The Crab Trap — Restaurant in Somers Point

Not what it used to be. I’ve been going to the Crab Trap since 1997, at least 2-3 times per year. The last three visits where sub-par. I’ve waited to write this review thinking that perhaps it was just a bad night, but three visits in a row is a trend. My wife and I with two adult children went for dinner on Oct.26 (Saturday) at 6.30 pm. We waited to be seated for 1.5 hours. Nothing new here, you always had to wait. However, you used to be able to find a place at the bar, have a cocktail and perhaps an appetizer. Now, it is nearly impossible to sit at the bar-people now order dinner at the bar and sit for hours. Those waiting circled the bar like vultures waiting for an empty seat! I waited two-people deep at the bar trying to order cocktails for my group. It reminded me of trying to order drinks at a crowded college bar. 15 minutes later after flagging a bartender down, I placed my order to be told “we are out of clean wine glasses”, seriously? So, I waited some more. Finally, my group got wine and I ordered a martini. Use to be that when you ordered a martini, they filled your glass and gave you the “extra” is a separate small glass on ice to freshen up your drink-it was nice. That is no more. OK, so now stand in the lobby and have your pre-dinner drink while getting bumped into. Not enjoyable and not a good way to start the evening. Finally, we get a text that our table is ready. They proceeded to seat us in the “way-back” room for large families with kids running around under bright day-glow lights. I asked the hostess to be re-seated at one of the empty four-tops we passed; she said unlikely and she would have to call the front desk! Well, I asked her to call. She begrudgingly re-seated us. The table was missing two place settings and we asked that the waitress bring them; we waited some more-to the point where I was ready to get up and steal some from the empty table next to us. Finally, we started with another round of wine and clams casino, which are awesome, as usual. The waitress (who wanted to be anywhere but there) finally came back to take our dinner order after we were pretty much done with the appetizer. We ordered the stuffed shrimp, two sailfish specials, and the lamb. They brought out the main entrees before cleaning the table from our appetizer and salads, simply trying to schooch the dirty plates out of the way to make room. Horrible! My wife asked that they clear the dirty dishes; they picked them up and put them on the table next to us where they had been collecting dirty stuff from other tables. What the heck is going Crab Trap?! The shrimp were luke-warm, the mushroom sauce on the lamb was cold, COLD. The fish was just OK, in fact not as good as the blackened tuna we got at Charlies pub the night before. My wife ordered a second glass of wine that never came, and when the waitress brought us the bill, she said “oh, I forgot your wine, hope that’s OK”. So, we paid, and on the way out I looked for a manger, but there was none to be found. The last three times we ate there, we complained on the drive back home-this is not good. One should be happy after eating dinner out. Over the last 25 years, we have had some fantastic meals at the Crab Trap, but things have changed. The service and food have noticeably declined. Will the owners care about this review? Probably not. The restaurant is a shore tradition that folks will continue to frequent. However, one...

Before I elaborate on our dining experience,we were on the waiting list for an hour and a half.According too other customers that have ease there before,that is the norm if you arrive after 4 pm,on any day of the week.It was this past Tuesday,August 13th,2024. Iam writing this review on both my girlfriend’s meal and mine.I am a culinary graduate for almost 30 yrs .A few years after being in the industry,I went off too school for pastry and have been doing that ever since. Please forgive me for not remembering our waitresses name,but from when we were seated too when she dropped off the check,she was on point with everything,thank you. Too start,I had ordered mussels in a garlic white sauce and my date had ordered crab ball and clams casino.A ginger ale for myself ,Pepsi for her.Entrees ,crab cake and filet mignon for her and I ordered the scallops. The food runner had dropped off the appetizers,the basket with rolls and small blueberry muffins and soda.My mussels were cold,in fact the sauce was starting too congeal,soda was flat,rolls were missing salt,absolutely no flavor and the muffins were perhaps sitting out for a long period of time.I called over the waitress and she took care of everything without hesitation.Unfortunately the soda was still flat.i did taste the crab balls and clams.Both apps were very good. Entrees were dropped off after a simple salad and the food Gods just weren’t on my good shoulder this night.Scallops were rubbery with no flavor,mixed medley of vegetables were cold ,cooked too two stages before Al dente,thinking cooked in cold water and the sweet potato,the skin was puffed out and the inside was burnt with a strong Smokey burnt taste.I did teste everything on the other side of the table and the steak was cooked perfectly,rare,and crab cake had a little more filler then I thought should of been,but the flavor was very good. The waitress had dropped the check and a moment later,I believe it was the manager had introduced himself and had apologized and took off my side off the bill.It was greatly appreciated for him too approach us so promptly.He also tried too comp some desserts but we graciously declined. Iam sure they would have been good but the way things were going,we kidded on the way home,once I would have cut into a desert it just might have...

I honestly feel like I should give this place a 1/5, but I gave it a 2/5 because the dishes tasted “good” although in a bland way.

For those quickly searching for places and not from the area - I do not recommend this place. I suggest trying other restaurants in Cape May for a better experience and more flavorful food.

Here are the details:

Starting with the entrance—my partner and I arrived, and they told us to pick a table ourselves. I thought someone would lead us to a table and give us menus, but that didn’t happen. It felt awkward as we found a table and waited for a waitress, who didn’t come until much later. Meanwhile, I noticed other groups being led to their tables and given menus. I finally went to confront the staff, and they apologized and gave us menus… uh, ok.

The waitress came shortly after, and we ordered Diet Coke, but it didn’t taste like it… was it Diet Pepsi?

For starters, they served us blueberry muffins during dinner hour at a seafood restaurant? Lol. The bread rolls also tasted bad—like something you’d find at a senior citizen group home. Not impressive at all.

We ordered the 1-1-1 soups (clam chowder, Maryland crab soup, and lobster bisque), Cape May oysters, and the chef’s special (a linguine dish with various seafood). All of the dish portions were great for sharing with my partner.

We enjoyed the 1-1-1 soups, but the staff didn’t inform us which soup was which, so we had to guess.

The Cape May oysters were good but bland—I wish I had gone somewhere else in Cape May to try more flavorful oysters.

The chef’s special dish, as mentioned earlier, was just okay. I could taste the sauce from a can, and it was a bit salty. It reminded me of something from Olive Garden, which wasn’t enjoyable at all.

The waitress barely checked in on us, and I didn’t feel welcomed or comfortable in this restaurant. The lighting was very dim and too dark in many areas. Parking was also limited—if the lot was full, you had to park across the street.

Overall, this place wasn’t great, and I wouldn’t...