Crab Shack on the James — Restaurant in Virginia

New Review (as of August 2024) Night started off amazing. Stunning sunset and dolphins swimming nearby. It ended horribly. I've NEVER had a worse experience here UNTIL TODAY! I take my reviews serious and do this as a side business. I also RECOMMENDED my group to visit the restaurant this evening.

This night the Manager on Duty was "Ms Nikki".

DISCLAIMER: I'm a shameless ex-server, I tio well and I cheer on my servers. I treat them as I would've been wanted to be treated. I successfully served for years imfrom turn and burns to fine dining restaurants.

We arrived on time for our 7pm reservation Party of 8 with 2 kids.

Noticed that food was taking a long time Ordered apps and asked for kids food up front. Ordered our food later. Sun has set and we still have no entrees. Server tells us kitchen is having issues but it's coming. It's about 8pm now. We order two iterations of alcoholic drinks, I haven't had a drink (so no Im not drunk lol). My legs are a bit numb from sitting on the hard picnic benches they have so I get up and head to the restroom. I decided to ask to speak to a Manager. The Manager comes out (Nikki). She says she's aware of the issues and my tables food should be out shortly. The food arrives about 5-10 mins later. The food is not as fresh as usual and our seafood platters had a gelatinous look. Our server says she couldn't hold one of our meals (a crab cake platter) so she's return to pick that up. She gives us all our food and returns shortly without the crab cakes. She hands us the coleslaw and a baked potato. She states that the crab cakes didn't look don't to her so she asked the kitchen to address it (thanks). W

Manager should have great bedside manner. They should diffuse situations.

I was asked when we got to restaurant, We had reservations and got here at 7...ma'am it's now past 9pm and we still don't have all our food. I think she understood 👀

I walked out! At table (I heard): Did you get the crab cake? Didn't get charged for crab cake 18% and 15% discount ONLY Didn't have the presence of a manager Didn't know what to do in the moment Kitchen needed to be talked to sternly Is it going to be together or separate was the main ask when she got to table. How about a sincere apology? Also, seeing as though I came to seek HER OUT twice, why not walk the restaurant and talk to tables.

I'm no longer focused on the experience. Resulted in me no longer recommending and questioning service. It became less about food and more about everything else. Didn't even want to finish my meal, I literally didn't return for my plate!

What they could have said: Let's comp half your meal, "We're all over the place tonight" , let us give you a gift certificate to try us another night once weve addressed these issues, Drinks on us tonight. Meal comped?

I was ashamed of this place tonight. I recommended it and I'm embarrassed. I rave about the views and staff here and make it a point to bring my friends. I recommend it at work. I no longer feel the same way. Very unfortunate.

Old review: Great cozy place to eat! I have recommended it three times since visiting. If you pass through or live in this city...give it a try!

Atmosphere: Feels like a beach restaurant. Very "divish" with a quaint sophistication. I'd suggest the patio if you want the TRUE water front experience. All seats have a view of the water.

Price: A LOT better than what you'd find at a true beach restaurant. Expect 10-30 a person for a good time lol

Portions: GREAT meal sizes. Starters are a bit smaller (expected). Quality: Good quality, food well prepared Drinks: Surprisingly good, strong enough and a pretty cool selection

Wait Times: Not that bad. Even on the weekend, they seat you fairly easy and I've never waited too long.

Favs: Starters= Calamari or crab dip...YUM! Salad=The Blackened Salmon salad

Bottom Line: Location is EVERYTHING. I will NOT return unless contacted by management. VERY DISAPPOINTED! Thanks team. Hope this...

I was so disappointed in this meal. I have been looking forward to the chance to go to this restaurant for a while. After looking at the menu, we asked the server for suggestions, but she didn't have any. She wasn't personable or interested in sharing whatsoever. We were celebrating my birthday and were happy to splurge. We ordered oysters as an appetizer, and they were not good. The oil definitely was not fresh that the fried oysters were fried in. The crab dip was good, not served piping hot, but good nonetheless. The bread served with it was perfectly toasted, and the hot crab dip was perfectly seasoned. For dinner, I ordered the crab stuffed salmon. It was served with a baked potato. My salmon was served raw. It was weird. The top portion of the salmon was overcooked, yet the entire inside was raw with cold to luke warm crab and cracker mixture stuffed inside. Our server never came back to check on us after our food was delivered. Eventually, I walked to the bar where our server was and brought my raw fish along. She just looked at me as I explained I did not want to eat it. I also was not interested in eating the meal if they were going to broil the same platter and give it back to me. She took the platter and headed to the kitchen as I asked if I were able to have something else? I was still hungry and wished I had kept my baked potato, or maybe the meal came with hushpuppies, or the server came around and asked if we would like to order anything in the meantime. I did not receive my baked potato back when my new meal arrived. My husband's meal was cold by now as he was waiting for me to have a meal to eat before he enjoyed his supper. His salmon was also partly raw in the center. He brought the majority of his home and recooked it in the airfryer. My replacement dinner took 22 minutes to arrive from the time I walked my platter to our server. I ordered the broiled platter. She never came back in the meantime. We definitely would have ordered another round of orange crush if she had! I wanted to have a birthday dessert as well. But our server never came back to the table after she dropped off my dinner she brought the check and deserted us! The oyster Rockefeller and stuffed mushroom left a lot to be desired. The crab cake was one of my least favorite parts of the meal. It was mush. I like mine with a little crust and hot all the way through from the broiler. I am still so disappointed. We kept this place in our pocket for a nice night out to dinner, but I doubt we...

Buckle up everyone- this one's a doozy. What would've been a halfway decent date night turned into a less than favorable, unappealing experience. Our server, Danny, provided some of the most inattentive and just plain lazy service I think I've ever had at a restaurant. He disappeared unless he was bringing you the meal or the check, and the meal that was brought - wasn't even correct. Let’s get into it. The she crab soup (that was forgotten, and brought out after my meal after mentioning something to our server) was nothing short of awful - it was absolutely inedible. The soup was clearly burnt a day prior - stored, and overcooked again in the reheating process. A proper she crab soup is rich with cream and sherry and always FRESH. I couldn't identify any crab, not one shred. You could've put a bowl of expired canned soup from 1995 in front of me, and that would've been more appetizing. My fiancé's baked potato was not cooked, hard as a rock. Not to mention, it took about an 1 1/2 to 2 hours for this debacle to be over with. My order had the incorrect side, i was given fries instead of my upcharge salad. When the salad was finally brought out, no dressing. Waiter once again ran off and disappeared, that seemed to be the trend. We truly felt like an afterthought, and wanted to leave all together the more the night went on. I had to flag down a WONDERFUL server whose name was Kat to get some dressing for a salad that was now sitting on my table for 20+ minutes with my server nowhere in sight. Kat was more attentive to me in the 5 seconds she spoke to me, than our assigned server was the WHOLE NIGHT. She is the one who received a tip from me, rightfully so. For the positives - The sandwiches were pretty good, and the steamed shrimp was good as well. My 1 star is for the wonderful girl Kat who helped when my assigned server was nowhere to be found. If it wasn't for her, I would've left 0. To management : Don't ruin a wonderful place by cheapening products, reusing products the next day to cut costs, and accepting mediocrity from employees. Do a table touch, talk to your customers about how their meal is going, you might hear some good information about how your restaurant can improve. Do better, crab shack. You have a prime location and a good influx of clientele. You don't win by cutting corners. It all starts at the top. And to Kat - you should get a raise and we cant wait to come put some money in...