Ships Cafe Restaurant and Crab House — Restaurant in Catonsville

The service was horrible. The waitress was subpar at best. I dined at this establishment for a group gathering on 12/24/23. Even though the performance of the service/waitstaff person could have been better, I conceded to her that I would cover the bill for my table of 11, via card and cover the tip in cash and sign with no argument. It was insisted that the gratuity of 25% was mandatory. ( I know tables of 5 or more can add the gratuity to the bill, but the percentage is not over 20%. I paid it anyway.) When we got ready to leave, she accused that I did not pay the bill, despite the fact that I just signed the card receipt and gave her a cash tip just under 25%. She insisted that I had not paid and still owed the full bill. To resolve the matter, I went back through my billfold and recovered the receipt she left with me. In fact it was the restaurant merchant copy. At this point, I was insulted, and had had enough of this terrible experience and asked to speak to the GM or owner. Neither was available so I asked for a number. That was also declined. I was advised to leave my number, so I insisted on a return phone call before I resorted to social media (BTW, I never use social media for this type of action).

When the owner returned my call, he began our exchange by attempting to reprimand me for what he called a threat of a negative social media review.

I replied that it was not a threat, but a promise that I would follow through on if he failed to communicate upon his return to the resturant today. He became verbally belligerent, told me to never return to his restaurant, and threatened ME if I went to social media. So here I am declaring to never return to Ships, AND recommending that a good seafood dining experience is NOT curently available at this establishment.

The owner has no respect for legitimate complaints, and he supports a staff that attempts to misinform customers about billing receipts and the accompanying gratuity. Please watch your receipts and your tip amount if you choose to dine here in groups of five or more. The owner knows my name and my...

Be careful because the prices online are not the prices inside but the crabs are juicy, hot, large, meaty, and delicious. They are a delight for your soul. The staff Lynn, my waitress was nice and very knowledgeable and helpful when she could be. But beware of the costly prices but you get what you pay for!

On a side note, I don't think that the AUTOMATIC GRATUITY should be paid by to the waiter or waitress. WHAT if they are not deserving of the tip. Gratuitous means satisfied with their service. If I am not satisfied with their service or if they don't necessarily have what I or my friends have ordered do they DESERVE a TIP??? I say NO.. WHAT if the waitress or waiter was having a bad day or the cook ? I just don't think it's fair that we the customers are made to pay the waiters or waitresses paycheck with an AUTOMATIC GRATUITY of 20%... Just think if the waiter or waitress had 8 tables that day ad all oof them were a party of 4 or more spending a minimum of $1000.00. That's $1600.00 that the waiter has made.The owner is getting away with us the patrons paying the waiters or waitresses paycheck.. If we pay it then why are they employed by them. They probably are employed as independent contractors. I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

TODAY AUGUST 6,2022 SHIP'S Cafe in CATONSVILLE MD, SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES. It used to be a good place to enjoy Crabs 🦀 with family and friends but TODAY, They only had 2 DOZEN MALE MEDIUM CRABS. They said they would call us and let us know if they had any crabs and they LIED....WE CAME ALL THE WAY FROM PHILLY...A 2.5 HOUR DRIVE 🚗 😒. For them to not give us the due diligence. I AM HEATED AND THEY GAVE US A VERY HARD WAY TO GO. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BE A CRAB PLACE AND OPEN WITH ONLY 2 DOZEN CRABS. We walked out with no crabs and we are Crab eaters... 😋 They just lost out on a whole lot of money... And they don't know who they had truly in their presence. Forgive them LORD, for they not know what they do. The Churches of...

Last weekend I took my daughter and mom out to dinner and we decided to go to Ships Cafe in Catonsville. It wasn't what I expected, the atmosphere is extremely casual and based on the prices listed on the website I was expecting something more upscale. Once we arrived we had to keep our coats on because the building is very old and drafty. We were moved to three different locations before we ordered attempting to find an area that was warm enough to take our coats off. Our server (Z) was very friendly and accommodating. The quality of our food was fair and expected. However, when it was time to box things up (Z) told us this story about them having some difficulty in the past with patrons it was non-specific. I then commented that the past patrons must have been rude. I had no idea that this was her explanation for the mandatory gratuity on the bill we finally recieved. I was taken back by the gratuity but I assumed everyone must have recieved it across the board. There was a couple sitting next to us and they recieved there bill the same time we did but they had a different waitress. We were talking and I mentioned the gratuity threw me off but I usually tip 20% for good service and meal. THE WEIRD THING WAS THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A GRATUITY ON THEIR BILL. DID I FORGET TO MENTION THAT I'M A BLACK AMERICAN AND THE GUY I WAS SPEAKING TO WAS A VERY NICE BLONDE CAUCASIAN WITH A HISPANIC DATE. To say the least I was outraged that because we were black our bill included a mandatory tip and theirs didn't. My mom didn't want me to make a spectacle so I complied for her sake and paid. On my way out I spoke with a manager who stated that everyone was suppose to recieve an altered check with a gratuity. LOL HOW ODD THAT WE RECIEVED A GRATUITY BUT THE COUPLE NEXT TO US DIDN'T. As I said goodbye I told her that this would be the first and last time we'd...