Nettie’s Crab Shack

Oh sweet Nettie, what can I tell you? You are not worth half your ticket price.
What was with that Gumbo? It tasted, disturbingly similar to BBQ sauce. If you enjoy chugging BBQ sauce right out of the bottle, this soup is for you.
It’s called a crab shack and there was maybe one menu item that contained crab. Hmmm. OK.
This is a tourist trap. It’s charging people top dollar who don’t even know they’re being ripped off. If you live in SF, you have a host of other choices, don’t chose this one.

Drunk or Racist?! Management
& Staff… Enough said… Best wishes to you in Portland… –Merry Christmas

I’ve come here twice with my office on work/​birthday lunches, always a large group, which means service was always good.
I’ve sampled a number of things here, as we like to order all the apps and desserts and pass them around. But what I’d like to review mostly, is the crab roll.
The roll is a rectangle of warm, pillowy goodness, shimmering under its layer of butter and crisped to a beautiful golden brown on the sides. Sliced through the middle and stuffed with soft, fluffy crab, it’s served with pickled veggies to cut through the richness. The roll gives as you take a bite with just a bit of resistance, and the crab falls like snow around your fingers.
Comes with pretty bomb rosemary shoestring fries too.

There was nothing that bad about this restaurant, but I’d say it wasn’t nearly good enough for me to come back…
I had the roasted carrot soup and poached egg over crab cakes. Both were very BLAND. that is the one word I would use to the food here. I had to add a lot of salt on everything and that only made things a little better. There was definitely no range in flavor.
Also the waitress was not too helpful. It really annoys me when you ask for salt for your food when it comes out and they do a million other things before they get it to you… while you’re just waiting because you can’t start your meal.
But yea… not impressed

I haven’t quite figured out why this place isn’t busier! The food is solid and tasty and the drinks are even better.
I’ve been twice — first time had the fish tacos and a salad — both were good, I would say not super memorable though.
Dinner there was really, really awesome though. The whiskey cocktail with the cinnamon was so perfect. I am a big rye and bourbon drinker and this was one of my faves I have had. They sugar-​ed the rim with sugar and cinnamon which took just the right amount of bite out of the whiskey.
The waiter was great and knowledgeable and service had a nice flow.
We had the crab cakes which were really perfect, first day dungeness (messy but delicious) and the fish special — all had such great flavor and lived up to our expectations. The warm dark chocolate also was pretty spectacular.

OMG. I could have sworn I wrote a review! This place rocks. Came here famished and in dire need of a beer. The associates were alllll very nice and patient with Allison Whitney and I being brand new here. We shared a bowl of the clam chowder, which they split up for us. The girl recommended a great wine for my BFF and I can never turn down a tall Blue Moon. The skinny fries ere good, but honestly not that filling. I actually got tired of chewing them! But they are very tasty!
We both wanted to try the crab and lobster rolls. SO they put one of each on our plates. I guess since it was not super busy, they were able to do that. I love that! At some restaurants they say they charge for splitting plates. So them doing it without us even asking them to is just a lovely thing!!!
We got desserts, me a cookie, which I could have skipped, it was a bit dry! :(
And my BFF got the blueberry cobbler or something?! I cannot remember and we were drunk at this point. But it had pretty colors and looked like throw up, but she said it tasted amazing! I definitely recommend this place and cannot wait to come back again!

We sat down outside and after a bit a busboy brought water. He made us feel welcome and said a waitress would ve with us soon… After a long while… Some twenty something child told us we needed to sit at a different table… I would call her our waitress… But she never asked if we’d like to order anything.
After waiting at a different table… For a short while… We went west down Union one block to The Brixton… And had a very nice expereince and lunch.
Ymmv

I haven’t ventured too much off the menu here. I had their crab roll once and it’s what I always come back for. It’s pure perfection I tell ya.
You get this fresh brioche bread toasted ever so slightly, probably on a flat top, with some butter. They cut it open and top it fresh crab. No mayo. I’m not sure if there is much of any seasoning on it. It’s just sweet fresh crab. Brioche, butter, crab is all I need.
BUT
They include a side a shoe string fries with rosemary. Those damn things are too good to be so skinny because I can’t stuff my face with it fast enough.
AND
It comes with a few cornichons and pickled onions.
You. Complete. Me.
The dish. Not you.

Great strong cocktails. Nice outdoor seating area (when the weather is nice in SF). Had crab deviled eggs, crab cake and shared a burger. The food was delicious. The staff was very friendly.

Came for my husband’s b-​day, I was expecting a bit more from this restaurant. Food was average, I’ve had crab cakes way better than here.
The manager who met us was polite, but very cold and standoffish, and our waitress was no better. I’ve mentioned to both of them of our special occasion. and guess what — they’ve done nothing! Not even a tiny piece of dessert 1“x1″ with a candle. That wasn’t just rude, that was pretty unacceptable. If you want to celebrate a special occasion at this place — I guess this is not the one. They simply don’t give a damn.

The other reviews don’t quite do this place justice.
First of all, the food is awesome! The king crab devil’d eggs, the fish and chips, the crab cakes, the crab roll and the blackend trout BLT is just… ah man mouth is watering just thinking about it.
They have great wines, and good beers.
The service is friendly and attentive.
The space is amazing, nice outside spot to sit, big interior, long cool copper bar. Great vibe. Feels like a beach house.
I would guess that many of the negative reviewers have their own hangups, and that it has little to do with Nettie’s. It’s very good for all occasions, a casual brunch or lunch, a family dinner, a quite date it’s all good at Nettie’s!

This restaurant looked promising with a beautiful bright interior with a freshness to the design, but the staff was… not necessarily rude… but had that «too cool for school» type attitude. We were out celebrating a special occasion and came in around 3:00 pm on a weekday, so there was not much action going on, but we were in a tipping mood for sure. The manager greeted us with absolutely no smile whatsoever, and begrudgingly took us to our table, where our waiter greeted us with a look of being hung over and not really wanting to be there. at all. He seemed to warm up a degree or two after a while, but I can tell you the service that we experienced in the first few minutes alone, brought us down off of our blissful celebration high that had that day.
We had the lambrusco, which was decent — it’s hard to find good lambrusco. We ordered oysters, which were ok, and mussels, ½ of which were dead and the broth had that «dead mussel» smell to it. I gave 1 extra star since after pointing it out to the manager, she did give us some extra mussels, but again, the broth had a fish and pungent smell, which basically made us lose our appetites. We would have continued to try more, but we were totally turned off by the icy service and the mediocre food.
I will not be returning to this place… there are just too many amazing restaurants in the area to waste our money here again.

The food, overall, was average and pretty salty (granted, I don’t like a lot of salt in my food). The dinner menu is very pricy, too. My fiancé had the trout BLT and I ordered the mussels.
I had a few bites of the BLT and it was pretty tasty, but the the fish itself is very over-​seasoned so I can’t taste the seafood much. The shoe string fries were excellent, though, very crispy. That was, by far, the highlight of the meal. They fried the potatoes with rosemary to add additional flavor.
My mussels were suppose to have squash blossoms, but I was only able to find two tiny blossoms. The mussels were very uneven, with a few juicy ones, but most were tiny/​shriveled and sad looking. Just didn’t appear very fresh. I usually slop up the sauce on these mussels dishes, but this was too salty. Even if I liked the sauce, it wasn’t like I had anything to pick up the sauce, since bread didn’t come with the order. I had to ask for bread and they brought me regular bread instead of the toasted croutons that almost all mussels dishes come with.
I might come back for brunch but dinner here is just too disappointing to retry.

Decided to try this place for brunch this morning with my friend. We were on our way to café des Amis when we realized this place had several tables on the sunny deck available and des Amis didn’t. We sat down and our waitress came right over and was very friendly.
We ordered the blood orange mimosa and oh my, amazing. I would highly recommend this.
I had the warm crab roll and my friend had the pumpkin pancakes. Both were excellent although the pancakes were kind of small and didn’t come with anything else.
The crab was insanely fresh and on this buttery crispy roll. Nothing over the top about it but it was a really creative and delicious way to serve a crab roll. It came with shoestring fries that were crunchy. It was a great texture to go with the soft crab.
Overall I’d definitely come here again. What a hidden gem.

I am a regular fixture on Union Street these days as I often spend my weekends shopping along this quaint street that’s filled with adorable little boutiques. Shopping gets me fatigued so I stopped at Nettie’s Crab Shack for a snack to keep my energy up. I’ve passed by this cute little restaurant many times and I finally had the chance to sit down over the weekend.
I wanted to order the infamous Crab Roll but I had to be mindful of all the calories I had been ingesting all turkey weekend. So I opted for the Deviled Eggs topped with fresh dungeness crab chunks and a Spicy Lemonade cocktail. I was still not satisfied so I ordered the Linguine & Clams as well. Perhaps I should have opted for the Fish Tacos as my waiter had suggested because the Linguine & Clams had pesto sauce in it, which I did not care for. I still finished my entire plate but I probably will not order that dish again. I look forward to returning and trying the infamous Crab Roll next time.

Cute east coast styled seafood place tucked away on Union Street. It’s a jarring experience to walk into this place — it whisks you away to coastal New England as soon as you sit down.
The menu has classic New England seafood dishes as well as some interesting dishes from other regions (such as the gumbo). Regardless of what you get, make sure you get the cornbread. And ask for butter when it comes, piping hot. Whether you have soup or chowder to dunk your cornbread in, it’s absolutely delicious.
I had the halibut special, which was amazing. The fish was cooked perfectly — flaky and flavorful — and the herb stuffed roasted heirloom tomato just added a whole other dimension of flavor to the fish, but without overpowering it. If this is a standard to go by, I’ll go out on a limb to say they probably do very well with their other fish dishes as well.
Next time I’m definitely going to try one of the soups. The mussels and clams also looked delectable.

This place is the bomb diggity! Fresh seafood, a beautiful patio and an open air and naturally lit interior… lunch, dinner… all I need is a breakfast menu and I’d come here 3x a day!
As a tourist to SF, our «tour guide» brought us to Nettie’s for a late lunch after a day full of adventure. It was a lovely sunny day so we opted for an outdoor table. Prompt service and my water glass was always full.
I ordered the Cobb Louie for lunch… and it was the perfect choice. The perfect amount of sweet dungeness crab on a fresh bed of lettuce tossed in louie dressing. Not weighed down with dressing, every ingredient was screaming FRESH! FRESH! FRESH! from the avocado to the beets and more. So yummy. And still filling for a salad!
My husband, British, got the fish and chips. Crispy fried fish and a lovely homemade tartar sauce. His high standard for fish and chips… definitely filled.
Our tour guide got the lobster roll… and she’s the regular. She scarfed it down w/​out letting me taste… so I know it was good!
And, because Nettie was there and so happy to see her regular, we got a butterscotch pudding on the house. I’m glad we did, because this is something you should not miss! Light and fluffy with delicate cookie crumbs on top. Great way to end a fantastic lunch.
Thanks Nettie!

I’m shocked to see bad reviews. Maybe some people ordered the wrong items. But let me tell you about my experience… IT WAS AWESOME! Bright, beautiful, sunny day and I thought it would be nice to find a place to eat lunch outside. Stumbled upon this cute little crab shack.
Plenty of seating and the food was great!
Lunch:
–dungeness crab deviled eggs, housemade old bay (comes in four and it was nice, delicate and flavorful)
–warm dungeness crab roll (OMG! Did you not see my picture?! This was the best crab roll ever! Super generous portion of crab on a buttery soft toasted roll. Cooked and presented perfectly! Every bite was heaven!)
I was in a food coma after that roll and don’t remember anything else after that roll. Simply the best thing I had there. I don’t know how I got home. Maybe on a cloud? If you come here, definitely order the crab roll!

Possibly the WORST Vendor at the 3^rd Annual San Francisco Street Food Festival!
As a disclaimer, I’ve never set foot into Nettie’s Crab Shack and only tried them at last weekend’s San Francisco’s Food Festival on Saturday, 8.20.11 so I debated on even writing a review. However, I believe that if a restaurant has a food stand or food truck, it should be a mobile advertisement to entice people to visit their restaurant. With that being said, they better put their best food forward in their offerings. Let’s just say, Nettie’s Crab Shack put their fungal infested foot reeking of rotten eggs forward.
They had two offerings:
*Dungeness Crab Deviled Egg ($ 3)
*Fried Oysters ($ 8)
My friend and I both got the Dungeness Crab Deviled Egg which consisted of one egg white halved with a big glop of yellow colored mayo with NO crab or taste of crab whatsoever. Sorry, but it was COMPLETE CRAP!
How can you call yourself «Nettie’s ‘Crab’ Shack» and not even have crab in your Dungeness Crab Deviled Egg??? Needless to say, I would never go to their actual restaurant.
P. S. — One of my friends ordered the Fried Oysters and he said it was disgusting!

Wow, I really dont get all these one and two star reviews of Nettie’s. Maybe I wouldn’t give it five stars, but I’d definitely give it four and a half stars. But with all the negative reviews I just had to put this out there.
FIrst, I’ll say why I like Nettie’s and then I’ll try to address some of the negative comments I’ve seen.
Even though it’s smack in the middle of the Marina, I don’t get the attitude there that I get by some of the other restaurants surrounding it. The servers and the host have always been extremely nice – to me at least!
There is tons of open space and streaming light. The ambience really does remind me of some of the places I used to go to in Mass.
The food has always been solid – maybe once or twice I’ve had a just decent meal, but I’ve eaten there a dozen times and never ever had a bad one.
They’ve got a pretty good wine selection and a very solid beer selection. There’s nothing like a Black Butte porter with a steamed crab. Yum.
They also do some really inventive foods like the squid with beans and the slightly dissected crab louis salad. And don’t get me started about the desserts – dangerous!
Now about people’s concerns. Yes it’s not cheap and yes you can probably get something almost comparable at a slightly less expensive place, but there’s no way it’s «rediculously overpriced” – come on. This place is in the Marina so I’m not sure what a person expects – there just isn’t a lot of reasonably priced food around here and I think the prices are comparable to the area. But, if you’re really hard up for cash go for the po boy or one of the sandwiches which honestly are pretty tasty and relatively cheap.
I don’t understand how people can give Woodhouse such high ratings (people, if you think this is MUCH more expensive than that place and food that’s not as good, I don’t know what to tell you – that’s definitely not the case) and this has a three star average. This place is absolutely worth checking out. Start with either the crab sandwich, cobb louis or the full crab and you should be quite happy.