the liquor store is super stocked! Jamie is awesome, go see her for a friendly face and a laugh.

Ordered from DoorDash on a Saturday night as a celebration with my boyfriend. We ordered a full order of steamed shrimp, crab dip, and mozzarella sticks. The shrimp was great, well seasoned, but for $21 I could've gone to the local grocery store and got about two pounds of the same quality. The crab dip was awful. There was crab in it but it wasn't seasoned at all, there was no cheese, and it came with jumbo croutons. I would have liked a variety of breads instead of this overly toasted piece. Also, instead of lemon we were given oranges which was very strange to me. The mozzarella sticks were good, but I mean how hard is it to mess those up? I also ordered a drink that was not delivered. I don't know if that's Doordash's fault or the restaurant. I'm short, I will not be returning due to overpriced shrimp and tasteless crab dip. read more

For a lunchtime pitstop on the way to Washington DC, we were definitely pleasantly surprised. The GF allergy friendly menu had lots of fresh options, and it's weight watcher friendly too. Not what you would normally expect from a strip mall restaurant. And they gladly accepted our Restaurant.com GC! $60 for seafood for 4 of us wasn't bad either! Leslie, our server was knowledgeable and friendly too. read more

Service was good but I was unimpressed by the food. I got ribs and the texture and sauce was off. I've heard the main thing people get are the crabs. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

Cheap drinks, great bar food, attentive staff and a bunch of tvs. Awesome wings. I guess I have to be one of those super long drawn out attention posts to qualify this to be review and not a tip so I'm just writing some nonsense because Crack Pot deserves a 5 star review. One of the greatest all time dive bars with great food. read more

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! read more

So this place is known for their cream of crab soup?? Very strange, because the soup was awful. So awful that I threw it in the garbage. Flavorless and full of lumps; not lumps of crab, but lumps of flour. I actually do not remember eating any crab, even as I swirled my spoon around desperately trying to find crab pieces. read more

Best restaurant I have ever been to and the customer service is flawless. Amazing atmosphere as well . Would recommend it to anyone!

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. read more

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. read more

Crackpot Seafood Restaurant - Giant 20oz crab cake at the Crack Pot - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

I previously lived in this area but never visited this place because of the reviews. I decided to stop in today for a quick drink and bite. I ordered old bay wings which only cost $5 on special and a 007 drink. Larry was my bartender, cool, funny, and very polite. I wish I found this place sooner. The only reason it didn't get a 5 star, is because I only had wings. read more

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! read more

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. read more

My review here is about the bar side of the joint, not the restaurant, so if you're looking for information about the restaurant, this is not the review to read. As for the bar: it's a cool little local joint. Plenty of seats at the bar, plenty of TVs to watch, good spirits selection (or good enough), and bartenders who are fast and know their craft reasonably well for a local joint. Nothing about this place is premium, fancy, or upscale, but if you want a friendly local bar to hang out in, watch a game, or just have a drink and leave, this is your place. I wouldn't drive across town to come here, but since it's five minutes away, I love it. The food: Okay, I don't know what you're expecting, but this is a local bar/restaurant in a strip mall in Towson, MD. It's not where you go expecting cutting-edge cuisine or market-fresh anything. At least, it's not where I would go for those things. What I want here is wings and french fries. They do both of these things well enough for my standards. They do Old Bay wings, which I never encountered until I moved here! These are uneven, though -- sometimes they're tastefully dusted in Old Bay, sometimes the cook practically uses the Old Bay as breading. You may want to specify that they go light on the seasoning. The drinks: They have regular specials (cheap Miller Light bottles and Captain Morgan), so if you're going for quantity, it's not a bad option. I don't drink beer anymore, but my impression is of a decent selection -- again, for the type of place it is and the clientele who hang out there. I've ordered a variety of cocktails, which the bartenders have done well enough, though I wouldn't count on any zesting or bitters there. If you order a Tom Collins, they use sour mix and gin. The staff: They're generally pretty good here. There always seems to be a drop-dead gorgeous server or two, so that's nice. The bartenders are a bit uneven in their attentiveness, and I've never had them be particularly friendly. One guy even seems to prefer that I not be there, despite the fact that I'm there often enough that he recognizes me and I always tip him at least a dollar a drink. That being said, they're professional, reasonably attentive, and not unfriendly. I think a lot of it depends on whether they have money riding on the game that's on the TV. In short, if you live in the area and you want a nice, chilled-out place to relax and have a few drinks, maybe some bar food, and to watch a football game, it's a good destination. If you're looking for culinary delights to dazzle your tastebuds or mixological inventions to lift you to new heights of inebriated bliss, this is probably not the place for you. read more

What a nice comfortable place to sit, have a beer, and relax while watching the game! The Crackpot is definitely a throwback to an earlier (and better) era in bars and restaurants. They have plenty of big screen HD TVs to watch a game. Their prices are very reasonable. And their food is delicious. In my opinion, they have some of the best burgers around! A huge 1/2 lb burger on a kaiser roll, served with chips and pickle, for around $8-9. Added to the enjoyment is the fact that all of their bartenders seem to be very friendly and talkative. Larry is one of the best there. However, I was there on a Sunday evening and there was a different bartender there. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name, but he was just as friendly and inviting as Larry always is. I really hope they don't change things here. I know a lot of places like to update their facilities to a more modern-looking establishment. Unfortunately, most places that do lose a lot of their charm, and it becomes a more sterile, generic place. Part of the charm of the Crackpot is the fact that it reminds one of the 70s and 80s. Even their clientele seems to be a bit older, and no doubt probably feel the same as I do. Don't forget to stop in on Tues-Wed-Thur between 4-7pm for happy hour specials, such as half-price burgers, wings, or shrimp, depending on the day. Keep up the great work, Crackpot! I look forward to returning soon! read more

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. read more

Been coming to the bar here for over 10 years, was my favorite haunt while going to Towson. Really awesome bartenders, solid steamed crabs, wings & burgers are great, prime rib is delicious. Nice, dive-y feel...like the land that time forgot, but in a good way. Very relaxed atmosphere & reasonable prices for drinks & bar food. Not sure if they still do this, but after 9 or 10 they would put tables up in the dining room for people to play beer pong. Can't really comment on the restaurant side, but the bar is one of my favorites. read more

My husband and friends went there yesterday. We moved to SC in 2012 and I was ready to experience some Maryland crabs! We ordered the extra jumbos. When they came out, most were medium size and they were very lightly seasoned. After digging in it was clear the seasoning was not applied under after the crabs were cooked. The waitress was good about exchanging out the smaller crabs but overall they were the worst crabs I have ever had. Very disappointing since that was my last chance for some before returning to SC read more

Good Crabcakes and seafood. good selection of seafood items. Not Spectacular but not bad either.They have a bar and restaurant area.

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! read more

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. read more

Very disappointed. We went for the crab cakes and expectations were not met. My wife and I ordered the 20 oz crab cake. The flavor was marginal. The crab had a very fishy flavor to it. It seemed like it was crab meat from another country since so much is imported these days. We sent it back. For the price I would expect Carolina it Louisiana crab meat in the fall. Another person in our party sent hers back as well. She said the same of the flavor. Our waiter was apologetic and decent about it. I don't think I will be back. I wanted to really like this place. read more

Back in the day, we spent a lot of time hanging out at the far end of the bar at the Crackpot. A friend was swinging through town and we thought it'd be a good spot to meet for lunch. The place is like a time capsule! Looks exactly the same! Purists can scoff, but my blackened crab cake sandwich was awesome. Just what I needed. Since we were sitting at the bar, we got a complimentary cup of soup. Who knew? I like a casual, unpretentious restaurant. Looks like I may rekindle our affair! read more

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 read more

I grew up in Towson and remember eating at the Crackpot as a child with my family. Haven't been back since until Fri night, what a mistake. I was hesitant in the first place because of all the negative reviews here on Yelp, but since my girlfriend had a coupon given to her I figured I would give it a try. Upon walking in I noticed nothing has changed since the 80's, same game fish on the walls, same old wooden tables with broken chairs, Christmas lights stapled to the walls and dust everywhere. We were seated immediately because the dinning room was practically empty on a Friday night at 7pm (telling). Waitress appeared after being seated for about 10 minutes. We gave her the order immediately thinking we might not see her again if we didn't. We both ordered the shrimp salad sandwiches, girlfriend ordered wheat bread. The meal came out of the kitchen pretty quickly however we both got white bread. So our waitress promptly took the one sandwich to the kitchen and they remade it correctly. The shrimp salad was bland at best, watery mayo and had no taste or spiciness. They do not use large fresh steamed shrimp (cut into small pieces) but rather the small round frozen shrimp that are pre-steamed like in the supermarket. This is unbelievable coming from a "seafood" restaurant, something you would expect out of a cafeteria. My baked potato tasted burned and was soggy from being cook and sitting in a warmer for too long. The fries were hot but had no salt, old bay or flavor. Nothing about our meals were good and if it wasn't for our coupon I would have felt pretty bad about paying full price for this meal. Even though our young server was inaccurate when taking our order, she corrected the problem and was fairly attentive. HOWEVER the rest of the staff in the dining room was sitting at a corner table near the back, talking, texting, flirting and drinking beer. Yes drinking beer!!! One of the staff brought in a 6 pack of bottles from the liquor store. There were at least 3 waitresses/waiters, 2 bus boys, a food runner, 1 hostess and the dishwasher. The young manager was no where to be seen the entire night except for a brief appearance he made when he briefly glanced in from the bar side in the rear of the dining room. No leadership or management in this place at all! Where was the owner??? I noticed "Neil S" responded to several negative Yelp reviews as the "business owner" but he was no where to be found if in fact he is the true owner (or maybe just the young inept manager). Neil, you're either clueless or just don't care. I'll accept the decor being "retro" as you mention in one of your replies to a poor review given by another customer, however there is no excuse for the filthy/sticky condiments (old bay shaker, salt, pepper, etc...) on the tables and the dust everywhere which shows a real lack of concern. This place is a total disaster, I would not recommend it. As harsh as this review sounds, it's 100% true. I've never taken the time to review any restaurant but this experience compelled me to do so. Save yourself the pain of spending money on crap food and getting poor service. I'm sure that the only reason this dive has survived this long is because of the cheap drinks it serves up on the bar side. The food and decor certainly aren't keeping it afloat! read more

Horrible... Overlooked fish that takes soooo long to be served! Giant lump of dirt was in the crab imperial.

My husband wanted a filet mignon so we decided to go to this place. I would say the service was pretty good but the food was not good, My husband had to send his steak back to the kitchen he said it was unseasoned roast beef. I would say we are not going back. I feel bad because My husband is a big foody and I could tell he was not happy he works two jobs so at the end of the week all he wants is great food! read more

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! read more

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! read more

Went for crabs and they were amazing! It was our first time at crackpot. My boyfriend and I got a dozed XL crabs and they were well worth it. So full and yummy. We will definitely be back soon. read more

First of all, this place has the best service out there. We are always treated like royalty no matter who is behind the bar. You can't beat the drink prices and the food is amazing. Simply a great place with a real neighborhood feel with good people. read more

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. read more

The Crackpot is best know for their crab cakes & steamed crabs. They have the best crab seasoning I've ever tasted! I also love their Maryland crab soup, it's more flavorful than most. They were recently awarded "Baltimore's Best Crab Cake" again by Baltimore Magazine. For appetizers, I highly recommend the Stuffed Mushroom Caps or Clams Casino. I really enjoy the steamed shrimp & veggie combo, enough to share. Crab imperial is Ahhh-mazing! Even their burgers & wings are really good. The staff is awesome & it reminds me of "Cheers" because "everyone knows your name". That's how you know Crackpot is legit, it's full of regulars & locals that keep coming back! If you're looking for a fancy dining experience, go downtown. But if you're looking to trade in white linen table clothes for crab paper, you've come to the right place (even if you don't like crabs, they have so many different menu options). Nothing pretentious about this place, but there's a reason the Crackpot has been around for decades, they have good food, good staff, & good customers!! read more

We reserved a dozen jumbo crabs in advance. When we arrived at the restaurant we were served mediums, at best, for the cost of the jumbos. If we had not been experienced crab lovers, we would not have known the difference. 5-6 of the mediums we received were completely empty. The manager replaced them with jumbos, so the problem wasn't lack of stock. The problem was simply that they thought we wouldn't know the difference. See the picture below for the difference between what we were served initially and the jumbos that we had ordered. I miss Obrycki's. read more

Crackpot Seafood Restaurant - We ordered and paid for jumbo crabs (on left) but were given mediums (on right). - Seafood Near Me - Baltimore, Maryland

This is probably my favorite bar in the world! I have been going since college when they had like 10 cent wings. They are a little more now but still the best. The sweet and spicy wings are to die for. I want to figure out how to get the recipe. They have told me its basically bbq and buffalo....but I want to know the exact recipe. I love wings and can eat them all day and these are the best. Nice and crispy base, amazing sauce, and perfect homemade blue cheese. I havent had much else except bar food....I know they also have good crab cakes. The cheese fries are great and they will even let you get a half order. The bartenders are the same ones since college....so have been in the same spot for over 10 years. They are attentive and friendly. I hope this place stays open forever!!!! read more

Went for the "famous" crab cakes with a gift certificate. We were the only table dining at 1:00 pm (this should have been our first clue) the service was mediocre at best (come on now, we were the only ones there), Dining room smelled smokey, the crab cake was just so-so (born and raised in Maryland so I expected a good Maryland Crab Cake. This wasn't close.) Went to pay with my gift certificate and ended up meeting the owner who claimed "the gift certificate was a counterfeit." This was a bold face lie as it came from a very reliable person. There are a lot of Great Seafood Restaurants in Maryland with much better food, clean smelling dining rooms and trustworthy owners who put the customer first. I suggest you try one of those. This place doesn't deserve your business. read more