The Deck Crab House

My Dad & family came in from Florida & this is the first time we been here. Took my sister for her birthday. Awesome food & service. Go check it out. Nice environment. Comfy to chill & eat

Lastnight w ate at the Deck, I ordered the crabcake platte with 2 cakes a salad by arden type with french dressing it comes with fries and usally vegs or rice I usally get draft beer to wah it down th draft beer is cold chilled which is great with the crabcakes .My wife and kids ordered the Crabs I think they got th He medium ones they sermed to enjoy them … ok in the past some have stated the staff was unfriendly and semed to not give a darn about the customers iv seen that a few times… something I dont think Mrs Brenda wound be fond of anyway ive been going there since they opened and ha ab e never had an issue yeah somet to mes jo bodys thete and thete slow with the food as the employees sit around on cell phones not doung anything but they do a pretty good job at getting y yo u feed when busy .you have to ke e p on them as they get distracted quickly… the cakes are good I have no complaints… other then the waitress staff at times… I think if your a regular they know you aint leaving and so they take ther time with your orders as they know your hee for th he e beer oand meal. I feel a Waiter or waitress who povides outstanding service to be rewarded for he service a I usally tip well
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When I walked in I was thrilled by the crowd and atmosphere. This was my second time here, the first time was with a group and while I was the only one to have steamed shrimp we had originally intended on steamed crabs but at that time the market price was so high everyone opted for regular meals. I was one of the few that left liking the place. Everyone else seemed to have problems with their «regular» meals. So this being my second time I had intended on doing steamed shrimp again but seeing «stuffed shrimp» with imperial crab on the menu I opted for that. I was disappointed and now know why so many of my friends from the group weren’t happy. My shrimp was undercooked and the crab was way too salty. My dinner mate said the same of his crab having ordered chicken Chesapeake… He noted that the chicken was dry and not very good. If we ever come back, which I am sure we will at some point I will stick to either steamed shrimp or steamed crabs.

What can I say about The Deck except greatness. What a place to dine. Friendly staff. Amazing service. The crabs!!! Juicy, full of meat, fresh, just a joy to eat (you can tell I appreciate a great crab) living in DE being close to MD has its great advantages. Lol. The establishment is clean. Chose between inside and outside dining. Fresh corn. Beer on tap. I did see they had a menu, but ummmmmmm I’m here for CRABS! They deliver. I will return with a crew next time. Jumbo crabs. That’s it, don’t bother with anything else! Lol.

Traveled to Baltimore from Tennessee, so I am not a local. That said, I stopped in tonight because it was less than two miles from my hotel and I wanted something other than the norm. I got so much more than I bargained for initially. Great environment, cool vibe, comfy being there by myself, great food and stellar service. Plus, a plethora of laughs!
I ordered the crab sliders and they were amazing. Very plentiful on the crab, perfectly seasoned and moist. I had asked for some kind of spread the toasted brioche type buns but actually didn’t need it because they were that moist. For context, I am a foodie and self professed food snob.
The bartender, Heather, was welcoming and friendly. The other servers I met later seemed awfully nice, as well. But, the biggest fun was chatting it up with the owner, Brenda, and a regular named «Mr. Carl».
If you read other reviews, I can’t stress enough that I got a history lesson on the location. They have gone through countless changes, not the least of which is Brenda (a retired Baltimore cop) becoming sole owner last December. So, if it wasn’t your cup of tea before then, you are missing out now.
I don’t give five stars on food alone. Unilocal is not Zagats, folks. Let’s be honest about that much. I give up to three for food, one for the overall environment/​experience and one or two for service. This joint is a solid six and if you are local or driving through, you should check it out.

Visited on a Tuesday for lunch and there was one other person there. My wife and I split the one dozen small crabs at market price with an order of mussels. Unfortunately they ran out of corn on the cob ears which were $ 2 an ear. The crabs we ordered were smaller than I liked and in hindsight I should have ordered the half dozen medium. The small crabs were possibly a little overcooked because they were a little dry on the inside. The presentation of crabs were great and the price was what I expected. Although we went during the day, the place seems to look like it would be entertaining at night with both inside and outside seating. I’ve been told that it gets a little more active at night.

This place was definitely a gem! We got 12 small crabs for $ 37 which I thought was not a bad deal. The only complaint I would have would be that they put way too much seasoning on their crabs. There was one point where my mouth was on fire from the seasoning, if you like that type of thing then this is definitely the place for you. I keep hearing complaints about the waitress that was mean or not nice, but I honestly thought the service was great our waitress kept asking if we needed anything and refilled our water when it was low.
Overall I would go back to this place if I was back in MD, it’s right off of 95 which makes it a great place to stop for lunch or dinner if you’re traveling.

Pretty good place. We were driving through and decided to try this place out. It was a little hectic because they were having an event for veterans and so there were bands playing loudly and a lot of people walking in and outside. Very casual atmosphere so we seated ourselves, but had a hard time getting someone to initially come talk to us. Not sure if that’s normal or because of the event.
Once we ordered the food was fast and the crabs were very tasty. We’d never eaten crab like that, so it was a fun experience for the kids… Until they got bored of trying to find the meat in the shells. The old bay seasoning on them was addicting!

The internet said they opened at 11a, but when we arrived we were told that they opened at noon. After the wait we had we sat down. Finally ordered our food about 15 minutes later. The only thing that allowed me to give this the «extra» star is that I couldn’t give it half a star. The food was good but nothing to really brag about. I will come back again bit only if it’s with my coworkers.

Not the best experience at all. We had several different waitresses at one time none of which new what was going on. It took a long time to even get menus or order drinks. Once our food finally arrived the steamed crabs were cold and we were billed for more than we actually ordered. The band playing was way to loud for a restaurant at 8:00pm. Food was ok all together but not worth the price because of the slow service.

Worst owner ever. Took a reservation she knew she would never be able to honor. We were 40 (team) and she gave her staff off to go to a wedding. Really that’s not the problem. Her customer service and attitude is what ruined the meal (aside from all the food we never received and the bad apps). Never go here.

Worst service ever. Had a large party (made reservation weeks in advance) and were told the chefs went to a wedding and they were understaffed. I am writing at 8:35 not and we walked in at 5:45 and over half of our party have not gotten their entrees. It is like a bad dream. Owner is not even a bit apologetic and actually rather rude. I can only review the aps as I am still waiting for dinner Crabs were good but the calamari was like rubber. Pretzel bites were a joke. Better at the ball park. We are now canceling orders that did not come out yet. Total nightmare.

We loooooved this place! Such a layed back atmosphere. The staff was super friendly and helpful. The food was great. We can’t wait to go back.

I will certainly go back. I am new to MD and the crab culture so this casual joint was more than inviting. The patrons taught me what I needed to know about ordering and one of the owners came out to give me a class on cracking and picking complete with a free fully picked crab. The seasoning was excellent and the bill was surprisingly small. The best part was the a la carte crab pricing. You can buy crabs by the eaches and then order something to get filled up. I had a couple crabs, a couple beers, and a great Bloody Mary and it was less than $ 20. Love it.

Decided to try this place out. Heard about the all you can eat crabs. Sadly I showed up on Friday (they only do all you can eat Mon-​Thur). But that is what it is. However they had no A/​C at all. They had fans running and it still was colder outside than inside. The service was Terrible with a capital t. It took forever even though it was dead. The food was overpriced for the portions. The crab roll that was listed as a local favorite was disappointing. The crab cake on the roll was small and not even seasoned at all. I suggest not even bothering with this place. Plenty of better seafood places around.

RIP OFF ALERT!!! DISHONEST PEOPLE!
We bought a dozen medium size crabs for take out on Jul 6. We called first and they said only small size could be for take out initially. We thought it’s fine. When we were there, I asked if I can buy medium size ones for dine in first and if I can’t finish them, I will take out. I will pay dine in TIPS. They came back to me said it’s fine for me to buy medium size ones for take out. In the end, I paid $ 58 something plus $ 7 tip for them. Most of the crabs I got are bad, powder-​like meat and bad smells. Some of the meats are black dry out. I think they thought we are one-​time customer and just gave us non-​fresh bad crabs for take out since we won’t check them on spot. At the end, I need to throw 10 of my crabs and only 2 are eatable. I will post the photos for those crap crabs, even my dog won’t eat them.
DISHONEST PEOPLE, STAY AWAY.
I hope they are out of business soon!!!
Update — Jul 8, 2014
I got serious diarrhea tonight. I will report to Baltimore — Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Don’t be fooled by the vacant building in the front, I nearly left before I realized the place set off the street. The deck crab house is awesome… live music, cold drinks, great and friendly staff. They a doing seafood (not just the crabs) great!!!

It was a nice quaint place. Not real busy this evening but that just allowed the staff to help show us how to get the meat out of the crab. It was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it. The crab was very good as well as the Maryland crab soup. If you are in the area and want to try crab outside of the normal crab legs this is a good place to do it.

This place is great!!! Jimmy Buffet feel — crabs were reasonably priced, accurately sized and cooked to perfection! Owner even checked in. If you are there on the weekend, the BEST server is Sam — she is amazing!
Laid back — crab deck and yes, same place as the old Wet Willey’s.
Enjoy! Go go go!

Just what we were looking for. A real basic and casual crab deck with some beer selections.
I assume this place just opened because they could only serve beer and wine, because it had not yet received a liqour license.
Regardless, it’s a great seasonal place based on it’s open breezy deck and choice of outside seating. Their medium crabs were a decent size and price. The crabs are accompanied by the usual suspects including; corn on the cob, fries, mussels, and coconut shrimp.
It would be great for big groups and I went in a bathing suit, so they obvisouly don’t have a dress code.