Crab Catchers

This Little River restaurant hauls them in, no matter what the season.

If the “season” is over after Labor Day, nobody told the folks at Crab Catchers in Little River.

A packed outdoor deck on a warm fall weeknight suggested otherwise. And the fact that a very long waiting bench was always occupied — at least until 7:30 pm — might be an indication that the Crab Catchers folks and their food are pretty popular.

Our Jersey Boys group led by Amboy Pete (though we still haven’t seen Linda) showed up at 6 pm and faced a 15-minute wait. It was a good time to sidle over to the outdoor bar where delightful Kaylee was drawing beers, and wait it out with a wetter whistle.

The beer list is not extensive, although a couple of solid offerings from Grand Strand Brewing and our buddy T-Bone’s old faithful Yuengling were available this night. The GSB Oktoberfest was nicely done, too.

You may have to share one with other folks, depending on the size of their party and yours. But it’s outdoors on the deck right on the ICW with hungry gulls hovering (no feeding the gulls!), and the opportunity for one of those patented southeast North Carolina sunsets is always there.

Food-wise, Father Dave and T-Bone went with crab — soft-shelled for T and crab cakes for Dave. Pete and I opted for the fried scallops, his in a sandwich and mine as a dinner. I should probably have gotten the sandwich, as there were so many perfectly done fried scallops in my dish that I couldn’t finish them all.

We enjoyed some good appetizers — steamed clams, onion rings and conch fritters — and they probably contributed to dearth of belly space.

We all tried the tasty and very different Deep-Fried Corn on the Cob as a side, which both Pete and our friendly server Mike recommended.

The clientele was mixed this night to include families with young children, couples, golfing buddies and, of course, a healthy distribution of geezers like us. Hey, we may not know how to use Twitter, but we know where the good food is.

And they kept coming all night until 7:30, making good use of that bench while waiting for their call. One can only imagine how many bodies that bench must accommodate during the “season.” But that raises the issue of whether there’s a season at all at places that serve good food at reasonable prices in a pleasant setting.

There’s also an indoor seating area, though the outside deck is preferable, especially in nice weather. And you may notice the powered Tiki Party Barges adjacent to, but not commercially connected with, Crab Catchers (you can bring your own booze and cruise up and down the ICW for $90 a head).

There are a few places in this Little River enclave off Mineola Avenue that might attract your attention as you drive the loop. But it’s clear that Crab Catchers is catching more than crabs, even out of “season.”

Want to go?
Crab Catchers
4474 Water Front Avenue, Little River, SC
(843) 280-2025
crabcatchers.com