Shaking Crab

The Sauce is very flavorful, might be a bit to spicy for some. Food came out quickly and the place had Great service. The place is also a very unique and fun way to eat and also very messy. My only disappointment is the size of the seafood. The size of the mussel is a joke, the shell length is about 1″. The crabs were also undersized. I would have considered giving this place at least four stars if there were more meat in the shell. The only dish i found reasonable for the high price is the shrimp. Left satisfied but wondered if the price was worth it.
Pros:
Food and sauce is delicious
Kind staff
Fairly quick service
Clean bathroom
Nice clean environment
Cons:
Price and portion does not feel right
Few tables and seatings

Been wanting to try the place out for months. Super fun concept. I only wish I had gone sooner. :)
Go ahead and get your hands dirty (they have plastic gloves for you if you’d rather not, though). The sauces were great, but the gulf sauce was outstanding. The seafood was very fresh. Dipping everything in the sauces is the way to go. Medium hot was a solid, my mouth may be a little on fire kind of hot. Perfect with all the great flavors.
Loved the service, even on a busy Saturday night– they turn the tables well, so the wait wasn’t long at all. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Food came out quickly and with really good portions/​value.
Loved everything about it and will certainly come back.

I’d been there three times since their opening. I was very worried about the shells seafood because I have a serious allergy to the seafood that’s non-​fresh or not 100% cook throughly. It’s painful that I love crab so much but can’t trust the restaurant because I don’t if they are gonna provide the fresh crab. And now I can say for sure that I’d never get allergy after been there three times!!! Love it!!! The food is fresh, taste great, good service. Definitely a 5 starts restaurant!!!

Amazing seafood boils! Shrimp and crawfish were both really fresh!
Gulf sauce is better than shakin’ sauce.
Get the combos!

A good place for some spicy seafood. Bf and I tried a shrimp and clam combo ($ 15) in Gulf sauce and a Dungeness Crab ($ 48 — about 2 pounds) in shaking sauce. I personally preferred the gulf sauce as it is slightly sweet, which worked great with the shrimp! The crab was pretty fresh, but I felt like the flavor of the sauce didn’t go inside of the crab shell. I had to keep dipping the crab meat in the sauce after cracking the shell open. We also tried the garlic noodle, which was good but not worth the price (it’s literally just noodles stir fried with garlic).
Overall a good experience and price is reasonable. As it is 5 mins drive from my house, I will probably come back when I’m craving for seafood!
P. S. I went to the restaurant for dinner when they first opened but was told that there was a 2 hr wait for dining in and a 45 min wait for take-​out! I thought it was outrageous so I left… This time I went on Saturday at noon as soon as they opened. The place was empty with no wait at all! So go for lunch during the weekend if you don’t want to waste your time waiting in line.

My motto is «I don’t eat food with a face,» but apparently that didn’t apply here! It would be terrific if I had taken a BEFORE photo, not an AFTER photo, as the bodies of small sea creatures are slightly more appetizing before they’ve been cracked open and desecrated.
But, appetizing they were. Despite being outside my comfort zone, I gamely adventured to Newton to try crawfish, shrimp, snow crab legs and blue crab. That’s 4lbs of crustaceans for two people to share. And there was a sausage in there somewhere. Overkill? Yes. Delicious? Also yes. You have your choice of four sauces for each pound of «crabs and friends» to be tossed in, our waitress was terrific and let us try a couple before we decided which to go with. They were all delectable but the gulf was the best and the cilantro lime was second favourite.
Once I got over the initial trauma of ripping an animal’s head and legs off, wrenching open its tail and ripping out the muscle beneath, I kind of forgot about that. Dare to say, it was fun? Luckily I was with someone who knew what they were doing, so that helped. Crawfish are so. much. work. for such a tiny bite! The shrimp wound up being my go-​to, they were easier and felt more rewarding because they were meaty and tender. My dining companion appreciated that the blue crab was very well cleaned, I wasn’t a fan of biting into a small crab body but the meat was delicious. The snow crab legs were somehow the easiest to eat out of the lot, next time I’d get them in the cilantro lime sauce. Oh and also, get the fries! It’s the perfect break from all that the spicy garlic.
The experience in general was incredibly fun. Also messy. Also probably make sure you are liked by/​like the person you’re going with, as you’ll be squirting crustacean juice at each other all night. Also you may smell like garlic for several days afterwards. Worth it.

This restaurant is small but big enough to accommodate maybe 40 people. Although I sat in the view way of the dining room entrance, I felt like the waiting customers were staring me down, in hopes that I’d get up and leave or eat faster.
The food:
I ordered Crawfish, Argentinian Shrimp, and Lobster Tails. The crawfish were SO small. I felt that I could have saved my $ 14. The Argentinian shrimp (head on) were mushy when I detached the head for consumption. I read a review that stated the same thing and I too agree that the mushy shrimp heads are a turn off. The crawfish at Holly Crab are TWICE the size as the ones here.
The lobster tails were great. No complaint.
The service:
Service was awesome. My server and the host were both very kind. I appreciated the wait staff and their attentiveness to the guests. My glass was never empty!
My two favorite seafood choices disappointed me, but the service was awesome

As much as I love seafood i have to admit I was disappointed in the quality of crawfish they had. They served frozen crawfish which you can tell when you crack open the head if it fresh or not, and clearly it was not. Other than that the shrimp was good and seasoning mix they had was pretty delicious. I don’t think I’ll be visiting again.
Holly Crab has my vote on best seafood so far!

Being from Texas, I have a high standard when it comes to Cajun food — especially crawfish, and this place didn’t disappoint!
My friends recommended that we check out this new restaurant on our trip to Boston, and I gotta say I would come back to Boston just for more crawfish!
Our group of 4 came in around 7pm on Saturday and only had a 15 minute wait.
Here’s a breakdown of what we ordered. Sorry that not much food was left when the pictures were taken. We cleaned up quickly!
Crawfish boil: ⁵⁄₅
Loved it! They source live crawfish from Louisiana, so this is the real stuff. I would say their «hot» is just enough to make your lips tingle a little, so if you’re into spice at all, get «hot» :)
Snow crab: ⁵⁄₅
Mmm very well flavored! Just note that a ¼ lb of snow crab is significantly more food than ¼ lb of crawfish ;)
Argentinian shrimp: ⁵⁄₅
By far the largest shrimp I’ve had in a boil. I totally recommend
Fries: regular 4/​5, sweet potato ⁵⁄₅
We got both regular and sweet potato. If you’re into crispy fries, I recommend sweet potato.
Collard greens: ⁴⁄₅
Delicious and very well seasoned
Sweet tea: ⁵⁄₅
I’ve had sweet tea in bumfuck nowhere Louisiana and this was just as delicious.
Shakin sweet tea: ⁵⁄₅
The boozy cousin is bourbon based and doesn’t taste the same as the non-​alcoholic version. But I can’t decide which I like more — try both!
Peach martini: ⁵⁄₅
The peach flavored vodka makes this drink great, and I’m not even usually a fan of martinis.
Fishermans punch: ⁴⁄₅
Good drink, just a little sweet for my taste. Decorated with Swedish fish. I’d recommend the martini or sweet tea over this.
Overall, great place, delicious food, solid service. Check it out before it gets too popular :)

Happy they finally got some crawfish places in Boston, but didn’t enjoy the crawfish here so much…
The Live crawfish head was sandy, the meat was mushy. @___@ I’ve eaten a lot of crawfishes in my life and I wasn’t too pleased with the one at here.
The snow crab legs were good though. I would pick this over the crawfish at this place~~
I tried the mild Seoul and medium Cajun sauces, and both were just okay to me. Meh. It definitely taste a bit different.
The fisherman drink there is good though!!! And super cute.
Also the staff there was really nice. :)

This was a very different than any restaurant experience around and was definitely a fun place to go and try.
Be ready to get messy. There are no utensils and all you get is a bib and some gloves.
The food was good, but nothing to write home about. The shrimp was cooked perfectly but when you take the shell off it looses as lot of the flavor.
The part where I was really disappointed was the add ins. Corn was my choice which was delicious but for $ 2 extra I got basically nothing. I got one small piece and then another one that wasn’t ripe enough yet and tiny as well. Definitely felt cheated on there.
Overall it was a fun time and a great change of pace but was hoping for more on the food.

3.5
Rounding up given the good service. Not up to par with similar establishments such as Boiling Crab, or even it’s local competitor Holly Crab in Allston. Some of the crab that we received were actually COLD to the touch. Wasn’t sure what to do with it, so I didn’t bother eating it. My boyfriend and I came on the Monday following their opening weekend, and they were out of calamari. I know they must have been crazy busy, but when a portion of your menu is seasonal to begin with, you should give your customers a heads up if a staple item is not available. A little annoying, but definitely not something I would knock a star off for. Seafood is pretty much the same everywhere, so the house sauce has really got to stand out. Looking back at my experience, the flavoring was unimpressive, so much so that I have no recollection of it. Therefore 3 stars for being A-​OK.

Just tried the shaken crab for the first time. Love it — everything was good. Especially loved the shrimp in gulf sauce and lobster in house sauce. Don’t be afraid to get messy. The staff will help you with everything you need to have a successful run at shucking and slurping your way to a great meal.
We also had the collard greens and noodles. Very good. The Bourbon Soco Sweet Tea was fun and refreshing as my mouth was burning from the spicy sauce!
There is a lot of interest locally in this spot. The space is small and waits are long. Try it on a Monday or Tuesday night to avoid waiting in your car or on the sidewalk.

I went here last night with a group of 4. Two that have had seafood boil before and two who have not. Being one of the two that have tried seafood boil, I found this place to be subpar. I got the lb of shrimp and half pound clams with sausage and potato with the medium shakin sauce. Also ordered a rice and fries to share.
The sauce had flavor but it was not very good. It was meant to be a Cajun seafood place but the sauce had a cheap Chinese note to it, which I wasn’t a huge fan of. The sausages weren’t very well prepared and were too thickly cut to have much flavor. The potatoes were also the baby potatoes which wouldn’t have been a big deal except they charged me $ 3 for like 4 baby potatoes.
If you have never had seafood boil before it’s worth a shot, but having somewhere to compare this place to really ruined it for me.
This trip cost me $ 30. If I’m really really craving seafood boil I may come back, but definitely a bit of a bust for me. I did appreciate the service though which earned them an extra star.
Highlight: the fries. Disappointing for seafood boil.
Hopefully they fix that sauce. I’ll be rooting for you

Went with friends for a birthday party on a random weekday and no line! The service was great and very accommodating. The food was just okay, I would go back because it the only type of Cajun seafood mix in a bag place there is in Boston. If you liked boiling crab, hot and juicy, the boil– this is a similar concept. We tried all the sauces and they were all mild but for some reason still tasted spicy. The sauces started to taste the same. One suggestion is that the waitstaff should tell us which bag is which sauce when placed in the table.
Love the ice tea! Super sweet. Our whole table ordered a round.

So happy that we finally have something like this in the area! I loooooove crabs, lobsters and everything spicy! So it’s perfect! Tiny but cozy. Staff is very welcoming and friendly.
Parking is on-​street and minimal, but don’t forget they also have take-​out available!
I love that everything is shaken in a bag and arrives at my table piping hot. The server asks if I’d like gloves (yes, they asked if you want gloves so you don’t dirty your hand/​fingers while picking away at your delicious seafood!) or a bib. I declined since I like to get down and dirty with my crabs (and other sea critters). I also don’t miss any meat by not wearing gloves.
The spices were on par. Definitely great if you like spicy like I do! And if it gets too hot for ya, they have this amazing home made sweet tea that is to die for. Just remember, they don’t offer free refills though, since it’s home made.
This is definitely a place on my definitely going to return on a regular basis list. I also can’t wait for them to start delivery service. *fingers crossed they deliver to the Moody Street area of Waltham*

I’m a big fan of the ‘Boiling Crab’, ‘Hot n Juicy Crawfish’, and ‘The Boil’ so I’m happy that cajun seafood has finally come to Boston.
We ordered sweet potato fries (was good; unfortuantely the cajun fries were sold out at the time), collard greens (was bland), garlic noodles (was ok), 3lbs of the crawfish (in 3 different sauces-​seoul, shakin, and the gulf), 2lbs of the Argentinian crawfish, lb of the clams (enjoyed the clams), lb of the Alaskan crab which was $ 32/​lb along with corn and sausages. The crab was meaty; corn and sausages were pretty good in the shakin sauce. I’m a little disappointed that the sauces weren’t overpowering, which is what I like when it comes to cajun seafood. The crawfish was dry and didn’t seem fresh. I don’t really like the gloves-​was way too big and made the eating experience less enjoyable. The ambiance is great though and so is the service. Sweet tea is also good. The restaurant is still new so there’s definitely room for improvement. Hope they’ll serve raw oysters in the near future.

I’m almost reluctant to write a review because the more awesome reviews there are the more people will go! I would’ve never heard about this place if it wasn’t for a friend who discovered it. Tucked away on a quiet residential street in Newton, this place is so easily missed! There is plenty of street parking outside of the restaurant.
As soon as you open the first door you’re immersed in a sea (har har) of a strong Cajun smell. You’re guaranteed to walk out smelling like this place. The décor is pretty cute. Nautical Asian fusion theme. Each table setting came with a plastic bib, which I found to be very nifty and handy (Tip #1: use the free bib; Tip #2 check into Unilocal for free fries!!).
Our group of 6 were immediately seated and overall the restaurant had a good amount of empty tables. Granted we were there a little early for dinner at 530).
The waitress was very kind and let us know right off the bat that the Dungeness crab was not available yet even though it was listed on their menu. My group ordered 7lbs (?!) of seafood (Tip #3, you see the bags coming and you’re eagerly waiting and salivating… but do not reach full on with your hands. It is pretty hot) and two basket of fries and we demolished everything! Shrimp, mussels, prawns, clams, blue crab, and corn on the cob. You get a choice of what flavor and level of hotness of spice you want. We went with the Hot Shaking Cajun. Spicy, super flavorful, and (Tip #4, don’t touch your eyes). The shrimp were pretty big (cocktail size). For an extra $ 1 you can get them without the heads. The blue shell crab had a soft shell so it was very easy to eat. Very sweet meat. Everything was so fresh.
The servers checked in on us and refilled our glasses a couple of times. They even changed the channel so we could watch the game.
7lbs of seafood, fries, and a jug of cranberry sangria (so good!) came out to total of $ 138~ for 6 people. Not too shabby. Please check this place out, you won’t be disappointed.

Pretty small place, and they only take reservations for parties of 8+. But I came here on a Friday at 6pm and I was immediately seated.
My boyfriend and I started with the Cajun fries (courtesy of our Unilocal check in), portion was a little bit small for $ 5 but they were crispy. We shared one pound of Alaskan King crab legs in hot shaking sauce, one pound of shrimp + half pound of clams in hot gulf sauce, and one pound of shrimp + half pound of mussels in hot Shaking Sauce. Added two corn orders — one order comes with 2 pieces of corn. I preferred the gulf sauce, but my boyfriend preferred the shaking sauce — both are good in my opinion. The waiter described «hot» spicy like eating a jalapeño pepper and «shaking hot» as eating a habanero pepper. I think hot was tasty, and I wouldn’t get anything spicier than that. We had plenty of sauce in our bags to dip the seafood in after removing the shells. We both agreed we like Boiling Crab’s sauce better, but hey I still liked Shaking Crab’s sauce and will be coming back.
They also give you gloves, if you don’t like to get sauce all over your hands. I prefer to eat with my hands anyways, but smart idea.
Staff is very friendly.

Finally a Cajun seafood restaurant has opened in the Boston area. I find nothing unusual about this way of eating seafood. It’s about time Bostonians were introduced to this and pretty ironic it didn’t happen any sooner considering we are right by the ocean and are known for our seafood. This cuisine has long been popular down south and in the west. Every time I’m traveling, I make it a priority to visit Boiling Crab, Crab Hut, Hot n Juicy, etc. and I crave for it when I’m back in Boston. Now, I can have this as often as like.
The only difference between Shaking Crab and the other chains is that they don’t offer the lemon salt and pepper dipping sauce and you won’t find much sauce in the seafood bag. Sometimes I like to spoon some sauce over my rice or dip the seafood in more sauce once you’ve broken them out of their shell. Other than that, they are pretty small and if you go on a busy weekend, I’m pretty sure you’d be waiting a long time.