Food was AMAZING. King crab legs vs Snow?! I’d have to go with the snow crab legs! The hush puppies were awesome. Mac and cheese delicious. Great service. Wonderful owner! I will be back!
L T.
Rating des Ortes: 1 River North, Chicago, IL
Horrible and greedy owner of this restaurant. We ordered a $ 45 bottle of wine and the waiter mistakenly brought us a $ 95 bottle(same type of wine), and we were forced to pay for this. On calmly discussing this issue with the owner, he threatened to call the police if we did not pay for the $ 95 bottle and yelled«GETOUTOFMYFACE». We ended up paying of course. Food and ambience is mediocre.
Josh P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Herndon, VA
For a while, the so-so reviews kept me from trying Captain Ma’s, but I finally gave it a shot one evening when my wife was out of town, then returned with a friend for a second visit, and last night went back again with wife and in-laws. Three excellent meals for me, and friend, wife and in-laws were all also very impressed. Terrific flavor, big portions, very reasonably priced for seafood, extraordinarily friendly and helpful service — and a table side visit from one or both of the owners every time. Last night I had the Captain’s Grill Combo, which you can see in the photo. A tastily stuffed blue crab, succulent oysters, a big Alaskan crab leg cluster, a mound of garlic mashed potatoes, and two pieces of corn on the cob — all for $ 29. We all split a heaping plate of calamari to start, and the house-made potato chips up front were a nice touch, better than bread. Ma’s is a little hard to find, which probably explains why it’s never crowded — but it’s a real find, and I will be back again and again!
Norberto R.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Herndon, VA
Nice local place. The food was delicious and the service was great. The prices are a bit high but you get what you pay for. Great restaurant a little off the beaten path but still easy to get to. Will definitely be back.
Peyton J.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Kingston, NY
Updating. Owners are so sweet so I really need to tell all that I’ve tried this place again twice since my last review. The crabs are awesome and so is the crab dip. The service is not great but I have to say, I have been pleased with their crabs and I do enjoy when they have music as well. I will see them again soon for those yummy crabs for sure.
Christine A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Herndon, VA
This is one of our favorite places for dinner. We especially love the crab cakes, full of crab and cooked beautifully. Their oysters on the half-shell are delicious and the accompaniments are the best Ive had. One, the pickled cucumber, is so good I ask for extra and after I finish my oyaters, I just eat the rest up. Before meals they serve homemade potato chips — yum! The service is friendly and helpful.
Sara C.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Centreville, VA
Want snow crabs, blue crabs? Want oysters or shrimp? This is the place to be! Want a lively bar scene or an night out on the town«experience». This is not the place to be… though they try. Pros: I was here on a Saturday evening between 5 and 7. We love seafood and were craving a good crab fix. The staff was very friendly and checked on us often. The menu was varied and has something for everyone. The snow crabs were sweet, juicy and cooked just right and they kept them coming without hesitation. The blue crabs were a good size and weight, especially for December. I got fried oysters and shrimp to go for family that didn’t join us. They too were very pleased. I love hushpuppies too and though I think they were frozen, I still was very pleased with the flavor and texture. Cons: What this restaurant lacks is a good location. It is on the dark end of a slow moving shopping center, facing the dark side of a residential development, away from other restaurants that might draw more attention. On a Saturday night, the restaurant should be full but there were only 5 couples in the whole place. On the flip side, in the case that this place were to be busy, I don’t know if they could handle it with the 2 waiters(1 of whom is also the bartender). The manager/owner did his best to make sure that we were happy and comfortable. Recommendation to Mgmt.: Don’t talk business in the dining hall/bar area. Even if you only have one table, your guests don’t want to hear you talk shop while they eat. All of this being said, I WILLDEFINITELYBEBACKFORTHECRABSANDOYSTERS! I enjoyed the quiet dining experience for a change!
Chad H.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Chantilly, VA
Where to start. Hush puppies called butter. Never showed up. Instead we received a jalapeño type sauce. Not expected but it was ok. Ordering drinks seemed like a life time to accomplish. The place on a Saturday night was completely under staffed. I watched my beer sit at the bar for up to 8 minutes. It’s ok, my server put a stirring stick in it to bring back the foam so I would get the impression it was just poured. Slick move but something not overlooked. In a nut shell the food was good, not great. Service absolutely horrible.
Matthew S.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Herndon, VA
Decent visit first time… Sharp decline every visit since. I will stick to our last visit for this review. The food is very overpriced for what they are offering. Everything we ordered was frozen prior to cooking and almost everything came out over cooked. Needing a steak knife to cut the buffalo shrimp was a bit much. This place has never been busy, but this is the first time I have been there where the owner sent the bartender home at 9pm on a Saturday when there was live music. I would like to say that this is why it took forever to get a drink, but the owner filling in behind the bar was making the drinks quickly as they came in… It was our server that was the biggest problem. I get it, it is hard to keep a good server at a restaurant with minimal customers. But this place might be scraping the bottom of the barrel with the guy we had last night. He screwed up 80% of everything we ordered. No shame from him… When you tried to talk to him he would just walk away mid sentence. Back to the drinks… After the first time it took us 10 minutes to receive 2 beers in an empty restaurant we decided to watch the bar for our next order… Our beers were ready within 2 minutes of being ordered. Our server sat next to the bar for 7 minutes before thinking about bringing them over. To make the beers look fresher, he stirred them to foam them up. Blew. My. Mind. To finish off one of the worst restaurant experiences ever, when we got our checks that this server completely screwed up, instead of fixing them, he went to the bar, made himself a drink, put on his coat and hat and went outside for a smoke break. Screw this place. It has nice owners, but the food is decent at best while overpriced, and the servers will ruin your time out.
Jason E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Sterling, VA
I visited this restaurant for happy hour and was pleased overall. The waiter was friendly and routinely checked on the table to see if anything was needed. The seating was clean and comfortable. I tried an appetizer since all apps are ½ price during happy hour — and was very satisfied when my crab quesadilla was brought to the table. It was a large, tasty portion that could easily have been split by two people. Happy hour also consisted of discounted beer. I would have loved to try one of their special mixed drinks, but none of them were included in happy hour pricing(only beer unfortunately). I plan on returning soon for another happy hour to try a different appetizer.
Nicole F.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Ashburn, VA
The owner is an absolute sweetheart and the food is fantastic! Our family goes here often and just have the best time and food every single time. Always a great experience and friendly service. Can’t wait to go back!
Jen A.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Ashburn, VA
Loved this place. They have gator bites. Reminds me of Florida. We will definitely be back.
Megan C.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Herndon, VA
Though the raggedy parking lot and obviously-a-former-Ruby-Tuesday don’t give the best first impressions, Captain Mas is the epitome of a family dream of owning a restaurant and putting all you’ve got into it, and maybe needing some(gentle) help from a(kinder) Restaurant Impossible. What the restaurant lacks in soul, compelling menu options, and preparedness for large parties, it makes up for in genuine effort to please, fair prices, and a few standout items. Don’t order the fried oysters, just don’t. They were very«off» and tasted far too much of the watery depths from which they came to be worth eating. Do order the«gator tots» if not just for the kitsch value to say you ate you some gator, but also because they’re tasty little fried bits. The hush puppies are a decent effort, but wouldn’t pass muster with hush puppy aficionados(do those exist?). Creamy clam chowder was well-received. Entrees are plentiful in choice but generally lacking in execution in terms of flavor. The catfish/mahi tacos were not well-received, nor was the swordfish. The standouts to order are the shrimp and grits, diver scallops, steak(yes), and everyone’s favorite — the crab cakes. This consisted of two(!) 5 oz all-crab cakes with NO filler and just a gentle baste of lemon from their pan seared goodness. Well worth it. Presentation, aesthetically, of all entrees, was well-executed. Sides — take em or leave em. Fries tasted like they went straight from the freezer into the fryer, and«chef’s vegetables» consisted of Stouffer’s-like frozen veggies dumped in butter. Folks seemed to enjoy the buttery mashed potatoes, though. So — accommodating to large groups, but sad to see such a large restaurant so empty at dinner time, and know the owner(Captain Mas himself?) is doing his best, onsite, to keep people happy. A crab house should have crab offerings — and the crab cakes were great. Avoid the oysters, tacos, and stick with crab, shrimp, and scallops. Hopeful the Captain can fill more seats and focus on the seafood he does best.
Skylar B.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Orlando, FL
Friendly and kind helpful staff easily able to accommodate our party of 22 for a last minute reservation for a corporate dinner. The owner was so kind and caring. Our server was attentive and working as hard as he could to make sure we were all happy and comfortable. Gator tots, hush puppies and surprisingly fresh edamame all nice group appetizers. We didn’t take to the fried oysters too much. The homemade chips they bring to each table were cooked and seasoned to perfection bringing nice balance between flavor a. Scallops, crab cakes, shrimp and grits were some of the favorite entrees. More crab then cake crab cakes that everyone agreed were worth any wait. Overall a nice experience, no wait, large group, everyone went home happy and fed. Don’t judge this place by the parking lot.
Alys M.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Berkeley Springs, WV
This is the fourth or fifth time we have been to Captain Mas and each time has been excellent. We usually order the all you can eat crab legs. They steam the crab legs fresh for every round you order, they don’t just sit under lights. The owners are on site, which is rare these days. The employees appear happy, another good sign. Chris and Jason are great bartenders and will take good care of you. They are always willing to go the extra mile to make sure everything is great. And if it is not, tell them and they will fix it for sure. Great place, kind of hidden in cascades but it is totally worth seeking out.
The I.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Vancouver, Canada
Service: 5 Food: 5 Visiting from Vancouver for a soccer tournament and found this place. Well worth it. We had the all u can eat King crab. Great customer service and great food. The staff are very genuine and friendly. Made us feel right at home. Well deserving of 5 stars.
Shawn F.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Sterling, VA
The seafood was quite good. I had the crabcakes and they were great. However, the fries and mixed vegatables were bland. In fact, they tasted like they came from the grocery store freezer section. For the prices they charge, that’s ridiculous. Also, the service was slow on both my visits. The parking lot is always empty, and after coming here twice I’m pretty sure I know why. I don’t expect them to be around much longer.
Mak ..
Rating des Ortes: 5 Washington, DC
Great food and excellent service! I’m from Savannah, Georgia and this place reminds me of some of my favorite spots at home!
Jeff P.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Springfield, VA
We have been driving by this restaurant for a year and a half and not tried it. Not because we don’t like crab, because the parking lot is not very crowded. The crab cake burger was huge and fresh. The crab legs were also fresh and delicious. The service was attentive however they said because the food is prepared fresh it takes longer, dont be in a hurry. We are definitely returning again.
Tiffany T.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Philadelphia, PA
This place was decent. What made it better was the service. Our server/bartender was excellent. We cannot remember her name but she made our table great drinks, she had a wonderful personality, and kept everything running smooth at our table. We got the Jumbo shrimp and the gator tots as our appetizers. Both around $ 12 each. Everyone at the table liked both and they went pretty quickly. However the entrees were not as good. One member of my party ordered the New York strip. She thought the steak itself was dry and overcooked, and the her mashed potatoes were pretty lumpy. Another member of my party ordered the crab cakes… he felt that the crab meat almost tasted like the frozen precut ones you get at the grocery store. Another member of the party got the fish and chips which he thought was pretty decent. I didn’t get an entrée but tried the fried oysters instead which I thought were delicious. We also got the brownie dessert which we all enjoyed. My advice would be to go here for drinks, the raw bar, and appetizers. The entrees aren’t worth the money.