Smashin Crab Reviews

Very nice place and the service is great and my wife food was great but since i can only eat fish i order the catfish basket which was more like the french fry basket with only one piece of fish for a high price didnt sit well with me again gave me a basket of fries!!!!

You must give this place a try! The fries and onion rings are the best we ever had!! Crunchy and spicy! I had the Oyster Po-Boy! Bread is so soft and the entire sandwich was terrific! The wife had the crawfish tails, she said they good! ( she is from Louisiana and has a describing palette) staff was very nice and the they have a diverse menu! So, go grab a bight!

It was a cold and dreary Friday night, no one was standing outside to take our reservation. The procedures are as follows: someone stands outside to take your reservations, sanitize your hands, take your temperature to prepare for seating. So as I meant no one was standing outside but they expect their patrons too. I walked in noticed 6 people sitting at the bench. So I asked to make a reservation. an hour and 45 minute wait. I asked well do you mind if we sit at the bar. no one was sitting at the bar. the hostess said sure the bartender will help you. so we sat there for about an hour watching the basketball game. so the staff decided they wanted to play cowboys and Indians and proceeded to booted us from the spot. I asked what is the difference between sitting at the bar or sitting at the bench. you were not making money with me at the bench. so they proceeded to spew the coronavirus speech as hate speech. as if I've been living under a rock or something. I asked why not just shut down the entire restaurant if you guys are so damn scared. the staff is young and didn't really want to give them a hard time. they just work there. long story short they kicked us out of the establishment for 2 minutes to flex their muscles because they can since I am at the mercy of the crab gods and we were allowed to go back in. the owner was there and refused to speak with us.

There was a 3/4” piece of metal wire in my shrimp that I almost swallowed! The manager said it came from their sieve. That could have killed me if I swallowed it! I’ll never go back! EVER!

My husband and I ate the best crawfish and crab we have ever had there. The prices were pretty high but it was worth the money. Definitely made our night to eat some amazing seafood. Also do not be in a hurry because they are popular with a wait time.

Katlyn was a superb waitress. It was our first experience with Smashin crab. She helped us negotiate the diverse menu, waved us off items we thought we might like, because of her knowledge of other guest’s experience. A total professional. A lot of the menu is fried foods. We were guided by her friendly spirit to have a pleasant experience at a busy restaurant near were we were staying. Kinda an East-Coast menu landed in San Antonio.

They are fairly priced and the sauce on the pasta dish I had was freshly made and really good I plan to go again.

Growing up from Louisiana, I have high expectations on seafood. I ate the lobster and the kids had fried shrimp. Everything was great! Glad to see a restaurant like this is San Antonio/Stone Oak! We will be back!

the service is always just as bad the manager always standing behind the counter doing nothing not because food looks good means service doesn't matter

We went Last Friday for a Birthday. Mind you we are in the middle of Lent so every sea food place in town is always slammed on Friday's so we know to take that into consideration. We also had a party of of 9 and out of those 9 were 4 kids. We had Snow crab and King Crab along with a few pounds of Shrimp. Our table had about 5-6 Pounds of crawfish. The crawfish was excellent one of the best I have had. The King crab was also as great as expected. The flavor on both those items were great as well as they were perfectly cooked. We also had a dozen Oysters that were great in size and flavor. The Shrimp was over done and chewy. When we sat down we ordered a round of drinks both alcoholic drinks and well as kids. The Beers we ordered took about 10 minutes to hit the table and were ran by either a Bartender or Manager not our server. At that time we went ahead and ordered a Dozen Oysters and the kids meals. Within about 7-8 min the kids food was out ( which was great). After an additional 10 or so min so about 18-20 min since we ordered the Apps/Kid meals Our server came to take out entree order. We ordered the food and mentioned to her to check on our Oysters. She within 2 min came out with the Oysters (this tells me she forgot to run them). Food took about 15-20 min to come out (again super busy due to Lent) which was awesome for it being a Friday. The food was not ran by our server. After about five min of the food hitting our table the servers comes to check on us. After that she is gone for the rest of the meal. we all ate for about 20 min then three adults at our table got up and went outside with the kids while one other Adult and myself remained finishing up our food and waiting for the check. After 30-45 min My wife comes back in to check on us (wondering why its taking this long to pay out). No one had hit our table to offer anything else or even the check. After getting up and washing up we finally see our server. We asked her where to pay out since she never came back. My Wife stayed to pay while I went to go outside to round up the little ones. As soon as i walked through the door a Man (Who i assumed was a busser) Stopped me and asked me if I was going to pay my bill. At this point I was behind furious. To have such a poor Customer service experience and then to top it off and have someone assume I was walking out on my tab? It was absolutely ridiculous. I went back in to voice my concerns to the server and Busser and to anyone else in ear shot of us. A Man who i assumed was a manager tied to pull me aside but at this point it was too late. He also never attempted to speak with My Wife or the other gentleman in our party after I left so he obviously just wanted me to be quiet. With such great reviews of this place and with most of the food being real tasty its a shame that this experience will cause me to possibly never go back even to another location. I have been in the industry for 3 + years from Bartending to Management of a Restaurant. I understand when servers to get weeded but to go missing for half the meal and not run you and then to have a member of your staff make such a rude comment. Its a shame.

While placing a to-go order online, we noticed many items were listed as out of stock. Before placing the order, I called to confirm that there we no additional out of stock items. The person I spoke with went down the list with me. We then placed our online order. When my husband arrived to pick up the order everything was ready but the charred oysters. He was told thru did not have cheese on hand to make them and that they would buy some, but he would need to wait 20 minutes for that item. How totally unprofessional! They could easily have called upon receiving the order to ask for a substitution. They did not apologize and did not do anything to remedy the situation. We used to love this restaurant, but they are obviously having problems. Will need to find another place to eat crab.

While in town visiting my brother & his family, a bunch of us all decided to go out and get some seafood as my boyfriend was craving some crayfish! My goodness - Smashin Crap on E Sonterra Blvd did not disappoint. The staff was fanastic. I believe our waitress' name was Katie - she was super personable and 100% on the ball with regard to getting our orders properly placed, pace of the meal, etc. Definitely was a fun atmosphere too, getting to write on the walls and such. The best part for last... the food! We got my nephew to eat calamari (and like it) as it was prepared perfectly with a crunch and good flavor to the breading, and each of us who got various seafood boils had no complaints! Nothing was overcooked or poorly seasoned - rather everything tasted great! Would definitely recommend this place, and will visit again next time I'm in town!

My Sweetheart & I went on a Sunday afternoon date. She had a taste for a lobster. So we went on our first visit to the Smashin Crab at Stone Oak. It was very busy, but we were seated in less than 30 minutes. Lauren was a excellent server. She was attentive, kind & courteous. I ordered a cup of gumbo & it was good. It had shrimp, chicken, beef & sausages. Delicious a treat. Of course my wife had the lobster. She loved it. Her lobster dish also had the red potatoes & corn. I did all the crackin for my baby. It was plenty of lobster meat. I, also had the combination basket with fried shrimp, fried catfish & Cajun fries. We polished the meal off with sweet tea & lemonade. We will be back very soon.

Saw the ads about Cajun food at this joint. I like and have eaten Cajun seafood at a variety of restaurants in different cities. This is NOT a real Cajun style seafood place. They may have Cajun flavored seafood but it’s not served Cajun style. Most people know Cajun seafood is one big mixture of crawfish, sausage, shrimp, potatoes, and corn. Nope! Not here. If you want it, you have to make your own mixture by ordering individually each item. And their prices aren’t cheap!! We ordered a pound of shrimp, mussels, and crawfish, 4 pieces of sausage and two corn cobblets. Our walk out price was $54.00!! Plus they serve it in individual plastic bags sealed with a glued tag. It’s like eating from doggy bags!! The bags are not appealing and difficult to open. And we had 6-8 mussels that didn’t steamed open. Just last month we ate the same selections but doubled the sausage and corn for $29 at Crawdaddys in Corpus Christi.

Skip Joe's and hit up Smashin Crabs. The wait might be a bit but it is definitely worth it. The food was great and so was the service. Definitely recommend the Trinity sauce. Will definitely making a trip back to SA to eat here.

Both times I've eaten here has been awesome. I highly recommend the Trinity Sauce with Shrimp and whatever spice level you can tolerate, I like heat but think a 3 or 4 is plenty hot. Definitely add some sausage and potato to your boil bag. The boudin balls are on point. We've always had great service but just know that if you do it right here it will be messy, you will use a lot of napkins, and you should avoid wearing white clothes (the color, not honky clothes, wear all the honky clothes you want). In fact, writing this review has made me hungry so think I'll head over here for lunch to try the Poboys.

I like the idea of the boiled seafood they can be flavored the you it preferred heat intensity. But too messy go lunch. And prices are a bit high. Also offer po‘boys and fried baskets. My tablemates and I all tried different items: boiled crawfish, grilled red fish, fried shrimp, fried crawfish, and a muffuletta. Fish came with rice and the fried seafood came with Cajun fried, but could upgrade to onion rings or sweet potato fries. Servings would plenty for lunch. My favorite item was actually the hush puppies. Great corn flavor with a nice kick at the end. Might try again.

We arrived at the Smashin’ Crab on a Saturday at 5 pm and were surprised to find almost all tables occupied. It was soon apparent why they were so busy so early. We were seated in the bar, which was fine. We received wonderful service! Our food was awesome! The crab boil was delicious, as were the jumbalya bites, crab cakes, & cole slaw. What more can you ask for in a restaurant— fantastic service and amazing food! Plus, although we were seated in the bar, we only ordered water to drink and got no pressure or push back from our server to do otherwise. She was the perfect server! We’ll be back again soon!

First time to eat here and it was great! I didn't get a boil, but the redfish was outstanding! Bartender was very friendly and helpful. Great food and staff-win-win!

I'll summarize my experiences as follows: 1. Drinks were delicious 2. Steamed bags were outstanding 3. Chargrilled oysters...OMG, reminded me of South Carolina 4. Fried food....not so much Overall, an excellent dining experience with OUTSTANDING customer service

My wife and I saw the signs for Smashin Crab yesterday and only went to visit. However after church today we headed over for lunch. Very familiar with boils because I grew up in Beaumont, Texas and that was a staple of our family menu. We started with boudin balls and sweet potato fries. Both were ok not the best I’ve ever had but not the worse either. I would classify them as middle of the road or average. Staff is very helpful and friendly. Q our server did an excellent job taking care of our needs. My wife had the mussels and king crab boil with corn. I had shrimp with sausage, potatoes, and corn. Both were good choices. In my opinion my boil would have been awesome with Zummo sausages. Brand common there in the Golden Triangle. Different boils and spice levels available, their is something for everyone. We will definitely go back again.

Horrible experience. Currently not taking reservations. I had called 2 other restaurants and they have also suspended same day reservations. We brought some drinks and snacks and took our chances (6 adults/2 kids) When we arrived requested to sit inside and was given 45 minute wait time. After an hour my wife checked and was told we could sit outside or wait another 45 minutes. I challenged management about reservation policy and was told too many “no shows” influenced the change.

The group had steamed crabs, shrimp,and clams all cooked in the triple boil sauce. Of the three items, the clams were the best: sweet, tender, and flavorful. The shrimp, though delicious, were hesitant to give up their shells. We were deeply disappointed with the crabs, which were perhaps past their freshness date and were mushy. For dessert we enjoyed cups of banana pudding and key lime pie. For the price, we had higher expectations for quality of the seafood.

This place was amazing! The spicy level is perfect and the mussels were delicious! We got the shrimp, snow clusters, mussels, sausages, and corn. The staff was accommodating and let us sit anywhere. Clean restaurant as well.

One of the best crab and shrimp boils I have ever had. Excellent spicy seasoning and high-quality food! The waitress was friendly and helpful.

This is my second time ordering recently that my order was wrong. The first time I let it go, this time I called and the manager went back and forth with me about how they do it and how it should have been right. I travel 45 minutes 1 way when I go there and we always get King crab so I'm paying over $100 per visit. Honestly when they get it right, it's really good but good customer service is listening to the customer and making it right when you get it wrong. Im not going to go back and forth or arguing with managers. I simply just take my money elsewhere. Yall lost a customer today, and I regret refering anyone here.

I ordered king crab with sausage and potatoes in a garlic boil and added the level 6 reaper heat to it. Now bare with me for a sec, I’m Cajun… but I needed to wash that down a little. I definitely felt the temp… but still enjoyed it thoroughly! My wife had the snow crab with the Cajun boil and level 1 (shallow end) heat with sausage and potatoes. Hers was delicious as well! In addition, we got the gator bites and boudin balls. Now… the boudin balls, while not gonna grace the cover of any fancy food magazine any time soon, was amazing! On a side note, don’t wear white or expect not to leave this place a little dirty and smelling like seafood. It’s inevitable when the place is so authentic it uses large sheets of butchers paper for your food. It was all well worth it. I WILL be back again and soon. I can’t encourage you strongly enough to visit this place.

I am in San Antonio working. The restaurant was behind my hotel. I was tired and wanted something quick. I ordered the cajun pastalaya. It's shrimp, chicken and sausage with alfredo sauce. It was so good, I went back the next day. For 13 bucks, you can't beat it. I'm not a bread fan. But the toast was excellent ad well. If I am ever back in the area, I will find a way to visit.

What a wonderful surprise- first rate Cajun seafood here in San Antonio! Go casual and eat, mostly, with your hands (lots of napkins provided). We enjoyed (heads-on) Cajun shrimp as an appetizer. The sauce they came in was incredibly delicious. Thank goodness they served it with moppin bread. For a main, we had a large Dungeness crab (in season, so fresh and sweet) with their Trinity sauce. Yum!!! Also some of the best red beans and rice I’ve ever had. Topped off our meal with key lime ice box cake presented in a small jar - clever presentation and really tasty (plenty tart). Our server Taylor was excellent - she explained how the menu was set up, made some good suggestions, took our order when we were ready to order (not when she thought it was time), and stayed on top of our needs all evening. She was very cheerful and informative. She made the evening extra pleasant. We ate out on their pleasant outdoor terrace where there was plenty of space between the tables and plenty of light to read the menu and see the food. The indoor seating was plentiful but it seemed a little too noisy for us. The bar had both hard liquor, some wines both by the glass and the bottle and a diverse selection of beers. It’s worth a little drive to try out this restaurant.

We walked in for dinner on December 26 wondering how the service and food would be right after Christmas. Everything exceeded our expectations! We were greeted warmly by the bar tender, who recognized us from previous visits. Our server, Donovan, was friendly and attentive. Julian, the manager, stopped by to check on us. The food was fantastic! Our son, who loves crab, said the snow crab in the Low Country Boil was exceptionally fresh and seasoned just right (Trinity 2). My blackened catfish on dirty rice was also cooked perfectly! My husband’s River City Pasta was great, too! We’ll be back again soon!

I wish I could tell you about the food but we never got that far. The restaurant wasn't full. Lots of tables inside sat vacant as well as the outdoor dining area. When we checked in at the hostess desk she said it would be an hour wait. I didn't snap to it right away to ask why, but as we left to find another spot to eat, I went back in and pointed out the abundance of empty tables. Were they short on waitstaff? Were the tables reserved? No. She said that in order to make sure the food came out timely from the kitchen they were limiting the number of customers. Seriously? You have a restaurant with multiple empty tables and it's a kitchen issue? Actually it's a management issue. Poor management cost them this customer's business.

My husband and I went to check this place out since a co worker told me about it. We were not disappointed. I had the snow crab boil with 2 margaritas. My husband had the Cajun seafood pasta which he also enjoyed but really wanted the lobster roll, which they were out of. The service was ok but hard to understand at times. We will go back

Enjoyed sitting out on covered patio. Had the soft shell crab and it was really good. Also had sweet potatoe fries which were ok.

I ordered togo, the process was easy and my food was ready at the quoted time. They included everything in the bag that I would need and my order was correct. The boiled Shrimp were very good. The price for one piece of sausage one corn and one small potato, is very high, most similar places include at least one of each. The BBQ New Orleans Shrimp appetizer was just ok, I feel it had too much beer in the recipe and not enough garlic and Worcestershire sauce.

Tired of Mexican, Tex-Mex and steaks in San Antonio? Want to try something different? Smashin Crab may be your ticket to the Big Easy without leaving San Antonio. My husband & I have frequented both the E. Sonterra location (the newest to open) & the Bandera location. E. Sonterra is still working out some kinks but the managers are well-engaged, as are their employees and the location is quickly becoming a local favorite. Walking into Smashin Crab you feel as tho you are transported to Bourbon Street. Our waiter was even from NOLA! Cajun music, relaxed, fun atmosphere. There are po-boys, boils, grilled redfish, chargrilled oysters to name a few. (Oh, and the potato salad is just like that at Acme Oyster House).The Jambalaya balls were a hit. Price for the boils is market price (pound) and posted on a board in the restaurant, you can add vegetables, sausage, a lobster tail, to mention a few to really make it your own. You determine the seasoning of your boil, as well as the heat level. Bibs are provided and a walk-up washtub is provided in the restaurant for the aftermath. (It can get messy). For those not fond of seafood, the Sonterra location offers a few BBQ items (ribs, chicken, brisket). All-in-all If you would like a unique experience in San Antonio, I recommend trying Smashin' Crab. We've made it a weekly venture.(*note--due to the market seafood, it can get pricey but sooo worth it). After an hour, we feel like we've been transported to a mini-vacation all in one meal. (Did I mention my husband and daughter had lived in NOLA?! and the highly approve!) Make sure to sign the walls while you're there! Laissez bons temps rouler!

We had read mixed reviews, with some people finding the staff less than helpful. The staff were very good. Our staff were helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. I noted their interactions with other customers as well and it was all good. Our appetizers were the gumbo and smashed potatoes. The gumbo really was outstanding, with so many different flavors and textures. The stashed potatoes were equally good. We didn’t fancy a boil, so we stayed with the basket menu. The food was tasty and piping hot. All in all, this was great value for money. Give the restaurant a try - you won’t be disappointed.

The food is good here but you have to keep in mind that many of their boil dishes are extremely messy. I will definitely go back but will not order the blue crab boil. I think I'll opt for one of the dishes that you can eat without going home to take a bath.

So my buddies and I got together for a late lunch yesterday and we decided to give the Smashin Crab a try. It was "Happy Hour" so we tried a couple of appetizers to start, an order of calamari and some Jambalaya Bites. The calamari was so so and jambalaya bites were a little dry. They didn't lack in flavor, maybe they were just left in the fryer a little too long. So as a main course I decided to try one of their boils. You first choose your protein which are sold by the pound at market price. I went with the snow crab. You then have the option to add veggies, corn potatoes or sausage. I went with potatoes, sausage and veggies. Then you choose your sauce, the waitress suggested the Trilogy sauce so I went with that. You also have the option to choose the heat level of your sauce on a scale of 0-5. I played it safe and went with a heat level 1, I think I'll go with 2 next time. The boil came out delicious, was full of flavor and the crab was boiled perfectly. Can't wait to bring my family here....

Kim is an amazing waitress! Food not so much. My catfish was over cooked and had to send it back. Shrimp boil that you pay 15.00 for is not worth the trouble. It comes not peeled and with the whole head. If you want corn and potatoes added to your boil you pay extra. Boudin balls are wonderful. Sorry I do not recommend.

Food was very good and portions were generous with the fried baskets. The market price boiled seafood is sold by the pound. Good flavored boil seasoning with your choice of hotness or not. I tried 3 alarm hot which is middle of the road but not very spicy so I will move up the spicy ladder. Our server Jen was very attentive with drinks and follow up. Overall good food & service. The wait on a Saturday evening was about 35 minutes. Three of us the bill was $90 so it is a bit pricey.

Maybe it was an off night 01-19-20 Our server was Nicole. This was the worst service we have had at Smashin' Crab. Seemed like the whole staff was more interested in the football game than they were about taking care of their paying guests. Nicole spent more time talking to and hanging our with her guy at the bar and staring at the TV while listening to the game on her phone and taking personal phone calls.Then other people were running her food out for her. One brought my husband his food but he won't eat without me getting my food. One of the managers brought my food out 10 minutes later. He came out with my food, stood at the hostess stand and watched the game for a good three minutes before he finally brought me my food. My husband and I were less than impressed. Completely unprofessional Guess we should start going back to the one on Bandera Road, even though it is much further from us, but we have never had issues at that location.

Brailyn was an awesome server! She didn't just take our order...she helped us navigate a tricky menu and she made sure that we understood all of our options. She also gave us some great suggestions that enhanced our experience. We had a couple of giant lobsters with some crab and it was delicious! We topped that off with a complimentary root beer float for my birthday! I love these guys! We will be back again!

Wonderful variety of crabs. Had a mixed platter with all different sorts, sausage, corn and just the right amount of spice. Server was friendly and place was clean and nice.

I love, love, love crab. I looked forward to eating at the Shashin Crab right up to when the boiled crabs were delivered to our table. The crabs were literally mush. The blue crabs were stewed down to what one would find in gumbo. I tried to eat them, but there was not much left to eat. I regret not sending them back. It was a $60.00 dinner and I left hungry.

Boil is the thing to get. Every table around us had it. And looked amazing. We came specifically for the chargrilled oysters. Skip those. The were small, not juicy, not even reminiscent of Acme Oysters in Louisiana. Gracuously offered to remove from the ticket Also had cod, shrimp basket with hushpuppies. And boudin balls. Fantastic portions! Hot, flavorful, great family friendly pick.

The Smashin’ Crab offers consistently great seafood and service at a reasonable price. On our most recent visit, we sat outside and enjoyed fantastic crab, tasty shrimp, and outstanding blackened catfish with boudin balls as an appetizer and mixed veggies as sides. Our server was very attentive and pointed out a few updates to the menu, with suggestions on a new side to try on our next visit. We all chose to drink water, which was refilled frequently throughout our dinner. We usually get spicy margaritas but chose to stick with water on this visit; our choice not order alcohol on this visit did not affect the quality of service received at all (felt the need to point this out after a recent negative experience at a more upscale restaurant). Bottom line: the Smashin’ Crab offers consistently excellent food and service. If you go on a Sunday, though, call ahead to make sure they haven’t run out of whatever you are choosing to order. For example, they were out of head-off shrimp during our last visit.