Ernie's Crab House Lanham — Restaurant in Maryland

I had a pretty good impression overall of checking out this seafood restaurant. It is a family-run business. A quaint 2nd-3rd generation Asian family who has been running this gem 💎. Good for them!

I went with the crab cake platter which included 2 sides. I picked the coleslaw and french fries. The crab cake was good 👍🏾. I loved the crinkle cut fries!

The cashier, the daughter of the owner I presume, was uber friendly and knowledgeable about things. We talked for a bit. One of the things, I talked with her about was the newly instituted 'Better Bag Bill' in Prince George's County 👑 (since January 1, 2024.) The new law has enacted that applicable restaurants/businesses are allowed charge a minimum of 10 cents/ paper bag or reusable bag bought by a customer at checkout. I am for the bill ✅, but one of their regular customers (an old school, younger Black lady) was not, so she griped about it whilst she go her to-go order 😅🤔.

Overall, however, I do have two cons: 1) I wish the crab cake was FRESH and not from frozen 😟🙃. I'm all about quality and not convenience - and 2) that coleslaw side was too SMALL as a side. It should equal the size of the french fries I had in my order 🤦🏾‍♀️. Those are my thoughts.

If I'm in the area I'd pop by or tell a friend, it's a cool spot especially good conversation which I...

We're out of towners, visiting friends for a wedding. My local Lanham barber recommended this place, so my wife and I headed to Ernie's. The man behind the counter was very cordial and honest. My wife loves scallops, so she asked him if the scallops were fresh scallops, he admitted that they were frozen scallops, I was pleasantly surprised at the man's candor, anyone else would have just lie about it.

I ordered the fried fish, steamed shrimp with fries combo and my wife ordered the soft shell crab. The food was plentiful for the price, a great deal, my fried fish was perfectly fried and flaky, my shrimps were huge and tender. The soft shell crab was soft and delicious.

Next time we're in the Lanham, MD area we'll stop by again and try other seafood...

I purchased a half dozen males today. When I got home they were not fresh brown on the inside and then a fishy smell. They weren't that great but because of the distance I just went ahead and ate them. I called to give them notice that at 12:30 p.m. when I picked up my crabs when I got home they were not fresh. They put the owner on the phone. He interrogates me as if I were lying about purchasing them today. He comes back and says oh I confirmed you did make a purchase. What does that have to do with...