Rube’s Crab Shack

We’ve been here a few times and the service is always superb and the food is delicious. We usually get AUCE crabs. The crabs and shrimp are always perfectly steamed and the soup and salad bar is fully stocked. They have a nice little outside, covered patio where we like to sit and pick crabs.

Saw the ad for this place in the Carroll county times. So a group of 5 of us decided to check it out. Ordered the all you can eat crabs, crab legs, steamed /​fried shrimp and soup and salad bar. Incredible !!! The crab legs were Delish, and huge! They weren’t the small clusters you normally get when you order them out. Crabs were full of meat, fried shrimp, everything was just delicious ! Highly recommend taking the drive and enjoy their all you can eat !!!

Just spent 3+ hours at Rube’s crab shack. WOW what a great time we had. just went for steamed crabs but just sat and watched the going ons. Every wait staff we saw was attentive, friendly and accommodating. They all work as a team and with each other. Got to meet robin and bobby what a delight they both are. Robin was not only working the floor but paying attention to each table as she walked around the restaurant and chatted with the people at each table. She made sure to say goodnight to each party leaving, thank them, and told them she hoped they had a good nite and hoped ro see them again soon. This place is much more than a crab shack and is a hidden gem in Emmittsburg. A 5 star for sure! We WILL be back soon. Thanks– Mel and Molly

We had friends in from out of town and wanted to bring them to eat real Maryland crabs. From our first encounter the woman at the front (who we later found out was the owner) was down right rude. The service was okay but the worst part of the night was the food! Everything we ate came from a freezer. The crabs were mushy and watery. I’m not sure where the crab was in my soup the only thing I could think of was they forgot it when they cooked it. The soda was good and the best part of my night was when we were leaving. I was frankly embarrassed that I ever brought them there. Think twice. It wasn’t the cleanest place either. Ugh!

Wow, Rubes has the best crabs! This is my 2^nd time in 2 weeks. Ate at the bar this time. Our bartender, Shannon did great keeping us supplied with anything we needed. Definitely make reservations if you want a table. Will positively go again!

If we could have gave it less than one star we would have. First of all one of the most unfriendly and rudest experience we ever had at any restaurant. Not sure if this lady owned or managed the place but she could sure use a few classes in friendly customer service. We had at least 10 people in our group and all of them said they would never go back just because of the unfriendly service. Now onto the food. Most of us had the all u can eat crabs which weren’t that great very mushy and watery. The crab soup should have been called watered down vegetable soup, along with that you get the not very fresh or big salad bar. Last but not least this place is like a big echo chamber. If you in for a nice quiet dinner forget about it

The crab soup is homemade (found the bay leaf in my soup, no big deal and that’s did not affect my rating), but it was missing something. I scraped some crab seasoning off a crab to give it some flavor. The service was good, our waitress was awesome on keeping our drinks filled.
I think the main issue was the noise. The fire academy had walked in there (a lot of them had their badges on) and they were loud and obnoxious from the time they sat down! It was uncomfortable to the point of just wanting to eat and get the heck out of there! The fire academy is located on the other side of town, so if this is a regular thing I would not recommend taking a child in there. I don’t like to have to shout across the table to be heard.

We went here for the first time tonight, definitely recommend calling for reservations (i think they are required on weekends) as it seems like a popular place. We were lucky to get reservations at 6 and by 630 there were no open tables. Our waitress said it was her second night on her own and she did great! Always checking to see if we needed any refills on the ayce and drinks. Maryland crab soup was amazing and so were the hush puppies. The crabs were perfect, and our waitress made sure fresh ones were on the way when we got low. Definitely will be going back.

We got here a little after 3 for «Linner» a good thing cause they had no available reservations left for supper time. We were on our way home from a trip to Baltimore and this is our second visit to Rube’s the servers are courteous and responsive. The food is great! Crabs are some of the best we’ve had this far north and west of the Eastern Shore/​OC/​or Balt/​Annapolis areas. I just order six Mediums for $ 25 and can hardly wait to get that Old Bay all over my fingers again! Wife had the sumptuous Shrimp salad sandwich and loved it. Rube’s is just a little north of the square in Emmittsburg Md. We will be back for sure.

Just enjoyed a dozen large crabs for $ 65 and they were worth every penny. Beautifully steamed, spicy, and moist. We also ordered onion rings and a chicken salad sandwich to share before the crabs came out. Both were good but we LOVED the onion rings… best I ever had.
Keep up the good work!

Are you hungry for fresh blue crab? This is the place to go when visiting Gettysburg, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland it’s maybe a 20minute drive. So let’s talk crab! Here they offer all you can eat blue crab dinners with options all can eat shrimp, crab legs, for market price which was 34.99. Let me tell you I watched big trays of crab, lots of shrimp and piles of snow crab come out of the kitchen at the table next to us! You get a combination of small and medium crab, to me they looked to be a pretty nice size! It comes with all you can eat sides and trips to the soup and salad bar!
Now I ordered a half dozen large crabs the were absolutely delicious that’s all I ordered and it was the prefect amount of meaty mouth watering crabs seasoned with old bay. Oh, how I love Old Bay coated fingertips that perfectly seasoned each tender morsel of crab!
My husband ordered the fried oysters and a trip to the salad bar, I tried them it’s really not my thing but I do have to say they were very good, he loved them. The portion size is very generous, he could not finish them all!
This is a family restaurant with a fully stocked bar. Outside in the back yard they have a band on Saturday night. They were playing classic rock, Steve Miller, Gold Finger, etc… The Waitress said they are always packed on Saturday Nights, the local love this place. During the week not so busy. Try Rube’s you will have a lot of fun, the service is very Friendly!
Oh yes they offer a carry out service call ahead to pick up a dozen, we are camping so it would be fun to eat crab out side on the picnic table.
Great food, fun place! Casual dining.

Headed up here for some seafood on a Tuesday. So after a lengthy wait to get seated things went really good after I got seated. The seafood here is amazing! The best crab cake I’ve ever had! Their crabs were cooked and seasoned well! Definitely would recommend to anyone!

Horribly slow service with overpriced mediocre seafood. Don’t get the soft shell crabs. The hush puppies are awesome!

This place has the best steamed crabs of anywhere around here. We come here all the time to get our seafood fix. The food is fresh salad bar is a little blah but at least the salad is not Brown, the décor is blan but the food makes up for it it’s like a dive bar with good crabs. We will be back

Great service and steamed crabs. The steamed oysters were outstanding. The setting is great, a little small but otherwise great. The staff are very outgoing and friendly which makes that much better.

Heaps of delicious crabs, covered in fantastic tangy-​salty spices. All you can eat! Deliciously messy and fun: event eating. The side dishes were mediocre, but satisfactory. Great environment, great crabs.

Great crabs, crab legs, shrimp and crab soup!!! Seasoning was just right. We got the medium crabs and they were so full and delicious. No light ones at all. We will definitely go there again and recommend them to friends. We enjoyed the time spent with family (9 of us) sharing laughter, taking pictures and cracking crabs.
Wait staff was great. I recommend making reservations. The place was crowed and noisy, but that what you expect when eating crabs. Makes you feel like you are at the beach.

Best steamed crabs in Frederick County — that’s the reason I go here. No need to try anything else. They spice them right and they are always a fair size for the price. I wish they still had the carry-​out operation in Thurmont as it was much closer, but this is worth the drive.
Typical crab house atmosphere. Wish they had a better beer selection, that’s the only thing they can improve.

FECAL MATTER IN FOOD!!!
We went there for a dinner on a Saturday Night. Ordered a pound of streamed shrimp dinner, they did not devein the shrimp (the black line that is the shrimps poop along the back). When we told the manager on duty we did not want them and asked to have them taken off the order. The manager refused to take them off the order and billed us for our entire meal, becasue in their opinion if they were going to clean the shrimp it would be to much work to clean the shrimp but nothing was wrong with the shrimp. YES THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG THERE WAS POOP IN MY SHRIMP!!!
Had a horrible experience with food quality and service here.

Birthdays are always a great opportunity to try a new place, and an opportunity to steal a little extra food off of other people’s plates. This month we visit Rube’s Crab Shack at its second location in Emmitsburg, on North Seton Ave.
We’ll get to the food in a moment, as this would not be a disservice not to mention that Rube’s is a great place to throw back a few cold ones, while watching the Steeler’s game; sorry folks, but this is a Steeler’s joint, though I’m sure ho one will hold that against Ravens, Redskins, Cowboys or Eagle’s fans.
The décor is typical crab shack chic, with crab related decorations on the walls, and plenty of table space for folks wishing to «bust open some number one jimmies» (That’s crab shack talk, for the best crabs you can buy.) Rube’s will even loan you a mallet to crack the crabs open with.
At the front of the house, is the large U-​shaped bar with plenty of drafts of tap, with a large assortment of bottled beers, available as well. A large screen TV is typically on, showing a sporting event (hopefully football).
As with any typical crab shack, noise tends to be much greater than most other eating establishment types. Crab shacks such as Rube’s, pride themselves on local tradition, and is often time frequented by local repeat business, resulting in a much friendlier, casual atmosphere than a regular seafood restaurant.
The menu is realistic at four pages total, including front and back cover. The back cover is the beer list, leaving only the inside pages with food items. And while, the main theme of Rube’s is the crabs, the menu does offer steak, as well as chicken and burgers, but Poseidon only knows why you wouldn’t want the crabs. There is also a small children’s menu for the little ones.
History has taught the restaurant industry, time and time again, the more items there are on a menu, the more the quality suffers. With, Rube’s small two page menu, the kitchen is able to concentrate on quality, and pass on a huge list of recipes that many other places suffer from.
For my main entrée, I ordered the crab cake platter, with one crab cake fried (boardwalk style), and the other was broiled (restaurant style), came with a side fries, and some mashed potatoes, washed down with a Corona, however, there are other options for side dishes. My father ordered a crab cake sandwich as my mother had the shrimp salad sandwich, and while, my parents had mixed opinions with their meals, I’ll digress from critiquing what I did not eat, and will and focus on the meal I had ordered.
As always, I’ll start with the sides which in this case were two forms of potatoes. The french fries were standard fare – well cooked, not overly done, nor soft from under-​cooking. They did require salting and old bay to meet my particular tastes. The mashed potatoes on the other hand were well salted and buttery. With that said, time to judge the crab cakes.
Starting with the fried crab cake, also referred to as «boardwalk style», was all crab with a minimum amount of filler, crispy, well cooked outside resembled the type of crab cake one might find on the boardwalk of Ocean City, or the local fireman’s carnival of a small bay town such as Crisfield.
The broiled crab cake also referred to as «restaurant style», had even less filler, but somehow was a tad mushy for my particular taste. Regardless, it was full of lump meat and was very good. This style of crab cake is what one would normally find in a more upscale dining establishment, requiring the use of a fork.
Both crab cakes are winners in my book, simply for the fact that there was very little filler in them. A lot of establishments do not give the option of broiled or fried, so it was a nice to be offered the option of one or the other – in my case, I could chose one of each which was even better.
And while the focus of this lunch appeared to revolve around crab cakes, Rube’s is most known for their, «all you care to eat» crabs, as observed from my table, while several other groups were engaged in testing the owner’s ability to supply them an endless amount of crab.
So, when it comes to great crabs that are fresh, prepared while you wait, and you wish to support the local crab house, then Rube’s should be where you go first for great crabs.