The food was great...that's hands down. We arrived, we were greeted and sat outside. The waitress was a young looking female wearing a light blue-green short sleeved t-shirt with long reddish brown hair. She never mentioned her name. She brought us water, etc... she came back twice to take our order (because I was undecided). I ordered the seafood pasta which was really delicious. It was a linguini pasta in a cream sauce, with shrimp, lobster bits, and scallops. It was really good, I just wish that it came with their garlic bread instead of the regular bread...no worries. We got our food, and it began to rain so we asked to go sit inside. Our waitress said yes and walked away, didn't give us any direction of where to sit or anything. We had to find a clean table to sit. Once we sat down, we noticed that we didn't have any silverware so we had to find a staff member to supply us. She came once to check on us, our drinks were empty and didn't offer a refill or anything. We asked for 2 separate checks, she said they only bring out 1 check per table...ok that's fine no worries. I mentioned to her that part of the check will be paid with a card, the other with cash. She returns with the check and my friend says "I had the drink and the platter, so that portion will go on the card" and I said "I had the pasta, and I'll be paying with cash.". She says, you just tell me the amount you want to pay in card and you in cash, then walks away. We sat there, divided the bill...not the food and drink which we had already informed her how it would be split, but the gratuity, service fee, and taxes. She came back and we were still trying to divide the remainder of the bill to figure out our total, and she says "Are you done yet?" I said to her "You realize this is not our job to sit here and divide the entire bill. We informed you what we ate and provided you with money but you walked away and basically left us to divide the bill ourselves in its entirety. This is very unprofessional of you as a waitress, and by far the worst experience here in Miami. There should never be a reason for a patron to have to divide their bill to this extent. You didn't write down any information because you didn't have a pen and/or pad, you didn't offer to tell us or give a ball park figure of our different totals, and you didn't offer any refills...Thank you." She came back 15 minutes later and took the bills. Once she returned, she sat the money on the table, walked away and didn't provide a CC receipt to my friend, only the signed copy. I really had higher hopes for this restaurant, mainly because we met the owner Chris the day before at his other restaurant and they were extremely nice to us. I didn't appreciate that at all from our waitress. I understand policy, but to have us sit, divide, and figure out the entire bill is just ridiculous. Horrible service...beyond horrible. read more

Though a tad pricey, food was delicious. I came here with a couple of friends. We ordered the crab and spinach dip (amazing), crab cakes, crab legs, steak, oysters, and fried shrimp. We had absolutely no complaints. Everything was perfect. Meaty, hot, and flavorful! I will be sure to visit again when I am in town. read more

I went here one of those let's go to South Beach Saturday nights when you want to go out but don't know where. My bf and I were looking for something to do, we got hungry and it sounded like a good place, I love seafood. Man I should have Yelped this place. At first glance at night looks like any other restaurant trying to get you to come in, so they got us. I just got to say the tableware was old, the table was sticky and the chairs were uncomfortable. The silverwear was gross too. On the menu everything sounds nice, I wasn't too hungry so I ordered a shrimp/crab salad it looked good but tasted bad. The dressing it came with was horrible, the waitress was not available almost all of the time. They weren't even busy we should have known why. Hardly anyone was there. The inside looked ok, the bathroom is like in another building. Just stay AWAY! There are waaay better and hip places on Ocean Dr. For dinner that costs the same. Yuck. read more

It has been a while since i have been here. What I remember about this place is the crab platter that they would run at half price. It was a huge platter of all different types of crab and you could chow down for $20 dollars a good deal for south beach. Snow crab, stuffed crab, stone crab and some hush puppies. mmmmmmmm read more

CJ is the only owner to ever serve me. Food was awesome... No BS drinks offers. Went there 2 nights in a row. Best seafood place on Ocean Dr. Fisherman's platter is divine both blackened or fried. I will definitely eat there upon my return to Miami. read more

Great food, great drinks and great appetizers. I got the Cajun crab dish and my boyfriend had the crab steak and shrimp dish. Be warned, when ordering steak be particular with how you order the meat to be cooked. His steak cake out barely cooked and practically mooing. However our waiter was very kind and took the steak back for him. The frozen drinks are to die for. The red white and blues was our personal favorite. We will be returning to the crab shack! It's nice to have a reasonably priced meal directly on south beach. read more

CJ's Crab Shack - Seafood Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

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My God! Now THAT was some GREAT seafood!!!!! Crab to die for. Service was fine. The indoor area was a bit dark and blah when we were there during the day, but I suspect it gets more interesting at night.... read more

We walked by it and saw their steak sign. We were then seated outside. We ordered the margarita (which was huge and weak on the alcohol). warning!!!! BLOAT EFFECT! we also had steak (also huge) with mashed potatoes. We were surprised that the steak was actually decent. The outside atmosphere was definitely better than the inside of the restaurant. The downside is that there is 18% gratuity automatically added even for a party of 2 and the bill still has a tip line that may confuse you (and it normally is at south beach! gasp!) read more

$30 for two people lunch and beer, good service, nice atmosphere on the beach, good food

First off, let me start by saying that this is one of the only restaurants you can smell from Collins Avenue. The aroma of butter and Old Bay seasoning is what led my friend and I to this crab shack. Cj's has an outrageous menu. We ordered oysters, Fisherman's Platter and the Crab Cake Dinner. You definitely get your money's worth here. Everything was extremely tasteful and the portions are perfect. Sweet potato mash, huge scallops and fish cooked to excellence, and savory crab cakes.The dishes will not disappoint, however they did lack in customer service. My reasoning behind the 4/5 rating is by virtue of us not being greeted by the hostess(which is very rare on Miami Beach), so we helped ourselves to the menus in the front. Also, coasters were not provided which resulted in a wet table that makes the presentation a little sloppy. However I still recommend all seafood lovers to give this spot a try! This was my first time and I will be back. read more

CJ's Crab Shack - Oysters - Seafood Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

My friends and I went and it was pretty empty we waited about an hour for our food. I would have rated his place much higher if the time for the food hadn't taken so long. The food was good and so were the drinks but we were frustrated and I could feel people getting frustrated as well. read more

I Read Google reviews before Yelp reviews. My mistake. No a/c, loud clientele, slow service, soggy fries. Would not recommend this place.

Cj's was awesome. We found this restaurant on Yelp! Upon arriving, our server Laura gave us the best food & drink recommendations. The steak is superb! Shoots out to the chef. Eric The bartender is ther best. The bar staff is amazing. You can't go wrong with a rum punch. Ask for Laura and expect to have a good night! read more

Food was ok, not the best I ever had. Seafood did seem fresh but it took an hour and 15 minutes for us to get our food. Finally when we got our food they told us that they dropped the lobster tail and they were making a new one ASAP. Once the rest of our food came, we realized it was wrong! We couldn't even get anyone's attention to complain and we were tired of waiting so we decided to suck it up and eat it anyways (wrong side item and steamed shrimp, not fried)! 15 minutes later another worker came with our correct order and asked us if we ordered two. We explained what happened because we didn't want to take both orders without explaining. He and our waiter then walked away with our correct order and then they came back with an empty plate and asked for our half eaten wrong order and gave us our correct one. They honestly should've just left the incorrect order too for the inconvenience because they were just going to throw it out anyways! After they saw that we were frustrated they did end up giving up half off of our bill. I wouldn't have mind paying the full amount if we would've gotten our order on time, better service and our food correct! They weren't even that busy, there were 5 other parties there. I would've gave it 1 star if it wasn't for this. We figured we were having poor service because they had a service fee of 18% like every other place in the area and they didn't care about giving us good service but they could've at least gotten our order right. I've had better seafood and haven't receive that horrible of a service is a long time! I wouldn't go back. A for effort I guess...? read more

CJ's Crab Shack - Seafood Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

Good food and drinks. I had the steak, shrimp, and crab. $40 plate, well worth it. Drinks are good and reasonably priced.

I live in Fort Lauderdale yet after tasting the food tonight, I would drive all the way back to south Beach because their food is the best! The owners actually serve you sometimes, and let me say that they're some of the nicest people you ever meet, and the love translates into their food. I had the crab-cake, and crab-dip w/ sourdough bread... 'twas so light, flaky, healthy, and yummy that I will definitely be back! They werent nominated Best Raw Bar by Miami New Times for nothin'! Also, I hear that the Miami Dolphins eat there all the time... swoon! read more

The location of this place is perfect, located directly on Ocean Drive next to Quinn's and a Fish Called Avalon. Now i'm sure you will not confuse which one is the Crab Shack, but that's a good thing. This place offers great seafood for decent prices (it is South Beach after all), and the environment is casual and fun. The owner/waiter Chris was very nice and funny and it added a personal touch. The food was great, no surprise they offer a bunch of crab options, but they have just about anything seafood, I had the opportunity to try 2 entrees, both were awesome. Not sure how anyone gives this place less than 4 stars? read more

I made last minute reservations for a party of 13 only 2 hours before dinner. We requested outdoor seating and was told that they could not seat us outdoor, but when we arrived, they somehow accomodated for us! I enjoyed the snow crabs and the crab dip. read more

Was here on April 4th. Had a large crowd, 15 of us, and they were able to accommadate us. Got some appetizers. The calamari was ok. Tasted like the oil needed to be changed, but the garlic fries were good. The crab cakes and crab chowder is worth going back for. Excellent. I had the salman, which was just ok. One of my associates had the Halibut and sent it back, and got something else. Cant lose on those crab cakes though! read more

Worst seafood I've ever had -not fresh and tasted off. Overpriced and crap service, the only positive for this place is the location. Ugh what a waste. read more

One of the best places and most honest places on ocean drive. Great customer service and the food was amazing! Couldn't ask for a better experience. We'll definitely be back! read more

This place was pretty good. We had 10 people and they warned us ahead of time that the check would all be on one bill for a group our size. I appreciated that. The drinks were good, server was great and the food was pretty decent. The crab legs were a little overcooked but the flavor was still good. Plus, its next to a gelato place! I would recommend it. read more

Great place with delicious food. I'm from Boston and know the taste of a great seafood. I stayed in Miami Beach for three days and all three days I went to CJ's for a dinner. I had an amazing expirience! Crab legs are great, also try grouper in a bag and seafood pasta is delicious! I am definetely coming back next time I'm in Miami!!! read more

This place is not fancy but the food is good! Very casual atmosphere near the beach. I had the fishermans platter which had shrimp, crab cake, fish and scallops. You can decide how you want them cooked deep fried, blackened or grilled. I chose to have them grilled and glad I did! The seasoning was good and I especially enjoyed the scallops. The crab cake was my least favorite because they presented it in a shell which was great for looks but once I got through the outer layer it was just too wet for me. Everything else was exceptional! Highly recommend it! read more

CJ's Crab Shack - Seafood Near Me - Miami Beach, Florida

I've been here 3 times for dinner for my 4 nights stay in south beach, the crab cake and lobster here are awesome

Stumbled in on a cloudy day. Wasn't crowded. The owner was sitting outside talking to passerby. Family owned and run, the bartenders are brothers, so friendly. Great atmosphere, decent drinks especially if you're into the frozen variety. For the love of God, get the drunken shrimp! read more

Terrible. I have never written a yelp review before but this place was so bad that I have to. We were ignored when we first came in. Finally got sat and our server was nice enough. My friends and I noticed on the menu "souvenir cup $15 and refills $12" and thought hell yes!! Ordered three rounds but keep reading. The food was terrible. I ended up running to the bathroom less than 30 minutes after eating. I had the shrimp and grouper fish meal with veggies. The grouper was yummy. Shrimp looked raw. "Steamed" broccoli was cold and unseasoned. And don't even get me started on the bathrooms!!! ROACHES! And puke in toilets (keep in mind we were there early in the evening) it smelled horrendous and no joke- the light structure fell from the ceiling. Not to the floor. It was just left dangling in the room and people had to walk around it. And then it gets worse. We order another refill in our souvenir cups to take togo and ask for the check. The drink deal was a gimmick and a lie. Suddenly our drinks were 25 dollars each. We tried asking the server why and she said it is because they ran out of the small and medium cups and had to give us a large so there was an up charge. She tried to justify it by saying "usually we would charge you $35 for each but I knocked it down to $25" as if she had done us a huge favor. If you're going to upcharge the drinks then it should be on the menu. All the menu ever said was refills were $12. And it also said nothing about size options. So our check comes out and our jaws drop. They could tell we were upset with how deceitful we were so multiple servers ended up giving us airplane liquor bottles. I think we got 12 total by the time we left. Anywho, don't waste your money unless you want to throw up and make your bank account hurt for it. I know south beach is expensive but this place was outrageous and disgusting. read more

Our server was very sweet and attentive, and after moving us indoors due to rain offered to have our meals remade fresh (we didn't do so because we were mostly done anyway but this was a kind offer). If you're looking for quality crab legs I would look elsewhere, they were overly dry and impossible to pull out one solid piece of juicy crab meat from any leg we were served. The vegetables came out mostly cold but we weren't planning on eating the sides anyway, so take that as you will. The bathrooms were disgusting--the light fixture mostly fell from the ceiling during our visit, the toilets were either clogged or covered in vomit, and the stall doors either hit the toilet bowl or didn't close. The drink charges are what really stunned us--our server asked us which size drink we'd like, and since a large was $15 with a $12 refill, we said yes as that's a wonderful deal for such a touristy area. When we received our check it was $250 more than we expected, instead of being charged $12 for a refill as the menu states, we were charged $25 per drink every time. When we asked about the charge we were told they were out of the regular refill cups and we were being charged for 40oz drinks, aka $35 each. Our server discounted them to $25 each before even bringing us the check which was nice, but we weren't explicitly told it was $13 more than we thought for every drink we ordered. Three different servers came to our table and gave us several airplane bottles to go (as a thank you or partial compensation I'm not sure, it's appreciated but a clear price on the menu would've been more appreciated). Overall, we had a nice time! But be careful of your bill and be very clear about the prices before you order. read more

It's disappointing to have mediocre seafood when the area is swimming in them. With that being said, the oysters we had were very illed prepared (although their happy hour prices were very reasonable - I guess you get what you pay for). The shucked oysters were swimming in a bed of icy water with almost half of them faced down! This was my first time eating stone crab and do not think the price was worth the taste. It was a little sweeter than a regular crab, but besides that, there was nothing special about it. Although the blue crab took time to eat, this was the best piece of seafood I had at this place. Then of course, there was the crab and shrimp salad. Again, nothing spectacular and I encountered a few pieces of shell. And the worst part about this was that the "gratuity" of 18% was discretely added to our bill (we only had a party of two) and on the credit card receipt we had to sign, there was still a line that said "tip." Now, I don't mind all that much that they have a policy (if they do) on predetermined gratuities as I have worked in the service sector and know darn well how skimpy some tippers are, but to also include that line on the receipt without a "warning" that 18% was already added to your bill is simply not cool. I would have given it a one star were it not for the blue crab. read more

My boyfriend and I went here for dinner while visiting South Beach. We were hoping for great crab...didn't find it. We started out with the calamari which was okay. Many of the pieces were rubbery. I had the snow crab legs for my main. They were overly salty and dried out, The crab meat lacked the moisture of high quality fresh frozen crab. While it was certainly edible, I could have bought the same quality from the supermarket and made them myself for much less $ and without all of the salt. Now for the worst of it... My boyfriend had the ribeye, which was unbelievably salty, poorly cooked (i.e. charred on the outside and he ordered it medium rare) and very tough. For $30 it should have been a decent piece of meat. read more

Great food! Great drinks! Okay service...Food makes it worth going back. Doesn't try to appear fancy like some of the Ocean Drive restaurants. read more

Meh. Mediocre seafood, which is a tad disappointing since you're right on the water in South Beach. Probably a little more expensive than it should be, but not as expensive as some other places on Ocean Drive, CJ's Crab Shack is a good lunch or quick dinner option in the area. And it's one of the surprisingly few seafood options in South Beach (as far as I could tell). You could do worse than CJ's Crab Shack, but you could definitely do better somewhere else. read more

I had the most delicious dinner here! My waiter, Erick, was so courteous and was so nice to me and my boyfriend. I would definitely recommend eating here for the food and the service. Everything was so fresh and tasted great! read more

This is my favorite place to eat on south beach. Good seafood, good drinks, and a good atmosphere. They're open from 11am-2am

Fried shrimp were good but other than that the place felt dirty. Spent over $100 on lunch. Just OK. Nothing special.Good people watching though read more

What's not to love about this eatery. I order the seafood and steak entree. Everything was cooked to perfection. Food I had dreams about. And CJ, the owner was very nice and came over to make sure everything was going good. read more

The food was great and the atmosphere was good (especially with it being on Ocean dr). Menu does not hve much to offer outside of "boring" seafood dishes. We enjoyed our crablegs, crabcake and lobsters. Their adult slushie drinks were watery.. (They have NOTHING on Dallas BBQ drink). read more

Ok I see a lot of rave about this place first off way over priced small portions beware of the automatic 18% tip that's automatically put on your bill that yelp doesn't tell u about. read more

We have been coming here for years and it is a family favorite for a reason. You have to try to drunken shrimp, snow crabs, or the garlic shrimp. Or just get the sampler because you get so much great stuff! The grouper in a bag is wonderful and for the non-seafood people they do a great steak! They have frozen adult beverages and a wonderful (strong) rum type punch. I am always on the look out for gluten free or gluten friendly places and the owner Chris is great about making sure you get a great meal! This is a definitely one of a kind type of place right on South Beach. Perfect for people watching while you enjoy a top-notch meal. read more

We're on vacation & husband took me here on a date night. Through the crazy rain I was determined to come here because I was craving for oysters and crab. Our hostess Alena was wonderful however the food could of been better. There was a mistake in the oyster order but she fixed it and did not charge us extra. The crab however was overcooked very dry therefore not much meat is you know once a crab is overcooked, the meat shrinks and you can't get anything out of it. I didn't let that didn't ruin our evening and we continued. I was disappointed however to find out when I looked at the receipt later in the week that we charged a service charge almost $10 on our bill. What the heck is a service charge that's 18% of the bill?! Someone should have advised us that there was a service charge on top of our $55 tab! Tried calling and left a message for a manager to call me back. That was a couple weeks ago but never heard back from anyone. read more