Our "go to place". Wife and I try to have a date lunch once a week. We always go here at least once a month. Food is prepared as described and delicious. I like the blackened shrimp and she loves the fried oysters! Good job Backfins. read more

Alright Got to admit this Place does something to me Folks!!! The atmosphere, the smell of those wonderful seafood combos and of course those Hushpuppies!!! Come on down for some real good Food!!! Service with a Smile not to bad either!!!! read more

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Love the atmosphere and the food is amazing! Second visit to this gem and they didn't disappoint. Had the charbroiled oysters and the shrimp & flounder basket. Next time will order some fries cause they are too good. Returning next weekend with my mil read more

Backfins Crab House - Shrimp & flounder with hush puppies - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

Great food and staff. They never let us down. Makes you feel like you're at the beach. read more

Everything was excellent ! Highly recommend crab cakes, scallops wrapped in bacon , fried oysters, snow crab legs. read more

I've always enjoyed going here. They have fresh crabs and really good fish. The bar is good. Lots of drinks to choose from. Ask for fresh hush puppies. I always get the crab soup they have. Really good soup. If you like fried fish and shrimp, great place to come. read more

Backfins Crab House - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Great food and decent service. Prices are very high but may not be the fault of the restaurant as seafood prices across the area are skyrocketing read more

Backfins offers the beachside crab shack experience, right here in Wake Forest. On this Friday night there was a 30 minute wait, so it's a popular in-town venue. It's a smallish spot with about 10 booths along the windows and tables scattered in center of the room and a small bar. There are also a couple of picnic tables outside. The decor is beach bar, with lots of crab-themed knick knacks and artwork. The room is well worn, with peeling flooring, and the tables and seating weren't all that clean. The table is covered in butcher paper for easy cleanup, but everything seemed a little sticky. The menu is all seafood. It's a Maryland-style place, so crabs are the feature. We opted to split a crab cake and a dozen blue crabs. We ordered the crab cake sautéed (vs deep fried). It was delicious. The 4" wide and 2" thick patty of fresh chunks of crab meat, with no fillers was sautéed to a crunchy brown crust. The center was moist and firm, spiced perfectly. A tangy rémoulade on the side was the perfect condiment. The blue crabs were larges, generously sprinkled with Old Bay and steamed piping hot. These were meaty and fresh and prepared perfectly. We loved cracking and slurping through all 12. Except for actually being AT the beach, these were as good as I've had in Maryland. They're a lot of work, but there's goodness in every bite. Our tab was $68 for 2, with 2 beers. The crabs on this night were $40 a dozen. Backfins is an authentic beach crab shack. Casual, informal and with delicious seafood and cold beer. We'll be back - next time peel 'n eat shrimp and hush puppies! read more

Backfins Crab House - Blue crabs. DELICIOUS! - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

We stumbled onto this restaurant yesterday on our way to see granddaughter playing in basketball game. WOW! What a find! The scallops and crab cakes was perfectly prepared pan broiled, the hand cut fries were nicely seasoned, and the slaw was delicious. So glad to find these amazing local restaurants! If we come this way again they will be a must go to next trip! read more

Backfins Crab House - Sign inside restaurant - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

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We love this place! Great food! Everything we have ever had here was great! Recommend this to all our friends!

Backfins has brought the MD crab experience to the Triangle. They very rarely have jumbo, but hands down the best old bay steamed crabs we've had in NC. Oh, and the bacon wrapped scallops are amazing too! read more

If I could give this establishment a ZERO for customer service, I most certainly would. I had not visited Backfins in years and was looking forward to having their crab soup. Years ago, the soup was so great and I couldn't wait to try it again. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by and went to the counter so I could place the order to take home with me. While there were some customers there, the restaurant was nowhere near full. I stood at the bar waiting for someone to come take my order. I watched a couple walk in from the street, sit at the bar, the waitress cleaned the counter where they sat, took their drink order, went to the back and returned to take their food order. The whole while she noticed me standing there but never once acknowledged me. I continued to wait while two other employees came behind the counter to do something and neither of them acknowledged me either. I still waited and at that point another customer came behind me also wanting to place an order, so we both waited. Once the waitress took the couple's order and entered it into the computer, she then looked up at me and went to the back, grabbed an almost empty pitcher of tea, refilled it to bring out to serve to another guest sitting at the bar. She still did not acknowledge me, At this point, I proceeded to leave and walked out, as did the customer who had been standing behind me! I will never feel like I am begging someone to take my money. As bad as I would have loved to have that soup, this establishment never has to worry about me returning again. read more

Yummy seafood at its best. A no frills eatery situated in a strip mall like location of of US 1 Raleigh NC - a full bar and patio available. My husband's and my newly found favorite seafood restaurant. I enjoyed my snow crab entree with a small corn on the cob and potato salad. Just scrumptious- my husband had a combo of shrimp and their famous crab cake entree with hush puppies and potato salad. It is family friendly and can get crowded easily- being a very favorite eatery!! read more

We love to sit at the bar! The restaurant can't control the prices it pays for supplies, but for what you get, it is pretty high. As a result, we don't go as often as we would like. read more

Left with my family after waiting 10 minutes after we were seated. That would be fine but 5-6 staff walked past our table and several wait staff were staring at our table while we were waiting. As we got up to leave the server ran outside trying to apologize but by then I was over it. We had already waited 30 minutes to be seated and then were ignored by multiple staff members. That was our first time trying the place. We will not try that again. read more

We arrived a little after 4 PM and were seated quickly since there were only a couple of occupied tables. Our server was polite and took our order but became less attentive once our food was served. No one in our party was impressed with the food. I had the triple combo of shrimp, oyster, and flounder filet and everything was overcooked. The flounder in particular was way over and inedible. My daughter ordered their pasta and chicken which was bland and the pasta was way over with no bite at all. It all tasted as if it was pre-prepared by Sysco or another mass producer. The manager did comp the pasta dish but we will not be back. read more

I can't say enough great things about Backins crab house! My favorite place for some fresh seafood, especially their crab legs. Every time I go is an automatic order of two crab leg clusters, hush puppies, and whatever other side I decide to get at the time. I have eaten inside at their old location but have not at the new location as I usually do order pick up. The inside of the restaurant is always nice and clean and they also have outdoor seating. They always have my order ready very promptly in that by the time I leave my house and get to the restaurant it's ready. Staff is always nice and friendly in person and when taking my order over the phone. The best seafood hands-down, you won't want seafood from anywhere else. read more

I enjoyed myself and the food was filling and tasteful. My husband is used to Maryland style seafood, it's very hard to impress him when it comes to seafood down south. He said it was pretty good but still not like up north. He likes everything cooked in ole bay and seasoned heavily. To each their own ‍ I on the other hand thought it was the best seafood I've had in NC (including the coast). The best thing was their service though. Our waitress was so friendly and helpful and did not rush us. They close at 10, we got there at 9. 10 arrived and I told her she could go ahead and bring us the check and she refused, saying "no, there's no rush, take your time". She constantly checked on us and made sure we were okay even though the place was packed. read more

Backfins Crab House - Calamari - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

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Fresh seafood! This place is the best! You have options if you want your shrimp/fish grilled or fried, plus choice of seasonings. I love the options! The crab was amazing and plenty of it. The shrimp was so fresh! Delicious onion rings. Didn't eat the red potatoes, too plain. Yummy sauce options also. We sat outside and had a very pleasant view of the mountains, no traffic noise. Service was awesome. We got the trio platter and fried shrimp. read more

This place is a hidden gem. Best seafood we have had and we are from an area that specializes in seafood. And the price is very reasonable. Service is exceptional. read more

I like backfins new location. It's more space and is very inviting. The staff is attentive and the food is very delicious. The oysters and clams are fresh. I love their blue crab and the snow crabs are juicy and sweet also. read more

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Food and service is always excellent. We especially love the oysters and crab legs! Food and service is always excellent. We especially love the oysters and crab legs! read more

The crab cakes were delish and the servings were plentiful. The check was little on the $$$$ end of things. Staff was friendly--family was satisfied. Crab legs were tasty and drink options were fun! read more

we got the steam platter and the shrimp pasta. I thought the pasta was interesting because that's not the type of pasta I would expect. But it was extremely good! The steam platter was a lot too! It was a dinner for two and everything was perfect. Flavoring was great and the portion for this pricing. Not to mention, the lady who took our Togo order over the phone was so nice and she even joked around with us. I highly recommend this place for fresh seafood! read more

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Having lived in Maryland for 40 years you get a taste for Crab Cakes and Football because that's what Maryland Does, well and now win Gold Medals at the Olympics. Someone recommended Backfin's for great crab cakes and said the owners were from Maryland and she had heard they did Crab Cakes right. We'll always the skeptic I was unsure. I got home said to the Mrs. do you wanna go out for a crab cake and she said sure. Well as soon as you walk in the door you get hit with that sweet smell of a seafood house. It just smells right and right then we knew we were in for a great meal. My wife had the crab cake platter and I had the fried oyster basket, and I can tell you they were the best fried oysters that I have ever had. The oysters would not just bread crumbs they austere were in there and they were fried perfectly. I cannot tell you how many times I have had fried oysters that are like rubber, but not at Backfin's. My wife lived her crab cakes and her sides as I did as well. Hush puppies, onion rings and a delicious Cole slaw, which is a little sweet. Paper on the tables, plastic to go cups to drink from and a full stomach at a good price as you leave. This fat boy will be back and back to this hidden gem in Wake Forest! The town not the college. read more

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I've been here a few times, but never reviewed it. I most recently went on a Sunday evening to their new location off of Capital Blvd. There was about a 30-45 minute wait, which is good for a Sunday evening. The service was good and the food was good. If you love seafood, this is your place in Wake Forest. I always get the fried combo with shrimp and fish, or oysters. The prices are good for the portions and the food is really fresh. read more

Backfins Crab House - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

Loved EVERYTHING about this place. The food is delightful. I am from the DC/MD area and the crab cake reminded me of a Jerry's small crab bomb. The fish and shrimp were fried perfectly and weren't overly breaded. Even my picky mini me loved her food, including the hush puppies. The only downside for me was the drive. Please open a 2nd location closer to downtown Raleigh. We would love to visit weekly! read more

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My bride is not a seafood fan, so when she went to visit family out of town, and my dad visited for a day, I decided it was prime time to check out a place I'd been wanting to visit for months. Backfin's did not disappoint on a Friday evening. I'm not really a bluecrab fan - too much work for too little payoff. I was excited to see snow crab on the menu, but I wanted to sample a little of everything so the steamed platter was on my agenda. Our server gave us some small samples of the soups as well, and wow - great stuff. The steamed platter could have easily fed both my bride and myself, but cest la vie, she wouldn't have been interested even if she was there. It came with peel & eat shrimp, steamed clams, steamed oysters, blue crab, snow crab, corn and potatoes. A pile of gluttony for one person (see the picture I uploaded). My dad had fried scallops and of course, I had to sample those as well... not my favorite way to have scallops. My platter was tasty, and when it got to the bluecrabs, it really was a lot of work. Great food, great service, okay atmosphere. They could probably stand to turn the stereo down so we could hear ourselves and our server talk. Next time my bride's out of town, I know where I'm going for dinner. read more

Backfins Crab House - Steamed seafood platter - Snow Crab, Blue Crab, Shrimp, Clams, Oysters, taters... - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

Great food and service. My family loves to go here whenever we are in the mood for seafood. We haven't been since inflation has been on the rise. But for our family of 4 it was around 150$, which is a bit on the high end. So we only go a few times a year. read more

Backfins Crab House reminds me of a typical crab house that you find back in Maryland. Funny, because the owner is from Maryland!! Yay!!! Food is going to be fabulous, and the crab cakes I can't wait to taste. Read on.... This restaurant was very crowded on a Saturday evening. However, my husband and I were seated within 10 minutes of arriving at the restaurant for his birthday dinner. Thank you so much! McKenzie was our server and she was absolutely phenomenal! We love you girl!!! She was great at suggesting certain items from the menu, and was very helpful in explaining how things were prepared and how we could have them prepared. We ordered a 1/2 pound of the peel and eat shrimp for appetizer along with the hush puppies. The hush puppies are out of this world, they were mini hush puppies and came in a basket with separate dipping sauces for you to enjoy. The shrimp tasted like it just got plucked from the ocean, so fresh and just the right bit of Old Bay seasoning I would guess (a Maryland favorite). Once again, McKenzie did not let us down as she timed our entrées to come out right after we finished our appetizers. Our cocktails were refreshed as needed and we're prepared as well as the food. Great cocktails! My husband ordered the snow crab legs. His order included two additional side's which he ordered green beans and boiled red potatoes. I having grown up in Maryland ordered the oysters and of course the Maryland crab cakes! The Maryland crab cakes we're just as I would have expected from someone from Maryland. Perfection on a plate!!!! These crab cakes were loaded with lump backfin crabmeat, hardly any filler at all in these crab cakes. McKenzie our server commented that the oysters that night were extremely large. They were, I couldn't even finish half of what they had prepared for me. This also may be due to the fact that the hush puppies are something that I could go in there and eat by themselves with a cocktail and be a very happy camper. Incredible!! Thank you McKenzie and Backfins Crab House for a wonderful dining experience for my husband's birthday. We highly,highly, highly recommend this restaurant for seafood in the Wake Forest area. Fabulous service and out of this world food!!! See you very soon!! Thank you guys so much. Great experience. read more

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Good quality, over $100 for lunch for 2 people, no alcoholic beverage's. Ambiance is decent, a little lacking considering the price point. Wait staff was on point. read more

Flounder was crispy but could've used more seasonings. Shrimp was good. Crab cake was full of CRAB! Not much filler at all, AWESOME!!

Just okay. But let me preface this review by saying that my family and I eat sleep and breathe seafood and are from Charleston, SC. So I may be a little harsh but take it for what its worth. They have throw away EVERYTHING! Plastic utensils, cups, napkins, straws and they stack it on the table! That is a huge problem to me! Wasteful and bad for the environment. Total turn off. They have minimal choices and most of its fried. The side items are also very limited. However, try the crab cake was awesome. As close to Charleston meat crab cakes as you can get around here! There is defiantly a vibe of no management sometimes but I know that it cant be perfect every time. Girls are always pleasant however. Id just love to see the improve once the move to their new location! read more

We went there on Saturday for crabs and steamed shrimp. The crabs were excellent ,however, the steamed shrimp was mushy and overcooked. When we told the waitress about this issue she promptly told the manager and they stated that they would adjust the cost of the shrimp by how much we ate. We had to try them as a table and had all agreed that they were less than stellar. I have never heard of any restaurant charging for a partial order of anything! I personally would expect the entire entrée to be taken off the total bill. That would have been the classy thing to do. read more

A bit pricey, but solid place for blue crabs. Other menu items I have tried have been decent, but I wouldn't say great, especially considering the price. Nice new facility they moved to though. read more

Tonight we went here to celebrate my Grandmothers 70th Birthday. It is a small restaurant that resembles something you would see at the beach. We chose this restaurant because my Grandmother loves crabs and this place had great reviews. I have to say when we arrived I felt like we had to wait forever. Don't go there starving on a Saturday night the wait will be at least 30 minutes if you have a party of more than four. Now on to the food. It was great!!! I ordered the Combo with Shrimp, Chicken Fingers, Hush Puppies and French Fries. I split this platter with my 3 year of and we had food left over. The shrimp were perfect size like border line jumbo but not quite. I wanted more fries they were so good. The hush puppies were delicious as well. However I'm disappointed that they do not automatically come with the meal. I mean down south I'm accustomed to them being served automatically at real seafood spots.but here it is considered a side. I also ordered the calamari. It was good but maybe a bit over seasoned. My grandmother ordered crab legs. She said they were cooked well but they were not seasoned she had to add old bag to them and then dip them in butter. Now on to the service. Our server was Marilyn and she was a joy! Like she met all of our needs and was really personable. She made suggestions and helped guide us thru our first experience here. We drove over 30 minutes to get here and for sure we will visit again soon! read more

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Best crab cake I've had in NC. My Nana has been talking about this place since she tried it over a month ago. She's from MD, so she's tough to please when it comes to crab cakes! read more

Backfins Crab House - Crab cake, hush puppies, green beans - Seafood Near Me - Wake Forest, North Carolina

We first came here when we decided to build a new home in Jan 2023. We came today after going though an initial inspection of our new home. The food is so fresh and delicious. My husband and I both had the fried flounder and hush puppies. Both were amazing and not greasy. Barbara our server was great. read more

Great food but quite pricey. We love the new location as it has a great outdoor space.

Top Notch Seafood! Best around hands down! I ordered the crab legs, oysters, fish, hush puppies, onion rings, red potatoes, etc. Everything was perfect and fresh. read more