The Original Snockey’s Oyster & Crab House

12/9/2014

Nice neighborhood seafood restaurant. I went for dinner with the LivingSocial deal for 2. The lobster bisque is simply great. The twin lobster tail dinner was just OK. The tails are a good size but not as sweet as I would like (perhaps not Maine lobster?). The pumpkin spice cake makes for a nice dessert with only a hint of pumpkin though. Loved the Birch Beer as a non-alcoholic beverage (should have asked where that is from).

I suspect the AYCE crab specials and oysters/clams during daily happy hour are the real gems, so I'll be back.

Street parking can be a bit tricky with all the narrow one way streets in the neighborhood so you might want to go early to make a reservation.

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  Twin lobster tail meal

  Twin lobster tail meal

11/1/2014

This is definitely a place someone from Philadelphia can appreciate and enjoy. A tourist, probably not. It is not the most beautiful restaurant in the world and has a distinct smell to it. The staff was very friendly and helpful with food and drink suggestions.
I started with an array of oysters that seemed to be priced a lot lower than the nicer center city restaurants I've been going to, all were delicious.
Second we had the mussels in red sauce which tastes identical to the mussels in red at Chicky and Petes, which is a very good compliment in my book.
I ended with the Alaskan king crab legs and was happy with how they were, nothing too special just solid crab legs.
Overall I would recommend this place to someone that can over look the decor, smell and general cleanliness of this restraunt, not to say it's dirty but it's not squeaky clean. If you are really comfortable in a south Philly environment then definitely visit this queen village restaurant, I'll be back.

10/26/2014

The nostalgia of Snockey's being "Philly's oldest oyster bar" pulled us in, the faint stink of foul fish should have turned us away. We snubbed our "when in doubt, walk the f out" rule, but after my pre-dinner visit to the sticky floored, fly infested bathroom I was ready to pull the pin.  I lost the debate to my dining partner who was determined to taste Snockey's "famous" oyster stew, something the menu boasted faithfully maintained its 100-year-old recipe.

We started with a the no-fuss raw oyster sampler which was fresh enough to satisfy our love of all things shucked.  Then the oyster stew arrived.  We had to confirm with our waitress this soupy-thin concoction was actually the "stew." It was.  If you warmed a cup of 2% milk in a saucepan, added a tablespoon of powdered cheese, then plunked in four rubbery, over-cooked oysters, you'd have a broken 100-year-old recipe that puts the 'ew' in 'stew.' This was possibly the most disgusting thing I've ever been served in a restaurant.

Seeing that we'd barely touched it before delivering the bill, you'd think the waitress might ask if there was something wrong with it. Nope. I get the feeling in the 100+ years of its existence, we weren't the first diners at Snockey's to snub their stew.

The highlight of our visit to Snockey's was the laugh we had replaying how bad it was while walking away.  That is, until a simultaneous twinge in our stomachs had us suddenly fearing the worst.  Taking no chances, we stopped at the next tavern we came across and disinfected our tummies with tequila.

10/7/2014

If you're looking for some good, cheap crabs and oysters and can get over feeling like you're in a dirty bathroom while eating them, go for it! Many aspects of this place deserves more like a 1 star but to just think of it as an oyster and crab place, it rocks. We came here for my birthday and had a great time.

The oysters were fresh and we shared 2 pounds of crab legs that were fantastic. I'm reading other bad reviews on other fish and I can see why. We also got shrimp cocktail and you could tell they just pulled it right out of the freezer and poured some store brand cocktail sauce with it. Was somehow overcooked and still frozen at the same time? Don't be a fool and come here for anything but what the name says.

Surprisingly one of my favorite aspects of our meal was the birch beer. Absolutely the best soda I've ever had.

The sides we got with the crab like the garlic mushroom green beans and potatoes had a wonderful flavor despite being dilapidated of any nutrition the green beans should've had. They were incredibly tasty.

Our server was grumpy and this is definitely your typical south philly family run for decades kind of place, but if you can deal with the rinky dink vibe, it's so worth it. So much fresh good oysters and crabs for very cheap....and no we didn't get sick from it. We'll be back next crab season!

11/8/2014

I took my mom here for her birthday and I was highly disappointed . I could have cooked food that tasted better than what they served to me.

8/7/2014

Despite the declining reviews, I was SO determined to like this place.  I found mysef stuck in traffic on a drive home from work, and my brain went to scallops... and the pursuit of happiness where happiness = scallops.  I had a restaurant.com $10 voucher thing here, so i figured why not try out the local place!  I've heard great things from friends that enjoyed this place years ago, and 1/2 of my block works here... I was hoping to keep the dream alive!

First impression- we walked in and the smell was overpowering of fish.  I've learned that this is generally not great news when eating seafood, but I tried to ignore it as the place has been opened for years!  That has to be challenging.  Next- the decor was super-dated... but hey- we were just at Ralphs a few nights earlier.  There's a certain charm in the old.  The tile on the flooring was too cool, and the place had a certain je ne said quoi of being frozen in time.

Or je ne said pas.  We started off with 2 pints of Miller light... and then came at a bout 12 ounce pours with 4 ounces of foam on top.  The carbonation was off- it was borderline flat.  I began to worry.

My boyfriend ordered a dozen topneck clams for an appetizer.  I had a few when they came out.  He said they seemed a bit overcooked.  They were really chewy, but they were also really good.  A little less time, and they would have been perfect, but this was an encouraging step.

For our entrees, i ordered the fried scallops with green beans and corn.  My boyfriend got the  Mrs. Snockeys Original Oyster Stew.  The name got him.

When our food came out it was really a bummer.  My scallops seemed frozen and overcooked.  It was sort of like eating fish sticks.  The corn was either boiled to hell and back, or frozen.  It was mushy and flavorless, and i felt like i could have eaten right through the cob if i didn't know any better.  The green beans were fine... not great... but the highlight of this dish when i added a pinch of salt.

My boyfriends food was the worst.  He had a good portion of oysters floating in a thin milky watery oily broth that had no flavor whatsoever... and no bread to enjoy it if it did.  This 'stew' was quite literally just oysters and broth.  I always thought a stew was a hearty soup that had some veggies in it too.  He didn't even eat his food.  I don't blame him- it was gross.  He jumped in with me on my fish stick-scallops and mushy corn.

We left $50 poorer even after the restaurant.com gift certificate, and went right home and got out the chips and salsa.  

The one saving grace was the service.  I felt really welcomed and the servers were sweet, and quick, and on it.  I just really wish the food measured up.  It's SO close and i wanted to love it so much.  I doubt we'll be back.

8/16/2014

Giving one star because I must give something. Disappointing to say the least. My gf and I wanted seafood. She got the fried scallop meal and I got the broiled seafood meal. My food was below average. I know I could have done a much better job at home. The green beans were not fresh and over cooked (chewy,) the shrimp had a funny taste to them, the crab cake was tasteless. The only ok thing was the potato salad which also needed salt but at least it was edible.

My gf's plate was also sad; she had the cole slaw that looked more like baby food and tasted like mayonnaise with a hint of mushed cabbage and her scallops were tough. The only thing decent were the mashed potatoes.

We spent $56 for a meal not worthy at all. We will be replicating these meals at home and I'm sure we will do an excellent job. Hey maybe they should hire us to cook for them. Lol

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  Sadly, the green beans were not fresh at all.

  Sadly, the green beans were not fresh at all.
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  This is the cole slaw... Looks like baby food.

  This is the cole slaw... Looks like baby food.

10/27/2014

My friend Chris W and I decided to try a highly-regarded, well-established Philadelphia seafood house, Snockey's Oyster House in Queen's Village. This is not the usual gourmet fare that we're used to from the see-and-be-seen places we frequent on Walnut and Chestnut Streets. This is down-home shore-style cooking with no pretenses and a lot of comfort food sensibilities. The garlic mashed potatoes were very good as a side. My jumbo shrimp were carefully deveined and wonderfully juicy. My jumbo lump crabmeat had nary a shell in it, seasoned with a light dusting of sea salt. Perhaps the biggest disappointment with my combo platter was the fried oysters that strangely didn't taste like anything. There was not a hint of the wonderful aroma of oysters that I like and there was a little too much breading for my liking. Still, the shrimp and crab cocktails were very good. Chris' broiled combo platter was the winner of the two. The scallops were grilled to perfection. I was not a fan of the crabcake as it used a lot of shredded jumbo lump meat rather than the big lumps of crabmeat I had on my platter. Our starters of crab fries and Manhattan clam chowder were mediocre. I couldn't find a clam in the chowder and the crab fries used an inferior crab meat not like the tasty morsels on my platter. I think Snockey's deserves a solid 2.5 stars. There were some things that were great, others not so great.

8/2/2014 Updated review

Went here for my B-Day last night....my wife & son took me....had a boatload of oysters,(my son & I polished off 4 dozen different varieties) crabs, lobster, shrimp, scallops, & corn on the cob. Washed it all down w/ 4 Miller High Life's & a triple Johnny Black. Had an awesome time & will be back!!

NOTE: I was thinking of getting the AYCE bluepoint crabs...but I wisely asked 1st what size they were...they are #2's, which really aren't worth the work, as they are tiny. If you are thinking about doing that, ask to see what size they serve before you order!!!

9/25/2013

After going to Route 6 last night for restaurant week I was reminded that I never reviewed Snockey's! I've been here three times and it's always been for the all-you-can-eat crabs.

One time, they ran out of crabs. It was pretty early during the dinner hour, so I don't really know how that happened. I mean, if you're going to offer up a special like that wouldn't you make sure that you had the supply ready to go? Another thing that bothered me was that I was told I couldn't get the happy hour drink specials unless I was physically sitting at the bar. What is that about?

The joint is, overall, pretty damn dirty. "Grimy" may be the best word to describe it, actually.

I'll pass on going back here again.

11/22/2013

I'm going with 3* because I didn't have any of the food here. I actually came in for an event that was being held in the back room of Snockey's, and ended up hanging out at the bar for a little bit waiting for it to start.

First impression of the space is that was very worn, and it had a harsh fishy smell. I love seafood spots, like Route 6 and Oyster House, and neither have this kind of obtrusive smell. I think they should work on that. They have an extremely austere appearance, which would be OK, but I think that everything here is getting kind of worn down.

They have a passable beer selection, with a couple of OK beers on tap. The bartenders were OK, but not particularly friendly, especially when we said we were just having a beer.

As notes earlier, we didn't have any food, but the prices seemed to be good, at least. It seems that their oyster happy hour is 83 cents per oyster, which is certainly the cheapest I've ever seen. If the quality is good, as other reviews have indicated, this might be a good deal.

Overall, I probably won't be looking to come back with other better options closer, but perhaps if they do a renovation eventually I would check it out again.

9/9/2014

The restaurant itself is small and simply. The service was fine although our waitress had some trouble hearing she was very nice. I didn't care for the oyster stew probably because I thought there was going to be more to it. However, it was just oysters in a butter, cream broth and it needed more flavor. I also got the pound of snow crab legs which was excellent. The garlic potatoes were kind of chunky and the broccoli was a little under cooked. Other than that everything was good.

7/21/2014

Oysters! Holy aphrodisiac......Rest of the seafood really, really good. Severs are prompt checking w/you, to see if you're OK, but not in your face 4ever.  Treat yourself for fresh shellfish - don't you deserve it?

10/19/2014

Worst Philly food experience. Ever. Service wasn't great, the dining room was disgusting (cleaning solution on tables), the beer was flat and the food was subpar at best.  There was a bug in our hot sauce bottle, we got expired hot sauce after that and there were fruit flies everywhere. I've read the other reviews and don't agree, the oysters were less than average. I hate giving bad reviews but I can assure you I will never go back to Snockey's.

6/9/2014

A dump..everthng u own smells like fish whn u leeve..the dmell is in the walls of ths 100yr old joint

10/23/2011

Hmmm - considering there are only three reviews on here and they are all 5 stars I have no idea who Carla is ranting about. I guess after 99 years in business a place will have all kinds of loyalists, even those that see scary yuppies hiding behind the mummer's museum. ;)

So I've been here a few times now. Clammy hour that people rave about is worth the rave. the raw bar was as fresh as any I've been to in town. Today they had a 1 1/2 pound lobster dinner special for $22. Yum. Clammy mary's (a bloody mary with three raw clams) are $4. Consider the clams are 50 cents each, and you're really paying $2.50 for that drink.

So - a friend and I had:

Three dozen raw clams, two dozen raw oysters, a dozen clams casino, two dozen shrimp, the lobster platter, 2lbs of snow crab, and 5 clammy mary's. The bill - $114. Heck I've been to places recently where that's been my BAR bill for five drinks.

It's family owned and run. The staff is pleasant. Bathrooms are clean. Not easily handicapped accessible because of stairs and the configuration of the vestibule. There is a children's menu and some standard desserts, such as rice pudding, cheese cake, pies, key lime, and an uber chocolatey thing.

So what are you waiting for? There's ample parking in the neighborhood. the food is good, cheap, staff is nice, the only thing missing is you!

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  Wow these are some huge tasty oysters :)

  Wow these are some huge tasty oysters :)
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  The biggest oyster I've ever eaten anywhere

  The biggest oyster I've ever eaten anywhere
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  Snow crab

  Snow crab
• See all photos from Michael M. for The Original Snockey's Oyster & Crab House

7/15/2014

This review is painful for me to write as I have been a loyal customer for many years.
Until now. My husband and I went there for dinner at 7 p.m. and were served at 9:20. Service was the worst ever (we got brad five minutes before we left), water 15 minutes before we left, and never got the ketchup I asked for several hours earlier. The food was meager and cold - my husband;s "soft shell crabs" were two tiny almost squares, about 2' in diameter. My crab cake was paste,  with little crab, and no  taste at all. The shrimp and scallops in this dish were small and overcooked. This dish, like my husband's,, was served cold after waiting until 9:05 - dsitting and waiting and filling uop on oyster crackers. I did not want to complain to our waiter and we were starving - so we ate the inferior quality and cold food and paid a bill that was a high as some of the pricier restaurants serving top quality meals.  I called the owner the next day, as we have known each other for as long as we have been going there, to tell him of our experience - .and his attitude was "oh well", with no apologies, no offers to trade off on something on the next visit, and little remorse, other than to acknowledge that they were busy.  Sadly, we will move on.

5/10/2013

Sorry, but I have nothing nice to say. The dining area is dirty, so I can't imagine what the kitchen looks like. The cocktail sauce was bad, not just not good, but BAD. I ordered the broiled seafood combination platter, but for $25.95 all that was edible were the vegetables. At 8pm on a Friday night there were only two other tables occupied. There's a reason for that.

I am very easy to please and almost always enjoy my meal... anywhere I go. Tonight, unfortunately, I did not.

1/26/2014

Great seafood happy hour here. Can't beat the prices for their shrimp and oysters and they have a decent beer selection for happy hour. This place has been around for a long time and you can tell as it does seem a little worn down and has an old fashion traditional feel to it. I have never been here for dinner, but this is a good happy hour spot and they even run happy hour on weekends and Eagles games.

7/23/2012

Just walking in, I knew I didn't want to be here.  Inside Snockey's is dank and dingy and quite odorous.  But my friend had a groupon deal that she needed to use.  So we got raw oysters and clams.  Service was not great and slow.  

The oysters were fine but in those conditions, it felt less fresh and unappetizing.  Definitely won't find me here ever again.

5/27/2014

Ooh Snockeys!!! What happened? The oysters didn't taste so fresh today and the clams tasted like they were caught over a week ago.  I have been to this lovely place before but a lot has changed and I don't think it's for the best.  First the service. You only have one waitress waiting on people from the bar to the dining area.  The waitress acted like she didn't want us there. She was doing us a favor by taking our orders.  The place looks like it was never cleaned since 1912.   I think I rather go spend alittle more at the oyster house and get better food and service than try to save a few bucks and get sick.  You were my go to for seafood but not anymore.  Sorry but I don't I will be back.

5/19/2013

The oysters are good, but that's about all that's good.

I went here once for their fried catfish and it was gross...slimy and inedible.  The wait staff was rude and inattentive.  They didn't even give us silverware or water.  Oyster crackers were stale.

Overall, fine if you're just going to take advantage of an oyster or clam special at the bar, but totally not worth it for a sit-down meal.

7/4/2014

had the flounder and the portion was small and overcooked but the crab legs were good

2/14/2013

Bad experience. Restaurant does not smell clean nor appealing.
Horseradish jars on all guest tables were all dirty and appeared to have not been cleaned in months. The silverware and drinking glasses were dirty and all food in our orders was bland.
The waitress also forgot which items we'd ordered. She'd asked if "everything was OK," and, upon telling her we were actually rather disappointed, proceeded to hand us the check and say "OK. Thank you for coming."
I've no idea how this place has been open for 100+ years.

4/26/2014

Not good. Started off with 2 dozen if 3 different kinds of oyster. The taste were good and they were fresh tasting. Every single oyster had multiple shell fragments. I ordered the broiled combo. Shrimp were the skinny frozen kind. The crab cake taste exactly like stove top stuffing (literally) with maybe a small spoonful of meat. The flounder was soggy. The scallops were horrible. I might go back for oyster special only. This place is over priced for the quality of food served. The staff was friendly. The decor is old and dirty, but some of the best places are old dumps.

4/6/2014 Updated review

First time here in several years, can honestly say that the decor has not changed from my last visit which was more than 5yrs ago. Anyway I had a Living Social voucher I needed to use, I read some recent reviews online & had some mixed feelings but I had to find out for myself. The cocktail sauce, not red enough for me, too much of 1 thing, not enough of something else but I can't figure it out. I ordered the fried seafood platter that has scallops, crab cakes, etc.. Well the crab cake had too much filling for my taste, maybe only a tbsp of crab in the cake. The other things were okay. However I did notice that a lot of other patrons ordered the snow crabs which looked to be seasoned very well. The crab choices are slim, they only have blue (which are out of season), & Alaskan, no Dungeness crabs. Overall the service was good but not the Snocky's I remember from back in the day. I would like to nominate them for Restaurant Impossible if I could, at least to update the decor & maybe make some menu changes.

2/17/2012

3.75

Snockey's Oyster and Crab House is celebrating their 100th year in business and even though their age shows on the interior, I found it to be clean and they serve good food. Their menu is vast, especially in the seafood department, although they do offer a variety of steaks and chops.

Upon entering, you are greeted by a raw bar, featuring a shucker going to town on a wide variety of oysters and clams. Everything was well on ice, but I was a bit concerned to see an overflowing bucket of raw shrimps barely sitting on ice.

Next we were "greeted" by a very crass young "lady" who basically screamed at us to just go and sit down, I asked if we should grab menus and she gave me a very emphatic and elongated NOOOOOO, "you will get menus". I wanted to stick a huge wad of bubble gum in her mouth, then she would have been complete.

On the opposite side of the long raw bar are two top tables and beyond that is a small dining room that fills up quickly, nothing fancy, kind of reminded me of sitting in a cafeteria. The service isn't very friendly or attentive and the food takes quite awhile to come out of the kitchen, however we did enjoy the food that we had and it was good enough to make us a fan.

Michael started off with half dozen top necks, they also have little necks and cherrystones, they were very fresh, pink and plump and he was really enjoying them. I, in the meantime was enjoying a small portion of "Mrs. Snockey's original oyster stew", the broth was perfectly delicious and the oysters were so tender, I would hate to see the large, as this was a huge bowl of stew. They also offer a great variety of chowders, bisques and soups, such as Philadelphia snapper.

We then shared an order of clams casino, which has ham, peppers, onions and a nice kick of spices, these were different and very good indeed. For Michael's entree he ordered baked stuffed deviled clams, these were large and very filling, they were good, but nothing to say wow about, pretty much on the dry side, although they were devilish with a bit of a kick.

I had just made a good sized batch of lobster, shrimp and crab scampi, which we ate for two nights, so I was basically hungry for a good steak, even though I was in a famous seafood house. I ordered the porterhouse and they were out of it, so I decided to go with the filet, but noticing adding a lobster was not much more for the surf and turf, I quickly changed my mind.

My filet was surprisingly tender, cooked a perfect medium rare and the lobster tail was broiled and cooked perfectly as well. Two sides come with each entree, hubs had French fries and Cole slaw and I had fresh sauteed green beans with lots of garlic and mushrooms and macaroni salad. The green beans were definitely the winner in the group.

The servers hand tally the checks and I happened to notice table after table complain about their checks, so when we got ours, it was way off, she did not question it, re-tallied it, so do be sure to check their charges and math.

They have all you can eat crab nights offering all types of crab, many seafood combinations and platters either broiled or fried. We both enjoyed the food enough that we will return. So grab your calculator and a piece of bubble gum and go!

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• See all photos from DJ M. for The Original Snockey's Oyster & Crab House

8/14/2012

There are some issues with Snockey's:
1 - Fishy smell when you walk in (it does go away)
2 - Place does look a bit dingy
3 - Sides and anything other than seafood seems like an afterthought

BUT

I liked Snockeys.  The seafood was superb.  It makes the lackluster cole slaw and mashed potatoes (which I almost guarantee are made in bulk and taken out of the fridge / reheated as needed) *mostly* bearable.  I had 1.5 snow crab legs and my fiance had the Shrimp Scampi special.  We both enjoyed them immensely.

Next time I'll just go for the 2 lbs of crab legs and skip the sides.

7/21/2013

Let's see...
Worst drink I have ever paid for - check.
Really blah oysters - check.
Surly, bad service - check.

The raw and steamed clams were tasty, though still not sure why it takes 25 minutes to make 6 steamed clams. For 60 cents a raw clam during "Clammy Hour", pretty good deal. If I was going back, I'd get 18 raw clams, a bottled beer, and call it an afternoon.

Advice: don't order the oysters that they serve for clammy hour. There is a reason they are cheap. They have no flavor. If they order them, get them fried and drench them in sauce.

Advice #2: don't expect anything from server. Water is a gift. Refilling your water is like true love.

Advice #3: avoid the clam mary (bloody mary with three raw littlenecks) at all costs. Bad vodka, terrible mix, not enough horseradish or spice... giving me the cold sweats as I write this.

6/22/2013

I felt like some authentic seafood-and this was the first place I thought of!  Just before being seated there is a chalkboard filled with many types of oysters they have available, along with each oyster's origin and what type of flavor they have.I have tried oysters and have found to take them or leave them; however, I was feeling adventurous. I chose the Prince Edward oyster Prince Edward oysters-yum! They were true to their description-icy, salty,briny-and with the help of lemon and hot sauce, they were full of flavor! I found myself wishing I had ordered more, but felt that I had more goodness waiting for me.
The crab  soup was very flavorful!
However, it goes downhill from there...While the waitress was very pleasant, my lobster was rubbery and had an unpleasant aftertaste! I was almost embarrassed at how much effort it took to get the meat out! I mean, geez-this IS a well-know seafood house, right? Go figure...
Also, the broccoli had no taste and was almost raw...maybe I have no argument there, because most chain restaurants cook theirs this way-WAIT-this is not a chain restaurant, right?
Go figure...
Maybe it's because the rules say that you have to present your voucher before ordering, which I did; perhaps they frown upon these "discounts"?

Go figure...
Needless to say, Snockey's-I won't be coming back, and I'll tell my friends and family to just stick with the oysters.

2/1/2013

I purchased the LivingSocial deal because I was always intrigued by the sign driving by on Washington Ave. and had never been. It was ok. The service was slow. The food was ok, and definitely not the best seafood I ever had.

We ordered the Oyster Sampler with the 4 Blue Points, 3 Fried and 4 BBQ. The fried oysters were perfect. I have never had such a juicy fried oyster! Usually they are so dried out and rubbery so they definitely have that perfected. I was disappointed in the barbeque - I was expecting a more New Orleans style charred barbeque but this was just a raw oyster with barbeque seasoning and cold chopped peppers and onions on top. Not a fan. The Blue Points were fine, nothing to write about.

For my entree, I ordered the Cajun Shrimp platter with green beans and mushrooms and fries. The sides were perfectly cooked. The green beans had a nice crunch to them still and the fries had that really nice crisp on the outside with the inside still soft and moist. The Cajun Shrimp, however, were more like Buffalo Shrimp. You could barely taste the cajun seasoning and it just tasted like shrimp tossed in buffalo wing sauce :( The shrimp did not taste very fresh either. They had a cleaner taste to them... Maybe it was the wing sauce? Who knows. My man ordered the Fried Flounder Sandwich and he was very pleased. I took a bite and thought the fried crust was nice but I hate flounder so I cannot judge. If you are looking for a cheap bite, I would check out the happy hour or the all you can eat crab leg dinner they have on week nights. And definitely order the fried oysters!

8/12/2012

We had a restaurant.com gift card and was hoping to have a great meal from a 100 year old seafood restaurant. I got even  more excited when I realized it was located just south of olde city meaning a better parking situation and less of a crowd. I guess I should have checked yelp first.

I don't like oysters so I was looking for tasty crabs and shrimp. When we arrived we stood for a while before being seated, and as several others mention there was a stale smell and the service was hella slow.

I had the combination platter of fried oysters, lump crab meat and cocktail shrimp. The only thing I enjoyed was the shrimp and my mashed potatoes. My husband had the filet mignon with crab meat and the steak was horrible. No seasoning what so ever and it came out medium rare when he ordered it well done.

Oh yeah, and the bathroom was gross. We definitely won't be returning.

8/5/2012

Is it dirty? Just a bit.  So if you're part of the food Taliban, you should probably stay away.  And fish does occasionally smell, even if it's fresh.  Ever been to the beach?  Take a whiff.  

That being said, the oysters were great and cheap.  I've been to plenty of other places that serve far worse for a lot more money.  The entrees were old school and buttery.  If your looking for pan seared, wasabi encrusted, rare tuna, then you'll have to look elsewhere.

1/21/2012

oh yeah, this place earns the tile "The Original" ... unlike churches that say "First Baptist Church of Zion" and the church next to it has a sign that says "Really The First Baptist Church of Zion"... You can tell by the interior that this Snockey's has been here for a while. I feel like even the waiters felt like true South Philly waiters who've been working there forever. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway, when I first walked in I was doubting that the food would be good. But then I remembered all the run-down seafood places I love in Baltimore and decided to not be so snobby. So we ordered a wide-array of food: something from the raw bar (littleneck clams), something fried (crab balls), something not crab but crabby (blue fish topped with crab imperial), and then king crab legs. All of it was good. For real.

But then I had some friends come and get the oyster stew which was three oysters in butter and cream. Ick.

And so I say this... You'll either hate or love this place depending EXACTLY on what you order. So it's definitely inconsistent. And as much as I hate to not like a place based on the decor, I definitely think that in a place that serves food, how well kept a place is can really do harm/good. Like even divey-ish food places and can still look clean ya know? You basically wanna believe that they're not frying food that's about to go bad... so with that being said, this was a hard place to review. I dunno, I'd come here again maybe but there are a handful of other seafood restaurants that I got nothin' to gripe about (Oyster House, Fish, Little Fish etc) so... would I come here again? Only time will tell. And Snockeys I'm sure, will still be there.

8/5/2012

I've eaten at Snockey's many times before. The last time I was there was about two yrs ago. I got sick but assumed it was due to me stuffing my face during clammy hour. I recently tried them again on a Sunday, once again for clammy hour.

So where should I start. The service was awful and extremely slow, the beer was flat, the oysters were not chilled....served on a tray with 3 pieces of ice. I absolutely love oysters and have eaten them at many places and never before have I had them served at room temperature. The clams casino and littleneck clams were mediocre,  the deviled clams were blah, just filled with stuffing and the crab soup was nothing but watered down veggies probably diluted Campbell's. The decor doesn't bother me since good food can be served at the worst looking places.

Finally, when we got the check (which was hand written by our waitress), there were many mistakes. Like I mentioned, we were there for clammy hour, which they advertise on their site and in the restaurant. The oysters were .83 vs. the advertised .75, the pick n peel shrimp was charged .50 vs the advertised .40, the flat beer was charged 3.25 vs the 1.99, the clams were .60 vs .50. We politely made mention to her that a few of the prices were wrong. She said that the prices were changed but did adjust a few since the prices were on the table. Yes, it's only a few bucks but it's the principal. I also understand inflation and the increase of cost but don't advertise one price and charge another.  After correcting a few, the waitress' math was wrong, obviously she tried doing it in her head. Instead of wasting our time on asking her to adjust it again, we just paid the bill.

I am not usually harsh especially since I love hole in the wall restaurants but seems to me this hole in the wall needs to be cemented up and closed down. The food is nothing special here. Yes, oysters are cheap, even at .83 cents a pop but spend an extra .17 cents  and feel confident about what you're about to digest and hit up Oyster House on Sansom or McCormick's & Schmidt's for their happy hour.

9/29/2012

Snockey's is an old time oyster house, and that's pretty much it.  If your food is coming from the front (raw bar) it's going to be great!  If it's coming from the back (kitchen) it'll be average.
I've got a soft spot for this place, not a lot of extra frills, outstanding selection of oysters, and a great "clammy hour".  On the other hand, a couple of the servers aren't that good, and as I said, if you're there for seafood (other than raw), you could probably do better.
This is more a neighborhood spot than a destination restaurant.

10/15/2013

Cute little place, nothing really to look at but the all you can eat crab legs are the best deal you will find around. Me and my boyfriend walked out of there with the best food coma I have ever had!!! The wait staff was very nice and took great care of us as well :)

1/17/2013

The reason Snockey's gets 4 stars instead of 5 or 3 is solely based on the food.  The food was too good to give it a 3 or lower, but I can't bear to give this place a 5 based on how unfriendly the staff is.  

A friend and I visited for the first time after having purchased a Living Social deal, so wanted to try it.  I had my first oysters, which were delicious.  We also had crab legs and two kinds of shrimp -- lots of food!  I would go back, based on the food alone.

The service we had was good, but we lucked out.  Our waitress, Judy, was super friendly and helpful.  I *can't* say that, however, about the rest of the staff there!  When I called to make the reservation, the man on the other end was short, rude, and apparently could not be bothered.  The day we arrived for dinner, the waitresses, hostess, and man at the raw bar were far from cordial -- ever heard of a smile?  Running a restaurant entails greeting customers and knowing what good customer service is ... boy, these people are in the wrong business!

I would recommend this restaurant for pretty decent seafood with no frills -- no fancy atmosphere and definitely no friendly service (unless you get Judy!).

4/5/2011 Updated review

We're a crab house but we might not have any crabs or wet naps to clean your hands with. Oh yeah here's some gross fries since we ran out of the corn you ordered. We're still going to charge you for the price of corn though.

Never again.

6/26/2012

Ohhh Snockeys.  How do I like thee...
I've only ever been to Snockey's to take part in the Friday AYCE snow crab leg special.  I love me some crab legs, so this is a pretty good deal as far as I'm concerned.  The servers are attentive without being overbearing, and the back room of the restaurant is roomy enough to get your crab leg on without feeling like the whole restaurant is watching you.
The atmosphere could use a little help, and renovations are in need.  This restaurant has been open for a long time, and it shows. Thing is--I don't go there to be dazzled.  I go there to eat... and eat.. and eat.
I'll definitely go back.