Joe's Crab Shack — Restaurant in Galveston

My wife, children and I were in Galveston celebrating my wife’s birthday and choose Joe’s Crab Shack as a safe and familiar option. We have 2 young children and keeping the experience familiar is a safe option.

Shorten summary: After being seated - Long wait to receive service, drinks, food Over cooked sirloin - ordered Medium and received Well Done Attempted to purchase necklace and bracelet for kids but a personnel issue/discount issue/ and ownership issue occurred.

The evening of our visit was likely a typical Saturday night - 45 minute wait for a table. My family and I waited about that amount of time before being seated. Once seated we waited quite a bit of time before our server introduced herself. We understood because from what we could tell, she was waiting on several tables at once. When she first introduced herself we took advantage and ordered everything - drinks, appetizers and meals. Unfortunately we did not speak to our server for quite some time and after 20 of waiting, our drinks showed up (Using the text message from Joe’s letting us know a table was ready-for-us as a reference - 30 minutes from being seated) at several points I asked about an estimate of time arrival and the server did not have a idea. When our food arrived (65 minutes after ordering) the steak I ordered was overcooked. When I grabbed the attention of the server, she finished my sentence before I could say the words, “That is not Medium”. She asked me to wait and a gentlemen came and said he would take the meal off the bill. Now well over an hour after ordering (2 hours at the location) and there wasn’t an offer to make the situation right, outside of a refund.

Fast forward to leaving the location and my kids wanted a bracelet and necklace to remember the occasion. While we were waiting for our food we noticed a 15% discount for purchases over $25. Our purchase was over that amount and qualified for the discount. After having trouble finding someone to help me a young man rang up the transaction with his manager. Disappointed with the earlier experience my patience was thin so I had my card out and prepared to pay. A short period of time elapsed and a server jumped between me and the machine to ring up another transaction - I politely asked if there was a problem and the young man said that a manager would need to provide the discount. I asked who the gentleman who was just there was? The server and the young man said, “a manager”. The server left and I asked if there was a problem with the original transaction, he said, “Well you wanted the discount”. I asked him if he was suggesting I was the problem. He shook his head and I decided to leave.

I throughout the experience I acknowledged with our server that there are things outside of her control however some of the things that were: I asked several times an ETA on food, specifically for the kids food. Never had an explanation except that she would check with the cooking staff, I privately informed her that it was my wife’s birthday and tables around us received birthday celebrations, drinks were extremely slow. While I know there is a reliance on the bar staff, there is pressure or awareness that can be applied to help shorten the 20 minute wait.

Overall, very disappointed with the friendliness, efficiency, competency, and ownership that this location...

If I could give y’all 0 stars I took my 4 children on Sunday & we made reservations w/a hi chair because I have a small child when we were seated we got a booth & were told we could not put a chair there because that’s the hallway where they pass by with food trays I then asked the waitress if we could be moved because my son had to be seated in a high chair when I made the reservation I put on there with Hichair.. she said very loudly oh u want me to go get a manager I said yes please so we can be moved anywhere else it would be great so I can acomódate my child.I didn’t think anything of it. The Manager never showed up & she came on back & said I was told we could go back on the waiting list if we wanted to dine outside or we could be moved to the Aquarium I said ok I don’t know what the Aquarium is ? well came to find out it was like 2 tables away in the center of the restaurant across the booths. we got our food drinks & everything I spent about $130-145 tip included because even tho she was not the kindest person she still brought us our food & drinks. Well not even 30 minutes after leaving the restaurant everyone started to feel sick , noxious stomach hurting we got Food Poisoning from here for days my kids missed school I missed a few days of work & my baby is still sick til now & is having a very hard time recovering because someone in the back did not cook the food properly or did something foul to it . it took us almost 2 hours of traffic that day just to go eat food & get sick at this restaurant Shame on who ever was cooking that day y’all should really have someone keep an eye on it people can get sick & there is people that can die because of stuff like this it’s not fair!!!!! Am beyond mad my kids are young specially my little one. But one thing is for sure I can guarantee you that I will never eat at your establishment ever again not after this experience when it comes down to sea food. You should not play with peoples food. & I will make sure am heard about this not for myself but because this affected my children.Food inspector needs to come out cause someone is messing up there and I honestly feel like it was done on pourpose I hate to go to galveston and see y’all’s place open it makes me wonder how many people get sick when eating there and management does nothing...

I recently had a dining experience at Joe's Crab Shack that left me quite dissatisfied. Despite the friendly demeanor of our server, there were several major issues that overshadowed the evening.

Atmosphere and Ambiance: Upon arriving, I was surprised to find the restaurant empty, which is often a red flag. The lack of patrons could have been an indicator of what was to come. The empty dining area led to a lackluster atmosphere that lacked the lively, vibrant energy one might expect from a seafood venue.

Service: Our server was the bright spot of the visit. They were attentive, polite, and did their best to make us feel welcome. Unfortunately, great service can only go so far when other aspects of the dining experience fall short.

Food Quality: The food was the most disappointing aspect of the evening. For the high prices charged, I expected a meal that would reflect quality and freshness. However, the flavors were underwhelming and the dishes seemed to lack any real care or effort in preparation.

Crab: The crab lacked the sweetness and juiciness one expects from a seafood restaurant, making it a bland and forgettable dish. Sides: The sides were equally unimpressive, offering no redeeming qualities to balance out the lackluster main dishes.

Pricing: The meal was surprisingly expensive given the overall quality of the food. It’s frustrating to pay a premium price for a dining experience that feels far from premium. For the amount spent, one would expect a much higher standard in both the taste and presentation of the dishes.

Overall Experience: Despite the commendable efforts of a friendly server, the overall experience at Joe's Crab Shack was disappointing. The combination of a nearly empty restaurant, high prices, and subpar food quality makes it hard to justify a return visit. I hope that these issues are addressed so future patrons can enjoy a better...