Crab Shack

Probably one of the favorite spots on Tybee Island. Food is fast and very tasty. Plenty of attractions for the kids. They can feed alligators. Great view of Lazzaretto Creek. We recommend the Crab Shack to our friends who visit Savannah. Well worth the effort.

Yuck… yuck bleh yuck. How many times do I have to type «yuck» in order to meet the minimum review length for Unilocal?The food was really bad. Kids menu stuff looks like it came from the freezer and I’m sure it did. Kids can’t tell so who cares. I had steamed shrimp. They were small and while fresh were absolutely not special. The «award winning» crab stew ain’t good. The prices were high for the portion size and quality.
The place is really quirky. It’s definitely a shack and is a little bit fun. There are gators for the kids to gawk at and feed. The inside is kinda like sitting outside. The place sprawls. There’s several buildings worth. There are cats everywhere. Kinda gross really. They are dirty and just wander around. At one end there’s a cat house (not that kind mister) and a bird house with a bunch of really loud tormented parrots (that the kids loved) and a gift shop with a grumpy lady (rightfully so as she has to listen to screaming birds and kids all day every day while) selling back scratchers, snow globes and t-​shirts.
There must be a better place to eat around here.

Didn’t eat, just came in for a beer by myself. My first visit to Georgia, let alone quirky Tybee Island.
Bartender Angus made me feel right at home, even though I was an out of place New Yorker (originally from Hawaii). I definitely stood out amongst the regulars. But I was treated to the greatest hospitality ever. Also got to meet the night bartender Lynne, who’s really outgoing and friendly. Loved her too. I’ll admit the place looks cheesy when you arrive, but don’t let it deter you. The people there will make it an unforgettable experience. Can’t wait to come back and see them all again.

So we were on a quest to get some good sea food during our business trip here in Ft Stewart GA… a friend recommended The Crab Shake on Tybee outside of Savannah GA… so I plugged it into the GPS and OFF we drove heading towards Savannah GA /​Tybee GA. Ok… so this place is NOT on the beat’n path and I HIGHLY recommend using a GPS to get here. As we turned off Hwy-​80 the road looked like we were heading into a small rundown neighborhood and I thought the GPS got us lost… but THANK GOD this restaurant has very colorful signs that guided us in.
OFF the beat’n path the exterior of this restaurant resembles something out of a scaring movie set… but DONT let that fool you. After we found a quick place to park we headed for the entrance, FOR which there seemed to be several entrances to this place so you can get confused where you are going… but just follow the crowd or the small signs to the Hostess… We decided to be seated inside rather then on the deck as it was a little chilly out. Typical cajun seafood setting with cool décor of waterfront living and fishing this is defiantly a hot spot for the locals and out of town tourist.
As we sat down and waited for our drinks, the table next to us was being served their meal. we could not help to notice this LARGE Seafood Platter and had to ask what it was, the guest happily explained to us what it was and that they had traveled over 150 mile JUST FOR THIS SPECIAL. well that summed it up. we decided to get with what hey got but BIGGER!!! With 4 hungry grown men going BIGGER was an understatement… we ordered the «Captain Crab’s Sampler Platter» for 4. vs for 2 for which the guest next to us ordered… WOW!!! Our eyes may have been bigger then out stomachs on this one! Loaded. and I mean LOADED with Boiled Shrimp, Sausages, Potatoes, 4 pieces of Corn on the Cob, 5 LARGE, Snow Crab legs a large helping of muscles and a couple Jonah Crabs, this Platter was a challenge for us. We all enjoyed everything… however, we felt the Shrimp were a little soggy but it didn’t stop us from devouring it ALL…
I HAVE to recommend this place because the food was JUST THAT GOOD. I would have given it a 5 star rating but we did find the Shrimp a little soggy and we think the crawfish were frozen but hey. they are just now coming into season…

We brought our family here who was visiting over the holidays. We were able to get right in with no wait and were very happy with our experience. The atmosphere is beautiful and everyone enjoyed their meals. I had ribs because I don’t prefer seafood (I know I know, I’m crazy) and the were pretty good. Not the best I’ve ever had but definitely not the worst. I can’t wait to come back in the spring and summer and sit on the deck!

Apparently a Tybee Island landmark where all of Savannah’s residents have fond memories of drawn butter, shrimp shells, briny oysters, cold beer, crabs {Alaskan} and overladen seafood platters in a beachy, sandy, cool laid back vibe.
With a dozen of wonderfully cool and briny oysters to start and a cold beer our cool night dining under the stars began… the seafood platter for 2 was next.
Head less shrimp, Alaskan King crab clusters, crayfish, mussels, sausage and boiled potato wedges all liberally sprinkled with Old Bay.
{ $ 24.99/person}
Several things I do have an issue with however… The platter did not include any blue crab or the Carolina’s excellent and plentiful oysters while half of the mussels did not open, some of the headless shrimp were a bit mushy and the crayfish were obviously of the frozen verity {sucking the head was not a viable option}.
I venture that it being the «Off Season» certain” liberties” were taken with the sources and preparation of the seafood as I highly doubt that such” liberties” would fly in the high season… We still cleared the platter in record time and rather enjoyed not only the food but the surroundings and the noisy good time all our fellow diners were having.
The strategically placed kitchen sinks, dish washing soaps and salt scrubs around the property to rid diners of the inevitable seafood detritus and drawn butter that gets everywhere is a nice touch.
Love the place in all it’s kitschy fun and only wished we had come during the day to fully explore this massive property and perhaps the menu further.
Great fun for the whole family…

Crab Shack is a must visit if you are in the Savannah/​Tybee Island area. It is honestly a destination within itself. If I was in Savannah, I would consider making a trip out to Crab Shack just for the experience. I’ve been to Crab Shack twice and had two different experiences. If it hadn’t have been for the second experience, I would have given this place 5 stars. On the second experience, the mosquitoes were terrible and the wait was absurd. Now to the good.
Both times that I’ve been here we’ve ordered the Shack Specialty which is a form of the Low Country Boil. It comes with an assortment of shellfish, corn, potatoes, and sausage. It is $ 40 to split between 2, which seems like a lot, but when you see the quantity of food that they bring out, you’ll understand. All of the food is delicious, but be prepared to get messy.
The thing that makes the Crab Shack great is the atmosphere. You can sit out on the deck right by the water, which is especially great during the day time, when the mosquitoes aren’t as bad. I really think this was the big difference between my two trips. I would definitely recommend going for lunch as opposed to dinner.
The whole place is kind of a little circus. They have alligators that you can feed, christmas lights strewn all over the place, knick knacks all over, old trees entwined with the deck, and a gift shop with all kinds of goodies.
Crab Shack is honestly just an experience. It is something that the whole family will enjoy. The food is great and it is worth the trip. I would suggest coming for lunch instead of dinner. The wait is shorter and the mosquitoes haven’t taken over.

Amazing place. It was very very good and people are very friendly. Food is so good, you cannot stop eating.

Wonderful service and food! The Restaurant itself is an experience with the gift shop, the alligator zoo, and the many shelter birds that the establishment has taken under its wings in the past few years. Everyone was eating a giant platter of mixed seafood so we joined right in and ordered the sampler platter for 3 (there were 4 of us) and a soup. We were sufficiently stuffed. Our waitress even gave us lessons on how to properly eat everything and about the restaurant itself. Needless to say, we had a fantastic experience here.
Highly recommend to anyone in Savannah looking for good seafood!

I am a HUGE seafood lover. While in Tybee, I KNEW I had to find a great seafood restaurant to enjoy.
When we first pulled up, we thought the restaurant had a really cool and unique look. Even though they were really busy, we found a good parking spot and where seated really quickly.
The patio is AMAZING! There is something special about eating fresh seafood with sitting right on the water. We ordered the low country boil. It was very good. We also ordered a great mixed drink. I cant recall the name but it was coconut run, orange juice, pineapple juice, and grenadine. SO GOOOOOD!
I am looking forward to returning for the great food, tasty drinks, wonderful staff, and lovely facility.

We came in one Tuesday night for dinner. The concierge at my hotel had suggested this place for dinner after I told him we were looking to dine in Tybee Island. I had read on Unilocal that this place is touristy, and I agree, but it was fantastic! The parking lot was on gravel, but since we got there early there were plenty of spots. The décor is fun and the restaurant is themed really well– it is part indoors, part outdoors. There is a lagoon with baby gators too! Our waiter was attentive and our food was brought out quickly. The Brunswick stew was delicious. We ordered the Captains sampler for 2. At $ 39.99, it was a BARGAIN for how much food we got! The seafood was fresh and delicious! Very impressed! We will tell our friends to eat here!

You would think that in Tybee Island where the few beaches in Georgia would have crab legs. There are plenty of «seafood» restaurants but none really represent crab legs or even crawfish. Many of them offer shrimp or tuna. We finally decided to go to Crab Shack, with a name like that, there has to be crab, right?
Tybee Island is so dark at night, this is only 6:30 pm. They need to invest in more street lights. It is a scary ghost town at night. Street names are hard to find without navigation (or even cause you want to be sure). Street names are on a wooden pole, not on top of the street lights.
After getting lost and finally finding Crab Shack, the restaurant is huge. Presentation is awesome at the «original» Crab Shack. I love the look of the restaurant. Instead of koi fishes at Asian restaurants, you get baby alligators and can feed them IF you buy food for them. Even though I complained about the lack of crab restaurants, I don’t like crab but hubby & daughter do. I didn’t want to say no cause I do like shrimp.
You have a choice to sit inside the restaurant or outside. I can say the outside looks amazing. We love it so much, we want to create that look in our future home lol. The main thing that sucks is the smell of the water, urgh, smells like sewage.
Waiter was great, very attentive. If you don’t order the crab platter like me and get shrimp, your food will come out in a styrofoam plate. Even the side dishes came out in styrofoam bowls. Our drinks came to us in you got it, syrofoam cups too. Each table has a trash can in the middle so you can throw away the shells of shrimps and/​or crabs, along with your styrofoam.
Seafood is pricey, not to mention snow crabs. I don’t love my shrimp, it was boil and mostly flavorless but tasted better once dipped into lots of sauce. The service was great. I mean, you got to throw away almost everything anyways. There is a sink nearby out in the open for you to wash your hands as well.
Overall, worth going, not really a «fan» but at least 3.5 rating.

2^nd return, ate here 7 years ago and couldn’t wait to come back! I was worried that I remembered it better than it was, to my delight I wasn’t wrong. I’ve had the same thing every time and likely won’t try anything new.
Capt’s Crabs Sampler
Shack specialty! a platter piled high with an assortment of tasty shellfish tart are in season w/​corn, potatoes & sausage.
It was amazing food, when people walked past my table they said, «oh we will get that next time!»
Well worth the drive!

This is my second time here. I cannot fully remember my first experience here. It was years ago though and I remember it being good so I thought I’d try it out again.
The outdoor seating was pretty nice. I was afraid it was going to be uncomfortable for me and my new baby since it is hot Georgia summer weather, but it was pretty decent under the trees with all the fans going. The plastic chairs were a bit sticky, but I didn’t mind since I had baby drool and spit up all over me anyways. This is a casual place.
My husband and I ordered the stew and seafood boil for one to share, which was the perfect amount of food since we were not starving when we went. The stew was really delicious and had tons of crab meat. I could have eaten this every day of vacation if we stayed on Tybee. The seafood boil had corn on the cob, sausage, shrimp, mussels, crawfish, and snow crab legs. All were fresh and tasty, but the seafood was over-​seasoned for me. It was too salty. The corn and the potatoes had no seasoning, which worked out well because it balanced the super salty shrimp and crawfish seasoning. Maybe that was on purpose? Either way, I needed like two full cups of water from the salt.
The service was fast and good. Everyone was very kind and polite.
Overall a good experience and would go back again if I visit the area again.

This place is so much fun and great food. Love the décor — yes it’s like a tourist trap, but actually a good one. I love the way they cut a hole in the table for the ‘garbage can’ and ease of just eating your finger licking food and disposing it.
That being said, we got the shrimp low country boil — it’s enough for 2 people to share and the baby back ribs were actually really really darn good (meaty, large portion, and seasoned perfectly). The beers were very cold which makes it even easier to handle outdoor seating/​heat & humidity given the weather.
Anyway, I will definitely be back and this place is will just make you smile. Have fun!

I only been here once but had great dining experience. The summer in Savannah is humid and buggy. Their outdoor is slightly cooler than indoor if you dine during lunch time. (not many Mosquitos out yet)
I ordered shrimp and crab combo. They were delicious and fresh!!! Def would like to go back at night to see the lights and try other dishes.

The food here is a little weak, but the service is exceptional. Our server was friendly, efficient and even gave us a pen after we admired it.
This is an obvious tourist trap. If you don’t know that going in, you deserve to be trapped. There are a bunch of gators in a pool that children feed with some sort of bait/​feed that the restaurant sells. Feeding the gators anything not sold by the restaurant is verboten, of course.
Now the food. The mussels tasted obviously farmed. Likely they had also been frozen. several times I bit down on shell that managed to work it’s way into the mussels.
The raw oysters were also a problem. They did not taste fresh and were not served cold. Good oysters should not require cocktail sauce/​horseradish. These did.

A cool spot to enjoy seafood! They’re situated right in a lagoon so you get a nice view if you’re outside. Before you walk in you’ll see their alligator pond where people can buy alligator food and feed them using poles. The alligators are small, but there are quite a few! Very cool feature of the restaurant.
My wife and I wanted oysters and crab so what better place than a place called the Crab Shack! Only downside was that the oysters were really small! But the staff were very nice about it and added a few more to the dozen we ordered. Despite the increased numbers they just weren’t the oysters we were looking forward to. The dungeness crabs were plump and delicious and we definitely had our crab craving satisfied. They have a hole in the center of the tables to quickly clear your shells and move onto the next thing to devour which I thought was a neat feature too.
The staff again were attentive and frequent in making sure our drinks were refilled and that the food was good. From first contact at the front desk to being served they did a great job.

I’ve always loved this place. My family would come to Savannah only for this place. The food is still delicious. My best friend was having her bachelorette party in Savannah and I brought up this place for a Friday night dinner. The place was pretty busy, and the weather was nice so we decided to sit outside. Bad idea. Right when the sun set, the bugs were out to play. There are fans outside but it’s so strong that we asked to be moved so we wouldn’t be so chilly. Again, bad move. I’m still suffering from all the bug bites and that was a week ago.
Asides from that, I love the food still. The low country boil is just phenomenal. Even the bugs didn’t stop me from having a great feast. The price was also unbelievable. For our party of four, we got a platter for four for $ 20/​each. It was awesome!!!
The service wasn’t that great either but again, the food makes it all worth it.

I wish I could give this place three and a half stars. The restaurant has a very fun earthy vibe to it and has a great view of the water. My friends and I came here for the seafood so we got the shack platter for three. It came with snow crab, rock crab, mussels, shrimp, crawfish, potatoes, sausage and corn. I did enjoy all the seafood a lot but it felt like something was missing. The seafood needed more Ol’bay or something. I guess I can’t expect Louisiana crawfish but something could’ve been added. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the platter a lot. o also got a mojito and it was so refreshing and delicious.
Not the best seafood I’ve had but still one of the top on the island.