Captain James Crab House

Service was great and the oysters are amazing. Was not truly a big fan though of their crab, did not seem fresh and that was a bit disappointing

I’ve only came here for the all you can eat crabs. With the AYCE you get Maryland crab soup (cream of crab for an additional 2 $), an ear of corn, and delicious crabs! Can’t beat that for $ 32

Their seafood was very fresh — especially the raw oyster. Their choice of wine was good and it was a surprise for a casual seafood place. Highly recommend!

Went last night with a groupon, no seeder action– sat immediately. Server was super friendly and attentive even knowing we had a groupon (I paid $ 32 for $ 80!!) anway we ordered 6 dishes, some appetizers (calamari was some of the best I’ve ever had) mussels, seafood nachos, cream crab soup (which was cold and upon him seeing I didn’t eat it and said I wasn’t a fan — our awesome server took it off the bill– I thought this was commendable) crab cake sandwich was huge and delicious. Garlic shrimp were very good but for 6 – 7 an order for 10 $ I think I’d rather get another order of calamari. Anyway the service here was excellent, the place was quite but pretty full, and the décor inside was nice to look at. I rate the food 4 stars and our excellent service 5 stars.

The wife and I came here on a groupon. It was worth it. Seafood was amazing, I had the oysters, and more oyster shooters. Drinks were decent, she had a margarita. My wife had a filet steak, which was ok (She is allergic to seafood), not bad but we just like a little more flavor and garlic butter lol. But other then that, this place was great. I would have given this place a 5 star, but the manger was a little rude (nothing that I would trash this place about) lol, he was trying to tell me he was all booked up, when I got there maybe 2 tables were filled. On top of that we spent a good hour, hour and a half here, and maybe 2 more people showed up, I don’t doubt this place gets filled up, but don’t turn away customers!!!

I dined here during a 2 day stay in Baltimore. It was so good that I ate lunch AND dinner from there. The crab truly was the best crabcake I’ve had in Baltmore. I also had the shrimp cocktail, the seafood nachos, and the seafood stew. Fantastic!!!

Captain James Crab House is a great place to go with a group. There is plenty of outdoor seating with a nice view of the water. They also have pitchers of Boh and delicious hush puppies (both a must), as well as corn hole boards which always seem to be occupied.
The menu is very limited at the crab shack, which might pose a problem if someone in your group doesn’t eat crab (full menu, minus the steamed crabs, can be had across the street at the main restaurant). However, the Asian Spice wings might just be fantastic enough to satisfy these people.
Also important to note: this place has a free parking lot. So don’t waste your time driving around looking for the ever-​elusive street parking.

(9÷17÷2015) The update is that the place is so popular now that I would def call ahead before you head down to check if they are open to the public and if they still have AUCE crabs. We tried to go on ⁹⁄₁₆ and the whole restaurant was shut down for a private event. Traffic and parking were already impossible, and to be rudely turned away (by the event people not the restaurant people) was just salt in the wound.
Since I was playing tour guide and host to out of town relatives, I def wanted them to have a Maryland-​style crab experience. We (like suckers) came back the next day to try again for AUCE crabs (yes, I did call ahead this time). The place was full, but at least open and we shared half a picnic table with a lovely couple visiting from Chicago. The crabs were awesome, they were enormous, and our server kept us well-​stocked.
FYI, Captain James is no longer the only place in the City on the water, I can think of at least Phillips and Nick’s now.

Popped in here with 12 friends during a day trip to Baltimore, and they were more than accommodating! We all really enjoyed our experience at Captain James and left stuffed.
We ordered it all — for food, we got oysters, hushpuppies, large cabs, crab cakes, steamed spiced shrimp, and fries on fries on fries (we even got chicken fingers). In the drinks department, we ordered orange crushes, watermelon/​cucumber crushes, and tons of beer. It was all delicious! The crabs especially were much larger and more flavorful than other crab places I’ve gone to in DC (cough cough Quarterdeck).
Even though it was pouring out, we were able to feel like we were eating outside without getting wet. They have a large covered deck.
I highly recommend Captain James for out of towners who want to get their hands dirty and have the Baltimore crab’s experience! 5 stars

We were here on a Friday about 5pm, sat outside with about 11 in our group. Ordered a lot of beer and a lot of crab, mussels, shrimp, crab cakes and cocktails. Beer was ice cold and delish, as long as it stayed in the glass and not on the ground. Crab cakes were perfect balance of crab and mixes, but plenty of crab! Mussels were ok, shrimp a little overcooked. Now, the crabs, we were instructed on and to de-​construct the crab so to eat the right pats and not the LUNG! I don’t think I am a crab person, TOO MUCH OLD BAY SEASONING.
But, if we ever go to Baltimore again, we will probably return, great outside setting on the harbor!

Go to eat where the locals recommend! That’s just what we did by going to here and we weren’t disappointed.
My husband and I went to Baltimore for blue crabs and wanted to hit up the best places to do so. Captain James was recommended and we are so happy we went. The crab was so fresh and the homemade seasoning was terrific. We highly recommend.

Came at 5pm on a Friday and the outside picnic tables were about a quarter full.
Come with a big group and a want to work for your food… in order to get a liiiiiittle bit of meat you have to de-​crab your crab.
The crabs came in big bunches, and were VERY heavily seasoned. took away from the taste.
The mussels were small but good, and the shrimp was very spicy! The crab cakes and fries were the best order!
The best part about this place is it’s a nice place to sit outside on the harbor and drink beer. Our server Alec was really nice and very patient with our loud group!

So, I am not basing this review on something that happened a year ago, but this adds to the story. Almost exactly a year ago, about a 12 of us coworkers and our friends and family members decided to try their All You Can Eat crabs. I called right before leaving at 3:30 p.m. from 30 minutes away and was told they had crabs and to come over. We fought bad traffic and got there 50 minutes later to be told that they never had any and we shouldn’t have been told that. Ok, we drive someplace else for crabs.
Fast forward a year later, we decide to give them another try. Another person in our party has a
certificate that we know cannot be used on All You Can Eat crabs so she calls and says we will order other food but can we use it at the Crab House. An older gentleman manager at the restaurant assures her she can. We drive down, 8 of us, she gets adamantly told she cannot use it at all. Strike 1.
My husband and I are going to order the All You Can Eat crabs. I ask if it’s ok if our 4.5 year old grabs a few claws and eats them, while I also order food for him. The waitress gives me attitude and says they have a price for kids All You Can Eat. I mention that he’s mostly just going to hammer at them and I am going to order him his own entrée. She still rolled her eyes at me and walked away. Strike 2.
We ask for water. There is no free water. We have to order a bucket of water bottles. Strike 3.
The All You Can Eat crabs come with corn. My coworkers corn is overcooked. She asks for another ear. Gets charged $ 2.50 for it. Strike 4.
The MD crab soup is gelatinous. Enough said. Strike 5.
We have to track down our server 3 times, once to get our check, once to get some service, once initially to place our order. Strike 6.
Over $ 350 check for the table with an already added 18% gratuity.
Needless to say, we won’t be going back. We won’t be referring anybody to this place. I’ll be leaving this review anyplace this restaurant has their name up.

Came here last night for the all you can eat crabs at $ 31.99 per person. There not bad… a lot of the crabs were so light, not much meat in them. Comes with one bowl of soup and one ear of corn. Soup was decent and the corn was good.
Pros:
AYCEC and the view on the deck is great!
Parking lot
Cons:
Water is only available in bottles…$ 1.25 each.
Crabs are very lite and a lot of them were dry.
If you are a person that likes melted butter… they serve a squeeze bottle of Parkay… it looked like vanilla pudding. Yuck!
For 3 of us for AYCEC with a couple of drinks with gratuity included was $ 176. Yes… gratuity is automatically added. I may come back but probably not anytime soon.

Can’t go wrong with Captain James! I didn’t have high expectations coming in. We were informed we might be seated a little than our reservation time, by thankfully we were actually seated fifteen minutes earlier.
We demolished:
Crab dip — creamy, crabby, cheesy heaven with wonderfully soft pita bread.
Crab mac n cheese — wished it was a little less saucy but the kid in the group loved it!
Creamy crab soup — everything you’d want this to be the aroma rising from it let you know good stuff was happening!
New Orleans mussels — with andouille, bellpeppers in a great sauce.
½ Dozen steamed crabs — the dressed up Old Bay seasoning readily kicks it up a big notch!
Our server was fun & friendly, and the décor works for casual and special occaision dining. I’ll be back!

Ok so, food is delicious the servers have no idea what’s going on. There is one waitress that is serving everyone and everyone else is standing around doing nothing. So, she is busy around the restaurant and isn’t paying attention to everyone. So basically service was absolutely horrible and I won’t be returning.
Also want to add that they don’t need to give good service to get a tip. They added 18.88 percent gratuity to the bill. Had the service been great I would have easily tipped 20 percent or more.

To cut to the point, I much prefer LP Steamers. Truth be told, I should actually attempt to make one more trip down to DC to try the crabs at some restaurant called Pier-​something. For one, my NoVA (Northern Virginia) friends have said you can get female crabs (something you cannot get in Maryland) which taste way better than male crabs due to the flavor of the crab roe in the shell but here’s the biggest seller: they got at least half a bushel if not a full bushel of 75% female crabs for $ 40. Forty dollars!
Forty dollars is what I paid for this place to get a ½ pound of shrimp and 3 large blue crabs!
#ripoff
Alright, I am not counting the two ears of corn but it’s corn. I bought corn today at $ 0.19 each. Even if you added tax and tip on that, it won’t even amount to a dollar. But let’s get on with the ratings:
Steamed Old Bay Blue Crabs
PROS
–not overly flavorful (i.e. coated with Old Bay seasoning)
–decent amount of meat (for being Blue Crab)
CONS
–way way way too expensive: it was about $ 51/​lb for the medium (or large) blue crabs that they offered and I believe $ 71/​lb for the largest sized crabs. The smallest crabs don’t have enough meat to be worth the work.
Half-​pound Steamed Shrimp
PROS
–good flavor
–moderate quantity
CONS:
–not enough to share for two. I honestly could have killed a half-​pound on my own which was why I got the two ears of corn and my friend the two glasses of beer.
This place isn’t so bad that it deserves 2 stars but it definitely does not deserve 4 or more. Perhaps the all-​you-​can-​eat crabs deal may be better? I may try that if I have the time before I head out of B’more.

Hmmm, perhaps it’s because I live in NJ and made about a 400 mile round trip drive for the sole purpose of eating here but I think Capt James’ is fantastic. Places like this really don’t exist outside of the Great State of Maryland. If they did, it would have saved me a hell of a lot of time as well as gas and toll money. I have been wanting to eat crabs soaked in Old Bay and haphazardly dumped on a paper table cloth since I graduated college a hell of a long time ago so when the opportunity presented itself, I gladly made the trip which, incidentally, was well worth it.
If Capt James’ was closer I would be there every week, maybe more. It was delicious. Sitting outside, drinking a cold IPA and munching on crabs, calamari and corn is just about as good as a day gets. While I am not a fan of celebrity endorsements, Oprah has eaten there and yesterday, to my delight, baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr was two tables away. I have to figure that in addition to being able to slam the crap out of a baseball, he knows good crab.
I have read some mixed reviews of this place and I am here to tell you that if you’re giving them below 4 Stars, you’re wrong. I love this place and am anxiously awaiting the next 4 hour drive down there, hopefully this time as a passenger.

Came here with my family. Awesome time with crab feasts the way they should be — good music, a nice deck looking out to the bay, and most importantly nicely steamed crabs.
Will definitely plan to come back!

I was here recently 2 times in 1 weekend.
My Aunty loves, loves, loves this place. Just seeing her interact with the staff and it’s owners, sold me before I’d had the food.
Don’t get me wrong I’d previously eaten here but, it had been some time. Also I do love their carry out.
As I said, I hadn’t dined here in awhile and totally had no expectation. You know how established spots always change over kitchen staff?
On the one visit I had the seafood nachos (delicious.though very rich!) and a salad the chef whipped up just for us.
My second visit I had the steamed clams which they modified for me a bit. (I asked them to add real bacon bits and cilantro) It was sooooo good!
Because it was my Aunty’s birthday the chef made a dessert that wasn’t even on the menu that day… Crème Brulee! OMG! It was so good I wanted to pass out.
Suffice it to say, I’ll be back again to eat.