Backfins Crab House

I am new to Unilocal,so therefore this review is from a prior experience. My family and I visited this restaurant a couple of months ago. I had heard a few of my former coworkers raving on how good the restaurant is so we decided to give it a try. The atmosphere is very relaxed as one of the waitresses was wearing «booty shorts» but I digress. Overall the food was a 5 on a scale of 1 – 10, the price was ok, and the service was a 4. I honestly do not think it lived up to the hype my coworkers made it seem. Nothing to try again.

Great service and food!!! We can on a Thursday around 6pm and got seated right away. Waitress was very attentive and took care everyone at our table

A little on the pricier side, but what seafood place isn’t? The help at the bar was great, and you get a BUNCH of food for what you pay. They also carry a few of the White Street beers from just down the road. I’d recommend it!

We went for the first time last Saturday. Place was packed so we sat at the bar,(my first choice anyway) the beer is super cold, the food is amazing and large portions and the staff is off the chain. They went above and beyond to make us happy! I had the steamed platter which is great and a huge amount of food, the wife had the crab cakes and she loved them. This is a «Must Do» place if you are in the area. We are going back this weekend!!!

Very friendly staff. Best seafood in wake! Food came out fast n fresh. They offer seasonal softshell crab. A must stop for any seafood lover!

recently moved to wake forest, and happy to have discovered my new favorite restaurant! i’m originally from florida, so i’m a bit spoiled when it comes to good seafood. this is the best i’ve had in the triangle area by far, and the prices are very decent for the quality and portions they provide. i love the casual, laid back vibe of this place! it’s a great place to go with friends… nothing brings people together like pounding crabs with a wooden mallet :)
as an appetizer, we ordered the crabcakes (seared). they are made from pure lump crab (no fillers). they were (2) good sized cakes and very delicious! we also called ahead to reserve 6 large male blue crabs, and they did not dissappoint! for dinner, my husband and i split the steamed platter and my mind was blown! steamed clams, oysters, snow crab, shrimp, corn, red potatoes and MORE blue crab!!! it was plenty of food to split between two people, especially after a few appetizers! i was also delighted to learn they serve the local white street beers, in addition to several other beer selections. each time i’ve been, the service is fast and friendly. i can’t wait to go back.

we’ve been there several times — whenever we are in Wake Forest for an evening (we live in raleigh, kids sports often nearby) its a must stop
If you like REAL seafood (not mushy boiled stuff) this is the place, MD style. I really appreciate how they have platters and let you mix/​match and they have local brews on tap. Oysters, crab legs, softshells, etc, all good.
Just went down to Myrtle beach and it REALLY made me appreciate Backfin’s, I would have been much happier with my food at a quality place down there if Backfin’s didn’t spoil me — better seafood for the buck

I will never go there again. My wife and I were seated at a table for two as you turn right, towards the back of the restaurant. While we were looking at the menu, a party of four was seated, and they were immediately helped by a waitress who knew them. Another party was seated afterwards, and less than two minutes later a different waitress passed our table to help them. I will never recommend this place to anyone. I will send them to Shuckers instead. They may be a little pricey but you will get service. If I could I wouldn’t give you any stars.

Once again, Backfin did not disappoint! Good, quality seafood at a reasonable price. I had the crab cake and scallops combo. I also had calamari, along with the cream of crab soup as an appetizer. Let me just say, 90% of my entrée went home with me because I was STUFFED after my starters. I did eat my fries as I knew they wouldn’t taste as good reheated. The fries are fresh cut and delicious.
One thing to keep in mind: hushpuppies are a side item and don’t automatically come with your meal. That’s a little unusual for this type of restaurant, but they give you plenty, so if you are dining with someone, one of you get hushpuppies and split them. Also, don’t come to Backfin expecting anything fancy. Table coverings are paper, plates and utensils are plastic. Don’t worry though, you’ll enjoy the food so much that you won’t mind the frugal flatware. :-)

Menu was brief and specific; fresh seafood! All you can eat feast or simple sandwiches. Between my wife and i, we had maryland crab soup, fried crab cake, and fried shrimp sandwich with fries. OMG, it was the best!!!
I’m originally from New Orleans, so I have high expectations of fried shrimp sandwiches and this was the best that i have had since leaving. It tasted so fresh I swear they had just peeled, breaded and fried it as I ordered it. The shrimp had that nice snap when you first bite into it and you can just taste the freshness of it. I didn’t count them but they were medium sized and alot for a sandwich. The fries were great, not over cooked or too greasy.
My wife’s crab cake was the size of a think burger and was cooked with perfection, nice outer crust and juicy but not falling apart from all the typical fillers people use rather then use a lot of crab to cut cost.
Our overall experience was awesome and so was wait staff. We look forward to going back for the blue crab all you can eat feast. Now if only they had crawfish, I’d have no reason to visit New Orleans anymore.

Food was bad but service was nice. If I want green beans from a can, I have a canopener.

Incredibly good. Huge portions. Fun bar atmosphere. Great party place. Best crab cakes ever…1 ½″ thick. Awesome hush puppies too. Rock in’ fries.

Went for the fried oysters and fish. Not good. It was obvious they had not changed the fryer oil in a long time. Burnt tasting, soggy, fries not at all crispy. They looked awful. My wife said worst dinner she ever had. Stay away.

Called ahead and ordered a dozen large blue crabs to eat in the restaurant. We were seated immediately with a reservation and informed our crabs were ready when we were ordering drinks. The service was awesome. Great atmosphere and the crabs were to die for… we will definitely be back. The key is to call ahead!

This place is by far the best I have ate at as far as seafood is concerned. I are here for the first time last night with a friend and I ordered the all you can eat crab legs. I was very surprised! The wait staff were attentive and very nice. I do not think I even ran out before they brought more. This is my new spot for crag legs.

Went in for the first time last night with kids in tow and we enjoyed everything. We had ½ raw and ½ steamed oysters, fried shrimp, fried oysters, scallops, and soft shell crab and everything was good. Service was also good. The only thing I would have preferred were more healthy choices for the seafood and the restaurant is really noisy. We will be back!

I don’t even like seafood and I like going to this place.
Very fresh seafood per my Maryland native fiancé (he knows crabs). I tried a taste of the crab soup that he ordered and it was actually really good, not «fishy» like other seafood I’ve tried.
I love the laid back atmosphere and it’s fun to see people «pick crabs» straight into the brown paper covered tables. I can’t wait to go back.

A friend told us about Backfin’s crab cakes. He is from Maryland and swore they were hands down the best he’s ever had. We put off going there for a while, but I finally took my girlfriend there for a «something different» night. We went before once but upon arriving at the front door, realized they were closing in 30 minutes (it seems it was about 7:30 and they were closing at 8, not sure but it was much earlier than I expected). I never want to be going in that soon to closing, so without entering, we turned and left. I had never been inside but this time I called in advance to see when they closed. (Friday night @10pm). We arrived about 8:30. Casual and a great little hole in the wall place. For downtown Wake Forest at that time of night, I felt they were fairly busy, about ¹⁄₃ full. There was a sign stating «coldest beer in town» as we entered the front door. A rustic beach cabin type atmosphere (was a cool setting), but No frills…(Brown paper «table cloths», solo cups, styrofoam plated and plastic ware.) I wanted some peanuts to throw the shells on the floor. The service was quick and informed. Immediate waters and menus. Rachel was off but quick to return and we were ready. We noticed there was only 1 tap, and ordered a bottled Corona $ 3.25 and and a White Street Irish Ale (dark) $ 4.50 draught for me (in a Solo cup), hush puppies $ 2.99 and char grilled oysters $ 9.99 (8 pc), 1 crab cake platter $ 21.99. Rachel gave us a choice of fried or pan seared crab cakes. She helped us easily decide on one of each. Soon the appetizers came with melted butter, cocktail sauce and lemons. This was a basket of hush puppies and they were piping hot. The oysters had what tasted like Parmesan cheese and garlic on the and though the shells were a good size, the oysters were a bit small (I know steaming them can reduce their «raw size» so it was prolly normal.) They were good and I wished there would have been more. Then came the platter with onion rings, slaw & 2 flattened down (still nearly 2″ thick) softball sized cakes. The smell was as amazing as the taste. The onion rings were like home made but Rachel said she thought they were not. They were really good. The crab cakes Were almost 100% lump crab (surely there were some binders but you couldn’t tell). I have to admit it was the best crab cakes I’ve ever had. I think I liked the pan seared best but honestly they were both great. It was a good experience of really good food and service. Total with $ 10 tip= $ 60.
Oh… I’m not sure how many beers they have total (but for sure only 1 on tap). I don’t think either of us got the coldest «one» they have. The bottle seemed colder than the draught but it’s hard to tell the the feel of a Solo cup. We took half the hush puppies home. We were STUFFED and Happy Happy Happy. Then a beautiful arm on arm stroll through downtown Wake Forest. Does it get any better?

Grilled oysters and crab cake were amazing. Special lemon pepper shrimp were good as well and how bad can a dozen raw oysters be…

My bride is not a seafood fan, so when she went to visit family out of town, and my dad visited for a day, I decided it was prime time to check out a place I’d been wanting to visit for months. Backfin’s did not disappoint on a Friday evening.
I’m not really a bluecrab fan — too much work for too little payoff. I was excited to see snow crab on the menu, but I wanted to sample a little of everything so the steamed platter was on my agenda. Our server gave us some small samples of the soups as well, and wow — great stuff. The steamed platter could have easily fed both my bride and myself, but cest la vie, she wouldn’t have been interested even if she was there. It came with peel & eat shrimp, steamed clams, steamed oysters, blue crab, snow crab, corn and potatoes. A pile of gluttony for one person (see the picture I uploaded). My dad had fried scallops and of course, I had to sample those as well… not my favorite way to have scallops. My platter was tasty, and when it got to the bluecrabs, it really was a lot of work.
Great food, great service, okay atmosphere. They could probably stand to turn the stereo down so we could hear ourselves and our server talk.
Next time my bride’s out of town, I know where I’m going for dinner.