Captain Johns Crab House Review

Best crabs and seafood in southern Maryland, no questions asked.

All Food was cold, my husband's scallops were raw and my pound of clams were half empty. This place is not worth the price in any way, shape or form.

This is an old fashioned crab "shack." Warm friendly staff, fried sea food, and best of all-- a launch for our kayaks. We paddle and then eat sea food and drink beer. How can you beat that?!

Had a wonderful experience for my first time all the way from Washington DC.....Anna was the best !! Food was delicious and hot not a long wait either good atmosphere and friendly staff I'll be back again SN( bathroom needs more attention)

Good food but a little pricey compared to others in area

Service, cleanliness and quality have gone down hill dramatically over the past year.

Captain John's crab house in Cobb Island is old school Maryland Seafood joint. No frills, marina and dockside place with abundance of well prepared seafood. Crab balls are delicious, Maryland crab soup perfect, with just a bit of spicy bite & fried oyster basket was perfect. Oysters had a crispy coating and the Chesapeake oysters were juicy and soft. A good seafood place knows how to fry without over cooking. As for service, even on non-holiday Monday afternoon it was a bit slow, so I can see when busy it could get bad. Was busier than I expected for a weekday but a little patience and gentle reminder goes a long way. Glad we came here.

Best seafood I've had in a long time. Helpful staff, and very willing to show me how to remove the shells for a great meal. Will return.

Food and service are pretty good. Would recommend restaurant to family and friends....

The service was really bad it took an hour and a half for our food to come out and no i am sorry from the manager

The food was great
I would have given it five stars but the service was a little slow, but I will return.

I would like to "thank" Chris my waiter for a job well done. He was very attentive to me and my daughter's needs at the restaurant. He constantly checked on us and never forgot anything. His demeanor and friendliness was above and beyond. He exceed my expectations .

Call last week and ask about crabs ... Told no crabs but go anyway and guess what ... They have crabs. Called again today asking and was told no crabs when I said I was told that last weekend but came anyway I was told "well we sell out as soon as we get them" guess they don't want my business. More appropriate answer would be "we have a limited supply" or "right now we do but they are selling quick" instead of saying "we don't have any" when they do. Not worth driving and hour for dinner when you can't even get truthful .. or polite for that matter .. answer when you call

Food and crabs were good. Same cream of crab soup they've had forever and I've noticed around on the tables the people that ordered soup they didn't finish. Caught one lady discussing the soup "as pasty." Doesn't the waiter staff notice that no one liked the soup or tell the owner or the chef to try to improve it. Its real simple to add more flavor and make the soup creamer. Odor from kitchen area door was a concern. I guess the restaurant has such a high demand for a turnover that no one thinks to thoroughly clean. The restaurant needs a heavy cleaning and disinfectant. Seafood from crabs and debris was behind all the seats. Nasty

Unlimited crab legs and good selection of seafood options. A relaxed place on the water. Some of the broiled fish could have better, but it's a good option if everyone wants different types of seafood. The hush puppies were amazing!

If you love dining by the water as boats dock this could be the place for you. Have a choice to eat downstairs, upstairs which is more roomy and cooler. Last, there's the patio section located outside. Wait staff mediocre. But crabs are delicious and satisfying. A word to the wise if you aren't able to eat a dozen of crabs or preferably more without being miserable, then ordering the feast may not be for you. Because if you aren't able to, no matter the number of crabs left on table , you will not be allowed to take it with you. You won't be able to share it. In other words, although the crabs are paid for, the crabs are tossed which is extremely wasteful. It would be best to order by the dozen or . you choose so when you decide that you've had enough you will be able to take the remainder of the crabs with you. At this time I am only able to comment on crabs because that's all I ate, but next time I may order something else and if I do I will update this post. I must say that the salad bar is available and the veg's looked fresh and crisp.

My husband enjoyed the all you can eat maryland crabs which were meaty. I however had their all you can eat steamed shrimp and was very disappointed and wish I had ordered something else. The shrimp had a bad taste and I only ate about 1 lbs and had to force myself to eat those. The melted butter served with them was basically oil and even cooled off and coagulated as I was eating my shrimp. I honestly will probably never go again and wish I had not spent my money here.

Ate dinner here on 6/12, service was not very good, food was just mediocre.

The food was really good. Raw oysters were delicious. All of the food was fresh. The fried items were well seasoned. The crab legs were a nice size. We wanted MD blue crabs, but since it was so early, they only had smalls. Softshell crab was great. Friendly staff, clean, a large space, but felt a little cramped. Located on the water.

Good food nice staff prices were a little high but not terrible.

Flavor and Service was Good .. Although l Thought the Portion sizes were small for the prices..

We came for the all you can eat crab legs but sadly they don't have them this year. The staff is very friendly, nice environment and the all you can eat crabs are coming this summer.

Love this place,went last Wed.and going back today for those great big crab's, had all you can eat last time,only one problem with that is that it's toooo salty,less salt and it would be perfect,crab legs and crabs always taste fresh and they are large,you get your money's worth here,Scott one of the servers is the one to ask for,he will make sure you straight and well taken care of if you go on the day's he work.

Fantastic food and very comfortable atmosphere. Nice people, great service, always a great spot.

They did a great job in a difficult situation. They provided hand sanitizer and helped with social distancing, all while serving us a delicious meal. The food was amazing, and they seem to have thought of everything.

Great all you can eat sea food buffet. Great salad bar. Oyster stew was not good. It is lacking some key ingredients.

All-you-can-eat crabs an shrimp was great service was great the only thing I didn't like was the bar You have to order your drinks through your waitress hostess verses getting up standing right there pay for it! But overall party of 12 will be back!

The Food is delicious and the Customer Service is terrific

My family and I had a wonderful meal, crabs and shrimp, all you can eat. The crabs were full and the shrimp were delicious, steamed perfectly. Our waiter was very attentive and kept very busy with our table. We were all very pleased. Will definitely visit again!

Crabs were a bit small and could use a little more seasoning but very nice spot on the water. Service was great.

Food is great with large portions and reasonable prices, no waiting

Last week was our first time we came to that restaurant. But It is surely not the last time. We had a good time with the courteous service, with the exceptional food and fine drinks and with the decent pay. We will absolutely go back there soon.

They have some fantastic specials and the staff is excellent! Love this Place

Me and the family normally frequent here every few months. Since the inside is closed due to covid-19 restrictions, we decided to do a take-out order driving down from Waldorf.

Ordered a dozen of large male crabs at market price along with other menu items. After getting back home, I was highly disappointed in the crabs. I ended up with a mixed bag that had some smalls, some females, w/ only 2 LARGE in the entire bag! Crabs were also very watery and some were overcooked. Called and spoke to the manager and was offered only a free dozen in the future.

Definitely won t be back after this terrible order.

Today was my 60th birthday and my husband and I had the worst service today. I didn t feel special at all! Our waitress was too busy sitting down with her co workers than tending to our needs and to make matters worse when I couldn t find her it was because she was eating her own lunch instead of tending to ours! Never again! Been going here and living it for over 15 years! Not any more. This should have been a special day for me there

Love the food, takes us about 21/5 hours to get there, but worth it.

I went to Captain John's to pick up steamed crabs and some oysters on the half shell. The crabs were meaty! Yet, they had little seasoning, mostly kosher salt, but little to none Old Bay. They lacked flavor! The oysters were very fresh however we weren't given any vinegar, hot sauce or lemon.

Seafood was fresh and well prepared. No reservations required.

Foul smell....service ok....need to use a clean mop on the floor. Grilled salmon was excellent

Friday, May 8, 2020, I placed an order for 2 dozen of female crabs with a pick up tiime for 3:30pm I arrived about 30 minutes early and waited patiently for my order. When the young man brought my order to me in a brown paper bag, I said to myself, that bag looks awfully small. So I just placed the bag in my trunk thinking the crabs were small and headed back to White Plains, MD for a 4:30pm conference call.

Around 4:45pm, I tore the bag opened and started cracking and eating the crabs. When I was getting low on crabs, I started counted and said, this is not 2 dozen of crabs; only 1 dozen. I immediately contacted the restaurant and spoke to Tiffany. Tiffany told me to come there tomorrow to receive my other dozen of crabs.

Today, Saturday, May 9, 2020 around 12:20pm, I arrived at the restaurant and spoke to Tiffany. I finally received the other dozen of crabs after driving 40 minutes to get there.

This really was a big inconvenience. I was not offered a discount, coupon nor a free meal for the inconvenience. I guess from this point on, I will be counting my crabs before leaving the lot.

I will say, the crabs were delicious! And Tiffany was very professional in how she had dealt with the situation.

Food was good, not great. Waitress was excellent and attentive. Choice of sides could greatly be improved for the price point of meals.

We arrived at Captain John's at 2 did not get seated in till almost quarter of four the young lady who was taking reservations did not ask if we wanted a table or a booth she was waiting for a table for the four of us that's how many people were in my party need to make it very clear with the customers if you would like to have a table or a booth. Our waitress was awsome. The crabs were great the shrimp were kind of mushy.

Great hidden seafood spot will definitely recommend to friends and family when they visit. Great prices as well

The personnel are very nice and accommodating. It's always clean and oh yes, the crabs are good!

Service made Father's day great. Food and crabs were very tasty. Just a good evening. Been going there since early 70s

Food was very good service was ok. We called the day before and was told they offer all you can eat on a number of items. Drove from Manassas and then was told it stopped the week before. They ended up giving it to me anyway.

I'll rate my visit @4 stars. My "jumbo" shrimp were actually "large". But they were seasoned well. The crab clusters/legs were good, also. They also needed one or two more servers, but service was good. Overall, we enjoyed the food and we will return.

Crabs are good but the environment is nasty. No hostess. The floors looked as though they were unkept and dirty. And many server's were unprofessional. All employee uniforms looked dingy.

Best seafood in Virginia and Maryland area. Yummy!

Its was early in crab season. Still amazing. If it's April I would call and make sure they have the male blue crab on the all your can eat menu. It was $49.00 a dozen for me. All your can eat for $34 is a deal, but they didn't have enough to run it.

More like 3 1/5. Poor atmosphere, food okay to good. Very nice serving staff.

Female crab all u can eat....food good...restaurant decor dated

I love it here we always seem to get stuck with the same lady everytime an she's so bland but the food keeps me an my family coming back 5 times a year!!

Crab were ok I've had better crab cake was good, service ok .