Crabby's Beachside

My family and I are tourists on vacation. We've been to St. Augustine before buts it's been a number of years. Crabby's was recommended to us by a person we met during this trip.

The restaurant appeared to be nicely decorated with a beach/bar atmosphere. Nice view of the ocean from the upper floor.

We ordered 3 of the signature dishes. Hogfish Dinner, Fish and Chips, and 2 orders of the Boom Boom Shrimp Beach Tacos. We added on 2 Caesar salads. For drinks we had 2 sweet teas and a Mango Margarita.

My wife ordered lemon with her sweet tea. Waters came with lemon but not the tea. The Margarita came as a regular Margarita and not a Mango Margarita. Not a show stopper but irritating.

Waited for close to a half hour for the salads to come out. I should note this was lunch time with a mostly empty restaurant. Both of the salads were loaded with brown lettuce but that was placed under the fresh lettuce on top. We ate the fresh lettuce and left the brown lettuce on the plates. Food came a short time later. The waitress delivered the food and looked at the lettuce on the plates and walked away leaving the plates on the table for the rest of our stay.

The Boom Boom shrimp tacos had a good taste but the shrimp was overcooked and rubbery.

The Fish and Chips was fried in panko breadcrumbs. I would call this encased in breadcrumbs. There was roughly 3/16 of burned and rock hard breadcrumbs on the outside. The fish was supposed to be salted and malt vinegar misted but this wasn't done or was undetectable through the charred crust.

The Hogfish Dinner (market price / $35) Fish seemed frozen or very undercooked with a very fishy flavor. Fish was also very soggy and underseasoned.

All of the meals were served with fries which were ok.

Waitress never asked or brought drink refills. We were empty for most of the meal.

It was clear from the plates that the meals weren't good. Waitress didn't ask or address why. Asked us for dessert or boxes to which we just asked for the bill.

We don't normally complain to the staff at the restaurant in order to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation. But I do like to leave factual feedback.

Waitress could have been aware and proactive to correct the food situations.

The Fish and Chips and Hogfish Dinner signature dishes were a complete failure. The Boom Boom Shrimp tacos were ok but poorly cooked. Total bill was $138 for a family of 4.

There are many other places locally that serve fantastic meals and have great waitstaff. I recommend you avoid this place and seek out a different restaurant.