The Crawling Crab

This little hole-​in-​the-​wall in a rather unconventional location is a surprisingly good seafood place. Get your bibs on and break out the dropcloth-​style table cloth! The pound of shrimp is served heads, tails and shells on in a bag and is more than a reasonable person can eat. Very fresh, if maybe just a tad over-​steamed. If you order the Cajun sauce hot, it is HOT and very authentic. Try their seafood gumbo — one of the best I have ever tasted! Servers are friendly. This is a great go-​to place for very good seafood, reasonably priced in a nice, casual atmosphere that will not break your bank.

I really liked this place. They have lower cost options as well as some market value items like king crab legs. I must say, I have never had cajun style king crab legs until I had them at this place and I absolutely LOVED them. Also really like to way you eat with your fingers and all the food laid out on a paper cloth. Just adds to the change of pace for me.

Great and quick service. They were out of blue crab much to the dismay of my Baltimore buddy but we had the shrimp all in with mild spice, snow crab and fried oysters. Hot mess but a yummy hot mess. My favorite of all the crab boil type places in Denver.

This is aimed towards a reviewer by the name of Leo A. (the guy who’s crying and gave the place one star because he clearly hasn’t experienced eating Cajun-​style seafood):
Are you really serious with your review???
You should’ve done your research and know that almost every place that sells Cajun-​style seafood requires the use of hands and will get messy. They choose to use all plastic ware for easier clean up because it is messy, just like it’s intended to be.
Also for your complaint of the food coming out in plastic bags, that’s the way they cook the food. That is how they let the seafood marinate.
Not sure why you’re eating seafood if you’re afraid of some shrimp with the heads and scales still on… That’s the way to prepare them without causing the shrimp to shrink in size while still marinating the flavor.
Clearly, you haven’t had Cajun style food based on everything you’re complaining about in your review.
If you wanted a fancy, silverware, glass dishes using seafood restaurant, you should’ve probably done more research and considered a fancy restaurant somewhere in downtown, not on Federal. Everyone who lives in Denver knows that.
They’re not aiming to be a fancy seafood restaurant like you were hoping for, FYI.

LOVE this place. Spicy seafood by the pound. I always get the crab and shrimp with a side of cajun fried. Beware we did get the Lobster once and it was pretty gross and over steamed. Complained to the server and she told us that’s just how it was prepared (Yeah.OK). Won’t let that get in the way of how good everything else is though.

This is my first 1 star review, and I’m always trying to stay fair, but this establishment won it big time.
I was looking for a sea food restaurant for a night-​out w/​the wifey, looked up on Unilocal and Google, saw the good rating, read some positive reviews and the menu, dressed up and thought we had a plan. Little did I know what was about to expect.
Design — as we entered the restaurant, I noticed tons of graffiti-​style writings, made by visitors — everywhere. Felt like I was riding the subway in NYC in the 80’s. Totally unpleasant.
But whatever, may it’s their thing. Obviously, the hopes for a relaxing, solid atmosphere were diminished to about zero.
Noticing people eating off their tables in the corner of my eye started an alarm in my head that was about to increase.
Service — the service was ok for the most part. Somewhat slow, but the waiter explained the stuff and was friendly overall.
Food — With the prices of a relatively solid sea food restaurant, our expectation were skyrocket high. When we got the food — we were SHOCKED. I have never had that feeling before and I really didn’t know how to react.
The food came in BAGS. All other entries came in PLASTIC BOXES and all silverware was plastic. Apparently, they never heard of plates. forks, spoons, glasses and other stuff you’d expect to find in a restaurant. In McDonald’s you’re getting more.
Next, the food itself came in a bag — just the way it came out of the ocean. Like seriously. Shrimp were with their heads and shells, lobsters were complete, with shells and the deal, and the other lobster, came the same way. You’d have to do all the digging.
Means, there’s no freakin’ way you can have the food without using your hands, splashing sauce everywhere, or in short, eating really nasty.
For some people, maybe this concept is acceptable, but for me, after expecting for a solid sea food experience, this was a disaster.
I like to sit at solid places, have ready-​to-​eat food, keep my attire clean and not feel like I’m at some junk-​food chain, and pay nearly $ 100 for a relatively not-​a-​big-​meal for two. For that price, you would expect MUCH, MUCH more.
Maybe I haven’t done enough research prior to picking that place, or just done the wrong choice, but I didn’t like that experience at all. I came hungry, and left hungry $ 100 later.

Love this place!
We usually get the oysters on the half shell, which are good here.
Main seafood dishes are done by the pound, cooked in the sauce of your choice, and served in a double lined plastic bag. You’re meant to dig right in, and make a pile of your empties on your paper-​lined table. Down and dirty, the way a proper seafood boil should be. Only this place has a nice Asian touch to it with their sauce and serves steamed rice!
All-​in is the way to go, and is different than places out in Cali we’ve been… for the better! Not only that, but there’s no crazy wait times to get a table!
Food comes out super quick and the wait staff is great. They give you bibs automatically, but be sure to ask for gloves if you don’t like getting your hands dirty!

Who doesn’t like a crab broil?! Brunch in the Cajun spice, butcher paper, bibs & beer. I’ve never gone to a crab broil who didn’t know how to delivery & I still haven’t. Thanks guys

Love this place! Introduced by close friends and for our first time, we were very impressed. Tried the raw oysters, snow crab legs, shrimp and Cajun wedges. Oysters had a lot meat We thought it was funny because we were just in Florida and swore these were way better!!!

2 lbs of King crabs, 1 lb of shrimp, 1 lb of crawfish, 1 lb of clams and two of us were stomach full! We got the all-​in flavoring with medium spice level and it was pretty spicy as in you need a drink to cool your tongue down. Stomach full… so full. I think the key was king crabs to fill us up because they are huge!
Usually we get 5 lbs of food are Asian Cajun or Yabby Hut but we were never this full in either of those places! Then again… we pay about 50 $ for 5lbs of sea food at Asian Cajun. And maybe 75 $ at Yabby Hut. Here at crawling crab we shelled out a 100 $.

At the start, we didn’t like how this place smelled when we came in, but we stuck it out. I had some lobster, which was okay, but there was a spice in it that I didn’t like. My husband had the crawfish, but he didn’t like them at all because they did not taste good and he didn’t like how they were cooked or presented. Our waitress wasn’t very attentive, and she didn’t ask if we wanted more food/​drinks and she didn’t care that she was taking away a full bag of crawfish that my husband barely touched. My kids hardly touched their meals, including corn on the cob, which they usually love. In all, it was a terribly expensive and disappointing birthday meal.

The place is nice and clean, other then having 6 bags of trash next to the bathroom when you walk in.
The food was meh. I had the gumbo, hot wings 1b crawlfish 1b of shimp. I had better places. The best thing was about this place was the hot wings. The flavor of the boil was meh, there wasn’t much flavor. Then I ask for some Cajun spices and they say no they don’t offer it. I was a bit thick off. All the places offer it.
I was going to give this a 3 star but then when I ask for the check. They told me to go the front and cash out. I don’t understand how you have 7 people working and it wasn’t thay busy and you have the customer walk up and pay. I work in the service field. Dispute all of this I still tip 20 percent. What goes around comes around. But the service was below standard.

I was super excited to finally eat at the Crawling Crab. Parking was fine. Our server was attentive and helpful. The prices were okay. We ate a lot of seafood plus 4 beers for $ 100 including the tip for the two of us on a date night. But the quality wasn’t fantastic and I highly doubt we’ll ever go back.
We love oysters so we ordered a dozen. They were large and clean. But they didn’t taste great. Oysters should taste like the ocean. These did not. The oysters at Tellers are the same price but much better quality.
I ordered the snow crab clusters. They were fantastic. It was the best thing I ate at the crawling crab. They were very hot and sweet. If I were to go back I’d go for the crab.
The shrimp were large but way over cooked. The crayfish were fine.
We had the All-​In sauce (medium) and it is a very good red sauce with large chunks of garlic. Ask for gloves. The sauce is messy.
The butter for dipping is not butter. It is butter flavoring like at movie theaters. Big thumbs down.
They only serve beer. No wine. No other alcohol.
All food is delivered in a plastic bag. You eat with the paper covered table as your plate. It’s a fun eating experience. But be prepared and don’t dress in your Sunday’s best.

stopped in for dinner around 6:30. The parking lot was full, but there were only 3 or 4 tables. The staff was courteous and friendly. The crawfish was big. I thought June was the end of the season, but oh well… the owner must’ve known his supplier well. Some of them were as big as a small size lobster. No kidding. The meat was flavorful, not too spicy (we wanted the spiciest).
They offered us gloves. Yes. You need them, if you don’t want to stand in the bathroom for 15 mins just to wash your hands.
i don’t remember the total bill, (i didn’t pay for it. ha!!!), but the crawfish was 9 bucks a pound. Not bad at all.
I’ve had other seafood items (lobsters, blue crabs…) there before. They were fresh and tasty. I will be back

This place never disappoints!

I am a total seafood lover and this is one of my favorite place to fulfill my cravings.
Crawling crab is a causal, fun place where you won’t be judge for what you are wearing (Yes, I came once in sweats and an oversized tee). The inside décor is fun as well. The décor makes you feel like you are on a ship. I also like how they have sinks separate from the restrooms. I like to wash my crawfish infested hands without touching dirty restroom doors.
The food is also really good. Depending on the time of the year, crawfish can be in season and fresh. Otherwise, they are frozen and sold at a lower market price. Nonetheless, seafood pricing here are pretty affordable and although frozen, taste great. I normally order my crawfish with the all-​in seasoning and the medium spice level. I like spice, but I cannot handle the XXX spice. With every 2 lbs of crawfish, you get a corn on the cob. I wish they would include sausage and potatoes with that too, but that’s an additional cost. The cajun fries are tasty as well; not greasy or soggy. This last time, we ordered a dozen raw oysters and I was pleasently surprise. The oysters were extremely clean and tasted amazing.
Service here is also amazing. We always get offered protective bibs and gloves. I don’t use the gloves though because it interferes with my eating.

This seafood spread was quite a bit different than what I am used to back home (this seems to be an ongoing trend).
We got the shrimp, lump crab, and crawfish.
What I’m used to is everything being boiled then coated in a cajun seasoning and dumped on your table, all ingredients together, to be eaten family style. The ingredients then would be dipped in butter by the individual eater.
What we got was each dish served seperatly in a clear plastic bags filled with «sauce». The «sauce» was red and flavorful and spicy if desired.
Though the presentation threw me off and the sauce was a new experience, I would say I really enjoyed the food. The more I ate the more I enjoyed it. There was no silverware so the sauce creeped up my arms almost to the elbow.
All in all I would return, which for me is the determining factor. I give it two thumbs up, if anything else, it was a good experience.

I remember driving by and thinking, «Hey, this is a place like Hot ‘n Juicy Crawfish in Las Vegas.» I am sad to say, it is not.
I read the reviews and really wanted to give this place a try because I like to give everyone a chance. I was meeting a coworker after work and I was running a bit late. I arrive to see she is already seated. I was so excited because the paper was on the table, the napkins were full, and I was ready. The booth we sat in was quite spacious and we ample view of all the surrounding tvs. I’m sure I could watch Sesame Street in there if I wanted.
I ordered my pound of shrimp and got the All-​In sauce medium based on the server’s, (Stacey, Lacey, Kelsey???) recommendation. I told her I really like spicy and I can take hot. I will touch on that later. My coworker ordere the snowcrab as the Dungeness crab was out. She ordered it with no sauce and just butter on the side. I also had her add the corn and potatoes for extra munchies.
Our food came quickly, and after we got it, I realized I wanted to try the cajun fries based on the reviews. I ordered them when our food came and asked the server to put the hot sauce on the side. I told her I would pay for it. she quickly interrupted me and said we can’t do it. I said what do you mean you can’t do it. She said she can only put in orders that are in their system and that wasn’t an option in the system. I said, «Great. Let me talk to your manager.» After going back and forth for about a minute as to how she doesn’t have a manager there, I demanded the name of the owner. After that, our server did not wait on our table but the other 2 (a gentleman and another young lady) did.
The past reviews were right about the lacking in service. They ended up getting busy around 7 pm and seated the new tables promptly. My co-​worker ran out of water and had to ask for a fork, but after that, they treated us well. My coworker didn’t like that she wasn’t offered gloves.
The FOOD: My shrimp was cooked whole and hard boiled. The sauce had great flavor but it was not spicy enough for me. I liked the chunks of garlic. Next time, if there is one, I will try their hottest. My co-​worker said her snowcrab was alright. She said the butter tasted like movie theater butter. The cajun fried were hot but not very flavorful. Maybe because I didn’t get the sauce I requested on the side.
The only thing saving this restaurant from a 1.5 star review is the fact that the male server came over and apologized for his fellow server’s behavior and said the custoemr is always right and he would’ve handled our request differently. He acknowledged their system was whack but he would’ve worked with the kitchen to get what I wanted because at the time we ordered, they were slow. Kudos brah!
I actually do want to come back and try again, but it will be a while. There’s way to many other similar options to try, with hopefully, much better waitstaff.

MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT EVER
I almost don’t want to write this review and share my favorite hidden gem with everyone — but I feel like it’s my duty as a foodie.
It’s difficult for me to ever go to a different restaurant now, because this place is so good. And cheap. Where else are you going to find delicious clusters of dungeness crab for $ 8-​$ 9 /​pound? And the best crawfish ever?
I’ve come here so many times and absolutely GORGED myself on crab and crawfish and clams. And together with beer, I’ve still paid under $ 100 for 2 – 3 people. That’s unheard of.
Their ALL-​IN SAUCE is absolutely amazing and spicy and full of huge chunks of garlic. I highly recommend trying it. Definitely go for the mild if you don’t like spicy, and for the medium if you do. The XXX is a little much and drowns out the flavor of the crab anyway.
WHAT TO GET:
Here’s my usual order that I get every time I come here (and whenever we bring friends):
1. One-​two orders of dungeness crab clusters in the all-​in sauce (mild or medium)
2. One-​two orders of the crawfish in the all-​in sauce (and add some whole potatoes, corn on the cob, and sausage)
3. One order of the clams in the mild garlic butter sauce
PRO TIP: Don’t get the king crab. At $ 22-​$ 23, it’s 3x as expensive as the dungeness crab, but not 3x more delicious or anything.

I’m very excited to have discovered this place because I haven’t had Cajun style seafood in Denver ever since I moved here a couple of summers ago. I’m from San Jose, CA where places like these (Boiling Crab, Kicking Crab, Claw Shack, etc.) are extremely plentiful so eating this stuff is at least a monthly norm for me.
I enjoyed the cute décor & booths that were made to look like part of the ship. I got to sit at the wheel of the ship which was fun because it was an elevated two-​seater booth.
I ordered Cajun fries medium spice level, 1 lb of shrimp with the original sauce at a mild spice level, 1 lb of snow crab for around $ 25 with the same sauce & spice level, a side of rice for under $ 2 and two corn on the cobs for $ 0.99.
I will order a spice level of medium next time because I didn’t feel enough kick from the mild level. The medium fries were also not spicy to me. They’re regular thin fries with Cajun seasoning on them. I enjoyed them because they weren’t too greasy. I thought that the original sauce was slightly saltier than the other sauces I’ve tried at similar restaurants. It was still overall very tasty & wasn’t as salty when you ate the seafood with rice. They don’t automatically give you a side of lime the way they do at Boiling Crab but they have it upon request.
You have to be prepared to get really messy since you’re eating all this seafood with your hands. I saw others who had gloves but I am unsure if they were provided or if the customers brought it themselves. The restaurant provides you with the crab crackers and a bib and plenty of napkins.
Other menu items they offer include oysters for $ 13 a dozen, sausage, Cajun rice, fresh crawfish (which were sold out when I was there) and frozen crawfish. I personally don’t care too much for crawfish because it’s a lot of work for little reward.
I’d highly recommend the gloves because the stench of the sauce lingered on my hands for a day despite washing it a bunch of times. The smell also lingers in your hair and clothes so don’t come here prior to some special first date or event where you cannot afford to smell.
Overall, this place is not too shabby… but very crabby. :) I’m going to come back for sure.