Joe's Crab Shack - Oceanside

Review summary

1. D

   Danielle

   Orange County

   4 reviews

   2.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on December 8, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   I really wanted to love this place. The staff were very pleasant but not readily available. The food wasn’t great either to be honest. We ordered the calamari, and it wasn’t seasoned well and fairly bland. The garlic bread also left little to be desired as well, with not much flavor either. I ordered the Mahi, Mahi and it came out pretty dry and chewy and the rice served with it was extremely sticky. The server was very sweet about it and did have it replaced for me, but by then my entire family had already eaten. For the price of food these days I’m willing to pay for good food, but I’m not willing to pay full price for mediocre food. Sorry Joe. This one was a 1.5 star for me this time around.
   

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2. M

   Mary

   South Dakota

   2 reviews

   2.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on December 7, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   The food was terrible. Seriously we had to drink in order to get it down. Service was okay, but half the food was brought out 20 minutes after the first entrees were brought out. The atmosphere was great so I think they rely on that and the fact they’re on the harbor to get business. Go to Temecula. Or pretty much anywhere not along the water and you actually get yummy food.
   

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3. L

   Lauren

   San Francisco

   1 review

   vip
   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 28, 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   Food was great, service was extremely slow. French fries ordered for children were the last to be served.
   

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4. K

   Ken

   Orange County

   8 reviews

   5.0

   8 reviews

   Dined on November 24, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The service and food was great but the stuffed flounder was a bit fishy. However, the manager came out and went way above the call of duty to make it right. The peach bourbon glazed salmon was awesome. I would rate them at a 5 over all
   

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5. K

   Katherine

   Denver

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on November 14, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Our server Ruben, was amazing and made out wonderful meal even more enjoyable. It was a lot of fun. We celebrated my husband's birthday too. What a great meal. Thank you.
   

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6. E

   Edwina

   San Diego

   16 reviews

   vip
   5.0

   16 reviews

   Dined on November 3, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   I brought my large family over to Joe's Crab Shack because we wanted to have a fun time with good food, they did not disappoint! The Joe's in Oceanside is right in the Harbor. Parking was easy in the late afternoon, and it was great to see all the boats that are docked. Sea air and the sun setting is a plus! You have to order the Sampler Appetizer, crab and shrimp dip with chips, calamari and more - so yummy! Mom enjoyed the Captain's Plate, they give you the tools to dig into the crab legs. Hubby had the NY Strip with Shrimp, he was impressed with the steak and how tender and tasty it was. I had the Peach Salmon & Shrimp so delicious! Christina our server is friendly and attentive. She made sure that we had all that we needed and that we were enjoying our meals. Eddy the manager who greeted and sat us went over the menu and even helped me with picking out which Sangria to order. Yes, they have more than a few Sangrias to choose from! Danielle the manager checked on us a couple times to make sure all was well. Overall it was a very pleasant time with my family and the Joe's team made us feel welcome with their hospitality and delicious dishes!
   

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7. A

   Apearre

   Washington DC

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 3, 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Overall a moderate experience. Husband and I arrived for an early dinner at 5:30pm on Saturday, 11/2/24. Hostess attitude and demeanor was apathetic and disinterested at best, and dismissive when directing us to our table after a fairly brief 20-minute wait at the bar. Bartender's attitude while we were waiting for our table at the bar was apathetic at best initially, with long wait times for drinks (after 20 minutes we were seated at a nearby table and still had not received both our drinks yet) however bartender was generous and claimed to have given a small, additional portion to our drinks due to the wait. We were not greeted by a server after being sat down for over 15 minutes. However Caity (spelling) was our server and immediately brightened our evening by being polite and even just a step above being completely disinterested. She was kind, checked up on us, let us know when wait times were a bit long, and was attentive to numerous tables. If it wasn't for her, service overall would have been mediocre at best. We ordered the East Coast Platter and another platter with lobster and similar seafood accompaniments. The lobster was done very well, however the rest of the seafood was mainly typical fried foods. Average. Prices weren't too expensive for the quality of food, which was good. Overall, would not recommend to go back.
   

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8. S

   Susan

   Orange County

   8 reviews

   5.0

   8 reviews

   Dined on October 26, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We love meeting friends here. It’s halfway between OC and San Diego. There’s not a bad seat in the place!
   

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9. C

   Claudia

   San Diego

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on October 21, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great casual dining experience with a nice range of prices to fit your budget. The food was good and the service was great. There is also a nice view of the harbor with a choice of either inside or outside tables.
   

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10. S

    Steve

    Palm Springs

    1 review

    1.0

    1 review

    Dined on October 13, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4

    I had a $50 gift card to use, otherwise I wouldn’t have eaten here based on many bad reviews. Was hoping I would get lucky and get a good server and get the food quality I’m expecting for a $56 crab combo entree. We were celebrating girlfriend’s birthday and no acknowledgment with birthday desert for first strike. Walk in at 3:30 on Sunday and place should be packed with harbor view and empty main dining room. The small outdoor patio is screened off like a bird cage, never seen this on a water front restaurant. Feel like I’m in the twilight zone at this point. Ask for a booth and they make me wait 5 minutes before saying we have special table for you next to bright sunlight table. I say prefer a booth away from the sun on indoor dining room table. Hostess seems put off by my preference. Manager comes by to explain menu, strange to say the least that server didn’t start the usual intro. Waiter tried to turn table immediately and we said come back in 5 minutes while we look over menu. Never comes back after 15 minutes and I ask another waiter to have him come by and he gives me a stink eye look like I’m asking too much to get him. Waiter comes by eventually and takes our order for king crab, Dungeness and snow crab combo with cup of claim chowder. Discuss putting sauce on side instead of on crab, no issue figured which they charged me twice on receipt, same amount of sauce. Waiter quotes 18 ounces of crab with corn and potatoes. The second stink eye waiter Devon delivers food with a weird look on his face. The food arrives after half hour wait and it’s probable half the amount quoted. They don’t give us cluster of snow crabs, two little pinky finger scraps of tiny legs in metal pot. 4 tiny potatoes with two potatoe skins with no potatoes and two mini corn. Request manager and she acknowledges snow crab shorted and blames it on busy kitchen in empty dining room. Waiter twice wouldn’t fix issue without manager approval on sauce overcharge and snow crab shorted. beware!
    

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