Skip to content

Top Navigation

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Recipes & Cooking
  • Drinks
  • Travel
  • Holidays & Events
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Kitchen & Home
  • F&W Pro

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Food & Wine

Food & Wine Food & Wine
  • Explore

    Explore

    • F&W Cooks

      Food and Wine presents a new network of food pros delivering the most cookable recipes and delicious ideas online. Read More Next
    • Our 22 Best Crock Pot and Slow-Cooker Recipes

      Looking to amp up your beef stew but unsure where to start? A slow cooker can can take your comfort food to the next level. Read More Next
    • 50 Affordable Wines You Can Always Trust

      We’ve assembled a list of 50 of the world’s most reliable, inexpensive wines – bottles that offer amazing quality for their price year in and year out. Read More Next
  • Recipes & Cooking

    Recipes & Cooking

    See All Recipes & Cooking
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Comfort Food Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Vegetable Recipes
    • Pasta & Noodle Recipes
    • Chefs
    • Meat & Poultry Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Side Dishes
    • Fruit Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Special Diets
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Steal This Trick
  • Drinks

    Drinks

    See All Drinks
    • Wine
    • Cocktails & Spirits
    • Coffee Drinks & Recipes
    • Juices
    • Beer & Brews
    • Champagne & Sparkling Wine
    • Tea Recipes & Ideas
  • Travel

    Travel

    See All Travel
    • Wine Regions
    • Restaurants
  • Holidays & Events

    Holidays & Events

    See All Holidays & Events
    • Valentine's Day
    • Halloween
    • Passover
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Gifts
    • Super Bowl
    • Easter
    • Thanksgiving
    • New Year's Eve
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • News
  • F&W Classic
  • Video
  • Kitchen & Home
  • F&W Pro

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Your Profile

  • Join Now
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Wine Club
  • Podcast
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home Chevron Right
  2. Travel Chevron Right
  3. Best Crab Cakes in the US

Best Crab Cakes in the US

By Food & Wine
Updated April 25, 2017
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Empellón
Whether odes to Old Bay or crazy takes on convention, these crab cakes all have one thing in common: They show off everyone’s favorite seafood beautifully.—Veronica Meewes
Start Slideshow

1 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Rappahannock, Richmond, VA

Credit: PHOTO © COURTESY OF RAPPAHANNOCK RESTAURANT

Rappahannock’s namesake seafood may be the oyster, but the restaurant still does right by crabs: Chef Dylan Fultineer’s all-crab cake—a variation on the first crab-cake recipe from the team’s first restaurant, Merroir—is spiked with celeriac to stand out. (You can also grab it at Merroir and DC’s Rappahannock Oyster Bar.) rroysters.com

  • Delicious Crab Recipes

1 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Little Bird, Portland, OR

Credit: Photo © Carly Diaz

This French bistro serves its large Dungeness crab cake on a roll with avocado, cilantro, mint, pickled scallions, carrots and vadouvan aioli, a nod to the Indian masala spice blend adapted in France. It’s served with curry fries. littlebirdbistro.com

  • Portland Travel Guide

2 of 19

3 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

The Statehouse, Madison, WI

Credit: Photo © Bill Fritsch

Opened in 2014, this hotspot features a signature crab-cake soufflé: jumbo crabmeat in a soufflé base that’s seared and then baked to puff up. It’s served with a tomato, cucumber and mint salad and Champagne beurre blanc. theedgewater.com

  • Fast Crab Recipes

3 of 19

Advertisement

4 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Bobby Flay Steak, Atlantic City, NJ

Credit: Photo © Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Bobby Flay’s restaurant serves up a lobster-crab cake with a green-onion vinaigrette and—because it wouldn’t be Flay without a little heat—lemon-habanero tartar sauce. theborgata.com

  • Recipes by Bobby Flay

4 of 19

5 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

The Forge, Miami

Credit: Photo © Maxwell Blandford

This luxe kitchen, run by executive chef Christopher Lee, uses a mix of fresh—not pasteurized—Jonah crabmeat for sweetness and Alaskan king crab for meaty, briny bite. The cake is served with Meyer lemon, smoked onion, almonds and harissa pepper coulis. theforge.com

  • Miami Travel Guide

5 of 19

6 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Post 390, Boston

Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Post 390

Chef Eric Brennan’s crab cake features a mix of sweet Jonah and savory jumbo lump meats, plus a splash of Amontillado sherry, in a panko crust. On the side: creamy jicama-apple slaw (with house maple-rosemary black pepper bacon) and a drizzle of reduced hard cider. post390restaurant.com

  • Boston Travel Guide

6 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles

Credit: Photo © Hotel Bel-Air

Chef Lee Hefter, an East Coast native, has been buying the Maryland jumbo lump crab in his crab cakes from the same farm for 20 years. It gets mixed with butter, shallots, celery and Old Bay and is served with basil-pesto aioli and California tomatoes. wolfgangpuck.com

  • Los Angeles Travel Guide

7 of 19

8 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

The Meatball Shop, New York

Credit: Photo © Michael McCarthy

Co-founder Daniel Holzman wanted a recipe that incorporated the two flavors that Maryland blue crab makes him think of: Old Bay and salt-and-vinegar chips. The Maryland mini crab-cake meatballs feature both Old Bay and salty potato chips, plus lemon and fresh breadcrumbs. themeatballshop.com

  • New York Travel Guide

8 of 19

9 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

The Optimist, Atlanta

Credit: Photo © Emily Schultz

Executive chef Adam Evans mixes Alabama lump jumbo crab with egg, horseradish mayo, pickled mustard seed, ground (house-made!) saltines, Dijon mustard and dill. They’re seared in clarified butter before being served with seasonal pickles, peppery greens and—a Southern staples—comeback sauce. theoptimistrestaurant.com

  • Atlanta Travel Guide

9 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Coppa, Boston

Credit: Photo © Coppa

There are no breadcrumbs in the crab cakes that star in chef Jamie Bissonnette’s crab cake grilled cheese: just freshly picked crab meat, house-made mayo, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, harissa and egg yolks. It slides between two slices of sourdough bread filled with American cheese and house-made sour pickles. The sandwich is then pan-fried until golden and melty. coppaboston.com

  • Boston Travel Guide

10 of 19

11 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, Baltimore

Credit: Photo © Chris "The Czar" Keegan

This family recipe, which has drawn customers from all over the world, starts with high-quality crab meat (which chef/owner Tony Minadakis sources as locally as possible) and includes finely chopped white bread (no crust), eggs, mayo, wet and dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Jimmy’s own seasoning. jimmysfamousseafood.com

  • Delicious Crab Recipes

11 of 19

12 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Faidley’s, Baltimore

Credit: Photo © Nat Hansen

Damye Hahn runs this family restaurant (her great-grandfather opened it in 1886) with her mom, Nancy Faidley. Nancy started making Faidley’s now-famous crab cakes and, at 79, she’s still making them today. The recipe is as consistent (and as secret) as it was back then, and it starts with jumbo lump crabmeat. The cakes are served naked, with just lettuce, tomato, balsamic and crackers. Don’t ask for sauce, though—Damye’s dad won’t mind turning you down. faidleyscrabcakes.com

  • Fast Crab Recipes

12 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

13 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Fishing with Dynamite, Manhattan Beach, CA

Credit: Photo © Rick Poon

Chef David LeFevre makes his Maryland blue crab cakes to recreate his memories of summers on the eastern shore of Virginia, where he’d go fish for crabs with his grandfather (using pig ears for bait!). In addition to some classic flavor notes like Old Bay and Worcestershire sauce, his rendition features chives, apple, celery and parsley. The crab cakes are served with cabbage slaw, house-made pickles and lemon remoulade. eatfwd.com

  • Los Angeles Travel Guide

13 of 19

14 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

The Hungry Cat, Los Angeles

Credit: Photo © David Lentz

Chef/owner David Lentz grew up outside of Baltimore, and he has a 90-year-old crab cake recipe to prove it. Passed down from his mother, it’s a simple mix of Dungeness and blue lump crabmeat, egg, aioli, crushed saltines, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. At Hungry Cat, it appears as a sandwich at lunchtime and in the crab Benedict during brunch: crab cakes, black kale, house-made bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise. thehungrycat.com

  • Los Angeles Travel Guide

14 of 19

15 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC

Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Belmond

At the Charleston Grill, inside the Belmond Charleston Place hotel, the crab cakes are a local and guest favorite. Executive chef Michelle Weaver uses jumbo blue lump crabmeat and not much else. As she likes to joke, “There is so much crab in these cakes, the only thing holding them together is love and hope.” charlestongrill.com

  • Charleston Travel Guide

15 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

16 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Stono Market and Tomato Shed Café, Charleston, SC

Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Stono Market & Tomato Shed Café

This café began as a simple lunch stand for nearby packing plant employees. Twenty years later, head chef Kenny Veasel is still making crab cakes according to the recipe of the founder, Miss Babs. Made with crabmeat—in the summer, the kitchen goes through 80 pounds per week—cracker crumbs, bell pepper and secret seasonings, the cakes are deep-fried and served with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce. stonofarmmarket.com

  • Charleston Travel Guide

16 of 19

17 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Etta’s, Seattle

Credit: Photo © Eva Mrak-Blumberg

When Tom Douglas moved to Seattle in 1977, he was shocked not to find crab cakes in a city where Dungeness crabs were waiting to be plucked out of the water. His answer was an East Coast-inspired cake with big chunks of claw and leg Dungeness meat with plain white breadcrumbs (now replaced by panko). It’s still the top seller at Etta’s, where they go through almost 40,000 a year. tomdouglas.com

  • Seattle Travel Guide

17 of 19

18 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Pearl Oyster Bar, New York

Credit: Photo © Chris Chen

Chef/owner Rebecca Charles’s simple crab cakes—bound with eggs, breadcrumbs, mustard, hot sauce and lemon juice and fried in clarified butter—were so popular that, when the quality of available crab dropped and she took them off the menu, customers asked for them for months. The good news? They’re coming back. pearloysterbar.net

  • New York Travel Guide

18 of 19

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

19 of 19

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Empellón Taqueria, New York

Credit: Photo © Courtesy of Empellón

A play on chilpachole, a spicy seafood soup popular in Veracruz, Mexico, Alex Stupak’s crab cake tacos are a flavorful blend of Peekytoe crabmeat, pickled chipotle, pickled white onion, epazote, mayo and raw garlic. They’re topped with frothed chilpachole. empellon.com

  • New York Travel Guide

19 of 19

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Food & Wine

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 19 Rappahannock, Richmond, VA
2 of 19 Little Bird, Portland, OR
3 of 19 The Statehouse, Madison, WI
4 of 19 Bobby Flay Steak, Atlantic City, NJ
5 of 19 The Forge, Miami
6 of 19 Post 390, Boston
7 of 19 Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles
8 of 19 The Meatball Shop, New York
9 of 19 The Optimist, Atlanta
10 of 19 Coppa, Boston
11 of 19 Jimmy’s Famous Seafood, Baltimore
12 of 19 Faidley’s, Baltimore
13 of 19 Fishing with Dynamite, Manhattan Beach, CA
14 of 19 The Hungry Cat, Los Angeles
15 of 19 Charleston Grill, Charleston, SC
16 of 19 Stono Market and Tomato Shed Café, Charleston, SC
17 of 19 Etta’s, Seattle
18 of 19 Pearl Oyster Bar, New York
19 of 19 Empellón Taqueria, New York

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Food & Wine

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Books from Food & Wine
  • Contact Us
  • Media Kit
  • Content Licensing

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
Food & Wine is part of the Meredith Corporation Allrecipes Food Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.foodandwine.com

View image

Best Crab Cakes in the US
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.