The Crazy Crab was our favorite place to eat while in Hilton Head.

After visiting the Discovery Museum on the north end of the island, we walked across the parking lot for lunch at The Crazy Crab, which had been highly recommended by my dentist, who has a second home on Hilton Head Island. Hungry, we were eagerly anticipating "fresh seafood."

The restaurant has a laid-back nautical theme, and its backside is covered with glass windows, which provides an excellent view of the two docked shrimping boats in the marshland. We were lucky enough on both visits to obtain waterfront tables.

Since our first visit was mid-afternoon, we were able to select from the lunch menu, which is considerably cheaper than the evening’s dinner menu. My taste buds were screaming for some fresh shrimp and scallops; it didn’t take me long to make my selection, the Half & Half option, which allowed you to combine any two fried entrees. French fries and coleslaw were served with the meal for $11.95. While we were waiting for our meal, our server brought a small wooden salad bowl filled with fresh hush puppies. These serve perfectly as an appetizer to munch on--no need to spend extra money; just make sure you don’t fill up on these little jewels, because the main entrée is a heaping plate of food.

The shrimp and scallops were absolutely delicious! The breading was extremely light and there was no heavy “fried” taste. I savored every succulent bite! Robert enjoyed several of my items as well, as he remarked that he should buy a kid's meal, since he usually ends up with half of mine!

We returned to the Crazy Crab a couple days later and selected from the dinner menu. They had a “Special of the Day,” which included blackened mahimahi, crab cake, and shrimp for $21.95. I couldn’t pass this up; it had some of my favorite foods. Robert chose the Broiled Seafood platter ($19.95), which consisted of shrimp, scallops, crab cake, fresh fish, and stuffed flounder. Both dinners came with a tossed green salad and baked potato or rice. Watching a beautiful sunset, complete with gently swaying marshland grasses, topped off our dining experience this evening.

There is an outside bar, and a large deck holds several dining tables, with some being covered by umbrellas or the building’s wide eaves. This would surely be the place to enjoy a drink or a meal in the spring or fall months. A small fenced-in area had a sand box with a slide and another couple of pieces of equipment to keep the kids entertained.

Crazy Crab is a family restaurant with two locations (Harbour Town/Highway 278) and serves mostly seafood, but does offer fried/roasted chicken and a New York Strip/rib-eye steak for those non-seafood lovers. A kid's menu includes cheese pizza, fried shrimp, fish and chips, hamburger, hot dog, or chicken fingers ranging from $3.95 to $6.95.

You won’t regret choosing this restaurant if you are a seafood lover.

In the gated community of Harbour Town, you will find a local favorite, Crazy Crab. As you might guess, Crazy Crab offers some of the best and freshest seafood around (to include, yes, crab!). The great people at the Sea Horse Farms, where we went horseback riding, suggested this place to us.

Despite being in a gated community, this is a casual restaurant. So you will not feel out of place walking in wearing your jeans. They offer seafood and a smaller menu if you are not a seafood lover. They offer salad, chicken, and steak for the non-seafood patron or vegetarian. So if there is not a seafood lover in you, you are limited in your choices. When our waitress came out, she brought a fresh basket of hushpuppies with her for a snack. So we didn’t need to order an appetizer.

They are well-known for their crab pots, and since John loves crab, that is what he got. They bring out the crab in a pot, just like it sounds. This is locally caught, and John said it tasted incredibly fresh. I just have a problem eating something that stares back! On the side, you are served a ramekin of both melted garlic butter and melted herbed butter. He got a baked potato, and it came with a house salad. Brenda went with fried flounder, which came with your choice of rice or potato and fresh veggies or salad. Brenda went with potato and salad. I went with their rosemary baked chicken, which was just scrumptious. It was so tender and flavorful. I had mine on a bed of herbed rice and fresh veggies, which included carrots, corn, green beans, and zucchini. I also went with a side salad, which had this incredible fresh-made herbed ranch dressing. What a winner. Afterwards, we saved room for dessert since they had a tempting menu of ice cream, cakes, pies, and other gourmet pastries. Brenda just went with an ice cream sundae, while John and I went with an individual berry pie. These single-sized delights included blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries, topped with ice cream. Everyone left very full.

When you’re done, walk around and check out the local shops and climb to the top of the Harbour Town Lighthouse. There are a number of cruises that leave from here, including dolphin cruises. So this makes the perfect place to stop before or after a cruise. This is a gated community, but you can pay $5 at the gate and come on in. Crazy Crab is open for both lunch and dinner. They do accept credit cards, and they do not take reservations. They are open 7 days a week. For more information, call 843-363-2722 or go to www.harbourtown.com.