Joe’s Crab Shack

We came by for a drink and possibly dinner. Sat at the bar. Finally the bartender came over. Not a hard order, bud light tap and a coronarita (small bottle of corona upside down in a margarita). Beer was poured but I guess the people who came after us were in a hurry to drink as the bartender made theirs first. After making the margarita portion of my drink she came over to tell me she had to find some small bottles of corona. After a few minutes there was non available and she asked if I wanted a regular sized one. Mope if I wanted corona I would have ordered one. I said I would just take the margarita which she promptly dumped out and made a new one which was 80 percent ice some tequila and watered down mixer. Yuck. Expensive kool aide. I haven’t been to Joes in a long time. I will never be back

I was pleased with Joe’s Crab Shack overall, and have visited this location previously, with positive experiences. This past visit was surprising. I did notice that the parking lot was not as full as I had previously experienced, especially since this was a prime period for dinner and should have had many more patrons. Once entering, I immediately noticed the amount of loud, boisterous conversation coming from the front of the restaurant, and the bar area. This conversation was riddled with topics one wouldn’t view as acceptable public conversation. When I looked to see the source, I was shocked to find the manager in the middle of the group of staff members, and they were all engaged in loud discussions. He failed to squelch this disturbance, or direct the staff to go perform tasks that one would think restaurant staff should be doing. After being seated, we waited for some time as our waitress was heavily involved in this group activity, and peeled off to take our drink order. It seemed that no one was in charge, and the wait staff really did not want to be there. They appeared to focus on being louder than each other, and having absolutely no regard for doing even the most basic of customer care. Within the group of staff, they were boisterous, but when they came out to the tables, they appeared discontented and solemn.
The meal was good, but it appeared the steam pots that I have previously ordered at this location, had the quantities of the included items reduced. My steam pot had only a few of the items on the menu, the lobster was grossly over-​cooked, and appeared to have been hastily prepared. Other than the lobster, the rest of the items were pretty tasty. Throughout the entire meal the staff continued to gather around the bar area and hold loud conversations, with the two young men that appeared to be management. This noise was clearly heard throughout the entire restaurant, and at no time did the two managers intervene, although they were in the center of this unprofessional behavior. I was very disappointed because this was a good place to get a variety of seafood, and in a pleasant atmosphere. My wife stated that this was indicative of a establishment just before going out of business, and I have to agree. I expected to hear cursing from the staff, and with my 7 year old child also present, was prepared to «enlighten» the management on proper business operations and courtesies. This luckily did not happen.

2÷6÷16: This was my first time at a Joe’s Crabshack. I was definitely expecting more for the prices we paid in respect to food quality and service.
FOOD: The lobster is rubbery and crab cakes have too much bread filler… like way too much. Enough where you’re upset you spent that much on crab cakes and start looking up recipes on Pinterest to make your own. We shared crab nachos as an app. They weren’t great but they were probably my favorite thing. That should say a lot considering that’s basically 60% tortilla chips.
SERVICE: Our waitress came by to take our drink order, dropped off our drinks, dropped off our nachos app and later our entrees. And then our waitress literally went MIA. She eventually did come back around to do the customary, «How is everything.» To which I responded to, «Great. Can I have some water?» My water had been empty for at least 10 minutes. Well she forgot so we had to flag her down. She knew she forgot because she apologized and brought me alone, 2 waters. No one else got a refill. We were there on a Saturday around 2PM, so it’s not like it was super busy. I can’t forgive bad service when there’s time to be attentive. Refreshing everyone’s drinks takes probably 2 minutes tops.
HOT SPOT: I can see how this would be a good place for groups because they have huge tables and it’s got a nice water view. There’s a great deck that would be nice for the spring and summer. I can see this being a great place for birthdays or fun celebrations. I definitely don’t recommend it as a romantic date night. It’s just too loud.
PRICES: Man, oh, man, the prices are out of control. For 3 people it was over $ 100 after tip. And that was with 3 people drinking water, no alcohol! 1 app and 3 entrees.
2 STARS: I wouldn’t have minded the prices whatsoever if all 3 people in my group had their drinks refilled, the lobster wasn’t rubbery, and if the crab cakes had less breading!

Well it took almost 10 minutes for the waiters to hash out who was stuck taking our table. Like its a huge deal to take a table of 3… Then apparently they have changed their BBQ crab recipe. It was way too sweet and the seasoning doesn’t stick to the crab, it was all pretty much in clumps at the bottom of the bowl leaving the crab unseasoned and bland. I have never been disappointed at Joe’s before and as a former waiter I’m not too critical of service but this was not at all what I expect from joes. They definitely need to step it up for what they charge.

My husband, mother-​in-​law, & I went on Sunday about 2:30pm (12÷20÷15). Hubby & I ordered the Ragin’ Cajin and Mom got the Shrimp & Calamari. The server was attentive and the manager went around and visited every table a couple of time. The Calamari, however, were the only bad food we got. We don’t recommend them at all… too thinly cut so they are hard to chew. The server replaced them with Garlicky Muscles, which were excellent (we shared). The manager came & apologized, took Mom’s meal off the bill even though she did eat the shrimp, and all was right in the world. We will be back when we are up that way.

I like this location better than the one in Chesapeake by Greenbrier. I always get a Steam Pot. This time I tried The KJ Steampot. It was good.

Food selection is great & always tasty. Wait staff are very attentive and friendly, patio deck seating is nice depending on the weather. Food is always good at Joes. Drinks were good. This dinner wasn’t a pricey as my visit to other locations.

Every single time I’ve been here, the service has been awful. We’ve timed it multiple times, and it has taken at LEAST 15 minutes for someone to even acknowledge us after taking a seat. My food has been cold or incorrect two times, and I really don’t think that its a good value for the price you pay. Would much rather go to a place that serves REAL seafood.

Service is extremely slow & waitress is almost uninterested. Took 8 minutes to be greeted after sitting down. She was pleasant when coming to the table but getting her to come to the table was the problem. She brought us drinks, took the order & we didn’t see her until our food came out

Very good pricing for seafood. My steam pot broil was okay kind of bland but still yummy. BEAUTIFUL view on the back deck!

Being there on a Saturday night and the place was half empty should have been a clue. Our server, joe was very good but the food was rather bland. My salmon had no special pizzazz and my loaded baked potato pattie was cold. The seafood platter looked less appetizing than the picture and they were out of the vegetable of the day. The red wine sangria, I must say, was delicious. Overall food was rather bland.

Too little staff. Very unorganized. Bartenders were great but we’re using their hands n mixing drinks without washing stuff. Bar area was filthy and needed a real deep clean. The dishwasher trays were filthy and they were serving drinks from glasses on them. Food was ok.

Not horrible.
Service is friendly when you order but then you never see them again until the bill arrives. We wanted dessert but didn’t want to have to wait around any longer.
So in a nutshell, kinda pricey, typical chain restaurant, nothing special :/

Was greated and seated immediately. Service was quick and food was great! I got the Cajun steamer pot and my son got the fish sticks! I had a coupon for a free dessert but it was for the myrtle beach location, I asked if they would still accept it and they said they would! We got the s’more dessert and the crabby apple dessert, both were amazing! Great experience! The only thing that would have been better is the price on the steamer pot! They are quite expensive but very delicious!

I usually love joes but this time I have a bad change of heart & will not be coming back to at least this one. Service was poor. I came for some stuffed crab shrimp which they changed their menu & now have some southern stuff shrimp substitute wrapped in bacon and it was nasty.

I have been here 3 times and I keep forgetting how bad it is and thinking it can’t be as bad as I remember. It is.
Service is horrific and the food is overpriced. We have a ton of great local places for seafood. I have no idea why you’d go here.

Why is it every time you eat at a Hampton establishment do you occasionally get a rogue host at the door? Not busy as I entered and stood there as I waited for acknowledgement for 30 seconds of awkward silence and It breaks silence with“two”? What? No welcome to Joes? Or hello? Other than borderline customer service skills at the door, the wait staff are on point still with excellence. Food is still good.

Never again. The service was horrible! We waited for a table for half an hour with nowhere to sit, and then were shown to a table next to a large party. Mind you, we walked right past a booth even though we were a party of three. (Me, my husband, and our infant.)
The woman behind us immediately started yelling loudly, though it didn’t matter because the noise level in there was astonishingly loud.
We then asked for a highchair and were told the they didn’t have one… Even though we could see one right behind the seating hostess that only needed wiped down. She then proceeded to tell my husband that he was burping the baby anyway. So, we Didn’t need one.
Now, we let all that go and sat down. Only to wait 15 minutes before receiving any service. A server named Ashley barely spoke loud enough to be heard and we gave her our drink order.
After fifteen minutes with no drinks, we left.
As I said before, never again.

1. Overpriced
2. Overvalued
3. Under-​portioned
4. Under-​attentive staff
There are a plethora of phenomenal seafood restaurants to eat at in Hampton Roads. Surf Riders is not too far from this location and is far superior. I’ve been to this location 3 times, the third time was a business lunch and I was very hesitant. My instinct turned out to be accurate, it was awful for the third time. The jambalaya came out barely warm with no sausage and was a portion that seemed to be for a 5 year old child.

Food: I ordered the Sam Adams steampot. I figured it made sense given that I came for the seafood, we just moved from Boston, and I live in a Colonial city. I also ordered a Sam Adams draft… so I sort’ve OD’d on SA. All-​in-​all, it was great. I typically try to stay away from food I need to work to eat, but every so often, it’s worth the endeavor.
Service: We had a little hiccup while here, but the manager was really polite and helpful. Kayla, quickly took our order and checked up on us. They both helped make the night good.
Atmosphere: The crossroads where bar and grill meets the coast. Walls packed with stuff found at the local pawn shop. Many lobsters found their way onto the walls from people’s beach houses, etc…
Overall: I’ll go again. :)