Douglas Crab Cakes

The food here was disgusting it had no flavor, the call in menus were out dated the sweet tea tasted like it was two or three weeks old. I told the person working that it was stale and his response was blah as in I’ll get to it later. The ketchup and hot sauce bottles were dirty as well as the salt and pepper shakers. Customer service was the worse. I would not recommend this place to a soul.

More like 3.5. Here is the breakdown:
Cleanliness :^|
Service :^| a little slow but good intentions
Food :^D
Cost ~$ 42 for 3 of us.

Being a Maryland native, I’m always on the search for the ever elusive good crabcake located outside of Maryland. I was given a recommendation from a colleague to try this place because it had «amazing crabcakes». Sadly, this place fell far short of the recommendation I was given. The service was awful. There were not many people in the restaurant but there was only one employee working and while she did her best, the waits were extensive. The crabcake left much to be desired. It had no seasoning and there were no large lumps of crab. The crab didn’t seem too fresh either. While others may think this is a good Maryland crabcake… it is not. I recognize that I am a crabcake snob but I wouldn’t recommend anyone going out of their way for this place. The search continues…

Amazing crab cakes!!! On top of that, the service was wonderful!!! I will definitely be going back here. Price is great too!!! Craving the crab cakes again already… See u there! :)

Can’t comment on their seafood (I’m not a fan of seafood in general) but as for their sweet potato and funnel fries: 5 out 5. Sooo good. The interior isn’t anything to be impressed by, just looks like a typical fast food place for the most part. The guys that work there are pretty chill. Sometimes it takes a little while to make the food– but at least it’s fresh. I’d recommend.

The best crab cakes so far I have ever eat, and it’s very good value for your money… like it.

Decided to try something different today. I’ve seen this restaurant several times passing by the area. Walked in and saw two people eating in the dining area and no one behind the counter. Waited 5 minutes and walked out. Can’t try the food if no one is there.
F.Y.I. While I was walking back to my car. I saw another couple walk out of the restaurant. They were complaining that they waited longer than I did. I still saw no one at the counter as I passed by.

Amazing crab cakes and catfish. The hush puppies are so good. And as a coleslaw lover, theirs rocks!

Call ahead. Made to order. 5 mins+ to prep each order. So if a large party is in front of you, prepare yourself for a wait. EXTREMELY CLEAN. Open face grill. Courteous employees. Sweet potato fries! HUGE pieces of fish. Sides looked great and satisfying portions.

Okay well despite many of these negative reviews, I had to come and see for myself. When I arrived on Monday evening the place was dead. The gentleman (perhaps owner?) was sitting there and promptly greeted me. He was nice enough I suppose but when I asked for clarification on the funnel cake fries he said, «they’re like a funnel cake but they’re fries». OH now I understand. I mean could you have given me a little more? Are they sprinkled with powdered sugar? Are they basically funnel cake strips? Something. I decided to go with the crabcake entrée, which came with 2 crab cakes and 2 sides for a total of $ 21. I chose the steak fries and side salad. He reiterated that when you order the entrée that means there is no bread (ie, no bun), its just 2 crabcakes. I said yes, fine. I’d rather omit the carbs anyway. The whole thing took about 10 minutes (with no one else inside). When I got home and opened the to-​go box, I see 1 crabcake sandwich and soggy fries. The funny thing is that he went out of his WAY to say there would be no bun and for a hefty $ 20 I had clearly paid for TWO crabcakes but got 1 crabcake sandwich, which I did not want to begin with. No accoutrements, no sauce, no lettuce/​tomato. A lone, bare crabcake sandwich. I think his brain must have just went on auto-​pilot and he served his usual, which is probably the sandwich, it’s just ironic that he reiterated there would be no bread and then he plops it on a bun. Because of this huge oversight, because I paid for an extra crabcake and did not get one, and because the fries were some of the soggiest I’ve ever had, I won’t be returning. If I look at the crabcake alone, it was not bad. I don’t mind a «wet» crabcake, as some previous reviewers mentioned, but it wasn’t flavorful enough to give this place another shot. Poor Mr. Douglas needs to get it together in this type of economy.

Get the funnel cake Fries! They are exactly what they sound like. Funnel cake in fry-​sized strips covered in powdered sugar.
They had technical difficulties with the grill and my food took over 40 minutes. The staff was apologetic and they had a technician come in to fix it right away. It was a good sign that the cook was concerned and took an interest in getting it fixed. He made a point of giving me the rest of my order to eat while waiting for the crab cakes.
I tried the crab & fish combo ($ 13) an it was a LOT of food. Crab cake, 2 fried fish fillets, 2 sides, cole slaw. Like many soul food places, they served the fried fish on top of 2 slices of white bread. The crab cakes were good and as far as I could tell were low on fillers.
Small place with 10 tables (4 high tops) and counter service. You can see the grill from the tables and the service setting is plastic table covers, paper place settings, and the cheapest plasticware available. The cashier /​cook /​server was friendly and courteous. I went 5 minutes after they opened, so service was a little slow as everything was made to order.
I usually hesitate to pay $ 18 for a meal in a place like this, but hey, it’s seafood. Meals range from $ 6 lunch combos w/​fries & drink to $ 18 signature combo. For lunch they had a Jr. crab cake sandwich, FF & drink for $ 9.
I think the grill problems was an anomaly and will try them again. Don’t go expecting a nice atmosphere, but do enjoy some well done seafood at a great price!

My friends in the Springfield area have been raving about this place for eons so the boy and I had no hesitation in driving down 395 to check this hole-​in-​the-​wall business off.
There’s the good:
*There was one person in the restaurant who was working the counter AND the kitchen. We had to wait fifteen minutes to get our order taken and then another fifteen to get our food cooked. This sucked, but this sweet overworked man totally hooked it up in the food department. Thanks for the extra fries, shrimp and fish! Your kindness was most appreciated.
*The fried shrimp were gigantic, juicy and perfectly coated. This was the first to go in our giant seafood platter.
*Sweet potato fries
and the ok:
*As noted above, the wait was a little bit unreasonable but I will chalk it up to the business having a bad day. I would bet it is really hard for family businesses to fill in extra shifts if Little Johnny is home sick.
*The crab cake was 100% jumbo lump crab with no filler. As noted by other Unilocalers it was on the wet side and fell apart almost immediately after biting into it. The bread was a waste of space.
*As a long time frequenter of corner Chinese food/​seafood/​sub shops, I was a little bit disapppointed by the lack of flavor of the fried catfish. Even a healthy dose of Old Bay and vinegar could not cut through the greasy flavor of the fish.
Overall, this would be a good place to go if you are looking for a no frills stop in the neighborhood for a crab cake but I would not drive out of my way for it (as Lendsey C mentioned, prices are on par to other white tablecloth restaurants in the area and this place is in need of a serious tune up!).

This place should close it’s doors! We ordered the combination and crab cake sandwich and got a combo of greasy, tasteless, over-​cooked, previously frozen nonsense.
That was the worst crab cake I’ve ever had (and expected some flavor since this is the east coast).
Save your money, time and appetite from this travesty!

My co-​workers and I came to this eatery for some grubbing — the place is small, but the food was pretty solid. We had the large Catfish ‘Fish Sandwiches’ combo meal that came with a large drink and large fries (for an extra $ 3.28). The guy was friendly and super nice, but I think he was a little confused in what came with the meal — we didn’t get our coleslaw, and I realized that we didn’t get a large-​sized cup for the beverages (instead, we got a medium). He thought the coleslaw didn’t come with the meal, but I gently pointed out on the menu the ‘fine print.’ The food was made to order, and the catfish was actually pretty nice, with none of that ‘fishy’ flavor. It was fried well (I would have liked a better crispier batter), and tasted great with the packets of tarter sauce and the Texas Pete hot sauce that was located on the table. The fries were thick steak fries and they were okay. The coleslaw was alright, too, but it was a little too pungent for me. They had Coca-​Cola products for beverages as well as sweetened/​unsweetened tea. Each meal was about $ 13, which is pretty okay for a fried seafood platter — I was surprised with the generous amount of the fish (I think we each got about 5 – 6 pieces!). Definitely a solid spot in this plaza off of Manchester. If you can’t drive up to the MD area and are craving for some decent fried seafood, this is a good option.
+fried catfish
+make sure you specify your meal orders

I really enjoyed Douglas Crab Cakes. I have been here twice and ordered the same thing both times. I had the Whiting platter with fries and corn on the cob. Being that I am a southern gal, I am use to a little more seasoning on my fish… but since moving here… I have come to learn the differences between East Coast and Southern eating. I have created my own baseline of what to expect out here… and I really enjoyed this place. The fish was cooked to perfection, the fries… were just fries and the corn was awesome. As a finisher… I ordered the funnel cake fries and these were my FAV! They were so good and hot. If you like funnel cake… try these. I requested extra powdered sugar but you can skip that if you want. What gave this place my return business was not only the food, but the service was great! They really wait on you and make sure everything is to your liking.

This was my first time here and I really enjoyed the crab cake sandwich and sweet potato fries. The customer service was great and I will be back!
Updated: forgot to mention that they gave me coupons for my next meal. I’ll definitely be returning!

The crab cake here is delicious and it hardly has any filler! $ 13 for a sandwich is platter is pretty much what I was expecting to pay for it. The price of good quality crab meat at the grocery store is not cheap so $ 13 is a reasonable price. If you want cheap crab cake, purchase the claw meat at the grocery and make the crab cake yourself. They cook the food for me and I don’t have to clean up the kitchen is a big plus. My family enjoyed the food. We used the coupon that we received in the mail so that helped us out a bit.
Service was quick and friendly.

I finally got the chance to try Douglas Crab Cakes last week. The food was edible, but I doubt I will return. I ordered the crab cake on a salad for about $ 13. It was grilled, but very soft. It had flavor, but it was not exciting. The salad was pretty plain with iceberg lettuce. I also tried the popcorn shrimp, which were frozen in a bag and heavily breaded. I cannot believe that they would charge over $ 7 for such horrible shrimp. They gave me a container of honey mustard to go with them as if I had chicken strips or something. I’m giving them 3 stars because the guy behind the counter was friendly, otherwise, I would have to bump them down a star.
I really hate reporting bad news :(
2.8 Stars!

My family is from Maryland, I feel like endless summers of homemade crab cakes and samplings at local restaurants have made my palette attuned to a good crab cake.
If that is the case then Douglas Crab Cakes lacks that «crab cake» feel I’m so use to.
I’ve driven past this place several times but never stop because the prices are outrageous — $ 13 for ONE crab cake at what is clearly a Mom&Pop store trying to hang with the big boys of the shopping center, not to mention they are always emptier than a panhandler’s cup on Friday.
I went in this time because the specials looked aptly priced and included fries and drink but when I went in the other menu said I couldn’t get the special/​lunch menu at this time.
When I made note of this and the price difference to the cashier, the owner herself actually came out to try and explain this convoluted pricing and menu system to me. She told me that currently they had two menus and one had the wrong pricing and one was right. Huh? *head scratch*
Foolishly I proceeded to order and while I waited for my meal to be cooked the cashier commented that I must not be from around here since I was questioning the price of a crab cake. Wow, way to assume.
When the order finally came I was not in the least impressed. The size the crab cake was big but what I know from my cooking experience is that when a crab cake is too big it doesn’t cook all the way through. This crab cake supported my theory.
As soon as we picked it up it fell apart and it was overly wet in the middle and carrots in a crab cake — a first for me. The fries were just fries and the coleslaw was «meh». We watched a handful of people walk by, read the same sign I had read, and then shake their heads and continue walking.
At one point a couple came inside to look at the menu and asked us if the food was good, which I took to mean «Is it worth the price?», and I promptly told them that it was «Okay» with a shoulder shrug. They were smart and decided not to eat here and we continued to eat in an empty restaurant.
The owner came back and offered us some home cooked cake but we declined.
I was being nice when I told her everything was «okay» but I didn’t want to crush her. With a name like Douglas Crab Cakes and $ 13 sandwiches that fall apart I don’t expect this place to be here in the next year, two tops. Paper plates, plastic utensils, and condiment cups for sides aren’t really doing it.
It has a very home cooked feel to it, so why are we paying fine dining prices?

Was in my crab cake craving and happened to be in the Kingstowne/​Alexandria area and wanted to try this place out from the Unilocal reviews.
Everything was decent in my opinion… can’t give it more than 2 stars… the sweet potato fries one Unilocaler mentioned was okay — a bit too greasy in my opinion. The crab cake itself is «freshly prepared» on the spot when you order (since they don’t have many customers in the first place to have it pre-​made) but I don’t know how «fresh» the crab is.
The people working there are nice though and explained the menu well. I just prefer fresh (or appears to be fresh) crab cakes instead. I can just buy the canned blackfin or jumbo lump crab at Whole Foods and make it better than this place :/​Bummer since I wanted to like this place!