Imagine a pile of steaming, freshly cooked crawfish and shrimp in front of you, doused generously in sauce. You pick up a crawfish then take it apart with your hands before taking the first juicy bite. Spices and flavors burst in your mouth.
That’s the promise made by The Boiling Crab, a seafood restaurant that has expanded into several countries and even continents. Since its 2004 launch in Garden Grove, California, it has now put up more than 15 locations all over the US alone, including in Texas, Hawaii, Florida, and Washington.
There’s often a waiting line in its most popular branches because of the restaurant’s main concept: eating buckets of seafood with no utensils needed. They throw in a Vietnamese-Cajun twist too, incorporating signature broths and sauces that bring out the flavors of the sea. All in all, it’s an affordable place for the amount and variety of seafood that you can eat.
The Boiling Crab is generally open all days of the week, starting at 3 p.m. on weekdays or 12 noon on weekends. Delivery is available as well through third-party apps such as DoorDash, UberEats, and Postmates.
What’s Your Catch? | What’s Your Flavor? | How Spicy Can You Go? | I Like It Fried! | Extras | Thirsty?
| Food | Size & Price |
|---|---|
Step 1: What’s Your Catch? |
|
Blue CrabSeasonal |
Market Price |
OystersRaw |
$9.00 – $15.00 |
Dungeness CrabSeasonal |
Market Price |
King Crab Legs |
Market Price |
Snow Crab Legs |
Market Price |
LobsterSeasonal |
Market Price |
Shrimp |
Market Price |
CrawfishSeasonal |
Market Price |
CrawfishFrozen |
(1 Pound) $9.00 |
Clams |
(1 Pound) $11.00 |
Mussels |
(1 Pound) $10.00 |
Step 2: What’s Your Flavor? |
|
Rajun CajunOriginal |
|
Lemon Pepper |
|
The Whole Sha-Bang!Can’t decide? mix all three! |
|
Garlic Sauce |
|
Step 3: How Spicy Can You Go?
|
|
Non SpicyPlain n’ simple |
|
MildJust a kick |
|
MedIt’s gettin’ hot n’ here! |
|
XXXI can’t feel my mouth! |
|
I Like It Fried!Each Selection Is Hand Tossed In Our Homemade Batter And Fried To Perfection When You Order It. |
|
Fried Catfish BasketAll baskets include cajun fries, no substitutes. |
$10.00 |
Fried Shrimp BasketAll baskets include cajun fries, no substitutes. |
$10.00 |
Chicken Tenders BasketAll baskets include cajun fries, no substitutes. |
$7.00 |
Fried Calamari |
$10.00 |
Fried Oysters |
$10.00 |
Hot WingsCajun or lemon pepper |
$5.00 – $7.00 |
Extras |
|
GumboWith or without rice |
$6.00 |
GumboAdditional for extra shrimp or sausage |
$0.50 |
Cajun Powder |
$9.00 |
Cajun ChowderAdditional for extra shrimp or sausage |
$0.50 |
Corn On The Cob |
$0.75 |
Potatoes |
$1.50 |
Sausages |
$8.00 |
Cajun Fries |
$3.00 |
Lemon Pepper Fries |
$3.00 |
Sweet Potato Fries |
$4.00 |
Steamed Rice |
$2.00 |
Extra CondimentsGarlic sauce, ket/mayo, mayo, g’s sea-sauce, honey mustard, bbq, ranch, tartar, cocktail. |
$0.50 |
Thirsty? |
|
SodaFree refills. coke, diet coke, sprite, raspberry iced tea, sweet green tea, black tea-sweet/unsweetened, lemonade, fruit punch, mr. pibb, root beer. |
$2.50 |
Domestic Beer |
$3.50 |
Imported Beer |
$4.00 |
Soju |
$10.00 |
The Boiling Crab Highlights
The Boiling Crab’s menu is fairly straightforward, consisting almost entirely of seafood. They offer seafood favorites such as crab, lobster, shrimp, shellfish, and crawfish, although they also have sides such as gumbo and corn on the cob. If you need a break from the seafood (since you’ll be practically feasting on it here), they also have chicken tenders and wings available. Either way, you’ll definitely be tempted to just eat with your hands.
Vietnamese-Cajun Flavors
Although more and more seafood restaurants are jumping in the no-utensils trend, The Boiling Crab has been a customer favorite for years because of their tasty Vietnamese-Cajun blend. They have a specific method for preparing their seafood that goes beyond just throwing it into plain boiling water. Basically, they put fish sauce, lemongrass, hot paprika, and other ingredients into the broth so the seafood ends up absorbing this. The end result is flavorful enough that you can actually go sauceless and eat the seafood as is.
The Whole Sha-Bang Sauce
Still, there’s nothing like a good sauce to liven up seafood. Out of the four options for sauces at The Boiling Crab, their specialty would be The Whole Sha-Bang Sauce, which is a blend of garlic, lemon, butter, and Cajun seasoning. Whichever sauce you choose, you can even adjust the spice level, from non-spicy to maximum (XXX). We don’t think your tastebuds will die at maximum spiciness, but you might need to have several glasses of water by your side!
Hands-On Dining
Although you can always recreate the setup at home if you opt for delivery, it’s quite a different experience to dine in. The seafood isn’t served on a plate for you–instead, they put it in a plastic bag that’s inside a bucket, then put the bucket right on your table. Aside from a much-needed supply of tissue, you’ll also receive an oversized bib so you won’t get too many sauce splatters on yourself. There’s simply something fun about eating seafood messily with your bare hands–all while watching other people do the same.
