Schultz’s Crab House

Solid classic crabhouse. One of the best in Baltimore, perhaps only behind Bill’s Terrace; in the same strong category as an Ocean Pride. Nice casual neighborhood atmosphere; good service. Laid back pace, so don’t come into a Baltimore crabhouse trying to rush anybody; Red Lobster would be happy to serve you quick. Great bar (Walt is a pro). Crabs have a good, comparatively complex seasoning blend, including JO type base, dry mustard, black pepper, rocksalt… Sandwiches are simple and solid. Crabcake is good (get jumbo lump). Cheeseballs simple and satisfying. Only knock is that they often run out of crabs before last seating, and while dependable year round, are probably a star behind Bills on always having them, and a half star behind Ocean Pride on the same count.

After reading the Unilocal reviews, I was under the impression that Schultz’s was an old fashioned crab house that serves steamed crabs.
My boyfriend and I went out of our way to visit the restaurant during our visit to Baltimore. It is in a residential neighborhood a little out of the way from the city.
Steamed crabs were not listed on the menu, so we assumed that we misread the Unilocal reviews. I ordered Crab Fluff and my boyfriend ordered crab cakes. Our food was just okay. The iceberg salad brought back memories of the 70’s and the baked potato was the highlight of my meal. The Fluff had a mushy bready crust that overwhelmed the simplicity of the fluff. The crab cake was pretty okay, but not memorable.
Our server seemed to be in a huge rush and overwhelmed, even though there were only three other small parties in the restaurant.
I believe the dishes are overpriced for the quality. As we left the restaurant, we saw a billboard in front of the restaurant advertising steamed crabs. We assumed that they weren’t serving steamed crabs, since they weren’t listed on the menu or anywhere else inside the restaurant.

Customer service excellent. I have never been disappointed. Fave dish is most def. Crab cake!

Favorite seafood restaurant ever! Love the JUMBO LUMP CRAB CAKES — you must get these if you go there. Fresh, hot homemade bread with all platters, mmmm. Steamed crabs are also amazing and more reasonable than all the other crab places around. Old school, casual and family owned — great people! Natty Boh on draft lol! Always have a great time. Wait staff is super friendly. Just remember to have some patience on the weekends and in the summer. You will have to wait for a table and it can get crazy. Just plan to enjoy yourself and relax. This is not a place for impatience, you gotta go with the flow and you won’t be disappointed. :) Steamed shrimp and cheese balls are also yummy.

Schultz’s is my all time favorite crab house. I love crabs and have been traveling to Maryland annually to enjoy them.
Here is why I love Schultz’s the most:
— the crabs were from Maryland (not Louisiana)
— the crabs were delicious, the meat was sweet
— the crabs were not over seasoned — just perfect (at another place my hands felt raw after eating; at Schultz’s my hands were just fine)
— the staff are super warm and friendly
— the staff helped pack leftovers with ice for my 5 hour car ride home.
The place reminds me of a familiar local family restaurant. When we were there, the restaurant was full of crab eaters, seafood lovers, and meat eaters. We saw a wide range of food being served and enjoyed. The crabs were definitely the most popular.
The most important thing — their crabs were the best and cost the least compared to other crab houses.

I was in Baltimore last weekend visiting friends and suggested we go here per the Unilocal reviews. They had never been but had always seen the parking full. We drove up at 1:30 Saturday afternoon and were able to park right out front — maybe first bad sign? Door sign said seat yourself so we picked a table by the window. Young waitress came over and gave us menus. My friend’s husband asked «what do you have for crabs today?» She replied «I don’t know I just got here». And that’s all we got for 7 minutes. No one ever came over and asked if we wanted drinks or brought water or told us about the crabs so we left and went down the road to a much friendlier crab place. Maybe just the wrong day since the very few people who were there didn’t seem to be eating crabs.

My boyfriend and I had the best time here– the wait staff was incredibly friendly, the food was delicious, and it was fun to eat! This was my first experience eating Maryland crab, so my boyfriend wanted me to have an authentic experience and this was definitely the place to go. We had the crab soup which was slightly spicy and reminded me of gumbo. It had nice chunks of crab meat and a ton of veggies. We also shared the crab pretzel which was essentially a soft pretzel covered in cheesy crab dip. It was SO GOOD. Definitely not to be missed! Skip the bread and get this instead. There are huge chunks of crab meat and cheese all over the place, it’s so darn good. And finally for the main event we got 12 crabs. They were the 24s. I’m not sure what that means but they threw in a few extra and they were so sweet and delicious! And they are so fun to eat! It’s sort of like breaking down a lobster but they don’t give you a mini fork so you really have to go to town on the thing. I got so excited about it, I sliced my thumb on the shell. But I didn’t even care it was so tasty!!! If you are looking for a delicious, fun dinner and an authentic Maryland crab meal– this is the place to go.

Growing up in Baltimore, I’m too familiar with neighborhood restaurant/​bars on the street corners (that, and duckpin bowling). I hadn’t been to one in a long time, so it was a #tbt moment meeting friends here for dinner last night. We went for the steamed crabs, but ended up ordering crab cakes and steamed shrimp while waiting the (expected) 35 minutes for 2 dozen of the «50’s» to arrive. Went with Jumbo Lump (not Backfin) and they were very good — packing a nice little ‘bite’ in the seasoning and — not kidding — no pieces of shell. Equally pleased with the steamed shrimp, although, for me, ‘jumbo’ shrimp is a size or two larger than these but again, tasty and a nice cocktail sauce (you’ll need more, it’s a small cup). Served with ‘crab seasoning’ (not Old Bay, but similar), the crabs were meat-​y and well cooked. They were not terribly consistent in size, but I never expect that. And whatever beer you drink there, try at least one Natty-​Boh, a Baltimore tradition, although not brewed locally anymore — a pilsener with light color and crisp (not very hoppy, sorry IPA fans) finish. Service was superb, we tipped 25%, coffee was made fresh for me, and a slice of creamy smooth chocolate mousse pie — my name for it, ’cause I can’t recall what they called it — there’s no desert menu — the waitress brought a hand written list of items, and this one had 2 slices left so… :) :)

Best crab cake in Maryland! The soft shell crab is damn good too.

Arrived at 7 pm on a Saturday. Got seated right away though there’s a little bit of a crowd. The server came up and asked us 24 or 38? We thought it was the size of the crab so we ordered 24 since you have to order a dozen at a time and there’s only 2 of us. We also ordered a bowl of crab soup from others recommendation.
The crab soup arrived right away and it’s a pretty decent sized bowl. It was more like a gumbo without the rice. It has pretty good flavor and some good sized chunks of crab. Slightly spicy but not like super spicy, so if the heat bothers you, then you should not order this. It’s not too salty so it was good.
Waited almost 40 minutes before our crab arrives. I think they probably only have 1 or 2 steamers and only steam one or two order at a time. The crab was really good. Lots of Old Bay seasoning. It gets kinda too salty at the end of the meal though. We also counted the crab and I think we got 1 or 2 extras. Hubby insisted he ate 8, though I thought he ate 7…
Highly recommend this place for crab. We didn’t try anything else since all we wanted was crab.
Some tips:
When you get into the restaurant from the bar side of the door, you have to walk into the crab/​seafood eating area to get the servers attention.
Yuengling from the tap was good!
The 24 meant the cost, not the weight or size! So if you can afford it, get the higher number and get there early.
If you are going with only 1 other person, get someone you can stand eating with for more than 2 hours. We spent 3.5 hours total in there and 2.5 on eating the crab. ;)
Wear your crappy clothes! And pants! It splashes everywhere… They don’t provide bibs like those in the south during crawfish festival. =)

My very first time in MD and thanks to my boyfriend my very first time experiencing MD Crabs! They were amazing!!! This place is def a must if you are in town. Our waitress Stephanie was the best wait… THE BEST waitress I’ve ever had. Her sweetness, charisma and enthusiasm was beyond amazing. She helped us pick our food and she was right on point.
Thank you Stephanie!!!

Went here after house hunting all afternoon and was more then pleased with everything! Had local crabs that we were told would be small because of it being so early in the season but was very happy with how much meat was in them! Service was great, food was outstanding, and the atmosphere was perfect for picking crabs. Highly recommend!!!

My cousin and I are from out of state. We came across the Shultz’s crab house on Unilocal.It was great. Amazing service good food. Friendly staff. Honestly nicest people we’ve met in Maryland during our trip.

We’ve been going to Schultz’s for years. We love the wood paneling and stuffed marlins and other nautical décor. In fact, we just love Schultz’s.
Was there last night and had a feast. Maybe it’s because it’s March and the crustaceans were from Louisiana, but the decent sized crabs weren’t very sweet or seasoned well. Raw oysters are good and a total bargain. The backfin crab cake wasn’t worth it. Spring for the lump. Among the sides, the cucumber salad is a definite stand out.
The very best thing they have at Schultz’s is the gumbo. It is not to be missed under any circumstances. (I was there with a native New Orleanean who was delighted.) And, while you’re getting gumbo, you may as well order a loaf of homemade bread as the perfect go with.
Schultz’s is the kind of restaurant that I think out-​of-​towners think of when they think of Baltimore restaurants. O’s on the bar tv – yes, pre-​season ball – loads of (fairly) affordable seafood, and unpretentious.
Will definitely be back often.

Great seafood. The soft shell crab is the best anywhere. Tip– ask for your crab cake well done. They tend to be still a bit mushy in the middle. Stuffed Shrimp is tasty and the crab pretzel rules. The steamed crabs are heavy and perfect amount of real Old Bay. Good selection of sides including fresh corn on the Cob and fresh garden salad.

Great soup, Friendly locals, typical neighborhood bar & restaurant! When in Baltimore this is def a go to eatery to experience great seafood. Sitting at the bar was fun ;)

This is everything a typical neighborhood, corner bar and restaurant should be in Baltimore. I have been here several times and usually eat in the bar area, just because of the lively vibe. Super friendly service even when the place is packed. The prices absolutely can’t be beat. Last night I had the whole lobster tail stuffed with crab meat and a NY strip steak cooked medium rare with a baked potato and broccoli for $ 27. A gin and tonic was a hair under $ 4. This is a neighborhood bar… that’s totally worth the 10 mile sojourn when I need a change of scene and flavor from my own hood.

Went a few months ago now but wanted to review this gem. Super divey place with a real local feel. Walked in and a few locals were hanging out at the bar and there was absolutely no one in the restaurant. Uh-​O… We decide to stay anyway and ordered a dozed large steamed crabs and a crab cake dinner (for 2). Crab cake was good but really didn’t need it because the crabs were big and filling! And o man… they were delicious! We ended up not being able to finish them and took them home and ate them the next day. Still just as good! Don’t let the emptiness fool you. This place was good and reasonably priced. Service was also friendly. When Crab season starts up again, this is the place to go. Disclosure: This was my first Maryland steamed crab experience but I’m no newbie to crab eating.

This place is definitely old school. I came for lunch and the waitress mentioned it had been slow lately. However, I felt EXTREMELY rushed when placing my order. In fact, I kept second guessing my order the whole time I was waiting for my food.
While the service I experienced was nothing to rave about, the food was very good. Definitely the best crab cake I’ve ever had. I ordered the Lump crab cake and friend shrimp platter. It was delicious.
I was hoping to order the steamed crab I read about in Unilocal reviews, but was told that’s not available during the day because no one is here to cook them. Bummer. Wish I would have known that before I came. Be sure to call ahead if you’re not going for dinner and you’re craving steamed crab.

Solid home cooked/​small town kind of place. Although I’ve never had crabs here, their entrees are solid. Ranging from black fin or lump crab cakes, variety of steamed fried shrimp, oysters (when they are in season — I wanted fried oysters last time I was there but apparently they weren’t in season), and a whole bunch of other seafood dishes. Entrees come with two sides and bread and are portioned well.
I suggest the lump crab cake combo with fried shrimp and cucumber salad for a side.
After a long day of boating this is our go to place to roll up our sleeves for some old county seafood and leave with happy full bellies.