Joe's Stone Crab

Kind of a poor atmosphere. I thought the food was okay though. The ciopinno was good and the stone crab was good. GET THERE EARLY!!!! Pros: Stone Crab Cons: Extremely expensive, bad atmosphere more

We went to Joe's on 1/18 because it is supposed to be amazing but what they don't tell you is there are no reservations or calling ahead and typical waiting times are 2 hours...unless you are willing to pay. I watched over a hundred people get seated before me who had arrived after because they are willing to slip the head waiter who is in charge of seating 20-40 bucks. This would be fine if a few people did it but it seemed it was the accepted method of seating with far more people being seated in the greaser line than who were not willing to pay extra for a table at a place where a meal for two costs 125-150 dollars. And this is all under the table cash something Joe's might want to watch out for if the IRS ever comes to visit. The atmosphere...you feel like you are in a cafeteria in highschool, large rooms, loud with silverware clanking everywhere. I was disgusted and I can't believe this restaurant is touted as Miami's finest, will never go back. more

We drove from home in Northern Virginia to Miami Beach with an overnite stop in Jacksonvillel, FL on the way. This is my 4th time to eat at Joe's Stone Crab but I always enjoy it very much. It's been over 8 months and I am ready to drive down there again! more

I love this place. Come during stone crab season (October - May) and enjoy. \r \r The only advice I could give would be to make reservations FAR in advance, and even with them, be prepared to wait a little. The wait list back up for hours, especially on weekends - but the food is well worth it. more

Food is really good, but long lines make it a major hassle. Come early or late or just come for the scene especially on weekends. more

Joe's history is interesting! And that in itself yields to an atmosphere that sparks my imagination of what it must have been like in the days of old! more

I gotta say i was not impressed by this place at all. It actually seems overhyped to me. Maybe it's because i'm from Massachusetts and i KNOW what good seafood is like. The only thing that stood out was the lobster bisque and it wasn't spectacular by any means it was just decent. \r \r Now i'm a 25 year old and when with a group of 20 somethings and i had to say that we received such horrible service. They screwed up our orders, had to constantly wait to see any kind of service and i must say the waiters were a tad bit rude there. Maybe it was because we were a young group? Joe's tends to cater to an older crowd. \r \r Anyway i'll take a Legal Sea Foods over this place anyday. more

This is the place for stone crabs. You can even order them by phone. They ship anywhere in the country. YUM! more

While I did enjoy the food which is excellent and the service was very good, I really could have done without the big fat rat under our table. The waitress was totally unfazed by this and asked if we'd be staying for dessert. We left and had coffee elsewhere. more

Of course there is a bar, so the wait wasn't a problem. Twice I've had the pleasure of eating here with a local VIP and not even waiting. THAT'S a treat.\r \r The crab is always excellent and the waitstaff is traditional and perfect. The cold mustard sauce is classic.\r \r Stone crab are seasonal, but getting less so as Joe and the other restaurants get smarter. Most people don't know that stone crabbers only take one claw and don't kill the crab. We should all be so smart. more

i actually did really like the atmosphere, but the crab was simply not so great. maybe i was at the wrong time in the season, or i cause i got the $35 instead of $80 crab... but overall, not impressive more

I can't say anything bad about the food...it's all great. I'm not sure it makes sense to get stone crabs here though. The only thing that makes them different from any other place that serves them is the dipping sauce which is good but I'm not sure it's worth the price difference. The rest of the food is great. Pay particular attention to the random entrees like fried chicken or the burger...very cheap and amazing. Their house salad is also great. My 1 complaint is that I've had mixed service there...the last time I went the waiter was distracted, rude and pushed the whole table to the larger crabs that cost a lot more. This contradicted the recommendation of our previous server who was fun, courteous and recommended the second smallest size for the best value. more

I couldn't believe all the bad reviews on Joe's. I've never had anything except impeccable service at Joe's. Value is great and the food is unbelievable. Everything from the variety of breads they start you off to the salad, potatoes, grilled vegetables, crab right down to the desert. You can't go wrong. You may have to wait if you not a regular, but I still think it would be worth it. Pros: Service, Food, Ambience Cons: Crabs are pricey, but still a good value more

How can I start? As we walked in, the very ""not welcoming"" faces greet us. We asked for a table for 4. My husband met us there after work to eat with us to say good bye to my parents, leaving to go back to Brazil. You will not believe what just happened? As my husband arrived, he told the waiter he was there to meet someone. But because our table was for 4 ONLY, my husband was not allowed to seat with us, the waiter wanted to seat him in the opposite side of the restaurant all by himself. We just pulled an empty seat from the table beside us. Our very nice waiter opened the table and there was enough space for him to seat. Then some crazy lady came over rude as she could be, yelling at us, pointing fingers at us, saying that my husband had to leave, saying"" I don't have to explained myself to you, I am calling the police if you think 5 people will be seated in a table for 4. ?You told us 4 people, so only 4 people can seat down"". I was horrified by the situation. Then the owner, Hitler wife, I am guessing, came to talk to us, but instead of apologizing for the rude lady before, noooo, she went rude on us. I would think the owner priority is customer service and to make sure customers are happy. But the opposite happened. Our waiter, poor guys, was hiding because he was so embarrass, he said. The whole restaurant was looking at us. The table beside us were horrified as well, even invited my husband to seat with them, because they had 4 people in a table for 6, but they could not let 5 people seat in a table for 4. In the end, the owner let as stay, but seriously, nobody was hungry anymore, we didn't have time to go somewhere else because my parents had to catch a fight. There are so many nice seafood places out there, never ever ever going back. Oceanaire is a great substitute! And the people are so nice. Oh please don't order the chowder soup, bad, bad bad... it was the worse experience in a restaurant in my life. Pros: nothing Cons: horrible service, rude owner. more

I have never had a bad meal at this bastion of great sea food.\r While the stone crab claws are the best in town, the sides and other seafood offerings are top notch. Don't be put off by the wait, have a drink at the bar, an get your appetite ready. more

This place is a joke, no reservations, no planning. Saturday night 2.5 hour wait, unless you slip the Maitre De cash. Waited for the 2+ hours and got some appetizers, was so disgusted by the scene, we just left and got some pizza on the street. Everyone in the bar was waiting for a table and so the mood was sour. I heard the food was excellent, but who wants to eat at 10:30pm at night? Suggest you get there early, like blue plate special early, or order it to go. Better yet go to a real restaurant that takes reservations. Miami has a lot of choices, make use of them. Cons: Long wait, no reservations more

Prompt seating - showed up without reservations Pros: Great Service, Excellent Food Cons: A Bit pricy more

This is one of the best restaurant's I've ever been to! I can't believe I only ordered shrimp cocktail when I went here as a child! Pros: Stone crab, Service more

Moderately price, good reviewed restaurant. I heard that the stone crab was the best dish! more

This was our first time and last time. We had very high hopes of this restaurant being great. We arived just after opening 5:20 p.m. and they were already on a wait. We waited at the bar for a hour. The bartender was acting as if we were in his way even though we did order two drinks totaling $30. Then, we got our table. We sat down and suddenly our waiter came and said, what would you like to drink. I said ""I'm fine for now with water"" as I wanted to look over the menu before making my drink selection. He then said not even a min. after sitting down, ""are you ready to order now""? We'll, uh....NO!!! I barely got the menu open!!! He did not tell us his name, was rushing us to get out we felt. Then, he brought out our food and did not return to check on us. The food was horible!!!! I got the Pompano and it was very dry and flavorless. We also got the rice which, no kidding tasted like they opened up a box of Uncle Ben's and threw it in the some water. My husband's glass sat empty for 20 min. while our server was standing there talking to another server staring right at us!!! He did not care. Then, we asked to speek to a manager, and he said ""oh was there something you did not like?"" we said, ""we would just like a manager"". Then, the ""captin"" came over, we told her of this ordeal and she said, oh I'm sorry,can I get you something else?? ""No THANK YOU"", everything we had to eat sucked so why should we even bother??? She said, oh let me let a manager know. Well, then we got our check, nothing had been taken off, no manager had come over to say ""I'm sorry"" no nothing!!!! THe food was horible, the service even worse, WHY, please tell me, would ANYONE go there???? Pros: Good drink from the bar. Cons: Horible service and nasty food and boy are you gonna pay for it! more