the crab hut in Weymouth and Portland

Fabulous cabin like setting which must make this casual restaurant one of THE places to go on the South Coast on a warm day in the Summer! It wasn’t too bad on a cold but sunny day in April mind you! Starved of truly fresh fish and, particularly, shellfish where we live - as is most of England due to either lack of demand and/or supply - it was a joy to have the choice on offer and to be able to select three courses of great shellfish and fish all beautifully fresh. The oysters especially were up there with the very best we have ever had all over the world. It did not really bother us but the potatoes and greens that accompanied the mains were nowhere near the same standard as the fish! Special call out to the cooks and also the very good waitresses and waiter who were there when you needed them and always pleasant with big smiles!! It does not come cheap - for example, a guy at the next table only had hake fillet with samphire, a black coffee, water and, with service, paid £42. Ours was somewhat more but, to us, it was worth every penny! For those very special times, I would certainly recommend a visit.

First class meals and excellent service. You can tell that all of the staff and especially the chefs just love preparing your food and take immense pride in the presentation. The oysters are large, slightly salty and cannot be fresher being farmed a few metres away. Excellent house gin too!

Absolutely delicious food, with a fantastic menu and wine list. The best seafood we've had. Freshly and locally caught seafood. Great service, and in a wonderful location. Highly recommend Crab House Cafe.

Absolutely delicious!! We couldn’t fault the meal we had at The Crab house cafe. The oysters were fresh, each dish was well thought through and flavours complimented each other. The service was wonderful and we were greeted with such a warm welcome. Really nice to find a restaurant that caters for dairy free diets and I felt confident ordering! Fantastic find and can’t wait to return!

Please don’t go here because we want to keep it all to ourselves am, Best oysters I have had in an eon! Great fun hammering crabs and sending bits of shell fly all over the place. These guys know and love their seafood. Service excellent too. Buy their cookbook as a fond memory.

Exceptional quality fish cooked well and simply. The sardine starter was the best I’ve ever eaten. Good menu choice. Nice wine list. Attentive friendly service. 6 of us for lunch and everyone enjoyed all 3 courses. Reasonably priced. A great experience. Not sure why you’ve not yet made the Michelin Guide but well done guys.

We had arrived late afternoon when they were closed but we returned later without a booking & were seated in the marquee which had heated lamps above every table. The food was exceptional & all served with a smile, it could'nt be faulted. We would certainly go there again if the occasion arose, I hope it does! If you happen to go on a cold wet night with a gale blowing be prepared to eat with your coats on as most patrons were because although the marquees were heated but it can be a little on the cool side. That establishment in my mind was the best place I had ever eaten a meal for many a year. LONG MAY IT SURVIVE!!!

Great family meal, we decided to share bigger plates with kids. We had scallops and mussels to start. Monkfish curry and sole for the main split between myself and my two kids. My wife (not a big fish eater) had hake with truffle, goats cheese, mushrooms, pesto etc and absolutely devoured it! Desserts were top notch as well! Really friendly staff. Sat in heated marquee and it was nice and warm on a cold blustery night.

The Crab House Cafe is our Birthday & Anniversary Destination, we love it! This time we were located inside and able to see the kitchen in operation. It was terrific to see professionals at work. Our food was excellent; full of flavour, beautifully presented and the service was friendly and, importantly, knowledgable. We shared Scallops, Oysters cooked with Pesto and Parmesan, Fish Bhajis then had main dishes of Hake with a Nutty Crumb Crust and Barbecued Mullet and Mackerel. It was all cooked superbly. We drank an Elderflower Presse and Piquepoul Wine followed by Coffees, we couldn’t manage puddings. We feel the Crab Cafe is great value and would highly recommend it to Fish Faces like us😁

Just what I wanted for my birthday treat. My friends live in Weymouth and I stay with them regularly, will definitely go back to Crab House Caf

Marvellous! An exciting menu, prefaced by complimentary bread that is knockout, with dishes presented in fine style, at reasonable prices, made for an unforgettable lunch. The front of house staff, are keen, enthusiastic and proud of where they work - it shows and made our visit really enjoyable, thank you.

Fabulous restaurant. I had the hot Crab while my friends had the fish chowder. Mine was fantastic while they said it was the best they had ever had. The staff were exceptionally welcoming and friendly. It was expensive but worth it.

We are big seafood fans so this place was perfect for us! We ordered the crab with the thai sauce which was so delicious! The only slight let down was the kids meals were not very exciting and there wasn't many choices, which is a shame because not all kids want the same thing. My kids are big fish fans so it would have been nicer to have a small selection rather than just one choice for them. Overall, a good experience and I would recommend here.

This is a really good fish restaurant. The food is fabulous and my wife and I had the rare experience of judging all three courses as excellent.We also liked the coffee. Of course it's fish based and it's not cheap, but the mixture of flavours and the options are wide. We liked the simplicity of the surroundings as we are focused on the food. The service was excellent and friendly. It was quiet when we visited, but I would definitely book or call ahead - especially in the winter as they have limited inside space.

First visit to the Crab House Cafe this year. Really glad to see that the standard is as high as ever. The cafe looks fairly unassuming from outside but don't be put off by that. The standard of cooking is fantastic, which is what you come for. There is a very wide range of fish on the menu, mainly caught locally, but the specialities here are shellfish, principally oysters, crab and lobster. Keep in mind that the portions here are generous, as it is easy to get carried away with the various courses. The staff too are really good, always helpful and cheerful and they certainly enhance the overall experience One thought. The outside tables have a great view over the Fleet and are perfect on a sunny day. On the day that we went, it rained solidly for hours, so I am glad that this time we chose an indoor table. It depends how far ahead you book and how much you trust the forecast !

Wonderful food in a unique atmosphere overlooking chesil beach. The best sea food . Serve was excellent

Saw The Crab House Cafe on TV recently about Dorset, Being a crab lover booked for lunch last week. We booked (advised) the main restaurant seating and was shown to our table near the cooking area. Our drinks and orders were take while we waited watching the chefs cook the orders. The restaurant soon became full, even in the marque attached. Our starters of mussels were delicious. I had the whole crab for main whilst my partner had the child's portion of Fish and chips. I could only eat half of the crab and they kindly boxed the other half to take away. The Crab House Cafe is not a cheap place to eat BUT the fish and food is fresh and cooked individually for you, so is worth it in my mind. Will be going again.

A spectacular meal Difficult to choose. Wonderful brill. White Wine to match. Perfectly sized rhubarb fool. Friendly, professional service.

Excellent food Friendly service My one small niggle is that some items on the menu are over priced for example mackerel which is cheap in the fish munger and not a lot of expert cooking required . All in all a great night out.

The food lived up to it's reputation, and everything was delicious. There were a couple of hiccups (with the starter and then the bill), but they sorted it out and gave us free drinks as an apology, so we left perfectly happy and will definitely go there again. Staff were friendly and attentive. We sat in the Marquee (as it was raining outside), which was light and spacious, and each table has a heater over it - so you can keep nice and warm!

We went here for dinner last night, we usually try to eat here 2 to 3 times per year would be more if we could get in (always rammed) and as usual the food service ambiance staff was just fantastic. This is one of our...

Loved the Crab House cafe, great atmosphere, very nice staff, fabulous food! We will return next time we are in Weymouth, 100% worth a visit.

I have been meaning to try this place out before lockdown. Booked a table outside in the marquee. Fish was lovely, chips too overcooked, I should have stuck with the menu items. Lemon tart was also very nice. On the whole I enjoyed it, but...

A wonderful little restaurant with lovely fresh food. Scallops to start were to die for!! My only critique would be that there needs to be a bit more choice for children as there's only 1 option and that's fish and chips. Other than that it's...

This place was superb 🤩 friendly, knowledgeable staff, great selection of food & drink - delicious! Lovely place & can’t wait to go back!

My husband and I have just had the most delightful and delicious evening at the Crab House Cafe. Friendly and seamless service from all the front of house staff, and a great view of the pass in the open kitchen with the chef plating and...

Although it’s expensive, the food is amazing and the service is excellent. Extremely polite and friendly staff and every option on the menu looked appetising. Both the starters and the mains that I tasted were great. One star taken off the rating due to price,...

Great food with great service. While crab and whole lobster, both fresh and plentiful. You get what you pay for. Visited 2 years ago and standards have been maintained!

Mussels are small and half the size of what you would expect. The food is ok, but not much of a menu. The chips served are not nice. Needs real improvement. We were trying to eat, when a family decided there kids should play full...

You will not be disappointed if you visit this restaurant. As someone who is a head chef and classically trained i research before intensively hoping that I’ll walk away feeling at least satisfied with my meal . This restaurant is probably one of a kind...

Wow what can we say.... attended on Saturday for a birthday lunch. Food, service location, and price just spot on !!! An absolute gem of a place ...we will definitely be back very soon ... thank you to all 😊

We had such high expectations after reading so many rave reviews that we were really surprised to be rather disappointed with our meal. The starters were fine - fish bahji and sardines. The sardines were excellent, but not sure about the baby red mullet that...

Best oysters I have ever tasted. Beautifully cooked hake with wild mushroom and garlic main course. Good wine, great service and relaxed atmosphere. Our table was next to the fish prep area which was behind glass. Was good to watch them prep the fish and...

Superb fish dishes. On this visit I chose the spicy Chinese crab and it was fantastic. The staff are always very polite, friendly and professional. If you’re a fish lover, this is the place! It’s amazing.

We were 7 people having dinner at Crabhouse last night. Amazing food - had scallops for starter and mussels (with chips) as main. Really great food and the waiters are so nice and friendly. Don’t think twice! Go there - now!

We were visiting from Australia, so have high expectations when it comes to seafood. It is always a joy to outside, overlooking the oyster beds while exploring local delicacies on the table. The sustainability and seasonal approach to presenting simple, local food to a high...

This is always our go to restaurant, whenever we visit Dorset. We've been going here for many years. The reason we keep returning is that we have always had the most fabulous meals. The menu is ever changing - with the most delicious options. We...

I treated myself to a solo lunch here. It is quite hard to get a table. It is also quite tricky to get to if you don't drive - you have to get a No.1 bus from central Weymouth and get off at Chesil Vista....

We originally booked an outside table, due to biblical rains the restaurant thoughtfully called us and had arranged for us to have a table in the marquee, which proved to be ideal. The restaurant has a lovely setting, the staff were very attentive from start...

We have eaten here quite a few times, we invited friends to join us last night. I have to say it was our best experience yet! It was very busy but the staff are all really good at what they do. I had the haddock...

Wow, what wonderful seafood! So fresh and so delicious and good value too. We had fabulous baked oysters, Crab remoulade, fish bhajis freshly cooked seabass/mullet combination, a pair of beautiful megrim sole and a wonderful king (spider) crab. Not all in one sitting you understand...

Lovely location by the side of the Fleet,in mid July we'd hoped for a warm evening but unfortunately it was blowing a gale and raining. However, under cover it was warm and welcoming, staff friendly and extremely efficient, food outstanding and service excellent. Fish lovers...

This is certainly where to go if all of your group love seafood. Not a lot of other things on the menu. However they do seafood excellently. My seafood bisque was one of the best I've ever had. Lots of oysters (their speciality) being served....

Well they use what is available and for a seafood aficionado it must be heaven. However they did serve an extraordinarily sized sea bass that really was quite special. Locally caught using non powered vessels. The chefs and their assistants must have worked hard between...

Wauw, zo'n organisatie! Ongelooflijk volle verwerking in een open keuken met annex. Lekkere verse producten! Krab, vis, schelpdieren, weekdieren... Super!...

We had a brilliant meal and served by friendly, efficient, staff. Lovely location. Not cheap, but we were happy with the cost , especially in comparison to others in the area.

The Crab House Café offers very local sourcing of their produce, and this commitment to their food is show top to tail—rope grown oyster to plate. Oysters were new to me, and the Oysters here were fresh and tasty. This was served alongside bread with...

Amazing Restaurant! Friendly staff. Great atmosphere ☺️ I had the fish salad it was so delicious! The chili Crab was tasty !! Highly recommend 😋 We all had a delicious food and amazing time😊 We will be back!

What a fabulous place! If wanted to go for a long time and it far exceeded my expectations. Wonderful food and lovely friendly staff. Truly a brilliant place to visit.

Well that was outstanding. Husband has just said he thinks he can’t remember a meal as good as that for some time. Highly recommend the baked oysters on the specials. Just wow

Always so good and just as good this time. Such friendly service and the food is just brilliant. Great chilled atmosphere and such a pleasure to go there.

Thank you so much to Darren and the team for just being so awesome and providing us such “wow” food. If you have never stopped here before, then you are truly missing out! Thanks again and can’t wait to return! 😍

We travelled from Wells in Somerset with good friends to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary on a lovely summer evening. Its been around 6 years since our last visit & I will not be making that mistake again. The place has been done up with a...

We visited here on the last night of our holiday and we were certainly rewarded with amazing food, views and service. We both had 3 courses along with an Oyster course and the food was fresh, tasted amazing. Cooked beautifully and the best hollandaise we...

We had lunch here on my birthday - again. Lovely fresh fish and friendly service. They grow their own oysters off the beach and sell their own gin produced there. The food is very good and the location great.

Appallingly slow service. All food ordered was from the fridge so no cooking required still it took 45 minutes for the starter arrive and a further 30 for cold crab. £34 for a very small crab and a handful of leaves is expensive. For that...

We visited for our anniversary and sat inside the tented section. Our dining preference is fish and seafood and everything we ordered was sublime. Our first courses of Monk Fish Pastrami, Crab Remoulade & Oysters with Pesto and Parmesan were exquisite and our main course...

Ordered different things and sharing in between my family members. The food were fresh and amazing taste. Even if my kids love them as well. Definitely will return again and highly recommend to anyone. Staffs are friendly and helpful as well.

Delicious seafood lunch in a great outdoor location. Loved the casual atmosphere combined with delicious, well presented food. Also they do have, when asked, options for those who don’t love seafood. Service amazing. Favorite dining venue of our 2 week UK visit.

Fresh. Tasty. Variety. Wonderful staff and service! We sat outside on what felt like the first real day of Spring being 22 degrees and sunny!

Absolutely love this restaurant and I really aren't a huge fan of fish!!! This was a return visit and I really can only recommend that you have to try it - produce is of the highest quality, and the chefs cook each piece of fish...

We come to Weymouth once a year and always book the Crab House (I've known it for years as the Crab Shack...) for our final night treat. Never fails. Some grumblers, some folk would complain if St Peter let them through the Pearly Gate? So...

A perfect night out, excellent service, excellent food and wine, would highly recommend, our fish was wonderful 👍

Never had a bad meal here. Staff are friendly and efficent and the food excellent. I recommend the hake and the cheeseboard was superb. We will definitely go again next time we are in Weymouth.

I can see why Rick Stein recommended this restaurant! Very friendly front of house team, and good atmosphere, the waiting staff are very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the food and drinks. The king crab was excellent so was the skate, can’t recommend this enough...

After going to the opposition this delightful restaurant is an absolute gem. Food excellent, Staff very warm and welcoming and the decor very well maintained and tastefully done. No deposits involved. we arrived early and were shown to an excellent table for an Al la...

We had an amazing lunch at the Crab House Cafe. The food was absolutely stunning, as was the wine. The staff were incredible, all positive, knowledgeable, and friendly.

Came here on recommendation and we weren’t disappointed. Super friendly and accommodating staff, relaxed atmosphere, delicious food and their own brew. Multi award winning and rightly so. Reserve in advance to be sure of a table. The menu, as you might expect, is entirely fish,...

At Easter, my husband and I along with our 5 year old, spent a week in Weymouth. One day walking along the costal path we came across Crab Cafe, however it was not open. We were immediately impressed with the fact that the Cafe had...

Birthday meal, we were on holiday with our dog. Ushered to an anex heat put on and blankets provided. Food and service exceptional. We had 12 oysters that were sweet and meaty. Paired with a crisp white wine and served with complimentary delicious bread and...

Staying in Weymouth for a week we were keen to find a good fish restaurant. Our visit here proved to be a great choice. The fish was excellent, a great selection of wine and the service attentive and really friendly.

Disaster averted ! My internet booking didn't go through, so we turned up for an anniversary dinner to find we had no table...! After some fancy foot work by the maitre 'd he found us a great table so all was well. What followed was...

Visited on a whim and was seated in their sunny spacious courtyard. Bread and oil was bought to us as a free gesture, the bread was warm and lovely tasting. All waiters/waitresses that served us were professional and polite and one even offered us extra...

Fantastic seafood, tried oysters for the 1st time. Desserts were simply delicious and our kids loved smashing open the crab. Cosy setting with friendly and attentive staff. Lovely holiday treat.

First visit this year and was as exceptional as always! First class food and just as good service from a team they retain year after year! Speaks volumes in itself! Amazing environment, food and drink! The best!

We tried to pop in to this “café” for a couple of drinks on the way back from a lovely walk along the coast, with a view to seeing what it was like for future dinner plans. We were greeted by an especially pompous waiter...

This was our third visit here as it’s a bit of a drive but worth every minute of it. The seafood bisque was one of the nicest things I have ever tasted, the lemon sole stuffed with crab and cheddar was amazing and we couldn’t...

Great food we will be back and its dog friendly. The sea food was fresh and beautifully prepared , the staff were very friendly and competent.

Great place to eat. Stunning. Service, food, price. 10/10. My wife and I had a great 3 hours there yesterday 29th March. Fun cracking crab,

Never write reviews but this place is wonderful, so felt obliged We went (for dinner) two nights in a row the menu, food and experience was so good. The service is so friendly and efficient. The fresh mackerel was the best I've tasted. The baked...

This little restaurant is amazing, we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day so we sat outside, staff were very welcoming and helpful, we started with a dozen beautiful portland oysters, so fresh and tasty, and the fish bahji which was really tasty, mains were...

Everything, from entering to leaving was perfect. The staff were very professional and helpful. The food was one of the best lunches we have had for a very long time. I would highly recommend a visit you won’t be disappointed. We will be back soon,...

A lovely, friendly place to learn how to get the most from a crab. The oysters were great, too. Also thanks to the team for quickly returning a key I dropped while at the restaurant!

Our first visit here on a recent weekend trip to Weymouth. Love finding an independent fish restaurant on our travels, and this place - found by chance - is up there with the best we've found on the south coast across the years. Fresh fish...

I've lost count of how many times we've been to the Crab House Cafe - it is very much our go-to place for special occasions. Every special occasion we can think of. Even some manufactured/invented special occasions. And it never disappoints. (OK, it did once,...

Warm welcome, great staff and superb lunch… I had the Monkfish which was perfectly cooked with crisp cabbage and potatoes

Second visit here and both times the food and service has been perfect. Bought a copy of the cookbook whilst we were there and I can’t wait to try the recipes.

Food and service very good, top end in price but worth the money. Until the weather warms up do not book the marquee, it is very cold and the heating is totally in adequate.

Great fresh fish and service. Had the scallops and the seafood bisque to start. The scallops were cooked perfectly with a great balance of flavours while the bisque was a warming delight on a cold winter's day. For the main course we had monkfish and...

Last went eight years ago and the standard was excellent. This time the food and service was average. Perhaps Portland oyster are always overly salty. Certainly compared to Irish, Breton or Essex oysters they were 'full of ozone'. Also, my partner had a bad oyster...

We visited as a group of 6 as a 60th Birthday, you won't find a finer sea food restaurant, must have the oysters !! Amazing menu and service.

This fabulous restaurant sits at the edge of the Fleet on the mainland side of the causeway to Portland, the approach road is a little rough in places, belying what lies ahead. - We had very high expectations of Crab House Cafe, based on all...

We had a great lunch which started with really delightful staff greeting us. It’s a rustic, quirky establishment so if you want fine dining with sophisticated decor this isn’t your place however it’s going with the times and the sea theme. The menu was all...

The sea food here is beyond amazing. Forget about where else you’ve been- this is outstanding. And also superb customer service. Absolutely fantastic

Excellent super-fresh fish beautifully cooked & presented, with an excellent bottle of Bacchus English wine - perfect! Seated close to kitchen and watched friendly efficient team work by all staff all evening.

We loved our experience here, the staff were so welcoming and helpful. I had the hake fillet which was absolutely delicious. We tried fish crackling for the first time, never seen that before on a menu, amazing! Wonderful ambience with tasty food, highly recommend!

A lovely rural Shack, loads of atmosphere, yards from the sea where their oysters, crab etc are farmed/caught. So so fresh! We had a wonderful meal of many many oysters followed by crab - I had an individual lesson on how to tackle my crab!...

Not without its faults but above the line for an excellent rating. Service a bit chaotic and no inside table which we had booked, was reserved for us although one was readily available. Four people, three courses, 100% empty plates speak for themselves although if...

I had a whole brown crab. It was totally delicious l. It was large so now I know why they put half a crab on the menu. I did eat it all. No desert though.

This was a truly memorable meal! The fish crackling was a revelation and the mussels were perhaps the best I've ever tasted. Friendly service and a nice location made this a great all round dining experience.