Sandcrab Cafe

User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

My husband ate in this restaurant years ago and wanted me to try it with him. We stopped in there on a Saturday evening out when we had a babysitter. I was happy with the ambiance, convivial atmosphere and friendly greeting. Interesting out-of-the-way location for sure, but the beer was ice cold and the menu very unique. We ordered the fried scallops appetizer and looked at the menu while we enjoyed our cold beers. The scallops were fantastic. The sourdough bread was very nice although not warm, but this is where my experience went south! The "butter" with the bread was not butter at all, but margarine. I don't particularly like margarine, in fact I find it quite unappetizing. I asked the waitress for butter and was told they did not have any. A seafood restaurant with no real butter? I wanted a taste of lobster but did not feel like cracking anything, so I ordered the "Poor Man's Lobster" which is described as lobster meat sauteed in garlic butter. It occurred to me after I ordered it that if they had no butter for my bread, they would certainly have no butter to saute my lobster, but if it says butter on the menu, I assumed that they would actually cook with it! It also turned out that the lobster meat was from slipper lobsters, which is not mentioned on the menu. I have no problem with slipper lobster, but these have to be the smallest slipper lobsters I have ever seen. The average shrimp in a shrimp cocktail was larger than these. That would have been OK except for the fact that they were WAY overcooked. Greasy, with no discernable garlic flavor . . . at least no actual garlic I could detect. All I could detect was the off-putting aroma of melted margarine. And it was served with a cup full of the melted stuff. Maybe the menu should have included some quotes around the word butter! The potatoes were OK but the corn on the cob was mush . . . also way overcooked and probably slathered with margaine as well. Pretty good cole slaw. I also included an order of fried oysters, since the fried scallops were so good. Alas, the fried oysters were not as good. They were too large and the breading just fell off. Hard to chew and actually quite flavorless. I must say I don't think I've ever described an oyster as flavorless! I had also ordered a cup of clam chowder, which is a favorite of mine, but that cup never did materialize. Luckily, it did not make it onto the check. I did complain about the overcooked micro-slipper lobsters slathered in melted margarine, and the waitress did take the plate away and took it off the bill, but by that point there was not much that could sway my opinion! Needless to say, I found the meal to be a waste of my time and money and I doubt I would ever return to waste a dining-out opportunity again. I'll stick with the neighborhood restaurants I know and trust. Get a clue and GET SOME BUTTER!

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User Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My overall experience at this restaurant was a fun one and I like the mom-and-pop feel of the place.

Having my food served right on the table(no plates, clambake-style) and being given a mallet and the use of my hands to eat with (and no one being concerned about the mess) made me feel like a kid again.

All the seafood (king crab, blue crab, snow crab, stone crab and shrimp) were all done perfectly and were flavorful. The sausage was good but a little overcooked. The corn was overcooked and the new potatoes were flavorless. I did not like the use of margarine.

I would recommend this restaurant and would like to go again to try the crawfish.

This is by no means a fancy restaurant. T-shirt and shorts are acceptable here.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This place has great food and nice service. The prices are decent and I would go again.

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