Shell Shack

Sooooooooooo the tag line should be … Expect the unexpected. Sooooo not the run of the commercial crab restaurant. First of all Lizzy, my server, gave the most out damn standing service of all services. The crab was delicious!!! And Arturo made sure all was well. Here visiting for a convention and will defiantly come back when in town!!!

We had the nicest server I have ever had (Josh). Food was fantastic and drinks were great for a chain. Highly recommend the shell shack tea– great bang for your buck. Best time to come in is crawfish season. Awesome place to watch a game-​9 TVs :) will come back again and again

The snow crab legs with mild spice flavored with «The Kitchen Sink» is definitely my favorite! They were awesome & I can’t wait to come back and get them again!

Great food, great service! This was our 1^st visit & Sarah (our waitress) guided us through the menu. The crawfish & snow crab was amazing. Throw in the sausage, corn & potatoes and it’s quite heavenly. Kitchen sink flavoring is the way to go! Kind of pricey but you get what you pay for. DO NOT forget to ask for gloves prior to receiving your food! You will thank yourself later. We will be back soon!

The food is expensive, the service was poor, and the portions are small.
I was with a group of 6 – 7 for lunch. Our waitress left our table twice while taking orders, to talk to another server. Each time she came back she started over with the orders. Not a good start.
Not wanting to spend 20+ on lunch I opted for a «bowl» of clam chowder and a side of hush puppies. The «bowl» of soup was smaller than most cup portions I’ve had, it was tiny. Moreover, I had plenty of cans of Campbell’s clam chowder in my college days, and I’m pretty sure that’s what this was. The hush puppies were bland and only the size of quarters.
I left still hungry. Very hungry.
To be fair, a couple of people ordered the lemon garlic, and their dishes smelled very good. But their portions were also small.
I did try one of the crawfish, «diablo» style, and they were cooked well, but the seasoning was all straight cayenne – no complexity of flavor.
The menu says that they add a 20% gratuity for parties of a certain size. No problem, lots of places do. But when the bills came out, that 20% was added as a «service fee» with no mention that gratuity was already included. They even gave recomended tips on the bottom of the bill, so most of us ended up tipping twice. Pretty unethical.

Went to Shell Shack last night for an early dinner. Server was nice but just didn’t get our order right. (Not busy at all) Ordered white wine got red wine. Ordered one pound crab got two pounds crab. Ordered two pounds shrimp got one pound of shrimp. (We didn’t know what a pound of crab legs or shrimp looks like.) Needless to say our bill was outrageous!(crab was $ 29.99/lb Menu says prices on the board… where are the shrimp prices??? Crab and shrimp cooked perfectly but did not like the kitchen sink sauce! Glad we tried this place… not in a hurry to go back.
Yes we were there Sunday May 29^th.

First visit, liked the concept. Service was good, server had a great personality. Crab legs were delicious, not overcooked at all. Was a little leary of the spice aspect, but the flavor was great. Will be back.

So The Food is incredible! I get Kitchen Sink Sauce, no heat. It gives unreal flavor to the crab, shrimp and crawfish. They make this Sea Salt Gelato from scratch that would make you squeal with delight. Then there are the awesome staff. My favorites are Dominic and Adam. They treat you like family and you really enjoy the meal, ambiance and great service!

First time at this place and was not disappointed. Had half a pound of shrimp and a corn, food was really good, had a Boiling Crab feel to it. Found it to be a little expensive but I know it is market price. Would come back again and bring wife to dinner here.

I ordered snow crabs at shell shack in plano as I have in the past. Well today I ordered 2 lbs with potatoes nothing else. When I got home I saw I didn’t have the potatoes that I order, I was very upset to say the least… I had a long week at the office and I was awaiting my mouthwatering delight. I called the shell shack in Plano and spoke with the bartender Lela whom I tipped well, she took good care of me. She had me speak with the manager Richard, I explained to him my displeasure and that I can not eat the crab legs without the potatoes, I informed Richard I’d have to drive back to get the potatoes, which I did. Upon my arrival I spoke with Richard the manager he asked which seasoning etc and said one moment. When he returned with the bag I took the potatoes out, they were soggy and mushed, he had the audacity to say I mushed them. I was so appalled and informed him that he did not handle the matter properly. This foolish man cut me off mid sentence and said wait a minute. It took him so long to come back I just left.
If you have any dignity and self respect do Not dine at shell shack in Plano. I now understand why that gentleman gave them 1 star for not calling him back in regards to their horrible experience.
I rather die and go to Heaven then dine at shell shack Plano.
The owner’s are obviously fools and not great businessmen as well. How can you keep that poor excuse of a manager on staffl. I guarantee you, you will loose a lot of business in Plano.
I would further like to state that the snow crab legs were very soggy, not firm or as they should be. I believe they must have been sitting in liquid for days.
I know I did not articulate this properly, you comprehend my point.
#boycottshellshackplano.

This place is a cool place to go to. But right off the bat, the service here sucks! Our server took his time on everything. It’s rare that I have to ask for a refill at any place but at this place, I had to beg multiple times. Each time my server came back, he smelled like cigarettes. I felt like he took a cigarette break after each time he stopped by our table.
The food on the other hand is great, some even amazing. I had the fired catfish plate and it comes with 2 filets and fires. I also got the calamari with was probably my favorite thing there. Everything tastes fresh and cooked to perfection.
I also got the crawfish and shrimp with their kitchen sink seasoning. The kitchen sink is all their popular one, which is all their seasonings put in one. The crawfish and shrimp, along with most of their seafood items, are market prices so it’ll change on you time to time.
I’ll definitely come back here again and hopefully the service is better.

I really really love Shell Shack as you can see by my check ins (at the uptown location) on here. I went in on a Monday night thinking this location would be less busy at 9pm than the uptown location and I was wrong about that. I try not to dine during peak times and figured 9pm on a Monday would be a good time. There were people standing in the doorway waiting to be seated. I made my way to the bar and found a seat. (There were a few left)
It took me a few minutes to get a drink but really it was not like anyone was just standing around doing nothing. They were really busy. People coming up to the bar to order their drink so the bartender was very busy. She was really nice and she was doing her best but well I really do not like to complain but perhaps the management can resolve this in the future. The food is absolutely delicious and my wine was even cold when I got it. The food was very hot too and tasted fresh. Yummy! I am still thinking about Shell Shack although I will likely be going to the uptown location again next time.
I really really love this location cause it is about the same distance from my house for one thing but its also right off the tollway which is very convenient. They also have a large parking lot and do not charge for valet like uptown does at certain times of the day. They have a nice outside patio so the place is great but when I had to wait for my drink 5 minutes or more that was a problem. I am sure I was not the only one this was happening too so with that said it took awhile longer to put the order in but once I did it came out fast.

Love Shell Shack. The wait is usually pretty long, but not as bad as Boiling Crab. It averages about 1 hr every time we swing by. We stopped by at 2PM on a Sunday and there was no wait.
Service is fast and super friendly. Everyone is smiley and very helpful.
Definitely try the Kitchen Sink seasoning. Best of all worlds!

Shell shack has one of the best crawfishes in Dallas. They have good customer service.
Recommended

The Monday following our experience here, my friend called Shell Shack to inform them of our experience. She spoke with a manager who, after hearing about our experience said «Next time let us know right away,» and that she would have the general manager contact us. It’s going on two weeks later and we have heard nothing back.
I would advise management here that «Next time», have some sort of presence in the dining area during peak times. And if for some reason you can’t (I know managers sometimes have to fill for absent employees), don’t have the audacity to try to extend the blame to your paying customer.
I waited for a table for 40 minutes and had to ask for condiments three times. I didn’t have much hope of having a manager summoned in a timely manner, and we were ready to GO. Don’t fault your guests who are too exhausted by their dining experience to hunt for you. We paid our bill and tipped our server 20% each. The next time you have a customer throw a fit, make a scene, or demand their meal be comp’d, perhaps you will appreciate paying customers like us enough to call us back.
I anticipated that I would be able to update my previous review with a higher star review after we were contacted. I guess not. Next time take your customers seriously.

I’ve never gone to the one in uptown but now that there’s one closer to me, I definitely had to make it out. Of course the one day I go, it’s Fat Tuesday and everyone else is also wanting to celebrate. We had to wait for about an hour before we got seated, but I was able to get their frozen hurricane special while waiting. Delicious and you can actually taste the alcohol (which a lot of places seem to barely put any alcohol in their drinks).
For how busy it was, I was impressed by the service and the quality of the food. I got a pound of crawfish which normally is pretty minimal since crawfish barely has any meat anyways but the portion size was larger than I thought and I only got a few small pieces. I got the kitchen sink seasoning which was really good but so salty! I had to down a couple of glasses of water which luckily, our server was really good about refilling without us asking several times.
Compared to other places like Boiling Crab and Tasty Tails, I probably like Boiling Crab the best but Shell Shack is definitely not a bad alternative. Hopefully the next time I’m back, it won’t be as crowded though!

It’s good.
³⁄₅ food. Solid shrimp and crawfish, with sweet corn that’ll leave you wanting more, but all pretty standard Cajun fare. I found the kitchen sink to be a little salty for my taste, but flavor is right on as far as spice goes (I got medium heat).
Prices are market price, but I found them on par with places like the Boiling Crab and other seafood boil spots. Plus, the fact that’s it’s crawfish season means a steaming pound will only run you $ 8.99, which is a deal I can get behind. The crawfish were kind of small, but I’m sure that varies based on luck/​the batch.
Potatoes are fork tender and soak up that delicious kitchen sink mix. Definitely need that starch to combat the saltiness though.
Sausages are nothing to write home about, and you can add sets of 3 to your boil order.
They had a couple of games playing in the background, and the servers were accommodating when someone asked to watch a specific game.
⁴⁄₅ service. Our waitress came by several times to ask how everything was and refill our waters. Pretty standard service.
It’s worth checking out if you’re in the area!

Happy Tummy!!! ;)
Good Environment.
Love the fact that they close late.
& I had a great service w/​Sarah!
No complaints.

CRAB CRAB CRAB AND MORE CRAB!!! I think I found my new favorite snow crab boil!
Try the kitchen sink!!! I loved that it was spicy but not tongue burning can’t enjoy my food spicy. Service was impeccable!!! Ask for Chris as he is amazing!!!
Going to be back with another appetite!!!

Shell Shack Plano is the second Shell Shack in Plano (the other is in Uptown_​that specializes in boiled seafood and fried selections. They also had a full bar and will have seasonal offerings.
My Overall Rating — 3 ½ Stars (Atmosphere, Service, Food, Return)
Atmosphere — Shell Shack has a very open feel. Huge TVs are everywhere and tuned to sports which gives it a sport bar feel. Most of the tables and chairs in the main dining area were tall bar stool types, and there is also a full bar. Lastly, they have one of those automatic hand washing machines. On our Friday night visit it was packed and we had about a 20 minute wait. There’s not much waiting room so keep that in mind. 1 Star.
Service — We had a large group of 8. Aside from the long wait, I don’t think the service is as good as the original Uptown location. We saw plenty of tables empty out but it still took a while for them to put our table together. Standard service from here on out — honestly nothing to outstanding. ½ Star.
Food — Boiled crawfish was on the menu, and we went with the «kitchen sink» flavor. I really like their flavor. It’s not too salty and we also ordered snow crab with the same flavor. The crawfish were a decent size and the crab were pretty big. Not as good as Tasty Tails in Richardson or Boiling Crab in Garland but if it’s crawfish season it gets the job done and will satisfy your cravings & Shell Shack’s was less oily (buttery). The added corn was made better with the seasoning, but pass on the sausage. Surprisingly, their lemon pepper flavored chicken wings are plump and juicy & the fries were a standout. I can’t believe I would say their chicken wings are great in a seafood restaurant but they are. As long as the seafood stays fresh I think Shell Shack has some winning flavor combinations here. 1 ½ Star.
Will I Return? — It depends. I think it’s a great alternative to Boiling Crab AND Aw/​Big Shucks. But honestly I have to be in Plano to enjoy it. If you live in the area it’s a no brainer. But if you live closer to the original Uptown location it’s better to just go there. ½ Star.
My Unilocal Rating Scale (Sum of all parts):
1 Star — Atmosphere — Is it a cool dive? Perhaps an upscale place? No matter the type, atmosphere plays a big part and I’ll give a star if I like it or thinks it has great charm.
1 Star — Service — You can have a great meal with bad service. But that’s also what can make a five star joint drop to four. It’s important to the dining experience that service is great and on point.
2 Stars — Food — I’ll award up to two stars for the food, since this is the main reason we dine out. Sometimes the extra star is given for value, but it’s really all about the food.
1 Star — Will I come back? — If I know for a fact I’ll return, I’ll give this a star. A place has to make an impression for me to return.
Each Category can be given up to 1 star except food (2 stars) because I consider all these categories important to the overall dining experience. I will sum them up to provide my final Unilocal score.