Captain Pell's Fairfax Crabhouse

Disappointed After Multiple Visits — Won’t Be Returning I’ve given this family-run restaurant several chances, hoping for improvement, but my most recent visit confirmed it’s time to move on. Unfortunately, the experience was marked by a lack of professionalism and cleanliness that overshadowed any positives. Service was inattentive and unpolished. The male waiter appeared disheveled and disengaged, approaching our table multiple times only to stare silently before walking away. When we requested napkins, he returned with a stack and dropped them on the table without a word, then tucked his hands back into a visibly dirty apron. The female staff member who seated us wore a shirt with large, noticeable food stains, which didn’t inspire confidence. The kitchen door remained wide open throughout our meal, revealing an area that looked far from sanitary. As for the food: the fried calamari and oysters were excessively greasy, the steamed shrimp lacked seasoning, and the coleslaw and condiments were served in takeout containers — not ideal for dine-in presentation. The only redeeming item was the French fries, which were crisp and well-prepared. To top it off, the restaurant was permeated by a strong, unpleasant seafood odor that lingered throughout our visit. This was my third time dining here, and sadly, it will be my last. A family business should reflect pride and care — not neglect.

Probably the place to go in northern Virginia for crabs. We had the extra large blue crabs to go. We also had fried calamari rings, the 2 combo deals of scallops, soft shell crabs, fried oysters, and catfish. We also had the lobster roll. Will definitely go back for fried oysters and crabs. Service was efficient and quick.

Did a take-out on Sunday lunch. We ordered online and the food was ready in 15 mins after the restaurant opened. I ordered two neptune platters, steamed shrimp, and 6 extra large blue crabs. They were packed in boxes and paper bags. Snow crab legs that come with neptune platters were big, fresh, and juicy. They were easy to crack open even with hands too. Fries that came with the platter were soggy. Didn’t like them. Corn was ok. Steamed shrimps were ordinary. Nothing special about it. A little bit of kicks to it which I didn’t like. It wasn’t old bay but some other types of spice. Blue crabs looked great at first but when I cracked them open, the crab meat wasn’t as fresh as I expected. Overall, good place for snow crab legs but I would not recommend other things. I would go back to this restaurant to try other menus.

Only thing I don't like about this place is getting served crabs that were already dead when they steamed them. There were at least 4 out of a dozen that tasted of ammonia, very strong. They replaced 2 but when you're paying $6.5/ crab, it's very disappointing. Still, I've been coming here for decades and I love them.

Captain Pell's Fairfax Crabhouse is such a fun, casual spot! The seafood is super fresh and flavorful — especially the crab, which was honestly amazing. The vibe is laid-back and beachy, perfect for hanging out with friends or family. The staff was friendly and helpful, and everything came out pretty fast even though it was busy. Definitely a spot I’d go back to when I’m craving really good seafood.

A dozen clams on the half shell, a dozen large crabs, two corns, two slaws, six cold beers and a Magnum ice cream bar for dessert. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Very lively, busy atmosphere. We will be back!

This is a classic brown-paper-on-the-table-tray-of-whole-steamed-crabs crab house. Family owned and run for many years, I’ve been a fan since the 90’s. Hot, freshly prepared crabs and cold beer. Their hush puppies are fantastic, too. This place is one of my faves. Anyone I’ve ever taken from out of town to show them an example of a true Chesapeake Bay crab house still talks about it whenever I see them. Highly recommend.

Aden was the best thing about this restaurant. Our extra large crabs were large at best, the shrimp were overcooked, the steamed mussels were super small and extremely dry. The crabs were seasoned but everything else was bland. The butter got stiff and cold before I could finish eating one crab and they didn’t have butter warmers. There were no buckets for trash so the crab trash sat on the same tray as the cooked crabs. The crabs seemed like they were precooked and reheated for us when we arrived because we had our crabs in about 6-minutes. Everything was served on styrofoam plates and we had plastic cups. $90 later I won’t be returning. We left before our trash was ever moved from the table.

Good food. Reliable. Hot fried fish. Plenty of scallops and great calamari. Don't want to work hard on the cranes but others were having a ball. Authentic seafood place.

I give this restaurant a negative star. My family and I got the all you can eat crabs. The crabs came out over cooked and they were not fresh crabs. We informed the manager that the crabs were over cooked and he said in a not so nice manner. DO YOU WANT TO STOP EATING THEM?! Excuse me. I was surprised by his delivery to me and my family. Not friendly at all. And to top it off the waiter which was a young white guy. Was not friendly either. Every time we would ask for something he would make a face/frown. Very unprofessional. I would never go back there again or would I recommend someone there. Food was definitely not worth my money $250 for over cooked crabs and bad service! Had the nerve to include gratuity for 3 people normally it's for 5 or more 20% SMH... with that being said I will drive an hour or two to get good quality food and good quality service!!!!

What can I say, everything is outstanding--the food quality & the preparation of it, portions could be smaller. It's a real price performer even the wine!! If you live here & love seafood you need to go here. I wish we lived closer!! We will definitely be back.

We had take out today and spent $150 (after tax) on extra large crabs and they were horrible. They were so light, many of them didn't have any meat and 9! Of them didn't have both claws. And two of them were mushy...I know that can happen but usually see the extra claws in the bottom of the bag and if we are in the restaurant I would have returned them. I've attached pics of the inside of the crab and some of the mush (not sure this will take video) but I'm soooo sad by how horrible these were. And we're wondering if it's because this was a take out order. I surely wasn't going to drive 19 miles to return them.

DMC crew strikes DC again, so 7 adults and 5 kids, so we always running a 1k bill. But crabs legs platters were all on point; Ladies got bushel of crabs, a lot popping there. Fried catfish actually looked good, steak fries, and get the hush puppy basket, they warm and butter. Only negative is, leave the salt out of the butter for the chicken crab.

The crab chowder was served with a Styrofoam plate, plastic bowl and plastic spoon. Very salty. Crab cakes had too much filler and very salty too. Not impressed. I ate in the dining room not to go.

The food is soooo expensive for what you get m! Best part of the food was beer .. I'm sorry want to like this place but after $133 For a 2 pint steamed crab and extra large tales and boring

I LOVE THIS PLACE! I probably come here more than I should. I always do the all you can eat. The service is normally good and the crabs are delicious. Just writing this review makes me want to go again.

I'm not sure what went wrong on this night but I've been here several times and have never had any problems. This night, a week night when we usually go on the weekends when it's busy was a little weird. Apparently when you get the all you can eat crabs you're supposed to eat or open all the crabs including the legs... Excuse me! So did the waitress look at the tray that was sent back for trash or did the manager look at the tray and sent the message through the manager. Remind you, when you get all you can eat crabs it supposed to be small and medium but large crabs were coming on the tray also. Every large crab should have been thrown in the trash and inedible. They know if the crab is good or not just throw it in the trash.

Great environment. All types of people just enjoying music and seafood. Good prices. Quick service

It is a shame. I've been to this establishment many times. Today, our server/the manager Lexi gave us subpar service. Forgetting drinks, straws, ketchup, etc. to come to our table to give her apologies several times. Meanwhile, we are watching her standing at the front chit chatting. We received our bills, and because we had five in our party, the gratuity was included over 50 dollars. After discussing it with Lexi and then speaking to the second manager, we were forced to pay it per company policy. Therefore, don't come with 5 or more people because regardless of the nonexistent service, you will have to pay 18 percent no matter what. You've been warned.

I've been coming to Captain Pells for over 40 years. It's hands down my last meal request. The jumbos I had were best I've ever had. Very sweet meat on gigantic crabs. Hush puppies are also a must. And don't forget the bottled CheerWine.

We were group of 9 on a Saturday afternoon, celebrating a birthday. We had reservations, but after looking around , reservations were not needed. I ordered the auce (smaller and lighter), they came out 6 at a time. The first batch was warm, not hot. And they surprised me by being females. They were good! My husband ordered the 2 lobster tails, broiled, and were also very good, they came with fries (crispy and hot), and Cole slaw. Another family member ordered the shrimp-steamed and huge. Another got the Snow Crab-also huge, just beautiful, some of the biggest I've ever seen. Hushpuppies were a generous portion. Prices are competitive.

Nice, casual vibe with flavorful fried seafood. I've struggled with finding something that reminded me of home and down south cooking but this definitely helped. The seafood was delicious and the flavors were all there. I wouldn't expect impeccable service and there were a few times we had to remind our server what we asked for, but overall we had a good time. It was great to watch everyone around us enjoying the all you can eat crab and the joy it brought to their faces.

It was okay, everything you would expect from a hole in wall type of joint. Crabs were room temperature and that's being generous. Shrimp basket looked great but lacked shrimp, more like fries basket. Service was slow but the waiter was doing his best. It was a lot of large parties. I would not go back.

Absolutely HORRIBLE!!!! Horrible food, horrible service. Save yourself the agony and go elsewhere!!! We came here and got a dozen crabs, the quality was so low. The crabs was overcooked and dry, lack of flavor. On top of that, they served us crabs that was so discolored and black, there's absolutely no way I wouldn't be sick if I ate it. I informed the server and showed our server the crab, he had the nerve to tell me they're creature, that's how it's suppose to be. Extremely shock on how anyone can respond like that when seeing the discolored black crab first hand. I finally called him back a second time and told him, there is absolutely no way we are eating this, so he takes it to the kitchen, come back with a freshly cooked crab and angrily threw it on the table. Extremely unprofessional and rude!!! I cannot believe this is acceptable. Their name of crabhouse should be taken off. For them to be known as a crabhouse and serving crabs like these, a complete disgrace.

No frills seafood spot in the heart of Fairfax. Staff are nice and super patient and accommodating. They made my experience that much better. Food was okay! I think the hush puppies and the steamed shrimp were good (but I thought the shrimp was a bit small). Fries were decent as well. Soft shell crab, fried oysters, and crab cakes tasted a tad bit off. Not the freshest.

Great service and great food. If you can, just order the all you can eat crabs. If you're greedy like me, the 2 lbs of snow crab legs will suffice. I ordered two broiled crab cakes to go and they were ok. Great service but a very nasty bathroom.

Been a fan since the original location. I recently went after a long hiatus and they still got it!

** omg!!!, im from nyc and we have lots of seafood spots & crab boils. but we do not have a spot that serves whole body crabs. i fell in love. came intown to visit my bestie. almost about to have him take me all the way to maryland to this spot i seen on tiktok. my bestie told me about a crab spot similar and wed not have to drink 2 1/2 hr. we were headed there when i spotted this spot and pulled right in. it seema family owned and very nice. as we walked in u can tell everyones had the southern hs lunch tray full of full body blue crabs. automatically that's wha we came for. so we ordered along with some ginger ales and started to devour. we enjoyed it to the max. taste food and season well!!!. i come to visit my bestie not that often but i will more often and this will officially be the 1st spot i hit everytime!!. if in the dmv area this spot issa must pull up to. cuz i most definitely will be back. signed, i love to eat and i do it out consistently xoxox mr.von teese & fam **

Great old school crab shack with brown paper table cloths and canned beers. Staff is always friendly. Always get the crab and clams.

Captain Pells has gone completely downhill since the original men who use to run it passed/retired. The food is not cooked with love at all. Over seasoned, old crabs tasteless that lack freshness have been serviced the last couple times I visited. I have decided not to go back. The prices are high and not worth the poor quality food and service any longer.

The quality is usually a hit or miss for the crabs. Got a dozen large this past Monday but about half or most of them were dry or not fresh. We did talk to the waiter and he replaced 3 of the crabs we had told him about. He took them and brought out 3 new crabs that actually LOOKED LARGE and fresh. I don't know if it's just the crabs batch we got that was unlucky but yeah it usually is just a hit or miss with this place. Oysters were good and plump however! Also the onion rings is always bomb here.

We did not do the AYCE and looking from the size of them, it seems decent. However the fried combo platters was our choice this evening. My husband had the triple combo and needless to say he had to dispose onsite thereafter. Not sure if the grease or the seemingly undercooked fried fish did the deed. I had the soft shell crab and fried oysters which were fine and cooked perfectly and not overcooked. The flavors aren't special in comparison to other crab houses. This place has been here for years so devoted fans will keep this place alive with or without us. Therefore, we have way too many options around to come back here.

The snow crab legs are sooooo good! We Uber eats a crab dinner every couple months and it always hits the spot.

We went to captain pells for our labor day dinner. When it came to the waiter taking our order and we inquired about all you can eat crabs. The waiter told us that it was a hit or miss with the size and they were lighter. He suggested that we get the XL crabs instead of the all you can eat. We decided on the all you can eat. Which was $59.99 per person it was 3 of us and they only brought our 1 tray for 3 people. The crabs was disgusting and they were dry. Our waiter started out great but seemed to be A little agitated after a while. We had a bill of al most $400 for 2 trays of all you can eat crabs that was dry and disgusting. The kids enjoyed their chicken fingers and the corn and hush puppies were great. But the crabs was horrible. Out of the 2 dozen 5 of them were dead or had a funny smell and tasted. I was so disappointed. And they put a $54 dollar gratuity for the waiter who barely wanted to wait on us.

The server was great! I couldn't even eat just SIX of these blue crabs. I ended up taking 3 with me so that should tell you how big they were! It wasn't too packed, but the people in there were happy...including self. I definitely can't wait to come back and see if I can tackle a dozen! Pray for me‼

Our local crab shack for many, many years. Good selection and fair prices all things considering food costs these days, particularly for seafood. For those newbies, recommend calling in advance for takeout orders (especially around a holiday weekend) and for those who aren't Old Bay junkies, ask for light or no seasoning as they're quite generous with it. Enjoy!

GrubHub service was great for the shell crabs delivered to my home. Temperature of food items was perfect. However, I am highly disappointed in the quality/taste of the oil saturated batter coating the crabs. Not rancid, but not fresh either. Probably should ditch the batter, and instead flash fry simply soft shells, which, BTW were good sized.

Went here for Father's Day with my dad, we all got food poisoning. Wouldn't recommend this place

Excellent meals. Great waiters! Fun to eat! Cool looks! A lot of tvs around tables. Will come back! Thank you ! We ordered catfish, we got crab cakes. Misunderstood and got the corrected one. One small problem was waiting for a check for a long time.

Off to Captain Pell's for crabs.. this day they only had medium and all you can eat crabs. Usually a dozen is all I normally get. Crabs ....hmmm, not the best. They gave us a little more than the dozen ordered, however, I finally understood why.. all of them were pretty much empty. No meat.. Many of them were overcooked or Re-warmed, so the meat was hard and some taste old. Wasn't by far the best, but we made the best out of it.

There is a horrible smell that can be detected immediately after exiting your vehicle from their parking lot. The smell is so bad that it permeated our vehicle's interior. We drove back 20 minutes to our home and we could still smell the stench of the dead crabs or whatever they had in their dumpsters, which are located near the main entrance. In regards to the food, my jumbo shrimp with fries were delicious but the catfish was a little overcooked and didn't have much flavor. Don't wait to order key lime pie after your meal otherwise it may be sold out due to the high demand, which was my case.

The food and service was amazing. I absolutely loved the hush puppies. I have had the steam crabs and were full. I have also tried their crab cakes, fried shrimp, and crab legs. I now consider this a go-to place for special occasions. I do think they are a little pricey.

Ammonia smelling is a norm. Shorter owner/children waiter with brown hair has attitude, especially about tip. We live ten minutes away but drive to Bristow for crabs. That's a shame.

It was okay. The order came out fast but the crabs themselves were not okay. We ended up ordering a dozen and like 6 out of the dozen had no meat in them. I don't know if I would come back to this place again.

I had all you can eat crabs about a month ago and it was so good! Hot, fresh, and a lot of old bay. Good service and they consistently checked in.

Not gonna lie, I didn't really try this place even when I used to live so close to it because despite it having lots of reviews, the yelp review was 3.5 stars, BUT a family friend took me here and it was so good that I went back and I WILL go back again and again. Their snow crab legs, fries, coleslaw and hushpuppies are SOOO good. SO GOOD!! The snow crab legs were meaty and not too salty, the way I like it. The fries and hushpuppies are seriously my favorite here. They were out of the jumbo crab which is what the family friend recommended so we got the large crab and that was also huge when we went and very delicious. I would recommend this as well, maybe if you're with a group. Jumbo steamed shrimp was solid, scallops were pretty good too and the raw oysters tasted fresh and good to me, but I normally don't eat oysters that much (but I still ate a few which is good!). The only thing I didn't really like is their corn on the cob.

We have been enjoying eating crabs at Captain Pell's now for many years. It is tradition to eat here at least once a year! The space is huge and we always get seated quickly or with a short wait. The food is delicious and the crabs are top notch. I think they have the best hush puppies in town. They provide plenty of butter and condiments to go with the meals. The parking lot is also very spacious and we never have trouble finding a space. They are prepared for the big family groups that come in. I love eating at Captain Pell's!

Magical Mother's Day with Family and friends!! Great place to dine on a weekend, especially if you have a large part.

Food truck review - The service was great - she was friendly and moved the line along smoothly. I had the crab cake sandwich and hush puppies and both were pretty good. I appreciate my good being hot and not having a long wait. If I come across their truck again I would for sure order.

On one hand... a truly fantastic opportunity for "all you can eat" crabs year round. They also offer various seafood options by the pound. Plus, their hush puppies are THE BEST that I've had in decades. The crabs are cooked to perfection and the staff keeps them coming at a pretty good clip. Plus, there is ample seating and lots of tvs, if you want to watch a game. On the other hand... The Big issue: The Women's bathroom is absolutely atrocious. The look AND smell AND cleanliness are all completely unacceptable. There is absolutely no reason for their restroom to be so disgusting. But for needing to wash my hands after eating at least a dozen crabs, I would never have known how awful the restroom was. Truly, the state of uncleanliness of the restroom made me call into question the cleanliness of the kitchen... Just saying. Staff also uses the restroom, so if that's acceptable to them, then what's an acceptable level of cleanliness in the kitchen? Spring cleaning. Deep cleaning. Bleach. All of these would benefit their ladies room... and beyond.

Good seafood for a reasonable price. We got a dozen female medium crabs and a crab leg combo. The fried shrimp was just ok but the crab cake was good. Overall the seafood was fresh. Big dining room and quick, polite service

Our favorite place for crabs in Virginia! Food is amazing! All-you-can-eat crabs ...best deal!!! So tasty! Billy, the owner, is so friendly! Cole (aka Tickle) is the best waiter there- recommend you ask for him to be your server. Worth every penny!

We love Captain Pells Fairfax Crab House. The staff and service is great! The food is outstanding, especially the steamed blue crabs!!!

Definitely not again. Service was okay, crabs sucks and even had a few bad ones. I definitely won't be coming back at all for the price they charge. Corn was fresh, coleslaw was a no go, crabs was definitely not it.

I tried this restaurant because I heard it was a decent place to get some crabs. They had extra large crabs available so I was a happy camper after I placed my order for pick up. The restaurant is big. A lot of seating available but on a crowded day you can be close to your neighbor. The crabs didn't seem x-large but I'm assuming they are x-large based on this season. They tasted fine. Only two out of the dozen purchased had mushy meat. The seasoning wasn't overwhelming. If the restaurant was closer I would consider trying them again.

Love, love the jumbo crabs that I order for special occasions. I don't eat in at all. Just call and order what I need. Crabs are well spiced and fresh!

We have been traveling in Europe for the past 2 months. So, when we got to the DMV our first stop needed to be BLUE CRABS. We took a gamble on trying Captain Pell's after reading the great reviews. We were SO HAPPY we did. The shrimp were huge. We got 6 XL crabs & some corn on the cob. Throw in a couple of beers and we were in heaven. Sweet & heavy crabs. All males. The service was great too. I forget his name, but a tall, red headed guy. Great personality! Best of all- the prices were NOT very high. Highly recommend. I'm thinking of a return visit as I type this.