Gluten-Free at Joe's Crab Shack
Restaurant
Most Recent Reviews
Not a bad experience. I ordered the crab and shrimp dip appetizer and it was delicious! They have a separate menu, but the server was not knowledgeable about gf at all! I ended up getting the steamed queen crab legs (no seasoning, because the server said gluten is only in breadš and it wasn’t on the gf menu). I usually would react within an hour and a few hours later, I’m feeling great! Crab legs were very good!
I thought this establish was very good and they had a lot of options. The menu a user posted previously has been updated and I will include it below. Staff was knowledgeable but gf options were more on the pricier side. I got the peel and eat shrimp with red potatoes and it was very good, would recommend!
Good selection of gf options, delicious crab steampots
More Reviews
For a seafood restaurant serving predominantly fried food, there was a surprisingly well-educated staff along with several options on the Gluten Free menu.
The waiter was very informative and provided their gluten-free menu. I had the mahi mahi with white rice and was delicious. I didn’t get sick.
I had the snowcrab boil with crab, corn, and potatoes. No reaction, everything tasted great, wait staff were super kind! Great experience! Pricey, but worth it!
We live by the boardwalk, but rarely go to the Fertitta tourist trap. Went to Joe’s Crab Shack tonight, while the teen ran around the boardwalk with friends. They have a Gluten Sensitive menu. I am very risk adverse, as a very sensitive celiac. I opted for the Caesar Salad (no protein added) off the Gluten sensitive menu and a side cluster of steamed snow crab legs. The salad came out dry, no dressing! I asked the server and he said the Caesar dressing contains gluten. Ok, but a bowl full of Romain with a sprinkle of Parmesan does not a salad make! Please ask the kitchen manager if ANY dressing is gluten free. He finally brought me some Italian dressing, that “wouldn’t kill me.” My crab legs were also presented cold and soggy. I’d much rather hit up Rose’s seafood market across the channel and cook them myself. The quality and size was pathetic.
My expectations are very, very low and I thought I was being about as easy as possible. Obviously not the waiters, fault but what a joke! Asked to consult with a manger while ordering twice, and was never spoken to by anyone. Only upside is that they have Angry Orchard Hard Cider, which would have been my entire order if I knew I would be eating lettuce with Italian dressing.
As mentioned before, they have a small gf menu, our Server seemed knowledgeable and said he marked my order of the peel & eat shrimp (cold, lemon only) and garden salad as gf. However, when the salad came out, it had croutons on it! I promptly said “I can’t eat that and need a whole new salad prepared please”! Server left the salad at our table so i could see they made a fresh one. They were prompt with the new salad and our original Server apologized and said he had marked the order gf, the kitchen was just not paying attention. I did not get sick but I would be very careful here. They do have outside seating and are dog friendly too.
Very helpful, answered all questions. Special menu
Very delicious! Staff knowledgeable about gluten and dairy free options. We eat there every time we come to Brandon and I never have a reaction.
Been here in the past - GF menu isn’t very big but it has enough options. Food is delicious and servers are knowledgeable.
Had high hopes for this place, but it started off with the shrimp in my steam pot not being cleaned properly. Manager was nice and took money off the bill. I thought all precautions were taken because my steam pot came out in a different thing than my husbands. After getting back to our condo, I was up sick all night. So, some kind of cross contact did end up happening and I ended up sick. This hasn't happened to me in a long time. I really was hoping for a good experience here.
Food was honestly terrible. Extremely bland, they didn’t even have salt on it. I was very disappointed.
Service was super slow even though we got there before the dinner rush. Delicious food. Very safe. Great view of the water for my kids.
I ordered from their gluten sensitive menu. Salmon, white rice, corn. Within an hour I was on the toilet and still having effects days later. Horrible experience š
The steamed king and queen crabs were delicious. The corn and potatoes tasted great too.
I used to come to Joes Crab Shack all the time after we would go fishing in the gulf. I was happy to see that they offered a gluten free menu. I got the steamed Queen Crab bucket. It was delicious! Didn’t get sick and will definitely be going back! You can also look up their gluten free menu online.
The waiter was kind and tried to accommodate our needs my son and daughter are gluten free and I’m dairy free. The had the gluten free items were marked on the kids menu. They worked with me on my food allergies and made it where they could make me a steamer pot. Nice staff and our food came quickly and our drinks never were dry.
Ask for a GF menu at from the host when you get there. I posted a pic of it below. I got the chicken and it was really good! no reaction. not a ton of options but the food was really good!
They had a gf menu! Food was good. Waitress was knowledgeable!
Awful. Do not come here. Ordered a steam pot off the gluten sensitive menu. Told them I had a gluten allergy. Was ten bites into my meal and saw a noodle. The managers explanation to me sounded like they use the same cooking equipment regardless.
Very good. Felt comfortable with my meal
Don’t do it you’ll get sick!
We’ve eaten here several times and have never gotten sick! Lots of easy to identify gluten free options and staff was knowledgeable.
My husband is Celiac and we both had the pick n peel shrimp appetizer with a steampot. It was good! They only have a gluten free menu online.
Lots of gluten-free items on the menu
Gluten free crab and didn’t get sick.
Very knowledgeable server. Gf menu. Limited items still have steak and fish options, apps and sides. I had sirloin 6, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob
I have many other allergies on top of a gluten intolerance, so I still cannot use the gluten free menu. I listed all my allergies and all the questions I had about which allergies I was concerned about for different parts of the dish. My waitress never wrote the allergies or questions down even though I asked many times. The food was brought to us by someone else, and came with a sauce on the side which I was still unsure about for my other allergies, so I asked again. That waiter asked our waitress and she came back to me, sighed, and said "you need to do your own research before you come" even though some of my allergies (garlic and bell peppers) are not listed on restaurant menus, even online. I'm lucky to not be terribly sensitive to cross-contamination, but I don't trust them at all.
The gluten free menu has 3 salads, 5 entrees, and some buckets. Service was excellent.
This is the classic fish chain, nothing overly special but they do have a lot of gluten free options. I had the atlantic pot. I did light on the old bay because I was sharing with my 1 year old and she didn't need their normal amount of seasoning. This has a nice view of the water depending on where you get seated which was nice also. Service was helpful.
I had the Cajun pot. Very good and no changes required for gluten free, just pricey. Refer to the online gluten free menu for options. Wait times were very long to be seated due to being short staffed, but food was good!
This exceeded our expectations from previous visit. The wait staff knowledgeable it was delicious
The staff had zero information on gluten free options, and had none of the gluten friendly menus they offer on the website. The manager came out and was also pretty clueless on what options were available. They were not busy at all, the restaurant and bathroom is dirty. I would not recommend this to anyone. Please save your gluten eating friends from this restaurant too. My gluten eating family members food came out cold also. Not one person in our party was happy with their meal.
Celiacs get one choice of seasoning on crab, Old Bay. If you have kids, ask to go light on the Old Bay. Corn and potatoes in the steam pot are safe. Waitress and staff accommodating.
Been to this location many times. Crab steampot with Old Bay is always delicious and has never made me sick.
Your choices are a Steampot or Grilled Fish. They were upfront about not having a dedicated fryer and also omitted butter sauce on my fish and broccoli to keep me safe.
Food was tasty though I missed the Old Bay seasoning in my crab pot. Server asked what I wanted instead of potatoes thinking potatoes had gluten in them. Staff needs better training about food allergies. I didn’t get sick so that is a plus.
Joe’s has a decent selection of gluten free items you can choose from. And of course it’s always fun to make a mess when you eat and you don’t have to clean it up!
The gluten free menu is typical of a Landry's. It is basic. But the kitchen didn't seem to understand what gluten is. They told me that the vegetables were cooked out butter and garlic and did not know if that was ok. Usually, my experience with Landry's restaurants is that they are well trained on food allergies.
Very limited menu, very expensive for what we got, and not very well done seafood for a seafood restaurant. Very disappointed, but my wife didn't get sick, at least.
I requested the gluten free menu and ordered the Ragin Cajun steam pot. Service was okay (the girl seemed stoned out of her mind) but she was friendly. The food was so good but did give me a reaction the next day unfortunately.
Gluten sensitive menu available limited but tasty !!
Staff did not understand CD. Had gluten sensitive menu but apparently not enough training.
Went off season. Been here about 5 yrs ago & was fine. Read the recent review so I made sure to let them know it was an allergy!salad came out fine (I did not ask for dressing as it includes an avocado)-portion was huge and only ate half. Had the steam pot of queen crab legs. I detected no seasoning (good) and enjoyed them. Drawn butter was ok, not like fresh butter you would have at home. It came with potatoes and an ear of corn I was too full to eat but looked plain & steamed. Did not get sick, huge portions. $$$ Bill was $100 for 2 people!
They had a seperate gluten free menu which stated that is was for "gluten sensitive". I knew what I was getting into but ate there none the less. The waitresses was friendly and knowledgeable enough but it set me off and my stomach is already triggered. I ate the BLT salad I can't remember the name of it, they held the croutons but I think it was the avocado lime dressing or seasoning on the chicken that had gluten in it.
I would say that while the celiac in our group did not get sick, I can’t call this place celiac friendly. We found odd food particles in other food dishes which makes me wonder how much care is really being taken by kitchen staff. Also, our food was not great. I had to buy two of my children food after eating here because their food was over cooked and inedible. I spent almost $200 for six people to eat and walked away hungry :-/
This location is no longer open
Served a Caesar salad with non-gluten-free croutons
The food was way over priced and they had a very small gf menu. Basically salads with iceburg lettuce.
Great food. A bit pricey. My bucket did not have as much in it for the 30 bucks.
No issues with gluten free - I didn't get sick. 3 stars for other reasons. The first thing the server did was try to sell us a membership to their loyalty club. We were in vacation and just wanted supper. Ugh. 4 if ordered steak - 3 new York strips, 1 sirloin. Guess we should have known not to order steak at a seafood restaurant. The sirloin was great. The New York strips - none of the three who ordered them ate them but instead stopped at McDonald's after. I also found a piece of rice among my broccoli (the seasonal vegetable for my side). I know. Not a huge deal, especially since the rice was gluten free, but when paying that kind of money for a meal and the kitchen can't pay careful enough attention to keep rice out of my broccoli, it makes me wonder what else ended up where. Would not go back. Overall disappointing experience.
Daughter got sick here unfortunately.
Unbelievably bad service and average food. Such a bad experience. Super disappointed. I could go on and on with every gory detail but suffice it to say it will be a lonnnnnnnggg time before any of us return to a Joe's Crab Shack. The manager, Anthony, was very nice and did take several items off the check but seriously it was too little too late.
They had a GF menu, which my daughter and I ordered from. We each got a salad. When they arrived, they both had croutons on it. Sent it back. Won’t go back there.
I felt safe eating here because what I ordered was all naturally gluten free. We thought since we were near the gulf that the crab would be extra good...nope! Food was just okay
Food was good. When I got the GF menu was excited however on closer inspection there was not a large variety to choose from. Was lots of steamed pots which I didn’t want settled for blackened mani mani with veg and potatoes. Was nice to sit in the window and people watch.
I asked for the gf menu which they had and had a wide selection of items. Ordered the salmon with rice and broccoli. Turned out amazing!!! Will eat here again!!!!
They have a gluten sensitive menu. The waiter was helpful and cleared my other allergies with the kitchen. I had grilled shrimp skewers which were very good.
If I were rating on gf only, this would get 5 stars. Here’s the thing— I’ve been here twice and it can’t be ignored that the food subpar and the atmosphere isn’t my ideal. There is a handful of gf offerings but both times I went the food arrived cold (even a steam pot!) and the food was overpriced for the quality. Oh, the environment... do you like bright colors, flashing lights, screaming children, and singing waiters? If you do, you’ve found your seafood destination! As for me, I’m steering clear from now on.
I ordered the crab steam pot with old bay. This is the second visit in 6 months. I did not have any issues either time. I think ordering the steam pots is the safest option for Celiac’s at this restaurant.
As usual Joe's did not let me down! Always a treat to locate this restaurant during our travels. Cool location.
The people that worked there were very knowledgeable on what I could eat and they had the care to wash their hands.
Separate gf menu. Not many options but had the grilled redfish which was really good. We're going back tomorrow for shrimp and crab steamer. Had a bad experience at the one in Myrtle Beach and almost didn't go to this one. The service and the food are much better at Daytona.
The service was good. The food not so much. Had the salmon grilled in a pan. The only side I could have was the grilled veggies but they didn’t have them today so I had the steamed broccoli. It was very over cooked and the salmon had a metallic taste to it. Most of the menu is deep fried food or steamed seafood. Everyone else liked what they had but it was not an option for me because it was deep fried. Won’t be in a rush to go back.
I have dined at this location and others a few times over the years. They have a reasonable number of options and I believe the kitchen is safe.
Had a great meal. Gluten free menu. Lovely seafood. Servicer very knowledgeable. Would go again.
Ate here earlier this week. Joe’s has a “Gluten Sensitive” menu, complete with several steamed pots listed. I had the Ragin’ Cajun Steam Pot that included crab legs, shrimp, corn, red potatoes and smoked sausage boiled in their spicy Cajun boil. It was lip-burning deliciousness. The menu lists a disclaimer about possible cross-contamination; I made sure, as always, to tell my waiter. Joe’s has remodeled and updated their menu since the last time my family ate here. Everyone else enjoyed their glutton-meals; however, the food was a bit pricier than we remembered.
Server was very knowledgeable & helpful in ordering. Food was good.
Gluten free menu available. Wait staff seemed knowledgable.
Good food, several gf options, with knowledgeable and friendly staff.
They have a gf menu, I just wish the “special” menus were included, at least online somewhere. Never had an issue ordering what is known to be gf, tho.
great sea food and atmosphere. GF menu and helpful staff.
I went here last night and it was really good! The menu was limited but I got the queen crab with old bay seasoning and it was so delicious! The wait staff was very attentive and the chef was helpful in determining the seasoning for the crabs. Very sensitive Celiac and no issues! Would 10/10 return!
Great service and staff, their steampots are always a safe bet! Limited in appetizers, but I've never been I'll after eating at any if their establishments
I always go for a steampot which is naturally gluten free. Great service and knowlegible staff at this location, had a great and safe experience while visiting!
Always have a great meal when here. Crab pot salad are perfect!!! Service always nice
The staff was unfamiliar with gluten and both staff at door and manager (after I had to ask for one) told me the menu was gluten "friendly" because everything has a little gluten in it and their GF menu had less gluten. The manager was very demeaning while talking to me say everything has some gluten in it with a very unprofessional tone and attitude. I explained I had an allergy and had to eat gluten FREE and I would be very sick if proper precautions were not taken to insure my food was not cross contaminated. After much debate I decided (only because we had promised my kids we would eat crab) to try to do a steam pot. I did not get sick after but the food, well just wasn't really good. The shrimp was the worst and I did not eat it it was so bad... I will not go back again.
Don’t go when it’s busy. I waited an hour for my order and when it came it was not gluten free. I ended up leaving my friend to eat alone while I went to Red Robin next door.
Separate menu with several fish options. Staff was very conscientious & it was a busy Friday night at prime dinner time. Only gave 4 stars because pricey.
The manager was very rude when we asked about gluten free, even though it lists gluten friendly on their kid's menu. She told me that they didn't have gluten free. I really don't think she had any idea what she was talking about. Big disappointment because my kids loved the "gluten friendly" crab pots.
Take it from a former employee of this specific JCS location... NOTHING here is safe to eat. The cooks don’t change their gloves (or don’t wear gloves at all), the line is only wiped down a few times a day, 99% of the cooks, servers, and managers don’t even know what gluten is, and no one there knows how to read labels so they won’t be able to tell you if something actually contains gluten or not. They aren’t even good about cleaning their dishes thoroughly and make mistakes quite often, so NOTHING is safe to eat here unless you go back to the kitchen and prepare it yourself.
Spun our wheels talking to the staff. They have a gluten free menu and said they have the protocols for preparing gluten free meals. Then when talking to a 3rd person, they admitted they don’t segregate the gluten free from gluten. They don’t know what they are doing.
The staff was knowledgeable about what was GF. Although they provide a caveat that their menu is "gluten friendly" rather than GF due to possibility of cross-contamination, they stated that they prepare GF items in a separate part of the kitchen from breaded items. Also, for the meals, they substitute corn and potatoes for whatever side dishes they normally provide. Overall, very good experience.
Usually I get the Cajun bucket. It has always been great. This time I just wanted a salad because I'm cutting down on meat. When I had questions about a couple items the server brought the GF menu. Both salads were listed as GF w/o croutons. I ordered the chopped salad. It came w/o dressing. The server told me that it was in there, so I went digging. Good thing too. I found two croutons hiding in the depths. When I pointed it out she offered to take it back so they could pick out the croutons. I told them that picking them out didn't matter. If the were in there at all I couldn't eat any of it. She said that they would make me a new one. The new salad looked ok, but I dug through it anyway. It seemed ok, but I still got sick. I suspect the salads are premixed with croutons. How else would strays get in there? Are you ok with them picking the croutons out by hand? Stick to the crab buckets. Avoid the salads.
My husband and I went this evening. when I explained to the waitress I had a gluten allergy she was very understanding and brought me a gluten free menu. The menu had several gluten free boils as well as appetizers and other main dishes. They had several sides to choose from as well.
Great service printed me out a gluten free menu , lots to choose from. Our waiter Tahan was amazing and did everything he could to help me . And I feel great after eating no issues :)
Lots of GF choices but no dedicated menu. My son and I both had no reaction to the crab and shrimb bucket we had. Not sure of it would be celiac friendly.
I have eaten safely here. Definitely tell the server you need gf AND to change gloves in the kitchen. I am celiac and was able to eat safely. The steam pots are the way to go. Delicious. Please don't rate them low if you don't like seafood and menu choices are otherwise limited. This is a seafood restaurant.
A very small GF menu. The menu in the store didn't match the online menu. There are a few extra things online. If you don't like seafood then steak or salad is your only option. I had the steak, steamed potatoes and corn. I can't say the steak was great, but at least I didn't have to sit and watch my family eat. I didn't get sick afterwards.
Not many options for those with celiac that also don't like seafood. Steak was tough, not many gf sides to choose from. Husband thought he would be nice and let me have some crab and was very disappointed in his meal.
It was okay. It was worth going once, doubt I'll go again.
The menu online wasn't what was in the restaurant. server wasn't trained. Terrible!
Unorganized and know one knows what they are talking about
Had a gluten free menu & I didn't get glutened, but the waiter seemed annoyed when I asked to specify glove changes and said "well all boiled seafood is gluten free so you don't need to worry". Still, I don't know what all they've served using those gloves so I prefer a glove change. Other than that, it was good.
Gluten free menu, great options.
Good food. Waitress was careful and the manager cooked my food to be safety.
Only gluten free stuff is seafood no gf bread for sandwiches/burgers etc.
Would not recommend if looking for options outside of seafood
