The crab cake was awesome and the funnel cake was pretty good for an air fryer. Toni provided extraordinary service and made a good food experience great! There’s both indoor snd outdoor dining and the crabs, steamed shrimp, hush puppies and corned all looked amazing. Great summer or anytime outing.
Decent spot for crabs. Came in looking to order a dozen XL crabs but was informed you have to call ahead so just heads up to anyone looking for larger crabs, to do just that. We ended up getting mediums since that was all they had and they were fairly meaty so no complaints.
Service was good. The interior looked like it could use some updating as the booths were a little worn. We were also a little surprised that the coleslaw came in a tiny, tiny container since it was $4-$5. Not a bad spot though!
Our friends visiting from out of town were craving Maryland Crabs so we called Bethesda Crab House to reserve a dozen of seasoned large crabs. The current prices for a dozen crabs are $120 for Medium, $140 for Large, and $175 for X-Large. We enjoyed beers, fried oysters, and crabs! The Fried Oysters consisted of eight lightly battered and fried oysters served with lemon, tartar sauce, and cocktail sauce. They were piping hot from the fryer. The staff was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu. It was nice that they showed us how to eat crabs! Crabs were huge, had a lot of meat, and were quite flavorful. I enjoyed dipping crabmeat into malted vinegar. After our meal, we went to the sink by the restrooms to wash our hands!
No frills is a bit of an understatement. I'm extremely open to a "hole in the wall", but upon walking in, I was extremely apprehensive about the smell of the place. I would have preferred to eat outside.
HOWEVER, once a tray of crabs gets dropped on the table, it'll overwhelm whatever else is happening in the back. The crab was phenomenal. This was my first experience eating whole blue crab and I'll want to do it again the next time I have an opportunity.
Crab Cakes and shrimp were also amazing. The former in particular was at another level from cakes I've gotten at other places.
Hushpuppies were fine, corn was mediocre at best. I would perhaps try and skip getting any sides if you can help it, because the prices for them are sort of insane. Your cash is better spent on another beer.
I can't comment on the price of the crabs themselves since I consider them a luxury, even with the labor involved. Nice splurge from my end.
Food: 5. Service: 4. Atmosphere: 3.
Kudos to Toni and Mr Lee ! Great food... great service... great people! These are REAL crab cakes... made fresh. The service is impeccable . We were in Bethesda for treatment at NIH... and this is a short walk from any of the downtown hotels. We've visited Maryland since 2000 on a regular basis and had crab cakes all over the state... none compare with Bethesda Crab House! Toni we will see you in January on our next trip to NIH !!!
The food and service was exceptional. We walked right in and were taken care of. The friendly faces and the warm welcome did it for us. We had blue crabs & Alaskan crab legs and both were heavy and full of meat. The steamed shrimp were really jumbo and juicy. The crab cake small but had little filler however we thought it was missing flavor. The hush puppies came out hot and were very tasty. Honestly, everything came out hot. We didn't have to ask our server for anything he made sure we had everything we needed. Parking is a challenge however if you drive down one block there is a public parking garage. We will be returning and will recommend to others.
The place does crabs and does it well! They have outdoor seating but it was a little cold for us so we were inside.
They price by crab, half or full pound. And then by size medium, large, jumbo.
They also have some sandwiches and sides, but they crab is where it is!!
Cooked right after you order it is fresh and delicious! He does it right!
This was my go to spot for crabs from childhood to young adulthood and a blessing to be able to share with my children over the years being so close. Recently I came in to dine for a nice after school snack with my kids and all the staff were very kind to us. The food was also good.
The crabs are good and the brunette lady (please forgive me I dont know her name) is really cool!!
Second post (Labor Day 2021) Bethesda Crab House never disappoints!! Great flavor and good times. Ms. Christine (please forgive me if I spelled it wrong) your the greatest!!
Third post (Labor Day 2023) Again Bethesda Crab House never disappoints!! Another great Labor Day in Maryland, thanks again!
My first time here and the crabs were very heavy and had a great flavor. They were big to be meduim crabs as wll. They even had Texas Pete hot sauce for my to make my special sauce. Very nice atmosphere and we were able to take the crabs we didn't finish home with us from the all you can eat. I will definitely be back.
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