Captain Curt's Crab & Oyster Bar — Restaurant in Siesta Key

My wife and I have been going to Capt’n Curt’s for about 10 years - at least two or three times when were south for “the winter”. We love the entire atmosphere - indoor dining, the shirt shack, and the NE clam chowder kits (and we’ve bought lots of all three).

We were there today (Jan 5/24) and, while we enjoyed the food, it differed from the same dishes we’ve had in previous seasons.

My wife had clam strips, green salad, and crab cake. I had calamari and the oyster basket. We both had iced tea.

The clam strips were ordinary - good, but not great. The crab cake was also good, but seemed to be a bit thinner than last year. And the salad, well, it really wasn’t a salad but a few red, white, and green veggies chopped up and served together. Definitely not a traditional green salad.

The calamari was also different. Not the usual rings and it had been deep fried, not pan fried where it retains its flavor. It was okay, but I wouldn’t order it again. Also, didn’t take to the salsa that was served with it, though the server very willingly brought me some seafood sauce (very good).

The fried oysters were the best dish of the day, though I’d hoped for the “staple” version of the dish. Gather it’s been discontinued but that begs the question “why?” It’s supposed to be the same as the basket, only bigger.

Despite our sentiments as expressed above, we’ll definitely be there again before we leave for northern climes. The ambience is what one would expect and the service is always great, prompt, and helpful. I just think there could be more oversight on the menu.

Value for money? That’s in the eye and mouth of the diner. Our lunch, for two, no liquor, came to $93 before tip. But we ordered quite a bit, so we’re satisfied.

We didn’t order the NE clam chowder even though we love it and agree “it’s the best”. Before we head home, we’ll be back and will buy up to 10 cases of six kit packs. I just hope the clam chowder recipe hasn’t changed one iota.

We’ll also buy a few of CC’s shirts. Not that we want to advertise, but his shirts - at least to date - have been very good quality.

Major comment: more oversight on what comes out of the kitchen - in terms of taste and quantity. Don’t cut back on quantity (or quality) to stick to a price target. Customers want great food and, when it comes to cost, it...

I have mixed feelings from our experience, but, to err on the side of fairness (mostly due to the great service we received) I will give them some good credit...

From the street, it checks a couple of boxes for me - it has that slightly run-down, greasy spoon look to it. From the inside, it does as well - and to an even greater degree. So instantly, I was feeling really good about dining here on a quite Friday night. What I was disappointed with was the staff as we walked in looking for a table. Full disclosure - we walked into the bar area, not really knowing the place, waived a waitress down asking for the dinner area and she simply pointed to a doorway saying it was "that way" without much more help. Once we made our way to the dinner area, still looking for a greeter to sit us, I tried speaking with several waitresses who had no time or apparent desire to stop. Finally we get to the greeter who then promptly walked away once we showed up. After a few seconds of wait, a second greeter (maybe even a waitress) sat us down at a table. Thankfully, that was the end of the weird occurrences at this place...

Our server more than made up for this first none-to-good impression by being everything I like in a waiter - friendly, efficient, chatty, and just an all-around good guy. Very glad we ended up with him...

For dinner, my wife had their shrimp and scallops dinner, whereas I enjoyed the Captain's Feast - or something to that title - it had fish, shrimp, scallops, and seasonal veggies - both meals were really good. For an appetizer, we had stared with their fried clam strips - they were good, and we had to try their "World Class" chowder. I will admit, it was the best chowder I have ever had - more pieces of clam I have ever found in clam chowder, hands down.

So on quiet evening, though we started out a bit rough with this place, it ended up being a very nice meal and...

So.......is all the hype about Captain Curt's Crab & Oyster Bar being the best true?? Is it a experience that you cannot pass up when vacationing in Siesta Key?? After my wife and I finally visited here on our 3rd vacation I would have to say yes 👍. The food here is really good, really good quality. Absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked. Staff was friendly and welcoming. Sydney was out Waitress and was super polite and had good knowledge of the menu and available beverages.She had our drinks and appetizers out to us really fast. We arrived ahead of the dinner rush around 5 pm. So we were able to get a table in about 5 minutes. If you go at a peak time on a weekend like last time that we passed it up because we were looking at an hour minimum to get a table so definitely recommend a off time or day for the visit because it really is that popular. I tried the Coconut Shrimp and the fried Claims for my appetizer and they were both delicious and perfectly cooked. Then I had the Grilled Grouper Fillet for my entrée and it was super delicious and a generous portion. Perfectly cooked and buttery texture. My wife sampled the Gulf Shrimp basket fried, both plates came with generous helping of house cut fresh French fries and the cold slaw was also delicious. Overall I would say a extremely tasty dinner treat for a modest price considering our location. $$ per person. They have a extensive collection of House made cocktail combinations. Also a wide selection of ice cold draft beers 🍻. They also have a extensive menu besides what we tried and we will be anxious to try different items on their menu on our next visit. Definitely a must try if you are a seafood fan like us. I also absolutely love the decore and atmosphere in this place it really has...