The Boiling Crab

THE REAL INSIDE SCOOP — Everyone who is a die hard fan of the creepy crawlers knows that the little craw-​fish shop in the Hong Kong Market in Bellaire is the best in Houston wen its craw-​fish season. All the restaurant that focus mainly on crayfish, the scientific name for craw-​fish, get it from the same distributor in Louisiana. I came here cause i wanted to compare this boiling crab to its counter-​part in Garden Grove, California. This Houston location is nothing compare to its sister branch at all. Where is the quality control or flavoring disappear to. They need the owner in California to come out to this Houston location and show them what up and how to cook them. Stop treating Boiling Crab in Houston like a step child cuz its all one family. I had it better in California and will not come back here in Houston til changes are made.

Houston is hot. Weather wise… really hot… We waited outside of the restaurant because the air conditioned waiting area was packed with people waiting to be called. There are wooden benches outside and there was a light breeze so I didn’t feel like I was being baked alive. The restaurant’s a decent size but there’s just a lot of people waiting to eat there (When I say a lot I think it was like 10 families ranging from 2 people to a group of 10). We got to this place on a Saturday night a little after 6PM. The wait was an estimated to be an hour. My dad… he’s not the most patient man when it comes to waiting for food (What? Wait 5 minutes? We’ll go next door) was convinced by everyone else to wait. An hour or so later, we got called… it felt like we won a raffle or the food lotto.
The menu holds an extensive list of shellfish cooked, fried, or raw. Free refills with every drink order. Friendly staff who were attentive even though it was busy.
We settled on 1 dz oysters (fresh), fried oysters and fries (twice fried fries I think… crunchy mmm =-)), 2 pounds of crawfish, 2 pounds of shrimp, ½ lb of sausage — mild, corn, and potatoes all in the shabang sauce. Shabang… so good. The sauce mixes all three sauces the place had to offer and it was so good. I wish they packaged that to go. Like always, we over ordered but managed to finish everything. It was gross. All of the shells… all over the table… thank goodness we had bibs on. What a mess. A fun, fun mess.
I fell into a massive food coma… my brother had to check on me to make sure I was still awake or alive. One or the other. I don’t think I was even able to roll out of the restaurant. Maybe stumbled? I do remember I was moving very slowly.
Was it worth the hour plus long wait? Yes… yes it was. Would I do it again? Yes… yes I would. Next time imma wear sweatpants or a super loose dress.

The people that have given this place poor reviews for not being authentic enough need to get a life. You are in Houston. You are near the coast, but this isn’t Louisiana and you are not likely to find the experience totally like it is there. I lived in Louisiana for while and you don’t really find that experience anywhere else. If you go here knowing that, you will be fine and you might even enjoy yourself.
The Boiling Crab is a small chain that has some great crab legs, crawfish, shrimp, and the other fixins that come in a boil. You can choose your spice, options include lemon pepper, garlic better, spicy cajun, or my favorite, the whole sha-​bang which is all said spices combined. So finger lickin good!
We chose the snow crab legs (sha-​bang style) shrimp (garlic butter) and the potatoes also sha-​bang style. Everything was so good! Our table was a huge mess after we were done. I even ordered a pound of crab to take home that night.
The claws were HUGE. Much bigger than any crab legs I have ever had at Joe’s or Landry’s and they gave us four claws total. The shrimp was peel and eat. The only thing I didn’t like about the shrimp was the shell got all the flavor and once you peeled it, the shrimp meat itself tasted kinda bland. If they peeled it before and then spiced it up, it would SO much better. The spices have a very healthy amount of garlic so bring some gum if you plan on talking to people afterwards. With everything we got we only spent $ 48. I would say that is much cheaper than any crab legs I have had at any restaurant. The quality was awesome too.
If you do come here, I recommend getting here about 15 minutes before they open on the weekends. We got there around 10 minutes to noon and there was already a line formed outside waiting to get in. I have heard that sometimes the wait can be a couple hours long. Also keep in mind there is some construction going on over in that area right now (4÷21÷13) and it’s pretty congested. Prepare for taking a little extra time.

I’m gonna say it… they have the best crawfish in town. And do you know what happens when you go to a place with the best crawfish in town??? The wait is over an hour long! — When friends invite me to The Boiling Crab, I usually show up an hour late because I know that’s when they’ll get seated (our little secret).
I really like the seasoning and it’s BIG!

This is a 4.5 star review.
Fantastic seafood. Truly cajun, truly Louisiana. The seafood is fresh, the spice is vivacious and the atmosphere is quick and clean. The only reason they loose out is because of the often horrendous wait. If you can, go off peak, forget the rubbish that goes on over weekends and you will be a happy person (like me).
We ordered snow crab, shrimp and crawfish (its the season). The spice was the mixture of all called the Sha-​bang. It has a healthy amount of garlic and sodium so don’t expect to go to a fancy bar after this and strike a conversation with anyone.

Updating my review, but it’s still at a three.
1. Prices NEVER go down, even at peak.
2. They skimp on the pounds (crawfish and crab) because the sauce is so heavy.
3. The crawfish is frequently overcooked and mushy.
4. Service leaves much to be desired. PLEASE, it’s a small restaurant, I’m sure the servers could be a little more attentive.
5. No split checks. I work serving, too. It is not THAT hard, especially for such a small establishment.
6 THEY CHARGE FOR EVERYTHING… mayo… butter… seasoning. WOW.
I do love the sauce, but I hate that the patrons suffer by getting less for their money because of the way they weight it. On the plus, their catfish baskets was VERY generous with the fish.
I know my review will get buried, but I had to say it. :/

No longer a fan. Taste went down hill

Okay so I know this place is just supposed to be one of the best crawfish places in Houston, but I just don’t think it’s worth it as of late.
I’ve been here twice this year because both times I was going with someone who hadn’t been before and they just really wanted to see what all the hype was about.
Likes:
The price was decent– the first time I went it was $ 5.99 then they bumped it up to $ 6.99 a few weeks later.
The Sha-​bang is the best! It’s a must when ordering crawfish.
The staff is always really friendly and helpful when I come.
Dislikes:
The crawfish came out, and there were some decent sized crawfish but honestly, the majority of the crawfish was very small. I hate ordering crawfish and seeing a bunch of small crawfish at the bottom of the bag.
The wait is ridiculous! I hear that you’re supposed to show up before 6pm to avoid the long hour wait times, but I’m sorry, I work and don’t have the time to show up before 6pm.
The bathroom is always dirty and stinky when I go. I hateeee dirty bathrooms at restaurants!
Overall, I know this place has a great reputation for its crawfish but I think I can go somewhere else and still enjoy myself without the hour wait and small crawfish.

Wow. This place is amazing. I came on a Saturday at 5:00 and there was a 1.5 hour wait. I wasn’t too hungry so I was fine with that… for a few minutes. After what seem like forever my bf and I was finally seated.
I ordered 3lbs crawfish, potatoes, 1lb snow crabs, and ½ shrimps to be split between my bf and I. We had everything in the «Sha Bang Sauce» in medium spicy. It was just the right amount of spice. This by far is the best cajun/​crawfish restaurant I’ve ever been to. The sauce was amazing. We poured everything out of the bags onto the table. It came with salt/​pepper and limes on the side. The service was excellent and the food came out fast.
I knocked off one star because this place was way too small. There were more people waiting than people actually eating.

THA WHOLE SHA-​BANG!!! XXX-​spicy! That’s what my momma likes to order for her kids when we’ve been behaving and we clean up our rooms.
This place is always crowded! You can come here at 3pm when you think no ones eating and you’re still waiting in line for half an hour to just sit down and eat. Once you’re seated in this divey restaurant deep in the ghetto of SW Houston/​Alief, food comes out super-​quick. We often get the food to go here. We’ll call 20 minutes ahead, arrive, walk past the long 2-​hour waitline of hungry starving people, and walk out with trash bags full of shabanged seafood all smug and bastard-​like.
There’s already a bazillion reviews here. Ate here yesterday for an evil exercise in gastronomic masochism. All I’ll say is that the crawfish, fresh. Snow crab legs (my favorite here), super-fresh…makes Red Lobster snow crab legs lame. Always Sha-​bang as spicy as possible. So spicy, it hurts. Spicy in, spicy out! Burn!

Absolutely phenomenal crawfish! This place is famous for a reason, and that reason my friends, is in the seasoning. Their «whole shebang» at the spiciest level is to die for. It’s a perfect mixture of pure authentic Cajun flavoring with hints of garlic and oils. Did I add that they make it Really spicy here? So delicious that this is the closest you’ll ever sense your taste buds dancing a tango inside your mouth. Go during off peak hours because 3pm on a Saturday will slap you in the face with a 2hr wait time. But once you suck the juices out of your first crawfish head, granted you don’t choke with shocking emotions on how delicious it is, all of your stress and tension will be relieved. Crack some crawfish and grab a Corona with salt & lime. Guaranteed to leave happy. In the words of my wise friend, «I don’t wait 2hrs for Anything… other than crawfish at The Boiling Crab.»

Oh, The Boiling Crab, how I wish your establishment was closer to me. Although, that could be a sign for trouble in ruining my diet. But, I digress…
This was my first time visiting this franchise. I was in Houston for the weekend and have heard wonderful things about this place through the grapevine. My partner and I arrived on a Saturday night, which probably wasn’t the best. The wait time was about 45 min and we were seated in a small, crowded waiting area. You can choose to wait outside, but they do not have an intercom system or those fancy hand-​held vibrating devices, so we didn’t want to risk missing our name being called.
When we were finally seated, I couldn’t help but notice that this place isn’t for people that don’t like to get their hands dirty. Enormous amounts of shells from miscellaneous crustaceans abound on the tables of bib-​wearing patrons. We, too, were desperate to become a part of this crowd. Our order consisted of 2-​lbs shrimp, 1-​lb crawfish, and 2-​lbs of snow crab legs. Corn on the cob and sausage were also added. Everything was slathered with the whole sha-​bang seasoning which was delicious.
I took off one star for the service, and I’m being generous. Our waitress, albeit friendly, was not attentive. With all the food that we ordered and the spices that we encountered, the regular-​sized drink cup we had was quickly empty. She never came to check on us after we were seated, and I finally had to flag her down after about 30 min. She also forgot my gumbo and rice that I ordered, and during checkout I reminded her about it which she realized was her mistake and gave to me for free.
If I’m ever in Houston again, or any city that has The Boiling Crab, I’ll be sure to visit again. But, next time I’ll come prepared with an extra drink in my purse and a bag of wet wipes.

Really liked this place. It’s not big so there will be a wait. Kinda in a dodgy section of town so beware and watch for potholes.
We had crab legs, crawfish, and the fried catfish basket. Catfish was so so, the real deal was the sauces. The mix of all 3 (Cajun, lemon pepper, garlic butter) was so so. Cajun + lemon pepper was excellent.
If you dip anything in the above sauce it’s heaven.

I’d heard about boiling crab for a while now and finally checked it out over the weekend. The crawfish is good — no question about that. The spices and seasoning they use for the whole shabang are spot on. We got mild because we had a some friends that couldn’t handle the heat and it still tasted good. The crawfish were all good size so no complaints there. On food alone, I’d give it a 4.5 but the wait is just a killer.
When we pulled up, I saw a huge line a people waiting outside. It looked like the front of a Foot Locker before the release of a new pair of Jordan Concords and it was only 6 pm. It’s rare for me to wait over 2 hours for a table, and those times were in places like Chicago and NYC. Granted I was with a party of 10 but still…2 hours is a long ass time to wait. Add in a bunch of hungry girls and you gots some problems on your hands. We decided to order some appetizers to hold everyone over, and there was a line for that too! We probably waited 10 – 15 min to place our order and another 15 min for our apps to come out. Once we got seated everything was good. The food came out pretty fast and the service was solid.
This is good but it’s not 2 hour wait good. I might come back if I have a smaller party since it seemed like they had a lot of 2 and 4 four top tables. But usually crawfish is a large group thing so during those times, I think I’d rather just go to Pappadeaux. I’d take no wait there over a 2 hr wait here any day of the week.

Excellent. I couldn’t stop eating except the fact that I was getting full! The whole shebang sauce is really tasty. We got the crawfish, shrimp, and dungeness crab in the sauce. We also got the fried catfish plain, sweet potato fries, and corn on the cob shebang. It was perfect amount for my hubby, my mom, my 2 yr old son and myself. My hubby ate the bulk of it. But I recommend everything we had. I probably wouldn’t get the crawfish again just because it is so little meat in one thing. It was still tasty though. The fish was originally ordered for my 2 year old son but he only wanted the fries and ketchup so we ate the fish. *Dungeness crab takes the longest to cook, they warned us it takes 25 minutes*
If only we had this in Chicago (where I am from) we would go quite often. It is cheaper than if we were to go to Bob Chinn’s (in chicago) and dare I say it, I like it more. Oh but Boiling Crab in Houston did not offer bread or rice with our meal which was a downer. It can get quite salty.
We waited around 45 minutes on a Friday night around 7pm. Lucky it was a really nice night out so we could wait outside. Inside waiting area is not all that big. We also took a stroll to the nearby supermarket in the same plaza while we waited. Service was friendly and attentive.
Oh and they have booster seats and high chairs for the kiddies. No specific kids menu.

THIS PLACE NEVER DISAPPOINTS ME.
I really hate how we have to drive all the way to Houston just to eat here :(
The wait time at Boiling Crab in California is extremely ridiculous! You have to wait an hour and a half or more just to get a seat plus it gets so crowded & loud you can’t even hear yourself think.
Here in Houston is way better, every time I come here I don’t have to wait. I come to Houston rarely, so whenever we do visit eating at Boiling Crab is a must!
Food is really delicious, customer service is great, price is fair!
Looks like a 5 star place to me!
I just really hate how they don’t have one here in San Antonio :(
LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE! Best place to get seafood!

The Boiling Crab is overrated. Their crawfish is decent, but only during crawfish season… during the rest of the year, it’s mostly frozen, which I believe they do disclose. I guess it’s better than nothing, if you’re really jostling for crawfish.
Pros: They offer a variety of flavors (if you’re in doubt, go with The Whole Shebang), and a free corn with every 2 pounds of crawfish. The shrimp is fresh year-​round, and especially tasty drenched in whole shebang goodness.
Cons: Everything else. The wait here is ridiculously long on most nights. They charge you for water, garlic butter and almost everything else except salt and pepper and limes. It’s difficult to get drink refills. And they won’t split checks, so bring cash if you come with a group.

Seriously. Did I review this place? Because I literally think about boiling crab at least a few times a day. I really can’t express how delicious it is here. Yes, sometimes their sauce is a bit off during the week. Yes the wait sucks. Yes, they should keep their booths reserved for groups of 4, and cut down their 4-​toppers so it can seat parties of two faster during peak times.
But really. There are tons of fabulous crawfish and cajun seafood establishments in Houston. Tons. And I love them. But boiling crab… it’s the place I drool about whenever I’m out of town. The first place I go to when I get back. And a must-​take visiting-​friends-​and-​family spot for those who aren’t lucky enough to have a BC in their area.
Of course when crawfish is in season, it’s pounds of that, medium shabang. But, otherwise, it’s their succulent snow crab legs and shrimp that has us always there. Literally, this is the one place that I can have a full meal, go and wash my hands, come back to the table… and as soon as I get a whiff of that magical sauce, I am hungry all over again. It’s bad, even walking out to the parking lot, I have to fight the urge not to turn back around and order another pound. The sauce is the shizzle dizzle.
So are they perfect? Nope, there’s plenty of times when it’s been a bit off. But if you try it when they’re on their game… you’ll understand.

This is one of those places that everyone brags about and says «you gotta go there». I’ve been to the one in Dallas and it was okay, now this one WON ME OVER! I am a crawfish lover and love the fact that this place is reasonably priced and offer so many varieties!
The 4 of us sat down and ordered a good amount of food, and with a packed house, we still got our food with 10 minutes. The picked, ate, and drank, happily ever after! And then we wanted more. The fresh ingredients and quality seafood made well worth the 50 minute drive.
The service was great too. The wait staff helped each other and made sure that they shared the responsibilities of all the tables. Individually, they all followed up with us and made sure that we had what we needed.
It helps that the atmosphere is great too! Also, well worth the one hour wait at the door!!!

YOU SUCKED WHAT WHERE??!
What else can I say but that this restaurant is one of God’s gifts to man on earth… OMFG crawfish and shrimp and sweet potato fries! I have never loved a more messier and delectable style of eating. Everyone who lives in the vicinity of one their locations needs to visit it as soon as humanly possible. Be prepared for a long wait though (people line up at this restaurant 30 minutes prior to opening!) and sometimes slow service… hence four stars out of five. Now let me set a few records straight to sort of the confusion with this joint…
First, I don’t believe this place does true Nawlin’s style seasonings. Nor do I think they are trying to say that they are using true Louisiana seasonings in their boil. I mean, I’m pretty sure this chain started off in California and is owned by a nice Chinese family. Who knows really?
Second, I don’t really care about whether or not The Boiling Crab is trying to be Cajun or Creole or whatever. I just appreciate it for what it is. What is that, you may ask? Bodies of crawfish, shrimp and crab legs smothered in a tangy and succulent sauce eaten right off the restaurant table with a bib around my neck. Beware though, the bib may not save your clothes so do not come wearing your Chanel, D&G or anything else that cost you over $ 20. You will get sauce on it, and you will try and lick the sauce off your clothes.
As you can order most things by the pound, I recommend getting a pound or two of crawfish and a pound or two of shrimp. I’ve easily downed a bag of shrimp and crawfish EACH by myself with sweet potato fries. Do not, for the love of all things fried and holy, not order the sweet potato fries. These fries must be used to lap up the rest of the leftover sauce as you cannot eat your fingers!
As if you couldn’t tell, I am in love with the sauce here. A few tips to new comers, you can order the sauce in different flavors and levels of spiciness. Trust me, get the Whole SHA-​BANG (which combines all their flavors) and then pick your spicy level. I am such a wuss but I have to get the mild otherwise my nose waters and my mouth catches fire. My boyfriend, who is a hot sauce freak, got the XXX spicy and he said it was amazing. I’ll take his word for it. I’d like to keep the ability to taste things in the future.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE open a franchise in New York! Someone needs to do this… and make tons of moola. I’m tired of waiting till I visit Texas or Cali to gorge myself on your crack sauce!