Captain Trey’s Crabs & Seafood

Owner is friendly. Prices reasonable! Food is spectacular. The crab cakes are all crab. Highly recommend! Would definitely go back. If you want a good local spot for Maryland crab, stop here.

Been getting crabs from here for years. I’m never disappointed. It’s $ 4 off a dozen Mon-​Thurs and we always just get mediums. Always full every one! Must get corn on cob too cooked in the spices also. Shrimp good too.

My friend had a crab feast at her house this past weekend and she ordered crabs from here. I can’t say anything for the staff since I didn’t meet them but these crabs were delicious! Flavorful and full of meat. What more can you ask for?
I like to dip mine in vinegar and this was no exception. They ordered 4 dozen medium crabs and let’s just say I ate my fair share of that. The crabs were fresh and not one of the 9 that I got were bad — I only say that because I feel like there’s always a couple bad ones with the good ones. But nope. Not this time. I was so full at the end of the feast. I literally stuffed myself with all crab meat.
I would definitely order from here again if I was ever in the area! You should too!

Awesome crab cakes. The perfect amount of old bay. The staff is super friendly as well.

By far the freshest crabs in the area. My palate for crabs changed when my husband surprised me by taking me crabbing on the Eastern Shore last year for my birthday. Since then, I’ve had a very hard time finding a place that serves fresh crabs.
When I say «fresh crabs» I’m not implying that they were steamed previously or not not steamed to order. It’s goes so much deeper because their is a distinct fresh & sweet taste the meat of the crab has that lets you know if it’s fresh or not.
I tried the $ 1 small males because I figured while I hate small crabs, if I waste $ 12 it wouldn’t be much to lose. Well it was soon very good that I would definitely return soon. I live in Towson but considering that Conrad’s and Dons Crabs are not fresh, I’ll make the trip out the Captain Treys simply for that reason alone. I plan to try gibbys soon as well so I will post a comparison review under their Unilocal page.
I took one star off because I didn’t receive the $ 4 off per dozen ordered but I’m not sure if that was because the crabs were already on special or not…

If you are looking for «bang for the buck», get crabs here. I’ve been 5 times in the last year and received super crabs each time. Never a watery one or a light one, and always at least the called size. Worth the money.

Let me start by saying we have been a long time Captain Trey fans. We have been going to Treys since before they moved from Timonium to Cockeysville. I would estimate we get crabs about 6 times a year.
That said, this is the second time in recent years we have gotten crabs and they were what I can only describe as VERY disappointing. Both times it was on a day when Trey was not working.
We ordered a dozen extra large crabs, around $ 90, for our 38^th anniversary on ⁴⁄₂₃. Picked them up a 5 o’clock and went straight home. We started eating them right away. We were on the second crab and noticed the color of some of the crabs was off, more brown than orange. Also the legs were cold and I am not talking room temperature. The claws and meat was cold to the touch. When I am paying almost $ 100 for crabs I want them hot. These seemed more like reheated. We were so upset we stopped eating and called. We asked to speak to Trey but were told he was not there but we could speak to the manager, think his name was Guy. We asked if the order was reheated. He swore that was not the case nor store policy and that he had cooked the order himself.
Sorry but I have been eating crabs for a long time and never know them to cool off that quickly. He may have cooked the crabs but they did not come out of the cooker at 5 o’clock.

Very friendly staff. I got the soft shell crab sub and it was delicious. For 1.50 you can make your sandwich a combo with a soda and a side. I got macaroni salad and that was also very good.

Ordered «medium» steamed crabs and they could not have been any smaller and called legal in Maryland.

Worst customer service ever! This place came up on a google search for «best crab cakes». We are from out of state and didn’t know this was a carry out only. When I arrived and saw that I asked them to recommend a restaurant where my family could go for seafood. The teenage girl working there was very rude and said she didn’t know of anyplace because «I drive a long way to get to work and I’m not familiar with the area». I then asked her if she could ask someone else there and she replied «no I don’t think anyone can help you». We then decided to get carryout and the crabcakes were very mediocre. We should have gone to G&M but we were pressed for time and needed to stay in the Cockeysville area. They advertise they are a «family business». I wonder if «the family» knows how rude their employees are!

As a native Marylander, I should be ashamed of how infrequently I have steamed crabs. But when I do, I know what I expect. Captain Trey’s came through.
I ordered for takeout (3 dozen crabs, a pound of shrimp, and a dozen ears of corn) the morning I wanted to pick up. Ordering was easy and they were happy to explain what their offerings were, given that I called them without access to a menu. I later realized I needed to change the time on my order, which they were able to accommodate happily. I was lucky in that, I’m sure: as I understand it they get crabs in as the day progresses and of course can only steam so many at a time, so I was grateful they were able to make the change.
And the results were DELICIOUS. Exactly what a crab feast should be. Absolutely drenched in Old Bay (can you drench something in a solid? No? Whatever), cooked to perfection, chock full of delicious meat. It’s possible I got too much shrimp, but they made for a killer lunch the next day.
Trey’s was recommended to me by some pretty educated crab consumers, and I was not disappointed. We’ll definitely be taking advantage more often.

A friend and I investigated a number of options for getting crabcakes while in the Hunt Valley area and this seemed to be one of the cheaper places. They do indeed have good crabcakes but the downside is it’s really only a takeout place and they don’t have much by way of seating other than two benches.

Love there crabs– one of the best. Definitely the best in the area. Friendly staff and clean, prices are reasonable too. Great place in Cockeysville

This is really takeout-​only. Theres a small picnic table out back, hidden by the trailer.
I’ve always liked the food here. I’ve ordered all kinds of things. The people in charge are nice.

Crab cakes are very good at a reasonable price.

Had the seafood combo platter. The scallops, shrimp, and tilapia were great. I was a little disappointed with the crab cake. It was over fried — extremely greasy. I had much better. I recommend this restaurant.

As far as I know, this place is carry out only, which is something that doesn’t surprise me since they sell crabs… when did you ever buy a bushel of crabs from any place and eat it there?
I’ve never experienced the place being «dirty». It’s a carryout, and it looks like one, in that it isn’t really decorated and there are shelves displaying what they sell.
The food is awesome. So awesome, that even though I moved a little further away, it’s still a go-​to place when we want carry out. The normal items that we choose from are the crabcake pizza (with white sauce, not pizza sauce), the captain’s fries (french fries topped with crab dip/​heaven), and the cream of crab soup (also delicious).
In conclusion, to like this place, you must enjoy seafood, deliciousness, and also have room for a few extra calories.

Best. Crab. Cakes. Ever!
$ 9.95 ea, so so SO worth it!

I’ve been to Captain Treys three times recently. The first time I ordered a crabcake sandwich with two sides… cucumber and tomato salad and hush puppies. The other two times I’ve been I’ve gotten a shrimp salad sandwich and cucumber and tomato salad which I love. They pack the sandwiches with HUGE shrimp which is good since it’s delicious, but it can be very messy. Those I’ve been with also have gotten the shrimp salad sandwich and fried oysters and really enjoyed their dinners.
There are two tables out back where you can sit and eat, but for the most part it’s a place where you grab what you want and go. Until June 21^st they have lunch specials for $ 5 buckets… such as Crabcake side, Clam Basket, Chicken Strip Basket, Fried Oysters, Steamed Shrimp, Fried Shrimp, Tilapia, etc. You can also add a canned soda and a side to any sandwich or sub for $ 1.50. I like this place because it’s close by and it’s something different, although sometimes I wish they had more places to eat out back or tables outfront or something, but I understand that would take away from some of their parking. Also think they need to have fountain sodas instead of just canned sodas. Definitely a place worth stopping into.

2.5… or 3… I can’t really decide…
My recent, constant cravings for crab cakes make me fearful for what I will be like if I’m ever pregnant, because then I’d be completely out of control.
So, again today I really wanted a crab cake but didn’t feel like actually sitting in a restaurant. I remembered Captain Trey’s from the Baltimore Magazine best crab cakes issue, and figured it was worth a shot.
Unfortunately, they lost some points before I even tried the food.
Offense #1: The inside of the place is a little dirty, like a ton of dust in the corners and dead flies/​gnats on the window sill. Ew. I’m aware restaurants aren’t the cleanest places, but I like to at least be able to pretend to be ignorant of that fact.
Offense #2: The sandwich combo is advertised as including fries and a 22 oz. fountain drink. There was no fountain soda machine in sight, and the cashier just directed me to get a 12 oz. can. Ok, whatever, I can deal with that, but completely odd.
Offense #3: I understand that small businesses sometimes have to charge extra if you pay with a credit/​debit card, however, I think this should be advertised more clearly. It was written in marker on the white board basically the same as the menu, so it was hard to see. The further explanation of this was typed, but written in like 14 pt font on a wall at least a foot or 2 above your head, so it’s difficult to see. I only realized that after the woman who ordered after us complained.
Offense #4: Ok, so, I get that work sucks, esp. when you’re a teenager. HOWEVER, the general rule is that you DO NOT make out with your girlfriend or boyfriend while you are working in front of customers. The guy part of the making out pair was definitely an employee, and I’m not sure if the girl was as well, but I was more than a little annoyed to see them making out… even more annoyed when I realized the girl wasn’t wearing any shoes… and really annoyed when she burped right in the guys face, and also, in front of our faces since we were trying to pay at that time, and they were about a foot from us. CLASSY.
Now, on to the food… I got a jumbo lump crabcake sandwich and fries, the boyfriend got a cheesesteak and chips, and we got an order of hushpuppies. All the food was good. The crabcake was pretty large, and only needed a little bit extra Old Bay once I got home. Fries were good. Hushpuppies weren’t the best ever but still good. Boyfriend liked the cheesesteak.
They also have pizza, wings, bushels of crabs, frozen seafood (crab legs, shrimp, etc), fresh seafood (salmon, tilapia, etc), lobster, and various things needed for seafood… Old Bay, mallets, crab knives, crab cake mix.
I would’ve happily given this place a 4 or maybe even a 5 because the food WAS good but once I’m annoyed by service/​cleanliness, my opinion pretty much goes downhill from there. However, it’s relatively close and the prices were decent, so I’ll probably try again.