Dinner at Jay's was excellent. It was a 10 minute walk from our hotel so we thought we'd try it. So glad we did. Seems like they do a ton of take-out, but we ate in. First, the crab bisque was fantastic. Totally homemade and full of flavor. Better than most fine dining places. My wife and I both had the fish & chips and again, fresh and delicious. Tilapia was perfect and the beer batter wasn't caked on like some places. All for a great price. Service was fast and very nice. And Jay is a super nice dude. We will be back!! It's a new fave in OCNJ! read more

We stopped in during a shopping trip to downtown Ocean City. It was raining and soup sounded good. We each got a bowl of crab bisque and shared a shrimp quesadilla. The crab bisque was the best I've had in a long time. The kind you hope for when you order from a fancy restaurant but never get! Real chunks of crab in a bisque that was so flavorful. The quesadilla was cooked well; just enough cheese. The star was the fresh shrimp throughout cooked perfectly. The staff was friendly and fun. Atmosphere is casual. Love this place! Will be back. read more

The food was like a elementary school lunch that was nuked in a microwave and served on a small plate that caused sauce and utensils to spill out. The crab bisque tasted like seasoned water. The fries were like eating McDonald fries cold out of a dumpster. That taco concoction consisted of cold bagged cheese from Kraft warm stale lettuce. A mysterious meat that tasted undercooked and one huge shell that broke right away and couldn't be eaten because the utensils were thrown to the street when delivering the food. The fish and chipped looked liked reheated fish and the fries that were stated earlier. The bathroom reeked of Febreze and Listerine. The Lemonade was banging tho shoutout the waiter. Still don't know who jay is little suspicious. Don't recommend I want my money back. read more

After spending the day at Atlantic City we were starving for some good seafood. Getting back to OC NJ we stumbled upon Jay's on accident. At first glance it doesn't look like much, or look like it was even open, but the menu sounded good so we gave it a try. Had the crab bisque, house salad, and crab cake dinner. The presentation is a bit lacking as the soup was served in a Styrofoam bowl with plastic ware but tasted fantastic. House salad was a welcome change from all the fried food we had on the board walk and the crab cake dinner was excellent. My mom had the same but got grilled scallops that were huge and cooked perfectly. Everything tasted great but price wise, I think its a little overpriced. Next time I might opt for a sandwich or wrap option as those looked more reasonably priced. Staff were friendly but loud, yelling orders back and forth, you can tell its mainly take out. We had one server working all 10 or so tables so she was stressed and a little frazzled. There was another girl working but all she did was take phone orders then leave around 7:30 pm. Overall a nice neighborhood bar/joint with good food but a bit overpriced in my opinion. read more

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Nice little spot right on Asbury Avenue in the heart of downtown Ocean City. A few outdoor tables and a nice indoor area with view of the cooking and prep area. I first came here with my girlfriend on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. Went inside and asked if we could sit outside at a table where people had just left and were told yes. After ten minutes and no one had come to take our order, I went back inside and asked if I was meant to order at the cash register. The girl told me the cook had just left so they didn't have a cook. Confused, I asked if he would be back soon and she said she didn't know but maybe 15 minutes. So we left. Gave it another shot last night. We ordered take out this time; my girlfriend got the Asian Ahi tuna wrap ($16), I got the seafood salad wrap ($16), and my son got the Pipeline Crabby Patty from the kids menu ($12). They forgot one bag of chips from our order, but the food we got was decent and filling. Pretty sure the coleslaw was homemade. Overall not a bad spot for casual seafood, and we'll probably be back. But from my experience and reading others' reviews, these quirks seem to be the norm, and with the glut of other options on the island, we're in no rush. read more

'Jumbo lump' crab cakes at $11 each. Nope as it looks like tuna from a can. Fries and the salad were okay. Glad I didn't eat the whole thing. Take your $11 and go to Captain Chucky's and pick up a real jumbo lump crab cake to cook at home. You'll thank me. read more

Jay's Crabshack - 'Jumbo lump' crab cakes at $11 each. - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

Great Customer Service and Great Food. My go to dish is the grouper sandwich. It's always good and cooked fresh. read more

Delicious food, amazing atmosphere very welcoming place to be the best food i've ever had in.Ocean city, new jersey.I'm definitely a regular there, so it's definitely a favorite for me. Excellent service five out of five . The food is fresh and made directly in front of you depending on what table you're sitting at. read more

Laid back atmosphere, friendly servers. The hot crab dip appetizer had a surprising proportion of crab in it. Crab cake was more crab than filler, always a welcome surprise. The grilled shrimp dinner had a pretty generous number of shrimp. Pricing was a little high, but overall we were happy and would return. read more

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Nothing special to us. Almost seemed like they were closed or at first didn't want us there. Was odd. Food quality so-so for the price.

Fun seafood spot in OC. Solid food, friendly service, cozy local vibes. Would recommend to any seafood fans searching for a casual lunch spot! read more

Jay's Crabshack - Seafood Salad Wrap - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

3.5 Have attempted a couple of times to eat here but never made it. Stopped on this spring day in January. Sat outside as we were walking the dog. Shared a crab cake sandwich which came with fries and a small Cole slaw. The crab cake had a nice flavor some filler but what made me happy was no shells. The fries were crispy and well done. The Cole slaw was also tasty. Service was a little slow but staff was friendly. Would go again and try some other options. read more

Jay's Crabshack - Crab cake sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

This is a fun little dinner with great ambiance. The staff friendly and attentive. My husband ordered the grilled jumbo shrimp which came with fries and coleslaw. ($23.). The shrimp had an excellent flavor, the French fries good but the coleslaw was just ok. I was trying to be healthier and ordered the crab cake salads ( get the balsamic dressing). The crab cake was good it was about 3" in diameter and the lettuce was like it came out of a bag of lettuce ( it seemed pricey $16.00). The crab dip with the warm pita bread was good. It was fun to try. read more

Just happened to stop by, thinking they were selling crab cakes to go. Decided to just eat in, and boy, were we pleasantly surprised. The food was superb! Crab bisque was awesome, and the crab cake sandwich was incredible. Onion rings were delicious. Even the side of cole slaw was tasty! Without question, we will be back again, and often. read more

Jay's Crabshack - Jay's Crab Shack - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

The food at Jays is great everyone is very nice And helpful. It's not a big place but has some Atmosphere. Have been there several times And the food is always great!!!! It is on Asbury Ave. Ocean City and the seafood is great! read more

Stopped by for lunch to close out my weekend getaway to Ocean City. The atmosphere is very chill. There is definately a surfer influence in the decor and the colors give you a relaxed beach vibe. The staff was very friendly and approachable making this visit a very laid back experience. As an appetizer I got the crab bisque. Dont let the styrofoam bowl and plastic spoon fool you, this bisque packs a punch in the flavor department. The consistency of the bisque and texture of the vegetables tells you this is homemade and not from a can. I would definately recommend getting this with each visit. For the entres we got the crabcake sandwhich, and the chicken parm wrap. At first I thought the sandwhich looked boring, just a crabcake on bread. However the crab cake was nicely grilled, seasoned well, and the patty was huge (they have a dinner entree where you get 2 of these patties which to me would be a feast). To jazz things up a bit I put on the lettuce, the homemade cole slaw, and a healthy squeeze of sriracha. That turned it into one of the best crab cake sandwhiches I've ever had. Best thing of all was there was not a single shell in sight. The chicken parm wrap was also tasty for what it was. The nice twist to this was that the chicken was chopped up after being fried and then cooked on the grill with the cheese and sauce. This way you get a nice bite each time. The only sort of disappointing thing was seeing the jar of classico sitting on the counter, but to be fair it's a seafood restaurant, not Italian. Overall it was a nice lunch and I'll definately be back next time I'm in OC. Everything tasted good, the prices were fair, and the staff was very welcoming. Great job guys! read more

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The service was really good. They managed a big takeout order on a Friday night in season. Without any mistakes And the salad lettuce didn't have brown edges. All good things But buyer beware, If your highlighted menu item is a crab cake and they can sell it to you for under $30. Then your getting some bad quality crab. Not rotten, just sourced from China or Vietnam. Or some other random country with low standards on how they harvest crab. There is a difference. When you have good quality crab, you need very little seasoning. Bad crab gets loaded with old bay to cover up the funk. I would gladly pay more for better quality. Especially while on vacation. But that's me. read more

This place is amazing! We were a little sceptical since the winter hours are only 6pm to 9pm,(on a Thursday), but once we started getting our food - wooo! I had the fish taco, see pic, with the sweet Chile sauce, a side of cole slaw, and old Bay fries. The best fish taco I've ever had bar none!! The clam strip appetizer was awesome too! My wife had crab cake entree, it was so good she didn't even share! Our friends couldn't speak enough about their meals, terrific, terrific, terrific! It was so good I bought a t-shirt. And I hardly ever buy t-shirts. A must, must for downtown O. C.! read more

Jay's Crabshack - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

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Food: I ordered the fish and chips. The fries were great. They were perfectly seasoned and cooked. However, my fish itself (fried tilapia) lacked flavor, but had a salty taste. Luckily, the tartar sauce was good. The drinks were standard and the sauce options were good. Service: Our waiter was great and handled all of our request perfectly and was a great server. However, we were the only table in the restaurant, yet the food took quite a long time to come out. This was fine, because we saw that it was cooked fresh and very hot, although the speed could've been better. Ambiance: The restaurant is decorated very nicely to a crab shack. The walls are decorated nicely and the bathroom looked and was great. It's really nice inside. Another thing to note is that the music they played was great. Overall, this was a great place to eat, especially for seafood lovers, although they do have very good non-seafood options as well. A great place to go by yourself or with your family. read more

Had a great dinner at Jay's Crabshack. Food was excellent and the price was right. I recommend the fish and chips. Our waitress was very good. I'd definitely go back again. read more

Although I haven't eaten inside, I enjoyed a fish taco as big as my head at the annual OC block party over the weekend. I'm not sure of the type of fish used but it was very tasty and included rice in the diced pieces. Two types of sauces, shredded lettuce and of course cheese! The shell was slightly crispy and good yet messy but I'm big on eating with my hands anyway! The crab cakes looked equally delish and to be mostly lump. Jays def needs more liking into! read more

Jay's Crabshack - Ummmmmm - good thing I don't mind getting messy! - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

Very dissapointed. Ordered 3 large sea scallop platters and they were small. Also very little fries and cole slaw was spoiled. For $28 a platter, it was not worth it. read more

Cannot stress how good this place is. If you are in Ocean City for any amount of time at all and even mildly enjoy seafood, come here and thank me later. The crab dishes are especially insane. They should be at least decent if the whole restaurant is named after a certain dish but this is above and beyond expectations. Especially the crab cake dinner which comes with fries and coleslaw. The coleslaw is also insane. The fries are great too and just made for an overall great meal of a good size. The fries and coleslaw really compliment and elivate the whole meal. The crab cake dip for an appetizer is also great and can feed four people if you are generous with such great food. Personally it is so good that I doubt you would want to share. They also have a great homemade tea cooler drink which is great and refreshing. It is basically iced tea lemonade with some oranges mixed into it. It is perfectly naturally sweet and a great drink to compliment any dinner. Lastlly, food wise, I almost forgot about deep fried Reese's. LIKE WHAT! They took Reese's and deep fried them in funnel cake dough and oh my gosh. It is insane and if you are nearing full when you order these, u will prob be able to finish them no matter. It is probably the best thing I've ever had. The ambiance is a local place that has a raw look to it but has a generous family friendly feel. The kitchen is right in the middle and visible so you know that everything is fresh. Jay, the owner and cook, is also extremely friendly as are the rest of his staff. The one thing I'm disappointed about is there is not more stars because this place deserves it. 15/10. Will definitely be coming back on our vacation next year read more

We spent a rainy weekend in Ocean City so we decided to get take out from Jay's. The food was pretty good and my siblings agreed when it came to their meals. The portions were decent and everything was hot and ready when I picked it up. The customer service was okay when I called but didn't get better when I came to pick up my food. When I called, a nice young lady picked up and had to put me on a brief hold. When she picked back up she said, "okay, you're good...." and then there was an awkward pause because I'm good for what? To give you my order? Okay... When I got to the restaurant, instead of the cashier just telling me my total she slid my receipt in front of me and just stood there. I paid and before she was finished giving me my change she was looking right through me to talk to the next customer. After I left, I realized that I was charged more for my meal than what the online menu stated. I was charged $21.49 but the menu says $18.99 so the prices need to be updated on their menu. There were a few people working but no one even said hello when I walked in. A little bit of customer service goes a long way, I hope the owner/manager takes that into consideration when it comes to training their employees. read more

Jay's Crabshack - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

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Ahhhh I was hoping for much better. Crab cake sandwich was a 6.5 with fries! Buffalo Shrimp had little to no hot sauce, thank god I asked for sweet chili sauce. The breading was almost like a Chinese sour chicken. I was not a fan. The did seem busy so maybe they had an off night! Family did not enjoy the crab dip. I recommended it but the family was not happy after we finished this meal. We are always looking for new places when visiting OC and we didn't hit a jackpot here. I gave them a 3 star because staff was very nice and inviting. Service was awesome but can't say we will be back. read more

Nice little lunch spot! Very reasonable, good food and friendly staff. Before we decided to dine we asked to use the restrooms and they said sure no problem! Even though we're weren't yet paying customers which I thought was very nice. After that and looking at the menu we decided to nosh. We got the Chicken Parm "Huggy" Wrap and Giant Crabcake Sandwich (both served with coleslaw and old bay fries). Two lunches and waters only $23! Very tasty, highly recommend this place for lunch! read more

Jay's Crabshack - Giant Crab Cake Sandwich - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

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Sometimes it doesn't matter the quality of the food, esp.if you're being taken advantage of. I called in take out order the other night and just like last summer they charged me more than the price online. I brought it to the cashiers attention but it made no difference to her. So much for honoring posted prices. Despite really liking their food I can't patronize a place that charges more than they post, especially since it's the 2nd time in a row. That's just sloppy business and disrespectful of the customer. No more visits for me read more

Employees here are super rude. It is clear that they do not want customers. The employees were just chilling in the back and were annoyed they had to take an order. In fact he told me when he took my order that he was annoyed that someone walked in just as he sat down. I believe he was the manager. We gave a 20% tip on an order that we ordered at the counter and they refused to let us sit in the restaurant despite there being one table occupied. His reason was that it can get busy quickly. There are so many places in ocean city with friendly customer service there is no reason to come here. Save yourself a frustrating experience and try somewhere else. I am sure the employees will appreciate you not coming, because they do not want to do their jobs. read more

I decided to try this place last year & im so glad I did. Now it's a must to go every single time I'm here with no debate. Everything I've ever gotten seemingly seems even better each time I go. The crab bisque cannot be beat. & the fish taco & out of this world. I've always had amazing service & no arguments with pricing. This is by far my favorite place here & im always surprised it's not more packed every time I go. 10/10 would HIGHLY recommend read more

It's all about the name... This is a shack but with really really good food that you would expect from a place named Jays Crab Shack. We had the grilled shrimp, soft shell crabs and grouper. All fantastic! Great part of town off the boardwalk if you want to do any other shopping. Easy parking in the off season...not sure how it will be in July-Aug. Ohhh yeah...never under estimate cole slaw...Jays is the best! read more

Jay's Crabshack - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

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Crabcake and Softshell Sandwiches we had were very good and staff was very pleasant and accommodating. Very straight forward menu, noone like to see "market price" on the menu, but the Softshell for $14 was well worth it. Thank you! read more

Food was good, service was not. More interested in talking with each other, then serving our table.

Great find. After all these years, we finally stopped in this delightful hole-in-the-wall on Asbury. We enjoyed great salads, mine with Ahi Tuna, prepared perfectly. We split the best Old Bay Fries we'd had in memory. The young server was perfect too. We met the owner, Jay, and he's working on a GF Crab Cake. I can't wait ... and Jay's gets two forks up from Julia and I. read more

Very disappointing meal for each of our family members. The waitress was very nice but the wait time was very long and there were only 2 tables. Staff were on their phones and joking around. The fish taco was not good at all unfortunately. The fish is cut up really small and placed on a large crunchy shell that made the shell mushy and break. Did not taste good unfortunately either. The other's in the party also didn't like their meals. It used to be our go to place in OCNJ - not sure what happened. read more

I came here with my girlfriend on a Friday. I ordered raspberry tea, so delicious I got multiple refills. I also got the fish taco after reading another review on here. It was absolutely the best fish taco I've ever had. Big portion, not dry at all, lots of flavor. My girlfriend ordered the beer battered shrimp. She loved it! Came with plenty of shrimp, very plump, would definitely get again. We were nervous Bc of the mixed reviews but we loved our food and would come again if we were in the area. read more

Based on other reviews I was expecting a lot more from here. We ordered the crab cake salad and a crab cake platter along with a side of the awesome fries. The salad was fine but I ended up just eating the crab cake off of it. The pieces of lettuce were about 12" each and it was difficult to cut in a hotel room with plastic utensils. The crab cakes itself were really good and were the highlight of the meal. As for the fries... I was expecting something better from the sauce. I don't know why I was expecting awesome to mean some type of homemade cheese blend or maybe some melted cheese on top but it was literally just cheese wiz. Neither one of us could eat it and we ended up just trying to pick out pieces of the crab that weren't covered in fake cheese. read more

Time management is terrible. The sign on the door said it opens it 11.30 am. At 2 pm it was closed. I called, the message said it will be open at 3 pm. I came back at 3.10pm. The person at the counter informed me that they are "not quite open yet"... ridiculous... I went to the other taco place read more

Ridiculously overpriced = portions are not consistent with the price you pay. Loved coming to this place, but they will keep losing customers if they keep this up...it's a shame. read more

I was very satisfied with my dinner at Jay's Crabshack this past summer. I have many "usual" spots in OCNJ that I like to dine at since I go so rarely now, but this past visit I wanted to go off the boardwalk to some place walkable. And I was mainly in the mood for seafood options. My husband found this place when looking for seafood options in the OCNJ area. I think that this place is a winner when it comes the food. The restaurant itself is not very big and it seems to not have air conditioning, so might not be the best choice on a steamier day. I ordered the O'Neil Mixer in the entree section because I was torn between shrimp and scallops. The Mixer was an excellent choice and I think a great bang for the buck. I got four very nice sized scallops and plenty of shrimp. The fries are real cut potato fries and not reconstituted. You can not beat the price of $19.99 for all that food! Unfortunately their iced tea was subpar because I think the tea bags sat too long and made the tea bitter. read more

Jay's Crabshack - O'Neill Mixer with scallops and shrimp - Seafood Near Me - Ocean City, New Jersey

You have to get the fish tacos here they are delicious.Great place for family owners Valerie down earth