The Rum & Crab Shack Reviews Summary

Location & View

Pros:

• "The view over harbor is fantastic and the location - upstairs and away from the street - makes it wonderful to kick back and relax a bit."
• "Great location right in the heart of St Ives in Cornwall."
• "As a bonus this place come with a great view too!"
• "Great atmosphere, beautiful view, overlooking the harbour."
• "A very quirky fun place, if your lucky you can get a seat near the window with a great view of the harbour."
• "The location itself is fun and lends itself to a relaxing evening with ease."
• "The location is very nice just in front of the beach."

Cons:

• "Decent view over the harbour if you can get a table near the window but spaces there are cramped and the windows really need replacing as it’s pretty gloomy in there."
• "We felt like an inconvenience the entire time as we were shoved in the corner with a broken table."
• "Can get very busy and booking isn't possible in advance so be prepared to wait for a table."
• "Not for anyone with mobility problems, which is a shame because the service was great, the food perfect, if a little pricey & great views across the harbour if your luck enough to nag a window table."
• "No outside area."
• "They have very rigid rules about where you can and can’t eat and where dogs can or can’t be in the restaurant."
• "Only problem is place bit dark and may not much people think very welcoming."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Good seafood and friendly service."
• "Very delicious and a good amount of food for the price tag."
• "Wonderfully atmospheric, gorgeous food and amazing cocktails!!"
• "The food was excellent, especially the crab and ribs."
• "The food was of a very high standard - fish was beautifully fresh and full of flavour."
• "Fresh whole 🦀 crab was my favourite, prawns, whitebait was so good."
• "The 'Crab Loaded Dirty Fries' are really good, with a generous helping of crab."

Cons:

• "The crispy squid tasted like it was frozen food instead of fresh."
• "Food was AWFUL. Chips tasted like soggy oven fries, ribs were fatty and lacking flavour, crab Mac and cheese lacked crab and cheese."
• "The other dishes seemed lacking. We had dirty fries which were the most expensive plate of chips we've ever had."
• "The food is definitely overpriced."
• "The crab mac n cheese was tasteless and had 2 tiny bits of crab."
• "The crab tacos lacked flavour, mac n cheese tasted like a packet mix."
• "The crab nachos brought to us free of charge as a replacement for the Mac n cheese were inedible."

Service

Pros:

• "Staff were helpful and friendly."
• "Staff were polite. Whilst i understand the vibe I do feel the place would benefit from a bit of money spent tarting it up."
• "Staff were communicating with us the while visit which is really important especially during peak times."
• "Staff are really friendly and helpful."
• "The staff were very attentive and very friendly."
• "The staff were also friendly and attentive."
• "Staff were amazing and never rushed us."

Cons:

• "Didn't stay to taste food or drink as staff couldn't be less attentive if they tried."
• "Unfortunately service was slow, waited well over an hour between starters and mains."
• "Service ruined as its run by sixteen your old who don't have a clue."
• "Staff very slow and not very friendly."
• "Finally got in to wait tonight but the staff don't know their arses from their elbows."
• "Service was slow and food took quite a while to come out."
• "Service was terrible with the crab platter slammed down in front of us without any tools."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Wonderfully atmospheric, gorgeous food and amazing cocktails!!"
• "Great atmosphere, beautiful view, overlooking the harbour."
• "Very cool vibe, disheveled and piratey! Lots of fun."
• "The atmosphere was pretty quirky and cool."
• "Nice atmosphere, easy to find."
• "Relaxed atmosphere and cute decor/interior."
• "The atmosphere of the place is outstanding."

Cons:

• "First impressions were dark and dingy."
• "Lacking in atmosphere and staff seemed totally disinterested."
• "Everything seemed like a chore and accommodating people and their requests that didn’t fit into the venues tight criteria was not something that was not entertained."
• "The place is a bit dark and damp."
• "You sort of feel like the dogs shouldn’t be allowed there?"
• "The rooms itself was freezing felt colder than outside and it was a cold rainy day."
• "The place is awfully run and we felt like an inconvenience the entire time as we were shoved in the corner with a broken table."

Value

Pros:

• "Very delicious and a good amount of food for the price tag."
• "And all this for a very good price served with the seaview."
• "Pricing was average for restaurants in St. Ives in a similar location."
• "Also got the mussels and white bait starters which were delicious- really fresh and great value for money as the portions were good."
• "The prices are not too bad either."
• "Food was really nice and at reasonable prices too."
• "Overall amazing value for money for food imo."

Cons:

• "Can get very busy and booking isn't possible in advance so be prepared to wait for a table."
• "The food is definitely overpriced."
• "With £55 you would expect a full platter of fish, seafood and crustaceans instead of the scant plate we got."
• "Only criticism is that the drinks menu we found quite expensive."
• "Fish and chips were the size of a kids meals, only 2 crab cakes with a pinch of fries and a crab burger with no flavour."
• "Small portions that are very expensive."
• "However, it’s far too overpriced for what you get."