Joe's Crab Shack in Amarillo, Texas: Restaurant Review

Joe's Crab Shack is located at 8300 I-40 West, in Amarillo, across the highway from Westgate Mall, & in a row with a bunch of other varied eateries, known as restaurant strip. All the restaurants are in front of the United Artists movie theatre, which I'm sure makes for great business; my husband & I usually grab our dinner, then see a movie.

This was my first time ever at a Joe's--though the seafood chain has over 120 locales in 28 states, & is growing (it got its start in Houston).

My husband is from Massachusetts, & so has not been expecting to find any good seafood joints here in the northern part of Texas. Not many oceans up here, if you get my drift! But I'd been wanting to try Joe's, & so finally we did.

Joe's Crab Shack is an almost rickety looking wooden building, with a play area for children in the front. But once you step inside, it's a different world.
My husband got a kick out of the gas-pipe door handles, just one of the many unique features of this particular Crab Shack.
The atmosphere was a bit noisy, even for a Monday night, but it was certainly laid back & super-friendly. The staff was polite & smiling, & prompt.
There is a store in the Shack, which I guess they are known for, where you can buy various T-shirts & other memorabilia. I didn't get to scope out the counter very well, but the wait-staff were all wearing various Joe's Crab Shack logo T's, which was cool to see.
The tables are all thickly laminated, & covered with various pictures of everything from sharks to Marilyn Monroe to beer bottles to coasters. All symbols of fun, or with added commentary to make them such. The walls--& every seemingly available space--was also covered with things, though these were more along the lines of a sea theme; fish hanging up, rope, ships, anchors, that sort of thing...
It wasn't very well lit, but it wasn't dingy either, and I liked it. We got asked if we preferred a table or booth, which was also nice.

There are two other themes running through Joe's Crab Shack, besides the sea: buckets, & beer. There was a bucket at our table, & our salt & pepper shakers seemed to have been Corona bottles in a previous life.
There are many buckets on the menu, as well; bucket of beer, buckets of shrimp, etc.

My attention was grabbed almost immediately by the drink menu on the table--not because I wanted alcohol so much--but because it seemed to be a portfolio of color & large pictures. And was it ever impressive! My only regret is that our waitress came back before I had looked through the whole menu, so I just ordered one of the many fruity-type drinks that had caught my eye (a huge drink entitled "Beach Bum Tea", $6.99. consisting of mango rum, triple sec, cranberry juice, etc. Very good, very mild).

Joe's Crab Shack has a delightful looking menu, & I suggest making sure you take the time to look over all the items, no matter how often your waitress comes back to see if you're ready; I feel pressured easily (even though I wasn't) when in restaurants, & the more choices, the more time I need. But I didn't have too much time as it was (we were trying to catch "The Dark Knight"), so I didn't get to look over the appetizer menu. If I had, I would've most definitely ordered the Seafood Fun-Do, which is a "creamy fondue filled with shrimp, crawfish, & spinach topped with sauteed mushrooms & breadcrumbs. Served with garlic bread for dipping." Yum! And it only runs $8.99.

As it was, I did end up getting an app, but to go with my dinner.
I ordered Crab-Stuffed Mushrooms, which were topped with Monterey Jack cheese, & cost $6.99. There were only 6 of them, but, on the upside, there was tons of seafood stuffing overflowing in the dish, & it was very tasty!
Along with the mushrooms, I ordered Parmesan Shrimp Pasta (I can be pretty simple, heh), which was $10.99. The penne with herb marinara seemed a bit out of place in the Crab Shack, actually, as it tasted very Italian. But it was delicious, & the hand-breaded Parmesan shrimp were amazing. It also came with garlic bread. And the serving size was good enough that I wasn't left hungry. I was expecting 3 or 4 shrimp, but they gave me quite a bit.

My husband, who had been complaining for weeks how much he missed MA's "real" fish & chips ($10.99 at Joe's), instead ordered something completely different.
He ordered Joe's Steampot, which was a bucket meal, consisting of Dungeness crab, snow crab, boiled shrimp, smoked sausage, potatoes, & corn on the cob, for $20.99. The "for two" version of this meal is only $14 more...
Peter enjoyed this meal--it even came with a complimentary lobster bib (which my poor sport hubby refused to wear, insisting he'd look like a child)! As well as a bucket for your crab casings, etc. The crab was very sweet, & the shrimp as well. A bit messy, but that's to be expected.
My husband's only complaint was that there really wasn't much to the veggies--they only give you a small half of a corn-on-the-cob. But the crab legs & shrimp made up for it, I thought.

Joe's Crab Shack also includes a grill menu, a platter menu (I am hoping to try their Bayou's Best Platter--blackened tilapia, golden fried shrimp, BBQ shrimp, & hushpuppies for $16.49--the next time I eat there!), a burger & sandwich section, as well as sides, & salads.

This unique chain has much to offer, & though it may seem a bit pricey, the food was excellent in taste! I recommend Joe's Crab Shack to anyone looking for that "different" feel, easy atmosphere, & great tasting seafood in Amarillo.