This restaurant is to be avoided if you want a place that follows covid regulations. Staff announce they are not vaccinated while refusing to wear a mask, even when asked to put one on. When patrons raise concerns about covid protocol, the response from wait staff includes arguments about the safety of vaccines and the employees right to be both unmasked and unvaccinated. In Washington State, if you are not vaccinated, you must wear a mask -- but at Friday's Crabhouse, those rules are not followed and customers are treated poorly when asking about covid safety. There are lots of other great places in Friday Harbor, ones with better food and ones that care about health and safety. read more

A random stop here on business, looks like a cool place to grab a bite. Walking in is a bit chaotic however its seems to work with the feel of the place. Its definitely got the on the beach vibe or cool pier side bar of some sort. The staff is friendly and respectful to guests. The food tastes good and price is decent. Along with all that being stated my burger I ordered never came. Could be due to the chaotic atmosphere of the place and could also be because its 4th of July. But I sat at the bar in front of the guy that took my order. Hummm. Attentive most likely not. All in all not bad place to eat but I would not come back. read more

Was a tourist trap. Not sure how you ruin clam chowder but they managed to do it. Fish and chips were good but I don't recommend eating here. read more

Staff was very friendly and that's about the only good part.... the food is just like cafeteria food..... it's cheap and greasy and disgusting and over priced.... read more

The view got it the two stars. The food was frozen except for the oysters. Very disappointing. Good beer selection though. So grab a beer, enjoy the view, and watch the ferries come in. read more

Went here two - different evenings - both nights they were out of clams, and one they were out of CRAB!? (Hard to call yourself a crab house, when you don't have CRAB!?) read more

If you wanna pay $17 for a dry piece of fish in a bun and are ok with rude servers. You are in the right place. Oh and they charge for re-fills! read more

The view is unbeatable. The drinks were good. The service was unfortunately very slow and no one seemed to know what they were doing. The food was just subpar. read more

There is a lot of things to be said about this restaurant. From a tourist perspective, this restaurant seems like a perfect place to enjoy some fresh sea food and have a good evening with a decent view. However, this place is the textbook definition of a Tourist Trap -a place that attracts and exploits tourists. *Lack of Hospitality *Overpriced *Frozen Sea Food - not fresh *Fast Food Restaurant *Menu was Low-effort *Food lacked flavor *Health Hazard STAFF and FLOW: This restaurant has a lack of hospitality. The type where their lack of hospitality heavily impacts the mood of the restaurant. When you first walk in you are first greeted by confusion and weariness. We were not initially greeted by staff as they naturally assume that you know how their restaurant functions and flows, mind you, this is the first restaurant where there was no host or waiter/waitress. These staff members, upon entering do not interact with you first or say anything. This includes the common phrase "Hi, how can I help you?", instead you have to ask them if you can have a table, while they are staring at you, and when you do ask the staff annoyingly reply that it is open seating. On my way in and out, I looked for a sign that said this, and to my surprise there was nothing. Next, once you find a table the next logical step would be that the waiter or waitress would approach you to order beverages, to give you a menu, etc. However, we sat for about ten minutes wondering when anyone was going to come up, so we approached the bar where there is an "order here" sign. Now, this is the first time that I have seen this from a marketed quality and fresh sea food restaurant, but you have no waiter or waitress, instead you must take your own order, unable to ask questions or provide clarity on dishes, and approach the bar area to put your order in. This restaurant functions like a fast food joint. Upon ordering your food, you are expected to pay and tip their, with out actually seeing the food you are ordering. Normally this would be okay, but because they advertise this as a sit down and quality food restaurant we find this to be apart of their tourist trap (1/5 stars). FOOD: The food portion of the restaurant was even more mind boggling than the flow of the facility. I decided to order the Captain's Platter which is under their Deep Fried Platter section of the menu. This dish came with 4 shrimp, 4 rings of calamari, 1 filet of cod and 2 scallops, with my choice of fries as a side. While we were ordering we could physically see how they cooked a portion of their sea food. The calamari is a box of regular store bought and frozen sea food. If I do recall correctly it was the "SeaPak" calamari, already pre-breaded. As one would assume the calamari came out cold and floppy. There was a lack of flavor and the scallops were no different. These too were store bought. They featured a dime size piece of scallop, covered in the same amount of breading, which came out cold and the middle, since it was frozen had too much liquid in the center. It was lacking of flavor and at initial glance I wasn't even able to tell that it was a scallop. Furthermore, the shrimp was fairly decent, but that too was also from a frozen and store bought box. I am fairly certain that it was from the same company -"SeaPak". It was lacking of flavor but was properly cooked and was warm on the inside. The cod wasn't too terrible, although the restaurant deemed it was their responsibility to season your cod with lemon themselves. As such their cod was overcooked, slightly rubbery, and wasn't properly seasoned. They did not include a single piece of lemon for any of our orders with seafood. The dishes did come with tartar sauce, was flavorful and semi-warm. It also came with another red sauce that nobody knew what it was. Overall, the food was improperly cooked, obviously frozen, not seasoned and was most definitely not fresh (excluding the Alaskan Cod) - (1/5 stars). My nephew ordered the "1/4 LB. All Beef Frank" and when it got to the table the hot dog was cold on the inside and tasted like it was spoiled. Furthermore, when we went up to order the cook was not wearing a glove when handling the bun of the hotdog. COST: The cost of the restaurant instills a sense of quality associated with the food. Seeing as this restaurant makes you pay before you receive the food, it is a textbook definition of a tourist trap. The food is terrible and at $25 for my dish, I received frozen and store bought sea food. Seeing this I would not have paid $25 dollars for the Captain's Platter. Like wise, the fish and chips, at $19 for fish that the kitchen seasons themselves is a little too pricy. Improper Food Handling and Safetly: -Food that was deemed an RTE food (Ready to Eat) was touched barehand by employees. -Food was improperly cooked to the right temperature. -Failed to see a proper hand washing area separate from food prep and cooking space. read more

I was disappointed that this restaurant doesn't have even one vegetarian option. Nothing. Not even a side salad. So I picked at some very bland and overly cream-cheesy jalapeno poppers while my sweetie had the seafood combo and fries. She liked it, including the wine sauce. The seafood was steamed and grilled on a grill on the street in front of the restaurant. But the grill looked pretty grimey to me, and I can't remember when I was in a dirtier bathroom. On the plus side, the views of the harbor were relaxing, but we won't be back soon. read more

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Love this spot! Really great atmosphere and my personal favorite fish and chips here on the island. Highly recommend!!

When it seems that everything in my life is constantly changing (often for the worse), Friday's Crabhouse is one constant in my life. Whenever I'm in Friday Harbor I can always count on Nancy and her staff for a delicious meal, a great drink and pleasant conversation. The views of Friday Harbor, and the ferry landing, are probably the best in town. Perhaps because of the ambiance, and the truly outstanding vistas, I always seem to meet the most interesting, and approachable, people there who are every bit as happy as I am to be relaxing on San Juan Island. :) read more

Friday's Crabhouse - Seafood Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

Honestly I get all the other reviews and wished I would have listened. Portions are very small for the price. ( Yes I understand inflation and food cost but that was crazy small for the price) I mean they buy from a distributor like every other restaurant but crap Costco prices could make you a fortune at the markup margins your charging for portions. The food tasted fine but honestly the setup is so weird. You order at one of the bars then they bring you the food. For 3 dinners we paid $110 and ate out of a basket with a piece of paper and with a plastic fork. Need another drink or some more butter, we'll get your happy ass up and go fetch it yourself because there are no servers. Just a weird experience for the price and self serve. Restrooms are in a parking lot down some steps another "what". Just a odd experience for me. read more

We came here 3x for beer as they have a good selection and an AMAZING view of the water! We skipped the food as it was all deep fried and we didn't particularly feel like that gut bomb. Gorgeous view of the waterfront and the ferry coming in. We would come back for that! read more

Best view of the harbor, good food, reasonable prices, great company. Within less than a city block walking distance from the harbor they have a walk up order station, with indoor and outdoor seating available as well. Everyone in my group really enjoyed their food, the crab cakes were especially delicious, some of the best I've had! Elizabeth was so sweet and greeted our pup at the sidewalk with some grade A treats she had hand selected and ordered herself (,: Nick & Donald made great company on the upper deck while we enjoyed our drinks and food and they even found ways to introduce us to nearby tables that ended up being great company as well. We visited twice this weekend, the first time was just happenstance but the second time was after we had visited a handful of other places on the island and decided this was our favorite. If I'm ever back on the island, I will definitely be back at Friday's Crabhouse. Thank you!! read more

Friday's Crabhouse - Heated outdoor seating with a view of the harbor - Seafood Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

The food was amazing, great place to watch the ferry and have a view. Staff was friendly and this was the first place we ate and decided we had to eat there before we left. Crab cakes were the best, no filler... The location is great to take a walk after you have a nice meal. read more

Stopped in here for dinner before flying out of town. The service was great, the food was very enjoyable, as was the view. The atmosphere is kind of a chaotic fast paced restaurant that is quite popular. There are several different places to sit and many have a view of the harbor. My friend enjoyed the Alaskan Cod Tacos and I had a 1/3lb burger. The burger was a good ordinary burger that I would order again. The Alaskan Tacos were very popular with my friend. read more

This restaurant has not only the best seafood on the island but the view is breathtaking. Nancy's fish sandwich melts in your mouth. There is no need for dessert after this meal! The employees funny, friendly, and very personable. Together they make Fridays Crab House the best and friendliest restaurant on this island. read more

These reviews are accurate. We came here to try to find a cheaper lunch than some other places. There are so many better places to go on the island, and I think we ended up paying about what we would have at Downriggers or somewhere similar. The food quality was mediocre and overpriced, and we had the pleasure of swatting away bees the entire meal. Also, I ordered Coke and received Pepsi, which isn't the end of the world, but they should have mentioned it. And the bathroom situation was complicated. Will not go back. read more

This place should come with instructions. If you have children and are looking for a comfortable place to grab an easy bite to eat go to any other restaurant on the island. No table service. Various ordering stations for different meals. Staff that is completely disinterested in assisting customers navigate the unnecessarily unorthodox system. And food that is so far from worth the trouble. When you're an overpriced tourist trap for a captive clientele I suppose there's little motivation for making things easy on the customer. I suppose if you're looking to get plastered and watch the ferry this place might do the trick. I'll never go back. read more

Was looking forward to this after previous reviews and whale watching but very disappointed. The Captian's Platter is very overpriced for what you get and all items are fried and extremely greasy. The shrimp cocktail was good and my mom liked the fries but I burned myself on grease dripping from a scallop and everything was so fried it lacked flavor. Wouldn't recommend or visit again. Update (hour after or so): my father just threw up from the food due to the extreme grease mixed with heat. Avoid this place. read more

More like Friday Craphouse. They put the dung in Dungeness crab. I'd rather have crabs than eat their crabs.This place is awful. If you're looking to recreate their recipes just take a stroll down the frozen aisle of your local grocery store. If you're really into replicating the experience make sure that when you serve yourself you do so with an indifferent and cold attitude. Having to carry some gross bathroom key around which the bartender then lays on the bar only adds to this lovely waterside gem. As my grandmother used to say..."Feh." Coming from New England I've been to my share of wonderful seafood shacks and when done well it beats most 5 star restaurants. This place is just plain disgusting. read more

This restaurant is clearly a high volume business designed to serve as many ferry customers as possible. You order at the bar, and the food arrives quickly. However, you have to hunt down items like silverware yourself, and our crab was served cold. I was told the crab is supposed to be ice cold, but given that every other restaurant crab I've had is not cold, you'd think the staff would tell the customers that when they ordered. They've already pre-cracked the crab for you, but you can't get as much meat out as you normally would because there are no little forks. The most they have are regular plastic forks. To some extent, the speed over service trade-off is understandable. I'm sure the restaurant would have more customers upset if they missed the ferry than if the food was better prepared. However, just understand that you are paying restaurant prices for fast food seafood. read more

The view is priceless! Hence why we stopped and tried it out, but we wish we would have gone for a worse view and better food and drinks. The port was really busy that day and we had to hang out for a while so we thought we would perch on the lovely balcony for a bit for drinks and food. There were four of us and we had the Captian's Platter and oysters which consisted of mostly fried foods. The fried fish, shrimp, scallops, and octopus had an ok flavor, but nothing special. The oysters fried were edible, but the raw oysters were really really milky and too tough. My friend from Seattle wouldn't even try them. The french fries were soggy and therefore barely even touched. :( Let's not even talk about what my stomach felt like after all of this. Normally if the seafood is decent, then I can handle the fried food every once in a while, but this platter made for a not so pretty smelling afternoon (if you can get what I mean...). Now onto the drinks we were so looking forward to sipping on in the sunshine.... tonic was flat so we only had one drink each. We left as soon as possible to find another spot to spend our time and money at until the ferry could take us away from this very touristy area. read more

This restaurant must get a lot of traffic from the ferry, since it's the first restaurant as you walk off. Skip it. I had the Oyster Five Ways and all of the five ways were average to unappetizing. Walk down to the Cask and Schooner to the right. read more

You can see by my reviews that I'm very generous handing out the stars. So when I give a 1 star rating, it was a very poor experience. Here's the highlights: 5 star: the place has a very cool multi level set up with a spectacular view. It has a built in crowd of ferry goers, that any restaurant would love to have 1 star: the upstairs bartender was an ass. We were a group of 15 that came in for some after wedding day feasting. While we were downstairs ordering ( because they are too cheap to hire servers), the bartender started to remove our chairs and tables. We explained that most of our party was down ordering lunch....he didn't seem to care. It almost turned into a brawl. I think the bartender realized that most of our party were built like offensive linemen, and that he played for the ballerina team!! 1 star: the food was overdone Sysco fast food.....and wasn't cheap. The fish and chips were gross, the calamari sucked, the popcorn shrimp was good......but that was it. 3 star: the alcohol was cold. The drink level was standard bar. This island is so cool.....somebody would rake it in if they ever figured it out!! read more

My wife and I ate here mostly because of the convenient location just above the ferry docks and the view of the harbor. They were advertising smoked salmon chowder for $5.99, so we each ordered a cup and then split the Captain's Platter (I didn't realize until later that seafood "platters" are always fried). The chowder was good, and there was a hint of a salmon taste to it, but I never came across any actual salmon meat. The fried food was actually okay, but I was disappointed that the oysters they were grilling next to us were not the same ones they fried up for the platter. I did drink a hefeweizen with the meal, but it was served in a plastic cup which is not conducive to good beers unless you're getting drunk in your neighbor's backyard. Pros: Very nice view of the harbor, close proximity to docks Cons: Overpriced, too much fried food, plastic utensils and cups read more

We had the grilled salmon, steamed crab, and crabcakes for lunch. We started with the smoked salmon clam chowder and oyster shooters. Everything was amazing! We spent more than we intended, but I am very glad we ate here. If we spent half as much at another place, I would not have been as happy as I am now. read more

The employees here are very rude and the service is terrible. The food is not very good.

I absolutely agree with other Yelpers. The food here is over-fried and over-priced (stay away from the chicken caesar salad), but you really can't beat the cheap drinks, friendly staff, and incredible view of the water. My traveling companions and I lingered here for hours after checking in to our hotel, and enjoyed cervesa and laughing with the new friends we met. Is everyone that friendly on the island? I swear, we didn't meet one unkind person during our stay. Cheers to Friday Harbor and their happy Crabhouse! read more

Prices are ridiculous and food is not worth what you pay for. Boyfriend liked the fish sandwich; I preferred the daily fish special. Neither were that great. Ordering system is ridiculous: you grab a table, go down to the center bar and try to find the line, and then order and pay. Back to your table and hope that one of the servers running around is yelling out your name. Hope they don't hear or spell it wrong because then your food is going cold while they're not finding you. Once they do find you, food shows up in disposable containers, with plastic utensils. Meh. The only good thing is the view. Not worth the effort. This is most certainly a tourist trap. Do not fall for it like we did. read more

I'll never go back! Owner is a sexist. Came here for a drink at 7pm on a Thursday evening with my husband right before last call (crazy right!? It's 7pm!) . I Was denied the drink I ordered by the owner. I ordered (soberly) a triple Moscow mule. After We payed for our drinks, the owner then interjected between me and the bartender, saying, SHE WOULD NOT SERVE A GIRL who looks like me a triple drink, based on my body type. I was shocked! I said that I'm entitled to order any drink I want and that I'm not a girl, I'm a woman, she continued to deny me what I ordered and was being completely offensive. I was basically at a loss for words that in 2015 im denied something at a restaurant because I am a woman. Denied by another woman mind you! I told the owner that her reasoning is seriously flawed. I understand she thought she was trying to serve responsibility but it's 7pm at a tourist bar! I left feeling judged, insulted and with a bad taste in my mouth from the unfair treatment. NEWS FLASH! Your business is centered around serving people on vacation alcohol. read more

For drinks and local seafood barfare this place hits the spot! Rooftop patio is the spot to be overlooking Friday Harbor!

This is an interesting spot.. awesome place to sit and grab a drink and lunch while you take in the view of the harbor, watching the ferries come and go. There are a couple different areas where you walk up and order, but they do deliver to where you're seated.. wherever that may be. I got the shrimp tacos & my husband got the cheeseburger - we both devoured ours in minutes. The food was tasty, beers were cold and the view was awesome! read more

Friday's Crabhouse - Seafood Near Me - Friday Harbor, Washington

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Really need to work on the flow. Getting drinks and food is really inefficient. Food was ok. Drinks were worse so make sure you order something that can't be messed up... beer, wine, vodka club soda... read more

Schizophrenic system for ordering and service. It's the antithesis of a system, in fact. Upstairs, downstairs, numerous stations, confused customers and ambivalent staff. We got an overpriced pitcher of beer and mussels... the mussels were fresh, but not what we expected (no broth, a weird sauce on the side, huge in size.) The place became somewhat of a joke during the rest of our stay on the island... "Hey, wanna go back to Friday's Crabhouse?" *laughing ensued* read more

Some of the Worst Food I Have Tasted - Let the Buyer Beware The only way I can describe this restaurant. From the outside it is physically appealing, but once the food arrives you realize that you made an expensive mistake. What arrives was frozen food thrown into a deep fryer. An appetizer of calamari was terrible. Next time, I must check if it is sold in Costco. The same with what called a Mixed Seafood Appetizer. Without going through each dish - we were five people - permit me to say that I would avoid this establishment at all cost. read more

Terrible customer service! We were not greeted or brought menus. Different types of food need to be ordered in different areas of the restaurant. Servers were not knowledgeable of menu and what foods cost what. Charged $1.00 for a 16 oz soda refill. When we finally did figure out how to order, one of the orders was lost, we asked about it then were brought the wrong plate. At this point we got to watch the "waitresses" stand around and eat the plate of food that was mistakenly cooked right in front of us and the entire restaurant. All food was taken out of bags in the freezer. Very overpriced for the quality and quantity of food, prepackaged sauces on side as well. If someone could get this place together, hire new staff and train them to actually help the customer, this place could have a chance. But as for now, I will never return to waste my money at Friday's Crabhouse. read more

It's good seafood, great location, and a fun atmosphere. The guy at one of the bbq stations they have set up all over the restaurant anticipated my question about how it all works. Easy: go sit, order at a bar/bbq, go sit down, and they bring it to you. Simple. I had clam chowder and fried calamari and chips, and a Mac n Jack. I could have stayed for longer to enjoy another beer and the view, but my ferry was arriving. It was not a busy day, but I can imagine this place would get pretty crowded with tourists on a weekend. read more

Delicious crab cakes, I've gone back multiple times now for those tasty crab cakes. Beautiful views of the harbor and friendly staff.