was tasty and the service was great. Cute location from Swan Point, MD. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Maryland Crabcake - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

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The food was awful, crab dip had so much mayo in it that you could smell it and that all you can taste. The food has no seasonings. The scallops were extremely fishy. The best thing for me was the fries. Crab cake had no seasonings as well. Not worth the money. The service was extremely good. read more

Usually love Captain Johns but this time the food wasn't up to par. The fried oyster basket wasn't crisp and there were several clumped together. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Fried oyster basket - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

Our visit was not amazing by any stretch of the imagination. We ordered a dozen oysters on the half shell to share. Husband ordered a cup of MD crab soup and I ordered a cup of cream of crab soup. The oysters while tasty, were terribly gritty. The soups arrived and given the high price, the cups were tiny! My husband's MD crab soup was watery and under seasoned. My cup of cream of crab was thin, flavorless and sad with a very small amount of crab meat in it. I took it up to the counter after 1 bite & returned it. read more

Oysters on the half shell were very flavorful. Server was cordial and informative. Mozzarella sticks were the standard issue frozen kind. Cooked correctly with all the cheese in them. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Mozzarella sticks - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

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Really really good crab cake sandwich Nice view & great service. Arranged to pick up crabs in way back to va. read more

Stopped for dinner. We used the check-in to get 50% off crab dip. Not a bad deal, but the dip was an 8 out of 10 for me. Little too bland but there were chunks of crab in it. Served with crispy bread which was a first for me. I had the steamed mussels which were very good, and my wife had a half pound of steamed shrimp also very delicious. Our waitress was very nice. Be aware that if you pay with a credit card there is an additional fee. You'll bypass that fee if you pay in cash. They did have AYCE blue crabs for 40.00 which looked good. Nice view of the marina. read more

Jumbo crabs were wonderful and server was great! Captain John's is a great crabhouse!

Just came here for crabs and was quoted a price for $109 for Large crabs. I got half a dozen and when I received the bill I noticed I was charged $70. When I asked the waitress she said I got the jumbo crabs which were $140 per dozen. The waitress didn't even mention jumbo crabs were available when I asked her and the size I got was definitely not jumbo. Not only that, the crabs were watery, I then asked her why I was charged the jumbo size and she said that's what I asked for which blows my mind because she didn't even mention jumbo crabs when I originally asked what size they had available. She mentioned small, medium and large which I was also told when I called the restaurant earlier that day since we live 2 hours away and came here just for crabs. They also charge a credit card fee. I've been here quite a few times before and we noticed the restaurant wasn't nearly as busy as it used to be and now I know why. read more

Worst service we have ever experienced. After an hours drive we arrived and were seated at 3pm. People either side of us who were seated at the same time and after us had their meals delivered within 10-12 mins. Our waitress finally took our drinks order, it was by no means busy and the food was constantly coming out. By this stage we were pretty hungry. At 3.30ish we spoke to some of the staff trying to find out what was happening, no one offered to take our order or find out where our waitress was - the neighbors in the booth next to us were surprised no one had taken our order. Finally our waiter turned up (forgot our drinks), took our food order and left. After waiting for over 50mins our food still hadn't arrived, we decided to cut our losses and leave. "Disappointed" doesn't describe how we felt after driving that far for crabs and seafood. read more

I have a mixed feeling about their food today-Mother's Day buffet. Some food is good when but many promised in their advertisements are not available. Paying $39.95 for salad, fried oysters , fried shrimps, meatballs, hams, collard greens and mussels? I paid less than $20 for Chinese buffet, which offered salmon, crab legs, soups and more. However I looked at other tables which ordered crabs (not buffets) and they were good looking and meaty. So, no buffets at this place. Maybe we will give them a second chance. read more

Just brought food to go. Three dinners . Shrimp Imperial, Premium Crab Cake Sandwich and Grilled Salmon. Trashed it all....no flavor on anything. Just bland food. Only ate the sides...Hush puppies, baked potato and Coleslaw. Came from FT. Washington to get this mess.... must stay closer to home next time. read more

Great crab stuffed rock fish! This is one of the few places that's open year round! A great location right off the main road and on the water. They have an extensive menu but they also have appetizer & lunch specials. We took advantage of a mid-50s MLK Monday to see Colonial & Fairview Beach. There isn't a lot to see although Ringo, her dog, liked walking along the small stretch of Colonial Beach. We met a local who said that if we really wanted good seafood we would need to go to Cobb Island on the Maryland side of the Potomac...so we did and wow, we're glad we did. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

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I went there for my birthday yesterday and my experience was underwhelming. We arrived pretty late in the evening so I'm wondering if that had anything to do with their service. They were pleasant, but not really attentive. For the price, the quality of food wasn't worth it. My crab cake came out burnt and I couldn't help but wonder how did the cook and waiter think it was acceptable to serve?!? The scallops were soggy but the corn was pretty good. They replaced my crab cake with a broiled one but at that point, I was over it. The place looks outdated but the location is beautiful. I don't plan to go back after last night. read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland

Oysters were phenomenal! Not impressed with seafood buffet, no vegetables & seafood was mediocre. Will return but not for the buffet. read more

Crab leg was nice size and full of meat! Cooked to perfection! My hush puppies were fresh and moist! The server was nice and friendly. The restaurant wasnt busy so my only complaint was we had to wait for a table to be cleaned as there were multiple tables just left uncleared. People may have just left so that I understand but there were so many tables left a mess and with social distancing in place that left little option to choose from. And who wants to sit next to or across from a dirty table while they enjoy their meal!? read more

Captain John's Crabhouse - Shrimp and Crableg Platter - Seafood Near Me - Newburg, Maryland