I was her on Mother's Day. Of course we needed reservations. We were on time and were seated on time. Service was friendly and professional. We ordered all you can eat. Our only opinion was too order the more expensive deal. The crabs were rather small but had good flavor. The king crab legs were nice size and had great flavor. The fried shrimp and steamed shrimp were good also. All of our food came out hot. Based on this visit I enjoyed myself. And look forward on coming back. read more

I like this restaurant. Good food, good prices, nice people, and a wholesome atmosphere! read more

Don't understand the 3 stars things. This is probably the best all you can eat crab joint in Carroll or Frederick county. PS ... If your crabs smell like ammonia it's because the place is steaming dead crabs. I have never had that in any of my visits to this place. The crabs are good size and the service is steady and consistent. The $55.00 for crabs and the trimmings is pretty reasonable. You get fries, hush puppies, and steamed/fried shrimp. Also includes regular crab soup and a salad bar. They have a couple of options including a $75 for those Alaskan crab legs. I'd like to see them add chicken and corn on the cob to their all you can. Hate having to get a cheeseburger on the way home as crabs don't keep you full long When we visited yesterday they had a cook not show but things went smooth once they got rolling. read more

So OK, of all the crab houses we visited so far, back from years ago, this one is the best! This beat my favorite crab house in Baltimore. I say this because of the maintenance of the juiciness of the crab meat. Most crabhouses can't maintain the juice of the crab once they boil them. It was too long on the fire or whatever they did with it. However, this Rube's Crab keeps the juice of the crab, so once they hit the table, I got the best crab! McKenzie was our waitress for this evening. She's quick and excellent! We ordered 6 jumbo crabs. The seasoning was incredible, although I know crab houses use old bays. The way they seasoned it, maybe they used music or something, the presentation was terrific, and the crabs were huge and fresh! Nice casual crab house and crowded! read more

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This is a typical local crab house/restaurant. There's nothing fancy but it's nice and it's clean. You walk in and there's a bar area on the left and then booth and table seating on the right. We did see what appeared to be a deck off the back for additional seating. One thing we noticed and appreciated was that the tables weren't squeezed together. The booths are even roomy. They were playing a nice mix of music on the jukebox, which wasn't overly loud. You could talk and still enjoy the tunes. The waitresses were super friendly and checked on us for refills of food and sodas. We ordered the all you can eat hard shells and the auce hard shells and shrimp. I believe it's #1 and 2 on the auce menu. They have 4 choices. The other 2 are auce crab legs and everything on 1&2. Then auce shrimp. These all include soup and salad bar and French fries. The fries are delicious! The crabs were all a decent size and meaty. We didn't have any light crabs. My shrimp, steamed and fried were both very good and not rubbery. The no. 2 meal comes with hush puppies too. (Yum). The salad bar was a typical small salad bar. They served 2 soups. We didn't care for them enough to get seconds. We will definitely add Rube's to our go to list for crabs. They do have a regular menu too. There were several folks there to dine from that. Give them a try! read more

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Found this place on my way home from Pennsylvania. What a treasure. This place was packed with people eating all-you-can eat crabs, but I arrived early enough that they could squeeze me, my husband, and dog at a picnic table outside. Our server, Gabby, was really friendly and funny! We shared the soft shell crab dinner (which she kindly split for us). They were the biggest soft shells I've ever seen. Outside tables were comfortable and there was a great fenced in area where we could air out our dog before we finished the drive home. Will definitely try to swing through here on my next drive down 15 South. read more

Rube's Crab Shack - Soft Shell (split by our awesome server) - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

Met a group of family members Saturday afternoon for a birthday. One server for roughly 25 people. The server did a fairly good job with this large of a party. I ordered a fisherman platter with a salad bar. The salad bar had the same quality of food as we had at Boy Scout Summer Camp. The soup bowls were so small, I thought they were for salad dressing. I ordered the fisherman platter and salad. When the main meal arrived, I found the following: Fish, scallops and shrimp were all so overcooked that when you touched a shrimp or scallop the batter just fell off. Some of the shrimp were so overcooked that I could not even cut through them.......... The fish was so overcooked that when you opened it, the meat was mush. I sent it all back and was still over charged for a salad. $12.00 I was not the only one sending food back. If you go, stick to crabs. I will never return. read more

Nice, casual atmosphere; loud music, 6' folding tables and cheap but comfortable chairs. The place was full on Friday night. First we had the steamed shrimp with Old Bay, peel-and-eat. Very good & juicy. Then I got a dozen raw oysters and the AYCE (all you care to eat) soup and salad bar. I had 2 cups of Maryland crab soup and a small side salad, the salad bar has a great selection of veggies and even boiled egg and pepperoni. I also had the soup of the day, a sweet-spicy chili that was really nice. The crab soup was good. The oysters were hit-and-miss...some were plump and juicy, others were thin and tiny. Overall satisfying. Next time I'll have crab, which is what most folks come here for anyway. read more

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Maryland blue crabs were amazing and service was outstanding. Rube's will be my "go to" restaurant on any future trips to Gettysburg.

The service was great and so was the food. Definitely need a reservation because it gets packed and full really quickly. The parking lot gets full as well so it's better to car pull there if you can. read more

Rube's Crab Shack - All you can eat crabs for a great price - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

Rube' s crab shack in Emmitsburg, Maryland is a down-home country in the middle of nowhere seafood restaurant but do not let remote location fool you. Fresh seafood is deliver daily. Order yourself unlimited amount of spicy Maryland crabs, plenty of paprika and spicy flavors. Bring a bib to wear on your clothes for sloppy eating but delicious. The interior is mostly filled with local people and you can enjoy live music on the weekends Come one or come all, bring family and friends. read more

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I always get takeout at Rubes, it is always packed! The food is much better than the Ott House and so is the service. I always get the fish sandwiches with fries, it is always good. The servings are generous and this is fresh fish not frozen. They always wait on me right away instead of ignoring me the way other places do...This is a great place! read more

Seafood was great! Service was quick. A little pricy but worth it for the service and food.

Excellent value. We went on a Thursday so all you can eat crabs were about 39.99 per person. Didn't really go for anything else but the party I was with had fried oysters and another had all you can eat shrimp which were cooked to his liking each time. Service was great. The only discrepancy was that the hours listed online are different than the hours stated when seated. Looking forward to going back. read more

Rube's Crab Shack - All you can eat crabs, fried oysters and shrimp. - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

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was at rubes on wednesday 9/24/25 the food was great order to go today for the office, service was great very clean and large dining area

2 pm on a Saturday parking lot is completely full. Restaurant and bar super crowded and really loud. We were asked if we had reservations- didn't know we needed... shoulda looked at other reviews. Since we didn't want crabs, we were seated. Tea was less than potable. Did ya make it with stream water? Maryland crab soup MINUS the crab... I ordered oyster sandwich, 3 oysters but filling. Hub got crab cake sandwich (we know our crab sandwiches and I was totally skeptical, but his sandwich was outstanding! Service was fast and accurate. Prob won't be back- better places in Balto but nice stop on our country ride! read more

Double broiled crab cakes, king crab leggs, great fries and their wait staff do a fantastic service for the customer. I highly recommend this restaurant if you're in the area! Doug read more

The crab cakes were as good as the ones from The Palms' The disco fries were very good Food was excellent . The ambiance is not fancy and service was a little slow, but what we expected with a crew of 16 on a Saturday night. Keep up the good work. read more

Great Crabs, third generation in steaming crabs and seafood. A seafood restaurant the way it should be. no bargains ..... just good seafood and friendly service. read more

Don't miss out on this delicious crab shack! Prices are extremely reasonable! I can't even get this amount of crab legs in Alaska for under $50 (and my meal included fried clams, shrimp, and clam vegetable soup) it was so good and the staff are friendly and helpful. My friend got the all you can eat crab and enjoyed every last one. read more

Rube's Crab Shack - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

They have great food we mainly have the crabs but occasionally get other food. I always get the salad bar. The crabs and food are always great. The service is phenomenal. The place is always clean. Easy to park and the place is nice. read more

After a particularly rough week, I decided to try to cheer myself up. What better way than my (former) favorite, AYCE crabs at Rubes. I got there early, and there was a parking space right outside the front door. I went in and was seated in my favorite spot, the rear corner booth. By the time my crabs arrived, life was feeling pretty good again. I'm a slow eater, and when I was done with about half my crabs, my server (Donna) came to inform me that "this table flips at 6:30". I understand she was within the rules (2 hour time limit), but I've never had any server anywhere be rude to me like that. I usually tip more than 20%. Donna got $1, and that will be my last visit to Rube's. I see other reviews here about Donna, and I would suggest the management take them seriously. read more

Outright racism was experienced when my colleagues tried to get a table here. We were a group of people who work in different levels of government as public servants coming from a meeting and were completely ignored even though there were tables open and others being served. What the ??????? read more

We didn't expect such big, heavy crabs with AYCE, so we were pleasantly surprised for our first time here. The AYUC crab soup and salad was the icing on the cake. Highly recommend. Rube's can't be beat!! read more

The crab cakes are some of the best ever. Great crab soup! (They are known for their crab soup) This is an Awesome local crab shack. I didn't order the crabs because she said they were mediums. However I saw other people order them-- they looked larger than mediums! I probably should've ordered some. Next time! read more

Rube's Crab Shack - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

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My husband and I were in town to visit our son at Mount St. Mary's. We both enjoy seafood and we found the perfect place! They were very busy when we arrived and asked if we had a reservation. We did not realize we should've made one ahead of time. The two young ladies working at the hostess stand looked around the restaurant and said it might be a little bit, but they would find us a seat. We decided to wait at the bar. Our drinks were delicious. I don't even think we waited 10 minutes and she had a table for us. The service was fantastic. We had the nicest waitress I think we've ever had anywhere. The seafood was outstanding. My husband had the crab legs, shrimp, and clams. I ordered just the crab legs. We had the choice of either soup and salad from the salad bar or two sides. Husband and I both chose the salad bar. It was outstanding everything is fresh and nicely cut. We did not get any soup, but the soups were a Maryland crab and a chicken. Our son doesn't care for seafood. There were more than enough choices for him on the menu. He choose a hot roast beef sandwich with french fries. He really enjoyed it. Actually, I think they were the best crab legs I ever had. We will definitely be returning! Thank you so much for an enjoyable dinner. read more

I love crabs so I searched for a place that have both crabs and crab legs and I found it. We arrived too early for the AYCE crabs but we waited. We had a few beers and wings while we waited. The wings was actually crispy and delicious, I wasn't expecting that from a seafood place. When it was time for the AYCE the waitress came and took our order. Its a family owned business so they were extremely nice. The food was excellent, cooked to perfection. The crabs were a nice size and it was a mixture of males and females. The crab legs were meaty and the shrimp was good. This place was really worth the money and I cant wait to come back and bring all of my friends. read more

This place rocks! The service is super and the seafood is plentiful. The crab dip and crab cakes are divine. A must visit. read more

Rube's Crab Shack - Decor - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

Great crabs! Exactly what we expected for an authentic crab feast in Maryland. Loud with sound of mallets on crab, happy people having a great time with friends and family. read more

This place was interesting. It has all you can eat crab legs and other seafood. They also have a soup and salad bar that was very good. They are a little pricey for me but I can handle that for good seafood. Service was very friendly also. Will come back! read more

Rube's Crab Shack - Steak & (1) Crab Cake - Seafood Near Me - Emmitsburg, Maryland

We went for the crabs but they were sold out so we had all you can eat shrimp an they did not disappoint. The waitress was very nice an kept the food coming an it was piping hot. Soup was very good. read more

After several days of institutional food, my new friends and I needed something different, so off we headed to see what Emmitsburg might offer. We'd had the opportunity to peek at a few local menus earlier in the week, and someone remembered Rube's from that experience, so it became our destination. The place is simply laid back. It's nothing fancy, yet it's comfortable. The waitstaff on duty were cordial, but they also kept at a near-running pace to serve the ever increasing crowd of Friday evening diners. I ordered the steamed clams to start things off, and I found them to be of average size and good quality. After that I moved to an order of blackened salmon, mashed potatoes and asparagus. The amount of fish I received was impressive, and the salmon was well seasoned as you might expect. The asparagus was delicious, but I wish they'd given me a bit more. The potatoes were just fine. Everyone in my party said they were pleased with their choices. In particular I noticed the lobster tails were of particularly nice size, and I'm told they were very good. Service was prompt and efficient. All in all, we were all pleased by the experience. I'd certainly go to this simple, unpretentious eatery again. read more

Definitely a locals place. Stood by the "please wait to be seated" sign for at least 10 minutes and nobody greeted us. Saw a few open seats at the bar and again waited for a bartender to come over to ask if we could eat at the bar. Food was just OK. read more

My husband had soft shell crabs. They were very good. I had crab Dip and shrimp. The crabdip was lacking crab meat. I didn't taste or see any. The shrimp were good. The waitress was very slow, for a place that wasn't busy. read more

The food is good, when you finally get it. Had to beg waitress for refills on drinks & all you can eat crabs. VERY loud music, could not hear the person sitting across from me. read more

Unbelievably good! We just stopped in for lunch and were so delighted with the best haddock sandwich and pate style shrimp salad. I'm a very picky eater and everything was perfect. The chef is amazing and she deserves much credit for her work. Nothing over salted, oily, or cold. Marta our server knew everyone's names and covers the entire restaurant in joy. This is really one of the most unexpected treasures we have discovered on entire East Coast. read more

Took family out to Rube's for husband's birthday as per recommendation. The outside and inside of the restaurant is outdated but the food is ahmazing!!!!! Everyone got something different so between all of us we had crab cakes, new york strip, chicken chesapeake sandwich, crab dip, onion rings, french fries and gravy. Everything was sooooo good!!!! You could see the chunks of crab in the crab dip! Only complaint was we ordered steaks medium and they came out medium rare but flavor was spot on and delic and we still ate it!! Steaks were massive and honestly couldn't eat whole thing anyways. Our waitress was very nice and attentive to our needs even though the restaurant was completely full. Noise level was high but we didn't mind that at all. Just people having a good time. Whole fam said they would all return!!!! read more

Fantastic crabs and attentive waitstaff. Very casual and the only small problem were flies. However they were worth dealing with.

Excellent food and service. The crabs are steamed fresh, not frozen. They have plenty of beers on tap. Make reservation. suggested

There are very few places I review that I honestly can say, "I wish I lived closer so I could eat here on a regular basis." But this is such a place. Let me put it this way; I had crab in 5 different forms in one night...and all were superior in taste! But let me set the mood. This place is not here to impress you. They leave that up to the food. The tablecloths are the long sheets of brown paper and a plastic bucket will be in the middle. The tables aren't anything special (folding legs), the chairs either. But you will not care a bit by the time you walk out. They do have a full bar with a decent selection. So my five versions of crab. 1) Crab soup. A tomato base, with Old Bay and nice chunks of crab. I got a cup, but wish I had ordered a bowl. The flavors and aroma brought out by the heat were intoxicating. 2) Crab cake. I have had crab cakes in Chesapeake Bay, franchise restaurants, and local joints. They don't touch this one. The texture was just the start. Firm, not soggy. Cooked, not greasy. And the flavor was a perfect balance of seasonings and crab. 3) Whole soft shell. You have to get these when they're in season (wherever you are). So of course, I ordered one here. Again, cooked perfectly without a greasy aftertaste or texture. The crisp soft shell, but warm gooey inside was almost too good to be true. I was afraid to keep going...but I did. 4) Whole crab, steamed. This was my first time so I had to get a friend to give some instructions. Pulling off the claws, removing the top half of the shell, all that stuff. Old Bay was coated on the outside, but of course had soaked to the inside. They had also injected a strong mustard. That was a positive experience of both dissection and consumption. 5) Crab legs. We're talking snow crabs, with legs as long as a small child. A bunch will easily have 5 full length legs on it. Now this I knew how to handle. The saltiness of the meat was natural, like ocean water kissing your lips. I regrettable only had a couple of these as they were the last thing I ate. I soon tapped out for the night. *Insider's Tip -Call and get a reservation. Doesn't matter what day, do it. The place fills up quick. And people are eating quality crab so the wait is going to be long. -Unless you have gone days without food, don't do the All-You-Can-Eat. There are enough plates and options to fill you up. read more

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