Readers vote Clearwater restaurant the best for stone crab
Florida seafood lovers know that the sweetest meat to come from the sea comes from stone crabs. Stone crab season runs from mid-October to mid-May, when nearly all harvested claws are pulled from the warm waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast. Unlike other crabs, only the claws of the stone crab are typically served–cooked, chilled and cracked with a mustard-based sauce for dipping. Since stone crabs can regenerate their claws, they’re a sustainable source of seafood. These 10 restaurants are known for serving up the best, freshest stone crab claws in the state.
Frenchy's Original Cafe Clearwater Beach
While Frenchy’s Original Cafe in Clearwater Beach might be best known for its Super Grouper sandwich, the quaint eatery also serves fresh Florida stone crab claws when they’re in season. Photo courtesy of Frenchy's Original Cafe / Facebook
Kirk Fish Company Goodland
Kirk Fish specializes in fresh caught gulf stone crab, caught daily throughout the season. Visitors can buy cooked and chilled claws by the pound in four different sizes – medium, large, jumbo and colossal – served with melted butter or homemade mustard sauce. Photo courtesy of Kirk Fish Company / Facebook
Key Largo Fisheries Key Largo
Diners at Key Largo Fisheries can purchase fresh caught, cooked and chilled stone crab claws by the pound or in the form of a warming stone crab chowder. Photo courtesy of Key Largo Fisheries / Facebook
Pinchers Multiple Locations
Pinchers locations in Florida serve fresh stone crab claws with their popular creamy mustard dipping sauce seasoned with Old Bay. Photo courtesy of Pinchers / Facebook
Joe's Stone Crab Miami
Crab lovers in Miami Beach love Joe’s Stone Crabs, where the sustainably sourced stone crab claws are served chilled and cracked with mustard sauce. Photo courtesy of Joe's Stone Crab
Star Fish Company Cortez
The stone crab claws served at Star Fish Company in Cortez are sourced from local crabbers who have been in the business for decades. Other restaurant specialties include Florida pompano and grilled mahi mahi. Photo courtesy of Star Fish Company
Sails Restaurant Naples
Diners at Sails Restaurant in Naples have a variety of house-made dipping sauces to choose from when ordering stone crab claws – mango mustard (the most popular), apple mustard and lemon herb aioli. Photo courtesy of Sails Restaurant
Get Hooked Grill Hudson
Get Hooked has their own fishing fleet to pull fresh seafood straight from the gulf. Florida stone crab claws make an appearance on the menu of the Hudson Beach seafood spot throughout the season. Photo courtesy of Get Hooked Grill / Facebook
Bern's Steak House Tampa
The seafood menu at Bern’s Steak House changes regularly to reflect what’s fresh and in season, and that includes stone crab. This Tampa restaurant skips the middle man when sourcing their seafood to make sure it’s shipped directly to the kitchens. Photo courtesy of Bern's Steak House
Oystercatchers Tampa
You don’t have to be a guest at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay to enjoy fresh stone crabs from Oystercatchers restaurant at dinner during the season. Photo courtesy of iStock / Alexcrab
The top 10 winners in the category Best Stone Crab in Florida are as follows:
Frenchy's Original Cafe - Clearwater Beach
Kirk Fish Company - Goodland
Key Largo Fisheries - Key Largo
Pinchers - Multiple Locations
Joe's Stone Crab - Miami
Star Fish Company - Cortez
Sails Restaurant - Naples
Get Hooked Grill - Hudson
Bern's Steak House - Tampa
Oystercatchers - Tampa
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.
Chelle Koster Walton – the Local Expert for... Read More
Chelle Koster Walton – the Local Expert for Naples, Florida and the Caribbean – has been covering the destination for 30 years. Her top-selling Sarasota, Sanibel Island, and Naples guidebook (Countryman Press) is in its sixth edition. She was contributing editor for Caribbean Travel & Life for 12 years and has written guidebooks on the Bahamas.
A veteran travel writer, Chelle has published thousands of articles for Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Latitudes; has written/contributed to a dozen guidebooks, and produces travel shows for the local PBS station.
Chelle Koster Walton
Chelle Koster Walton – the Local Expert for Naples, Florida and the Caribbean – has been covering the destination for 30 years. Her top-selling Sarasota, Sanibel Island, and Naples guidebook (Countryman Press) is in its sixth edition. She was contributing editor for Caribbean Travel & Life for 12 years and has written guidebooks on the Bahamas.
A veteran travel writer, Chelle has published thousands of articles for Miami Herald, USA TODAY, Latitudes; has written/contributed to a dozen guidebooks, and produces travel shows for the local PBS station.
Skye Rodgers
Skye is a freelance writer that adopted Tampa as... Read More
Skye is a freelance writer that adopted Tampa as her hometown over a decade ago and never looked back. As a native of Canada, Skye has happily embraced the no snow climate, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than basking on the white sand beaches of the Gulf with rum runner in hand.
Living in such a dynamic and up-and-coming city as Tampa provides plenty to write about, and Skye spends much of her time exploring new attractions and discovering hidden treasures for her readers.
You can connect with Skye via her Facebook page @BestofTampa.
Skye Rodgers
Skye is a freelance writer that adopted Tampa as her hometown over a decade ago and never looked back. As a native of Canada, Skye has happily embraced the no snow climate, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than basking on the white sand beaches of the Gulf with rum runner in hand.
Living in such a dynamic and up-and-coming city as Tampa provides plenty to write about, and Skye spends much of her time exploring new attractions and discovering hidden treasures for her readers.
You can connect with Skye via her Facebook page @BestofTampa.
