The Crab Trap

Had dinner at the bar New Year's Eve early evening. Bar was busy, but bar tender was hustling while being friendly. I ordered grilled Mahi sandwich, which was really good. Wife had a burger, which she enjoyed. The whole area was slammed on a busy night, including Crab Trap, but would go back for drinks and food.

This is a tough one. The Crab Trap is relatively new to Fernandina and is a very nice restaurant. The interior is very welcoming and is a great fit for the area. We walked in on Saturday evening and while busy, there was no wait. There was also no host/hostess to be found in the 10 minutes we waited by the station. We finally just seated ourselves at the bar, which wasn't that busy. The bartender was friendly, but very slow and drinks were inconsistent at best. My wife's Bloody Mary was bland boring. It was just mixer and alcohol, with nothing else...no celery, no olive, no citrus...nothing. Later, he made one for a guest that looked completely different and was fully dressed. When I told the bartender it just wasn't very good and I would like it taken off the bill, he blamed the poor taste on the mixer. Dinner was actually pretty good. Fish n chips were hot, crisp and tasty with a really good tartar sauce. Same for the fried shrimp. It was really good. Service was the big fail tonight. The missing host...bar service...just not a great experience.

Food was ok . Service was awful . Drinks were awful and not consistent. I watched another customer get a Bloody Mary it was in a hurricane glass had all sorts of garnish. I ordered one it cane in a water cup and had a lime garnish. It tasted like straight tomato juice. This is a beautiful restaurant but service is inattentive and slow! We sat at the bar service should have been good there were 3 bartenders. I guess bad management.

Dined here the other night as the hurricane was making its way ashore. This happens to be one of the only places in the area that was open. Going off server recommends, I had the shrimp and grits. An interesting take on the dish as they were grit "cakes" and not just a bowl of grits with things added. These cakes were made with Gouda then deep fried so that there was a nice "crust" on them yum! My companions dishes were also good as well. The Ambiance was a nice "pub" feel and they also had live music which made for a nice atmosphere.

The quality of the seafood here is amazing. The oysters were gigantic, not super salty, and fresh. The mussels were very large, and they sent many out. However, the appetizer coconut curry for the mussels was lacking in flavor and a much thinner consistency than expected. The crab cake sandwich was tasty and packed with crab, but it was rather dry - I expected a bit more sauce and a crispier sweet potato fry. The flounder picatta didn't have the sauce I was expecting. I'm not sure the tomato risotto paired well with the fish. The fish was definitely amazing quality and large, but the risotto seemed like it didn't work with the fish. I felt as though the quality of the seafood was wasted on the flavors they chose to pair with them. Perhaps next time we will try the tower or the crab.They have a different special every night. On Friday, the oysters were $1! The alcohol drinks were pretty good. We had the cruzed and confused. It was not too sweet, very tasty and had the right ratios of alcohol to mixers. The servers were very friendly and came by just the right amount of times. There was also live piano music in the evening. The ambiance was nice and a great more casual dining experience.

This was the second time we have been here. The first time was 2 years ago after they reopened for a private party for my father in-law. Which was an excellent experience. Today we came in for lunch and took a few minutes to be seated. Our server brought us water right away and came to take our drink orders. My sister and I wanted to know what their frozen drink options were because it was the middle of the day in July. We were told they have none available. My sister got the watermelon margarita with a salt rim. She said the drink was too salty and couldn't drink it all. My brother got the fishbowl drink and it was good but expected for that type of drink.l. For appetizers we got a dozen oysters and the calamari. Both were excellent and we ate them all up! We did have to ask for the crackers, horse radish and cocktail sauce. Our 1 year old loved the calamari. For entrees I ordered the shrimp basket (came with fries, cole slaw, and hush puppies). My husband ordered a half pound of the peel n eat shrimp, sister orderer the burger (came with fries and cole slaw), and brother ordered the Fish n Chips and upgraded to the grouper). Our appetizers came out in a timely manner. Our entree order seemed to be more delayed. The food runner came out with food that wasn't ours and seemed confused and brought it back to the kitchen. When our food did come out my basket was missing the hush puppies but were brought out when brought up to the server. The shrimp I had in my basket was a bit tough and seemed like it had been sitting a while. My husbands peel and eat shrimp was very hard to peel. My brother and sister both seemed to like their food. The fries were good. The shining star was the tarter sauce that made it all extra yummy. I am happy I asked for the hush puppies because they were excellent. During our meal our son spilled his water cup and the server came with paper towels right away without us asking for them. Which was much appreciated. We waited a long time for our check to be brought to us and had to seek out the server to get it. The food was good over all but the whole experience seemed a bit off today.

The Crab Trap is a very fine eating establishment. They offer a full bar, and a wide variety of sea food dishes. The fish tacos at lunch are delicious. The evening fare is great with full steak and seafood meals served. Our server was very attentive and offered us some good options. During the night a local crowd shuffles in to hear the piano man sing Billy Joel songs and signs along. Great fun and food. Join in !!!

I ate here last Sunday and was so impressed with the service. The waiter, James, was so incredibly nice. As far as food, I took his recommendations for the crab soup and crab cake sandwich. All I can say is the food was a "10" on a scale of 0-10. The bartender was nice too and the atmosphere was beautiful! I will be back after I move here. I came to town that day looking at houses and just stumbled onto this place. Bottom line... it was awesome!!!

Service was spot on and food was phenomenal. Highly recommend. They were short staffed but it did not affect service. Staff was super friendly and helpful. It was a team effort.

The Crab Trap, where everything tastes like nothing! Ordered the fish & chips, neither had any flavor. Even the tarter sauce I tried putting on the fish had no flavor. Batter was super thin and peeled off immediately upon touching, a clear sign of frozen fish. Their website says they "proudly serve fresh seafood", that is not what I experienced.My wife ordered the She Crab Bisque, it was just one notch above ice cold. It literally looked like a bowl filled with yellow mustard. The menu describes it as "jumbo lump crab", that was not the case. Tiny strings of crab at best.The wait staff seemed preoccupied. They were too busy pulling empty boxes out of a back closet to be attentive. The salt and pepper and malt vinegar and ketchup on the table were all very greasy. Overall, it was not a good experience. We won't be back.