Boiling Crab Reviews

Great crab and shrimp place. There are option of mild, medium or spicy for all the shrimps and Cajun Fries. Skip the craw fish, order the shrimp and crabs instead. Only thing that I don't like is everything is served in plastic bags.

I love Boiling Crab - at least the other locations in the OC and Vegas. This is my go to place for crab and shrimp. Then I visit this location. The shrimp was not fresh and soggy. They really scrimped on the sauce. And i ordered mild which is usually spicy, this was bland. So my advice, try the other locations and you will fall in love with them. Let’s hope the mgmt fixes this location.

The music is too loud. And too young. It was difficult to hear the wait staff! (They finally turned it down a wee bit) We requested forks for mussels and got them... but really this was all eat-with-your-hands kinda place. No salads, no veggies that you can’t eat with your hands, no healthy sides. We went with 1/2# shrimp and 1# mussels, with 2 pieces of corn, (all served in the same plastic bag) and sweet potato fries (not in the bag). Medium heat was acceptably spicey. Corn was obviously frozen then cooked to mush, would not order again. With a beer for each of us, we were out the door under $50 for 2 of us. And we’re sufficiently dated with nothing to take home. We would return for the food, but the music was completely too much :-( They could fix that, by having a quieter area somewhere.

This place is so worth eating at!!! Loved it! Great time! If you are a clean eater forget it! This is not clean eating food, it is a down and get dirty eating food with your hands unless of course you get one of their baskets. The shrimp and crab boils that we got were so yummy!

First time visitor and will definitely return. Excellent seafood, New Orleans style. Portions are well sized. Family style seating and one has to be willing to dig in with ones fingers.

Nice selection of seafood across the board. Can only speak for the crawfish. Not bad, can't recall the spice I got. I enjoyed them. Staff was very attentive and polite. Can get quite busy at dinner. Would go back.

This was our first visit and we will definitely look to return when we are back in San Diego. Location is one where they have paper on the table and your seafood is brought over in bags so you can pour our the crab, etc, on the table to eat. It was a great time with wonderful crab and shrimp. Staff was friendly and accommodating. Would highly recommend.

I read about "healthy foods" on the menu while I waited for a table. An order of cajun spicy steamed crabs and cajun fries was a horrible disappointment. Steamed crabs do not belong submerged in a bag of butter and the outcome was pitiful. Our server talked us out of ordering them hot and spicy, as though she had experienced dissatisfied customers before, warning us they can't be returned. What we got (just below being the hottest) was bland, small, and saturated in grease. We were told they were from the gulf of Texas and that is where things come from as being the "biggest and the best". Based on that, we ate ticks! Not happy with dinner, the manager offered to serve us two more but who wants more of something terrible? One was so little and with hard meat, totaling around one teaspoon of crabmeat, and it is crab season. It tasted like it was a day old and reheated.The fries were great and we wished the crabs had tasted like them. We paid the bill (overpriced) and left forever!

The Boiling Crab never disappoints! I first went to a boiling crab about 5 years ago in OC and I was hooked. The wait is always long but it doesn't matter. I always get a pound of shrimp, whole shabang, mild with corn, sausage, and potatoes. I'm not big on the whole peel and eat, but this is the only place that I don't mind doing it. The price is great for what you get and it's a place where you can be loud, luck your fingers, and enjoy a good meal. Don't forget to wear your bib!

This is a must try place..heard it's super crowded in LA, so we decided to go there in San Diego instead Lovely place with excellent service I prefer their shrimps over the crab though their crab is so tasty too They offer food with no forks, you just open the bag to dig in:)) If you are a spicy food addict, go for medium spice as it's already very strong

No plates, no knives, no forks... But the experience was fun, food good and flavorful. The crabs were huge and yummy. If you plan to dine here, be ready to get greasy, and dirty hands, just be careful of the spiny crab shells. I also liked the fried sweet potato.

Had a good meal. We had a mix of seafood. The service is good. The joys of going to table and having butchers paper as table cloth and no cutlery. I loved it. The food was seasoned to your level. For a Saturday night a 25 minute wait is not bad at all.

I've only been once but I am dying to go back. You eat wth bibs and seafood comes perfectly seasoned in a bag. The seasonings are pretty spicy so becareful.

This restaurant serves seafood such a crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters boiled and delivered to your table in a plastic bag with whatever seasoning you pick. I had a pound of snow crab legs and half a pound of shrimp in a garlic sauce. I enjoyed it, but you have to like getting messy. Really liked the Cajun fries.

Good but too expensive. We ordered 3 lbs of food between the two of us, plus fries and I left still hungry. I think the bill was over $50 too.

I have been coming to this restaurant for the past month trying to get a dine in meal. The county has been in the orange tier for a couple of weeks now and they still have not opened for dine in?? What's the hold-up. Must be making a killing off take out only.

Excellent experience. Stopped here with family and the place was packed. Waited 35 minutes for a table which goes by rather quickly with all of the TV screens in the waiting area. Food was easy to order off their menu but some things are seasonal so dont let that define the experience if they are, Food was brought out fast and was delicious. When choosing a spice let your level of tolerance determine the order, not the waitress. I went down a level and was disappointed at the lack of spice. Also recommend trying the Gumbo as it was delicious.

Had a nice dinner with friends at the Boiling Crab. Good and service were excellent. Overall, a fun atmosphere were you can have conversation and enjoy your company. Prices were fairly reasonable and food was tasty.

First time here on a Saturday evening. It seemed very crowded but they sat us in 10 min outside, turned on gas heaters and we were very comfortable. Food was good, messy but that's expected in a crab house. Crawfish were very good. Warning. Medium hot is really really hot!! Dungeness crab was very good but real pricey! Overall enjoyable but priced a little high for what you get.

Nice food,fast service,great and simple menu,lots of TV's.Might be 30 min waiting line from 6pm ,specially on weekends.No reservations...Only beer for alcohol,but nice selection.

This is the first time I dined in a Crab Restaurant and the experience was something unique for me specially the fact that all the crabs were laid out picnic style on top of our table. There were 6 of us and we all partook of a feast of crabs and seafood. Delicioso.

This was our second time at this restaurant. Be prepared for great seafood, no eating utensils and messy hands! However, the food is well worth it and the price is great.

Coming from San Francisco (where I am very picky about my crab), I have to give it to them that this is a pretty darn good place if you want to find some tasty seafood. The prices are alright, and the mild sauce is a little hot (just my opinion), but it's very good. Whatever you do, do not say this is your first time here because they'll give you a bib and everything, which I felt was a bit childish. Expect to get your hands dirty, and dig in!

We enjoyed this resturant. You do not get plates or utinsels, but you get deliciuos food. We had King Crab Legs, Shrimps, Potatoes and Corn on the cup. We had the "Sha bang" seasoning mild, it was good. Be prepared to get your hands messy but it worth it.

We have been eagerly waiting to dine at this newly opened Boiling Crab as my grand daughter is a great lover of crabs. This place does not take reservation. We managed to get there by 5pm on a weekend. Service was friendly. First thing we ordered :dungeness crab, of course. The response from waitress was:"We are out of it." BIG DISAPPOINTMENT! The food came in plastic bags with sauce. We tried the whole shabang. Did not think the sauce was that good. As to be expected, pretty messy dining with no utensils. Wish they would at least bring some disposable hot towels or some alcohol wipes after meal. The sweet potato fries was ok. The gumbo with rice was good. Meal cost pricey! Even my 8 yo grand daughter commented not to dine here again as she has been to many places that we ordered crabs esp for her.

Great seafood. A little pricey but totally worth it. I wish we had one in St. Louis!!! Very messy so don't wear anything you care too much about.

Good but too expensive. We ordered 3 lbs of food between the two of us, plus fries and I left still hungry. The bill was over $50 for the food, so with tax and tip, it was expensive considering I had to go next store and buy some quick take out item from Pho Ban Mai.

We went here with our kids ages 10 and 12. My 10 year old thought it was a total hoot that she could eat with her fingers right off the table! That was a super treat for her and she decided she just loved the Boiling Crab! She had the fried catfish and some shrimp too. We got the shrimp, mussels and king crab legs and everything was actually very tasty and fresh. The service was excellent and super friendly. We were pleasantly surprised by the whole experience and will be back.

This was a different experience. My kids enjoyed the no plates, no cutlery and making a mess! We had the crab legs, catfish, shrimp, and gumbo. The crablegs were excellent, the other food was ok. We came in about 30 minutes before close, but were hardly the last people there or to walk through the door. The server seemed to rush us and was very impatient. He spoke very fast and we could hardly understand what he was saying. It was our first time here, so we had some questions and he didn't seem happy about it. Maybe if we were there earlier, we would have gotten a little better service but if you are open until a certain time and you seat a party, you take your time to serve them properly.

boiling crab doesn't lack for business; their food choices are simple and short enough and clean-up, for them, is easy as you get to be primitive or back to basics of using your hands. should've asked but didn't if any of their seafood is fresh. would surmise that the seafood was previously frozen. the seasoning is simple choices as is your choice of "heat". for me the mild spice is still too much. if you can eat a lot your bill can rise quickly. if you are reasonable in the amount you order your bill won't be too bad. there are many eateries where you can eat with your hands and is not limited to seafood and you may not have to worry about if the seasoning color will stain your hands. face, lips or tongue. this was a different enough dining experience but not a place I would consider as a regular stop.

We had dinner twice here while traveling on business. Go early to avoid a potentially long wait. It's a no-frills kind of a place -- plastic tablecloth thrown over a sticky wood table, plastic silverware, etc. The food comes quickly -- whatever seafood you choose cooked in a plastic bag. The shrimp in garlic butter was my favorite. We tried the clams -- they were very small. The frozen crawfish was pretty good. And the crab was a waste because we often couldn't get it out of the shell. There were limited choices of sides, none of which were even a little healthy. For a quick, tasty dinner, I'd definitely go back. But it's not fine dining...

Friends if you are into eating-out hunting, exploring restaurants, tasting menus, trying weird food, discovering out of your cocoon, out of your box, out of standard, fallow me. the boiling crabs is eating seafood by bare hands. No plate, no spoon or fork. They deliver your pound of schrimps, crabs, clams. cray fish on the table covered with laminated sheets. There, you attack all you can the way you want. You dont have to glance beyond yur table, they're all doing the same. To each his/her own. Well, let me add to this; Shabu-Shabu restaurant in convoy street, San Diego is you cook yourself Restaurant. the way you like it. They bring your ingridients in front of your table with boiling kettle. Just fantastics, let's go restaurant hunting and taste what they got out there....

I never expected to be served food in a plastic bag, to be eating food off of a table (no plates) to be eating rice with my hands and enjoy it. Although I cannot say I really enjoyed it the food was good and the experience was great.

a load of fun, first thing you do is figure out how much seafood you want, then your seasoning, then how hot you want it and then they bring it to you in a bag to your table. are you eat with your hand to make a mess they give you bibs totally fun even more fun with a large group. Great selection of beers along with unlimited refills for sodas for kids. We did the garlic butter with medium spice it was a good medium spice however one person our party thought it was too hot. Good we went with the frozen crowdfast combo and then ordered an additional pound of mussels and corn on the cob. Six of us for lunch under $100

This place was recommended by the front desk clerk at the hotel I stayed at. The food was just okay to me. I was not impressed. In fact I was a little disappointed for two reasons. First, i just did not find that the crawfish or shrimp was fresh. Not at all. Second, after a long drive from LA, I was really looking forward to a nice cocktail. I was disappointed that they only served beer. If I drank beer, that would have been fine. But I don't drink beer. I will say though as a positive, the service and wait staff was very good! Food, not so much!

Always reliable Restaurant to get Louisiana seafoods. Crawfish was not available except frozen ones this time. Spicy flavors of different intensity.

Great eats, affordable, nice ambiance. I live seafood. The food is so tasty, can't count how many times I went to boilingcrab this year anymore.

I've eaten at this style of restaurant before but this was my first trip to this specific chain. All the staff were friendly and very helpful. We ordered a number of dishes including the King Crab. We were informed that due to the large size of the carb legs they could only provide 1.5lbs instead of the listed 1lb on the menu (so 50% in cost of course). I'm not 100% that wasn't just a way to get us to buy more. Be prepared to get messy when eating and don't expect to order anything other than seafood. The menu has almost nothing other than seafood with a selection of sides. Not a problem though if you want seafood.

It isn't pretty when you are all done eating but you will have had a good seafood feast. It comes prepared in a plastic bag that you dump onto the table to eat. When you are done shelling, shucking & peeling toss your bib on top of the debris pile and use the wet wipes to clean up! An interesting and enjoyable seafood experience!

Very interesting setting and services. Delicious meals and fresh seafood serving crab and shrimp. We ordered shrimp and it was really good. However, there is usually a long wait. Unfortunately it seems that they don't accept reservations. Also should say that this restaurant is not the right place for formal or business dinning.

My husband and I had a delicious lunch here! Food was awesome and service was top notch! We ordered the shrimp, crawfish, and king crab legs all in the sauce that was a combination of all of the flavors. Spicy and delicious! My husband has a bowl of gumbo and said it was great! We will be going back for sure!

On a recent trip to visit my daughter studying at UCSD, she said this was a "Must Do" for me. This is one her sorority's favorite dining places. And it did not disappoint! We ordered the clams, shrimp, snow crab, sausage, and french fries. Beware, the flavoring is cajon intense. It is served in bags and no silverware. You get down, and dirty and eat with your fingers. And it is Oh So Delicious! I had fun watching other people eat too. Yes, bibs are provided and a must. Oh for you sports types, there are TV screens throughout playing March Madness. The prices are very affordable. Your bill will NOT look like the bill you get at a Joe's Crab Shack or other pricey crab joints. And your taste buds will not forget the experience here!

I've been to several restaurants where they dump a bunch of crab on the table and let you go at. I lived in Seattle for decades before moving to San Diego, so I have some base of comparison. The Boiling Crab in San Diego is the best crab feast experience I've ever had. I've been there five or six times and I never settle for any less than their Alaskan King crab legs. WOW!!!! So good they make me not even care about the work I have to do to get the crab - totally worth it. They have several different spices you can choose from and your crab comes in a huge plastic bag, basted and exploding with flavor. Warning - your hands might smell like the spices for up to 24 hours even after several washes, but that's a good problem to have. They also serve crawfish/crawdad and some several other great sides. On weekends they can easily have an average 30 minute wait in the evenings, but it goes by fast. If you like Joe's Crab Shack, this place is several times better - better food, better atmosphere, better service.

Our family visited on a Saturday morning. Non descript shopping center location belies the quality of the food and the authenticity of the experience. No fork or plates. Food simply prepared but quality shined thru

I give it one star because the hostess was very nice. The sheet of paper to cover it table was cute and it distracted you from the fact you were sitting on two sheets of plywood. The very hard to read delaminated menu was useless in the fact that every item was Market Price. So you had to trust what you ordered was not some crazy price. The crawfish were still frozen so I went the safe route and ordered Gumbo. It arrived in a Wendy's like chili container and was $8 and was laughable. I found two pieces of sausage the size of a half a quarter for meat and the rest was rice or smashed tomatoes. Two of us had that and the other shrimp. We paid our $30 and had to go for a real dinner afterwards at a nearby Mexican place because we were hungrier then when we started at the Boiling Mad Crab.

If you want to get down and dirty with some seafood go to Boiling Crab. It was definitely and experience and fun and pretty good too

There is one good way to eat a good crab and that is to eat it with no inhibitions. This restaurant offers you that opportunity. You get your hands dirty and your clothes sprayed with the flavor mixes ( if you do not wear the protective apron). But you will enjoy every moment. Basically you first choose a seafood, either crab, lobstor, prawn etc. Then you choose a seasoning flavor and maybe some side dishes. The seafood is boiled with the flavors and brought to your table in plastic bags. And then you just dig in with your hands. The taste of the seafood is just exquisite. Awesome experience and its a fun way to hang out with friends. It opens only at 3pm on weekdays so you might want to head down to this place for a late lunch or dinner.

Never had crawfish and wanted to try it out. So we came here with another couple. Don't dress too nice because it gets messy! You order everything by the pound and they come in individual plastic bags. The table has a big wax paper sheet for all the shells to leave on the table. We ordered Snow crab, shrimp, crawfish and mussels. All with the "whole Shabang" sauce in Mild as not everyone could eat spicy like me, but it was still ok for my spicy taste. Obviously it's not a place to go crazy fancy but it is great to have fun and enjoy making a mess and enjoy seafood at the same time. Come here with some friends and have a good time!

The shrimp with rice was really good!! they are delicious and big. also, with cajun sauce mildly spiced, oh man! can't wait to be back. They also have crackers for the crabs. you just have to ask them for it.

We had a great time and enjoyed the excellent shrimp and carbs. I also have to commend the service! Great place to bring family and friends & get ready to get one’s hand dirty (meant positively of course).

Ate at this restaurant in Las Vegas, and had so much fun. Be prepared to get messy and eat primitive style with your hands. Allot of seafood at a great price. Live this place.