Joe's Stone Crab

05/01/2008 Posted by tervin

I can't say anything bad about the food...it's all great. I'm not sure it makes sense to get stone crabs here though. The only thing that makes them different from any other place that serves them is the dipping sauce which is good but I'm not sure it's worth the price difference. The rest of the food is great. Pay particular attention to the random entrees like fried chicken or the burger...very cheap and amazing. Their house salad is also great. My 1 complaint is that I've had mixed service there...the last time I went the waiter was distracted, rude and pushed the whole table to the larger crabs that cost a lot more. This contradicted the recommendation of our previous server who was fun, courteous and recommended the second smallest size for the best value.

03/13/2008 Posted by AH206

I couldn't believe all the bad reviews on Joe's. I've never had anything except impeccable service at Joe's. Value is great and the food is unbelievable. Everything from the variety of breads they start you off to the salad, potatoes, grilled vegetables, crab right down to the desert. You can't go wrong. You may have to wait if you not a regular, but I still think it would be worth it.

Pros: Service, Food, Ambience

Cons: Crabs are pricey, but still a good value

03/07/2008 Posted by bestoffood

How can I start? As we walked in, the very "not welcoming" faces greet us. We asked for a table for 4. My husband met us there after work to eat with us to say good bye to my parents, leaving to go back to Brazil. You will not believe what just happened? As my husband arrived, he told the waiter he was there to meet someone. But because our table was for 4 ONLY, my husband was not allowed to seat with us, the waiter wanted to seat him in the opposite side of the restaurant all by himself. We just pulled an empty seat from the table beside us. Our very nice waiter opened the table and there was enough space for him to seat. Then some crazy lady came over rude as she could be, yelling at us, pointing fingers at us, saying that my husband had to leave, saying" I don't have to explained myself to you, I am calling the police if you think 5 people will be seated in a table for 4. “You told us 4 people, so only 4 people can seat down". I was horrified by the situation. Then the owner, Hitler wife, I am guessing, came to talk to us, but instead of apologizing for the rude lady before, noooo, she went rude on us. I would think the owner priority is customer service and to make sure customers are happy. But the opposite happened. Our waiter, poor guys, was hiding because he was so embarrass, he said. The whole restaurant was looking at us. The table beside us were horrified as well, even invited my husband to seat with them, because they had 4 people in a table for 6, but they could not let 5 people seat in a table for 4. In the end, the owner let as stay, but seriously, nobody was hungry anymore, we didn't have time to go somewhere else because my parents had to catch a fight. There are so many nice seafood places out there, never ever ever going back. Oceanaire is a great substitute! And the people are so nice. Oh please don't order the chowder soup, bad, bad bad... it was the worse experience in a restaurant in my life.

Pros: nothing

Cons: horrible service, rude owner.

11/04/2007 Posted by schmidtj2k

This place is a joke, no reservations, no planning. Saturday night 2.5 hour wait, unless you slip the Maitre De cash. Waited for the 2+ hours and got some appetizers, was so disgusted by the scene, we just left and got some pizza on the street. Everyone in the bar was waiting for a table and so the mood was sour. I heard the food was excellent, but who wants to eat at 10:30pm at night? Suggest you get there early, like blue plate special early, or order it to go. Better yet go to a real restaurant that takes reservations. Miami has a lot of choices, make use of them.

Pros: None

Cons: Long wait, no reservations

10/19/2007 Posted by drhoss

Prompt seating - showed up without reservations Great Service - Waiter knew his food and was very helpful Excellent Food - Beginning of Crab season, quality was great Roll up your sleeves an dig in, A bit pricy....but worth it.

Pros: Great Service, Excellent Food

Cons: A Bit pricy

06/26/2007 Posted by scarletreality

This is one of the best restaurant's I've ever been to! I can't believe I only ordered shrimp cocktail when I went here as a child! It is pricey...but well worth it. They have very, very good service (but they aren't stuffy either). The stone crab is out of this world and if you go you just have to have it! Even the sides are great! Try the spinach. This place has the whole package.

Pros: Stone crab, Service

02/19/2007 Posted by chefswifeforever

This was our first time and last time. We had very high hopes of this restaurant being great. We arived just after opening 5:20 p.m. and they were already on a wait. We waited at the bar for a hour. The bartender was acting as if we were in his way even though we did order two drinks totaling $30. Then, we got our table. We sat down and suddenly our waiter came and said, what would you like to drink. I said "I'm fine for now with water" as I wanted to look over the menu before making my drink selection. He then said not even a min. after sitting down, "are you ready to order now"? We'll, uh....NO!!! I barely got the menu open!!! He did not tell us his name, was rushing us to get out we felt. Then, he brought out our food and did not return to check on us. The food was horible!!!! I got the Pompano and it was very dry and flavorless. We also got the rice which, no kidding tasted like they opened up a box of Uncle Ben's and threw it in the some water. My husband's glass sat empty for 20 min. while our server was standing there talking to another server staring right at us!!! He did not care. Then, we asked to speek to a manager, and he said "oh was there something you did not like?" we said, "we would just like a manager". Then, the "captin" came over, we told her of this ordeal and she said, oh I'm sorry,can I get you something else?? "No THANK YOU", everything we had to eat sucked so why should we even bother??? She said, oh let me let a manager know. Well, then we got our check, nothing had been taken off, no manager had come over to say "I'm sorry" no nothing!!!! THe food was horible, the service even worse, WHY, please tell me, would ANYONE go there????

Pros: Good drink from the bar.

Cons: Horible service and nasty food and boy are you gonna pay for it!

02/02/2007 Posted by jaymaygm

I remember coming here with my parent's as a kid, when we lived in North Miami Beach. Fast forward into Atlanta, thirty years later, I never miss going to Joe's when I'm in the area. Nothing much has changed about this place, and that's one of the things I find most attractive about it. No South Beach Neon here, and there's not wrong with that, but Joe's is just a classic. We always start with that crazy chopped salad. It's now popular everywhere, but has always been a staple here. And what to order? The world's best Stone Crab Claws period. And that mustard sauce. Still a little pricy, but it's the best. My favorite Dirty Grey Martini, and the crab claws. Service is strickly old school, tuxes and all. Finish with one of the best Key Lime Pies, in South Florida. The legend lives on, one of my favorite places in the U.S. Note: Don't pay any attention to the complaining New Yorker reviews, they complain when the sun is out. LOL!

Pros: Stone Crab Claws, Chopped Salad, & Great Old School Service!

Cons: Pricey, But Well Worth It!

01/15/2007 Posted by tgreene73

I've been living down in Miami for about a year(from NYC)and have been meaning to get to Joes for a while now so friends came into town and figured it was as good a time as any -went last friday night after HH at Monty's, the wait was about 45 minutes but had drinks at the bar was which crowded but not obnoxiously so.the staff was all very attentive and the place seemed like a NY steakhouse with the staff in tuxes and want not. so the menu had a nice selection of seafood as well as meat entrees i got the large stone crabs since thats what the place is known for as well as a few sides(hash browns,fried asparagus.So the crabs were good although werent as exciting as i had hoped -they basically seemed like chilled steamed crabs i have made at home mustard sauce was fine too, again nothing to rave about but not bad, thisseemed to be the case with everything, the service and the sides -not bad but considering the hoopla i had heard about the place just didnt live up to expectations all around.I experienced it once but wouldnt really rush back,although wasnt as pricey as I expected again compared to NY.

Pros: nice ambiance,interesting people watching

Cons: can get crowded,no reservations,lots of greasing going on

11/17/2006 Posted by dmenkes

My parents used to eat here many many years ago. My father took my brother and I here once when we stopped off in Miami on our way to the Carribean. While a trifle unfair to look back now and compare the seafood here to Grand Cayman, Joe's Stone Crab definitely stood out as some of the best we had. Their blackened spices are incredible. I'd love to go back.