Phillips Crab House Reviews

For over 10 years we visit OC and always have a night for dinner at Phillips. Always enjoyable, good food, and good service.

The buffet is amazing and well worth the price, get there early and take advantage of the $4 off per person

This place was terrible. My boyfriend and I were excited to eat seafood on our vacation and when first walking in customer service was terrible. Everyone looked mad who worked there and weren t welcoming. The crab legs were way too salty and looked grayish. I do not reccomend this place to anyone. Our server didn t even ask how the meal was. Never received a refill after asking once.

Always an excellent choice. It's always a first food choice.

Good variety buffet with both snow crabs and blue crabs. Mist buffets in O.C. will on serve one or another.

Waited a lot thinking would worth the wait, nothing new or special from other $13 a person buffets lot the items were overcooked drinks outragesly expensive. Sorry but would not go back not spend the money I paid...this place is OVERRATED

Food tasted like vinegar and sadness, fries weren't really cooked well and the jumbo shrimp was a horrible consistency and tasted frozen. Don't go here, but if you want good seafood I'd recommend going to Nick's rib house, they actually cook shrimp better than a so-called crab restaurant.

One of the best places the get all you can eat crab legs. The rest of the food is very good as well. The crab cakes are some.of the best

Seafood was excellent. Their crabmeat is to die for. My steak was overdone. And kinda like shoe leather. Which is a shame because it was $40.00. I should have sent it back, but I didn't want to wait. But the service was impeccable.

Our waitress was awesome. We got alot of food for the cost. Food was very good.

Coming to Philips buffet is an annual tradition I'm just not sure about anymore. The crab legs are apparently good, but i don't know personally. Outside of that, the food quality gets more *meh* with every visit. Food taste is hit or miss, some things are not bad, but some things are also not good. Nothing was really HOT from the buffet line, except the made to order pasta, which was luckily pretty good. Service was okay, but the crowd flow in the buffet line doesnt make a lot of sense, so look out for folks when carrying a plate back to your table!

Service could have been better and food served cold.

Fresh ingredients prepared well. Service is pleasant and attentive and anticipates needs. I had my wedding dinner at the old Phillips Hotel.
No better place for fresh seafood.

Amazing. Not the selection as other places but I love the atmosphere

OMG.miss that place, coming over and over when in town.

Best buffet down at the beach, large and has something for everyone. seafood, pasta bar, ribs, carving station, desert bar.

All you can eat Seafood buffet, as well as casual food such as corn on the cob and hot dogs

It took 20 minutes to just get drinks and over an hour to get our meals after our order was placed (which is crazy because we were there during off season and there were employees who were sitting at tables playing with their phones). I ordered the blue crab and shrimp combo and I had to ask for crab tools, a shell bucket and something hard to crack crab with the mallet...which was crazy because there was a stand holding brown paper our server could use to cover our table about 15 feet from our table. Not a good experience and we won't be going back in the future.

Love everything about this place. The food is always good.

Long line outside but restaurant had plenty of empty tables , auce buffet but crab legs were put on your plate and only two clusters for the price crab legs should self serve

My husband and I visited ocean city as a last minute trip for our anniversary and we decided to check this place out and I m very happy we did. There was a 35 minutes wait but it was well worth it. Sarah, our server was energetic, funny and very accommodating. She suggestions the seafood broil for 2 and crab soup, both tasted amazing and also the pina colada was delicious..can t wait to go back

The food was great, not the long wait for the food.

Best crab ever! I was a little disappointed in the turf though. The filet and the ribeye was pretty bad. It looked awful and tasted like it was old meat. Best crab ever!

39 bucks AYCE ain't too shabby. I mean one could probably eat that much in snow crab legs to make it worth it. Quality is on par for this type of buffet I can't imagine how much food gets pumped out of this place daily and the staff they employ to get it done. Food is good at best nothing that will change your life, but are you really expecting that going to a ayce buffet in oc? Haha. I'm not hating by any means its probably one of the best buffets in the area. Get in in the first hour and buffet is 35 I believe

Food was pretty good and priced similar to other restaurants in OC. $25-$50 for most dinner options. We miss the buffet. 2020 sucks!

Very overpriced...to expensive for the quality of seafood

Great food ....great service ... Better than old mill anyday

All you can eat seafood options, long lines moves quickly for seating. Worth a stop in if you can...

Went here last night and it was great! There was a ton of food, great service, and it was clean. We had the all you can eat buffet and it was amazing. We ate until we couldn't eat anymore. I loved the snow crab and the lobster mac 'n cheese. I would also like to add that they are not stingy about any of the food including the crab legs. We went up for more at least 6 or 7 times and the lady smiled and gave us crab legs each time. I will say that some of the shells were soft which just means you have to work a little harder to get the meat out, it not a huge deal.
The service was just as great. Our servers name was Kylie and she was great. She constantly checked to see if we needed anything and was very nice. She also thought us how to properly open a crab and how to identify weather it's a male or female. We also got a souvenir glass which was just $3 and was pretty big too. Only thing that I wasn't extremely happy with was the price. It was $35 per person w/o drinks. Even thought the price was a little high, the place was amazing and we will definitely go again next time we go to ocean city.

The best seafood I ever had. The place is elegant, nice atmosphere, great music, friendly staff and tasty food. I enjoyed everything about this place.

Seafood seafood seafood..yummy in my tummy.. eat all you can eat buffet.. crabs,oysters,shrimps,steak,mussels,clams,king crab legs.. small crabs but huge .. seasoning on point!! Also great drinks... love the beach!!

First of all the menu is booty cheeks. They don't have a good selection of food and EVERYTHING is over priced. The service was pretty good for my table though.

I escorted our tour group of 52 from C and Bea Tours in South Jersey and we enjoyed an excellent fried chicken and crab cake combination lunch. The food was delicious, the service was great! My group was very happy and we continue to take groups to Phillips Crab House year after year!

Buffet if you can eat your money's worth. Not if you are dieting. $$

$130 meal for 3 people, no alcohol, and the best item was the bread- the rolls were really good. The steak was flavorless and served with a side of red wine vinegar. The snow crab pot my husband got was disappointing in size considering the expense, the corn on the cob was good. We were really looking forward to going there, won t be back.

Good food a bit high price but normal for the area.

Loved the buffet. The price, selection, service, and parking was worth the 3 hour drive. I recommend this restaurant.

Terrible the food was such a disappointment! I would NEVER go back again! $36 per person & the "sea food" was mainly fried the pasta line was so long & slow I was unable to place my order & the crab legs were pencil thin the deserts were a joke!! It was an awful & expensive experience
the only reason I am giving 2 stars is that we:
1. had a nice young waitress
2. the chicken fingers on the kids buffet were excellent!
3. The water was ice cold & refreshing!
We would love to be reimbursed our $300+ back!

The food was great although the Caesar salad had too much dressing in it the first alcoholic drink was a little weak the second one was much stronger the service was excellent I would return

Food was hot and fresh. Staff friendly and courteous. Food was reasonably priced.

Good food but way to over crowded hard to get your food

The food and service are terrific. Scallops (pictured) were perfect and the feasts were amazing

This place is ways a hit or miss for some reason. In June it was a 5 star. This last time 2 star. Mussels, crab cakes were warm. Kid at pasta bar did not let the pasta get hot. Come on Phillips I keep on giving you a chance. Food just wasn't
hot. Maybe cause they put us in the balcony.

The menu changes weren't very good. It was very different than a year ago. I'm sure the buffet is still good though.

It's an okay place with a fair selection. Crab legs are pretty decent and the buffet is average in selection. Not the greatest IMO. I've found that the selection of foods in the buffet is much much better at Embers Buffet just down the road. The service is friendly.

Location: Close walk from boardwalk and beach.

Restaurant/Facility: This place operates like a well oiled machine. Beware: everyone tries to get in for the happy hour (1st hour of business) which creates massive lines out of the door before they open, crowding in the line to get your food, and traffic jams getting through to your table. There is a flight of stairs after you get through the initial door to get to the host stand that wraps around. People with wheelchairs and strollers take the elevator and bypass the long lines (a faux pas nolo contendere).

Food/Drink: The food is excellent. Great variety spread of seafood. There is a line at the pasta station (select your protein/sauce/pasta) that is a magnet for wasted time, and people line up for the crab legs. The drinks are fair priced and stiff. We got two tasty pina coladas and then two more : )

Staff: God bless these people. They start their shift each day getting absolutely crushed by unending crowds. People are hungry, grumpy and pushy. The staff keeps their smile maintained and I applaud all battle efforts on the buffet front and their good-sailored spirits.

Overall: We went back both nights, opting out from other restaurants due to how much we loved this buffet. The only reason it lacks five stars is that it is rather frustrating trying to settle in with massive crowds bum-rushing the restaurant. We learned after the first night to take the hit and come in when it slowed down. Expect to wait a while to be seated and get fed if you go for the happy hour special.

Different stations comprise of: made to order pasta, premade salads, carving station, soups, oysters, fried seafood, miscellaneous food (vegetables, chicken wings), and in the corner of the last station there was a lady giving out snow crab legs.

The buffet seemed to drop in quality since I was last there (granted it's been a while and my young eyes probably thought I was in food heaven, but my parents agreed). The price ($37.99) was steep for the quality of food we got-- even with the early bird special ($4 off if you are seated within the first hour of business DAILY)--the food was subpar and we really couldn't eat that much...not because we were full but because there was nothing to eat. My dad loves the snow crab legs--but soon got sick of them. The carving station with the meats was subpar....the prime rib had no seasoning, the brisket was bland, and the ham was crazy salty. They didn't have scallops or pan seared shrimp--but they had baby scallops and baby shrimp as toppings for the pasta station...so I got a pasta to eat the shrimp and the scallops. Taste 3/5

For people who don't enjoy seafood (like my brother), there were not many options at all-- besides the carving station (which was not that great), pasta station (which was decent), mac and cheese (which was pretty good) premade salads (that were mediocre), and the kids station (fries, tator tots, pizza, burgers) which is NOT GOOD AT ALL.

The service was great for the most part! Our waiter, Chris was STELLAR. He works very hard, is very courteous, and should be the standard of waiters everywhere! Superb! I think he made the experience WAY MORE enjoyable. Thanks Chris! The lady at the snow crab station and the lady at the pasta station (I got to know she was from the Dominican Republic, but didn't catch her name) were also super nice! Customer Service: 4.5/5 because there were some rude staff (man at carving station looked bored AF and doesn't know what a smile is, and there was a line for the desserts and the waitress yelled at everyone to move so she could clear some plates).

We got there around 4:20 pm and were seated without a wait...and it wasn't too busy--but as the evening went on it became busier. By the time we were leaving there was a line with about about 7 people and more people walking in the door as we were going down the stairs.

Best seafood buffet for the price. Very clean and great wait staff.

Always a stop when we are in OC, great variety of food on buffet & cool atmosphere

Besides the crab legs, which were quite good, the food is somewhat mediocre. The service was acceptable but not fantastic. For the price, it is rather underwhelming.

We stopped in here last night to eat at the buffet since my Mother-in-law wanted seafood and everyone said this place is the best. After waiting the necessary 20 minutes to get a table, we were greeted by a number of younger hostesses that all seemed to be mad about something while we were herded like cattle though the maze of the second floor buffet area. Our actual waitress was very pleasant and helpful, and we soon found out she was the best part of the whole place. Nothing at the buffet is marked, so apart from the obvious dishes, there was no way of identifying the number of more obscure dishes. Everything was either overcooked or had been sitting out under the heat lamps for so long it seemed that way. Everything was rather bland and tasteless, and unless you are willing to sit there for hours and shovel down as much seafood as possible, there is no way this place is worth the $40 a person they are charging.

For someone who is not a true fan of seafood, there is a rather limited selection of possibilities. Even the desserts were off. The best thing were the chocolate covered strawberries.

For the amount of $ this place must be raking in from the endless supply of tourists, they should be able to do some modernization/updates to the building as well.

Great food, awesome buffet, I had my wedding dinner here and we loved it

Absolutely horrible food. Popeye's is better than this place. Oysters shrimp and crab all tasted like it was caught at the waste water plant. Flat soda and completely overpriced for the disgusting food that was served. DO NOT EAT HERE, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!