Crosby’s Crab Company

I’ve stopped here quite a few times in the past few months to grab some of their stock to cook at home. Seafood is always fresh and staff is so friendly. Only complaint is today I picked up a pound of Dungeness crab legs (Frozen), Steamed them as soon as I came home and unfortunately they tasted odd. like they were old and also kind of freezer burnt. Love this place and will continue to come back, just not for this particular item.

Great crab cakes and seafood! Stopped in to pick up some shrimp for dinner. Had some oysters on the half shell and crab cakes while waiting on shrimp to be steamed. All was delicious. No tables inside… a couple of picnic tables outside.

We drove by this place on our way to my son soccer game and thought that this might be a good place to stop by for lunch afterward. We initially thought this place was a restaurant, but it’s a seafood market with some cooked food options for carry out.
We ordered 2 crab cake sandwiches with a side of coleslaw and steamed shrimps with a side of potato salad. As soon as we got home, we dug into the food. Even thought it was about 45 minutes since we got our food, it was still good. The crab cake was flavorful and the shrimps were juicy with plenty of flavor. The side dishes were good as well.
Even though we are not local to the area, but I think the place is very popular. They were getting a steady stream of customers while we were waiting for our food.

This is the best place to get seafood in town. So fresh and delicious. I often order the snow crab legs and some medium sized shrimp which they’ll cook and season for you. Service is always prompt and friendly and it is super convenient.

So I live in Woodbridge and was sick of going all the way to DC or MD for crabs. I went to Crosby’s after reading reviews on Unilocal and boy am I glad I found a local place. I ordered a dozen of the #1 Males and a dozen of the large Males and I literally spent so much time eating every single crab as each was packed with that lovely white meat. Their crab seasoning is perfect and delicious too. I think the prices are reasonable for seafood because let’s face it seafood is just plain expensive EVERYWHERE. If you are a person like me that loves seafood, you probably don’t mind the prices anyway. I will say that Crosby’s is still less than what places in MD and DC charge. Even though I’m moving to Alexandria in a few months, I will still be driving to Manassas for the best tasting crabs I’ve had in years. Check ‘em out!

Wish crab prices were cheaper but that goes anywhere. Other than that I have gotten blue crabs to go. Even the smalls are good. Never gotten a bad crab here yet. I will continue to go.

I went in to get something for dinner in December since I was in the area and wanted to support small business this past holiday season. My pup and I had just finished our weekend outing and it was about 45 degrees out and my pup was waiting in the car. I went in and a customer was already there at the counter asking a ton of questions about their products being from China. I went to the room on the left and felt like I would possibly fall through the floor passing through the doorway there. It felt like carpet over cardboard… be careful stepping. The room was a snack shop… soda, chips and beer. I went back over and looked at the shelves of seasoning, batter, crumbs, oysters in a can, t-shirts…the customer and counter staff were still going over products from China being a problem…“Gander Mountain had a ton of stuff, yeah, made in China”…stay away from things made in China… China… China. I finally sense a lull in the conversation and turn to get something from the cold case like lump crab… noo, the customer had came back towards the counter as I stood in front of it and the cashier with a nice knit cap (probably made in China) looked at me and then, instead of breaking it completely off with the rude customer, she decided to keep up the conversation with her. Well, my half-​Asian body was tired, cold, and had a puppy waiting for me in the car. My money, instead, went to a chain restaurant down the street and it was a nice, hot meal at a fraction of cost of what I see they charge for sea meat. Not going back to waste my time for rudeness.

BEST. PLACE. EVER.
Pricy but worth every cent.

Man… let me tell you. These folks are great. Seafood is pricy period anywhere you go. I don’t care about the price when it comes to Crosbys. The food is so fresh… we usually have shrimp, snow crabs and regular crabs. Delicious and well spiced. The people there are so friendly and they know it all! They are helpful and very patient for indecisive people like me. I’ve been going for years and will keep going. Just went there yesterday!!! Memorial Day!!!

Went to Crosby’s for the first time today because my colleagues were raving about it. Being that it is a Saturday on a Memorial Day weekend, it was not busy. We ordered a dozen of #1 male crabs (which were supposed to be larger than #2, but they were about the size of a medium crabs that I get in md), and we’re seasoned well. It was the typical old bay seasoning. We ate outside on one of their picnic tables and they provided butcher paper. We had to ask for napkins and he gave us 3 sheets of paper towels. Now, we got a dozen crab, a pound of their large steamed shrimps, and the crab cake lunch deal, so 3 paper towels were def not enough. The crabs were okay but definitely lacking the meat for their larger crabs. My husband loved the large shrimp steamed, and my brother in law said the crab cakes were okay. Oh, did I mention that we ordered a dozen of their blue point oysters and they never brought it out to us. So after all the food came out, we ate all of it and realized that we haven’t’ paid. We go inside to pay and one of the cashiers seemed so confused that we didn’t pay. In the end, he thanked us for coming back in to pay for the food and we had a decent meal. We went to jimmy john’s afterwards for a sub.

Our family has been buying great seafood from Crosby’s since the ‘80s and still find it our go to place when family is visiting or on special occasions. On New Year’s Eve we ordered sea scallops (the fattest and juiciest) and snow crab legs (meaty and cooked perfectly) that can honestly say were the best I can ever remember eating!

Have not been able to find dungeness crabs for almost a year. They had them and they were the biggest I’ve seen. Had them for thanksgiving instead of turkey. Wow incredible. Nice people helped me a lot with the oysters. About the guy from maryland who complained that they did’nt use old bay. You people from maryland carry the stuff in your pockets so just take it out and sprinkle it on the crabs and shut up.

Fantastic people here. Great service, great food, great seasoning and wonderful options. Their products and practices are made to be sustainable which is a BIG deal. They offer to cook purchases with spices at no extra charge which is good news for those like myself that aren’t practiced at cooking seafood as it is easily overcooked. Speaking of which, they are very good at cooking it just right! I highly recommend trying them if you are in the area and want great seafood for home as my family has been going here for years due to their consistency in great service and food.

I am lucky to live less than 10 minutes away from the Maine Avenue Fish Market so fortunately/​unfortunately I am the first person my family calls when they want someone to brave the lines and do the haggling for them whenever they have a hankering for crabs.
This weekend was no different except my sister wanted me to bring the crabs all the way to Bristow, Virginia… which for those who do not know… is …very…very…far away from where I live. Not wanting to wreck olfactory havoc to my car I decided to search for something a little bit closer to her country crawdad boil. Thanks to Unilocal,Crosby’s popped up first on the search with high ratings.
I called to get a gauge of pricing which changes daily based on the market. It is sad to say that in 2010, Brian Y got a bushel of crabs for $ 150 but in 2014, due to overcrabbing /​a harsh winter a half bushel if $ 140. We decided to pass go and let them know our approximately arrival time.
This shack was a cute little respite on the country roads. It had several picnic tables up front and they sold fresh seafood, seasonings and basically anything you would need for a crab feast inside. The staff was very friendly and even delivered the crabs to the back of our car. Even though we got the medium sized crabs they were still very meaty, heavy and delicious.
What a gem!

Picked up a half bushel of medium size male crabs over the weekend and they were delicious! The customer service was great also. I’ve just found my new crab place :)

The Worst! I purchased live crawfish from Crosby’s, to the tune of 6 lbs. I ordered Tuesday for a Friday pickup. I arrived Friday to pickup and was charged over $ 8 a lb. (which is robbery regardless of being in
). I paid the high price and brought the bag home. First thing I did upon arriving home, I took weight. What I was told was 6lbs. was only 5.2lb.s I guess they round up. Next I dumped them in fresh water. At least 50% were deads (note — this was 15 minutes after picking them up and 1 hour after Crosby’s took delivery). I really don’t need to go on, do I? I will not go back to Crosby’s ever. The place is dirty and their prices aren’t competitive. If you want live crawfish that are larger, fresher and stay alive, check out
. They’re honest and offer great customer service.

Worthy of six stars!
At the risk of sounding effusive, insert disclaimer here!
If you’ve read any of my reviews you know that I have a strong affinity for fresh seafood, especially oysters and crab cakes.
What I found today is a true ‘gem’ off the beaten path of Prince William County.
I took the advice of some of my fellow Unilocalers and called this morning to see what kind of fresh oysters they might have; the nice lady said ‘well, we just got in some fresh chincoteague’s’ …stop right there, I said, ‘how much are they’…’$ 1 a piece, you better hurry though’.
Added to my excitment upon my immediate arrival was my discovery of several different types of fresh fish, shrimp and other shellfish like mussells from Prince Edward Island.
They also have several hot items; crab cakes, shrimp plates, NE clam chowder & lobster bisque. I had to have a crab cake sammie on the spot while I waited for my oysters to be shucked; add $ 2 charge for that.
If you look at my pics I put up you can see they have fresh lobster as well as some unusual items like alligator, octopus and crawfish as well.
Everything is fresh and fairly priced and served up in a friendly southern down-​home style.
They have cold beverages in the cooler but ABC laws prevent on site consumption so you’ll just have to go outside to the picnic table with your mallet and crab legs and drink a cold one when you get home.
As we are landlocked and a fair ride to any costal cities, it’s rare to have a place like this available that offers as many choices, they are In business for 34 years so you know they are doing something right.
Go and try a crab cake sandwich for $ 6.95, add a side for a half buck; I dare you to resist buying anything else.

I didn’t come here for the crab, I came for the crawfish. I’m from Louisiana and went there to get a taste of home. Before I bought them I asked how they were cooked. I’d gotten boiled crawfish before from Phillips and they do them like they do crab with the seasoning on the outside… not good at all. But Crosby’s actually gets their seasoning or boil from LA and cook the crawfish in the seasoned water properly. They were really good. You can get them cold and heat them at home or they’ll heat them for you. They were expensive of course since crawfish is not native to DC Land, but I was happy to eat them!
As far as customer service, they were pretty laid back and professional and we never had any issues with food or service.

Either I hit them on a bad day or everyone who’s raving about the crabs they’ve gotten at Crosby’s doesn’t know what they’re talking about. And I don’t mean that facetiously, I mean the reviewers literally are not well-​enough educated on the subject of Callinectes sapidus (Chesapeake blue crab) to give an intelligent, objective review of what Crosby’s is putting out. However, at the risk of sounding immodest, I do have the experience and expertise to provide such a review.
I grew up in St. Michaels, MD. I have been eating steamed crabs for 40+ years. I even worked on a workboat one summer in my youth, culling crabs (i.e., sorting for size, weight, etc.). I know sooks, paper shells, whiteys, peelers, and Jimmys, and I can generally tell just by looking for a telltale sign or two on a crab whether or not I’m going to be happy with what I find inside. Armed with my decades of experience and accumulated wisdom, not to mention the sky-​high 4 ½-​star rating on Unilocal,I picked up a few dozen #1s from Crosby’s, hoping to sate my mid-​summer crab craving.
My first complaint is that they do not use Old Bay. When I heard this I couldn’t help but feel that they were just being cheap and I think, being originally from Maryland, I was subconsciously a little insulted. As far as the crabs themselves, they tasted just fine (excellent, even, when just considering the crab meat), but whatever spice they use («It’s ‘like’ Old Bay») just missed the mark. I’d even go so far to call it a bit bland.
My bigger complaint though is the mix of crabs I got. Among our three dozen supposed #1s were an awful lot of barely legal crabs, and there was a preponderence of whiteys. I guess they could go all lawyer-​ey on me and point out that they never claimed they were selling me #1 Jimmy crabs, and they’d have a semantic point, but c’mon, out of the entire lot there were maybe four fat crabs.
Finally, and this isn’t so much a complaint as it’s a head-​scratcher, when I asked the source of the crabs, I was told they came from Colonial Beach. Consulting my atlas, that seems awfully far up a fresh-​water river to be finding blue crabs. But whatever, I suppose they must have at least come from somewhere in the Chesapeake Bay area, and as long as they don’t come from South Carolina or Louisianna, I guess I’m happy.
Anyway, to sum it all up, the overall experience left me slightly disappointed, and I don’t think I’ll be trekking down to Manassas for crabs again. Anyone who knows someplace to get some quality crabs within a 30– or 40-​minute drive of Arlington, please enlighten me.

I stumbled across this place while out exploring — many years ago — this place was right off of the old Route 234/​Dumfries Road. When the road was re-​routed a bit, it was off the beaten path and the section of road it is on was renamed «Bristow Road.»
I stopped in for a look — snagged a bottle of cold water, perused all of the different seafood seasonings and sauces, and then decided to buy a pound of freshly steamed and spiced shrimp. They use their own shrimp boil mixture — it smelled heavenly!
There was a steady trickle of folks coming in to pick up seafood. One lady in front of me came in and bought a huge amount of Snow Crab legs — I think at least 20 lbs! Another lady was buying beer and bags of crabs and shrimp.
I asked how long they had been in business — I forget her exact answer — it was either 28 or 38 years.
They sell all sorts of fresh and frozen seafood, and will cook anything for you. There were Blue Crabs, Snow Crabs, Oysters, Clams, Mussels, Shrimp, Scallops, fresh fish such as Salmon and Tuna, smoked Rainbow Trout and smoked Salmon (prepackaged), and more!
I took my shrimp home and devoured them. They were really good!