Joe’s Crab Shack

I enjoyed our over 2 hour drive to Joes for a lunch with the Wife and Daughter. My daughters ordered the Crab feast, she enjoyed. Crab is basically Crab, nothing special. I had the sheared red fish, drowned in a lobster sauce. I did not notice any flavor from the fish because of this sauce, plus the fish was overcooked. My wife enjoyed her fish and chips. I really loved them fireballs for the appetizer. I sure wish they had a little more jalapeños inside them. The server was fast and very attentive, earning his 25% tip.

We love eating here! The last time we went the wait staff was doing the Macerna it was a blast to see everyone being so silly. The food is fantastic and I love eating by the water. I had the coconut shrimp it was delicious. Its definitetly a fun place The key lime pie was the best I’ve ever had. The staff is very attentive and if you’ve never been GET THERE QUICK!

Just walked out without eating anything, without even having our order taken. Let me explain why.
When we showed up we were told it would be a 15 – 20 minute wait for outside seating. No problem! We headed into the bar to grab a drink while we waited. It is a holiday after all. But looking outside I can see at least six empty tables. Weird. But we decide to wait anyways because it’s a beautiful day outside.
45 minutes later they FINALLY put us at a table outside. So we closed out our bar tab and headed outside. Ten minutes go by and they seat another party of three at a table beside us. Two minutes later they’re taking their order. The same thing happened with another group that was say down a few minutes later. When they started bringing appetizers out to the other table that was seated long after us is when we decided to get up and walk out. No one ever came to take our order.
Sad.
Now I’m at Skippers, where I don’t have to wait 75 minutes to watch other people eat.

We love eating here, especially outside when the weather is good. We split a plate, because the portions are large, and have a drink or two because they are so yummy. The staff is fun and entertaining, and the service is great.

This is a fun place to get together with family and friends. Great atmosphere to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty! Definitely risky place to bring your first date, unless you’re not afraid to get little messy!
Food can be hit or miss, depends on what you order. Quality of their seafood isn’t the best but they make it up with an outstanding service. My family traveled from southwest Portland, so it’s a bit out of the way. It’s probably not a place we’d return often but experience was pleasant enough that I’d consider coming back.
Btw, don’t miss their $ 5 Patron-​rita (Fri, Sat, Sun). It’s perfect with Rajin’ Cajun steam pot. :)

If you are going to Joe’s because it’s your 40^th birthday and you need distraction, this is the place to go. If you are going to Joe’s because you want a good meal with good service, go anywhere else.
The fish was Pollock. I’m not sure why anyone would serve Pollock. It was wet, flavorless, and a little disturbing in my mouth. 4 of our group of 10 ordered it, tasted it, and pushed it aside.
The waiter, Devon, should chose any other profession. I am a long-​time waitress; I know busy service and the oops that happen when very busy. Devon wasn’t a busy oops guy. He was merely a lousy waiter.
He brought salads before the meal, then forgot he brought them, so he brought more with the meal. He put them right next to the already empty salad bowls. It took frantic waving to get him to come see that we hadn’t been brought lemon or tea. His oops of the day, however, was that he finally remembered that I’d asked him to replace the signature sauce with plain cocktail. When he Finally did remember, he made the excuse that there wasn’t room on my plate for signature sauce AND cocktail. Umm duh, Devon. Just duh. The cocktail sauce came long after I’d declined to eat any more of the fish, so there was wasted effort.
Manager Todd was smarmy and came across as desperate instead of managerial. He did give free dessert coupons. But they werent good till the next time in. Ha! Clever. What a bummer of a place to celebrate my sisters’ birthday. Never again.

Not only is the food great but if the weather is good you can eat outside over looking the Columbia River and I-​5 bridges. Staff very on top of things, friendly. All you have to do is eat there once and you’ll be back. And for dessert try the Key Lime pie. you’ll love it. This place can get very crowded so bring your patience with you.

Came here for dinner with my roommate once we were seated it took 15 minutes for our server to even stop by and there was hardly any other tables in the restaurant. Ordered an appetizer and that was about the only thing that was good. Order salads and never got them! By the time we got our food it was way over cooked and rubbery not to mention cold! I’m sorry but steam pots should never be cold! Also I order mine with shrimp and crab and had a total of 3 shrimp and 2 crab claws in my pot! I’ve worked as a server and manager in restaurants for 5 years and this was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had! Payed over $ 100 for a meal that was absolutely not worth it along with the bad service! I will never come back to this location!
Went back and the experience started out rough again but the staff and management team definitely turned it around for me!

We usually don’t come here very often and usually forget why we don’t come. And every time we come we remember why we don’t come hear. The crab boils suck cuz their boiled and season just thrown on top. So when you crack into the shrimp or crab you lose the seasoning because it’s on the shell. So knowing this I got one of the plates. The crab cake and coconut shrimp taste like it was taking out of a TV dinner you picked up at locally grocery store. The mussels were super salty. They use can crab for everything and taste like batter more than the shrimp. I write this review so I can look back and remind myself why I should not come here. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!

I had the best chowder Id had in a long time and the Crab was delish!
The wait staff is very attentive and friendly. We even bought TShirts

It seems almost silly to review a Joe’s with a straight face-​but here goes:
It is a Joe’s Crab Shack.
That is all you need to know, honestly.
It is a decent place for getting some decent fish/​crabs/​boils. The pricing tends to run on the higher side than I would think appropriate for a chain, but I believe that largely, it is a good quality of experience. The service is always about what you would expect for the Portland/​Van area. Food is prepared in a timely and tasty manner. Honestly, having been to several of these establishments-​I can say they are consistent.
Parking, on a Saturday night, can be a nightmare given that there are a couple other high volume eateries close by and wait times can be a bear, but know that went you go-​you are getting a decent meal that you will remember with varying degrees of fondness.

I love eating by the water, and Joe’s Crab Shack is right on the river. I would be happy eating by a puddle honestly. The restaurant is pretty rustic, and it smells like fish, a fish shack kind of smell. The space is large and open, there is no romantic dining here, and it totally works in their favor. They have a gift shop up front, and the full bar lounge is across the way from the dining area. I am a avid Oregon Coast diner, and am accustom to seeing my food cooked straight from the sea. I gave a honest attempt at not being too snobby. Really, I did (I tried).
My companions and I wanted to try a bit of everything, but it is really all about the seafood, is it not? We ordered the Ragin’ Cajun Steampot, a Bucket of Crab, and tried their Appetizer Sampler (all fried it seems). Steve was our server, and he was charged up with a very positive personality. He had a hearty sense of humor.
The crab was good in all honesty. It had a mostly clean flavor. I did not find one thing wrong with it. We were served plenty of butter to accompany it. The Ragin’ Cajun spice had a kick to it for sure. The sausage in the steampot was fatty and juicy with a good snap. This BBQ seasoning that I had heard so much about from my companions tastes exactly like Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and I think that it just may be.
The appetizer sampler fell short with me. It came with their crab dip, «great balls of fire», and calamari. The dip was dreadful. It was almost completely liquid. It had a warm sweet mayonnaise taste, with minimal mushed crab for texture. The calamari was pretty good, but the coating was thick with flour like that of a chicken strip. The Great Balls of Fire, «crab balls full of jalapeños and cream cheese coated in panko breadcrumbs», actually tasted like the crab dip with jalapenos and then deep fried. The jalapenos and cream cheese were all that I could taste. A little lemon would have gone a long was with this sampler, but it was served with ranch and Sriracha mayonnaise.
I would not avoid stopping by Joe’s again, but I think that sticking to the straight forward seafood pots would be best if I do. The prices are very high, even for crab, and I am not sure why. They are selling crab at lobster prices. They tie bibs on you at the table. I did not like this at all, and made it known by throwing a mini tantrum, which I made up for in generous gratuity. Maybe goggles would be a good idea, as one of my dining companions squirted Cajun seasoning into his eye. That certainly was not Joe’s Crab Shack’s fault, my companion had it coming.

Mom had always wanted to try this place so for her birthday we decided to give it a go. I’ve never had crab before (if I did, it was when I was too young to remember the taste) so I was really excited to experience what I hoped would be great tasting food, and boy I was not disappointed whatsoever!
We arrived right when they opened so it was nice and mellow for the entirety of our meal. I opted for the Ragin’ Cajun because I like my food to have a little extra kick. Firstly, the crab was unbelievable! So moist and succulent. It was bliss in every bite. And the big smoked sausage that came with it… oh my gosh it was crazy good! The seasoning exceeded my expectations and covered the shrimp, potatoes, sausage, and corn on the cob generously. The photo doesn’t do the meal justice, and the shrimp is hidden under the crab as well as most of the potatoes but again, they seasoned it lovingly and didn’t skimp which I appreciated.
Our waiter was friendly and very helpful in kindly explaining how to get to the crab meat using the utensils provided. Overall the atmosphere was warm and inviting and the food was incredibly delicious. I would eat here again for sure.

I love seafood, so I do like the menu they have here. I like the variety of seafood and the different appetizers they have. It has a fun environment. Gets pretty busy on weekends evenings, so parking sucks, and so far, had to sit in the bar because there is always a long wait.

Joe’s Crab Shack, Vancouver, WA. — It’s okay at best. Old divey looking bar, as Joe’s normally are, but this doesn’t look super maintained. Food was okay, my shrimp were over-​cooked, so then they just became subpar, mediocre tasting, expensive food.
We really should have gone somewhere else, but my husband has never tried Joe’s and wanted to experience it at least once, and it was close to the hotel we were waiting to check into. It’s just very run of the mill. Your basic plain vanilla chain restaurant. Service was okay. Nothing great. Don’t expect more.

A restaurant with a seafood experience that comes in a steam pot. I have came here multiple times and have had different experiences. It is a fun atmosphere which can get loud at times. There is dancing and singing, especially for birthdays. You also get a gorgeous view of the Columbia river and the interstate bridge.
First, the Happy hour, which is amazing. During the summer time, I was told I had to sit outside for the happy hour which was alright. Food and drinks are cheaper and it is less busy. I like to get the big pot of clams and for the price you do get a lot. The pina coladas come in an actual pineapple which is pretty cool.
I love seafood and for dinner I usually order the steam pots. This place can get pretty expensive even for one steam pot and some drinks. The steam pots are quite similar across the board. You can get: lobster which is really sweet and juicy; Succulent shrimp and big meaty sausages; Clams and mussels; Potatoes and corn on the cob; And crab legs from a variety of crabs. Food is previously frozen, but people still come and food is decent.
I have had good service and bad service. Usually the place is really packed and the servers try their best. They are friendly and apologize but it still takes forever to get seated, order, and get your meal. Parking can also become a pain at times. If you come on a weekend, I recommend you to make a reservation because you will wait a while for seats. For 21+ you are able to go to the bar area and seat yourself if you can find anything open.
Since I’ve been here a couple times I will talk about a time which also summarizes my overall experiences including a mix of good and bad points.
I was in a group of six and we got there on a weekend dinner service. We were told the wait will be about 30min. After a while we decided to try the bar seating area and found an empty table. Not everyone was going to drink but that is okay. The rule is everyone has to be over 21 to even sit there. We had one person who was under 21 so we could not sit in there. We were already seated and ready to order and that’s when they asked for everyone’s ID. So they kicked us out of the bar seating area, but the cool thing was they opened up or found a nice table for us to sit by the window overlooking the river. I think it was quicker that we actually tried to sit at the bar and them finding us a seat for kicking us out than waiting on the list. It wasn’t intentional but it worked out for the best for getting seated.
After being seated it took a while to get orders in and maybe another 30−45min to get our food. During this wait time there was a magician/​entertainer walking around and stopped by our table. He did some pretty cool tricks and kept us entertained for the 5 minutes he was at our table. Not sure if he was part of Joe’s or not. The server gave us all bibs and wrote cool nicknames on them for us. When the food finally came, we didn’t care about anything else and just started grubbing. I feel like the food wasn’t as hot as it should have been. I understand that its super busy but the slow results and warm food did not impress. I mean it was still good because it’s seafood and still ate it.
Pretty much, this is what happens to most of the people who come as you can see from other reviews and just by observing the place when you are there. It just depends when you go, who you are with, and what you get. There will be a mix bag of reviews but for a seafood experience in Vancouver, just prepare yourself and ‘sea’ what its all about!

Old school corporate restaurant not all that it’s cracked up to be but my friend was craving this food/​atmosphere so here we were.
I checked to see if any of the crab was fresh and they admitted frozen to all. They do have «local» crab but that is also frozen.
There is quite a volume of food running out of that kitchen and the place was packed while we were there. Folks celebrating what-​have-​you and what-​have-​you-​not.
We sat outside along the river and watched a barge pushing a ton of plywood by. The seating is also right near the bridge which adds to the ambience some.
The servers work hard here. A manager came by to check on us a few times during the whole feeding frenzy, such as it was. My friend ordered the lobster/​crab/​corn mix and had a ball with that. She gave us a couple of bites and it tasted pretty good. She had a bucket that was in a hole on the table and wore a bib of course coz that’s how it’s done here.

This Joe’s Crab Shack was so beautiful on the water. The staff was of course friendly, but we had to ask several times if it was ok to sit outside, they kind of looked at us like why would you want to. mind you it wasn’t a cold day.
When we were finally seated, it seemed many parties followed!
I got a bucket of crab with the old bay seasoning, I usually get the garlic and herbs but this was awesome!
They also had a Jeremiah Honey Lemonade type of drink that went well.
Yum! My mouth is now watering dreaming of crab!

It’s Joe’s Crab Shack, I don’t come here expecting the best seafood in the town I come here specifically because of the GREAT BALLS OF FIRE (did you sing it too?)!!
They are one of my favorite things to eat in the WORLD! It’s shrimp, crab, jalapeños, cream cheese (maybe a couple other things) deep fried to perfection!
On this particular day I had a deep craving for them so my boyfriend said let’s go! I love their consistent customer service, but I feel like 5 years ago their balls of fire tasted better.
In my opinion everything is over priced and over rated. But, we paid because I wanted them and the view isn’t bad.
When you decided to go here you have to remember that even though it’s a restaurant it’s still a chain and you won’t get a unique experience, it’ll be just like the other Joe’s!
Happy Unilocaling…

Olivia Z. and me both got crabs from Joe … cause Joe’s got crabs and isn’t shy about sharin’ … as long as you’re willing to pay the price.
Joe’s Classic Steampot ($ 27) features Antartic King Crab Legs, Snow Crab Legs, Shrimp, and Smoked Sausage. Much like that coed in Cabo, it’s a steamy and hot mess loaded with crabs.
Olivia Z. and me doubled down on our crab fever by getting Joe’s Classic Steampot for 2 ($ 46) with twice the crabs. Sharing means caring … even if it’s crabs, I guess.
We arrived on a slow night and lucked into $ 1 Oysters, too. So, it was impossible to resist getting a dozen of the 1 buck shucks to share, too. I have no idea what kind of Oysters were served, but they were huge … Not the freshest, but probably the biggest and easily worth a dollar.
Since it was slow, service was fine until they started cleaning up for the night (2 hours before closing time). We had to skip a 2^nd round of drinks, walk in search of service once, and then hunt for someone to bring us the check.
Joe’s Crab Shack on the Columbia River … with a view of the iconic I-​5 bridge connecting Portland with Vancouver … is an a-​ok choice when you really, really want crabs and can’t afford that exotic vacation like when you were younger.