Aquarium View
The Dubai Mall location sits behind the aquarium, giving diners a distinctive view of the sea life.
Joe's Crab Shack
Downtown Dubai
Joe's Crab Shack is an informal seafood restaurant in Downtown Dubai, serving crab buckets, stuffed shrimp and American comfort dishes. Reviews particularly point to generous portions and the aquarium-side setting, with Cajun crab legs and lobster roll among the dishes visitors mention.
Reputation Score
4.2
★★★★☆
731 ratings
Source: Google Maps
The Good Stuff
Large Portions
Several diners found the servings big enough to share, including a fish, shrimp and chips dish described as humongous.
Cajun Crab
Crab legs with Cajun seasoning, potatoes and corn are a standout combination in the reviews.
Helpful Service
Staff have helped first-time crab eaters debone or open the shells, making bucket-style dining easier.
Lobster Roll
The lobster roll is singled out as a favourite dish by one regular reviewer.
Family Options
Reviews mention a kids menu, with the kids Alfredo pasta receiving especially strong praise.
Salmon Pasta
The salmon pasta is a well-liked alternative when you want seafood without ordering a crab bucket.
What to Eat at Joe's Crab Shack How we choose these items We use AI to find praise and criticism of specific foods and drinks in a selection of Google reviews. For Joe's Crab Shack, this list is based on 50 reviews, not every review of the restaurant. The score is positive reviews minus negative reviews. For example, two positive reviews and one negative review give +1. Each review counts once per item; neutral comments do not change the score. A zero score is not a positive recommendation. “Only neutral feedback” means there are no positive or negative votes. “Mixed feedback” means equal numbers of positive and negative votes. The quotes are examples of what people said, not every comment we counted. We use different reviews where we can. We normally show up to 10 foods and 5 drinks with non-negative scores. Items with the same score stay together. If a tied group would go past the limit, that group and the lower non-negative scores go into Honorable mentions. If an overflowing positive top tie would leave the list empty, we show up to 10 items from that tie and keep the rest in Honorable mentions. Foods and drinks with a negative score are under What to Avoid. Use this as a guide to what reviewers liked, not a guarantee that you will like it too.
These items at Joe's Crab Shack got the most positive mentions in user reviews. Check them out!
Food 1
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Ragin cajun Net +2
“Tip: you'll save a lot of money if you use the app Entertainer (2-for-1 offer) and get the buckets and the pots. I personally prefer ragin cajun and the cajun sauce in general.”
Positive 2Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Tip: you'll save a lot of money if you use the app Entertainer (2-for-1 offer) and get the buckets and the pots. I personally prefer ragin cajun and the cajun sauce in general.”September 2020
“We ordered Reel big Catch, Grilled Tenderloin and Lobster, two steampots: joe’s classic and ragin’cajun. Overall the food was great but quite expensive.”October 2020
Honorable mentions (22)
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Bairdi's crab Net +1
“I had the Bairdi's crab which is definitely seasonal. The meat is easy to pull off from the shell.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I had the Bairdi's crab which is definitely seasonal. The meat is easy to pull off from the shell.”August 2019
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Buckets with crabs Net +1
“Very good food! We didnt have a lot of time but were very hungry and ordered 2 buckets with crabs. We didn't think of the time it would take to open them up, but without asking the waiter offered us to open them up for us while we were eating. This was great and we had fun with the waiter. Would recommend this place to any seafood lover!”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Very good food! We didnt have a lot of time but were very hungry and ordered 2 buckets with crabs. We didn't think of the time it would take to open them up, but without asking the waiter offered us to open them up for us while we were eating. This was great and we had fun with the waiter. Would recommend this place to any seafood lover!”September 2017
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Combo plate Net +1
“I asked for bowl of vegetables instead of mc&cheese bowl in my combo plate and I never received it it was only the ones they come with. The waiter was so quiet as every time she spoke I had to ask again for everything she said. Overall good”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“I asked for bowl of vegetables instead of mc&cheese bowl in my combo plate and I never received it it was only the ones they come with. The waiter was so quiet as every time she spoke I had to ask again for everything she said. Overall good”September 2019
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Crab bucket Net +1
“Fantastic food. Tried crab bucket and salmon - delicious choice. Highly recommend for a quick bite. :)”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Fantastic food. Tried crab bucket and salmon - delicious choice. Highly recommend for a quick bite. :)”January 2021
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Crab dip starter Net +1
“Always delicious. One of my favourite restaurants in Dubai. Lobster burger is delicious and the crab dip starter is amazing.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Always delicious. One of my favourite restaurants in Dubai. Lobster burger is delicious and the crab dip starter is amazing.”May 2019
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Crab legs Net +1
“Amazing crab legs especially with the cajun seasoning, potatoes and corn. Might not be visible to all visitors as it’s hidden behind the aquarium. Must try!”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Amazing crab legs especially with the cajun seasoning, potatoes and corn. Might not be visible to all visitors as it’s hidden behind the aquarium. Must try!”July 2022
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Dungeons crabs Net +1
“We had decided to have a bucket of Alaskan King crabs but that was not available and hence decided on dungeons crabs, lobsters, prawns and fish. The food quantity and quality was great and we enjoyed our sea food spreads.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We had decided to have a bucket of Alaskan King crabs but that was not available and hence decided on dungeons crabs, lobsters, prawns and fish. The food quantity and quality was great and we enjoyed our sea food spreads.”February 2022
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Fish shrimp and chips Net +1
“The fish shrimp and chips is humongous, it's good specially the shrimps wrapped with bacon.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The fish shrimp and chips is humongous, it's good specially the shrimps wrapped with bacon.”February 2020
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Grilled tenderloin Net +1
“We ordered Reel big Catch, Grilled Tenderloin and Lobster, two steampots: joe’s classic and ragin’cajun. Overall the food was great but quite expensive.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We ordered Reel big Catch, Grilled Tenderloin and Lobster, two steampots: joe’s classic and ragin’cajun. Overall the food was great but quite expensive.”October 2020
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Kids alfredo pasta Net +1
“We had the platter and everything was over cooked and some food items burned to a crisp almost. Veggies tasted like it was just defrosted . Kids Alfredo pasta was amazing! Service of Mary was amazing👌Rest of food really lacked taste and even looked super dull”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We had the platter and everything was over cooked and some food items burned to a crisp almost. Veggies tasted like it was just defrosted . Kids Alfredo pasta was amazing! Service of Mary was amazing👌Rest of food really lacked taste and even looked super dull”March 2022
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Lobster roll Net +1
“It is one of my favourite sea food restaurants in Dubai. And my favourite dish is the Lobster Roll”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“It is one of my favourite sea food restaurants in Dubai. And my favourite dish is the Lobster Roll”October 2021
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Lobsters Net +1
“We had decided to have a bucket of Alaskan King crabs but that was not available and hence decided on dungeons crabs, lobsters, prawns and fish. The food quantity and quality was great and we enjoyed our sea food spreads.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We had decided to have a bucket of Alaskan King crabs but that was not available and hence decided on dungeons crabs, lobsters, prawns and fish. The food quantity and quality was great and we enjoyed our sea food spreads.”February 2022
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Prawns Net +1
“We had decided to have a bucket of Alaskan King crabs but that was not available and hence decided on dungeons crabs, lobsters, prawns and fish. The food quantity and quality was great and we enjoyed our sea food spreads.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We had decided to have a bucket of Alaskan King crabs but that was not available and hence decided on dungeons crabs, lobsters, prawns and fish. The food quantity and quality was great and we enjoyed our sea food spreads.”February 2022
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Raging cajun crab Net +1
“We got the Red Fish Lobster and Raging Cajun crab. Both were perfect. Would return”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We got the Red Fish Lobster and Raging Cajun crab. Both were perfect. Would return”January 2017
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Red fish lobster Net +1
“We got the Red Fish Lobster and Raging Cajun crab. Both were perfect. Would return”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We got the Red Fish Lobster and Raging Cajun crab. Both were perfect. Would return”January 2017
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Redfish with lobster Net +1
“My dish (redfish with lobster) is actually good.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“My dish (redfish with lobster) is actually good.”February 2020
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Reel big catch Net +1
“We ordered Reel big Catch, Grilled Tenderloin and Lobster, two steampots: joe’s classic and ragin’cajun. Overall the food was great but quite expensive.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“We ordered Reel big Catch, Grilled Tenderloin and Lobster, two steampots: joe’s classic and ragin’cajun. Overall the food was great but quite expensive.”October 2020
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Salmon pasta Net +1
“Food quality is nice, we’ve tried their pasta and seafood platter. I recommend the salmon pasta.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Food quality is nice, we’ve tried their pasta and seafood platter. I recommend the salmon pasta.”March 2022
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Seafood cream soup Net +1
“The food was very delicious especially the soup that we order- seafood cream soup.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The food was very delicious especially the soup that we order- seafood cream soup.”June 2021
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Seafood pasta Net +1
“The seafood pasta was very good, while the steak was tasty as well, however, the steak portion was very small and the shrimps in the skewers were also very tiny unlike the shrimps that was in the salad and pasta which was bigger.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“The seafood pasta was very good, while the steak was tasty as well, however, the steak portion was very small and the shrimps in the skewers were also very tiny unlike the shrimps that was in the salad and pasta which was bigger.”June 2021
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Seafood platter Net +1
“Food quality is nice, we’ve tried their pasta and seafood platter. I recommend the salmon pasta.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Food quality is nice, we’ve tried their pasta and seafood platter. I recommend the salmon pasta.”March 2022
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Steaks Net +1
“Nice decor. We ordered stakes and juices. Everything was perfect, the steaks were juicy and the juices fresh. The only missing was part was sauces. Would recommend that the restaurant provide some option for complimentary sauces aswell.”
Positive 1Negative 0
Review excerpts
“Nice decor. We ordered stakes and juices. Everything was perfect, the steaks were juicy and the juices fresh. The only missing was part was sauces. Would recommend that the restaurant provide some option for complimentary sauces aswell.”December 2018
What to Avoid (4)
Food 4
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Big real catch Net −1
“We didn’t enjoy the food there. When we went, a lot of the things in the card was unavailable so we decided to go for the big real catch which is basically fries and some seafood fried and quite greasy at the end. Even the corn on the cobs were too cooked.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“We didn’t enjoy the food there. When we went, a lot of the things in the card was unavailable so we decided to go for the big real catch which is basically fries and some seafood fried and quite greasy at the end. Even the corn on the cobs were too cooked.”May 2022
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Fried fish Net −1
“The food was un marinated at all. The fried fish was very poor and oily.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“The food was un marinated at all. The fried fish was very poor and oily.”June 2022
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Glazed salmon Net −1
“We ordered the glazed Salmon and Shrimps and The East cost platter. The food was un marinated at all. The fried fish was very poor and oily.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“We ordered the glazed Salmon and Shrimps and The East cost platter. The food was un marinated at all. The fried fish was very poor and oily.”June 2022
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The east cost platter Net −1
“We ordered the glazed Salmon and Shrimps and The East cost platter. The food was un marinated at all. The fried fish was very poor and oily.”
Positive 0Negative 1
Critical review excerpts
“We ordered the glazed Salmon and Shrimps and The East cost platter. The food was un marinated at all. The fried fish was very poor and oily.”June 2022
Tips for a Better Visit
Find It. In Dubai Mall, look behind the aquarium on the first level; the restaurant can be easy to miss.
Check Deals. Check whether an Entertainer offer still applies; reviewers mentioned a buy-one-get-one deal on main courses.
Ask For Help. If you are new to shellfish, ask the team to open or debone the crab instead of tackling the shell yourself.
Try Middle Size. For crab, one reviewer preferred the middle size to king or queen, finding it tastier and juicier.
Plan the visit
Practical details
Unit FF - 156 - 1 - Financial Ctr St
Burj Khalifa - Downtown Dubai, Dubai
Common Concerns
Stock Issues
Multiple visits found crab, lobster, king crab or other menu items unavailable, which can derail a seafood-focused meal.
Uneven Cooking
Some diners reported overcooked or burned platter items, while another found the fried fish oily and poorly prepared.
Muted Flavours
A few reviews describe the food as flavorless or tasteless, despite other diners enjoying well-cooked dishes.
High Prices
Some customers considered the restaurant expensive, even when they felt the large portions partly justified the cost.
Small Steak
One diner found the steak portion small and noted that skewer prawns were much tinier than those in the salad and pasta.
DXB
LOCAL
LOCAL
The Bottom Line
Joe's Crab Shack is an informal seafood restaurant in Downtown Dubai, inside Dubai Mall and tucked behind the aquarium. The appeal is clear: you can order crab buckets or steampots, watch the aquarium nearby, and settle into a casual meal with notably generous portions. Cajun crab legs, the Lobster Roll, salmon pasta and lobster are among the named dishes reviewers enjoyed.
The strongest visits combine good food with practical help. Staff have opened or deboned crab for diners who were unsure how to manage the shells, and reviewers describe friendly service and family-friendly seating, including a kids menu. The aquarium setting is the real differentiator, especially if you want more atmosphere than a routine mall meal.
There is one important catch: availability can be unreliable. Several diners arrived to find crab, lobster or king crab unavailable, while others reported overcooked, oily or flavorless food. Experiences are mixed rather than uniformly poor or excellent.
Portions can help justify the price, but some customers still found the restaurant expensive; one review called the steak portion very small. Call ahead if crab is essential, look behind the aquarium on the first level, and check whether an Entertainer main-course offer is currently accepted.