Charley’s Crab

We eagerly looked froward to eating here as our daughter had given us a gift certificate for our Anniversary because they liked this restaurant so very much. I was doubly excited when we arrived to find that they had Stone Crab Claws as a feature that evening. Then, to be disappointing was a downer. Of course I had to compare them to Joe’s Stone Crab. By comparison the claws were not as full; however, the mustard sauce was very good.
Afterwards, for coffee the table was left as is, crumbs and all by our server; this is not conducive for an upscale restaurant and the price charged for the meal.
Both of my guests were pleased with the meal, but also thought that it was not a solid four star restaurant.

A couple of our friends invited my wife and I for a meal to celebrate my birthday. We chose a seafood restaurant and they chose Charley’s Crab. Great… until I read some of the reviews and at that stage I thought I would point our friends in the direction of the reviews so they could choose to go somewhere else. I decided not to make a fuss about what I had read and so we arrived and we had one of the best dining experiences for a very long time. Maybe we hit it lucky, but I think it is more likely that there are thousands of satisfied customers out there who don’t feel the need to write a review… they enjoy the evening and that’s the end of it. Some people expect perfection as they are entitled to do, but criticize if they done get it. Some have a genuinely bad experience… like we have all had from time to time. I would like to think that the attentive staff we had and the high quality of the food is something that the majority of folks receive also. I will certainly recommend this restaurant to anybody; being confident that they too will have a good night. Our good evening started at the valet parking staff and finished with the valet parking staff, and they and everyone in between collectively gave us a birthday night to remember.
And as we drove along the A1A and passed Donald Trump’s Mar-​a-​Lago we jokingly suggested that he couldn’t have had as good a night as we did !
Thanks Charley… whoever you are !!

I can’t say that our meal here was a disaster like a number of recent reviewers have stated. But here’s what was wrong with it.
First, you expect something special when you go to a high end restaurant in an exclusive area like Palm Beach. Certainly the location is top notch, right across Ocean Boulevard from the beautiful beach. I also thought the ambience of the restaurant was fine with fresh tablecloths and comfortable seating. The problems were with the service and the food — both were average.
We ordered the twilight special which included a Caesar’s salad and dessert. The salad was bland; none of that spicy anchovy flavor you would expect in a fresh, well crafted salad. In fact, the lone anchovy that was placed atop the greens seemed to be the only anchovy flavoring. The entrée, grilled shrimp and salmon was OK but I have had much better fish at far cheaper restaurants. I did like the key lime pie.
The service was OK but I expected more at a Unilocal $$$ restaurant. The servers and maitre d’ all seemed to be college students with part-​time jobs. I thought we would be served by seasoned wait staff which I expect at a really nice restaurant.
When the manager came by to ask how things were going, I told her about my disappointment with the Caesar’s salad and she said she would remove the charge from our bill but there was no deduction when the bill showed up.
I would not have made these comments if the restaurant was listed on Unilocal as $ or $$. Certainly the meal was adequate for an average seafood restaurant. But we chose Charley’s Crab because of its reputation as a great dining experience. Paying $ 100 (including tip) for a mediocre meal and a marginal dining experience is not something I like to do. Charley’s Crab may have been a great place once but not anymore. We won’t be back.

I have been going to Charlie’s Crab for over 20 years. since Landry’s took over it has been on a consistent decline. the recent menu change and poorly trained inattentive staff (except Amy) is the end for me. after a disastrous lunch Saturday February 6 with horrible service from Hunter, whose uniform was filthy, he is unfamiliar with the new menu and descriptions of the disshes, three requests from two people to get bread, my bisque and my friends chowder were sent back as they came out cold, the entrée’s were mediocre at best, and although I ordered coffee after lunch he never offered desert and I had no intention of asking. we went to Testa’s for strawberry pie.
I went back after Church Ash Wednesday (a tradition) and thankfully Amy was there. she got the chef to make my favorite appetizer and entrée (no longer on the new menu) and everything was fine. I’ll not go nearly as often until I hear that they have improved, three friends who separately ate there last week all had bad experiences, one had warned the waiter of a garlic allergy was served garlic and was sick all night. she was told mistake happen, and nothing was comped.
I’ll call to make sure Amy is there before I go back.
they need to spend as much time taking care of details as they do trying to sell the Landry’s reward card.

Main course was good but very disappointed with stone crabs — the «large» claw was a medium at best. Plus I could not get the meat easily out of mine although my wife could hers. When I brought this to the attention of our waiter, instead of getting another claw for me he simply said he wanted to give the easiest one to the lady!

Worst place. Old. Bathrooms smelled and were trash everywhere. We waited 15 minutes for our drinks to come out! Portions are ridiculous ! Nothing that I got jumped out at me as amazing good. Especially for the price you pay. Landry really disappointed me in this restaurant. Also, don’t make reservations. They put us by the cold door and I’m even a Landry select member. Doesn’t mean anything?! Nicest part is its on the water.

This place has become a disaster, far from how we remembered it from many years ago. We should have realized it isn’t what it used to be when the waitress — who talked so fast and mumbled so much we couldn’t understand a word — gave us a brochure for Landry’s Select Club («Dine. Earn points for every dollar you spend.») before she took our order. Tacky. Then the soups three of us ordered were cold. They were brought back hot, «with the chef’s apologies,» in 10 minutes. But our fourth found her oyster appetizer unappetizing. Then the main courses came — overcooked! You needed a knife to get through the salmon. All this bad stuff, plus a few glasses of wine, for $ 240 before tip. We couldn’t wait to get out, and skipped dessert and coffee.

Our dinner was a mixed bag, and really reflected the other reviews here — everything was fine except for the entrees. Service and ambiance were good, everything you’d expect from a seafood restaurant on Palm Beach. No complaints there. Our starters were great — rich lobster bisque, flavorful tuna carpaccio and bread that was so good I asked for more. But the entrees were a huge disappointment. My fiancé’s snapper dish was awful — it was burned and tasted exactly like those overdone frozen fish sticks from my childhood, with some dry-​looking crab on top. The rice that came with it tasted like something out of a cafeteria. It was really not good. My stuffed sole was small and had no flavor whatsoever, definitely tasted frozen — I had to dump a ton of salt, pepper and lemon on it to make it have some kind of taste. We were pretty bummed as the entrees looked so good we had a hard time choosing, and we were looking forward to them especially after the good start. Definitely not worth the high price point. I was skeptical of the string of bad reviews here on Unilocal but now I get it. We probably won’t be coming back, sadly, as there are other seafood choices on the island that have been really worth it.

Great HH! Our first time here… loved it! Thanks Jennifer! We’ll definitely be back :)

First off, the location is great. It’s right on the beach and has a great view. Have to give it three stars due to service and little things here and there.
The food came out longer than expected and when my party and I asked for a straw, they were unwrapped and had sticky residue at the ends.
Besides these, we ordered the fried oyster Rockefeller as an appetizer which I HIGHLY recommend, it was so good and fresh, great start off to our meal. Also, there is free bread, upon request!
We ordered the Maryland Benedict for brunch and it was simply delicious, the potatoes were seasoned so well and the crab cakes were awesome. My party also ordered the shrimp scampi and loved his dish as well.
Overall, great experience, just a few minor setbacks here and there.

Great location, but a little stuffy inside and could use an update. Wait staff was friendly but a little awkward and extremely rude bag of a hostess. Wasn’t fond of the dusty black napkins or the crusty bread plate that prompted me to take a second look at my silverware. The crab and avocado salad was alright, nothing spectacular for the price. Meh.

Horrible experience. The fish chowder was salty, the shrimp in the shrimp capellini was not deveined well and was rubbery. The Florida Snapper was flavorless. The best thing we ate were the rolls that came with dinner. Also, their OpenTable system is not current so they said they took gift cards but their system only takes paper checks which are no longer used by OpenTable. Needless to say, we will not recommend.

My girlfriend and I went there last night with my brother and his family. The food was horrible. I do not eat at very nice restaurants on a daily basis, but this food was horrible. I am at simple sports bar right now and we just spent 30 minutes talking about every crappy experience there. I will never return back.

Charley Crab ruined our Christmas! We had a 745 reservation and had to wait at least 20 mins to be seated. Once at our table we looked around and there were several tables that we’re not cleaned and a station set up with a direct view to our table with tons of dirty dishes piled high. We ordered appetizers and the calamari came out soggy and bland. We replaced it with the Brussels Sprouts which were even worse, they tasted like they had just been boiled and were not seasoned.
After an hour and 30 mins from our reservation and we still had not received our entrees. I went to find the manager to complain and waited while other guests were doing the same thing. Once the entrees arrived, they were cold, including the Alaskan King Crab, and unappetizing, so we sent it all back and asked for manager.
This was the worst dining experience ever, especially considering it was our Christmas dinner. The manager insisted we pay for our beer and bottle that wine that was supposed to be enjoyed during dinne, even though we were not eating. Considering the circumstances I would have expected more for the management. It was truly pathetic! So at 945 on Christmas we has to scramble to find dinner. I am so disappointed with the food and level of service we received.

We dined at Charley’s crab this past week and overall I give the restaurant 4 stars. When we arrived we had a reservation and the hostess told me that they were going to seat us at a table that needed to be cleaned off. No one came to clean the table off and there were plenty of open tables so I didn’t understand why we were waiting for a table that no one was in a rush to clean when there were plenty of other places to sit. We told the hostess we wanted a different table and she sat us immediately.
We had a nice bottle of wine, the tuna poke tini appetizer and the lobster bisque. Both were good. The menu is extensive. Something for everyone. I ordered the king crab and they accommodated my request to take the crab out of the shell (just felt like not working for my food that night). The crab was good, the waiter deshelled the crab table side. We also had the apple jack mahi. The key lime pie for dessert was so good! I would recommend it. Décor is a little blah but overall a nice place for dinner in palm beach.

3.5 Stars for this particular visit
Great view and so it can be romantic as well.
Apptzr: Crab, Avocado & Mango tower — very good and a nice combo of flavors-​mango was excellent touch.
Me: pan seared Mahi Mahi was cooked perfect. It came with orzo but unfortunately was very sticky — guessing they used too much water or cooked it too long.
Wife: Key Lime Snapper — first one was way over cooked. Second was right on the mark. Great flavor… too bad she had to eat alone.
Desert: key lime was good.
Drinks: special shout out to bartender. We both had the Mango Mojitos and they were excellent !
Server: Patricia was very nice but was somewhat slow and we had to go to hostess for assurance a couple times. Not sure if she was overloaded on tables tonight.

My bf & I went to Charley’s Crab in June for my birthday weekend. We were recommended by Eau Resort after expressing my craving for crab legs. My bf called ahead to let them know it was my bday & requested a table beside the window so we could see the ocean. (the ocean is across the street but can still be seen) When we arrived we were pleasantly greeted by the hostess. She immediately wished me a Happy Birthday & greeted us by our first name which I was impressed with.
Once we were brought to our table I was pleasantly surprised with a «black» napkin, and a «VIP» card which was a very nice touch to make me feel special for the occasion. When they handed us the menu’s they had customized them to say, «Charley’s Crab Palm Beach wishes Kassie A Very Happy Birthday.» Such a neat idea & made me feel pretty important. They also wrapped up the menu’s & let us take them home at the end of the meal. Our server was very friendly & being a former server couldn’t have asked for better service. We started off with cocktails. My bf had a beer & I had their version of a Moscow Mule with berry’s & what seemed like dry ice. It was sizzling with steam for a good 10 min. while it was quite tasty there was so much crushed ice in the copper tin I literally took 2 sips & it was gone. I didn’t want to complain but I felt like for a $ 12 drink there should have been a little more. I mentioned it to the server & he agreed there was an abundant of ice & happily brought me another with less ice & free of charge.
Dinner started with complimentary bread/​butter & a cream cheese with crab meat mixed in which was quite delicious! For an appetizer I got the lobster bisque soup which was to die for! HIGHLY recommend the soup! It was very filling as well! For the main course I chose the Alaskan King crab legs served with a baked potato & my bf chose the filet mignon served with mashed potatoes. The price for the crab legs read «market» so I was unaware of the cost until we received the bill. The amount of crab legs I received was overwhelming & HUGE, however the quality was lacking. Some of the pieces of crab was juicy but over all it was quite rubbery & tough. My bf’s steak upon arrival did not look very appealing. The middle had a purple color instead of a reddish/​pink. I didn’t try his steak but he said it was very «bland.»
Dinner was wrapped up with a complimentary birthday crème brûlée. I am not a big fan of crème brûlée but it was still pretty tasty. Our bill was around $ 150. Come to find out the crab legs were around $ 55 which for the quality of taste shouldn’t have been more than $ 25 in my opinion. My bf’s steak was $ 36.
The 3 stars is based strictly on the food. While our service, atmosphere & the preparation to make my birthday dinner memorable was spot on the food just wasn’t up to par. Would I come again? Maybe for happy hour or strictly cocktails; but definitely not for a full blown meal.

This was one of my most favorite places for a long time: my parents *loved* the happy hour at the bar, which — one can order from the menu from there — and we watched a hurricane roll in from the giant windows once.
They renovated the dining room into tacky «new» «high end» Italian (totally obnoxious), while maintaining the food quality. Brought some work colleagues there, to our communal pleasure.
But the last time I visited, the food took over an hour to arrive. I met (quietly) with the manager, who said, «oh wait, your order is here» and I said, I’m not going to pay for fish I have waited a solid hour for, and I had to track you (the manager) down to even get a status update, it is not at my table, and I’m not paying. Gah. I hate it when it happens.

The place has everything to be good except the food is so so bad!
Service: great, informative, attentive. Tuesday did an awesome job making sure we were happy. But when all of our was just terrible we figured there was nothing she could do about it. Only reason this is 2 instead of 1 star is the excellent service.
Atmosphere:upper scale beach style with a gorgeous view of the water.
I got the lobster and Brie stuffed sole and it tasted like frozen tilapia. The pasta that came with it tasted like it had been sitting in a pan for hours. Oh and we got there for a very early dinner at 5:30pm. Summer prix fix menu. My appetizer was actually good, fried oysters but a little unbalanced with the flavors.
Another person got the key lime snapper which was so dry it was hard to eat and was the rice that was served with it was tasteless. Off the summer prix fix.
Another person got the grouper off the regular member and it looked terrible and he said is
T tasted like it had been previously frozen.
The member of our party who ordered steak actually enjoyed his… but why is the steak the best thing at a seafood restaurant?
We also got an app of calamari which was tasty, beet salad which was pretty but bland, a side of Brussels sprouts which had to be boiled instead of roasted because they were disgusting.
Dessert we a
Had chocolate tort and crime brule, both very yummy.
All is all we love trying new places and are usually pretty easy to please so this was a major disappointment. Many many other excellent options.

FYI… Inspectors found flying insects, roaches and rats. There were 60 fresh rodent droppings in the kitchen area, and a dead rat in a trap.
I can’t find a response from their management on how this was fixed. This saddens me because I used to enjoy this place.