Joe's Crab Shack

09/06/08

Crab Cakes

by CalMarJur at Citysearch

My bf came from Seattle for a weekend to Texas and I took him to Galveston. We were driving by, when I saw "Crab Shack" and said, "I've never been, and have been wanting to try the food."

When we came in, the restaurant was not busy, there were a few tables there and there. We were seated at a booth and had our drinks promptly... As for an appetizer (we ordered calamari) we waited about 15 minutes just for an appetizer, and when it came in, it looked like they had just heated it in the microwave. The salsa in the bowl looked like it had been sitting there the whole day. We did not say anything and just waited for the entrees. It was about another 20 minutes before we decided to pay for the drinks and the appetizer and leave, when the hostess came back offering us 50% off our bill, and that was because the minute we got up, our food was ready. We agreed, since we were really hungry. The food was simply OK. My bf ordered MahiMahi, and I had crab cakes, not the cheapest entrees on the menu, so we were expecting generous portions. Needless to say, the portions were small, and not exactly fresh. When we got our bill, they took 50% only of the entrees, but at that moment I just wanted to pay and get out of there.

They explained the slow service with the fact that it was slow earlier and they sent most of the staff home. A misjudgment on the part of management. The waiters were ok, but not attentive. Oh, and they had a bunch of flies in the restaurant. Anyways, I am glad we got a discount on the food, and I feel SORRY for the rest of people who waited half an our for their dishes and probably had to pay full price. I would die if I had to pay full price for sucky food and horrible service. My bf said we should have just gone to Wendy's and I agree, we probably would be happier and less hungry. The next day we went to Rainforest cafe, which is somewhat in the same price range. We got great service and experience, (the food was OK, but better) and I saw what real calamar

06/11/07

Need better listeners

by citychic77 at Citysearch

My boyfriend and I were crusing along Galveston on our day off away from Houston, TX ,eventually got an appetite and headed over to Joe's Crab Shack because I remembered enjoying the chicken ceasar salad. It was relatively busy, but we were seated promptly. We were greeted by our waitress about 5 minutes later. I hadn't been to galveston in a couple of years, but I remembered a specific drink called "The Fishbowl." It was a very large two-person fruity drink IN a plastic fishbowl. I asked our waitress if they still had the alcoholic drink "The Fishbowl," but she came back saying, "No, but we have a Gumbo Soup." I tried explaining the drink to our waitress in hopes I could grab a better answer than 'soup' from her, but unfortunately not. We ordered our food. Obviously, I ordered the Chicken Ceasar Salad, but the waitress asked, "What dressing do you want with that? Ranch? Italian?" I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. I repeated Ceasar three times and it looked like she wrote that down. When we receieved our order, there was no Ceasar dressing on my meal! I tracked her down 3 minutes later and asked for her to get a couple sides of the dressing since mine didn't come with any. I seriously did NOT think my order was that complicated. After we finished our meal, she came back with the check. She didn't even Thank Us for our stay at Joe's Crab Shack, or Have a Good Day; Nothing! In the food industry, there are a few things that are musts: Listening, Timing, Courtesy, and taking initiative, and our waitress unfortunately wasn't any. If I go back, I won't recieve service from her again.

• Pros: Prompt Seating, Fun drink selection
• Cons: Need better listeners, Timing, Courtesy