The Original Crab House

My girlfriend found this place. A prince among dives. A total hole in the wall, but really wonderful food and service. Gustavo, as mentioned by others, is just wonderful. Very caring and generous with his time his personality. The food was not of the highest quality, but everything was fresh and was absolutely delicious. We spent the better part of an hour just trying to get every bit of crab out of every nook and cranny. Fine Dining, this is not. But it was a great time.

My husband and I visited The Original Crab House probably when it opened 25+ years ago. It was meh… After « Unilocaling» last weekend to find a place in our area to eat at we decided to retry the TOCH. Hey, open 25+ years, it must be ok, right? All we can say now is, «We sure missed the boat on this one»!!
The place is small and homey. No frills but clean. Our server Gustavo was great. We ordered the Blue Crabs and an order of the Garlic Crabs along with corn and French fries sprinkled with Old Bay. Super!!! We felt as if we were on vacation in Maryland. I will say we are a bit miffed with ourselves to think this little jewel has been right under our noses all these years.
We will be back ASAP

This a nice, quaint place to eat seafood. There portions are very generous and the staff was friendly. The server was kind enough to patiently teach us how to eat the crabs since it was our first time cracking open the crab shells.
The food was delicious and the portions were generous. It’s a little bit on the pricy side, but I think for the portions it is reasonable.
The place was a little small and crowded, which made it a little uncomfortable to eat. The tables were also very small, and we could barely fit our two seafood plates and appetizers.

Definitely a must if you want to have crabs and you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg. Plus Gustavo was the best server.

The food was awful, and then they charged my card for someone else’s dinner in addition to our $ 91 check. NEVER again. The server was great.

Super yummy and inexpensive! Real, authentic seafood. No gimmicks.

The food is DELICIOUSSS! GREAT prices and Gustavo is beyond awesome, extremely nice and attentive even though he is the only person he is on top of everything. DEFINITELY a place worth visiting. Will be coming back again very soon!

This place was great! Can’t wait to go back again! The service was awesome, Gustavo was great! No matter how small the place is, good food is always appreciated!

Place was decent at best went here bc of all the positive Unilocal reviews but I wasn’t impressed one bit place was way over priced for the location and even what they were offering I had king crab and paid less and had a better setting. Service was pretty good that’s why they get 2 stars. Hotel fully hey take this positively doubt it though

Little hole in the wall, but the crab legs were great. The parsley potatoes were good, but they were a little mushy. My mom had a captains platter. It looked wonderful; she said it was only ok. Little pricy and not sure if will be back only because I was looking for the old crab house that closed with a beautiful view. This one is in a strip mall with hardly any convenient parking

I don’t normally rate businesses. I feel compelled to do so now. I am on business in Miami and wanted a taste of «HOME». I was born in Maryland.
I picked this restaurant based on Unilocal.Found it no problem, thanks GPS, and was the only customer at 6:30 pm. I was met by Gustavo, a pleasant man in his late 20’s. He was friendly and accommoding. He took my order and promptly filled it. As I was the only person in the restaurant, we spoke for a while. The best waiter I have experienced in Miami.
The food was great and made me feel homesick. I’m going again tonight. Can’t wait!
you need to go too and insist on Gustavo.

You can’t beat it.
Free wine with check in and our server, Gustavo was – without a single doubt – the best server we have had since moving to Miami. Maybe best ever. He made us feel welcome, even on a busy night (Valentine’s!), was honest and helpful, and completely elevated the meal. Love him.
We were off to a great start, but the hits just kept coming. Hubs ordered a three-​crab sampler, and I ordered the extremely-​spicy Cajun shrimp, with a side of garlic bread. We split some corn, so we had a vegetable, and the crab came with fries.
We were in heaven. I personally love picking through crab, it feels strangely comforting, to be eating so slowly, but with such rewarding and rich flavors. Like you’re really stopping to savor the flavors. Like you’re treating yourself. And the shrimp? It wowed. Whoever the hell is back there in their kitchen – if they’re single, they won’t be for long. Disclaimer: I am no novice when it comes to spicy food, and this dish was at the edge of my «enjoyable» range for spice. If you had a Cajun step parent (preach) and you know the real deal – this is it.
And if you’re intimidated by eating crab, don’t be here. Gustavo will show you the ropes, in a welcoming casual environment. Lick your fingers, use a wet nap in public, wear a bib. All for a very *$ 50 FOR TWO ON VALENTINES* affordable prices.
This place will have to TRY to get rid of me.

Being a Maryland boy at heart (lived there for 9 years), I sometimes get a craving for Old Bay and Maryland style Blue Crabs. That’s why I’m glad I found this little restaurant near Dadeland. You could have plucked this restaurant right in the middle of the Eastern shore and it would 100% fit in!!!
I sincerely LOVE the crab dip. It is spot on: gooey and delicious! I can’t even get my kids to save me some.
Last time I was there I got the Captains platter (to share, c’mon people!) and instead of fried I asked for sautéed fish, shrimp and scallops (the calamari remained fried). Frankly, I enjoyed the sautéed seafood much more than the calamari (which were just OK).
I can’t finish the review without giving a shout out to the service in the little place. I can’t remember her name (I’m writing this a week after), but our server (she was the only one– it’s kind of a small place) was AMAZING. Not just with my wife and I, but with our kids.
I’ll keep coming here as long as they don’t change!!!

Let’s start with Gustavo, he makes you feel like you just walked into his home and he’s been expecting you.
The snow crabs are just divine and the ice cold Stella served in a chilled glass brings it home, for this girl that spent much of her childhood near the Chesapeake Bay. You have to try the homemade Key Lime Pie for the finale. So happy that I gave this little «hole in wall» a try. I have brought many friends here and all want to come back.

Great Crab legs
Very good Lemon Pie and
Excellent service by Gustavo.
I went with my family (4) and spend aprox. 140 $
We order
Beers/​sodas
Giant Crab legs
Shrimps
2 Lemon Pie

Holy moly this place is incredible! We went on a sat night, which we were told it was unusually quiet for them. There was a steady stream of regulars dining in and picking up takeout. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive when we first pulled up but trusted in Unilocal and it came through in a major way. This place knows what it’s doing and has been doing it for over 30 years! It’s a small place, nothing fancy, but don’t be fooled, it’s the best crabs in Miami!
To eat we split the old bay peel and eat shrimp. They were huge and very fresh tasting. The cocktail sauce on the side tasted like it may be homemade and was the perfect touch. Now on to the star of the show, the crab sampler. The platter was huge came with snow crab legs, garlic blue crabs and another type that I’m not sure about. This was unlike any crab I’ve had in south Florida or the keys. So flavorful, so fresh that I’m pretty sure I dreamed about them. The icing on the cake was the key lime pie.
Another little bonus is the service and the price. Gustavo was so accommodating, with everything from recommendations to the best way to open up the crabs. As for the price, it’s not the cheapest place in the area but for what you get the price is more than reasonable. Gustavo also told us to check out Unilocal and trip advisor for rotating specials. On top of that every weekend they offer a special on a different meal, plus beer specials and occasionally have karaōke. Lastly, they also have a frequent diners program, which also provides a discount (I think 25%) after so many meals. The only down part is that I didn’t know about them before. I without a doubt will be back, and probably very soon.

I have bookmarked this place for a while, and finally got some out-​of-​town visitors to try it with me. They just returned from a weekend in Key West so I thought they may have enough seafood, but they were like, no way, we couldn’t get seafood this fresh at home! Well, that got me a little nervous, as it was my first time too, but thankfully it didn’t disappointed. We had a fabulous time, food was delicious and price was reasonable. Décor is typical crab shack, nothing fancy. They have about 6 wines and several beers.
We started with the old bay shrimp — the meat was firm and mildly sweet, an indicator of its freshness. The clam chowder was good, not great — it’s less thick and more herbal than the standard and not a lot of clams.
For sides, we all enjoyed the salsa criolla, with the sweet red onion and vinegar giving it a refreshing taste. Garlic bread was delicious, so was the parsley potato.
The snow crab tasted fresh and sweet — much, much better than the ones you get at Chinese buffets. The Maryland style crab comes whole with shells on, so if you find this a challenge, order the garlic crab instead. Flavor wise I prefer the Maryland though, the original flavor of the crab shone through more. We also ordered the stone crab, $ 60 for six claws, but weren’t impressed by it.
The server is nice, but there is a little language barrier.

My friend and I came here to satisfy a Sunday crab craving. We were excited given the rave reviews. Which is what makes it tougher to give a mediocre review :(
I would say this was a 2.5 at best.
We enjoyed great service from Gustavo who patiently answered all questions and gave us some recommendations & attentive service. We had the special of the day which was two stems of Alaskan crab and shrimp.
I had my special steamed with garlic & butter. The shrimp were excellent, but the crab was disappointing. I found parts of my crab to be cold — not room temperature, but just cold. My friend confirmed this. The crab legs were very salty & parts of them just didn’t taste fresh. We’re both originally from islands and know our seafood enough to know.
Perhaps this was just a one time bad day? I’d like to try them again, but not sure my friend would be willing.

We were in the mood for seafood so we decided to give crab house a shot. We arrived and noticed there was limited parking but luckily we snagged the last one. The restaurant is small, probably seats around 60 people. There was only one waiter, I think his name was Gus, at that time.
We first started with the conch fritters and a bowl of clam chowder soup. The conch fritters could be better. They don’t have enough conch. As for the clam chowder, it was good but it had thyme which was a first for me. If you don’t like the herb thyme– make sure you don’t order it.
We ordered both specials for the night which were the steamed shrimp for $ 8 and 2 lbs of Alaskan king crab legs for $ 55. Both were very fresh and tasted amazing. The crab came with roasted parsley potatoes that were a bit over cooked.
The reason I’m giving it 3 stars is because of the cleanliness. The floors were disgusting! There was food particles everywhere I looked and the bathroom was pretty bad too. Perhaps, it would be a good idea to hire a food runner/​bus boy that could clean the place a bit while the server is attending his tables.
I might give it another chance but not anytime soon.

We came here three years ago, we thought that this place was really awesome. So when we knew that we were coming back to Miami this year, we had to stop here! And we did! Last night, I went there with my parents, it wasn’t crowded at all since it was a Wednesday! We got the Father’s Day special, Jumbo Blue Crab with Garlic. The crab was just so tender, I think it’s the best crab I’ve ever eaten. If you have to get a side, get the Potatoes & Parsley salad, it was very good!
We will for sure stop here next time we are in Miami! It’s a must-​go!

Somos una familia de españoles y no conocíamos ningún sitio donde comer pescado y cangrejos. Nos ha gustado la comida y el servicio (camarero Gustavo) muy amable y servicial. Sin duda volveremos