Shady Lane Crab House

Worst meal EVER. This place was the best reviewed place on Unilocal in Colonial Beach and was utterly disgusting. $ 73.00 for two of the Norfolk Seafood Platters, 3 Coronas and crap service.
Our server never asked how our food was, if we wanted another drink (when they were clearly empty). When I spit out a huge peice of plastic halfway through my meal (found in my platter) the server said, «The cook apologizes, when she opened the can (the CAN?) of crab this must have fallen into the food». I said, «You can take this». Her response, «There’s nothing wrong with the food it was just an occurrence». WHAT? ARE YOU SERIOUS? Stay away from this hell hole.

This place was really great. We sat outside and enjoyed the day. We had the fried pickles, hush puppies and steamed crabs. Everything was cooked when ordered. Very friendly staff. It was just what we were looking for.

Shady Lane Crab House is fantastic! The prices are fantastic, and the fresh made pies are to die for. The best part was the serving staff. Teressa was so great that we went two nights in a row! All of the pies are great, banana cream, key lime, but really, the magic is the coconut pie. You’ll never want to eat another coconut pie unless it’s from the lady that bakes them for Shady Lane Crab House!

The food was okay had snow crab legs they were too salty. Had a slice of chocolate meringue pie was pretty average. The waitress was very friendly.

We had the crab dip, steamer bucket and banana pie. The food was so good; crabs were steamed to perfection, crab dip with baked pita chips was yummy too (albeit a little salty).
If you have young children like us, you may want to know that they don’t have a diaper changing station in the bathroom but there is a small dresser that you could use if needed. All in all, the food was worth it.

I have eaten here two times and really enjoyed my meals. The banana cream pie is amazing! The fries and shrimp are very tasty as well. Enjoyed the cream of crab soup! It was very busy during both of our visits so we had a bit of wait, but each course was worth it. If you are full after your meal, do take some pie to go, it is excellent.

We deviated from our path to see this little town and try Shady Lane Crab House.
We shared the crab bisque, the steamed oysters and a soft shell crab sandwich.
All were outstanding and Teressa was a wonderful server.
I will come back here ASAP!

Disappointed that when we arrived we had to rush and order because they close at 9pm. Food was good, but it wasn’t five star rating. We had the oysters on the half shell, crawfish, Mahi Mahi and shrimp Po boy sandwich.

On our way home from vacation we were looking for a lunch spot near 301 at the Potomac. Unilocal helped us find Shady Lane and we decided to take a chance on the detour. Well our 20 minute detour off of 301 (each way) was WELL worth it! I created my Unilocal account just to make this review and to ‘remember’ Shady Lane next time we are traveling down 301. We had crab legs and scallops which were both amazing. The sides were wonderful and my 2-​year old son was even enjoying the Caesar salad. The kids meal sliders were handmade thick burgers of which I enjoyed stealing a bite or two! The hush puppies were great as was the accompanying honey butter. After spending a couple days at Busch Gardens and Water Country USA and paying astronomical prices for crappy food, the $ 49 lunch bill for our family of 5 seems like a tremendous value. I highly recommend you stop by this place any chance you get. I wish we lived closer.

There is shady about Shady Lane Crabhouse! Amazing service (thank you Freida) and mind blowing seafood. Got the seafood pot to get a variety as well as a pound of crab, perfection. Stop here if you are in colonial beach or even if you aren’t in colonial beach. It’s worth it.

The food here is fresh and excellent. My husband and I both had the Norfolk Seafood Platter and it was delicious. Our waitress was attentive if busy. The place was packed! This restaurant is pretty awesome.

I LOVE SHADY LANE!!! Whenever the hubs and I go down to CB, we always make it our goal to stop by Shady Lane when the crabs are in season! They originally started out as a carry-​out only place, but with such high demands, they set up a restaurant by the river. The menu offers appetizers (such as crab dip, oysters, shrimp cocktail, etc.), steamed seafood (crabs, shrimp, crawfish, etc.), sandwiches (crab cake, po’ boy, etc.), fried seafood, grilled seafooed, soups, as well as homemade desserts and beer/​wine. We started off with the crab dip (this came with perfectly-​toasted pita triangles and a bowl of hot dip, filled with luscious juicy crab meat and cheese — this was literally one of the best crab dip I’ve ever had! It was so creamy, and the amount was just perfect with the pita!); a basket of hush puppies (perfectly golden-​fried, these were so crispy, and was sooo delicious with their housemade cinnamon honey butter!); an oyster po’ boy (perfectly battered, well-​seasoned, with a great drizzle of a mayo-​based sauce, lettuce, tomato, and red onion; this was crispy, crunchy, and tasty; served with fries); crab cake sandwich (comes in a hamburger bun with also lettuce, tomato, and red onion; you can opt for another side, and we chose potato salad; this crab cake was fresh and with a very small amount of filler; great with the Texas Pete hot sauce!); and, the soft shell sandwich (when in season and at market price; this soft shell crab was also perfectly battered, well-​seasoned, filled with juicy meat, and great with the hot sauce; I opted for the coleslaw, which was creamy and refreshing). We couldn’t say ‘No’ to the homemade desserts — we tried the banana cream pie (so creamy and delicious, with perfectly-​ripened banana slices and a light whipped top, this was absolutely scrumptious and one of the best pies I’ve had!) and the key lime pie (not too overly sweet, but with a little tang, this was quite tasty as well!). Our server was Ms. Teressa, and she was such a sweetheart and so kind; she checked up on us often and made sure that everything was tasty. The place was definitely packed, with large parties chowing down on the steamed crabs and peel-​your-​own shrimp. There is also outside picnic tables to dine al fresco on a nice day. Definitely check this local gem out — you will not be disappointed! It is literally one of my favorite places with its fresh fresh fresh seafood: D
+crab dip: D
+hush puppies with cinnamon honey butter: D
+soft shell crab sandwich: D
+oyster po’ boy: D
+crab cakes: D
+steamed Old Bay (their special seasoning) crabs: D
+coleslaw
+banana cream pie: D
+key lime pie
+ask for Ms. Teressa: D
+friendly staff
+al fresco dining available
+carry-​out location available
+plenty of parking

We ate out on our last night of vacation in Colonial Beach. Read the reviews and all is true. Crab legs and shrimp steamed to perfection. Great service and atmosphere. Oh yeah, save room for home made deserts.

Had the best soft shell crab I’ve ever had. It was perfectly cooked, tasted awesome and was the largest I’ve ever seen. This is one meal I’ll talk about for a long time!

Excellent food and service! The complimentary hush puppies are awesome! Loved the crab soup, crab dip, and crab cake. Everything was served hot and quickly. We will definitely be back!