Beach music filled the dining room of the Folly Beach Crab Shack, bringing pure summertime into the atmosphere of the casual restaurant.  We chose one of the many large tables with holes for throwing shells away, and prepared ourselves to dig in.

The food is not fancy by any stretch, but it tastes great.  A shelf rises above the holes in the tables and supports all the fixins and a big roll of paper towels.  Any place that claims on the wine list, “We may serve our wines in plastic, but they still taste fantastic,” is sure of its mission, and that’s just what the Shack accomplished. Simple food, in a fun atmosphere. Smack in the middle of Center Street at Folly, the Shack took over the space formerly occupied by Marker 24. Since 1999, Ron Hill & Staff have been running the Shack with humor and the spirit of  Folly Island.

We started with the Caesar salad ($3.97) and The Shack’s Crab Dip ($4.86). The Crab Dip had just the right amount of chunky crabmeat and creamy mayonnaise and came in a wooden bowl surrounded by packets of captain’s wafers. I sprinkled on some lemon juice and tore into the plastic on the crackers.

It’s impossible for me to resist a steam pot in a restaurant like this one, and the Shacks Shacktacular Seafood Sampler (single $21.91, double $33.91) fit the bill just fine. A basket with all the proper condiments and tools one could imagine to break into was set up in preparation for the exercise to come. Shortly thereafter a gargantuan pile of oysters, mussels, clams, and snow crab legs balanced on potatoes, corn, and sausage swimming in a buttery broth came to the table. The Crab Shack’s Famous Deviled Crab was also included in my entrée, which is on the appetizer menu as well. Most deviled crabs are too bready, but this one was not guilty of that problem, and had a good heat level and crabmeat that was still lumpy and not over-mixed. There’s a primitive satisfaction in wrenching open and cracking shells to get to the treasure inside while juice drips down your elbows and chin, and I was happy to be lost in it for a while. As an afterthought, I tasted the coleslaw that came with the dinner and was very pleasantly surprised. The slaw was tart and peppery, with none of Miracle Whip-like sweetness that plagues some of them.

It’s possible to skip the veggies and sausage and go straight for buckets of each kind of shellfish. For more civilized dinners, the Shack offers other dinner specialties, such as Shrimp and Crab Casserole ($12.85) and Shrimp and Grits covered with a well-known bacon gravy ($11.93). Sandwiches like barbecue, grilled chicken, and burgers are options too, and there’s a Fiddler Crab menu for beach-weary kids.

We split a slice of Key lime pie ($3.97) for dessert, because the Shack Attack, an enormous slice of cake with layer of different chocolates, was way too much after our large dinner.  We walked out looking forward to visiting the Shack’s outdoor deck when real summertime gets here, which won’t be a moment too soon.

Our “Shack-tacular” Experience at the Folly Beach Crab Shack
 
We arrived at the Crab Shack, hungry and thirsty after a long day soaking up the sun on beautiful Folly beach. We were promptly greeted by a friendly hostess and decided to take advantage of the inviting outdoor seating. The deck atmosphere welcomed us with a cool breeze and a cozy table in the corner. Banana palms, fishing nets, buoys and crab traps completed the rustic, laid back “Island feel” complete with Jimmy Buffett music playing in the background. The Shack, just as the locals that recommended this restaurant, was filled with families and couples vacationing on Folly as well as a lot of Locals that are quick to point out that this is their favorite place. 
 
Our server, Brian, greeted us within a few moments and suggested we start out with the “shacks” famous margarita. They jumped on his suggestion, while I went for one of the specialty drinks. All the specialty drinks had cute names, but I went for the one named after our beloved Folly Beach, “the Edge of America” (Malibu, pineapple and cranberry). When the drinks arrived, Brian did well with the margarita…it was perfect, but mine went perfect with the theme of this “Island style” restaurant.  Brian was well versed on the menu and proceeded to tell us about the specials, which made the choices even harder.

This seafood restaurant has something for almost anyone. The menu offers seafood grilled, steamed, and fried. It also caters to the non-seafood lover too with thing like chicken,  Ribs & steak. To start off, we enjoyed the hot crab and artichoke Dip and the crab stuffed mushrooms. Brian suggested a sample of the She crab soup, which he said was the best on the Island. I have tried she crab soup all over the lowcountry and this was indeed on of the best I’ve ever had, but wanted to save room for appetizers we had ordered. Both appetizers flew out of the Kitchen and were very satisfying. The Dip was thick with crab and artichokes melted together with a delicious cream cheese with just the right amount of seasoning then topped with Old Bay seasoning, and served with a healthy portion of warm pita bread. The mushrooms were stuffed with blue crabmeat, herbs, white wine, and topped with a creamy crab sauce, which if I’m not mistaken is the she crab soup that I tried earlier. The she crab soup was an excellent topping for the mushrooms because it made a “signature” dish for this restaurant.
 
After hearing about the specials, Brian also pointed out that if we wanted, the specials and the fresh catch of the day could all be prepared healthy by leaving off the potatoes and adding a side garden “chopped” salad.  I thought that was a nice thing to suggest, but we were not interested in leaving anything off the plate tonight. Maybe we would walk the beach after dinner I thought to myself as I looked over the menu. We found an array of salads, sandwiches, sampler platters (which features a pile of steamed seafood with a home made devil crab served with sausage potatoes and corn.) entrée choices, as well as buckets of steamed oysters, clams, mussels and crab legs.
 
I decided on the special blackened Mahi Mahi topped with the blue crab cream sauce, served with roasted new potatoes, corn-on-the –cob and Cole slaw. They went for the Charleston favorite shrimp and grits with the bacon gravy. Waiting for our meals, we enjoyed our cocktails and watched the lazy evening traffic of beach cruisers and dog walkers, as well as the sunset. When you’re on Folly you should never be in a rush. This is one laid back Island…Relax your on Folly Time. When the dinner arrived, the portions were healthy and looked delicious. We were not disappointed. After sharing both entrees we couldn’t decide whose was better. The Mahi Mahi had a subtle spice, with a nice rich creamy crab sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly and was very moist.  The grits were cooked to perfection, with plenty of shrimp, the gravy made this dish awesome. The only thing that kept us from finishing our meals was the hope of saving room for a slice of the homemade key-lime pie.  This was the real thing if you know your key-lime pie, and was the perfect finish to a great dining experience.
 
All in All, the Crab Shack delivers a friendly, easygoing environment.  The Staff seemed to work very well together and was very friendly, stopping to check on us during the meal. The prices are reasonable and the food was great. No wonder so many locals recommended this Folly Beach favorite. I can’t wait for another excuse to visit Folly Beach and The Crab Shack.
 
Don’t Miss:   She Crab Soup.
Hours:           Lunch & Dinner
Monday to Thursday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm
Friday and Saturday 11:00 am to 10:30 pm
Bar:  Monday to Sunday 11:00 am to 2:00 am
          Late night menu 10:30 - until        

 Happy Hour Monday thru Friday 4:00 pm to 7:00 PM

Location: 26 Center Street, Folly Beach
Phone:    843 588-3080