Joe’s Crab Shack

My fiancée and I were invited by another couple for dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack in Long Beach. I had a terrible experience at a different Joe’s location about 8 years earlier and swore I’d NEVER eat at that chain again. Since we were invited and could not decline, I did what any good foodie always does; I checked the place out on Unilocal.Many of the reviews I read only seemed to confirm my fear that while this location has gorgeous views of the marina, the food was not so good.
I am beyond happy to report that my fears have now been put to rest about Joe’s because we ALL found the food to be VERY good! I can’t understand why the place has such a low rating. The folks at Joe’s must have listened to their customers because this was a complete 180 from my experience years before.
We started with the appetizer sampler and I had the coconut shrimp dinner, my fiancée and my buddy’s wife both had the southern stuffed shrimp, and my buddy had the bucket of crab. Everything arrived at our table hot, well seasoned, and very well portioned. I’m a big guy and I did not leave hungry.
Our waiter (I believe Parish was his name) was very upbeat, friendly and helpful especially when asked questions about the various dishes. He often checked up on us and made sure that our drinks were full. Even the manager walked through the restaurant to check in with the guests to see how everything was going. I can’t ask anything more from a restaurant… beautiful location, great food, and great service. We will definitely be back.

This place is cool even though our 1^st waiter Addison screwdriver our order up royally. Patrick made it right so now I’m happy. I enjoyed the food.

Great food. Eat I the bar the the bartender gives super fast service and he’s very attentive!

Used to be a favorite, will never eat here again. The corn was rotten and they no longer have the sunset fire grilled seasoning. Seems like new management?

Love joes… foods always fresh and delicious.
Clean place and friendly staff and service. and it’s way fun too, especially if it’s time for the dancing… or if it’s someone’s birthday! Very fun…

I would not entertain ever setting foot on this place again. The meal was simply awful and the bill was 83.00 for just two of us. We could have had a wonderful for that amount of money.
The king crab was barely there, only a few pieces, the Con the cob tasted like fish water and so did the potatoes. Service was okay

My honest opinion towards this restaurant is that the flavor and seasoning on their seafood is very tasty, but I feel like they have appetizers as their ontres. The variety is very poor it just leaves you with an empty stomach and craving more. To me it was false advertisement.

I came here on a Sunday afternoon to meet my family for a birthday luncheon. We arrived we were seated very easily. Our waiter came around and it was clear that he was very energetic, friendly, and there to take care of us. He took all of our orders and gave us ample time to decide what we wanted to eat and drink. He also checked up on us frequently.
When our food came he made sure everyone had gotten what they ordered. That’s awesome because not many servers would do that with a party of 10 or more. My plate, however, was supposed to come with a large piece of fish and instead it came with the piece of fish that look like it was Nemo’s twin (that’s how small it was). I was extremely disappointed and I explained that to our waiter. when he looked at the tiny piece of fish he agreed with me and told me he would take care of it into eat my food and he would resolve the issue. About five minutes later he came out and told me another large piece of fish was going to be on its way to me shortly. In about another minute he brought out a separate place with a hearty portion of fish-​wow! I don’t know if I’ve ever experienced a waiter who go out of their way to bring extra food when someone’s food has been in adequately given.
When it was time to pay he made it very easy for us to split the checks between the different parties that were going to pay for the meal. I’m not a big fan of Joe’s crabshack but I would gladly come to this restaurant again because of the great service experience I had here!

Been here two times, food is great but what kills it here are the overprice drinks and service b

OMG– crab Wednesdays! I didn’t try anything else’s, but why bother???
GARLIC crab legs — salt and pepper the veggies…
SPICY crab legs– salt and pepper the veggies…
Order a BLOODY MARY! Super tasty.

Mehhhh this place is okay. It’s not my first choice. I will say we had GREAT service, but the food is always just not that great. Our steam pot wasn’t hot, and we didn’t get as much meat as I would like.

Yep, I love this place. I’m still not sure why the reviews aren’t that good because I always enjoy my dinner when I come here!
The most recent time we came, Seth was our server and he was awesome! Thank you for taking such good care of us!
There are great specials during the week. There are small $ 2 appetizers. I got the crab taters and they were so yummy! My boyfriend ordered the half dozen of oysters (not a special, just on the regular menu).
On top of the specials, there is a great happy hour that goes until 7PM. $ 3 house margaritas?! Yes please! I ordered a strawberry margarita on happy hour and it was sooooo good; I ordered another one. Seth made it; he was serving and bartending. Thanks for the awesome drinks! I could have drank 10 of those! I might just come back for the happy hour one of these days!
Then for dinner, my boyfriend and I shared the Ragin’ Cajun steam pot that had crab, shrimp, sausage, and corn on the cob. I ate everything except the sausage since I no longer eat it but my boyfriend said it was really good! The crab was so good. I love crab legs and these ones satisfied my craving for sure!
On top of our delicious dinner and great service, the manager came over to check on us to. He has come over to our table each time we eat here and I really like that. It shows that he not only cares about his restaurant but his customers as well!
I will for sure be back in the near future :)

I love it here im coming again real soon the drinks are on point. The chowder yummy we got the steam pot and platter. I must say everything was satisfying and service is awesome. The ambience is off the chain the beach is close by and its very nice. Thank you joe crab shack im a returning customer…

Made reservations for 5 at 6:30 tonight sat… Arrived at 6:30 only for them to put us on the walk in list of 30 – 45 min… Why take our reservation if youre not going to honor them? If we knew that we would have come at 5 since we had 2 hungry toddlers with us.
Once we were seated NO ONE came to say hello. Seriously 6 servers walked passed us saw our empty table and just kept walking…
Folks who sat 10 min after us got their drinks, food ordered etc… Like no server or anyone acknowledged we were even there… for 15 min till i finally walked to the kitchen pissed to grab a server.
Thank goodness a food runner felt bad. Took our drink order. Food order and then our server came 10 min later and acted like it wasnt his fault… Really dude? Geesh. (I waited tables before you apologize put in a free app and move forward.).
Food came incorrect (we ordered 3 simple things with no subs). At that point we just ate what incorrect food we got… We were Missing bibs, utensils, crab tools… The sides they asked us for they forgot… Missing extra plates we asked for… Just overall a hot hot scalding mess.
–got the joes pot for 2 garlic butter (came cajiun)
–snow crab 1 ½ lb plain (they did get this correct)
Food was ok. …70.00 ok? Nope no sir… Its also super super loud to top it off so forget having covos with your party.
Wish their service was better it would have definitely made up for the crappy and half ass way they kept messing up at every turn. Hard to enjoy food you didnt even order for the most part.
We wont be back…

Service was great, don’t get me wrong.
But I wouldn’t recommend coming here for your seafood fix. The portions are small for very high prices, and the dish is nothing over the top either.
We came here because they accommodated for our party of 25. They also do cute stuff for the birthday celebrant, like putting on a cape and a birthday hat.
The steam pots come with about 8 crab legs, a handful of shrimp, a sausage and corn, all for $ 30.
I do like the view of the boats docked (:
Enjoy (;

When we walked in we waited about 5 minutes to be seated, really we waited for the hostess, place was almost empty we asked for a booth, the first 6 Booths hadn’t been cleaned the other two were taken, so we sat way in the back in the corner. not sure how they stay in business, food sucks, understaffed, place was dirty… It isn’t the joe’s crab shack from before…
Don’t waste your time or you money going here.

The only reason I’m giving it a three star is because of the service. The staff have such lively personality. The food could be a bit better. It’s bad but it’s not great either.

Joe’s Crab Shack isn’t my first choice when it comes to great seafood (crab, lobster, and shrimp) but it is convenient. Now, this review is not for the food which deserves around a 3 star rating, but for the service we received on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Our waiter was NEWMAN, yes NEWMAN, just like the character on Seinfeld except he was tall, black, and handsome. He reminds me of a taller version of Michael J. White. He was very polite and a fantastic server. Newman, consistently checked on our table, so we didn’t have to flag him down for water or butter. He made sure that we were satisfied with our meal and service. He even tied the bibs around our necks (sorry, no pictures).
We ordered two Arctic Bay Steampots (different seasonings) and a Crab Daddy Feast. I swear that years ago the pots had more food in them; my serving size was more like a bowl. Since we dined on a Tuesday, they offered Happy Hour with $ 2.00 specials. We took advantage of this deal and ordered a couple of drafts and hurricanes. The hurricanes came to the table in a plastic cup (a little surprising) but it was actually strong. I think most alcoholic drinks taste better in a plastic cup (LOL).
The Crab Daddy Feast wasn’t actually a feast; it didn’t fill up the whole bucket. It felt more like a side order of crab. Nevertheless, it was pretty decent and we got to try different types of crab (Snow, Queen and King).
Overall, I would come back on Tuesdays for Happy Hour and Crab Legs. Plus, I will request NEWMAN as my waiter if he is around for superior and genuine service.
Side Note: I was very impressed when the night manager stopped by our table and asked if everything was to our liking (food and service).

Kelly was our waiter, he was AWESOME!
A young lad from NC… Gotta give him props being from my peoples place of birth. It’s not easy for a southern man to fit in here in the west. Kelly was at the ready, before you thought you needed something he was right there. Best service I’ve hade at Joe’s. Keep up the good work Kelly.
Good job Joe’s for hiring one of the best waiters I’ve ever had. Use him as an example and strive to have the best wait staff ever.

There’s better places for crabs. Like your mom’s. (SNAP!)