Costas Inn — Restaurant in Essex

Not attentive, overly priced, and the food was alright. This review is based on my 30 May 2022 visit.

Review: Mandated 18% TIP. If the TIPS concept is to insure proper service, the restaurant was utilizing the inverse concept this day. We sat with infilled drink glasses most of the visit. To even get our server we had to consistently ask other staff to support. Mind, the dining room was not busy this day. Perhaps he went crabbing after taking our initial order. The TIP charge of $78 did not insure proper service.

Paying attention to details, or lack there of. After ordering a very common beer (not some rare Belgium brew), the server came back and said they were out. Not a problem. Then a member from the bar stopped by to notify us they were out. Not a problem. When receiving our bill, we were charged for the beer they did not have. A problem! And of course, our server could not be found to discuss.

Food time. After some post game research, we found large crabs are about $20-30 cheaper by the dozen in surrounding counties for the same size. Also, if you can’t serve good corn, don’t serve bad corn! The corn reminded us of the small corn you find in a can for stir fry. Come on! This is Maryland, a state known for its white, sweet, delicious corn. Just say you don’t have it, like you did the beer. Also, there were no crab knives, just regular knives. Not a big deal, but it just goes to show the lack of details. Especially for a crab house that has high prices to begin with.

All in all, this was a poor demonstration of good service, quality food, and attention to details. We visited another crab house in Anne Arundel county - better crabs, cheaper crabs, amazing service, quality food products, and a well trained team.

I do hope this was a one off! Please perform some market research, don’t serve inferior product for your price scheme, and train the team! I believe this restaurant can be an amazing place with...

My husband and I visited Costas Inn on Saturday on a whim we like to think ourselves to be crab afficionados, so when we saw crabs on the sign we decided to stop in.Glad we did, upon entering we were greeted and immediately it felt very Welcoming. Our server was Evelyn, a bright, smiling, pleasant, and attentive young lady. She made sure to keep our beverages full and had anything we might need for our meal before being requested. The food was delightful, we ordered Crab soup (almost a dead ringer for my Moms recipe), Crab egg rolls(which came with a neat delicious little salad) Corn on the cob ( pre- basted with real butter and Old Bay season)and of course a dozen of Jumbo crabs. Everything was amazing, and coming from me, I'm a hard sell on food these days. This place is a culinary delight.. We rate our crab experiences as we have traveled all around Maryland and have eaten Alot of crabs, Costas Inn has taken our top spot on the board. My hubby and I were so pleased with the service we left feeling extremely full and satisfied. In addition, I accidentally left my entire purse in the dining room (something I have never ever done before). Upon realizing my mishap, I phoned Costas, and immediately, the young man soothed my nerves and assured my purse was recovered and safely secured. We rushed back to retrieve it, and the hostess her name escapes me, but she had gorgeous eyes and dark hair. She reassured me that I had no worries that they were family owned & operated, and all was well. My purse was returned with Everything in tact. My hubby and I will most certainly be adding Costas Inn to our dining rotation. Thank you to the Costas Inn Owners and Staff for keeping the family restaurant feel alive. The Crowns 👑 !

Side note we are returning on Friday for our date night The Crab...

I’ve eaten here a few times now, and every time has been great. The price point is a bit high, especially for entrees, but I figure that owes itself to the freshness of the seafood, due to the restaurant’s proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and the ports of Baltimore. Sandwiches and light fare run upwards of $10, which again, is very reasonable given the quality, which I would also imagine is vital to the staying power of this establishment, which has been around for decades, and has the framed news articles inside to prove it. They have a decent variety of seafood, fried and steamed, shellfish and fin fish, and great specials. If you like oyster stew, the bowl is $11-12, it’s delicious and comes with several absolutely massive oysters. I’m incredibly picky with my pasta salad, and I’ve found it can be either great or terrible at any given place; I’ve always thought that the quality of the pasta salad can often be an indicator of a restaurant’s overall quality, and the pasta salad here is nothing short of fabulous, if that says anything. As a matter of fact, when I asked about the pasta salad, the nice lady who works at the takeout counter offered me a sample which was nice, and I knew from looking at it before even taking a bite that it was the real deal.

Service has always been great for dine in and carryout for me, and I very much appreciate that they have a separate entrance and waiting area for carry out orders. However, dine-in service could be better if they consistently had a host, and overall, the dining room feels more like an event space, and an afterthought to the bar area. Food quality and friendly service warrant 5 stars, but the dining experience could use just a...