Crab Shack in Cornwall, Isles of Scilly

Great food, friendly staff and good service. However, the seating was very cramped. Despite all of our table being of normal BMI we could literally only get one buttock on the bench. Thankfully a party of four on another table cancelled at short notice so we moved. This also helped the others on the table that we moved to. Recommendation: reduce the number of people per table or put a chair at each end of the table thereby taking two bums off the benches.

Lovely place. No real vegetarian options - but they did offer to make a vegetable skewer. Scallops and crab were amazing. Don’t go if you don’t like crab! We will definitely return as a very chilled vibe with excellent food. We had young kids with us too , who also really enjoyed it -Thank you !

Well overrated and very poor value for money Crab was awful but scallops were excellent Service was poor

A completely different dining experience but an amazing one. Set in a rustic environment and seated on communal wooden tables, the menu choice is what you would expect - either scallops (with different flavoured butters) or sardines to start and a choice of small, medium or large crab for mains(again with a choice of flavoured butters) with salad or fries as side dishes. A couple of dessert options to follow. The ambience is magical and the food sensational. Not cheap but why would it be, this is food on the highest level - simple, fresher than fresh and incredibly tasty.

What a brilliant concept this is! So simple and so much fun. Coming from Tresco makes it extra fun with the boat ride and walk. Thank you also for providing a lift for the less mobile members of our groups! We enjoyed our delicious meals and a good time was had by all!

Stunning fresh delicious crab with attentive and friendly service in stunning surroundings. Best meal of the year!

The Crab Shack is one of those restaurants you don’t believe exists til you get there. Down a rough track, in the middle of a farm field, past clucking hens and geese, diners - fresh off their boats - stumble across a tiny stone barn with a marquee attached. Swap your jacket for an apron at the door and get stuck in with claw crackers at long, sociable trestle tables, crab pots and nets hanging from the low ceiling. We feasted on mussels and truly exceptional crab, straight out of the sea thanks to the wonderful Pender family, served in beautiful copper Portuguese cataplana. The scallops were the best we’ve eaten - try the chilli and lime butter, or the lemon and chive. And to top it all, a brilliant atmosphere, with happy diners and the menu (crab, scallops, mussels, chips, salad and bread - and that’s it) chalked up on a blackboard. Great wine, too. Plus they knocked up an amazing roasted vegetable dish with chilli feta for one of our party who can’t eat seafood. If it wasn’t for the incredible scallops and crab, this might well have been the star of a pretty awesome show all round. It’s fantastic for families with foodie kids - ours (9 and 6) love diving in to the sharing dishes as the sun sets. We took our great friends there for the first time this year and they were open-mouthed. Great little place. Very special indeed.

Lovely and a new treat for us. What a setting and what lovely people and food. Can't wait to get there again in April 2021

We had an amazing lunch at the crab shack, it was fun for all the family and had a great atmosphere.

Amazing night with friend, lots of fun, great staff, good atmosphere. We come every year and we will be back.

Like being back at school, scrubbed pine benches & tables, all muck in together. Menu offer quite restricted but if you want the best Crab, Scallops & Mussels, this is where they are. Nice to see the wine offering as been extended since my last visit. Super fun evening.

This is such a treat. Tucked away, it is small, cosy and atmospheric. The simple menu makes everything super-easy. You share tables with other people which usually I would n't be keen on but it works here. We met some fabulous people and enjoyed a good laugh and a few too many glasses of wine.

A must do experience when visiting Bryher.My only feedback would be to introduce a handwash station outside the crab shack, even if just cold water with some organic soap, the only option to clean your fingers was to use plastic wet wipes (which we should be avoiding) or to walk 5 minutes to the toilet. Or maybe they could do some hot water lemon bowls instead?

If you don’t like shellfish, don’t even contemplate the Crab Shack for dinner. They have a simple menu of scallops or mussels for a starter, medium, large or monster crab for a main and either Elton mess or cheese board for dessert. Small wine list and only tinned beer/cider as it’s a barn away from the main of Hell Bay Hotel. As others have stated, the “extras” (bread, salad, chips) come at a price, but at this, our 3rd visit we got it right, a couple of cans each, share a starter, a medium crab with fries and salad and an Eton mess - plenty for even our large appetites, was £74.Ambience, as always, is great - met by smiley, happy attentive waiters who provided us with crab shack aprons for the meal and sat at trestle tables. You can’t not socialise with the people sat around you as you’re all sat together and using your hands and the tools provided to get every gram of crab meat out.Best meal of the holiday.

The crab is exceptional. So is the moules mariniere . Unfortunately neither come with any sides. The muscles don't even come with bread. Bread is £4.50 per basket of 6 tiny slices. For a table of 8, we had to buy 5 baskets of bread, 3 baskets of chips and 2 baskets of salad to go with the rich seafood. This was an absolute rip off and spoilt our evening. Advice to the restaurant: make your mains MORE expensive and incorparate sides to COME WITH THEM, rather than charging extortionate prices for sides that should come with the meal.

Great food, great service, great drink. This place has a small menu and nails everything on it! 10 out of 10

Despite a grey foggy boat trip from St Mary’s the warm welcome at the Crab Shack dispelled any gloom. Service was prompt and friendly, the wine list small but perfect and the ambience was fabulous. We enjoyed scallops, mussels, both monster Bryher Crab and a large Spider crab accompanied by delicious flavoured butters. Chips and salad completed the main course, and we found room for sharing desserts of Elton mess and two generous cheese boards. The casual but well though out setting, and the communal fun of extracting the sweet meat from the carapace made for a brilliant family evening.Thank you to the lovely staff xx

We were lucky enough to acquire a booking at the very popular and sought after Crab Shack. We couldn't have been happier with the evening. The food is simple yes but also delicious. We had the scallops, mussels and crab which were all cooked in tasty assorted butters. The sides were generous in portion. The price is reasonable considering the produce is super fresh, local and cooked to perfection. We loved the rustic ambience and atmosphere with the aprons, finger bowls and hand towels. It's a get stuck in and get messy affair which is all part of the fun!We had both the Eaton mess and the cheese board which were both beautiful with a wonderful thoughtfully selected variety of cheeses.The staff were a friendly, attentive and very smiley bunch.We couldnt recommend the experience enough!

Still one of our favourite nights on the Scilly Isles - such a cool venue and such a simple offer. If you come from Tresco you even get a quick boat ride to aid your appetite.

Great experience. Delicious fresh crab. Very messy but well worth it. Mussel and Scollop starters were delicious too. Oh and don't forget the mountainous Eaton Mess to finish us off! They have got things just right here with a limited menu of things done very well.

I can't see how you can fail to enjoy this experience! Great fun an food an company! Nearby hell bay hotel for final drink rounds off an amazing evening!

This a great place for shellfish lovers. It is a converted barn with long tables, so grooups sit together and start chatting away, which is lovely. It is all very relaxed and simple - rolls of kitchen roll on the tables instead of posh napkins.

The Crab Shack is a unique institution - serving it's tight menu of Crab and Mussels quickly and efficiently. You all have to muck in and share tables , so it isn't fine dining - as you learn when they kit you out with an apron as a starter. You'll learn a lot about your neighbours as well as a primer on crustacean anatomy.

You need to book this in advance as very popular. Great food and great fun. Literally a barn with tressle tables.

Great Fun we go every year, but feel the whole great idea is getting a little tired, expensive but perfectly cooked fare, Only three wines but well chosen.

It’s set on beautiful Bryher, in a stone farm building a few minutes away from the hotel. The food was amazing and the staff were lovely. I would advise going hungry as it’s definitely worth trying both the scallops and the mussels to start. Everything was delicious, from the bread to the Eton mess for pudding. We loved that you are on shared tables and get to chat to others there.

Strolling down to the Crab Shack on a beautiful sunny evening , you are in one of the most beautiful spots in the British Isles. The shack itself is a stone barn with marquee-type add-ons to accommodate the kitchen area and some extra seating, and looks over pasture and the spectacular Nor'ard Rocks and the Atlantic Ocean. On arrival you are given an apron, presumably to save you from spillage . . . so far so good.

My husband was desperate to visit the crab shack (our GP actually recommended it), I don't eat shellfish, but on booking they were happy to prepare meat kebabs for me. Things went badly from the start, we ordered wine, but asked for some ice to go with it, no they don't do ice, we asked for sparkling water, no they don't do sparkling only plain. Everything was highly priced on the menu, huge charge for bread, chips, salad. Because I don't eat shellfish, my husband had the mussels to start (all the items are to share), he said they were excellent. My mains came and it was very enjoyable, my husband ordered the medium crab which cost £20, there was no meat in the body.....just an empty shell! The claws did have some meat in them, but certainly didn't fill him up! I asked a member of staff where the brown meat was, reply.....wrong time of year for brown meat, we don't know if that was true or not, but I would have been embarrassed to serve that crab and charge £20 for it! If you need to visit the loo or wash your hands while there, then it's a good 5 minute walk to the Hells Bay Hotel to use their facilities, OK on a good day, but if you needed it on a wet and windy day then all I can say it would be an interesting experience!

This is our forth visit to Philip Callans great fun idea for some of the best seafood on the Scillies. Before eating you are given a big apron to prevent you getting covered in the delicious sauces & juices. I have eaten Scallops all over the world, I have to say these were the best by far, wonderful Mussels & great big crabs to get stuck into as well

The Crab Shack is a special place form my husband and I - we book well in advance of our trip and bribe our eldest daughter to babysit on that one evening so we can go without children. We are massive seafood lovers so the small choice of scallops or mussels to start and Crab for main is perfect (you can have a bigger scallops or mussels for main if crab is not your thing). The wine is simply delicious and there is a real sense of fun.

My husband and I booked this restaurant a couple of months before our visit and its clearly essential to do this if you want to eat here.

This place is great! We ate here twice during our stay. The staff are lovely and the food is fresh and tasty. It could be a bit unnerving for people having to share a bench table, but no problem for us, we found it really lovely and friendly.

The Crab Shack is unique - it's a must "go to" little restaurant in The Isles of Scilly. From the early evening boat trip (unless you're staying on Bryher) to the amazing crab, scallops or mussels - it's a fantastic treat.

Crab Shack is a seasonal offering from the Hell Bay Hotel. The concept is great and the food is fun and well-prepared (everyone gets an apron on entering, so you can get messy!), but ..... the waitress wasn't knowledgeable about the food and with such a limited menu, there is no excuse. The sharing tables idea can work, but we were a party of 6 sharing with another party of 5 and it would have made more sense to have a chair at our end of the table, so we didn't have to sit 4 opposite 2. We asked the waitress for a chair, but but she said there wasn't one. We were seated in the very back of the shack (it is a rustic affair, and seems to be a temporary building partly made of breeze blocks) and it was very dark, and with no window our side in spite of the lovely sunshine and views outside, so you felt very enclosed. Finally, the choice of music was truly depressing. We asked them to turn it down so we didn't have to listen to Harry Nilssen singing 'I can't live if living is without you!' and other songs from artists drowning their sorrows. Whole thing needs to be lightened up. Concept great, execution poor.