Crabshakk

Oh my Crabshakk, why did I wait 5 years between visits?! WHY?!
So I first visited Crabshakk in 2009 when I first moved to Glasgow and I believe that Crabshakk wasn’t long open. Before Finnieston was even cool! I returned again the following year (I think) for lunch with a visiting friend and always meant to go back again, but somehow time flew by and it ended up being ages between visits.
I decided to head here for an early birthday lunch and booked by email which was super easy. We arrived for our booking and were shown upstairs — now as others have mentioned, Crabshakk is a small space and they’d done brilliantly to fit in lots of tables, but it is kind of squashy. So you might get to know your table neighbours pretty well. Upstairs the seating is pretty good though, we were in the corner and had plenty of space on the table for all the food we ordered.
We ate:
Scallops in anchovy butter. We actually ended up eating two portions of these due to a mix up in the kitchen. Oh what a blow! This dish is amazing — perfectly cooked scallops, swimming in luscious salty butter. Oh yum. Definitely get some fries to accompany this dish to soak up the butter.
Crab cakes. I actually only tried a little bit of these as I thought they might be more cake than crab, but I was totally wrong — bursting with crab and not much filler, they were very impressive.
Mackerel with wakame salad and soy. This was one of the specials of the day and was probably my favourite dish. The mackerel skin was super crispy and delightful, the salad was just perfect. I felt like I’d hopped on a plane and had been transported to Japan. I very nearly ordered a second portion, I enjoyed it that much.
Spoots. Probably the only dish I didn’t love. The waitress explained what we could/couldn’t eat on the spoots which we really appreciated — I’d had them before, but served differently so I was a little confused. The main (?!) part of the spoot was lovely but overall, the other dishes we tried were better.
Grilled langoustines. A really generous portion, really juicy and succulent. I love that they don’t do too much to the seafood here, instead they let the food speak for itself.
Gravalax. Served with two home made oatcakes, this was some seriously rich salmon which was just lovely. I really liked the little salad that came with it too.
With a couple of drinks our bill came to just over £75 which I thought was good value for an indulgent lunch. High praise also needs to go to our exceptional waitress who was super helpful and friendly — we were never left wanting for anything and she diligently explained all the specials to us with helpful pointers and guidance.
We left with massive smiles on our faces — Crabshakk is still such a wonderful place to eat at, and I’m so glad we had lunch here. Alongside Table 11 (a few doors down) they are doing some seriously good stuff with seafood and deserve some very high praise. I can’t wait to go back.
(Note: so what’s the difference between Crabshakk and Table 11? Personally, I’d say if you’re looking for a long, chilled, grazing & drinking session then Table 11 is where to head. Crabshakk is probably more suited to a starter-​main-​dessert kind of meal if you’ve got plans afterwards. I’ve heard that Table 11 are expanding though, so this advice might change!)

Ok — there — I did it! Easily a 5 star from me, absolutely no doubt about it!
After searching on Unilocal for somewhere truly unique and of good quality to go to dinner with my cousin, I suggested this place and it turns out he was double thumbs up having been here a number of times before.
Very intimate, with a feeling of ‘grande rustic (I may have just coined this, it may possibly be the name of a loaf of bread from Waitrose… I don’t know…) it does kick ass sea food in a comfortable and lively setting.
Popping in this Weds for dinner — we looked over the menu and had already decided what we wanted before they brought over the specials board. There were probably 10 specials — all great fishy plates with exciting sides, but for me it was all about the scallops and anchovies (with a side of french fries of course)
Great wine list, the beer selection could do with being upped — only Moretti on tap and then Peroni and Bitter and Twisted in bottles (I happily went for the latter) — this went down well and finished off with a shared cheeseboard it ticked all boxes and was somewhere that was also great to have a chat and catch-​up.
I’d definitely recommend booking (which we did) as it was packed. I’ll be back next time I’m in Glasgow!

We went to Crabshakk last Friday before going on to Clyde Auditorium to see Limmy Live!
We each had two starters (it was only half 5) from the specials menu, including salt and pepper squid, crab claws, mussels and seafood chowder.
It was all lovely and well be back soon to sample some mains!

very good lunch today at Crabshakk. The place is very small, so probably a bit crammed in the weekends but today very pleasant to eat at the bar. Food was excellent: huge razor clams, tempura squid, crab claws’ salt and pepper squid. All very simple, fresh and well executed. Finshed off with panacotta and rubarb and a good coffee.

The food here is top notch. Having been a good few times now, I’ve yet to be disappointed in the fresh, well cooked and well presented seafood on offer.
We went for a celebratory meal tonight courtesy of the other half after I landed my dream job. Suffice to say, I was already elated so the prospect of going to one of my favourite restaurants was the icing on the cake.
Tonight we opted for a mixture of starters; peppered chilli squid (from the specials board), whitebait (a firm favourite of ours), and scallops in a anchovies butter.
For the main I opted for scampi, which I’ve had before and adore. Crisp, fresh and served with an abundance of fries. Sounds hard to go wrong, right? I thought so too, until I found what can only be described as a pubic hair amongst my fries.
When I alerted the waitress she seemed remorseful and offered to get more scampi cooked for me. Or even a dessert. I declined both on the basis of feeling a bit put off after the whole hair in food thing.
I was quite surprised to see at the end of my meal they still charged me the £13 for the main course which I had stopped eating. When I queried the waitress on why I had been charged for my meal which had included said public hair she replied «I don’t think it was that, so we’ll have to agree to disagree». LIKE WHAT? What kind of service is that? I was quite taken aback to be honest and embarrassed in front of the other half (who is a stern fan of not complaining). I wasn’t rude, so to get that reaction was upsetting and ruined what should have been a great meal.
That being said, poor service and questionable hair accompaniment aside, I can’t fault this place. Top notch food, décor and for the most part great staff.
I doubt I’ll be back after that off putting experience however.

A great place to have a drink and a light meal after touring the botanical gardens. Friendly staff, industrial chique ambiance but a bit pricey.

Dinner last night. Had the crab cakes to start and the tempura squid both were lovely I would say they were slightly understaffed however the girl who served our table was definitely on point.

Appearing at 6:45 on a Friday evening I was not expecting to get a seat without a reservation, however luckily for us a couple of seats at the back bar had become available — perfect timing!
We were shown to our seats by a friendly waitress who took our order and ascertained we were off to see Doctor Who at the Hydro. This was great service as she knew we needed serving quickly without us having to ask.
I’m not sure what I was expecting of the Club Fish Sandwich but it was actually alright to say I’m not a big fan of fish. Smoked white fish on the bottom of the sandwich with both cooked and smoked salmon on the top half, separated and enclosed in what I can beat describe as fried bread. If you’re trying to diet you better avoid this! The fries that came with it were lovely, but the salad was pretty boring.
I had ordered a bottle of Bitter and Twisted but it just really tasted rubbish, I’ll stick to it on draught and avoid bottles in the future — especially at £3.95 for just 330ml (size not indicated on the menu) which made even Birra Moretti look like decent value!
What brings this up from 3 stars is the service. If you really love seafood there’s no doubt you have to visit, but I don’t so I think it’ll be a while till I’m back!

I ate here twice on a recent visit to Glasgow because it was so awesome.
My wife and I had dinner on our first night. We had scallops, mussels, and a house cured salmon gravlax. It was all excellent and very fresh.
I visited on my own while my wife was at the conference she was in town for (guilty little pleasure). I had the razor clams and grilled langoustines. I totally ordered too much food! The razor clams were huge — larger than anything I’ve had before and were so sweet and soft. The langoustine were also delish!
I wish I could have taken this restaurant home with me. Every town needs a fish eatery like this.
My wife and I will defo eat here when we’re back in town.

Tiny and crowded, but oh my: surpisingly superb food! Really enjoyed the delicious scalops, great squid, lovely hake and haddock dish.

Amazing lemon sole on the bone. Good service, although very busy.

Fabby wee place! Enjoyed great food and service. We split amazing scallops and a yummy chowder then had fish and chips each. Wouldve liked to try more but as our table was so wee we couldn’t fit more. Will definitely visit again next time I’m in glasgow x

I went to CrabShakk for dinner with my friend last week as we had not visited it for a while and it did not disappoint! I love the simplicity of the menu with a focus on fresh ingredients rather than trying to do too much. I had the squid and gurnard special starter followed by the monk fish scampi with homemade tomato sauce and thin crispy chips — can’t wait to go back and I will try and leave room for a pudding the next time!

I was treated to a meal here as an early birthday treat and it was a perfect meal. The restaurant itself is very small but we didn’t feel too cramped or close to other diners. If possible it is better to get a seat on the mezzanine level as it gives a bit more space. The staff gave excellent service even though the restaurant was full.
To start we shared a small portion of the moules mariniere and queenies in lobster butter — one of the daily specials. The mussels were some of the biggest I’ve had and were cooked perfectly. The queenies were divine — the lobster butter was amazing, especially mopped up with bread. To follow I had another of the daily specials — wild salmon with red pepper salsa. My boyfriend had the whole crab and we shared a portion of chips. My salmon was delicious but I can’t help thinking that £19.50 was a bit excessively priced. To finish we shared the cheese board — the perfect end.

We hadn’t booked a table, but were more than happy to grab a seat at the bar. The service was really friendly and helpful… we ummed and ahhhed over the menu, it’s simple but perfectly formed. That’s before the specials board appeared and we were incredibly tempted by everything!
We settled for the salt and pepper squid and cockles for starters followed by langoustines and scallops in anchovy and sage butter which were absolute heaven, the scallops turn up sizzling away and are genuinely the best I’ve had. Looking forward to a return visit already!

The restaurant its self is tiny and you have to be very comfortable eating close to other people. We were lucky enough to eat on the mezzanine level where it was a tiny bit more spacious, downstairs however you need to have no concerns with personal space to eat there. The vibe in the restaurant is very fish shop chic — you pass the large white Bar/​Kitchen area as you come in the door. There are lots of white tiles, reclaimed wood & little stools everywhere. The heat in the restaurant was outrageous so beware when choosing your outfit it’s HOT. My biggest niggle tho with the décor was the seriously uncomfortable little metal stools. With the heat and painful chairs I was ready to head for the hills before the mains even arrived.
Thankfully in spite of how uncomfortable I felt the food was incredible. A word of warning there are literally 2 non-​fish dishes on the menu which for me was perfect but not so much if you are not in a fishy mood. To start with we decided to share a small plate of natural Scallops and a small plate of grilled Langoustines. Each serving was of 4, the scallops were beautiful plumb little gems. With the Langoustines I was prepared to do battle with the little suckers — snapping off heads and the like but they were cleverly presented cut in half so you just had to pop the white meat out.
I went with a main from the specials board of Monkfish Cheek Scampi served with Shakk Tomato Sauce and Fries. I asked for a portion of the made in-​house Garlic Mayo on the side. The portion was massive — 5 large pieces of light, flaky, tasty scampi and a pile of skinny fries which were pretty great. The mayo for me tho made the dish, it was bloody marvelous!
The dessert section of the menu is not particularly appealing to my tastes, there was panna cotta, ice cream, ice cream with fresh fruits.etc. In the end I went for the made in-​house chocolate cake which the waitress quite rightly described as a brownie like texture. This was served with a beautiful light and creamy banana ice cream. The cake was heavy and dense and the first few spoonfuls were like heaven, then it got really heavy and started to taste quite floury. It’s a great dessert but I would maybe recommend splitting the dish with someone else.

Seriously love Crabshakk. It’s small and usually very busy but never less than perfect food and amazing service. You can book (well in advance is definitely required) or just walk in for a seat at the bar. Have the squid. Make sure you get a whole bowl to yourself! Crab cakes are also amazing. But then, everything here is amazing.
Simple menu of old favourites supplemented with great specials. A really special place.

A group of 6 of us went for lunch here last week, I hadn’t been in months and was really looking forward to it. We tried to book a table for 12.30 but were asked if we could come at noon instead as they needed the table back for another booking. We arrived and the restaurant was almost empty with just one table of two already there and were shown to a fab table on the mezzanine.
Unfortunately the service from that point on, although perfectly friendly, was painfully slow… we waited for drinks… we waited to order… we waited on food. I think it was nearly 1pm before we got our starters. The food was excellent, as ever, I had the grilled langoustines to start and then the monkfish scampi. The monkfish was really good but I wasn’t keen on the ketchup it was served with so asked for some garlic mayo, this arrived when I was more than half way through my main course. One member of our group had to wait that long for her main course to arrive!
At £186 for lunch for 6, with no wine and only a few pints of beer on the tab, I expect a better experience than members of our group having to rush back to work nearly two hours after we arrive, not being able to stay for coffee or dessert.
Still 3 stars because the food was faultless.

The food is simply fantastic here! It was our first visit & I was bowled over.
We were seated upstairs in the mezzanine next to the original cornicing overlooking the bar area.
We had a mishmash of specials & original menu items. The standouts for me where the special of hake with squid ink paella & red pepper salsa & the crab cakes. I could’ve eaten a massive portion of each.
It is pricey, we were £80 for 2 courses & 2 drinks each but worth every penny!

Yowza.
Finally hit this place and I am keen to go back soon.
Wasn’t very ambitious with my choice of main meal, but that didn’t stop me sampling grub from my friends where I was pleased to have walked out trying two different types of fish! Big deal for me. Made sure to let the staff know.
Tight inside, which I imagine could be nightmarish if it was packed. We went on a cold Sunday afternoon and it was nice sitting up at the bar where you can chat with the staff and see what’s happening in the kitchen as it’s happening. Really lively and friendly.
Loads of specials daily, where the range of different dishes should keep fish fanatics happy.
Should note, we hadn’t had crab before (when in Rome.) and the staff were super cool giving us the run down of whats-​what. Hassle free.
Oh, and they do the best garlic bread I have ever tasted.
Just saying.
New opening hours, including later on Sunday now.
GO!