The Boiling Crab

The best ever! It’s a little wait but who cares when you get such good service and food! My favorite restaurant !!

This is an update about service I received at the boiling crab location on brookhurst in garden grove. I had a terrible experience and left a Unilocal review. A few days later I was contacted by who i assume to be customer service who got me in contact with the regional director Julie Tran. Mrs. Tran was extremely helpful and polite and apologized for the treatment I received. She rectified the situation by giving me a gift card which I plan to use tonight to to take my family to the Las Vegas boiling crab! Her customer service was amazing and has guaranteed I will continue to frequent the boiling crab for some time to come! Thank you again Mrs. Tran for turning what could have been a bad experience into something positive. She is a true leader and an asset to her corporation !

Always a great option! The shrimp with all of the flavors are good. The fried oysters are also good. The king crab were also yummy!

I’ve been to this place 2 – 3 times. First time it was amazing, great music and environment, super busy place, great cust service and best of all their food WOWWW so delicious everything from the lobster, crab legs, catfish, crawfish, and the calamari Wowww. Highly recommend this place for their top notch food quality and freshness.

This place NEVER fails to please. I go here at LEAST once a month. (Usually 2 – 3 times, actually). The service is always great, whether it’s a male or female. They always check up on you in case you need something. The food is always on point, never too salty, etc. and the shrimp and crawfish is very easy to peel. The fun part is, you get to get down and dirty and eat with your hands :) and the environment is very friendly. Perfect for a group of friends, a date, or family.

Enjoyed the cajun food all around. Shrimp. Clams. Crawfish. I could use more spice but it’s my fault for ordering mild.

Love this place! Fresh seafood, delicious sauces. Bomb fries!
Only downside is the wait, so I definitely recommend you come during the week before 6pm! On worst days the wait is between an hour 30 min and 2 hours… On easier days you can get inside under 20 min.
My boyfriend and I always get the shrimp (2lbs) which is a favorite for many people. Whole shebang sauce, mild spicy. Lemon pepper fries and a dozen oysters (which are HUGE). Check comes out to about $ 50.
Give this place a chance you won’t regret it!

I got two pounds of shrimp to split with my mom. She added sausages into her bag. The flavor we got was the whole shabang in XXX spice level and you NEED to get their cajun fries yum.
First of all, when you first get your shrimp you have to shake the whole bag. That gets the flavor onto the shrimps on the top. So good. The XXX spice level got really spicy towards the bottom which I love. As for the cajun fries it was very crispy and flavor full per usual. But you need to get the ranch oh my. The ranch is AMAAZZZINGG. It has a nice consistency and it tastes different from any other restaurants.
Although, I had to go a second round around the plaza for parking since there are a lot of restaurants around.
The wait was about 15 – 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. Not too shabby. If you have other company it will go by quick.
Overall service was awesome!

WOWWWWW. The Boiling Crab definitely lives up to the hype.
My friend and I stopped in last Monday night around 8:15 to put our name down on the list. We were told the wait would be about 20 – 30 minutes (not bad!). It was our last night in town, so we immediately drove off to a neighboring store to pick up a couple things. By the time we got back, we were past our wait time by like 10 minutes. We walked up to the hostess and she mentioned that she called us 5 minutes ago, but could give us the next available table. Then one of the other hostesses mentioned she could seat us right away. WIN! She sat us at one of the tables closest to the entrance… besides the longing stares of those waiting to be seated, the table was just perfect.
We were greeted by a very friendly server. When we told her it was our first time there, she was very helpful in describing how things worked, the sauces, etc. For the two of us, we ordered (everything to share):
— 1 lb of shrimp w/​corn, potatoes and ½ lb sausage — in medium Whole Sha-​Bang
— 1 lb of clams — in medium Whole Sha-​Bang
— Cup of Gumbo with rice
— Cajun fries
There was definitely enough for the both of us. I’m such a piggy and secretly thought that it wouldn’t be enough food. Once we got through ²⁄₃ of it, we were both full, but «somehow» managed to finish all the clams and shrimp. :) The flavors were really outstanding. Spicy enough and pretty garlic-​y. (Be ready for garlic burps for the next 12 hours!)
Once the bill came, I was pretty shocked that the shrimp was only $ 13 for the pound. To me, that is super cheap! I don’t cook much, so I have no clue what «market price» is for shrimp, but I thought it’d be a lot more. :)

One of my absolute favorite restaurants, their shrimp is AMAZING!!! I always go with a pound and a half of their whole shebang mild with a piece of corn in the bag. One of my favorite things to eat! The prices are also super cheap, love this place!

I have dreams about their calimari and snow crab.
The wait is always worth it, always.
Addicting. Delicious. Great service.
I didn’t even eat seafood before this.

It was super nice only having to wait 10 mins for a table! Service was excellent!
That’s where the positives stop. The fresh shrimp we ordered was not so fresh. Hard to peel, mushy flesh… all the indicators of not fresh. Paid market price for it too. Disappointed. I haven’t been back to a boiling crab in a long time because of the lines. I usually frequent the alternatives. Definitely disappointed coming back to «the best» crawfish place

Of course, this BC place is the OG location. I remembered when it first opened… it was so crowded and the lines were crazy long back then. I have so many good memories at Boiling Crab. The wait is still crazy long to this day but they have expanded to various other locations so that’s nice.
If you want to avoid long lines, I suggest you coming either really early for dinner or just right before rush hour. During weekdays, I would come like 4:30ish and weekends around noonish. That way, you won’t be having to wait in a super long line just for their food.
I must say that BC fries are absolutely fantastic. It’s fresh and crunchy and that’s how I like my fries to be :) Though, I do believe they have raised their prices on fries. I didn’t remember it to be $ 4 for fries which is pretty expensive. I typically get 1 or 1 ½ lb of shrimp medium level of spiciness with the whole she-​bang. It’s pretty good but really salty giving y’all a heads up haha. Service is on point since everyone is so young and good-​looking.
Parking is a bitch since there’s so many good places around this area. Just be aware of them viet drivers haha. Also I mean, Boiling Point is right next door haha. Sometimes if the long is too long, I would check to see the wait for Boiling Point haha.
Will be back. Thanks for all the fun food memories! :)

I heard such great things about this place I had to give it a try.
We really weren’t impressed.
First of all I’m not a fan of standing in lines to get into some where and this doesn’t look like the type of place that takes reservations.
I prefer to sit at an actual table, not a picnic table with other people I don’t know.
The place was way to loud.
I think this would be an ideal place for the younger generation or young parents with children.
Also parking was difficult. Way to crowded here.

My first time and I left pretty satisfied!
Ambiance has the crabshack feel, very spacious restaraunt, lots of booths and tables. And there are a bunch of television left to right, I counted more than twenty flat screens on the walls which is awesome!
Service is standard. Just your average young adults doing their job. Nothing negative but there is no enthusiasm and positive energy I love seeing in services. Nothing to complain about however. Except for our greeter, a short asian girl with long blondish hair who was wearing super short shorts and just looked at us when we came in. Not a very great greeter, she was quiet and just made us follower her. And her attire is something to complain about because it is NOT family friendly at all.
Food is pretty great. The portion is more than I thought (fries, catfish and the seafood) The shrimp are medium-​large sizes and I had A LOT for a pound. The shabang was good but thought the garlic sauce is better. Nine Seafood in Cerritos has the BEST shabang cajun sauce to me, boiling crab comes second.
Mild was a bit more a kicker. I gotta go with no spice next time.
The wings were okay, I enjoyed them, no wingstop level but they were a lot larger in size.
Cajun fries are to DIE FOR! Have to have em whenever you dine in!

I’m not a regular but that will quickly change! This was my first time here and I fell in love!
This had been on my bookmarked places for a while and I had been wanting to come but the wait times were ridiculous! I knew my husband wasn’t going to wait 45 minutes or longer for a table! So I waited patiently… until NEW YEARS EVE! I figured either it was going to be packed with people or empty! So we met here for dinner!
I drove up and quickly found parking (good sign) then I called my husband to see if he found parking and he says he’s already inside (great sign)! I walked right in and was seated immediately! (Ooooh yeah)
So the ordering process is by the pound or half! All sold at market price. All in a bag or separate bags. We went with all in one bag but I see why people would order in separate bags! Potato, sausages and corn can be added! Then you get your spiciness! We went with the Whole Shebang and the spice level was mild! I love hot spicy food and this was perfect! Please don’t forget the Cajun fries, so you can dip them in the sauce!!!
The service could have been a bit better! The servers were great but forgot to bring us our last order of half a pound of shrimp! Other than that they were helpful and friendly! For the amount of food we got the price was extremely cheap! It was all less than 80 dollars!
For the parents of children with food allergies or adults… there are chicken wing options that are really delicious!
Five stars! I’m a huge fan!

I fell in love with Cajun seafood because of this place. My life has changed because of Boiling Crab. I probably could be 10 pounds lighter and a little richer if I wasn’t so addicted to this stuff.
1 lb of crawfish, the whole shabang, medium is all I need to survive this life. It’s so flavorful, warm, mouth watering and juicy. If you have not been to Boiling crab you have probably been living under a rock.
I haven’t tried any of the appetizers.
This place gets crazy busy. Sign in with your party early! Especially on weekends. Parking is horrible too.
Thankfully they opened one in San Diego so I don’t have to drive 2 hours. I’ve also tried the San Jose location and Alhambra one.

If you are a crustacean lover (in my mouth) like I am, you have GOT to try this place!
I have been a faithful customer for over 10 years now. There is nothing like a restaurant that simplifies crustaceans & their friends to what we all appreciate them for– their utterly dreamy tasting meat. Be forewarned that you have to come prepared to get messy and put in some work (especially with the King Crab legs). Trust me when I say, you will not be disappointed. It is quite the experience!
However, this place ups it another notch with their sauces. I highly recommend their «The Whole Shabang» mild unless you like to enjoy spice more than the meat itself. I usually have this option with crab, crawfish, and shrimp. The crawfish is the best option for enjoying the sauce as it really seeps the flavor in. You must do as they do in NOLA and suck on the crawfish head for some true tastiness. In fact, I’m getting a craving just typing this review!
Love their sides too particularly the sweet potato fries which are served in generous portions. Corn is great as well!
The only down side is that they don’t accept reservations. And years later, I still don’t understand why BC would think it is ok to have customers wait over 1.5 hours to be seated when they can easily make a reservation. I guess that’s part of the experience. If there’s room at the bar, a beer, cider and some oysters break up the long wait time and remind why you are crazy enough to wait this long.
This particular location has a TO GO orders only location that gets you in and out in less than 15 minutes on most days. I highly recommend this option if you are ok with getting messy at home. I wish all their locations made it that quick to order takeout or at least answered their phones when you are trying to place an order.

«She told me, „Don’t worry about it“
She told me, „Don’t worry no more“
We both knew we can’t go without it
She told me you’ll never be in love oh oh oooh
I can’t feel my face when I’m with you,
but I love it, but I love it
I can’t feel my face when I’m with you,
but I love it, but I love it»
Seriously. Regardless the wait and the drive, when we know we are having BC we are happy from the time we decide to go to BC until we get home from BC.
I was introduced to BC almost a decade ago. This place have even became a part of our family’s tradition for the cousins and I, also my sisters and mom whenever my older sis is visiting from CT.
There are quite a few BC but this and the one on Euclid is my fav! I come to this one when I come with a party of 5+ & the one on Euclid when we have 4 and under. With myself and 2 kids now this have been my main location lately as it is bigger than the one on Euclid.
This BC is located in a shopping center off Brookhurst across from Target. Being in a shopping center with a few other resturants, YL, Boba place and a market so parking can be a bit of a battle but I was always able to find parking within 5 minutes. The wait for the resturant can be a minimum 45 minutes to an hour at times. After your long wait, your ENTIRE PARTY must be present, and the host will do a count, before being seated. Once seated you are sat at a table with a paper cover (also your plate) and a roll of paper towel.
The décor kinda reminds me the pier with the wooden bench, seatings, fish net décor and tagging on the walls. The place is ALWAYS packed and and you can see servers moving non stop. There is a big screen TV that plays whatever sport that is in season. Being packed the place can be pretty loud.
This is one of the few places where I can actually tell people how many pounds of food I ate.
They serve lobster, dungeness crabs, king crab, crawfish, shrimp and clams per pound. After picking the seafood and how many pounds you pick the flavor. The choice of flavor is cajun, lemon pepper, garlic butter or mix it all together and you get «the whole shebang».
The whole she bang is the most popular way to go. Next you choose your spice level mild, medium, spicy or XXX. You can also opt to throw some corn or sausages in the mix as well. I usually go with the whole shebang XXX. Then you get your order in a bag full of sauce which we like to dip the meat in once we remove the shells. (^_​^). YUMMMY!
My favorite to order is LOBSTER or SHRIMP with half a pound of crawfish. I like the lobster and shrimp because it’s more meaty and less work to get out of the shell. Oinky status!
The CRAWFISH is delicious and is a tiny a little bit more work for a little bit of meat. But crawfish is yummy so we still get ½ a pound. (^_​^)
CLAMS were salty the few times I’ve ordered and there were lots of empty shells to pick out =(
DUNGENESS & KING CRABS are delicious but takes a lot of work to remove the shell and when we’re at BC we just wanna grub ASAP. So I would sometimes get it if my mom comes, she’s a pro at removing the shells for me. LoL. #mommasgirl
My babies usually gets the fried shrimp with cajun fries and a side of rice & buttered corn. YUM!
–They also serve FRIED OYSTERS, MY FAVORITE!!! I always order this.
–Raw oysters with their XO sauce is refreshing.
–Fried fish is good but I wouldn’t waste my tummy on that when there’s so many other goodies.
–Cajun sweet potatoes fries, Yummy! Again you can choose the spice level
–Gumbo is yummmy!
Although others have tried to imitate their sauce none have succeeded. Although other places have been able to get their spice level in point, BC have not, XXX is more like a medium for me. =/​
This is truly my favorite place for our family pig out sesh. It’s a place where all fingers come out to play (my baby loves that), you can get down and dirty with a great meal without worrying which fork to use or placing a napkin on your lap, although everyone in here including adults are wearing bibs (another thing my baby finds hilarious) lol we all get to be piglets with my little ones. Not just any piglets! Happy, smiling piglets with a happy tummy too, I bet even our tummies are smiling inside after a meal here.
I would definitely recommend this place! Come in your casuals, expect to get down and dirty. Be prepared to wear a bib or mess up that cute top if you opt not to. be prepared to wait, you can check out the cute gift shops next door or do some grocery shopping. And leave with a smile on your face, a happy tummy and contemplating your next visit before walking out the door. (^_​^)

Man OH Man!!!
The food here is so delicious.
I am not kidding.
The fact that it is delicious and messy and the same time is awesome.
You can order shrimp, oysters, scallops, or crawfish, which would come in a bag. The sauce you pick it can be non spicy, mild or spicy.
You can add corn on the cob, Potatoes which are delicious.
I do recommend adding a side of rice and the seasoned fried they are oh so good.
The table will be covered with white paper so you can put the trash on there which is cool i think lol .
They also have a variety of soft drinks and alcoholic drinks too.
They will give you a small plastic container and lemon and some spices, I suggest you mix them because with the seafood dipped into that it just gives it a marvelous combination of flavor.
The only thing that was a bummer was that if you are with a big party of 3 or more you cannot be seated until everyone is there.