Backfins Crabhouse

Loved it! Best seafood we've found so far. Service was awesome. Food was great. Crab cakes were the most crab filled I have ever experienced, literally. Also have lots of options to pan sear with seasonings or fry, which was awesome.

Been meaning to try the crab cake and crab legs here. Finally made it out, and they did not disappoint! Cooked and seasoned perfectly. Chef’s kiss yum! Hubs and kiddos were all happy with their meals too. They had fried shrimp and chicken tenders. Cheese curds and hush puppies for appetizers. Will definitely be back!

Disappointing Experience, But One Saving Dish I visited this seafood restaurant excited for a flavorful boil platter but the experience left much to be desired. I originally ordered the boil with crab legs, blue crab, shrimp, oysters, and clams. About 15 minutes later, the kitchen informed us they were out of blue crab and offered only shrimp as a substitute not more crab legs or another shellfish. That was frustrating, especially since I had already ordered chargrilled oysters, which the server later claimed I never requested. She wasn’t attentive to our order, and there was obvious confusion between the waitstaff and kitchen. While I stepped away from the table, my friend followed up about the oysters. By the time I returned, food was being served but no oysters in sight. When I asked, I was told I never ordered them. Awkward and disappointing. Another major issue: the menu had no prices. I understand market pricing, but when nearly everything on the menu is “MP,” customers deserve transparency not sticker shock. As for the food itself: 🦀 The crab legs tasted freezer-burned and lacked freshness. 🌽 The corn was mushy and flavorless, as if it sat in water too long. 🍤 The shrimp was pan-fried but had a bitter aftertaste, almost like the pan hadn’t been cleaned well. 🥬 The string beans were bland and lifeless. 🧁 On a brighter note, the crab cake was absolutely delicious crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and well-seasoned. It’s the one item I’d happily order again. Overall, between the service hiccups, lack of communication, and subpar food quality (with one exception), this meal didn’t live up to expectations. A few tweaks in customer service and kitchen consistency could go a long way.

If you're craving seafood and fried goodness, this spot is a must-visit! The crab legs were absolutely incredible—perfectly cooked, juicy, and bursting with flavor. Every bite was a treat. They did rely heavily on the butter completing the taste, but is was super delicious. The cheese curds were another highlight. The garlic seasoning took them to the next level, making them one of the best I’ve ever had. They were crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and packed with flavor. The mozzarella sticks were decent—nothing extraordinary, but still a solid option if you're a fan of classic appetizers. The surprise standout for me was the hot hush puppies with butter. They were warm, golden, and paired perfectly with the butter for a rich, comforting bite. Simply amazing! Overall, this place nailed the seafood and fried treats. I’d definitely come back just for the crab legs and those garlic-seasoned cheese curds!

First time here & I’m from Maryland. Got Maryland crab soup & it was delicious then got pan seared crab cake platter & there’s no filler & tastes just like MD! Sat at the bar & the service was great.

Maybe it’s just me but I hate swatting at flies while I’m eating. It makes me unable to concentrate on my food, company, and surroundings. Otherwise, I would walk 500 miles for these crab cakes and seafood! I’m a transplant from MD and promise you this is the ONLY restaurant that knows how to STEAM (not boil!) crabs and make crab cakes that aren’t mostly bread crumbs. I believe the owner is from MD and that makes all of the difference in the world!!!!

5/3/2024 - Updating to add more pictures of the food from this awesome place. Just look at the monster crab legs Rob and I got from Backfins! Picked up cold to grill out at home. Pictures are: 1. ready to go on the grill, 2&3. grill 4-5 minutes each side, 4. end result ready to eat! Simply perfection. Fresh, delicious seafood. Combo platter with snow crab legs, pan seared scallops, new potatoes and green beans. Crab Cake Sandwich with fresh cut fries. AND…some delicious cold beverages ... 😋 Served with pride and eaten with joy. Support local folks!

If you love seafood especially Maryland style, you will love this place! Service is outstanding and competes with the food at being the best. It does get crowded at times so it's best to go early if you can.

I was seated immediately by the hostess when I came in. The noise level was moderate with23 people inside ( room for at least 42 inside them more room outside in their enclosed terrace. They have no free WiFi it turns out it's for the business. I got the fried sampler which came out in 5 minutes (even though they were fairly busy) it was nice and hot. I'm testing this as a place I can bring my parents one of which is on reduced salt. The cheese curds would be a no for him but for me I loved them!very cheesy with garlic!! The marinara pairs well with them. The oysters are not salty with a light crispy breading excellent even if you don't use the cocktail sauce. The shrimp are medium sized ( half dollar) lightly breaded lightly salted compared to the oysters dad would probably not risk them. The onion rings have the same type of batter as the shrimp but aren't salty at all. Dad will wolf these down! The cocktail sauce is a tad on the sweet side so it does mute the saltiness of anything . All the patrons seemed to be happy with no complaints voiced while I was here. Menu prices aren't on the menus you have to scan a place on the menu for prices or ask the wait staff. They offer char grilled and seared options as well as a kids menu . I will definitely be back to try more items. I wasn't super hungry today

We really enjoy this restaurant. The food and service is good. It's not a big place but they have some outside seating.

Fantastic food! Crabshack atmosphere on point. First visit and we happened to be there on a day they had fresh blue crabs. What a treat and they were delicious! Lily, our waitress, was a joy. We'll be back!

Very happy with our experience here. Our friendly waitress was helpful and stayed right on top of things. Casual place with very high quality seafood. Raw oysters were very good, well selected and shucked nicely. Pasta with shrimp was delicious. Very nice garlicky sauce that complimented the blackened shrimp perfectly. Snow crabs were great, served with a nice coleslaw. Will definitely be back!

We were looking for a casual option for seafood and specifically crab cakes. We were very happy with the crab cakes and the hush puppies were great too. They also had good options for our youngest that is not a fan of seafood. Our wait staff was great.

Love the Maryland style crabs and crabcakes! We like to go here on special occasions because it's kind of far and they close too early. but it's the only authentic MD seafood place we've found down here. My biggest complaint is that they close so early even on weekends! Like 8pm! I'm usually just getting out around then.

Raleigh native, but I work in wake forest & I always come here on my lunch break. The food is always great & hot! My go to order is the fried oysters basket!! Best seafood in town! Service is always great & the staff are always friendly. Location is always clean & the patio is nice! They also have a bar, which is always great. Can't wait to bring my family so we can order the Maryland crabs cause they look & I heard they are so good. I'm slowly becoming a regular.

Great food, great atmosphere and the prices are somewhat reasonable.It gets pretty crowded, but it's worth it.

I feel torn with this place. The food was good, but the portions vary too much. For instance, a combo platter is ~$40, that includes two sides. One of our sides was potato salad, and you know those little sauce containers? That's what they put our side of potato salad in. Far too little portion for what was paid. The food portions overall were not as large as I would have liked for the price. 4 pieces of scallop and 2 pieces of flounder for the platter. They didn't skimp on the fried sides (fries, onion rings, etc) but the mains were lacking. Service was fine. Overall, be careful what you order as they are very stingy with the portions. But the food is good.

We have been going to Back Fins since they where in Downtown Wake Forest. They are consistently delicious! We have eaten at plenty of seafood restaurants at the coast and Back Fins continues to have them beat!

I am used to Maryland backfin crab cakes, because I moved here from Baltimore. The crab cakes were the closest to Maryland. Will be going back!!!

I love their crab melt and hush puppies. Great spot for lunch. Service is fine. Ambiance is not anything special but the food is good!

Backfins Crab House is a good place to dine. I do think they need to update their menus as the prices are blacked out but more than that the to go menu online overs many more options than the current menu. Almost everything on the current menu is fried. But the online ordering had fried shrimp; broiled shrimp; peel and eat offered for the shrimp baskets. I went with the broiled shrimp basket and choose fries and corn as my sides. The shrimp portion was plentiful. I hadn't expected so many. I was very happy with what I ordered. Service was exceptional for the large group we had.

Thank you for a fantastic meal and great service! We appreciated the way we were treated. Everyone was very friendly and kind! Definitely our favorite restaurant in wake Forest!

Ever since I heard the owners are from Maryland and offer a great crab cake I've wanted to dine here. Yesterday we finally made it over. I decided to get one crab cake and a cluster of crabs. I'm so glad I choose that rather than just crab cakes. These were some of the biggest, most perfectly cooked, and sweet snow crab legs I've had in a long time. They cracked perfectly and the meat came out without any struggle. The claw itself was massive. I wish I'd just gotten two crab clusters because the crab cake was just so-so, which was disappointing. Not much flavor at all and I choose no remulaude sauce to boot. My standard is from G&M Restaurant in MD and these are a far cry, plus not broiled, which makes a huge difference for flavor compared to pan seared or deep fried. My spouse got the fried scallops, which she really enjoyed. Hush puppies aren't complimentary as at other local seafood places, but avail as a side. The platers come with two sides. I had corn that was tough and very little flavor and a mustardy potato salad, which was not that great. My spouse liked the fries, but didn't care for the cole slaw. It's much smaller inside than I expected, tiny by most standards. They do have outside seating, but it was just too hot out. We were lucky to get there Saturday as they're closed for the rest of the 4th holiday weekend. We'll be returning and look forward to those crab legs!

My husband and I have just moved to the area and have eaten at Backfins 2 weeks in a row because it is THAT GOOD! The batter on the fried shrimp is to die for, the hush puppies are so buttery, and the fries are delicious. Not to mention, if you are a Ranch person like me, they have the GOOD ranch. You know what I mean. My husband even really loves the Oysters which is saying a lot because he is an Oyster snob Anyways, the wait is never terrible and both times we had pretty good service! Will continue to return a ton I am sure!

Overall, this was a pretty good visit. We went for lunch on a Sunday, and it was moderately busy, as we had a 20 minute wait. The hostess was initially neutral but warmed up to us. Once we were seated, our server greeted us pretty quickly. She was good about answering our menu questions, and seemed friendly enough. The restaurant was a little small but had a nice atmosphere. Now, on to the food. We had the fried platter combos. Between our table, we had fish, shrimp, oysters, crab legs,and scallops. Everything was perfectly fried and well-seasoned The scallops were especially juicy, but you don't expect a lot of them. Still, we would definitely order this again The fish was a huge portion, as were the shrimp and oysters. As far as the sides, I would skip the fries. They were boring and not as good as the other items. The slaw and hushpuppies were excellent. The hushpuppies tasted homemade. Don't skip the butter on them. The crab legs were excellent and didn't need butter. Now, a word of caution. The combo platters are pretty pricey. On that day, it was like $34.00. In fact, we had to use a QR code to see the daily prices, but definitely worth it. We definitely come back to try the blue crabs, which looked amazing. The service was prompt and friendly. In all, this restaurant is pricey but worth it!!!

The food was amazing. I crave it everyday. The service was superb. The ambiance was cool. Nothing too fancy but who cares with a menu like THAT! Omg. Stream my music by searching "Kyaivah" on all streaming platforms ^_^

Was in the area and decided to order takeout --fried cheese curds (great, but a little greasy so it must be eaten immediately before turning soggy), bacon wrapped scallops stuffed with crab meat, and peel & eat shrimp. The staff was very nice and had our order done pretty fast. Truly appreciate great fast service nowadays! Their menu is completely different from the others posted online so I'd suggest dining in or ordering in person vs online.

Delicious meaty crab cakes, perfect onion rings, great cole slaw and the garlic cheese curds to die for. Highly recommended place to eat lunch or dinner. Not inexpensive anymore, thanks to Joe. Let's Go Brandon!

I wish I could give 10 stars!! THE BEST crab legs anywhere close to here! Our entire meal from drinks, to food, to dessert and the service was OUTSTANDING!! Laid back atmosphere, kid friendly, and relaxing! Will continue to come here!

Our "go to place". Wife and I try to have a date lunch once a week. We always go here at least once a month. Food is prepared as described and delicious. I like the blackened shrimp and she loves the fried oysters! Good job Backfins.

Lunch adventures.... Backfins Crabhouse again .... lol Missed out on dino ribs at Prime ... :-( So no steamed blue crabs today so opted for Crab Cake and shrimp! So glad I did ! Truly the best crab cakes in the area. ... only gripe is that I wish it had more jumbo lump in it :-( But it's ok.. it hits the spot for crab cakes outside of the Easton shores of MD.. Shrimp has the signature Capt Pells seasoning and flavor And definitely ask for more JO seasoning for your potatoes, shrimp, cake and fries lol And vinegar for your fries to make it like Thrashers Boardwalk fries ;-) Definitely John and his brother bring a piece of home to North Carolina for sure !

Simply perfection. Fresh, delicious seafood. Combo platter with snow crab legs, pan seared scallops, new potatoes and green beans. Crab Cake Sandwich with fresh cut fries. AND...some delicious cold beverages ... Served with pride and eaten with joy. They just keep getting better and better. Support small business and eat local folks!

As a former Marylander; dinner here gave us the crab cakes we have been missing! You can tell the owners are from Maryland who know seafood. NC has been a huge disappointment for crab, so many false advertisements of lump crab cakes. Will be back when I need to fulfill my crab craving again.

If I could give this establishment a ZERO for customer service, I most certainly would. I had not visited Backfins in years and was looking forward to having their crab soup. Years ago, the soup was so great and I couldn't wait to try it again. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by and went to the counter so I could place the order to take home with me. While there were some customers there, the restaurant was nowhere near full. I stood at the bar waiting for someone to come take my order. I watched a couple walk in from the street, sit at the bar, the waitress cleaned the counter where they sat, took their drink order, went to the back and returned to take their food order. The whole while she noticed me standing there but never once acknowledged me. I continued to wait while two other employees came behind the counter to do something and neither of them acknowledged me either. I still waited and at that point another customer came behind me also wanting to place an order, so we both waited. Once the waitress took the couple's order and entered it into the computer, she then looked up at me and went to the back, grabbed an almost empty pitcher of tea, refilled it to bring out to serve to another guest sitting at the bar. She still did not acknowledge me, At this point, I proceeded to leave and walked out, as did the customer who had been standing behind me! I will never feel like I am begging someone to take my money. As bad as I would have loved to have that soup, this establishment never has to worry about me returning again.

Not my first time here but it's been a couple of years. I am giving Crabfins a 3 star because there are not many seafood places in Wake Forest, it has a decent menu, the place is clean and it has good service. It is not the cheapest place so if you are on a budget just stick to the shrimp sandwich and you'll leave a happy man. The calamari appetizer is also a good choice. Both of those options are priced reasonably and are very tasty. The basic platters / baskets are not too bad but larger baskets are pricey. I ordered also the crabby melt but I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. The crab cake was super thin and the bread is tiny and sort of cheap so I was able to eat it in 2 bites. Wont order that again. The slaw side that came with it was extremely tiny. Hush puppies were good but had to order those as a side order. So hit and miss I would say. When in doubt stick to the shrimp sandwich.

Great food and decent service. Prices are very high but may not be the fault of the restaurant as seafood prices across the area are skyrocketing

Left with my family after waiting 10 minutes after we were seated. That would be fine but 5-6 staff walked past our table and several wait staff were staring at our table while we were waiting. As we got up to leave the server ran outside trying to apologize but by then I was over it. We had already waited 30 minutes to be seated and then were ignored by multiple staff members. That was our first time trying the place. We will not try that again.

Love the atmosphere and the food is amazing! Second visit to this gem and they didn't disappoint. Had the charbroiled oysters and the shrimp & flounder basket. Next time will order some fries cause they are too good. Returning next weekend with my mil

We arrived a little after 4 PM and were seated quickly since there were only a couple of occupied tables. Our server was polite and took our order but became less attentive once our food was served. No one in our party was impressed with the food. I had the triple combo of shrimp, oyster, and flounder filet and everything was overcooked. The flounder in particular was way over and inedible. My daughter ordered their pasta and chicken which was bland and the pasta was way over with no bite at all. It all tasted as if it was pre-prepared by Sysco or another mass producer. The manager did comp the pasta dish but we will not be back.

We stumbled onto this restaurant yesterday on our way to see granddaughter playing in basketball game. WOW! What a find! The scallops and crab cakes was perfectly prepared pan broiled, the hand cut fries were nicely seasoned, and the slaw was delicious. So glad to find these amazing local restaurants! If we come this way again they will be a must go to next trip!

We finally made it over to the new location - we visited the old location years ago, and wanted to see the new place! This location is much smaller than the former, but very bright and cheery. The touches of sea/ocean decor are very friendly and welcoming. The seating (actual chairs) were very outdated looking and didn't really fit the charm of the restaurant. We were seated near the kitchen - I personally don't like it when restaurants leave the kitchen/prep area open to the public. From our table, we could see employees talking in the back, cleaning silverware and we could see some appliances. I was surprised that Backfins doesn't offer free hush puppies or any bread while you wait for your main course. Hush puppies are offered as a side to a meal, no freebies. Many other seafood places we visit offer hush puppies free. We both ordered two combos - scallops and crab cake for me, crab leg and crab cake for my daughter. The crab leg was good, we both liked the crab cakes (generous size!), and my scallops were pan seared and perfect. The big letdown were the side items - green beans lacked any flavor, the cole slaw was meh (KFC has better cole slaw), the hush puppies tasted bland (no seasoning at all), and my onion rings were very average. I ate two and left the rest. We would definitely eat here again but would choose completely different side items. And, we'd prefer to not sit near the kitchen. $54 before tip for two combo plates. A little pricey, seafood isn't cheap!

I ate here when they were still in down Wake Forest and while the decor is not as homey at the new spot, the food is still excellent. Usually always stop in once per trip to NC. I've gotten the Combo Basket here both times with fried shrimp and fried oysters. Of course you're gonna get it with hush puppies and onion rings. Good portion, good price, and great taste as you'd expect it to. They also serve Red Oak, which is a delicious red ale from a place off of I40 near Greensboro. Gonna have to branch out and try some different items next time. Another spot in NC where its obvious why they're so highly rated. Eat here with no doubt you're going to get a good Southern style seafood meal!

Went here on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I had hear multiple times that the crab cakes are to die for so I decided to give them a try. I ordered the crab cake and the crab legs with fries and hush puppies. The crab cake was really good. It had lump crab on top and throughout. They were survived with a yummy sauce. You can't really go wrong with crab legs. The service was also very good. The food came quickly and the waitress even showed me how to open the crab legs easier. It came with a lot of hush puppies so I wasn't able to finish them all. But overall it was an awesome meal!

Great food and staff. They never let us down. Makes you feel like you're at the beach.

Backfins has brought the MD crab experience to the Triangle. They very rarely have jumbo, but hands down the best old bay steamed crabs we've had in NC. Oh, and the bacon wrapped scallops are amazing too!

Everything was excellent ! Highly recommend crab cakes, scallops wrapped in bacon , fried oysters, snow crab legs.

Alright Got to admit this Place does something to me Folks!!! The atmosphere, the smell of those wonderful seafood combos and of course those Hushpuppies!!! Come on down for some real good Food!!! Service with a Smile not to bad either!!!!

NEVER AGAIN! One act of unwarranted assholery and you lose me. Today Dawn was a complete jerk when I had the audacity to ask for more hot sauce when she brought out ONE of these (see pic). "We can't just give away unlimited condiments!" Backfins used to have bottles of the stuff on every table!!! Whatever the case may be; Dawn could have handled it many different (better) ways and she instead chose to be rude. She made her bad day my negative dining experience and I'm out.

I've always enjoyed going here. They have fresh crabs and really good fish. The bar is good. Lots of drinks to choose from. Ask for fresh hush puppies. I always get the crab soup they have. Really good soup. If you like fried fish and shrimp, great place to come.

We love to sit at the bar! The restaurant can't control the prices it pays for supplies, but for what you get, it is pretty high. As a result, we don't go as often as we would like.

Backfins offers the beachside crab shack experience, right here in Wake Forest. On this Friday night there was a 30 minute wait, so it's a popular in-town venue. It's a smallish spot with about 10 booths along the windows and tables scattered in center of the room and a small bar. There are also a couple of picnic tables outside. The decor is beach bar, with lots of crab-themed knick knacks and artwork. The room is well worn, with peeling flooring, and the tables and seating weren't all that clean. The table is covered in butcher paper for easy cleanup, but everything seemed a little sticky. The menu is all seafood. It's a Maryland-style place, so crabs are the feature. We opted to split a crab cake and a dozen blue crabs. We ordered the crab cake sautéed (vs deep fried). It was delicious. The 4" wide and 2" thick patty of fresh chunks of crab meat, with no fillers was sautéed to a crunchy brown crust. The center was moist and firm, spiced perfectly. A tangy rémoulade on the side was the perfect condiment. The blue crabs were larges, generously sprinkled with Old Bay and steamed piping hot. These were meaty and fresh and prepared perfectly. We loved cracking and slurping through all 12. Except for actually being AT the beach, these were as good as I've had in Maryland. They're a lot of work, but there's goodness in every bite. Our tab was $68 for 2, with 2 beers. The crabs on this night were $40 a dozen. Backfins is an authentic beach crab shack. Casual, informal and with delicious seafood and cold beer. We'll be back - next time peel 'n eat shrimp and hush puppies!

Yummy seafood at its best. A no frills eatery situated in a strip mall like location of of US 1 Raleigh NC - a full bar and patio available. My husband's and my newly found favorite seafood restaurant. I enjoyed my snow crab entree with a small corn on the cob and potato salad. Just scrumptious- my husband had a combo of shrimp and their famous crab cake entree with hush puppies and potato salad. It is family friendly and can get crowded easily- being a very favorite eatery!!

I can't say enough great things about Backins crab house! My favorite place for some fresh seafood, especially their crab legs. Every time I go is an automatic order of two crab leg clusters, hush puppies, and whatever other side I decide to get at the time. I have eaten inside at their old location but have not at the new location as I usually do order pick up. The inside of the restaurant is always nice and clean and they also have outdoor seating. They always have my order ready very promptly in that by the time I leave my house and get to the restaurant it's ready. Staff is always nice and friendly in person and when taking my order over the phone. The best seafood hands-down, you won't want seafood from anywhere else.

Great food and service. My family loves to go here whenever we are in the mood for seafood. We haven't been since inflation has been on the rise. But for our family of 4 it was around 150$, which is a bit on the high end. So we only go a few times a year.

Good quality, over $100 for lunch for 2 people, no alcoholic beverage's. Ambiance is decent, a little lacking considering the price point. Wait staff was on point.

Fresh seafood! This place is the best! You have options if you want your shrimp/fish grilled or fried, plus choice of seasonings. I love the options! The crab was amazing and plenty of it. The shrimp was so fresh! Delicious onion rings. Didn't eat the red potatoes, too plain. Yummy sauce options also. We sat outside and had a very pleasant view of the mountains, no traffic noise. Service was awesome. We got the trio platter and fried shrimp.

This place is a hidden gem. Best seafood we have had and we are from an area that specializes in seafood. And the price is very reasonable. Service is exceptional.