Dan's Clam Stand — Restaurant in Homosassa Springs

While scanning local eateries I came across this promising highly rated establishment that was reminiscent of clam shacks in my old hometown in Massachusetts. Well imagine my surprise that find out that Dan of Dan's Clam Stand, is in fact, from that very place. No brainer that a trip here was a must and I absolutely was not disappointed at all.

I understand this joint is often packed and I get it but we were able to get in and seated right away, of course it was mid-January :-) It was still pretty busy but the service, drinks, apps and entrees all happened quickly and came out hot and fresh. Let's talk food now.......

We had pass arounds and I got THE very best onion rings that I've ever had, full stop! We couldn't resist the steamed clams app (20 for $10.99) and while they're not "steamers" they were some delicious little necks with a garlic steamed sauce that were fabulous! Everybody got some clam chowder and it is absolutely one if the best New England clam chowders I've ever had and I've had chowder from PEI to every New England state and beyond. We had friend clams, fish, lobster, scallops and more that were absolutely spot on! The sides were all very good so the meal from start to finish was one of the best dining experiences that I've had in a really long time.

There's a lot to like about this "Clam Stand" although throughout New England they're usually named "clam shacks" but the food inside is every bit as delightful as the shacks I've frequented in ME, MA, RI, CT, & NH plus some New England pretenders like NY & NJ.

If the experience wasn't top notch already I stopped a pleasant, humble and unassuming gentleman who was filling our drinks and simply asked "you wouldn't happen to be the Dan would you?" Well it was and we discovered that he was from my sweetheart's home town and they launched into a very nice conversation about all things southern Massachusetts, of course with lots of dropped R's and even more smiles, very nice indeed. This dude, Dan, from SE Massachusetts has got the real deal legit New England chowder, clams, scallops & more. Go now!!

Bottom line: The food, service, prices and atmosphere are all excellent, there's all you can ask for in a restaurant. Highly, highly, highly, highly, highly recommended! That's 5 stars and 5...

Dan's Clam Stand had a power outage just 10 minutes before my friend, Charlotte, and I walked in the door to the darkened, mostly empty, restaurant, after a 2 hour drive to get there. They had pictured a seafood Weekend Special post on FB that looked so delicious that I asked my friend if she wanted to take the drive with me. During the drive, I was thinking about that feast. "1lb Snow Crab, 1lb U Peel Shrimp, 10 steamed cedar key middle neck clams, corn , and potato topped with Cajun garlic butter. $39.99 add a lobster for only $20 bucks more." I knew I couldn't eat it all, so I'd sacrifice the potatoes and the corn pieces, and, at the minimum, take the bonus lobster ToGo. Server Susan met us with the bad news, but we weren't going home that easily. We asked to sit and think about what we could do while Susan got us some iced tea. I wasn't angry. I was in disbelief that this could happen after my enthusiasm and the long drive. It was like a bad joke and I was laughing at it. I was smiling and Susan said she liked my "energy". John, in the kitchen, listened to our food ideas/suggestions that we gave to Susan...we'll eat cold snow crab. They were both so accommodating and we received hot clam chowder and hot snow crab. Charlotte and I chatted and happily ate the generous Snow Crab special. Casey took over as our server as Susan's shift was over. Soon the power was back on and the employees were busy seeing that the lights were on, fans working, fish tanks and the lobster tanks were working. Customer parties of 6, 9, 8, and 5 started pouring in the doors. I'm happy the staff only lost about 90 minutes of Saturday night business. Between sweet Casey, helpful and energized Gary, and the kitchen crew, I got my bonus lobster, even though I was too full to order the special at that point. The employees I mentioned, did everything to make it a great meal and a worthwhile 2 hour trip. Dan's, thank you all so much. You know I'll be back... fried whole bellied clams next time! Friends, think about stopping by if you're in Crystal River and love New England seafood. It's a very relaxed,...

Since we've moved to FL about a year ago, we've been trying different places. We really were yearning for fried whole belly clams like we had in Boston. The evening started out great, our server was fantastic but can't remember his name. My husband ordered the clam soup, which was just very small slivers of clams, probably from a can. The taste was okay. He then ordered fried oysters. They were heavily breaded and over cooked. Then the clams arrived. They were also heavily breaded. I guess this was to cover up how VERY small they were. My husband started picking the breading off to see the clams. They basically look like clam strips, nothing whole about them. Not worth $26. He couldn't even tell the difference between the taste of the clams versus the oysters due the grease and heavy breading. My shrimp was alright, but not as big as I thought they would be. I'm glad I asked for light breading.

The server asked if we would like boxes for our left overs. We had decided to not say anything and just not go back. When he came back with the check, he noticed we didn't box the clams up. He asked what was wrong, which we informed him. We also told him the oysters were over cooked as well. He said he noticed that. He asked if we wanted the owner to come over. We said no, but would like for him to give her the plate to inspect. Before we left, the server said the cook would make more oysters for us but we declined. We thought the owner might come to the table anyway but a no show.

This place would be okay if you don't mind all your food to taste like greasy deep fried dough. Our server was excellent and gets 5 stars!! He was apologetic and did tell the owner. This was the worst meal ever, totally over priced and not worth the money. I guess the owner only cares about serving 10 people once instead of 1...