Brick walls, and hardwood floors add a touch of history to this space, but it’s
true identity is better represented by the barrels of peanuts, wooden tables
with holes cut in the center, and large rolls of paper towels. These items that
denote our casual approach to dinning will be easily overlooked as soon as you
see a platter full of our fresh steamed shellfish, buckets of crab legs and
oysters, and plates stacked high with golden fried shrimp. Behind every one of
these dishes you will find one of our guest with a large smile on their face,
and their sleeves rolled up to their elbows. If your looking for a real taste of
the Lowcountry, a relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices, set your bearings
for the East Bay Crab Shack.
SPECIALS
East Bay Crab Shack’s Daily Lunch Value
$5.99 Every Monday - Friday 11 am - 3pm
Live Music every Friday and Saturday Night 10:00 pm - until
East Bay Crab Shack Review
“The Restaurant Insider”
Your Guide to Dining in the Lowcountry
Upon entering the East Bay Crab Shack, I felt immediately relaxed by the casual
décor and the beach music playing in the background. This comfortable
restaurant is on the corner of East Bay Street and Cumberland Street, right
across from the U. S, Customs House. The seaside décor of crab traps, a giant
sailfish, and lowcountry murals create a fabulous ambiance for casual dining.
The Crab Shack’s menu and décor make you want to have an old-fashioned oyster
roast. This is how the restaurant is set to operate, from a huge steamed seafood
selection to the holes for shells in the middle of every table. The bar is
located in the back of the restaurant and has an entrance on Cumberland Street.
It is very cozy with large communal type tables for people to congregate for
drinks.
The first trip to the East Bay Crab Shack was for lunch on a
Tuesday early afternoon. The lunch menu is quite diverse featuring many
southern style lunch entrees they like to call “Put a Little South in your
Mouth”. In addition there are a substantial number of fried and steamed seafood
selections. They also had some wonderful specials, which a few were stated to be
low in calories and carbohydrates. After contemplating over a “Shacketizer” we
selected the she crab soup, and the crab dip.
The she crab was a perfect
texture with generous portioning of crab and sherry. The crab dip was a huge
helping of crab with cheese and spices and just enough horseradish to spice it
up a notch. As a main course the country-fried steak was great, served with
plenty of gravy and with my selection of sides, which were fried green tomatoes
and macaroni and cheese. The fried green tomatoes were very crispy and served
with a Cajun remoulade sauce that accentuated the tomatoes taste. The
Charleston platter was a combination of shrimp, oysters, and flounder that were
all fried lightly and served with tartar and cocktail sauce. For lunch, this
portion was huge and I didn’t completely finish the flounder or the fries and
Cole slaw that it was served with. The servers were quick and efficient and all
the food we ordered was delivered to the table very promptly.
Dinner at the Crab Shack was even more laid back than our lunch
experience. Deciding for some local flavor, splitting a bucket of steamed
oysters seamed to fit the bill. They came out steaming hot, and dusted with old
bay seasoning. We didn’t hesitate to dig in. Shucking the oysters was no
problem for me but my guest wasn’t quite as skilled, and our server gave us a
quick lesson on the proper technique. Shortly after finishing our oysters the
entrees arrived as our server cleared away the now empty bucket.
The crab
encrusted tuna special was to die for. It arrived cooked medium rare just as I
asked and served with fresh green beans sautéed with sesame seeds and a touch of
soy. The crab cakes entrée was two large crab cakes topped with a touch of
their great she crab soup. They were full of crabmeat and I could not detect a
single breadcrumb, which a lot of recipes use to bind the cake. They were
served with corn on the cob, boiled red potatoes, and Cole slaw, which went
perfectly with the crab. Even though I had no room for desert after the
entrees I still tried a slice of their homemade key lime pie. The texture was
firm yet creamy and the taste was tart yet still sweet, and for less than four
dollars a slice I considered it a bargain.
Overall, the East Bay Crab Shack is an excellent place to have a
very casual lunch or dinner. The atmosphere and décor seem to make you feel
right at home as soon as you enter the door. Their selections are many with a
good variety of dishes but mostly good southern style seafood. The lunch
entrée’s range in price from their daily value lunch that is $4.99 to the
highest hitting in the $8 range. Appetizers were in the range of$4 to $8 and
dinner entrees from $10 to the highest being the Dungeness crab leg dinner at
$19.98. The service and quality of food were great and upon paying the bill you
will feel a bargain as well.
Don’t Miss: Carolina Crab Cakes
Hours:
Monday to Thursday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00 am to 11:00 pm
Bar:
Monday to Sunday 11:00 am to 2:00 am
Happy Hour Monday thru Friday 4:00 pm to 7:00
pm
