Joe's Crab Shack — Restaurant in Louisville

"Excellent service and delicious food with an amazing view."

Pros: Incredible customer service made you feel very welcome. Food was delicious with generous portions. Amazing view from the outdoor deck/patio creates a wonderful atmosphere.

Cons: Calamari was a tad salty. Some customers may end up smoking cigarettes while on the outdoor patio. Music on the outdoor patio speakers were a bit loud, could be turned down a bit so that people can hear each other's conversations.

I visited Joe's Crab Shack last week after finishing up with a conference in Louisville and per the recommendation of a friend. I was greeted instantly by the staff and when I mentioned that it was my first time in Louisville, Alek was kind enough to give me a short summary of the city, culture, and what was up and coming. I really appreciated it and helped me to understand the area a bit more. I was also assisted by Angie who was very attentive and helped me with menu recommendations. She had a very nice demeanor and went out of her way to make sure I had an enjoyable dining experience.

The food was delicious! I ordered Joe's Classic Sampler for the Appetizer, which had a variety of items. I really liked the crab and shrimp dip and the Great Balls of Fire (which consisted of shrimp and crab shaped like a deep-fried ball) were flavorful. For the entree, I ordered the East Coast Platter which had a crab cake that used REAL crab (and not the imitation kind) where you can really taste the chunks of crab and not as much filler. Also, the bacon-wrapped shrimp filled with seafood stuffing was plump and juicy and was delightful to eat. Overall the food was great and you can taste the freshness of the seafood. I also appreciated the large portions and was fairly priced.

Ken's Takeaway: If you like seafood and wonderful southern hospitality, check out Joe's Crab Shack. The portions were generous and prices were reasonable. I would caution about sitting on the outside patio since there are certain aspects like cigarette smoke as a well as the loud music from the over hang speakers that can detract you from enjoying the majestic view of the Ohio River and the...

We were in town for a concert and passed by thinking this might be a good place for dinner. Boy were we wrong. We waited 40 minutes for a table and another 40 for our food. The wait staff is bare bones and they're running themselves ragged. The menu prices were very high and the food quality did not match by far. Our troubles started when 2 of out meals containing fried fish arrived undercooked and full of raw batter. Our waiter Jared was a Saint and you can tell this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. He immediately informed someone and brought us fresh and fully cooked fish. The rest of the food from blackened halibut to fried shrimp was tasteless. Two orders had spoiled Cole slaw as well. We had to ask for the manager as he had not made an appearance by the time we gave up trying to eat our meals. We explained the fish and he offered us more not knowing we already had it. He offered to take off an appetizer we never ordered because it would cheaper than owning up to serving undercooked seafood. He blatantly disregarded our concerns about the quality of our meal and ranted to distract us. We ended with a 10% discount because it was the best he could do. He sent the waiter to deliver the news instead of being a manager and offering it himself. Once again our waiter was killing himself working and deserves to be acknowledged for such. It's very clear this place is quantity over quality. There was no shortage of people coming in and out and I can't understand why a place that we paid $100 for 4 inedible meals would continue to flourish. The gimmick of getting to watch the river was overshadowed by such a poor experience. Save your money and go to juicy seafood where they make sure the product is cooked, seasoned and priced appropriately with no money...

Terrible experience... we sat down on the deck and wow what an amazing view on an amazing day.... Then our waiter came over and asked us what we wanted to drink . It was very hard to understand him as if customer service was definetly not his thing but my wife and I both asked for a coke and we told him we would like the crab dip and tortillas and we already knew what we wanted for our dinner so we told him that as well and he walked away . About 10 mins later he showed back up with our drinks. Meanwhile the couple behind us had sat down , ordered their drinks and appetizer as well . So then I see their waiter bring their appetizer out and I was like dang I ordered mine about 10 minutes before them , where is mine? Still waiting ..... then after we had been there for about another 20 mins some other guy brings out our food , still no waiter , no refills and still no appetizer. I open my pot and it was supposed to be Cajun but had no flavor at all and the potatoes still had a crunch to them but still no waiter to complain to . By now I'm getting mad and losing my appetite. He finally shows up and asks how things were and my wife told him the food wasn't very good and it was under cooked . He got who I assume was the manager and he said he was sorry and brought us some potatoes that were cooked . And said sorry . He took 10% off out bill ... Our bill was $142. And some change . BY FAR THE WORST FOOD AND SERVICE OF MY 46 YEARS ON THIS PLANET!!! AND ESPECIALLY FOR. $142 DOLLARS. . THE WAITER for the table next to us asked us if we'd like some drinks to go and was so very polite we gave him the tip for our waiter by the way the nice guys name was Larry and the terrible waiters name was Dave . So disappointed. I personally will...