The Crab Claw
| Address: | 304 Mill St, St Michaels, MD 21663, USA |
| Phone: | +1 410-745-2900 |
| Site: | thecrabclaw.com |
| Rating: | 3.1 |
| Working: | 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM 11AM–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
TO
Tom f
Last trip there for good after 40 years of good service and great food...theyve let us down and overcharged us for the last time. Waiter was either deaf or just plain stupid. Couldnt comprehend I wanted a coke...ordered it TWICE..then he tells ME to turn over the menu for the drink selections..really? Cream of Crab soup was one of the worst Ive even had anywhere...came straight from a can with a few tiny pieces of canned crabmeat tossed in. Steamed clams were like old rubberbands filled with sand...waiter was visibly angry when I told him..he said hed check with his manager over it..never did. When our entrees arrived..finally..he had my husbands order wrong..again. We had corrected it because he again seemed confused over a simple...STUFFED FLOUNDER which was right on the abbreviated menu. He kept the entrée just to be able to eat though thoroughly disappointed. It was dry, bland and overcooked. My soft crab sandwich was terrible...I have no idea what they sautéed the crab in but it had a very off taste, no flavor, no dusted in flour as they are traditionally cooked. It even left an aftertaste. The cole slaw was water soak vinegar tossed mush. The waiter, though very few customers at 2p.m. on a SUNDAY was argumentive even over fetching us appetizer plates for our steamed clams. Several times a year we make a day of going to St. Michaels to eat..usually at the crab claw. Each time weve gone there recently, its been more and more empty and we completely understand the reason...complete incompetence in the kitchen and management. We wont ever go back and foresee the waterfront restaurant sinking into the sunset. Hopefully the next owners understand quality and customer service. We found ourselves longing for the umbrella covered outdoor tables on the other side of the creek...itll be where well be next time.
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Jaclyn Gardner
I was disappointed in our experience here. Food was very expensive, which I would have been ok with if it was great food, but it was just so-so. Not worth the price they charge. Cream of crab soup had a strange taste to it and was very gelatinous, chicken wings had no flavor, crab cakes were very small. For the quality, way over-priced. We had a large party so we called ahead of time and they sat us no problem, but refused to split the check for us. Very rude about it too, "not now, maybe if you had told me before, but nope, not now". If you knew you couldve done it had you known from the beginning, why not ask us ahead of time? I know splitting checks is somewhat of an inconvenience but if 12 twenty-somethings come in to a casual restaurant, its a reasonable assumption that one of us isnt planning to pay the entire 300 dollar bill alone. Splitting checks is extremely common. I have never had a restaurant not be accommodating on that front, especially such a casual restaurant. They told us they could run as many credit cards as they wanted but charge them the same so we did that. And people in our party who ordered an appetizer were forced to pay the same as those that ordered a 30 dollar entree. If the food had been amazing and well priced I might have brushed off the bad service, but all those things combined, not worth your time. If you want a waterfront dining experience, go to Town Dock. Comparable prices but much better food and service.
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Stacey C
This is only about how we were treated - we werent able to eat there as I was extremely uncomfortable after I absorbed what happened from the time we entered to the time we made it to our table. We came in yesterday afternoon and were treated with a surly "how can I help you" instead of a pleasant "how many for lunch". Off-putting. As we were walked to our table I heard a woman literally yelling across the restaurant to "get that kids hand out of the ice, get that kids hand out of the ice!!". Im assuming my 5 year old put his hands in the open ice container as we walked by, we didnt see that but its not acceptable, I get that. Whats also not acceptable is to thoroughly embarrass us to the entire restaurant and then to not even acknowledge my apology when she brushed past me. Why yell repeatedly, not accept my apology or even smile and so rudely brush past us? I do apologize that you had to get up to remove the ice where he may have laid his hand, Im serious about that. Im also serious in that the way you present yourself to the customers can make or break a dining experience - smile - be nice - roll with it when things go wrong. Its the restaurant business after all. We wont try again and will share the experience. I have a feeling this restaurant benefits from location and may rest on that after reading through other reviews.
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A Private User
Ive read some of the other reviews online about this restaurant and had a fantastic experience there myself. After spending five hours tromping around the maritime museum next door, The Crab Claw was a welcome respite. We dined out on the open air deck with a canopy overhead. The gulls, swans and ducks were floating about, some walking on the deck... but not being pesty or annoying at all. It was very relaxing and beautiful. We found the waitstaff to be be pleasant, punctual and attentive. When she noticed I was drinking more iced tea she offered a pitcher at no extra charge. I got the Chesapeake Bay oysters which were simply marvellous. I had never had oysters before and was not only pleased by the quality, but also by the price. The table next to us got the Maryland crabs and seemed quite enamored with their bounty. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a great Maryland/Chesapeake Bay experience. St. Michaels is a fantastic town steeped in rich history... and visit the museum next day. Youll need a whole day to do it all.
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Chris Dewey
If your a crab lover and live/boat in the Bay/rivers, DONT waste your time with this place. Go to MIKES, Harris or others. My wife and I drove over by boat yesterday which took about 45 min. We ordered a dozen larges ($89 - waste) which were medium at best. They were cold and I could crumble everyone with my bare hands. You should never be able to do that with crabs. A good cooked crab would have cut my hand. No reason for the hammer, knife or anything. There were disgusting. When we showed the waitress (she was appalled, but nothing she could do), the manager said he would not replace. We have never heard of such a thing. It basically left us no choice to eat small, cold, disgusting crabs. The manager (bald guy) didnt even have the guts or basic customer service to discuss with me after multiply asks. If it wasnt for a nice day, a cold beer and a nice waitress, I would have smashed all 12 with my point finger and walked out. GO TO MIKES OR HARRIS, unless you like hushpuppies and wings.
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A Private User
Food was really good. We got a few appetizers which is the way to go because the seafood platters are expensive and reading some of the reviews below Im glad we didnt go that route. We had shrimp cocktail, crab meat cocktail and crab dip. Everything tasted really fresh and there was a lot of crab meat in the cocktail and in the dip. The steamed crabs looked really good and a lot of people were having those but we only had about 45 minutes to eat so we didnt want to get into all of that. I would have given 5 stars but it really annoyed me that they dont take any credit/debit cards. Cash only! We had some cash but our bill was $50 so the waitress told us we could go to the ATM. WTF! Poor customer service on their part with not accepting cards. I almost wouldnt go back because of that. It was a nuisance and then we got charged an extra $5 for ATM fees. Its 2011 get a grip.
