Smashin Crab — Restaurant in San Antonio

To start this off, I attempted to go to the Stone Oak location on 08/24/2024, but their plumbing had issues so it was take out only. This should have been my first red flag of the day, but I chose this location as a back up. I have been an avid Smashin Crab fan since 2017, but with changes to their menus over the years, it might be time to find a new seafood restaurant or just do at-home boils.

Upon arriving, there weren't too many tables to choose from but based on where we sat, it was tight. We had one waiter come by to acknowledge us but ended up with a different server. Although the table knew what we all wanted, we still allowed the waitress to give us the run down of how the establishment works and listened about their Culinaria menu. While two people from our party did choose to order from the Culinaria menu (that came with 3 courses: Appetizer, Entree and a Dessert option), the waitress explained that it also included a alcoholic drink and all for $55.

During service, there were times in which we had to repeat our request to the wait staff. The wrong drink order was put in (I decided not to make a fuss about it). The wrong dessert was brought to the table for one of my guests, but then corrected. Plastic utensils were requested twice before being brought to the table. My seafood boil bag was busted(and very messy). And I was never given my desert although I asked for it 3 times.

Again, throughout the experience we continued to show grace to our waitress as she seemed to not be as experienced, but when it came to pay our checks, we were unfortunately told incorrect information and the management staff did nothing to correct their errors. When ordering one of the included drinks with the Culinaria menu, the waitress asked what type of tequila was wanted and asked if the double shot was okay. Note: the way in which she asked was assumed that the normal order was a double shot, not a single.

Instead of taking responsibility in giving us the wrong information. They chose to put the blame on their waitress being new (4 days in) as well as mentioning that a portion of the ticket for the Culinaria ticket goes to a culinary school. Since it's something not mentioned on their menu or by waitstaff, I find it odd that it's not being brought up during "checkout" because at the end of the day, that has nothing to do with what they messed up on. I do want it to be known that we were not looking to have anything "comped" outside of what pricing was told to us...we just wanted to pay for what was advertised and be on our way.

So if you are someone who likes to frequent an establishment that doesn't take accountability, take the time to properly train their staff, or have a good management team to properly explain something (and messes up your order throughout the night)...I would highly recommend this...

Always a good time at smashin. This is a must-go for my bf from new jersey when he visits. We will even go here multiple times within 1 visit to TX!

His favorite is the snow crab. Actually, the snow crab is actually a lot better than the LA Crawfish here in SA and LA fisherman in Houston. Something about the way they cook it or quality of the crab allows us to pull off that yummy chunk of meat in one piece.

The trinity sauce is a must. I've tried the citrus one and it's good too but it's not as good. I usually get spice level 2. I dont handle spice too well but you need a little bit to enhance the flavors. 3 will make me really antsy and uncomfortable. They use a lot of butter in the sauce....the sauce is so good I pretty much eat all of it too...

If you want to get full, order 1lb shrimp and fries. I was stuffed. I asked for a tray to put my shrimps in instead of reaching into the bag. I've never tried their fried baskets but they look good. But why go to a boil place to get fried good? Another positive thing is that their bibs have a pocket at the bottom to catch sauces that may drip to your pants. I like that the waiters write their name on the white paper

Smashin loses 1 star for me because their add ons of potatoes and sausages is soo expensive. 50 cents per red potato??? Do you have any idea how many cheap potatoes are at the store? And $2 for sausage (I dont remember how many links). The one time my bf and I opted for the bbq sausage (better value) instead of the boiled sausage, they were out.

Others reasons for losing a star: their prices arent really market price. I've been here at least 5 times in the summer, winters and spring, and the prices dont change. The only thing that changes is whether crawfish is available or not. Shrimp per pound should be $1 cheaper. I love mussels but sometimes the mussels are only shell and no meat. .

They need to have better sinks for washing hands. Or maybe a handwashing station that's outside the bathroom area. The bathroom is dark and I feel bad for washing my spices down those drains and potentially clogging them. They shed at least add those forearm door openers so customers can open the door without using their hand. I hope Smashin considers this...

My husband and I had an experience at a different location that wasn’t the best, food-wise…so we tried this one, because we’d heard it was much better. We were told correctly! The food was phenomenal! We both started with a drink (my husband had a beer on tap, and I ordered the Eye of the Hurricane. My drink was DELICIOUS…but unfortunately didn’t have anything on the rim like my waitress told me it would. Even without the rim dressing - it was still yummy! We then ordered oysters, and were so pleased!! They were HUGE…& came with all of the sides, except horseradish. We actually ordered a dozen, but only received a half dozen. We decided not to bring it up, because we knew we’d be too full to finish our dinner. Lastly - we ordered the Trolley Stop Boil with the Cajun Sauce and a #3 Alarm heat level. It was one of the best boils we’ve ever had at a restaurant!!! SO YUMMY!!! The seasoning was PERFECT, and everything tasted fresh and delicious. And for the record - we ended up having to take half the meal home with us! We could NOT finish it! The atmosphere of this location was very chill, but welcoming. The host was great! He even helped bring food out to us at one point…& was just so friendly and funny!

Our only complaint was our waitress. As mentioned, she told us about things, and never followed through with them. The drink rim dressing, bringing out crackers for our oysters (we had to ask again), bringing us out lemons with our boil (again, had to ask twice)…& we asked twice for garlic butter sauce on the side…but never got any. She also seemed to rush us. It’s very rare that we get a date night…so we wanted to take our time and just enjoy our evening. She just seemed like she was trying to hurry us, and even seemed annoyed a couple of times when we weren’t ready. HOWEVER. The host? As mentioned - he was great. We’ll definitely be back to this location…we just might try to get seated in a different area. The host, the food, and the atmosphere made it a wonderful...