The Crab Shack — Restaurant in Wilmington Island

As much as we love to travel, certain challenges are always involved. One of them is just how do you wrap up a cherished trip when you really aren’t ready to go home yet?

Well for this wonderful exploration of parts of Georgia, we decided that a fitting farewell should involve a “Low Country Boil.” Apparently this is properly pronounced, “Loh Cuntrah Boll” and it deserves your priority attention if you ever have the opportunity to experience one!

We chose “The Crab Shack” on Tybee Island and what a unique destination it turned out to be. This mostly outdoor restaurant is situated so close to Chimney Creek that you can’t help but scan your surroundings for wildlife. As it turns out, that instinct isn’t misguided as there is an alligator lagoon located on the property. 😳

If a “feast” is what we were hoping for it became immediately clear that we weren’t going to rise from our table disappointed. Although Dana and I placed different orders, our immediate reaction was the same, “Who is gonna help us eat all of this food?”

I found myself plowing through the crab legs, muscles, and shrimp of my seafood platter, but avoiding the corn, sausage, and little red critters for different reasons. I figured the corn was more of a garnish than anything (I was wrong, it was incredibly sweet), I couldn’t understand why sausage was invited to this party (I found out it was invited because of how well it paired with the shrimp in particular), and with the little red critters I was just stalling while I kept a careful eye on them to check for movement. 🔨

When I could delay the inevitable no longer, I called our server over and said, “I have 3 questions. What are these little guys? Am I supposed to eat them? If so, how???” 🤷‍♂️

She patiently reassured me that the little red critters are “crayfish” (but called and pronounced “crawfish”) and then demonstrated how to prepare them for consumption (the faint of heart should be grateful that I’m gonna spare you that part).

While bibs were not offered to us, you may want to request one as my shirt bore the weight of the remnants of the meal that would be traveling home with me.

And that’s…Henry’s...

Savannah and Tybee Island institution serving the best in Lowcountry seafood favorites

Ok, I’m a vegetarian and know there aren’t a lot of options for me at the Crab Shack. It’s such a great spot, and the people there are so genuinely friendly that whenever the chance arises, I go to the Crab Shack, usually with a group of friends or family from out of town.

When friends invited me last Friday, I said yes because I knew I’d have a great time. One friend ordered 2 pounds of snow crab legs; another ordered the Captain’s Platter to share with her daughter. They loved their entrees.

I opted for two sides, corn on the cob and potato salad, which were fine.

But the real fun is after dinner when you can walk around outside the Crab Shack and feed the alligators. I’ve never been anywhere in which you can use a cane pole and feed alligators treats that you can buy at the gift shop. Very cool.

According to the woman in charge at the alligator pond, all of the reptiles are born and raised in captivity, and after their time at The Crab Shack, most are contracted out to other facilities, exhibits and zoos. We were assured the animals were well cared for, which is very important to me given how much I love all species.

The Crab Shack also has an exhibit of exotic birds they have provided sanctuary for. If you are patient and move slowly, some of them will whistle and sing to you. I made friends with the African Grey parrot. Just give this friend space and be patient.

The Crab Shack is a great place to get a meal and then head on to Tybee for a stroll on the beach and Friday night live music at Hucapoos, which is exactly what we did.

My only suggestion would be for Crab Shack to at least have a salad on the menu for vegetarians. I imagine I’m not the only vegetarian ever to eat at Crab Shack with friends wishing they had a full salad instead of having to piece together something to eat from the assortment of sides.

Also our server was Sonja, and she...

Server was great. Food was so so bad. I knew going into this it was a tourist place, so my expectations were pretty low but the food was so horrible, I have never felt such a desire to never go back to a place before. I got the assortment plater for 1 with snow crab, crawfish, sausage, corn and shrimp. Food came out in less then 6 mins from when we ordered. You normally would think this is amazing but it tells me that they prob have all the stuff precooked/steamed and just have it sitting in big containers to keep warm so they can serve it fast. None of the food had any seasoning on it. None of it. Not the shrimp, not the sausage, not the potatoes, or the corn. The sausage was so overcooked and dried out it was hard to chew because it was so tough. The shrimp was overcooked and you couldn't even peel it because it just was mush under the peel....i did mention to the server about the shrimp and she had it replaced quickly. The second time it came out, it was better and had actual seasoning on it but still not easy to peel. O and let's not forget the huge lines of poop in the shrimp. It made it so unappetizing to even try to eat it cause the poop veins were so large and while you were trying to peel them, the poop was oozing out onto my fingers.The corn was so pale, I offered it some oil to see if that would help. 🤣🤣 Potatoes were tasteless and the crab legs were also overcooked/steamed and wouldn't come out of the shell cause it was just mush. Our bill was $68ish. Left $100 for the meal and tip for the server. Not her fault the kitchen doesn't have a single care in the world about what they are serving. Sad to leave and 2 of us didn't even eat cause of the quality of the food. There was hardly any people there around lunch time which was sad to see but now I know why after going ourselves. Yuck. Skip this one. Not worth it even for the 40 alligators cramped into a too small...