Awesome food and great atmosphere. We has the choose your own platters and it was way too much food we wished we had just gotten one platter and shared. Cole slaw was great. After one basket of hush puppies we could not stop we had to have another, they are fantastic. We will go back to the spot often! read more

The Crab Shack - First time soft she'll cram eaters! - Seafood Near Me - Salter Path, North Carolina

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This is definitely a hole in the wall shop. The inside is nothing to ride home about the seafood is fresh and was very good! Prices are on the cheaper side but the environment was noisy and distracting. We waited 30 minutes but the fresh seafood was worth it. read more

My sister, brother in law and I got take out yesterday from the crab shack. We got the fried flounder platter and 2 shrimp platters. All the food was GREAT! The servings of shrimp and flounder were plenty. The cole slaw was flavorful and creamy. It took about 10-15 mins or so for my order, it was hot and fresh. We are definitely coming back! read more

The food is definitely worth the wait, friendly staff and a great atmosphere to enjoy the large variety of seafood I recommend the shrimp and the hush puppies are amazing. read more

Place does not look great from the outside but the food was really good. The staff was friendly and practicing very good hygiene. Crab legs were incredible. Definitely would go back. read more

Good seafood but green beans were cold and not very appetizing. Service was good. Ran out of several selections but was a Saturday night.

Every time my family and I come here, we always enjoy the food. The hush puppies are always wonderful, along with the sauces they have on the table. The seasoning on some of the food was either to seasoned or not enough this last time. However, overall we love going here and really enjoy our time! If you're in town for a visit, you should for sure stop by. read more

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT better than ANYTHING on or off of the island!!! Always packed! Always fresh and outstanding.

Great great great food. A little cramped inside, a little pricey. But it's worth it. 4 stars just for the pricing and cramped nature. Oh, and you're going to have to wait for about 45-1 hr during the summer vacation time. read more

Was rewarding myself for a long bike ride with a shrimp burger at Big Oak...but they're not open on Mondays. Lucky for me The Crab Shack is! Great view waterfront, complimentary hush puppies, fast service, and the shrimp was perfectly cooked! Perfect lunch reward and fuel for the bike ride back to Atlantic Beach! read more

Bad recipe,burned & old she crab soup & no sherry. Hush puppies cold,french fries cold, crab meat in butter tasteless. Save your time & money for yourself read more

Overall the food was decent With the exception of uncooked food I received. The customer service was also good with a major exception of the manager being extremely disrespectful stating this "you're getting this or nothing" after I addressed the uncooked, horribly made fish. read more

Expensive for what was given. Two broiled combinations had about five scallops and eight small shrimp. Each meal had a baked potato and coleslaw which cost $60 before tip. read more

The best seafood on the island. We always eat here when we are on the coast. They also have a great steak if you don't want seafood. It is well worth the wait if there is a line waiting. If you are looking for great seafood this is the place. read more

The ONLY good seafood restaurant here. Every place we have tried this week cannot hold a candle to the Crab Shack. Quick seating and the food was served hot and fast. Portions are incredibly generous and very good. Pricing is on par for a touristy-beachy area. I highly recommend the soft shell crab and the cole slaw is amazing. Try not to fill up on the basket of hush puppies which are awesome. read more

Lackluster food. Pretty much everything was bland and had no flavor. Wouldn't be so terrible if the customer service was better. Everyone rushes around and no one really pays attention to the customer. I watched as the hostess blatantly blames a customer for her mistake and then shamed that customer stating it couldn't possibly be her fault because she has worked there for years. I am of the belief that even a poor product can be bettered by great customer service. Unfortunately, this establishment fails at both the quality of the food and taking care of the diner. We will most definitely never be back. read more

Did take out . Combo of 3. Seafood tasted fresh and had that nice light crystal coast crust on it. They were packed for sit down service. Seemed to be turning table quick enough. read more

We've been on the island for over 30 years. This list THE BEST seafood around, hands-down. The view is amazing and the decor inside keeps that traditional, old-fashioned charm that we love so much. I know they've had some damage in the hurricane this year, but they'll be back in the spring (Lord willing). The main thing is, please don't change too much. We love you just like you are! read more

We stop at The Crab Shack every time we visit the Crystal Coast. Hands down the best place with an awesome staff. The fish is so fresh, generous portions and the best hush puppies I've ever had. read more

Wonderful service. We were sat right away and at a wonderful table over looking the water. Food was good and will definitely return!

Fast service, great calabash style seafood, very fresh. To some, the prices may seem high, but I feel like they are appropriate for the quality we got. Rustic beach feel read more

This place was awesome! The service was great and the seafood was phenomenal ! It was our first time here but we will definitely be back! read more

The Crab Shack - Fried shrimp plate - Seafood Near Me - Salter Path, North Carolina

Appeared to be a nice place when we pulled up. Went inside and stood there as 3 employees looked me in the face and did not greet me or my spouse. I hope it was just terrible service and not the fact that we're African American. read more

Great spot. Usually very busy, call ahead. Food is delicious and I think average priced.

Very fresh seafood! Great hushpuppies too. Shrimps were fried to perfection. My son said his cheeseburger was delicious. The coleslaw was homemade and pretty damn tasty! The soft shell crab, catfish, and scallops were good but greasy.I think they were not set out to drain long. Overall it was not as good as last year when we came. Our waitress, Julie, was excellent though, she aaccounted for a star all by herself. Overall good family atmosphere.. read more

We love it here! Fresh seafood, great service and excellent key lime pie. You can't go wrong visiting here and appreciate the view if you have to wait. Love getting a glass of tea and an individual pitcher too, especially after a day in the sun and wind. Big tables for big groups or just for two. Nice mix of locals too which shows how great they are. read more

Down home fried seafood palace of basic beach food. Everything fried is bad for you yet tasty. The hush puppies are addictive. The sweet tea is perfection. Lunch specials with two sides is a pretty good deal. Nothing fancy but filling. read more

Very good. Had a little bit of a wait, but that is expected in peak season at 6:00. Food was great, but we're from MD so the blue crabs were different than we are used to. read more

We tried the Crab Shack for the first time. The wait was a little over an hour so come early or plan on a late dinner. I ordered the steam pot and it was great! Tons of crab meat and shrimp. We will definitely come back next year for the crab legs. read more

Friends of mine from Atlanta came for a visit. We didn't want to venture too far from my home so we decided to check out the Crab Shack. I'm glad that we did. Our dinners of stuffed shrimp, shrimp kabobs, crab cakes, and flounder were tasty and well presented. We were there late and the wait staff was pleasant and efficient. Our view of the sound enhanced the meal. The Crab Shack is a bit noisy and seating is arranged in a wide open space that is typical of seafood shacks along the coast. So if you're looking for an intimate setting to dine, this isn't for you. That said, it was an enjoyable evening with friends. read more

After reading other reviews i anticipated a wait so we arrived around 5pm. We did not have to wait but right after being seated the placed started filling up quickly. This was a Tuesday evening. We were greeted promptly by a very nice & attentive waitress. She brought out a basket of cornbread hushpuppies, which were a hit with everyone at our table. We had a little wait for our food due to a large party ahead of us so the hushpuppies were perfect to tide us over until the food arrived. I had the Mahi Mahi which was recommended by the waitress. It was ok, i've definitely had better. Another person in my party ordered the shrimp kabobs and thought they were delicious. Two in my party ordered the chicken tenders with fries. They felt the chicken was just ok and the fries were flavorless. The other person ordered a steak that was overcooked and tasted "eh". Overall the service was great and the food was ok. Price wise...if we had to wait an hour or two it would not have been worth it. Would i go back? Probably not. read more

The Crab Shack - Mahi Mahi - Seafood Near Me - Salter Path, North Carolina

Over all pretty good. I had the fried shrimp and clam strips. The hushpuppies were ok. Service was excellent!! If you go after 5:30 you will have a wait for an hour. They don't have a bar but they do serve alcohol at the front desk. Plenty of outside waiting seating but beware of the speaker up towards front of building. When they call the names on the waiting list it's very loud and will scare the s*** out of babies, small children and old people. read more

We had a delicious lunch here when we were in town before going to mini golf. You auto receive hush puppies which is yummy. We ordered some iced teas and I had the crab cakes. Service was fine and friendly. The views are nice on the water. I would come back here for sure the next time we are in the vicinity. read more

I have to disagree with some of the criticism of other reviews on the Crab Shack. This is NOT the Ritz Carton, and if you go, the outside does not give that impression. This is just a local seafood joint with fast service (I was impressed because all the girls ran around, and were impatient with the bus boys not moving so fast). And, this place can seat tables of 4 and/or 8! Nice view of the inter-coastal waterway. But the hell with the atmosphere when you are hungry with 3 very hungry kids. The waitress immediately brought not 1, but TWO baskets of hush-puppies for us to eat when she introduced herself. She quickly took our drink order and showed us the lunch specials, which was $8.99 for the main entree with 2 sides and iced tea. I chose the crab casserole. It was real crab and more than I could eat; I shared it with my daughter. My 9 year old ordered the popcorn shrimp for her meal, but when it arrived, it had 2 pieces of white-fish on the plate. When I asked if that was right, the waitress said that meal was the same price so she had the cook put the extra fish on her plate for anyone at the table who wanted it. What I am saying is that the value of this restaurant is high compared to the cost of the meal. There is no rip-off going on here, and given the small portion sizes offered at other places, that is saying something. If you expected the Ritz, you shouldn't have walked in the door in the first place! You would have noticed the gravel parking lot with the absence of valet parking. read more

Always enjoy eating here. We have been coming to Pine Knoll shores/Salter Path area for over 10 years. If you love NC fried seafood, it's terrific. If you enjoy fresh catches, broiled, grilled or even blackened, they have that too. The wait is always long for dinner, but they offer free hush puppies to satisfy you while waiting. I'll be back! read more

I used to think fried seafood was good every now and again. My last visit to the Crab Shack made me think otherwise. The fried oysters were over-breaded and didn't taste much like oysters - more like charred dough. The soft shelled crabs were a little better but would have been 100 times tastier if they had been pan fried in butter rather than dunked in that vat of oil. The crab cakes were ok but pretty bready! The king crab legs were the best thing we tried - not exactly NC coastal catch but delicious all the same. The crab legs bumped it up to 3 stars. Weak beer list, unless bud light does it for you. The atmosphere is fantastic - views over the sound, lots of long tables filled with families and a deck that wraps around for the many people waiting for a table. It would be great if they had tables for people to eat outside on that marvelous deck. To conclude, the Crab Shack has gotten expensive with most plates over 20 bucks. It's a nice experience but I don't think it is worth the price you pay. read more

This place might not look like much but its great!! One of our favorite places to visit. We cannot come to the island without stopping in at least once. Staff is great and food even better! read more

The only good thing was the hush puppies. The seafood was god awful. The worst crabcake, scallops and shrimp ever. I feel like I was robbed when paying for the meal. Avoid at all costs. read more

My fiancé and I were looking for a place with fresh seafood and affordable prices. We stumbled upon The Crab Shack and were not disappointed. Our table had an amazing view and we were given hush puppies instead of the usual bread roll appetizer. We both ordered 2-combination dinners: his with fried shrimp and deviled crabs and mine with sautéed shrimp and crab cakes. Both dinners came with two sides which was a pleasant surprise. My crab cakes were a little on the salty side, but other than that we had zero complaints. For two 2-combination dinners it totaled out to be fifty dollars, which is a little steep, but the quality of the food made it more bearable. When we were paying for our meal up front the cashier seemed more interested in finishing her gossip with fellow workers rather than finishing our transaction. The four star rating is for quality seafood, a beautiful view, slightly too salty crab cakes , and unprofessional cashiers. read more

The Crab Shack - Two 2-combination dinners w/two sides. - Seafood Near Me - Salter Path, North Carolina

I am writing this letter on behalf of my sister and her fiance who chose your establishment to celebrate their one year anniversary of getting engaged. They spent a lot of time trying to decide on which place to enjoy such a sweet moment and even asked around after reading reviews for another place that had poorer ratings. They decided on your restaurant after a recommendation from one of the locals. Now, as a former college kid who would go on dates in during my early 20s I know that two young kids come in and you think you won't get a tip. But that is no excuse for the experience my sister and her significant other had during their dining experience. Let it be known, they dropped 55 dollars between the two of them which isn't chump change to two young twenty-somethings. That's hard-earned cash for him as he worked a whole day to pay for their dinner. They came back from your restaurant brokenhearted. Let's start with the good. Your hushpuppies. You managed to kick ass on the only deep fried thing they ate. They had two baskets of those bad boys. He got the tuna which was WAY overcooked, to the point of inedibility and my sister got scallops which she was charged market price for only to receive those overcooked as well. Now, I know my sister, because I know my parents and her fiance's parents. I assure you she and her significant other were incredibly polite and kind. They aren't ones to send food back because they understand how frustrating that can be to the kitchen. However, there is no reason they should have been served the food they showed us. Rubbery scallops and overcooked tuna were not what they were hoping for when they sat down at your restaurant. Which by the way took 20 minutes to bring their boxes and check while her fiancee watched the waitress lean in the kitchen as he was waiting to get my sister out of that hell hole. My family will not be eating here and we certainly won't be recommending this place in the future. read more