Joe's Stone Crab

Went to Joe's Stone Crab for dinner. It's a Miami institution, having been in business for 95 years now. The restaurant takes no reservations so it's first come first serve only. Hence, W and I decided to make our way to the restaurant at 6 p.m. so that we will not miss out on dining there.




The restaurant is located in its own compound and the place looks and feels quaint. There is a courtyard outside the main restaurant where diners can have their dinner. But we were keen to see the interior of the restaurant and opted to be seated indoors. We were quickly ushered through 3 fron-of-house managers and were eventually seated in the internal dining room.




The decor in the dining room is not fancy but has an old-world charm to it. Reminds us of the traditional steak houses like Morton's.










Our waiter for the night was Nat. Charming service and as we found out later, the longest-serving waiter at Joe's. Nat joined the restaurant in 1966 and has been there since. He is clearly going strong and doesn't seem likely to retire anytime soon.





The menu is not large although adequate. The star dish is of course the stone crabs. We were eager to find out for ourselves what the hype was about and so we ordered the "Florida's Finest". This was a combo dish that consisted of a whole Floridian Lobster Tail (which we opted to be grilled) as well as 3 large crab claws. They do not serve the entire crab at Joe's due to concerns about sustainability of the crab population. We were informed that the crabs are declawed (1 claw only) and released for regeneration. After more than 12 months, the claw grows back to full size. Interesting concept we thought.





We also ordered a side of sauteed mushrooms and appetiser of Joe's coleslaw.





The bread basket arrived first. There was a selection of warm crumbly muffins, savoury breads and biscuits. It was really good and we had to remind ourselves to make room for our main dishes.





The coleslaw came next. It was the most sour coleslaw I have ever tasted and I could not quite bring myself to finish everything. It was certainly refreshing though and whetted my appetite further. W liked the coleslaw however and finished his portion.






And then came "Florida's Finest". We stared admiringly at the platter for a while before tucking in. The grilled lobster tail was simply grilled and served on top of grilled pineapple and some lemons. The lobster was so so good. The grilled lobster was burned in some parts but that only added to the aroma of the grilled lobster flesh. The flesh was firm and sweet, definitely very fresh.

And the crabs - the crab claws were pretty large and you will feel satisfied with just one. The crab claws were served cold, you squeeze some lemon juice on top and you are all set to tuck in. The crab claws were pretty meaty and there was a great deal of roe in the claw itself.







Both of us felt over-stuffed but we could not and would not leave without first having dessert. Dessert was a no-brainer - we ordered the Key Lime Pie to share (a.k.a Florida's official State Pie according to Joe's).







The pie came with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Definitely not for the faint-hearted. We took a mouthful of the pie each and were instantly in love with the flavours. The pie had a certain tartness to it (due to the lime) which was nicely balanced by the whipped cream. The pie crust was also exceptional. It was not a thick crust, but it was sufficiently buttery and fragrant. Reminded me of a crust made of digestive biscuits and pure butter (and it probably was). The pie melts in your mouth and the flavours linger for a long time. If we weren't so stuffed, I would have been tempted to order seconds.

Definitely a memorable meal and we can completely understand why Joe's has become a Miami institution.