Dinardo’s Famous Crabs

Eh, the crab bisque was so thick it seemed like crab dip — filet was ok, small. The shrimp scampi had only 4 small shrimp and was very greasy. Dessert was generic nothing special. The one thing we did enjoy was the buffalo shrimp. Crispy & flavorful. All in all it was OK at best. I don’t think we’ll he back. Service was slow to start but picked up.

Ordered jumbo crab legs which were 60 $ per pound. Only got 2 legs and it was bland as fuck the fried shrimp we ordered was also bland and very greasy. Definitely not worth it! NEVER GOING BACK. Shout out to Chickie and Petes they’re the real mvp. Their crab is wayyyyy cheaper and 100 times better with more quantity and not to mention delicious. With what we paid for 1 pound at this place we could’ve had quadruple the crabs at chickie and Petes. This place rapes!

My co workers and I went to DiNardos for restaurant week lunch. It was a disaster. Our bill was about $ 200 and we split it 4 ways. two 25 $, one $ 60, and the remaining balance. My particular portion of the bill was $ 25. When my debit card over drafted on Monday morning (today) I was very concerned after seeing a $ 140 withdrawl from DiNardos. I calmly called the restaurant and gave my information to a woman named Debbie– who stated she woudl pass my info along to the manager. The manager Liz called me back around 3pm stating that there had been a mistake with the charges and gave me a very convoluted explanation (that i could care less about honestly) that resulted in her basically saying that the server mistakingly charged my card twice. Once for the $ 25, and again for the remaining balance of $ 84 — resulting in a final withdrawl of $ 109– which I later saw on my web statement.
So after 20 minutes of explaining– she didn’t offer to make any adjustments– as if Im supposed to continue to pay $ 109 for a $ 25 meal… mind you we all had receipts with signatures for the correct amounts that we should be charged– so charging the cards properly should have been a very simple call to the merchant.
So when I stated to her that I do not want to be charged the $ 109… she stated that she would take it out of (and I quote) «The hardworking server who works long hours for her family» IS SHE KIDDING ME?! Was that supposed to make me feel guilty? Not that I want to take money out of any hard working person’s pocket– because Lord knows I work hard for mine… but I could care less how you see fit to make you this money is returned back to my account. That is why YOU are the Manager. So I then very irritated let her know she could save all the «extra sh*t, sob story about the server» That was unnecessary and actually should have come out of her pocket if the server who made the mistake worked so hard. Or how about this she could have charged the cards properly and absorbed my 25 $ lunch charge for the inconvenience of have to call her three times during my own work day to discuss this. And she actually had an attitude with me for being aggitated, and almost refused to give me my money back.
At the end of the day I am being reimbursed for the entire charge as well as the 35 $ overdraft fee that my bank charged me today.
I will never eat here again. The food was ok, very rich– but not worth the aggravation.
The manager is an idiot.
And to Cindy our server — who did make an honest mistake. Your boss is an asshole who blamed it all on you and wants to take our meal out of your check. Im sorry. I hope this doesnt overdraft your account like it did mine. And I hope you find another job where you are treated with more respect and make a lot more money.
Mr. DiNardo and Mr. Patrone I hope you read this … This customer service was a hot mess.

This was a special evening and I know that it’s not the food it’s the company but really!
Table of 5
One order was wrong– wrong soup sent, after my boyfriend just sucked it up and ate what was sent, the waiter realized and brought a second soup. WHY?
One order was forgotten-​one main dish completely forgotten– Crab Cakes and french fries, the easiest of all the dishes ordered and it was just forgotten
The food was expensive-​every dish was over $ 25 and not worth the money
The service was terrible-​maybe it was a bad night
Could have stayed for coffee and dessert but decided to hightail out of the restaurant and go to «Happily Ever After» on Market Street.
Too many good restaurants in the city, won’t have to try this one ever again!

My first trip to DiNardos was not what I expected. I had a vision of a modern restaurant with great seafood. While the food was great, the décor and atmosphere of the restaurant left something to be desired. Despite the lacking décor, we enjoyed the crab cake sandwich, oyster poboy, and calamari.

My husband and I found this restaurant thanks to Groupon after an afternoon at Sugar House Casino. We bought the Groupon in the casino parking lot at 4:50pm and were parked outside of the restaurant by 4:55pm (FYI closest parking is metered 3 hr street parking from 8am-6:30pm M-​Sat). We had made a reservation on Open Table for 5:15pm but we were promptly sat as soon as we arrived. My husband and I split the shrimp cocktail and a pound of snow crab legs. Everything was delicious. The cocktail sauce was this yummy blend of sweet and tangy. The crab legs along with the sides of green beans and fries were very good. The restaurant was decently busy because it was all you can eat crabs night but our waitress did a good job of checking up on us and the other server helped out by clearing our table. I really liked how a woman (who I’m guessing is a manager/​owner) checked in with tables and actively listened and responded to customer feedback. In response to previous reviews about décor, everything looked fine enough to me. The restaurant was decorated nicely for the holidays. This place seems like a nice neighborhood restaurant. My husband and I definitely want to come back soon for some AYCE crabs.

Stay away. This place needs a serious overhaul. The service is poor and the décor is very outdated but not in a historic way. The food is below average and I have made better at home. The seafood was overcooked and they got our order wrong. We then had to wait 20 minutes for them to fix our order. I won’t be back… It’s a shame because it may have once been an institution.

Came here last night, and experienced a friendly and personable bartender while I waited for my party to arrive. He made pretty good dirty martinis too. Food was pretty solid. They should bottle the sauce the New Orleans shrimp come in. The stuff shrimp with crab meat was pretty good. Seem like there was a little too much filler in the crab though. Good snapper soup and good clams casino. I tried a mussel and i t was sandy. Not sure if I just got a bad one or what. My big complaint is the décor, it looks like an old relic from the 70s. They could do some updating. Especially in the bathroom.

I was brought here by my boyfriend for my birthday. Needless to say we were both disappointed. The ambiance is more geared toward Gordon fisherman rather than a couple on a date. The drinks tasted watered down like there was no liquor involved at all. The «famous fries» were excessively seasoned damn near giving me high blood pressure. And once the entrees came out Oh my gosh it smelled horrid. The first and last time I will ever step foot in here.

After one of my friend’s raving about this place for years, we finally went. What a disappointment for both of us! The food was just average, and the price of crabs was insanely high. The waitress was nice enough to inform of us the pricing before we ordered, and it definitely did influence our order because we didn’t want to spend $ 100 on lunch. It seems like the place needs an overhaul aesthetically. I guess this place may have been great back in the day, but I don’t see how they will stay in business for many more years unless something changes.

Very disappointed. One of my crabs had small BLACK BUGS in the crab meat. I was told they are seasoning. THEY WERE BUGS AND ABSOLUTELY NOT SEASONING! Their crabs were not fresh. DO NOT GO!

We all work hard for our money right? And for the record I rarely wrote reviews. But this place. DO NOT GO. The worst service and I gave it two chances. Inattentive bar tender and servers. They just sit and stare at you. The food. Wow. Can it get anymore over priced. Ever.
The crabs are small and they call they large. And charge 11.95. Each. For real.
We complained and they said that’s what they are. The crabs were cold. They never come back.
I have to say. I own a business near by and there are some fabulous restaurants around. Not only is it dated. It is like nobody cares. I was told the bartender had a touch of autism. Who divulges such info.
I will never go back here and will never recommend this mediocre place to anyone. They don’t care. Worst ever in my life and I am a foodie.

$ 40 for a pound of snow crabs! We ordered the blue crabs instead steamed in garlic and oil. We asked for jumbo but were told that they didn’t have any. The oil was good but the crabs were way too little to get any flesh out of it. That was the most dissatisfying crab picking experience. The crab soup and clam chowder were ok and the little neck clams were solid. Fries were good. Service was warm and the hostess was super friendly. Maybe we’ll call in next time to see if they have jumbo crabs.

We were there at 1pm on Friday, July 3^rd and we honestly didn’t think they were open. There was only one other table of diners eating. My wifes chower came to the table totally cold and had to have it sent back and warmed up. We were not impressed.

It was my first time eating blue crabs– I’m ravenous when it comes to dungeness, king, snow… so I went in very excited.
I was very confused by the options (regular, large, jumbo) of crab sizes. The waitress seemed confused when I told her I wanted a pound of crab, even going so far as to say that there was «no way they could know what a pound was»… what??? So we just ordered three large crabs each and hoped it was enough food.
It was good and messy (no wet-​wipes? I eat exclusively with my hands when it comes to crab, I must be part raccoon), and expensive!
It was absolutely delicious… I just wasn’t expecting to spend $ 100 on lunch. But I definitely wouldn’t have been satisfied with just one crab (between 10 and 12 dollars per crab depending on size), so I can’t be too surprised when I get ~$ 60 worth of crab for two people!

I wish there was a way to give 2.5 stars.
We went to DiNardo’s for dinner on a Thursday. I wasn’t too keen on the idea because it’s generally not a great value. I’m not opposed to spending a decent amount of money to have a great meal, but I hate feeling like I’m getting hosed.
Anyway. We arrived and were seated quickly without a reservation, which was nice. We ordered our drinks and apps. We’d wanted to get the Cajun shrimp app and the cocktail claws from the raw bar. Sadly, they were out of the crab claws so we got the Littleneck steamers. Both the shrimp and the clams were good.
The décor is dated, but in a charming way. My date got a blackened shrimp entrée, which he enjoyed and I got the crab stuffed broiled flounder filet, which I did not. To be honest, it tasted like the stuffed tilapia you get at the grocery store when you’re too lazy to make real food. It just wasn’t good eating.
I usually get snow crab by the pound, but the market price was about $ 40/​lb, which is a bit high considering that I can get the same for $ 8/​lb. I understand food cost, but 5x retail for steaming crab seems silly.
My last issue was with the drinks. I ordered two drinks, both Jameson on the rocks with ginger ale. I only received one and was charged for both. (Though they did take the unreceived drink off the bill). I was honestly shocked by the price of my drink. 12.50. Are you kidding me? I’m a bartender (in Old City) and that’s a legitimately obscene price for a simple rocks drink. $ 10 – 11, I could even see but this is just a case of a place that has substandard food that charges a premium for it.
The apps are good, everything else is ridiculously overpriced and kinda meh. Would not recommend.

I found this restaurant ok, I had the crab soup, the crab balls which were pretty good, my entrée was the fried seafood combo that I compared to a diner selection with the exception of the crab cake. The service was mediocre however the hostess was very accommodating.

Service was friendly and food was good. The crabs were so delicious, but they were at MP. BOY, WAS IT A SURPRISE WHEN THE BILL CAME OUT. We ordered an appetizer, an entrée, and a dozen crabs with some beers, and it was $ 200.
I’d suggest going down the street to Chinatown, get some blue crabs while in season, and steaming them at home!

This is what I call a «step back in time» restaurant, but in a very good way — the staff is authentic but very friendly and helpful — it was obvious that several diners were regulars, always a good sign — I ate at the bar since I was alone — the furnishings were dated and quaint at the same time — you can have a $ 15 entrée or a $ 60 entrée — wide range — several crab options if you know how to eat those without embarrassing yourself (I don’t) — crab bisque, blackened jumbo shrimp with baked potato and green beans, glass of Pinot Grigio — thumbs up — very walkable historic neighborhood also

Went here a few years back with a
gift certificate. After the waitress took my certificate she came back and said her manager stated that they are no longer accepting them but I can get a refund from
. So that was bad enough, but then when I tried to get the refund it turned out that the waitress had already called in the certificate meaning it was marked as being used. Not only did I pay full price at Dinardos, but I couldn’t get the refund for the certificate. I called Dinardos but they never contacted
to rectify the issue. And the food is just average. I will NEVER go back here.

Oh so great! Garlic crabs… Stop, just get the garlic crabs…
I am a big fan of garlic crabs of all sorts after having tried them in FL over a decade ago. Dinardo’s does not disappoint. Great Maryland Blue Crabs oh so garlicky. Perfectly cooked. Only issue is that it takes me so long to suck on two that the third and any side dish is cold before I get to them. I wish they gave you bread to mop up the garlic boil because it is oh so tasty by itself.
Street parking can be a bit of a problem so arrive early if you have a reservation. We walked in on a Tuesday night and pretty much had the restaurant to ourselves.

Visiting on vacay at the rec of a friend. Good crabs for Philly! Bread before the meal was ok. Crab cake special was rich and flavorful. The shrimp cocktail was good but not «jumbo». Crab soup was delicious. Baked potato came with sour cream. Linguine was actually very good. Very friendly staff. Crabs were delightful.