Joe’s Crab Shack

Generally I enjoy Joes, it’s always been a decent alternative to the seafood and steak restaurants in most metropolitan areas to include the twin cities. This one in particular and solely judging this as a individual restaurant, is going down hill. I’ve been traveling to and from this area for the past couple of years, and every couple months come to this joes to change things up. There was more broth than muscles, stale bread as a pairing, the steam pot advertised crab as one of its three entrees… But mine came without. Simply brought it up to the server and asked if I could get the missing crab. That should of been the end of it. But the manager came out with said crab once prepared and essentially made the accusation that I had «hid the crab, and was scamming more»… Really?! Do you need to look in the scrap bucket for proof? Lost one patron there I guess.

Just got back from dinner at Joe’s in Roseville. I used to eat here, years ago but I grew tired of it being not very clean, the service being hit or miss and the food being nothing special. Tonight has made me a believer again. We had the crab stuffed mushroom appetizer, and it was tasty, slight jalapeño kick cheesy, visible lumps of crab in the filling. Our app arrived and we dug in only to discover that the mushrooms themselves were raw and cold. We brought this to the attention of our server, Miriah, who very professionally whisked the dish off to the kitchen and had it remade. The second time was the charm, it was piping hot, the mushrooms still had texture and taste but they were cooked. Nick, the manager, swung by the table to apologize and then checked back later to make sure that it was fixed to our satisfaction. My lobster and crab bucket was delicious and my husbands Sam Adams steampot was quite tasty, We did discover that over half his clams had either been undercooked or something because they hadn’t opened. Nick had just stopped by to check on the aforementioned mushrooms so we asked if this was normal and he assured us that it was not and headed back and reordered the pound of clams for us. They came quickly and were perfectly done, open, steaming hot with the lovely garlicky butter… happy husband.
On cleanliness — we were there late and many servers were doing their sidework, I was impressed by how thoroughly Nick checked on their work, it explained why the restaurant that I remembered as slightly sticky and grungy was MUCH improved. Even the bathrooms were clean and we were there well towards the end of the night.
I took off one star because of the kitchen issues, but they were fixed easily and professionally and both my husband and I will be returning customers.

The food is good but soooo expensive! $ 30 for 4 long crab legs?! No thank you! I get seafood is expensive but you could go to a 5 star restaurant for these prices!

I am biased here. I love Joe’s Crab Shack. I grew up on it. I looked forward to it when my family would make the long trek from the Northwoods to the Twin Cities. This was our little slice of Southern paradise in the frigid months of a Minnesota Winter.
And then I moved to the cities for college and came to this place… and it was crap!
I stayed away for almost three years and I am so glad I came back! We must of just had a very bad experience with poor management because this place is alive and kicking like I remembered it as a kid.
The food is great, love those crab nachos and it kicks the pants off of Red Lobster any day. Their steam pots are a tad overpriced, but that is what I get for living in Minnesota and the only crustacean I have access to is lake crayfish (and if I put a lobster or crab in my salt-​water aquarium).
Right now drinks are ½ off on Thursdays so that is a pretty swell deal too. Love me some crabs!

Had fish and chips for lunch, a little greasy but ok. Huge portions but not a lot if flavor. The batter was super crispy. I had a side salad also which was HUGE. Sat near the bar so the bartender was my server he did a great job!
It’s ok for lunch.

this place is a joke, it should just be called joes shack, sad state of affairs in there, never again

Really good! First time being there. The staff members are super friendly and fun. My party got the Garlicky Muscles and The Orleans steam pot. Garlicky Muscles were amazing, and super garlicky, so not for those who are scared of some bold flavors. Also, The Orleans was really good. It included a pound of Crawfish (approx. 15), 12 Shrimp, and a bucket of fries mixed with hush puppies. It was my first time having Crawfish, and I’m a bit indifferent, but it was still amazing food.

Haven’t visited for many years due to a poor experience at a different location. Tonight was incredible. The mussels were seasoned wonderfully, the calamari cooked perfectly and the crab boils perfect. Even the kids $ 6 meals were good. We had a great evening with the family. Nice job!

We had reservations for a party of 11 at 6:30. Ordered at 7. Didn’t get our food until 8. It was busy, but definitely not packed. About half of us had cold items on our plates, which we sent back. The food itself was decent. I had the stuffed mushrooms and lobster red fish. The coconut shrimp was good. In addition, someone in my party told the server it was my birthday, but the wait staff never celebrated it.

Joe’s Crab Shack… man that name says it all!!! The crab pots here are awesome. Nice’n spicy, good portion sizes, great servers!!! Appetizers are awesome. Love this place!!!

Went on a Tuesday night and they offered. $ 2 draft beer, Hurricanes, calamari, fried pickles, popcorn shrimp and hush puppies. Beer came in a plastic cup and apps were presented in cardboard but for $ 2, not the end of the world. Waiter, Christian, was excellent and guided us through the extensive menu. The portions were small for the $ 2 appetizers but were tasty. The calamari batter could have more spice though. The Entrees were huge and I think they were fair value for the portions. Really over cooked the lobster but the shrimp, crawfish and the Andouille sausage were spot on. The corn and Potatoes were also perfectly cooked. Casual is the norm and be prepared for bibs and laughs. Not stuffy at all so bring your good time attitude because this spot is about fun. Will return with big appetite.

I don’t get it… Why is no one here at lunch? I mean one other table! Who cares… I had the bottomless salad and bowl of chowder (exactly what you need in one of those 20* MN days).
Food was great… Service even better (Thanks Jammie with 2m’s and creepy manager guy).

Not impressed. I used to go to this chain a few years back because it was local and something a little different… but this was my first visit in a while. Did I mention not impressed? I had my bar set low, as I do know that it’s a chain seafood restaurant in the middle of the Midwest, but even I didn’t expect this sort of blandness and shoddy service.
We arrived for an early dinner (because we went to a matinée and didn’t eat lunch beforehand), and figured the service would be great because there were only about 5 – 8 tables full of people. Also, my husband has always wanted to try it.
The hostess sat us quickly, someone quickly brought us a bucket and menus, and we were on our way. So far, so good. We ordered the Great Balls of Fire for an appetizer, each got a drink, and he ordered a steam pot. I went out on a limb (against my usual better judgement) and ordered Cajun fried lobster. I’m not a fan of crab and lobster I have to crack myself, especially in places like this. If I’m going to go through the work, I want the payoff to be outstanding ;)
Found out the happy hour prices don’t apply to the dining room, only ‘the bar’. One of my pet peeves for a CHAIN RESTAURANT. It’s not a bar. It’s a CHAIN RESTAURANT. Make the happy hour prices apply throughout the place. OK. Moving on.
The Great Balls of Fire were OK. I liked them better than my husband did, but I’m a sucker for things with cream cheese. What was ‘fiery’ about them is beyond me, but I’ll leave that alone. If that would have been the worst of the meal, then I would have been OK with it. Then, before we even finished half of our first drinks, the food arrived. That was quick! But cool, we were hungry.
My Cajun lobster pieces were overdone and gross. My corn was flavorless. I had to ask twice for butter to add to the corn, because I desperately needed to make it taste like something. Anything. The mac and cheese was below average, and quite dry. I added some of the butter and some of the Cajun crumbs from the lobster, and that improved the situation.
My husband’s steampot was a joke. The crab legs barely had any crab in them. The lobster claws were average (no real complaints there). The clams he actually seemed to enjoy (which was good, because the pot was mostly clams). The sausage tasted weird, and the potatoes had no flavoring whatsoever. The corn had a weird brown spot in a couple of places, so he just threw that instantly in the trash bucket. He was especially irritated, because he had asked for the fries and hushpuppies, but got the corn and new potatoes instead. He didn’t ask for it to be redone, because he thought maybe this would be just as tasty. Yeah, Not so much. :(
We thought we’d take some of our leftovers home for our friend that is staying with us (there should be no complaints from him, right? It’s free ;)), and had to ask twice for boxes. While we were waiting for the boxes, we heard one table complaining about the crab cakes and a waitress stating that they would be made over, and apologizing for the problem. The table behind us ordered clam chowder, and their waitress came back saying they were so sorry, but the chowder was ‘still frozen’. Eww. I mean, I’d be in denial if I expected everything at a place like this to be from scratch, but I wouldn’t want to hear that it was still frozen. Plus, they didn’t even offer them something for the problem!
So…long story short (TOO LATE ;)), I won’t be heading back anytime soon. I now understand completely why they are closing locations left and right. Too bad. I did used to like them for something different. But honestly, $ 75 for this meal was WAY too much. I could get a much better meal at a dozen different places for that price.

This place is so overpriced it’s a shame. We stopped in on a Saturday for lunch where the place was practically echoing. After waiting for at least 10 minutes to see our server we ordered.
The deep fried lobster was served with an over abundance of breading in a pile on the plate. The corn was bland, the Mac and cheese was flavorless. The second meal if coconut shrimp was average. Only the French fries saved this rating from a 1 Starr.

Came here for an early lunch and was happy to not be the first ones at 11.10a. lol! Seated near the bar and had a great time! The food came quick and was very fresh. For starters had the steamed shrimp and then a red snapper dish with dirty rice and veggies. There was some sort of alcoholic tea that comes with it’s own take home glass — very cool! For dessert we had the key lime pie and wow. what a yummy taste. and it helped it was a HUGE slice! The manager (Nick) made it a point to check on everyone and was really friendly. Great place, great food, awesome prices. love it!

I’ve been here a few times. I remember when they opened way back when and the lines used to be out the door. My how times have changed. There were a scant few in there when I visited, all seeming to enjoy themselves. I’m not much of a seafood fan, but I ordered a fish and chips. It was good, but a bit greasy. The kids definitily enjoyed cracking into those crab legs. Although I don’t think those were filling enough for them.
Those yellow leg crackers had us confused too. They say on them «Stolen from Joe’s Crab Shack». Is this an inviation to steal them? If it’s an invitation, then is it really stealing? I’ll leave it a mystery if we took them or not.

My overall experience is «meh».
You may be able to spot the establishment from afar but you have to go through the back to get to the parking lot.
The restaurant’s style is supposed to be like a distressed crab shack basically. We were greeted and seated promptly on a Saturday evening. Drinks specials covered the bar area.
Service was ok. The waitress wrote cute sayings on our bibs and put it on us. She never came by to refill our drinks but we didn’t need it. She was attentive and very nice.
The kids menu had 6 or so meals to choose from. The kids with us loved the food: fries, moz sticks, fish sticks, and popcorn shrimp. It was less than $ 6 per meal.
The steampots we ordered looked plentiful on the picture (so we decided to share a pot per couple) but when we received our order, it was less. There were a few empty shells. The crab legs were juicy. The butter they provided was bland. It wasn’t worth $ 25-​$ 30 per pot. The sampler on the other hand was delicious. It came with 4 jalapeño poppers, a handful of fried calamari, and a side of baked crab dip with tortilla chips ($ 12+).
Pass on the steampot and perhaps order something worthwhile and more filling.

Service was excellent — nothing to complain about.
The food was just ok. Our table of three each ordered the steam pots. The picture of steam pots on the menu make you believe you’re getting more crab than what you actually get. I also wasn’t impressed with the food in the steam pots besides the crab itself. If I go next time I will ONLY get the crab. I would also like it if they cut the King Crab legs for easier eating but I don’t know if that’s just my ‘princess’ coming out.

Typical chain restaurant goodness. I don’t usually get anything except the personal steamed seafood pots, but we ordered some appetizers also for a change.
Not much to tell, about what I expected. Service was friendly and fast.

There are quality and quantity seafood to be had anywhere in the country. As for Minneapolis, MN, I will say it… Most seafood places here that I have tried are pretty much ‘bleh’ for me and more about quantity over quality: i.e. any asian buffets on any given night.
As for the obvious, seafood places — Red Lobster, Italian places that serve ‘seafood’, I can’t stand it because the choices are extremely limited and seems to know only how to cook a lobster one way and love to over cook a shrimp dish.
So where does Joe’s Cab Shack comes in? I am not going to deny that they are one step away from being EXACTLY like Red Lobster. Joe’s is extremely different in a sense that they go beyond the standard fried everything and steam only lobster, alaskan crab, etc…@ Joe’s, they give you plenty of options choose your seafood meal. There is Duch’s Crab, King Crab, Green Mussels, Scallops, etc. The menu is extensive and will probably please practically everyone… including my daughter insist that she wants pizza for dinner @ a seafood joint?! Okay, she is only 7 and I can’t disown her just yet… yet. Heck, they even have 2 different size steaks that would put a smile to my dad’s face.
Hence if you are looking a place to entertain your family and friends. This is a pretty good bet because they have EVERYTHING to choose from.
Note: I have read a few of people complaining about their meal… Look, if you choose a seafood dish that is meant to be steamed (Joe’s specialty), guess what? 1) It is steam — Hence you might expect it to be bland compare to a butter/​garlic stir fried dish. 2) You can tell them DON’T over cook it: you insist your lobster is medium rare. 3) Did I say it was steam?
I love the servers here. They sing, dance, and go out of their way to make you and your guess happy. That is a lot more than I can say about 99% of the restaurants out there. More important, you don’t have to tip them base on their sing/​dance number… but the look on my kid’s face is priceless…
All in all, this is as good as it gets for Minneapolis on the seafood fan fair. More important, at Joe’s they put up a lot of personality and charm. Yes, there are BETTER tasting and cheaper seafood places in Minneapolis. No, I refuse to call a place a good seafood place just because they served Walleyes… Yes, there are seafood market that have a fresher dish. Sometimes, you need a complete place with a big menu that you can bring your parents, children, other family members that you are NOT sure about, etc… This is a place for you.
The day will come when I become a grumpy old man and go out only for me and I will probably give this place a 2 star. Until then, this place gets a 4 star for a good place to entertain my family and friends.
One more thing: the carrot cake is CRAZY GOOD! I would go there on that ALONE.
If you are from the south and have eaten a Publix carrot cake, this one is pretty d@mn close. No, it is still not better than Publix.