Good food at Shaw's Crab House

There's always debates and personal preferences about how much you need to say, how comprehensive a review, how many visits before passing judgment. One thing I don't feel I do enough is make simple comments.

So I had dinner at Shaw's a few weeks ago, and it was really nice. Oyster sampler was fine, not blow-me-away good, but still good.

But my fish was really great, simply described on the menu as Grilled Hawaiian Yellowfin Tuna, Ponzu Marinade, Asian Vegetables. Delicious. Good enough, that several weeks later, I just remembered how good it was and thought to post.

Cheers,
Aaron

Shaw's
21 E. Hubbard
Chicago, IL. 60611
312-527-2722

Aaron, I've always liked Shaw's. Some believe that because it's part of a big food empire, it's somehow less authentic or worthy of praise, but I've always enjoyed dinners there. The service is professional, the food is good, and though it may win no awards for innovation, it's a sure bet and I've never left disappointed.

Hammond

I like Shaw's too.

On the other hand, we were just at Cy's Crabhouse North in Wheeling last night. What is it with that place? We stopped going there a while ago because of absolutely glacial (slow, not cold) service and because they always seemed to be out of a lot of things. Honestly, I respect a seafood place that runs out of some items or just doesn't have them if the quality is not there. It suggests to me that they are making an effort to have fresh stuff and no waste. But the server would have to come back three times-- with long pauses in between-- to tell us they were out of one thing after another.

Last night, we went again. The service was better, in the sense that we got a trainee server. The older server asked if we minded being served by him and the trainee. That really went fine and he seemed to be doing a good job of training her. But, they were out of sea scallops-- and rice. Who runs out of rice? This was 6PM on a Thursday. The wine list is very strange; the selections pretty much top out at $25. Don't people want a nice bottle of something when they have a dozen oysters? Maybe there is a "real" list somewhere, but I get the feeling that asking a question like that would paralyze them.

The food-- a dozen bluepoints, a crustacean platter and grilled sea bass-- didn't suck but it was not as good as you would get at Shaw's for the same amount of money.

bibi rose wrote: But, they were out of sea scallops-- and rice. Who runs out of rice? This was 6PM on a Thursday.

It is unbelievable that a restaurant would have zero rice in the house. Maybe they meant they didn't have any made at the moment (still hard to believe, but more likely it seems).

Hammond

I work around the corner from Shaw's and I guess I'm a lunch regular. It's consistently good to great and sometimes excellent.

Their Crab Cakes are the best and I've resigned myself to never order them anywhere else.

chuck

I'm generally not a big fan of Shaw's, with the exception of their oysters. It's hard to find more pristine examples of oysters in Chicago. Shaw's has an annual Oysterfest, which is happpening now until Friday. A dozen oysters at the bar is 10.75. This is a particularly good time to go for oysters, because they sell a ridiculous amount of them this week. Oh, and their cocktails aren't bad either. I think they usually have some sort of tent outside also. I thought someone might like to know. More info can be found at

http://www.shawscrabhouse.com/royster2006.shtml

Shaws Crab House
21 E. Hubbard St.
Chicago, IL.
312-527-2722

I've always been a huge fan of Shaw's. They've got the LEY Disney-vibe going, but I've never been disappointed by the seafood there, and as you say, they move a lot of shellfish, which does assure freshness.

Because my 1 and 2nd choices are booked, I'm going here, they have vday specials as well as crab specials ($36-$46 per person), maybe not the most romantic place but she loves crab. Anyone have any comments about this location? I've been to the one downtown which was satisfactory.

I have dined here maybe 10 times, and have always had a decent meal, and service.

If she loves crab, then that's a great place to go. (Gee, since Valentine's Day is a Thursday, I wonder if Pappadeaux in Arlington Heights is still doing their weekly Thursday special of all-you-can-eat king crab legs?)

I have never been to the Schaumburg location of Shaw's, but I have been numerous times to the original location downtown as well as the now-closed location in Deerfield. The food and service have always been very good. We went to the Deerfield location one year on Valentine's Day and found that the "specials" consisted primarily of prices substantially higher than the other 364 days of the year.

Food is generally good there. We usually go for the 1/2 price oysters at happy hour. I believe the hours are 4:30 to 6:00, seven days a week.
They usually have an assortment of three or four different kinds.
Also, the appetizer stone crab claws, though pricey, will bring tears to the eyes.

I personally think the downtown location is one of the best restaurants in the city. The service is great. And I think the crab cakes are some of the best I have ever had.

The schaumburg location is not as good. The service is much less quality than the downtown. The food is good. But the dollar deserts specials they have are not good. the seemed to taste burnt.

We had a great dinner at Shaw's Friday evening. We opted for the energetic Oyster Bar. I made a reservation on Open Table and let them know it was my husband's birthday - we were seated at the bar as we requested.

We enjoyed 3 dozen oysters (the happy hour 1/2 price oyster deal cannot be beat). The Blue Points and the Wellfleets were the best of the bunch.

We also had the Lobster Bisque - this was good, but not great. And the Lobster Roll, which was outstanding - and looked so good the people next to us ordered one, as well. (They also proceded to not eat the bun, )

Arturo brought us a slice of Key Lime pie, unrequested, and on the house.

The highlight, though - the Blood Orange Sidecar. (Blood Orange Puree, Brandy, Lemon Juice and Sugar) Tangy, bright and addictive. If you're in the neighborhood looking for a drink - I highly recommend this. (The people next to us also ordered this after seeing mine. It's a dark reddish purple)

kafein wrote:
And the Lobster Roll, which was outstanding - and looked so good the people next to us ordered one, as well. (They also proceded to not eat the bun, )

i hate that... just order the lobster tail if that's the case, jeez!

July 25, 2009 My wife and I dined at Shaw’s Crab House on Sat night, and it was fantastic. We have eaten at a lot of restaurants, and we can honestly say that Shaw’s still has it going on, and is top of our list for consistent, quality seafood and shellfish. The food is always prepared right, with great service, and the dining room is comfortable, where you can relax and enjoy your meal. Here was our dinner/all worthy selections: Start with their hand-shucked dozen assortment of oysters (Chicago Magazine just voted “the best” oysters), then their famous jumbo lump crabmeat crabcake (North Shore magazine voted “best crabcake”), then their wonderful Lobster Bisque soup, then split an order of their steamed Alaskan King Crab legs with side of melted butter, then try the in-season special, three delicious soft shell crabs sautéed in lemon, garlic butter, all with great veggie sides, and end it all with Key Lime Pie and Homers Peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge sauce. Hot Intelligentsia coffee drinks and specialty tea capped it all off, and we were very happy overall. Shaw’s has the seafood dining experience down to a perfect science. Highly recommend!

Hexter, great first post. Looking forward to hearing about more of your local dining experiences.

I'll put my vote in for the nice presentation they do of a traditional Lobster Roll. Authentic bun, minimal mayo, great mix of claw and knuckle meat. It's the best I've found in Chicago.

I would recommend Shaw's, but a few things irritated me on a recent visit:

1. The creamed spinach was horrible. It tasted like it came out of a microwaved package..kind of syrupy...gross.
2. The "butter" for the excellent bread was not real butter...but rather a butterish product (maybe also for the lemon butter on the soft shell crab, but I can't be certain).
3. The daiquiri was made with Rose's lime "juice" -- see related thread.

Minor quibbles for the most part, but IMO that's what separates a good restaurant from a great one.

LTH,

I'm a fan of Shaw's bar, Professional Bartenders, terrific selection of oysters, $1 per weekdays 4-6, fish tacos, lobsters roll and other assorted sea treats.

It's been a good long while since I've dined in the restaurant, never seem to get past the bar.

Enjoy,
Gary

It should be time for one of their side dishes that I crave: roasted corn with lime and cilantro. mmmmm..........

REB and I went to Shaw's Oyster Bar on Friday for their oyster happy hour. (Half price oysters daily 4:00-6:00 pm.)

Twelve varieties to chose from, we went with a chef's choice variety pack for our first dozen, then got a dozen more of our favorites. The oysters were quite good, served with a standard cocktail sauce and a tasty mignonette granita. They were fresh, fairly well-shucked, and a bargain at slightly over a buck each.

I felt the need to supplement the oysters with a basket of fried calamari and a bowl of N.E. clam chowder. Bad idea. The calamari tasted like standard food service breaded rubber bands. The bland bowl of cream and potatoes that they called chowder was even worse. Reminded me of Chunky Soup with fewer clams. Sad, sad, sad for a seafood restaurant.

I'll gladly go back for oysters, but the rest of the menu is off limits from now on.

--Rich

RAB wrote:I'll gladly go back for oysters, but the rest of the menu is off limits from now on.
--Rich

Happy hour oysters at the bar have always been the best thing about Shaw's. Still, it is a pale substitute for the now defunct oyster bar at Davis Street Fish Market (Why they ever got rid of that, I'll never know. I am sure they lost money on the shellfish, but the profit margin on beer probably more than made up for it). I have found that at Shaw's Bar you are pretty safe with anything raw or steamed. I guess the rule is keep it simple. I have had some decent crab and steamed shrimp there. The soups are bland and the Jambalaya is not deserving of the name, and for fried fishy things I go to the Fish Keg, they have the art of frying down to a science.

d4v3 wrote:

RAB wrote:I'll gladly go back for oysters, but the rest of the menu is off limits from now on.
--Rich

Happy hour oysters at the bar have always been the best thing about Shaw's. Still, it is a pale substitute for the now defunct oyster bar at Davis Street Fish Market (Why they ever got rid of that, I'll never know. I am sure they lost money on the shellfish, but the profit margin on beer probably more than made up for it). I have found that at Shaw's Bar you are pretty safe with anything raw or steamed. I guess the rule is keep it simple. I have had some decent crab and steamed shrimp there. The soups are bland and the Jambalaya is not deserving of the name, and for fried fishy things I go to the Fish Keg, they have the art of frying down to a science.

I loved that oyster bar at Davis Street Fish Market. That place has never been the same after the remodel and frequent management changes. BTW I was in there a few weeks ago and our server mentioned they are going under ANOTHER management change.

EvanstonFoodGuy wrote:

d4v3 wrote:
I loved that oyster bar at Davis Street Fish Market. That place has never been the same after the remodel and frequent management changes. BTW I was in there a few weeks ago and our server mentioned they are going under ANOTHER management change.

I used to really enjoy Davis Street back in the day, but imho they ruined that place when they redecorated, pulled out the hand sink in the dining room, and kept changing things. I used to gladly drive up there from Naperville just for a cup of chowder, now I doubt I would go there if I ever found myself in Evanston for some odd reason.

As for Shaws, it is what it is, nothing to great, typically I am getting crab legs there, or sharing some appetizers. I do enjoy their bar area for a drink though.

The schaumburg location is not as good. The service is much less quality than the downtown.

IMO its one of the better options for lunch in that area. Service has always been fine for me - I generally order a plate of maki/sashimi & they are always very accommodating in customizing what I want. BTW, they also run the daily oyster happy "hour", from 3 - 6 pm if you're in the area.

We hadn't been to Shaw's in several years.... however, our annual debate as to where to use the LEY gift card Jonathan receives from a broker at work, led us there last Saturday night. With the exception of being sat 30 min. past our 8pm reservation time, we had a stellar meal.

The three course Crab Dinner for Two was, IMHO, an outstanding value at $45.99 for the amount of crab+ received. We did get an additional starter of a 1/2 dozen assorted oysters - all fresh and pristinely shucked. The "official" first course was New England Clam Chowder - a respectable version.

The main course consisted of Alaskan Red King Crab, 2 Crab Cakes, and Dungeness Crab, served with generous sides of creamy cole slaw, au gratin potatoes, and creamed spinach. There was a good amount of crab in all the legs. The sides, which should be no-brainers in any decent steak/seafood house, often aren't. Here, they were just as they should be - seasoned well, coleslaw served COLD, hot sides served piping HOT.
The "official" third course was Key Lime Pie, but our server informed us that we could substitute any dessert from the menu. We opted for one Key Lime and one Pecan Pie. The key lime was a fine rendition, but the Pecan was the winner - even after all that food, we almost polished it off.

We'd had a drink at the bar and a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauv Blanc at the table. Service was standard LEY - professional and friendly, if a bit rehearsed.

We forget about Shaw's - this was a great reminder to head back more often, even without the gift card! -Lynn

I had a really lovely lunch in the Oyster Bar at Shaw's on Saturday afternoon. Both my mom and I had lobster rolls with homemade chips. I had the lobster roll before and found it good but nothing great. My main issue had been the lobster not being flavorful enough. This time though it was fantastic. The lobster had the perfect sweetness making the roll taste like lobster and not mayo. It was completely worth the $18.99 price tag. My dad had lobster bisque and an assortment of oysters and talked about how good his meal was for the rest of the day. My partner had the gumbo and a crab cake. The gumbo got his seal of approval which is uncommon as his entire extended family is from New Orleans making him hypercritical of every food that has any relation to New Orleans. He, of course, mentioned all the differences but still liked it. I was quite taken with the crab cake. I found it to be nice and crabby but also have plenty of flavor. I may be in the minority but I sometimes find a crab cake that is all crab to not actually have a lot of taste. This one definitely had limited filler and to me was a really nice balance of seasoning with the crab. All in all, Shaw's certainly does not push the envelope, but serves some great, a little old fashion, seafood.

Anyone been to Shaw's lately and know if they still have the $1 oyster special from 4-6 weekdays that Gary described above? I've been craving oysters and beer..............

Habibi - yes - though it's usually billed as 1/2 price for a half dozen.

The hubby and I went to Shaw's for their Sunday brunch buffet. Wow... I think I ate 2 dozen oysters alone! Fresh oysters, crab legs (hacked into small pieces for ease of eating), shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon, brown sugar bacon (!!!!), and crab cakes are some of the standouts. Their mini waffles are light and airy, with a nice crisp exterior. Didn't try the drinks, omelets or hot meats station though. And they have a dessert room... yes a small room filled with everything sugar. Cotton candy, gummi candies, lollipops, creme brulee, chocolate cake, key lime pie...

For $40 a head, it's a seafood lover's dream!