The Crab Shack

This place was excellent. We got the fried shrimp and and crab cake with red rice, Cole slaw, and mashed potatoes. The Caesar salad was good. They have indoor and patio seating. We loved it and would come back.

I’ve been here twice, once for dinner and once for take-​out at lunchtime.
Dinner was a pretty good experience. The she-​crab soup is exceptional. I’ve never had anything quite like it.
My mom went with the crab cake and legs. I sampled some and it was excellent. She was very happy with it and my 3 year old liked it too. Only complaint was that they accidentally gave her seasoned butter and she disliked it and ruined a good bit of her crab because she didn’t like the seasoned butter taste. Lucky for her my daughter is not so picky.
I was struggling to decide and asked the waiter for a recommendation and he suggested the fried seafood platter. I am not a huge fan of fried foods but he said it was excellent and not too heavy. Honestly, it was not bad but for me the portion was huge and I barely ate half because it was so greasy and filling.
I left really wishing I had tried something cooked more simply.
As far as the sides went the mac and cheese is something my daughter still asks for, mom and I liked it a lot too. The veggies were good, but the potatoes were just OK.
My take-​out experience was moderate. I ordered some she-​crab soup to-​go and when I got there I added an order of shrimp appetizer and a sweet tea. The soup was waiting when I got there but the wait for the shrimp was almost 20 minutes. Luckily there was a regular sitting at the bar who was a pleasure to talk to. The waitress brought me the sweet tea in a small to-​go cup and we didn’t speak again until my food came out. She happy obliged to refill my tea before I left but I had to ask even though for awhile both she and the bartender were standing talking to regulars about non-​work related things for extended period of time, less than 10′ from me. Plus side, the food was really good, the soup was still somewhat warm when I got it home and the shrimp was perfectly cooked.

So, I gave this place 3 stars because it’s kind of a hole in the wall, so I know a lot of people might find it off putting. But, I like it. No frills, no bullshit. Good service. If you like seafood and no bullshit, try this place.
I popped into town on a whim and tried to eat at one of the highly recommended places downtown. I was not well-​received. I drove around a while and found this place. It’ll never make it on the Zagat list, but rest assured you will be received, you will be seated, you will be well-​fed, and you will not leave hungry. My kind of place!

Second visit to charleston, and we decided on some seafood. This place is a must try. I want to frequent, just to try the whole menu.

We walked in and there were plenty of seats. Not busy at all. We were told we could wait but the kitchen was «on hold». Never heard of that. We were ushered to the bar to wait and before we could sit down, we were told to sit and a booth and was ushered there. While on the way, a cook came out and said they were on hold and a young lady stopped the hostess trying to seat us and said we couldn’t be seated because the kitchen was on hold. I would like to have rated the food here but we never got that far. We left. They seriously acted like they didn’t want our business. We left.

Wow. I’ll start by saying that hubby and I have eaten at the West Ashley Crab Shack numerous times, and every time it was terrific… until tonight. We went there to eat because I had received one of their birthday coupons in my email. First, it was busy, but not exceedingly so. We walked in and waited by the door; it was a few minutes before someone took us to a table. All the other times we visited, someone was already waiting by the door to escort people to their table. This wasn’t a big deal.
Next, after being seated, we noticed that they had changed the menu. It used to be several (at least 4) pages, but now is one page attached to a clipboard. No sides appeared on the menu at all. We had to ask the waitress to tell us what the sides were, and she listed them for us. We then gave the waitress our drink order. It took forever to get the drinks; the waitress kept apologizing. When I got mine, it was the worst piña colada I had ever had in my life, and I’ve had them all over the world. (Hubby had ordered beer… can’t do much to ruin that.) It also took forever for our appetizer to arrive. Luckily, it was delicious. Long story short about the next hour and a half… that is how long it took for us to get our food after we ordered. Again the waitress kept apologizing and then brought us a free appetizer to make amends for not bringing us our entrees. We finally got them (an hour and a half later), and they were very good.
One thing that really disgusted us was one server who continually kept sweeping the floor around all the tables where people were eating. Hey… we understand that tables have to be cleared when people leave, but the sweeping should be done later when there are no diners there. Yuck.
When we got the check, there was another surprise. There was an extra charge for one of the sides we both had ordered. When the waitress named the sides for us earlier, there was no mention at all that one of the sides would cost extra. In other words, it was not included with your entrée price like the other sides. We thought this was pretty lousy. Then we handed the waitress the birthday coupon. It then took her and 3 other staff members 20 minutes to figure out how to adjust our bill due to the birthday coupon. Hubby finally went up to them and asked what the long wait was for.
All in all this was a rotten experience, and we are not sure at all if we will ever visit this Crab Shack again. It is sad, because we have always had a great experience at this restaurant. We are wondering if it is under new (lousy) management, especially since — during our other visits — the manager would come by and ask us how everything was. No manager came by our table tonight. Probably a good idea, since we would have had a lot of negative things to say. A shame.

Service was great but food didn’t measure up to expectations! The crab spin dip was cold when it arrived. The macaroni I got was like a block of old pasta! You could even chew the dam thing. Giving it two stars because the gentleman that served me was a kind man!

Walked in at 1:40pm and was promptly seated. Although there were only four other tables seated, it took until 1:50pm for the waitress to come by. During the interim, several waitresses were casually talking to other customers; one about her recent weight loss.
First of all, the menu is a mess. Entrees and snacks are spread out across three pages. It took a pretty decent effort to locate the nonalcoholic drinks. A little work on organizing and streamlining the selections would go a long way.
I ordered a Diet Coke and the Calabash Seafood Basket containing clam strips, shrimp and fish. All were previously frozen and then deep fried. The fish was especially bad. Most everything was devoid of taste.
I understand frozen clam strips (maybe) but not having fresh shrimp and flounder in Charleston is a crime.
Overall, the place is in need of a thorough cleaning. Some of the dirt is owing to the free peanuts they serve. Peanuts and spent hulls are wedged in the cracks of the wood flooring.
The manager charged me only for my drink when I complained about the meal; which was nice and was appreciated. I hope they take notice and address the quality issues soon.

I had the crab stuffed flounder. It was pretty decent. My waiter was very friendly. I would definitely go back for crab legs next time

As soon as we walked in we were greeted quick and prompt. Summer (our waitress) was all smiles and cheerful which is always a plus for me at restaurants. We got are food in under 20 minutes and Summer never let our drinks touch the bottom of the glass. The establishment was clean and all the staff looked like they were having a good time. Will definitely come again

I’m back! Enjoying the Crippled Crab drink…2 more times. Just checked in and now receiving my free crab dip with Zingers and a side of the good news. Just got my first guidance counselor job… woohoo! Crab Shack is so good!!!

Wait was acceptable for a Saturday night. Food was okay. I dont recommend getting the fried scallops and shrimp grill instead. Food came out quick.

We are moving to Charleston and was in the area so we stopped in to have lunch. Service from our waitress was slow and rude. We had two checks my sister gave Summer at tip of 10% (she was lucky she got that) When we got home to Charlotte we realized Summer our waitress added a 10.00 tip to the order.
We called Steven the manager and he told my sister Summer has done this before and she would be fired and I would be credited $ 10.00 back. She never received any money and I really hope he meant that Summer would be fired.
Beware about theWest Ashley restaurant. Seems to me, not even the management cares about their customers. Obviously, we will never go back to this establishment again!

Wasn’t bad. Got the bucket of shrimp, sausage and crab. Tasted yummy, hard to go wrong. The hush puppies were good. Had the key lime pie for dessert, they were nice enough to write on it for my sister in laws birthday. Servers were nice and the wait time was normal. Would go back again.

At least the peanuts were good… Kinda
Walking in, the host told the people in front of us that there would be at least a 25 minute wait and told us that it would be «probably longer» and promptly walked away without taking our name. Whole sections in the restaurant were empty. After around 45 minutes we got a table that we crammed into-​only because we kept asking why we weren’t seated when there were open areas of the restaurant. After ordering and waiting around 20 minutes, our server came out and informed our party that they were out of Grouper (what half the party ordered). Then the meals came out. The portions were small and the Mahi Mahi that had been substituted was burnt to hell. I am not over exaggerating in the least. One person ordered Pork Tenderloin and received a Pork Chop cut in half and cooked beyond any possible chew-​ability. The dish looked disgusting. The dish also included pasta and broccoli. The broccoli was A.W.O.L. and the pasta was a hard inedible clump. All but one meal was not really palatable. The crab legs were definitely overcooked. The cooks clearly had a problem with overcooking everything. I don’t understand how a server could bring the dishes that looked like that out to a table. After we had finished our meal, the server FINALLY showed up for the first time after bringing out our food to inexplicably deliver a plate of fish that somehow managed to be even more overcooked than the fish we had originally received.
This might rank as the worst meal of my life. Definitely the worst family meal out we’ve ever had. This meal has become the brunt of many jokes in my family! I wish I could give zero stars. I don’t know how this place stays in business.

We came in as we are visiting from Florida based on a review from a «Cassandra» she raved about the food but better about Summer the server. Ironically we got SUMMER!!! Great ambiance. Love the authenticity… Check it out!!!

This place is gross everything tastes salty frozen or microwaved. I gave this place a one star only because I had to in order to write this review. Don’t come here it’s so gross.
I got the crab dip and it tasted like crab in mayonnaise and mustard and a lot of salt. The she crab soup tasted like calm chowder and there was bits of shrimp tail in it. The stuffed mushrooms tasted straight like cat food. My entrée was oysters and they barely made an attempt to clean it it looks like they rinsed it with water and served it.

I really like the bartender, Kayla (I think) — she is really sweet and attentive. I live close so I occasionally stop in for a drink and take out. The atmosphere is pretty terrible — nothing like the folly beach crab shack (which I love). It’s just like a semi-restaurant…and theres hardly ever anyone at the bar, not sure how it stays open.
Otherwise, food is acceptable. I always find that portions are small for the price here with regards to seafood (including the folly one), but it’s always cooked well and everything.

Came here with my mom when she was visiting Charleston for the first time. She wanted to get some Charleston seafood, my boyfriend and I heard great thing things about this place but after eating here. I was not impressed. I mean it was OK. We saw online that they had a special that when you come into happy hour and get a drink at the bar then you EACH get a free appetizer of zingers. When we arrived earlier for happy hour to get some drinks before dinner, the bartender had no clue about special and when he went to ask he came back and said we all where to share one appetizer. So 4 small shrimp for 3 people. Alright whatever maybe dinner will be better…
Wrong! My boyfriend and I both got the buckets and where still hungry afterwards. They where much smaller then any other seafood restaurant I have been too.
The only saving grace was that their drinks where pretty good.

Big party, felt sorry for the waiter, but they were so well prepared for us. Aps, dinner and desert went well. The food was very good. I love their fried shrimp. We had about 16 people and ate in that private room upstairs. Great option for big parties. Their deserts were giant and not overly priced and wow, if you like Chocolate and I do, you will love their options.