Ships Cafe Restaurant and Crab House

Loveeeeeee Ships crabs! They have been really consistent over the years with being nice and meaty. Their cocktails and appetizers are also good. I usually get ribs or loaded potato skins which are really good. Service has been good the few times I have dinned in, they have both a bar area and a dining area! If you're going for crabs I suggest going when they first open because the larger sizes don't last long.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/JjonJrw3qjxcCYfs/Lynn Muldrow is with Byron Wall and 4 others at Ships Cafe & Pub Inc.October 6 at 7:03PM · Catonsville · RACISM 2024 DO NOT PATRONIZE THIS LOCATION 828 Frederick roadWent to this location for a birthday celebration. #1 they so called lost or never received the reservation #2 they had a server call out #3. The owner said he can't accommodate us (6 women) and for us to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE #4 we were already sitting down he (the owner) told us he could not seat us. Sir we are already seatedAgain he told us to go somewhere else. #5. He (the owner) was asked if we just walked in as regular customers and not part of a group (again 6 women) and sat at a table you would not serve us? his response was I'm not playing this game, I'm not seating you. We understood they were short staffed and was willing to wait for a table and service. I guess he didn't want our black dollars because he sure didn't want our black patronage. No worries!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!There will be some that will try to justify his actions I was there and saw the look in his eyes and the tone in his voice.The owner Jim Andrews

Welp! Ships you still good in my book! Nice to have a hometown restaurant with quality food, portion and cost! The crabs are STILL absolutely delicious ! Service was very delightful at my last visit. We have been 2times in the past two weeks. It's such a great place to be that the bar never had seating tables available and you may not get a table if no reservation is made. But, we have lucked up both occasions and sat in a low light a d intimate area if the restaurant. If being seated closely to other tables is a con, this may not be the place for you. Now let's get into these crabs!!

First time going to Ship's and my last. My cousin made a reservation a week ago for 17 people. She lives in North Carolina. Got there today and they had no record of her reservation. Told us he wasn't playing this game. Wasn't seating us. Told us to go somewhere else. Worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant since the 60's. Will never come here again!

** long overdue review as I visited before Covid **Great individualized service by Patty.I've visited twice. Once for lunch and again for crabs!!Lunch was pretty good. Better than average. The crabs were AMAZING!!I'm looking forward to returning !!

Beware the pirates at Ships Cafe! My wife had lunch there last Wednesday afternoon with two friends. She was charged an automatic gratuity of 18% and a visa surcharge of 3%, of which she was not made aware. Outrageously, the gratuity was applied to include a takeout order for me!Pirates they are Matey!

Alisa waitress sadly there were no crabs available today but that was okay. The highlight was our waitress. I've been here plenty of times but their food has taken a drastic nose dive. We ordered a crab cake sandwich (tasted like just a stuffing sandwich with a possibility of crab) just horrible- ordered cream of crab soup and that was too watery I didn't even attempted to taste. The fish tacos were absolutely delicious, packed with plenty of fish and cooked perfect! We ordered the bread pudding and sadly we weren't sure if it was that or a piece of smothered meat(pic ‍‍‍below). I was thoroughly surprised by how this establishment has gone down.

I really wanted to like Ships more than I did. Dined in for a normal dinner and at least half of the folks in the restaurant were eating crabs; maybe if I come back it will be for that.It's mostly pub food with a seafood bent. I figured I'd try the rockfish with Old Bay cream and my wife got the fish and chips. If there was an undercurrent to the whole meal, it was just a general lack of seasoning. Even the fries needed salt. Thank goodness for the Old Bay cream sauce because the rockfish was bland. My wife's fish and chips were somehow rubbery - good fish (and chips) is supposed to be flaky, right? I also ordered an Old Fashioned which was fine but didn't taste like an Old Fashioned - there was a squeeze of orange juice (at most should have a twist) that just made it a bit odd.The one highlight that I liked was the corn and crab fritters appetizer. Like a true fritter, it's mostly filler but there is some corn and crab and it had a nice flavor and the spicy remoulade was the perfect accompaniment.It gets busy in there and our waitress was attentive and friendly, but for the price and the food, I don't think I'll be back.

After reading the numerous reviews from subpar food to not so great service, I was quite worried about visiting Ships. Howevvvver, I was pleasantly surprised with my experience! I visited a friend for lunch here. She suggested the place & said that they were pretty good, as she visited here before, for the crabs. Although I'm not a crab eater, I must admit that the crabs looked pretty juicy and delicious! The restaurant has a warm, neighborhood-y atmosphere. It's pretty large as well! They have a bar side, a dining side and a second floor dining area. My friend and I sat on the main floor dining area, where we could look out onto the Main Street. Our waitress was very pleasant. She gave us insight on what was popular on the menu and what wasn't. The menu is pretty extensive, so if you're not sure of what you want, you may be a bit overwhelmed with the choices they offer! My friend chose a dozen crabs and I had a tasty fish sandwich with fries. The fish was pretty good- AND BIG! Two nicely sized fish filets on a toasty bun and a slice of American cheese with lettuce and mayo. The dish that took the spotlight for me was the coconut shrimp, though! My goodness, they were SO good!!! It came with a blackberry sauce, but I also asked for a side of blue cheese. Omg, everything was filling and delicious. I had a cocktail, but I forgot the name of it. It was fruity and sweet. I enjoyed it, for sure. The only isolated negative was the bathroom. It was in a very awkward area, literally adjacent to the kitchen. There was only one toilet and was not that clean. The sink was old and grimy and...sigh...the whole restroom was in serious need of an upgrade. That may have been the only thing keeping this from being five stars. Overall, I would love to visit here again and try a few other items on the menu, including those delicious coconut shrimp!

RACISM 2024 DO NOT PATRONIZE THIS LOCATION 828 Frederick roadWent to this location for a birthday celebration. #1 they so called lost or never received the reservation #2 they had a server call out #3. The owner said he can't accommodate us (6 women) and for us to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE #4 we were already sitting down he (the owner) told us he could not seat us. Sir we are already seatedAgain he told us to go somewhere else. #5. He (the owner) was asked if we just walked in as regular customers and not part of a group (again 6 women) and sat at a table you would not serve us? his response was I'm not playing this game, I'm not seating you. We understood they were short staffed and was willing to wait for a table and service. I guess he didn't want our black dollars because he sure didn't want our black patronage. No worries!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!There will be some that will try to justify his actions I was there and saw the look in his eyes and the tone in his voice.The owner Jim Andrews