King’s Crab Shack & Oyster Bar

Love this cozy little nook. My fiancé and I will drive the hour it takes to get there. It’s one of our favorite date spots. The food is good and the staff is very friendly, always a pleasant experience.

Yummy seafood. We ordered the bucket of seafood. Works to share great variety in the bucket. Mussels, clams, crab legs, scallops.

I’ve eaten at this restaurant about 4 times. I’ve only lived in Winston for a short time and every time the food is excellent…

Fun, casual, and delicious! The food was great, service was great (fast and attentive), and the music was great! We ate outside and the atmosphere was nice, inside is kind of a bar scene which looked like a lot of fun too. Overall would definitely recommend for a quick, tasty meal!

Great service, relaxed cozy atmosphere, delicious food! Me and my friend tried the Clam Chowder, Fried Calamari, chicken and fish tacos, and the Shrimp Po Boy with fries. I recommend every one of those items! I want to try the Pasta next time, it looked delicious as I saw the plate pass by! The tuesday Taco special was awesome and all the prices seemed reasonable too! Go try it out!

It’s a tiny restaurant with a bar and it was a lot of fun. I had the king crab legs and they were fantastic. My friend had the lobster roll and she loved it. For an appetizer we had crab with melted cheese and it was outstanding. The bar was well equipped with all kinds of good booze and several bartenders to keep the flow going. Would definitely go back when in town.

Had a horrible experienced called gave them a heads up 30 minutes ahead. The service was horrible and staff didn’t attend us. We asked 3 times what the wait was and kept pushing us behind. Once, we finally sat down. They took forever and a day to get our food out and the waitress had body odor, which killed my appetite for sea food. Forgot to mention we arrived at 6:45 pm and didn’t leave til 10:00 pm if that tell you anything. I Do Not recommend visiting this place

Seating is rather limited and the benches to sit on are a little uncomfortable but that’s really the only downside to this place!
The crab dip is delicious and is served with these awesome fried pita chips prepared hot and slightly crisp. Seriously my favorite pita preparation ever.
My mother and I shared the bucket for two including crab legs, oysters, mussels, clams, shrimp, and a few scallops. There was a nice mixture of everything in our bucket and the portions were huge and great for steamed seafood!
We will definitely be returning!

Taco Tuesday… fish (fried or grilled), shrimp, beef, pork tacos $ 2 each. You can’t beat the price! Had the grilled fish and the shrimp, both were seasoned perfectly with some Cole slaw for crunch. Fish was tender and flaky as was the shrimp. The tortillas were a perfect pocket for these combinations. The cold peel and eat shrimp is seasoned ed with old Bay and
with a mild cocktail sauce for dipping. The raw clams with a cold beer are always a hit, just add some lemon, horseradish, cocktail sauce and a drop of Texas Pete to keep them interesting!

My husband, son, & I decided to give this place a try since I had been craving seafood. After looking at other reviews I didn’t have the highest hopes. However, unlike other reviews our service was GREAT & so was the food ! We shared an oyster appetizer. I had a shrimp po’boy & salad and my husband had the calamari. Our server was super sweet & on the ball. She timed our food almost perfectly; (Having been in the industry myself, food not timed well is a huge pet-​peeve). We will definitely be back !!!

Very good! I started with the fried calamari as an appetizer. Asked for «rings only, no legs» and it was no problem at all. The marinara that comes with it has good flavor. Then, I ordered the shrimp po boy, one fried and one grilled. The fried was definitely better, not salty or greasy at all. The grilled had a ton of seasoning on it making it way too salty. Since the other items were good I won’t hold it against them, I’ll just ask for no seasoning next time. The shrimp are really fresh. The french fries as a side are my favorite. They’re frozen fries but they are those really good crispy ones. If you don’t want fries they have a bunch of other sides including «steamed potatoes» which I enjoyed as well. They’re soft, steamed potatoes with butter and seasoning. I also ordered the crab cake sandwich which was so, so good. Tartar sauce and coleslaw that comes along side is on point.
Service is very fast. Ceiling fans are always on making it kinda chilly. I know it’s funny to mention this but I can’t enjoy the meal if I’m freezing. Haven’t had anything bad here, can’t wait to go back.

I’ll keep this short, sweet and to the point.
The food is delicious. The atmosphere is spot on. The drinks are cold and refreshing. Ask for Bobby. He’s the best waiter they have, seriously. They don’t take reservations but you can call about 15 minutes ahead of time to get put on the list of there’s a wait.
Don’t forget to ask about the specials!

Food was great! Service… not so much. Hostess seemed confused. Waiter was inattentive.
Food did overcome the lack of service.

Went here for their Monday night special of half off crab legs & half off wine. This turned out to be a great deal! They gave you two huge crab legs, coleslaw & fries & you could choose from several selections of wine.
It’s located on the outskirts of the downtown 4^th street so plan accordingly with parking because there are no spots out in front. There is limited outside seating if felt so inclined, there are plenty of seats at the bar but you will possibly have to wait for a table.
When my party & I first entered the staff was a little brief with us, but I understand they were overwhelmingly busy. They were eventually extremely accommodating. So my tip would be plan your dinner time accordingly. Walking to this restaurant on a Monday night no other restaurant along the way was as busy as they were. But then again who would want to miss half off crab legs & wine?!? So call ahead & ask how long the wait will be.
We ended up getting some drinks at the bar & the original quoted wait time was more than what we actually waited for… I think they told us 30 minutes but we really only waited maybe 20.
Our waiter was very nice & attentive and for being as busy as they were I was very pleased! I didn’t feel rushed at all but when we were leaving there was a huge line at the door waiting for a table.

Visited Kings around 7:45 on a Wednesday night. They were hopping and we had a short wait. I went in wanting shrimp and I saw a BBQ shrimp sandwich that looked mighty good. When I ordered it the waitress asked how I wanted it cooked.. .. .. .. .. .. huh?
I mean, it’s shrimp. I’ve never been asked how I wanted my shrimp cooked before. When asked how they normally cook them, our server said «medium.» Totally befuddled, I said that was fine. I’m still confused by that interaction.
The sandwich came and it was fine. Shrimp, tossed in BBQ sauce, on a bun. Certainly nothing fancy. The fries were good.
I’d probably return to King’s but wouldn’t get that sandwich again.

Ok ok ok. I know. I haven’t had a bad meal since we moved here. But I’m not lying. This place was great. We were able to walk there and enjoy a drink and a great meal. Had the crab cakes that were really good. Then scarfed down a blackened salmon sandwich. Tried a new dark beer too. Service was great. Our waiter Anthony was nice and helpful. Recommended that delicious beer.

Our meal here yesterday was a most pleasant experience. We came early for lunch, which we do on a regular basis — you would be surprised how often this works to improve your meal — generally less hassle, less noise, and better service. Today, we practically had the place to ourselves, rather peaceful.
This is a small place, packed with tables, most against the wall facing the long bar area. When even moderately crowded, this is going to be a noisy, somewhat chaotic place. The chairs and benches are not exactly built for comfort.
We tried the Fried Oyster appetizer ($ 11.99), a cup of Oyster Stew ($ 2.75), Fish & Chips lunch special (flounder for $ 12.99)), and a Shrimp Po Boy ($ 10.99) The appetizer and stew were out quickly, and both were excellent. The oysters were large, fried perfectly with a nice crust, and loaded with flavor. The stew was rich and creamy, crunchy with veggies, and contained a good number of large, tasty oysters.
The entrees followed quickly, and were equally good. The fish was also perfectly fried, full of freshness and taste, and the fries, slaw, and hush puppies were very nice. There were a few fried shrimp in with the fish and they were great, as well, The po boy was loaded with the same nicely fried shrimp. The only off note was the side of hot chips — these were very greasy and completely limp.
The service was excellent, Anthony took great care of us. This is not the cheapest lunch in town, but the quality supports the price. We’ll definitely be back, maybe some oysters on the half shell, or maybe for Taco Tuesday.

Stopped in one night for a few late night cocktails. They had already stopped serving food at that point but I have heard it is quite good! We sparked up interesting conversation with the bartender and I really enjoyed my drink. Now that we live in town we are going to be coming by for dinner very soon! Also feels like a restaurant that you would find in the outer banks, which is a compliment.

So I read the reviews on this place from some of the other Unilocalers and I can say that I have only experienced good things here. I came this week with a friend for lunch and had some apps: calamari, crab dip, scallops, and an Oyster and Andouille Po Boy. Couple of Sweetwater IPA’s and I was good to go. Good service, hot food, and cold beer, was great.
Last night, the wife and I went for dinner and settled for the bucket of crab legs, oysters, shrimp, clams, mussels, and scallops. It was pretty good too. They have Stella on draft so that’s always a plus in my book. I’ve always sat at the bar so I don’t know about the service at the tables against the other wall but it appeared as if they were being well attended.
It’s not really pricey so I feel like its a pretty good deal too. I will keep going back.

Got there fairly early on a Saturday night and caught a seat at the end of the bar. By the time we left, folks were waiting to get a seat anywhere, and we could see why!
Draft beer choices were really good, but having had wine already, I stuck with that. Had a nice La Crema for $ 10. Can’t remember which brew Husband ended up with, but he sure liked it. Think it was a Porter.
We weren’t starving, so we opted to share a Blackened Shrimp Po-​Boy. They were kind enough to split it for us, which was a very appreciated surprise! And YUM! The menu says they even make their own bread for them. All I know is it was very tasty, and the fries were terrific as well.
Service…they were hustling, but keeping folks happy. Wish we had this place in Raleigh!