Cajun Crab House

First off, there were about a dozen smokers outside the door, and the odor kicked off an evening that went down-​hill from there. I asked to be seated away from the smoke, and the greeter simply put us around the corner from the door. The odor got worse as they left the door open (for ventilation?) When I finally asked the waitress to close the door a couple at a table next to us who had been breathing through napkins cheered. Failure to understand basic «atmosphere» is a sign of an mismanaged restaurant.
On to the service. The waitress was pleasant, but ineffective and difficult to understand at times. When English isn’t your native language you only make things worse by rushing. Our meals came out late, over 45 minutes of waiting after we were told it would probably take 15 minutes for our food to arrive due to «older orders.» I could see her going back to the kitchen a couple of times to repeat the order, as she must have realized that it had gone south. «I’m sorry…» was the phrase we kept hearing over and over throughout the evening, usually as a plate was being brought to the table.
Food next. My son and I had shrimp po boys, and chowder. The chowder was fine, seemed to me to have a very high amount of butter in it? The po boys were smallish with one thin layer of batter fried butterfly cut shrimp. To my astonishment the shrimp in the sandwich still had the hard shell tails on them, apparently the customer is supposed to disassemble the sandwich and remove the tails themselves. In some cases it looked like someone had trimmed off the ends of the tails with a knife, but that left a sheath of tail shell deeper under the batter. Simply abysmal presentation for such a simple meal.
My wife had the shrimp boiler, which did have a very distinctive seasoning broth. However in what I sampled of her meal this broth did little to permeate the unshelled shrimp from the bag. They were quite bland and a little soft — a bad sign in shellfish (I’m suffering a bit of an upset stomach at the moment by the way.)
I find nothing to recommend this restaurant. A warning is more appropriate. Poorly managed, bad kitchen, under-​staffed wait staff… avoid.

The service was good (at least it was the one time I went there) so I cannot agree with other Unilocalers about their bad service.)
The waiter and waitress that helped us was friendly and attentive.
I can’t say I liked their crawfish though. Actually the sauce really sucked… I think we picked something-​sink. YUCK… stay away from that one. Tasted like crap.
Their other food was alright but I dont understand the idea of selling Vietnamese food @ a Cajun themed restaurant. They should just stick to perfecting the Cajun menu first.

Good
–The food actually tasted good
Bad
–The crayfish we ordered came in an inflated bag that appeared to be filled with popcorn oil/​butter
–It was around $ 11 for maybe a pound of (slightly creepy looking) whole crayfish (which translates into just a few ounces of actual food) with NO salad, NO drink, NO side dish whatsoever… just a BAG of crustaceans.
–The restaurant serves your meal with bibs
–We left starving and poor!!!

For me, this is the place where I feel as though I’ve died and gone to heaven. I CRAVE their boiled crab kitchen sink style… with some andouille sausage.
It’s by far the best. They also have lots of other cajun like items on the menu that are savory and make your mouth and tummy’s happy.

After going to this restaurant I was so disappointed I didn’t even want to waste my time doing a review of it but alas I thought of my poor fellow Unilocalers who might benefit from my experience at the crab house, so here is my review.
I wanted to try one of these new crawfish places popping up everywhere, that just happen to be run and owned by Vietnamese peeps of all people. But then again we LOOOooOVe our seafood/​fingerfoods.
Anyhow I tried the Cajun Crab House because from a friend who says he loves Cajun food and liked the food at the CCH. I went with two coworkers and spent about 60 dollars each… WaYYY too much in my opinion for our dinning experience. Let me tell you why my prettys…
We ordered 3 lbs of crawfish, 3 lbs of shrimp, 1 order of cajun fries, 3 orders of corn, and 2 noodle plates (cajun noodles or something).
The shrimp were decent, typical shrimp flavor, cooked just right so no big complaints there.
The noodles, about the size of a 29cent bag of ramen was good but way expensive — Poleaaasssssse… that cost you about 40 cents to make and plate on fancy rectangular plate.
The biggest complaints were the french fries and the crawfish. The fries came out literally just about a hangful of fries again on a fancy plate with some red stuff sprinkled on it, cajun salt? They were COLD like they were either sitting for awhile, or old fries that were refried and given to you. First of all the sprinked stuff didn’t taste much like anything so you can’t really call them cajun fries — liars! And if I wanted to pay close to 4.50 for cold fries, I woulda asked for cold fries. sheesh.
Then the 3lbs of crawfish that we ordered? We didn’t even want to touch them! they were small, and tasteless. Wow how did they accomplish that? esp when they were boiled in very flavorful sauce? Maybe they were dead, or frozen crawfish? Bleh. My coworker took them home and tried doctoring them up to serve to her hubby, and even he wouldn’t eat them. and you know that guys eat almost everything!
The corn was $ 2.00 a half ear of corn and they all tasted very bland and gummy. Was that feeder corn and not sweet corn I was eating? ewl… man if the corn isnt in season, get the freaken sweet corn that was frozen, I don’t mind! at least it would be sweet and not like I paid 2 bux to eat tastless starch!
Ugh! I get so worked up when I pay a lot and get crap to eat, don’t you? if it’s expensive, I don’t care as long as it’s good.
A side note from my rant was when we first stepped into the restaurant, my nose was assaulted by the scent of Simple Green or something of that sort of cleaner. I don’t want my restaurant to smell like cleaning products, I want it to smell like food~!

Overall I give this restaurant 2stars. The reviews are correct when they say it takes FOREVER to get served .
They are seriously understaffed. Obvioulsy they are being tight with the money and not hiring any bus boys. Our table didn’t even get bussed before we had our personal birthday cake come out.
So we’re singing happy birthday with tins of crab shells on our table and bowls of shrimp juice, what a delight.
I can say that the asian hostess tries to make up for the long wait, by being very friendly. She was too pretty and nice to yell at then and there, so I’m taking this time to vent.
Positives about the restaurant; It’s very clean, and stylish inside, you wouldn’t think so from the look of it on the outside.

Service was bad from the start, I should have left the moment I walked in and the waiter didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Service was slow, they’re understaffed. The Vietnamese waitress (maybe an owner) was only nice to you if you were in a group with white people probably because they tip more, otherwise good luck getting service.
Crawfish was bad and soggy, they claimed it was fresh off the airplane. I thought people get it from Sacramento Delta?
These people now serve phở also, I guess they’re getting desperate since business isn’t going so well, which isn’t much of a surprise.

It was a Friday night and every restaurant was packed. We cruised on Winchester and lo and behold, there was the gaudy red restaurant of «CAJUN CRAB HOUSE» (looked like it should belong in Amsterdam).
It is Vietnamese owned. Friendly staff and courteous.
We ordered the crab and shrimp boils (garlic and kitchen sink) while watching the Warriors game. My pop and brother enjoyed the feast, but I thought overall, everything was salty.
2 crab boils, 1 shrimp boil, 1 glass of chardonnay, 1 ice tea = $ 90
I had to get water in the middle of the night because I was so dehydrated from the dinner. Yuck.
It might be good for someone who enjoys salty boils, but I’m such a sweets girl.
I’m still parched and it’s Wednesday. Get me some water. Better yet, throw some water on me. I am wearing a white tee shirt.

Pluses:
a) Very good dirty rice… comes as a side dish with any entrée.
b) Cornbread
c) Flat screen TVs everywhere.
d) Not too crowded… but see the minuses for reasons.
Minuses:
a) Cajun Gator: The dish had more bell peppers than gator meat… really disappointed.
b) Service was kind and attentive… but was spotty after the bill has been paid.
c) Hush Puppies were terrible.
d) No crawfish on a Friday night.
e) Not willing to shell out $ 25/​lb on crab… since i only saw one other table ordering it.
f) No beer on the tap.
g) Karaōke night on Fridays.

I got take out from this place once. I was in a crappy mood, and I just wanted to stuff my face full of crawfish without anyone seeing it.
First of all, I got hush puppies and fried okra for appetizers. For those of you who dont know what hush puppies are, no it’s not the shoes, it’s basically deep dried corn meal dough. They definitely make good hush puppies. Nice and crunchy on the outside, yet nice and soft on the inside, with just a tad of sweetness to it. I almost finished the whole order before I even got home! The fried okra were okay. I like my fried okra to be in small quarter inch pieces and theirs were bigger. Unfortunately since it was bigger, it wasnt as crunchy on the outside because the ooeyness from the orka makes it soggy… But the spicy mayo sauce was extremely tasty. I was tempted to just eat the mayo. =)
Now onto the main event, I got a lb of crawfish boil in the kitchen sink broth. it was pretty yummy, but I didnt like the lemon much. I think next time I’m gonna stick with just good ol’ old bay. The crawfish was delicious! It’s so hard to find a place that actually carries crawfish around here. I also got some corn and andouille sausage with my boil. The andouille was a little dry… I dont know if it’s cuz the types of sausage they use or it’s just been sitting out for too long. But the corn was awesome! The broth has soaked into every nook and cranny of the corn and with every bite, the sides of the kernel releases all the delicious broth along with it’s yummy goodness.
Lastly, the corn bread hit the last spot I had left in my stomach. It was sweet, gooey, and had real corn kernels in it. Just the way a good southern corn bread should be. Overall, the meal made me a very happy girl.
They also have turbo dog on their drinks menu. I gotta eat there next time so I can drink some.

Decent place for crawfish although I did not enjoy the Crawfish in «Kichen Sink» broth. Perhaps, I’ll try it in Original next time. The Dungeness Crab in Garlic Butter was wonderful so were the Andouille sausages. Will definitely come back next time I crave for crawfish.
Weekly Specials!
Crabby Monday — Discounted Crab Special
Shrimpy Tuesday — Buy 2 lbs of shrimp, Get 1 FREE
Crawfish Wednesdays — Buy 2 lbs of crawfish, Get 1 FREE
Karaōke Fridays — 8pm –11pm

I am always on the search of good southern food here in the Bay Area. My boyfriend and I are both from the south so we know what we want.
We came here on a Sunday night about an hour before closing. There was plently of parking and lots of tables available.
The waitress was VEEERY slow at coming over to the table but that is my only real complaint.
We started with the hush puppies, they were good but would have been better with some of the yummy honey butter like they serve them with over at Sam’s BBQ.
I had the jambalaya, it was awesome! It was a huge portion, I saved half for my lunch the next day. My boyfriend had the tri-​tip and ribs combo with red beans and rice, he cleaned his plate!
Definatley a place worth trying if you are craving cajun food. If you have ever been to New Orleans you will appreciate that they have beignets, Amber Abita beer and the same coffee that they serve at Café Du Monde on the menu.

When a friend suggested this restaurant, I thought it was going to be the usual sterotypical «Nawlins» crap. (And I sincerely apologize to anyone from New Orleans for my use of the term — but you know exactly what I mean).
I have spent a fair amount of time in New Orleans (and came very, very close to moving there) and have very rarely seen Cajun food prepared the way it should be. Usually, it just means adding lots of Tabasco, tomatoes, and salt to everything. Yuk!
Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. Folks in our group ordered fried okra and onion rings for an appetizer — both were made from frozen but were pretty tasty. Hushpuppies were exactly the way they were supposed to be. Yummy!
Red beans and rice comes in both a vegetarian version and one with andouille sausage. Both were quite good. Other folks in the group ordered alligator (cooked well for alligator — not rubbery at all. However, I’m not a huge fan of it since it just reminds me of expensive chicken with a weird texture), corn bread (very, very good), Dungeness crab boil (kitchen sink), steak (reported to be good but I didn’t try any), and shrimp boil (also kitchen sink).For the boils, I would recommend kitchen sink all around. The crab tasted better in the mild since it was more buttery. The shrimp, however, needed the extra spice in the hot flavor.
Avoid the desserts at any cost. The beignets were Nasty (but I should have had my clue when they offered them with chocolate or caramel syrup instead of just powdered sugar). These dense objects were barely puffy at all and appeared to be made out of a cement and sugar mixture. Bring some home for your next home improvement project and build a garden wall or something.
The tart was also really bad. It appeared to have been frozen and thawed — resulting in a runny filling and soggy crust.
In short, come here for real Cajun food. It might be a little different than you are used to having — especially if you are used to Zatarain’s (which both has an ‘i’ in it and isn’t the best mix in any case) or Joe’s Crab Shack. However, please don’t think the desserts are in any way representative of what you would see in New Orleans. It looks like I am going to have to pay a visit to get the good stuff.

This place is like the bastard love child of a cajun Crab House and a California DMV — -the food was good but we had to WAIT FOREVEEEEEER for it to be served. Granted though, when the waitress did finally appear, she was superhot, superfriendly, and superapologetic. And the meal advanced expeditiously from there.
Clam chowder– while it was hot, it was enjoyable… a creamy mess of soupy goodness with a surprisingly hearty dollop of clams. But the moment it cooled off, it looked and tasted like I had scrapped out the plaques from my arteries and plopped them in a bowl. Weirdness.
Kitchen Sink Shrimp Boil, hot ($ 13/​lb) — holy moly… soooo good and sooo worth the wait. Large head-​intact shrimp swimming in buttery, garlicky, spicy, tangy liquid flavor. Let it drip down towards your elbows, this one is sleeve-​stain-​worthy.
Cajun Gator– eh. Taste like chicken with a bonus yuck factor. The only reason to order it is for the novelty or to reassert your position on top of the food chain.
Fried oysters, rice and beans, french fries– all decent appetizers or accompaniments to the real star of the place, the boils.
They were out of beignets, which was the reason I went there in the first place… Big frowny face. ;o (Waitress said they run out all the time, so beware if youre looking for a beignet fix. And who isn’t?
Nice that they will tie the bibs, untie the boil bags, and pack up the leftovers for you making you feel like (superhot) mom is taking care of you, but the wait is unacceptable and the service could definitely use some evenning out and direction. Also the décor looks like I decorated my house for Mardi Gras after an uninspired trip to Diddams. (But I still remember what the place looked like when it was a Vietnamese restaurant and I’m impressed by how much it changed, eventhough it’s a little cheesy…)
Recommended: Kichen sink shrimp boil

We were supposed to have a table reserved on Fat Tuesday, but the place was so packed and the music so loud we decided to come back another time. That time was tonight, and it was so obvious that the servers hadn’t been trained that my friend volunteered to wait on tables this weekend just for tips to show them how it should be done.
That said, you should not avoid the Cajun Crab House; if you do, you’ll be missing some pretty darn good food. Our group shared the spicy jambalaya and a pound of very tasty shrimp boil (lemon pepper, medium spicy). We also had the dense, warm cornbread and big bowls of clam chowder. Unfortunately, they were out of beignets, but we tried the sweet potato pie, which came out delicious and deliciously warm with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Compared to the entrees, the dessert portion seemed rather small. But I’m eager to go back and try other items on the menu — and grab a beignet before they run out.

Being from the Bayou State, I am all for any establishment doing Cajun Cuisine justice. Despite some of the negative reviews on Unilocal,I decided to give Cajun Crab House a try anyway. Glad I did because I can’t wait to come back to try more off of their menu.
It being Mardi Gras and all, I came here for lunch today and the wait staff was super friendly and attentive. It looked like they had a lot of Mardi Gras activities and music planned for the evening. Too bad I will miss that. The food was very good… especially their hushpuppies. I was all over them. it’s RARE to ever find them in Cali. so I was thrilled. 2 of their chefs are from the 10^th ward in New Orleans so that helps a lot… knowing they’re not posers. lol
I will definitely try one of their boils next time.

I LOVE THIS PLACE.
This is the spot for great authentic cajun seafood, great service and great atmosphere. I’ve already introduced about a dozen friends to this spot and they are RAVE about it.
The seafood is amazing. The Crab boil and the gumbo are my favorites. The «spicyness» was accurate for each item ordered.
As for the service. OUTSTANDING. I’ve been here 3 times in 2 weeks and the staff is extremly friendly and helpful. I even talked to one of the cooks to see if I could get a peek of the recipe they used for the boil… (NOPE).
Just a great overall experience. I’ve been the south countless times and if you close your eyes. you would think you were in the south eating some good olé’ southern food.
The price is just right and the food is DA BOM!!!
YUMMY YUMMY IN MY TUMMY!

I ordered the crawfish ‘kitchen sink’ (garlic butter, spicy cajun, lemon pepper combined) medium boil. It was a lot of work to eat them, but they were pretty flavorful, & very garlicky at the end. I’d have to agree with Bobby, that the crawfish would’ve been better if they’d been bigger/​meatier. I also got to try the shrimp kitchen sink medium boil, shrimp spicy cajun medium boil, & jambalaya (which was thicker in consistency than I’m used to) – all of which I liked.
For the boils, they offer crawfish, shrimp, & dungeness crab with your choice of flavoring (see above for the 4) and 3 levels of spice.
Oh yeah, I’m quite thankful for the bibs (which made me feel like a little kid, since the server actually ties it on for you too) & lemon scented wipes, because it was pretty messy! In fact, my hands still smelled like spice & garlic, despite having washed them 3 times after dinner. So, now I’ve been a slob in front of a group of people I just met… good thing it wasn’t a job interview or something like that, huh?
They also have a private room for large groups… I think there were 2 groups in there – a birthday party & maybe a work function (a bunch of guys in suits came out).
Service was good, but then, they knew we were Unilocalers, so hard to say for sure how it is in general.
I’d go back… I’d like to try more of the other stuff on their menu, even gator!
It’s on the east side of Winchester, between Williams & Moorpark.

This place focuses first on Boils, then the rest. (thats what Chris told us).
I ordered the Shrimp kitchen sink medium ($ 13/​lb dinner) and it was DELICIOUS!
The price kind of turned me off, but it was worth it. The waitress even tied the bib for me (giggles like a little boy). I tried to dip everything in my boil was it was so good (including some salad), and they even allowed me to take the left over boil home =). =P.
BUT there was some inconsistancy, because the crawfish boil didn’t have as much boil in it and lack the same taste. I wish the crawfish were bigger, the shrimp were a fine size.
The Jambalaya was kind of… different. It was more of a thicker and bbq tasting than I’m accustomed to.
I would come back, but hope the prices lower some.

After Christina B, brought in left over jambalaya to work, and me having brought my 50 cent Budget Gourmet that day… I decided I had to try this place.
So I convinced a group of friends that we should go here and have a bonding experience with bibs. Nothing says bonding like when you hands are covered in Cajun spices and you’re all grabbing shrimp or corn out of this bucket.
Service was great. We went at lunch today and the place was virtually empty at 1pm. Our nice hostess helped bib us and explain how to properly eat the crayfish, and what portion size would be appropriate for our group.
Needless to say crayfish tastes like little lobsters, but nevertheless, it’s not the value. I could eat crayfish for hours and the calories exerted to eat them would equal the amount of caloric intake. So I guess… yay for people on a diet?
The shrimp was fabulous. I think if anything someone should order pounds of that. And the corn that soaked in the bag was so tasty. But the thing I thought was the best on the menu was definitely the grilled catfish. It tasted amazing. If I ever go back, it’d be for the catfish.
All in all a good experience. I was the only one to fully utilize the bib in my group however, as I was the only one who ripped the shrimp apart so ferociously that splattered the juices all over the bib and my arm.
Also people in my group mentioned everything was a bit salty. But as I love salty foods, I thought it was perfect.