The Boiling Crab

When we arrived, we were told the wait would be 45 minutes. This estimate was rather accurate, as we went to Starbucks to sit for a while, returned after half an hour, and still had to wait a few minutes to get our table.
The restaurant’s shape seems a bit strange. It actually wraps around a small courtyard. There are TV’s everywhere! When your name is called, the greeter rips of a sheet of paper to become, apparently, the table cloth. As you are seated, the waitress ties a bib around your neck. This makes for some unique ambiance.
The menu is fairly basic. You can pick seafood boiled in their cajun sauce, or have a fried seafood basket with fries. I picked the fried shrimp, which had some really nice shrimp, covered in their lightly seasoned batter. The cocktail sauce had a real kick of horse radish, or something like that. My better half ordered the cajun shrimp, the whole shebang sauce with mild spiciness. When they bring it to your table, they carry it in a metal pail — as if they just brought it in from the wharf! That sauce is strong! I found it extremely spicy. Good thing for that napkin dispenser.
You can add a bunch of sides too. We had a cup of gumbo, and a few cobs of corn, which can come served in a bag. The corn was very juicy. It’s a good place to bring a group to, as you can share the seafood that you get.

This location has the shortest wait out of all the BC’s and the freshest shrimp in my opinion.
Their Whole ShaBang Medium tastes just a tad different from the Alhambra locations but it’s not a bad thing… just different.
Everyone here is super friendly and accommodating but the parking is the WORST parking situation ever. You’re pretty much forced to pay for parking because it’s a nightmare trying to find street parking and it ain’t cheap. It’s in such a congested area but it’s so close to my office, ugh.

Oh, Boiling Crab, you are amazing!
Came here with my family of 16 people on a Saturday for lunch. It was going to take forever to get a table of 16 to put together so we asked for 3 separate tables instead. For a Saturday, it was busy but wasn’t crazy packed as other BC locations. There wasn’t a long line of people waiting outside either.
We got out food in a timely manner. El Hubby and I shared 2 LBS of SHRIMP with the WHOLE SHABANG (butter, lemon juice and cajun spices), FRIED SHRIMP and FRIED OYSTERS. Everything was superb. Shrimp were big and juicy, fried shrimp and oyrster were cooked and seasoned properly! Service was great. They put our plastic bib on and we got to eat with our hands. Awesome!
Took off 1 star because they don’t take reservations and it’s street parking. There is a parking structure next door, but they don’t validate parking O_​o.
Other than that it’s a great place to go crazy on seafood!

So glad a BC opened up in Westwood! The wait time isn’t nearly as bad as some of their other locations. The service here is always really prompt, even though they’re always busy.
The cajun fries are to die for and get the whole shabang with whatever seafood you choose!!! Make sure to squeeze the lime they give you into the salt and pepper container for extra dipping sauce! It gets messy, but the bathrooms are always clean so it makes you feel a bit better when you wash your hands for the fiftieth time. Also, if you have friends that don’t like seafood, (T_​_​T) they have some fried options. (shrimp, catfish, chicken)
Parking options: Valet for like $ 8 or, if you’re lucky, you can snag one of the ~10 metered spots (2 hours only until 8pm).

Came on a busy Sunday night, wait time was about 30 mins, but they seated us quicker than that.
Our waiter took our order, my party got king crab legs with whole shabang medium, I got 2lbs crawfish whole shabang medium.
Everyone enjoyed their crab legs, they had forgotten my order, but when I asked the waiter it came out quickly.
The live crawfish cost about $ 14 a pound and were good, but there were quite a few that were really teeny tiny.
Overall it was good. But not the best.

ENVIRONMENT
Massive restaurant with two stories and lots of different types of seating ranging from tables to booths. Also, lots of TVs, so great for watching games.
ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND GET THE BIB READY.
APPS
Cajun Hot Wings — So good and lots of awesome seasoning.
MENU
Oysters are $ 15 for 12 pieces and clams and mussels range $ 9-​$ 10/​lb, lobster, shrimp, snow, dungeness and blue crab are all market price.
I went with Dungeness crab for $ 24/​lb (you get 2−3lbs) and ½ of shrimp for only $ 5.50.
FLAVORS
Rajun Cajun, lemon pepper, garlic sauce, or the whole-​sha-​bang, which is everything. Spicy comes in non, mild, medium and XXX.
Shrimp — served in a bag of Cajun sauce, so good!
Dungeness Crab — Wow! I’m so full, this was amazing! So much meat! (Came out to $ 55.20)

I love BC… but do I love it enough to wait over an hour??? NOPE.
The wait is ridiculously long. Both times I’ve been here, the wait was over an hour and a half. Not worth it in my opinion, but if you stick it out, you’re up for a delicious meal!
I always go for one pound of shrimp, medium spicy, with the whole shabang. Sooo finger lickin’ good. Like literally licking your fingers.
Yeah, if you’re into refined dining and clean eating, this is not the place for you. I would wash my hands and still have a faint shrimp smell on them.
Corn is great to add to your bag! You can probably pass on the potatoes and sausages though. Cajun fries are also a great addition to your order. It’s so good I always order one for myself and not share it with anyone. Hehe oops.
If it wasn’t for the wait, I’d come here often. 4 stars just for the food alone.

After years of seeing my friends and their cute ketchup drawings, I was able to try Boiling Crab in Orange County. Then a few months later they opened up in Westwood! It was a smart business move, as Boiling Crab is really popular with the Asian community and of course, there are lots of those at UCLA. I was really excited to go with a few friends for their first time!
Fried Catfish Basket: This was recommended to me by my friend who actually worked here. There are maybe 5 or 6 pieces of fish that taste fairly fresh and are pretty flaky. With lime and the tartar sauce, the fish is just too good to pass up. We ended up ordering 2 baskets because of how good it was! ALSO, it comes with your choice of fries. We got the cajun fries, which were amazing! The spices are really flavorful and I dream about these often…
Shrimp: You order shrimp by the pound (or half pound) so we got 1 pound for the 4 of us. It was just enough for us to be satisfied. The sauce was delicious and so flavorful! Eating the shrimp with our hands was so fun and different! But be warned that even the mild flavor is pretty spicy!
Corn on the cob: The corn comes in the same bags as the shrimp, so it’s drenched in sauce. They somehow make the corn incredibly buttery and delicious.
Boiling Crab offers something different and creates an enjoyable experience! Definitely prepare to get your hands dirty!

This is a super fun experience + delicious way to have dinner.
We arrived at 5:30ish on a weekday and were seated right away and only about half of the restaurant was full. But by the time we left (a little after 7pm) there were about 10 small groups of people waiting for a table.
Four of us split two pounds of snow crab, two pounds of shrimp and two sides of fries. We ordered them medium spicy (it was just right) and with all three sauces. We also took them up on the dishes of salt/​pepper and half limes. Those two combined together made for a delicious dipping sauce. It was more than enough food. We all left completely stuffed with a few bites still left on the table. The fifth member of our party was not into seafood so ordered the chicken tenders and said they were really good. I am so glad that Boiling Crab has menu items for people that are not interested in the bag of seafood. It makes it way easier to come as a group.
The restrooms are large/​clean and they bring a nice big pile of wet wipes to the table as you are nearing the end of your meal. It is a messy way to eat but nice that they make clean up easy for you.

The biggest boiling crab I’ve been to, probably because it used to be a brewery! Love how it is spacious and not cramped like other locations. The food is amazing and the wait isn’t bad, came on a Friday and was seated quickly.
Ask for «EXTRA JUICY» if you like more sauce! It’s a must for me because I love to dip my shrimp in the sauces! I always get half a pound of shrimp with a corn, cajun or sweet potato fries, and is probably the best meal you can get for about $ 10!

The Boiling Crab in Westwood is awesome! I’ve walked into Boiling Crabs in other locations. A 1 ½−2 hour wait??? Forget it. At this location, we had a party of 3 and we only waited 15 minutes for a table. Suhweet!
We ordered crab, shrimp, clams and rice. The sauce is good, but the only thing I didn’t like is it separated into a pool and oil. The oil separation and not offering any type of bread changed my review from 5 stars to 4. With that being said, I would still give this place a try.
Pro tip! Get there early if you have a big party and bring your own bread!

I’ve heard so many things about this place being really good and it is! Came with some friends and showed up 30mins early bc we tried being the first ones in and it worked :) Though they do open at 3, all the staff is great and the food is very delicious. The lemon pepper fries were so yummy and the shrimp was delicious as well :)
The reason why I’m giving it 4 stars is bc my friend got a parking ticket and the valet guy laughed at us instead of suggesting his parking. We thought that was kind of rude. Be careful with your parking or kiss 63 $ away!

So i heard this place was awesome and everyone was so excited to go. We had 14 people and they said 30 minutes or less wait, we ended up getting a table 5 minutes later.
We all sat down and they brought us lime, salt, and pepper for our food. But just put the lime in your water, its better. Then we ordered appetizers and everyone got shrimp so we got 14 bags of it.
Each person got one bag which was one pound so it made us full. There was spicy, which was not that spicy and regular which tasted like normal. You had to peel the shrimp which was hard for kids to do like if they are very small. Then you just ate it out of the bag with your hands. Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty and they will give you like a thing over your neck around your shirt to avoid a mess. After we ate our hands were messy but we washed them in the bathroom.
This place was great but i took off that star for the reason that its messy and hard for big groups. Don’t bring too many small kids or you will be peeling their shrimp. But for older kids and teens its a fun place and something enjoyable to do with family.

I really want to love this place. I’m a huge fan of seafood, and it’s a fantastic location with great tv’s, comfortable tables, etc. But it’s really not worth the hype.
If you’re going to go to this place, be prepared to make a huge mess everywhere. Sure, that’s part of the fun, maybe, but serving $ 30 per pound food in a plastic bag seems kinda backwards to me.
Secondly, the service takes forever at this place. If you go during a busy time, you have to have a reservation. They also won’t seat us until the entire party is there, and given that all my friends work random hours, we always show up at random times. It’s really hard to predict, and that’s why I really hate going there. We always end up standing outside waiting for people to come in.
Thirdly, if I’m going to pay $ 50 on fish, It needs to be great food. The food was good-​not-​great. It feels like an upscale Joe’s crab shack without plates. The fries are honestly the highlight of the meal.
Lastly, I probably would be in a better mood about it if they had a decent bar. At least let me drink the shame away of paying this much for a bag of salty fish!

Prepare to get your hands dirty! Boiling crab is not for people who want to keep their manicure looking nice. If you want to keep your fingers clean, stay at home with your fork and knife. A couple of the items on the menu were unavailable when we went (like the blue crab and snow crab), but our favorite is the shrimp anyways so it didn’t matter. ALWAYS get the cajun fries on the side. You will not be able to stop eating them. Keep in mind that you will need to wait awhile for seating, even on weekdays. Your entire party will also need to be present before they put you on the waiting list. If you’ve never been, definitely something different to try.

I have tried 3 different locations and they are the same in taste of course.
I like this particular location because its walking distance from work. They do not have private parking only valet and street parking, tough!
I’ve been here 3 different times and all times the lines is not as ridiculous as the other locations. my first time was a 30 min. wait which was okay. Second time, it was a 20 min. wait. and i recently went on a Friday evening and their was no wait! wahooo winning!
The food is amazing!!! So I would ask the people taking your order how many lbs you should get depending the size of your party. My brother usually orders for us, he calculates a lbs per person. Also we usually order the whole shabang also with corn, potatoes, and sausage. I would try a little of everything just to get an experience. I wasn’t a fan of crab before but now I love it. Also love their Cajun fries. The menu is pretty simple. Mild, hot, XXX.
Staff is quick and friendly. Prices for me are reasonable. I would definitely recommend coming here in a group, it’s much more fun.
Please follow my food instagram page @FOODGURULA, enjoy :-)

The hype machine does a disservice to Boiling Crab.
Yes it is fun to go with a group (if you’re willing to wait forever) as the concept of eating with your hands and being messy and getting bibs tied around your neck is your thing. I’m all down for that, and shelling my own food, but boiling crab just didn’t do it for me.
Actually, I ended up loving my fries way more than the seafood, which is probably saying something negative overall about the place.

My husband and I ate here yesterday with his cousin and his wife. We arrived around 12:30PM. Since Boiling Crab is known for its outrageous wait times, we were pleasantly surprised when we were seated at a table right away. This was our first time here but it was their second. As we entered the main entrance, we made a left and they sat us near the end by the window.
We ordered Shrimp (market price), Mussels ($ 9/​lb), Fried Catfish with Cajun Fries $ 10, and Fried Calamari ($ 10). We added corn on the cob ($ 0.75 ea.) and Potatoes ($ 1.50 for 3 pieces).
I’ve eaten at L.A. Crab and Star Crab before in Rancho Cucamonga and this was my first time at Boiling Crab.
Overall, the experience was decent. A major gripe I have is that the tables are so close together. I could literally bang my head against the girl sitting behind me and had to tuck my chair all the way in so our chairs wouldn’t touch. When our cousin tried to get up to use the restroom, she had to ask the person sitting behind her husband to move so she could get out.
Although the people we interacted were nice, the service overall needs improvement. As other people came and sat at the tables around us, we noticed that they all got their food before we did. After our food came, nobody checked up on us and my husband’s cousin wanted to ask for a side of butter. When someone finally came by, she responded that it may take a while because she had to put the order in. (Huh? They have to put in an order to the kitchen for butter?)
We were pretty much done eating before the butter came. Also, nobody asked if we wanted refills for our iced tea or soda.
For 4 people, our bill came out to $ 87.00 (without tip).
Overall, the food was great, but after eating at other similar places with superior service, it’s clear that they need to brush up on their service.
MINUS 1 Star for Service otherwise they would have received a 4 just for the food.
¹³⁷⁄₁₀₀ Reviews for 2015

I love the Boiling Crab and picking up in ktown was such a hassle so I was super excited when they opened in Westwood. I haven’t actually tried the crab yet BUT the cajun fries, fried oysters, shrimp and fried calamari taste just like in ktown. The service is friendly and pretty fast and they actually pick up the phone when you call. Will definitely pick up more often!
P. S. They have fresh oysters … $ 15 for a dozen is a steal!

Okay I’ve been here a few times, so I’ve had a much better experience every time I’ve been back. The first time I was here, it was for a birthday party, it was a fail. I’m sure we bombarded the servers with the amount of food we were ordering, but they kept messing up with the sauces, and I can’t handle spicy sauces, and that’s what I kept getting. The clams were a joke, at least 75% of them didn’t have any meat, so that was a total waste of money. The manager was not accommodating, too.
The only reason why I’ve been back is because this location is closer to me, and there’s hardly a line here compared to the ones in San Gabriel and the Koreatown location. I love that this place doesn’t get busy and the servers are actually attentive. I’m so glad they opened up another Boiling Crab.
I would recommend the King Crab with the Sha Bang sauce, shrimps and the corn is da bomb. They run out of the Blue Crab every time I’ve been here, so that must be a popular item.
This place does get messy, hence the reason why they put a bib on you. Also, parking is easy breezy here. I’ve been fortunate every time that I’ve been able to find a parking meter, but they have a parking structure not far from the restaurant.