Joe’s Crab Shack

I want to start off by saying the food is quite tasty… The steam pots are what we get every time, and they rock! The service on the other hand is very hit or miss. We go there every couple of weeks for the past 3 years, and I can count on one hand how many good servers we’ve had and those good servers are when we are a large group. Whenever my husband and I go by ourselves we order «adult beverages» they tend to come to us when we get our food. Then our appetizers come out after we get our food and are generally cold. In order to get a refill or something like butter you have flag them down because they don’t like to check on you.

Good service and pretty good food. Standard for a Joe’s Crabshack. The view of the harbor is great.

This location in Oceanside sits where you can enjoy a gorgeous sunset view. When you first arrive you have to walk up a long flight of stairs to get to the restaurant. There is an elevator if needed.
This was my first trip to Joe’s. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I am used to crab at fine dining restaurants. They offered $ 2 margarita’s that were delivered in opaque plastic cups. Plastic cups! Is this the norm? If it is I didn’t like it. The flimsy cups were an instant turn off.
Perhaps that’s why they were only $ 2. Well, it caused me not to want another one…
Our waitress was training a new employee which was cool.
We ordered some deal that came with three different types of crab, corn, and potatoes.
We ordered a caesar salad so there would be something green on the table. The romaine lettuce was cut in a way that made if hard to pick it up with a fork.
The snow crab was excellent. It was sweet and not too salty. The next crab (forgot it’s name) was very salty and we tasted more salt than crab. The king crab was the best because there was actually enough crab meat to get the taste of it.
I’d like to try it on an all you can eat night so we could try other crab and kind of get full.
The place was lively, full of music, young servers and

When we wanna get out of our place in Solana and eat good food in a fun atmosphere, we come here. And we are never disappointed! We are fishermen, we are around seafood all the time, and love good people. This place has it all. Today we had Steven for our server outside and he was amazing! Always smiling, fun, always with a great smile and talked with us when we conversed with him… never made us feel rushed or like he was annoyed. I bartend on this coast and I’ve been disappointed when we finally get a day off together and get to do these things. I was once again impressed. So thanks Joes for the amazing service and food. Love that a manager brought the dessert out as well. With a huge smile. Love seeing places like this work together and keep an upbeat attitude. We will continue to make this our place when we get a random day from the boats and bar together, which is rare. Thanks again!!!

Wow fail! My wife and I come to Oceanside every year for our anniversary and we do two things. First we make a reservation for Rocking Baja lobster and next we make a reservation for Joe’s Crab Shack. Tonight we visited Joe’s Crab Shack first. We had reservations for 9pm, they close at 12.
We ordered our food from a very nice waiter. Two different seam pots and a calamari appetizer. About two minutes later our drinks arrived. Literally 2 minutes after that our steam pots arrived. Now I’m not a rocket scientist but I’m pretty sure the waiter had to type the order in and the ticket had to print and I’m pretty sure you can figure out the process. Our food definitely had to be sitting around to come out that quick. When our food arrived it was very cold like it had only been cooked half way or microwaved. The waiter came back over and we explained that we were paranoid seeing as how it was seafood and we were worried about our food not being prepared properly. After explaining this we got a bill for our two drinks and nothing but a sorry from the waiter. No manager no nothing.
This is very unprofessional and I advise everyone to stay away wth people like this working there.

Came for all you can eat crab and after they got tired they ignored me plus their crab had barely any meat in them. How am I gonna pay 30 bucks and have you ignore me cause it’s 2 HOURS FRON CLOSING?!? Go some where else with your money! Joes is TRASH!!!

Love this place! The staff is always friendly and quick and the food is delicious. The view of the harbor is amazing. We love coming here and we try and make it once a month. It’s our little treat to ourselves
Not only is it a great place for tourists but for townies like us as well.

Not worth it. Thanks for the SMALLEST crab legs ever! This place is a scam.
Harbor fish n chips is a million times better! I’ve learned my lesson.

Very friendly staff and harbor views.
I came for etoufee only to find out it is no longer on the menu so website out of date.
Ordered Crab Nachos. Pretty tasty but salty and only one lump of crab in the dip.
My husband liked his fried seafood plate.

Disappointed in this chain, which I always previously enjoyed. There were many problems with the physical plant of this restaurant, which sits on the water. The outside of the building is rusting and needs an update. We sat on the patio, and the signage had insect pods hanging under it. The deck had a large hole near my chair leg, big enough for the leg to fall through.
I ordered a Joe’s traditional steam pot with two types of crab, shrimp and a sausage. It was half the size of the picture, and was served with inedible potatoes. Service was evasive, and I, a crab lover, left very disappointed. Two stars because I enjoyed the Coronarita.

Good Ol Joe’s Crabshack. Not breaking any boundaries with the menu, but it’s pretty decent stuff. Fried, for the bulk of it. We went in for Happy Hour this week, and the HH prices are pretty cheap! And Tuesday all day is like $ 2 for anything you want. Pretty much.
We sat at the bartop, service was not incredibly fast, nor were we waiting around forever. It was average. One girl seemed to be in charge of us, the other did not even look our way.
Definitely fun people watching… there’s some older peeps in there during HH, for the EarlyBird Specials LOL

My dad was in town and wanted to go. Great location on the harbor. We went on a Friday night about 6 and were seated right away. It never got crowded or busy while we were there. It’s a fun experience, but none of us thought it was great food. We all got the lobster and crab buckets. The crab was good… lobster was not. They do have good specials it seems through the week although we have never tried them.

I really like JOES CRAB SHACK.
The service is kind of hit or miss.
I go here a lot and love it because of the great view and the calamari. The menu is kinda of pricey but it’s worth because the food is great. The drinks are kind expensive, but good. I personally like the «country sweet tea. «
Kids eat free on Mondays! I have four kids that love going here as well as my fiancé. They also have a lot of choices for your child if he/​she doesn’t like sea food.
They tend to get busy at night so if you have a wait you can walk around the harbor and check out the beautiful ocean and also the boats docked there.
It’s a great time and lovely atmosphere.

Came here for my 1^st time on a double date last night and it was a disappointment. I ordered the fish n chips and it was disgusting! Way too much breaded skin and way to greasy. The fries were even disgusting (I love French fries, not picky when it comes to fries) but from here it was so tasteless and very greasy. The drinks were also a huge disappointment. One reason I wanted to come here was for the drinks because they looked so pretty, but they are were not enjoyable. I ordered the shark bite (something like that) All I tasted was sugar. My friend ordered a drink, TKO I believe, that tasted like pineapple juice. Ridiculous. Never coming back here. Bubba Gumps is so much better. Never disappoints my boyfriend and I. Wish there was one closer. Oh well.

Great service from our server, Spencer. Great food recommendations & their hurricanes are yummy. I’m not a crab eater, so I lean towards the shrimp plates, which never disappoint

Love visiting JOE’S CRAB SHACK in Oceanside whenever I am in town. Yes, their menu might be a little expensive, but I didn’t mind paying a little extra for great food with a great view.
I am not a fan of lobster or crawfish, so I usually opt for the SAMUEL ADAM STEAMPOT whenever I visit a Joe’s Crab Shack location. For $ 25.99, you will get Sweet Snow crab, 1 pound of clams, meaty lobster claws and smoked sausage all boiled
in Samuel Adams Lager.
Depending on the time, day, and weather, this Oceanside location can get really busy. No worries, just leave your number with the hostess and they will text you when your table is ready. Enjoy walking around the pier and relaxing before your meal.

I have been here multiple times and always have great food. The stuffed shrimp are good and the Redfish with lobster sauce is absolutely amazing — it’s a mild fish with a delicious sauce with mushrooms, spinach and rice.
The service is a hit or a miss and the drinks are over-​priced, but the food is always good! Great place for the family or a night out for drinks and appetizers.

Great waterfront dining area with a view of the ocean, pier, boats, etc.
Joe’s is a bit of a guilty pleasure spot for seafood entrees, and drinks. Casual place for a date or party.
The drinks here are creative and taste good… as long as you stir it… had a drink one time where I drank all the syrup & orher mixes, than the alcohol was all that was left. So mix your drinks with a straw when they arrive.
The seafood buckets are great for those who want a lot. It can get a bit messy… that is what the bib is for.
NOTE: All day on Thursdays margaritas/​mixed drinks are half off!
(+) great view
(+) guilty pleasure food
(+) good lighting

We always visit Joe’s Crab Shack when in Oceanside, CA (not to mention their other locations like Las Vegas).
If you buy a hat or shirt before you eat or wear your hat or shirt to eat there, they give you 10% off your bill! Basically, if there are 3 or 4 of you, you’re looking at a free hat or a t-​shirt for $ 10 or under once you factor in the discount. And the shirts and hats are hilarious with phrases like, «Got Crabs?»
They also offer a free appetizer if you sign up for their e-​mail notification.
We visited yesterday to celebrate my son’s 4^th birthday and they did not disappoint! Did things go off without a hitch? Well, no… but that’s okay.
They sing a fun birthday song and let my son hoola hoop and announced his birthday to the restaurant.
But let’s get back to food —
We started off with the following appetizers for our group of 7:
Great Balls of Fire — DELISH
Scratch made seafood and crab balls full of jalapeños and cream cheese coated in panko breadcrumbs.
New England Clam Chowder — We opted for a bowl and were surprised at how small it was. The flavour was amazing and there were large pieces of clam.
Clam Strips — Cooked to perfection!
Hand breaded crispy clam strips served with creamy tartar sauce for dipping. These really might have been the best clam strips I have ever had!
For mains we tried a whole whack load in our group but here are the highlights:
Kid’s Meals — Cheese Pizza was nice and appeared to be house made as opposed to a frozen piece of cardboard
Kid’s Burgers — My son complained that he didn’t like them and it wasn’t until much later that I noticed they weren’t cooked all the way through and were red in the middle :-(They did comp this off the bill and offered to replace them but we were NOT hungry
Arctic Bay Steam Pot — Queen crab, shrimp, a whole Maine lobster and smoked sausage all boiled in a garlic bath and topped with Old Bay® Seasoning. This was soooooo good! My lobster was missing a claw but they quickly brought me a fresh one when asked.
The Ragin’ Cajun Steam Pot — This crazy Cajun flavor packs a punch! Pacific Dungeness crab, Queen crab, shrimp and smoked sausage. A definite happy camper ordered this one at our table. I think next time, i would probably pick this one as well.
Reel Big Catch — Get it all with jumbo coconut shrimp, crispy fish fillets, beer battered chicken tenders and fried shrimp stuffed with crab, cream cheese and jalapeños. Served with fries, coleslaw, hushpuppies and onion strings. This was good but waaaaay too much fried food for me. I was quite happy to steal a few nibbles from my husband. The Beer battered chicken tenders were overdone :-(and the jumbo coconut shrimp didn’t do anything of me either. But the Fried shrimp stuffed with crab, cream cheese, and jalapeños were AH-​mazing! And I couldn’t stop from stealing the fried onion strings, either.
We also tried a few of the specialty drinks including the Shark Bite (Bacardi Limon Rum, Seagram’s Vodka, Bacardi 151 Rum, blue curaçao, sweet & sour and a dangerous dose of grenadine) which comes with a take home shark toy and has a limit of 2 and yes, it was strong.
Next up, was the The Tranquilizer (Captain Morgan Spiced Rum blended with coconut, pineapple and orange juice. Topped with Myers’s Dark Rum, Bacardi 151 and whipped cream).
Both were decent and strong! I’d definitely recommend coming on a Thursday when all drinks are ½ off! They also have some pretty cool $ 2 Tuesday specials but alas we will be returning home to Canada, then :-(
The kids desserts are an additional fee to the kid’s meal but completely reasonably at about $ 2 each with build your own ice cream sandwich sundaes and paint your own rice crispy crab! They were a big hit!
We also tried the Key Lime Pie described as «A tart pie with a graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream.» Too bad it wasn’t tart :-(I love tart and was super duper excited for tart key lime.
Oh and I almost forgot, they give you the most awesome giant BIBS with funny phrases on them like «‘Lil Shrimp» and «Queen of Crabs» handwritten on the bibs — LOVED this!
The restaurant itself overlooks the harbour there and is gorgeous from any viewpoint! Come early, get text service to tell you when your table is ready, and walk around the pier and snag some souvenirs or cute trinkets at the various gift shops.
Thanks for a great night Joe’s Crab Shack! We will most definitely be back!

We tend to come to this place every now and then. Great seafood menu and great drinks. It tends to get super crowded weekend nights so expect a small wait. The atmosphere is very energetic, the waiters and waitresses do a little dance a couple times a night, so it adds up to the energy in the ambiance. The food is delicious, i have only had one time when my burger was cooked way too much when i ordered it medium well. But hey it was one time out of many times ive been there so, ill let it pass lol. The staff is always friendly. When im not in a mood for crab i usually just get the surf n turf burger for $ 10. Great price i think.
Sometimes the service can be slow, sometimes even when its not busy, hence the minus one star.