Joe’s Crab Shack

Excellent food, and beautiful view, had a great time on our first visit! highly recommend this place and we will be back!

I came anticipating getting the King crab with their BBQ seasoning. It has always been my favorite. Turns out instead of baking on the seasoning, they have now started to FRY the crab to get the seasoning to stick. WHAT?! I’m not paying $ 45 for fried King Crab. Much to my disappointment we settled on the garlic & herb. We also got shrimp for an appetizer. The shrimp were kinda wimpy, and seemed over steamed with minimal flavor. The crab came out with uncooked corn and 2 halves of a very small potato. The meal was not worth the price tag.
Our experience luckily was saved by our server. She let us know there had been some changes to the preparation of some of the items and was overall very personable and pleasant. She gave us a side salad since our corn wasn’t cooked to accommodate us. She was quick to get us silverware, sides of butter etc.

Food was okay. View was amazing. I love this place. Have been coming since I was a kid. Obviously it’s not high class seafood but it’s still good haha.

Worst dining experience I’ve ever had. I’ve been to several different joes before and this is the worst. My gf and I went in on a Friday night and the place was dead, that was the first bad sign. Our food was marginally ok. The waitress was barely around. And another waitress was parading around loudly asking for sales closeouts, it was actually pretty obnoxious the way she was talking to other employees. This place is well on its way out of this area. If you ask me, this restaurant does not deserve to be in this prestigious area anyways. Go somewhere else in this area. This is a disgrace!

PRETTY DARN DELICIOUS! — why haven’t we been here before?
My bf and I got the Steampot– The Ragin’ Cajun and the Bucket of Crab– Jumbo Bairdi Crab (garlic herb flavor) omg it was heavenly! I was afraid the crabs here wouldn’t be robust enough for my taste buds, but boy was I wrong. My favorite was the Ragin Cajun– spicy, garlicky and and salty, just the way I like it! The sausage it came with was reallyyy good too, along with the SWEET corn on the cob. My bf liked the Jumbo Bairdi Crab and raved how easy to peel and lump the crab meat was. The combination was just enough for the 2 of us, we skipped dinner that night because we were still stuffed.
Service was great– she brought us lemon slices several times and didn’t seem annoyed :)
Can’t wait to come back, hopefully other Joe’s Crab Shacks are just as good!

Such good food and even better cocktails. The staff is SO nice, from the hostess, to the bartenders, and the servers, they work as a team and that’s so refreshing to see in the restaurant industry. The valet is super convenient and quick too. I used to work for The Cheesecake Factory for years and love giving my business to restaruants with a great atmosphere, service, and food/​drinks. My favorite option here is the Mahi Mahi Tacos, I switch out the chips for corn and its a nice healthy dinner.
If you are in the area but don’t want to pay $ 50+ per person to get good service, come here.

the view alone is worth it but the crab dip was so fresh and the fireballs are always a must have.

$ 15.00 lobster all day Thursday’s was a let down. Not a lot of meat at all, mostly shrunk up in the tail, none in the cavity and it was kinda of chewy and I’m sorry I did not bring this to the waiters attention and should have just ordered something else, my bad. Left hungry I had to stop at Miguel juniors for a couple tacos.

$ 6 valet parking and cash only. Said there was an atm nearby I could walk to. Too much hassle and not worth it. I wonder how much business they are losing? Oh well. Ate somewhere else.

Food was awesome but they need to improve on service. Our server had to be reminded on our request not sure where his mind was at. I hope a manager reads this they need some improvement on customer sevice skills.

Lobster was over cooked. Service was lousy. No refills offered, no check ins. Not friendly. Won’t be back. LOVE THE ONE IN ANAHEIM ON HARBOR !

I wish I could give «zero» stars. We went there to celebrate my mother’s birthday for lunch today. It is one of her favorite places to go and she loves the coconut shrimp. Fortunately, her meal of coconut shrimp was the one that was pretty good.
Everything was horrible — bad food — bad service — small portions on some meals.
First, our meals were not served until 45 minutes after we had ordered. If it hadn’t been Mother’s birthday, we would have left. Then, the fish tacos were cold. My daughter had to leave to go back to work, and left them behind. The waitress didn’t even check on the meals until we asked where they were after 30 minutes.
Another note on service — all three servers were sitting in a booth in the middle of the restaurant eating their lunches, with customers present, which didn’t seem appropriate.
Two of us ordered the rum sauced grilled shrimp. The sauce tasted OK, and that was all. Shrimp were over-​cooked and tough, they were very small, almost looking like about ½ «or so had been cut off the ends? What’s up with that? There was also grit in them. Broccoli was barely cooked and hard.
One person ordered the fried seafood combination platter — which was very skimpy. Two slivers of fried fish, a few small fried shrimp, and 2 – 3 even smaller fried scallops. All heavily battered.
At the end of the meal, the manager came over, apologized, said they were understaffed in the kitchen, and took 50% off the bill. This was the right thing to do, but it probably won’t bring us back.

Incredible Experience!!! Ryan was unbelievable! He seems to love what he does and it definitely shows up in his service. Food was terrific… Highly recommend stopping in this location and asking for Ryan when you’re there! He’ll take good care of you!!!

We have always enjoyed this place. It’s one of the spots we «have to» go to when my in laws come here from Sweden and we are supposed to go when they come here in December. However, we went here last weekend for dinner, got there a little early to beat the crowd and pretty much wish we had not had gone.
First, we got seated pretty quickly because there wasn’t much of a crowd at the time we got there, but that was about the only positive thing. After we sat down, I went up to the front register to try to get a couple of gift cards to give to my in laws when they get here in December but it took at least 10 minutes for the people at the front counter to figure out how to load a couple of Gift cards. Ultimately, I was rang up for the gift cards and then sat down and looked at my receipt to figure out they were done for the wrong amount. Then I went up to confirm how much were actually on the cards just to make sure it matched the receipt, because I didn’t really care how much the gift cards before for and it took another 5 – 6 minutes just for someone to figure out how to check the balance.
But all of that wasn’t too much of a big deal, the reason we go there is for the food, not for the cash register experience. However, the big let down of the night was when we got the food. My wife’s plate was okay, but mine was pretty much a let down. I’m posting a pic because I thought it was hilarious how undesirable this $ 23 plate of food looked. It just looked like a pile of fries with a couple of things thrown on top of it. I see from other pictures on Yep that the onion rings on my plate were quite different than what most people have gotten. The shoestring onion rings that were put on mine seemed totally out of place and looked and nothing like the photos on the menu. I’m pretty sure that they either ran out of the right kind or just got the wrong kind from their supplier. But eating a bunch of shoestring onions doesn’t really make sense unless they’re on a burger. They should have been regular onion rings. Regardless, the plate just looked rather unappealing. I’m torn because I really have lost confidence in this place, but now I have $ 125 worth of gift cards and in laws that are going to want to go there in December. Please, Please Joe’s Crab Shack, try to do a better job next time.

My BDAY yesterday went with a group of six. The meal took more than 2 hours, as we were not a priority. The waitress Sarah gave all her time to a larger group and saw us a couple of times during the 2 and a half hours there. The only thing that was actually hot was the great balls of fire appetizer, which took about 45 minutes after ordered to get to us. The crab boils and crab cake entrees all came out cold and tasted like they were sitting out for quite awhile.
1^st and last time I will ever go to Joe’s and will definitely tell others not to waste their time or money.
Thanks for the memories; p

Second time we have been here while on vacation and love it ! My mom and I are not seafood eaters at all haha but my dad is so we have to come.
The staff is very friendly and it’s mandatory valet parking. The ocean marina view is amazing ! Our waitress was so friendly and outgoing and she gave us a $ 5 appetizer coupon ! My mom got salad and mozzarella sticks and salad and thought it was decent. I loved the chicken tenders and fries with coleslaw ! My dad got the original seafood bucket with sausage, potatoes, corn, and crab legs. We all did enjoy our food and prices are decent. No complaints would return.

First off, I will start by saying I’m not a huge fan of seafood. I occasionally like it, but won’t go out of my way to buy it.
I came here with a large party, and our waitress was very friendly and helped us with all of our needs. The environment of this place is very exciting as they yell across the restaurant, and make guests with a birthday do something funny, such as dance in a hula skirt or sing happy birthday to themselves. It’s definitely a great place to bring your family!
The restaurant was clean and well-​kept, and has a view of the ocean!
I ordered the blackened mahi tacos… I was not a huge fan of these, since they were a little too spicy for my tastebuds. I did however try some of my friend’s crab and dipped it in butter, and it was delicious.
A pricey place, but you’re in Newport Beach… What do expect? Overall, good experience here.

On our last night in Newport beach we wanted to try some of there seafood and have some crabs… So I opened my trusted Unilocal app to find a nice joint. By the time I knew It, I was at Joe’s Crab Shack!
We walked in and were greeted at the door and taken to a nice comfy booth table. We were being server by 2 girls and they were very friendly and knowledgeable obout the menu and whats good.
We got started with their «Get Started» section and ordered a Bucket of Shrimp, which is a Joe’s classic. Cooked into Seasoning, plump and ready to peel! We really enjoyed the appetizer and patiently waited for the main course.
For the main course I ordered a bucket of Jumbo Bairdi Crab which had potatoes in the same buckets and was cooked in Garlic seasoning (i think) and also came with French fries & hushpuppies on the side. I choose Jumbo Bairdi Crab as it is a rare catch and was mentioned on the menu, so I really wanted to try it. I have to say the crab was extra meaty and large, the potatoes were very good and so were the hushpuppies.
To wrap everything up we went for dessert. So I started looking at the menu again. My eyes gazed at Chocolate Shack Attack and my mouth started drizzling. But before ordering I asked the server how big is it and she stated it’s one serving… trust me one serving American standard was enough to feed dessert to 2 and half people. Chocolate Shack Attack was Six gigantic layers of decadent chocolate cake and icing (see the picture). WOW!!! it was soooo good, I loved it but I could not finish it.
One thing I forgot to mention, for the birthday folks they come and sing, it was quite interesting.
Over all, the experience was great and I truly enjoy everything we ordered from the menu.

Oh, Joe’s…(check the profile pic)
This location is amazing because it is right on the water in Newport. It faces a bunch of yachts, but the sunset that falls behind is amazing and breathtaking. It’s right off PCH so keep a sharp eye out if you’re unfamiliar with the area!
Service: 3 stars.
The service is consistently off. Some visits it’s really good and others it’s awful. I know their «claim to fame» is the servers taking breaks to sing and dance at times, but it can get really annoying. I just wanted to enjoy my crab, dammit. They always seem to be understaffed and really busy, so it’s hard to get a refill or order more food.
Food: 3.5 stars.
Their pots are really filling and pretty decent I tend to favor the Alaskan pot. I think it’s hard to mess up a steam pot, but that’s just my opinion. I’ve definitely had better but then again, that was in Maine.
Location: 3.5 stars.
Very family oriented and comforting. This place is geared towards kids and families. I would never take my date here, unless I was trying to scare him off immediately. However, I really like the location. It’s obviously going to be pricey because, HELLO, it’s located in Newport Beach amongst Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari dealerships with a beautiful view of Newport Beach. So yes, it is pricey.

It was a really fun family atmosphere so perfect to hang with the siblings. Lots of bright colors, tye-​dye shirt wearing servers, loud atmosphere, a view of the bay (except at night, hard to see).
Big portions but not anything special. If I had kids and a big family I could see myself going back out but for the time being it really finally answered the question of «what is that place like?»
I had the coconut shrimp which came with fries, a couple spoonfuls of coleslaw and a couple deep fried dough with little taste. The shrimp was good. Had a Sam Adams but saw that a couple tables got these colorful little drinks that seemed to be a big deal.
Overall, I think it’s a great alternative to the normal round of family restaurants out there like Apple Bees. Had a good time and the meal wasn’t bad. If you like seafood it’s worth a try.