Address: | 1631 Capitol Expy, San Jose, CA 95121, USA |
Phone: | +1 408-532-6147 |
Site: | theboilingcrab.com |
Rating: | 4.4 |
Working: | 3–10PM 3–10PM 3–10PM 3–10PM 3–10PM 12–10PM 12–10PM |
NE
Nei Ng
I dont think theres anything I love eating more than seafood. I know all of my favorite fishes, crustaceans, and mollusks down to the exact species. I also enjoy eating with my hands so this place is on my good side already. Ive been to the Boiling Crab in Garden Grove a few times, and I recently ate here on my friends birthday. I would say this location is pretty comparable with the original. To sum up Boiling Crab, the sauce they make is good, but the seafood quality isnt always consistent. Sauce - Ive only had Whole Sha-Bang, and its pretty tasty. Its rich, well seasoned, and can be as spicy as you want it. Theres a big hit of garlic and celery seed/celery salt. Hmmm...I think its the big celery seed flavor that sets Boiling Crabs sauce apart from other garbage bag seafood places. Shrimp - I think every time Ive been to BC, our meals have been mostly shrimp. I like them better than the crawfish. Theyre sweet and have a firm, smooth texture. However, its not hard to run into bad ones that are hard to peel, rough, and/or chalky. They also tend to overcook in the bag so you have to eat them fast. Dungeness Crab - I think the meat of Dungeness Crab is a bit too delicate to pair with the sauce. The subtle flavor and sweetness gets lost in the sauces heaviness. On the plus side, the rich crab innards/fat/yellow goop makes a pretty tasty treat when scooped up with the sauce. King Crab Legs - Ive only had these at the Garden Grove location, but I dont feel like writing another review so Ill just talk about them here. They were always overcooked to oblivion. I would stay away from them unless you like stringy rubber. I wont factor this into San Joses rating. Clams - BC probably makes clams most consistently out of all the seafood they offer. Clams work well with more heavy handed ingredients, like in chowders and thick sauces. It makes sense that the clammy sweetness and chewiness also holds up well in the rich, spicy Sha-Bang sauce. Be sure to eat them fast so they dont overcook. Corn - Although I love seafood, I think the corn is the best part of BC. The sauce seeps into all the crevices in between the kernels, and each bite smothers your taste buds in a gushing burst of flavor. They should just change their name to The Boiling Corn. TL;DR: Good sauce. Ok seafood. Get corn. Wear old clothes. Get corn.
BE
Bedy Homes
I come from Texas where we only have one Boiling Crab and because of people who work there and the fact that they have the best flavor. In the recent years, the wait for it has been ridiculous so I havent gone in a while. I should also apologize now because I will be doing a lot of comparison to my BC in Texas. Moving to the Bay Area, I immediately wanted to know if the wait would be as long since there was more than one location. Luckily for me, there is not. Dont get me wrong, theres still like a one or one and a half hour wait on Saturday late lunch but considering the one I used to go to had a 3-4 hour minimum... Anyways, we arrived and put our name on the list then walked around the area. We headed back just in time that our table was ready. The service was about the same, young friendly kids, nothing spectacular. I ordered two pounds of crawfish (the whole shebang, medium spicy) and cajun fries while my guy ordered a pound of shrimp and a pound of crawfish. We came early crawfish season so they were a bit small but the flavor was still good and kicked a bit of a punch. The fries were fries with cajun seasoning, nothing to complain or rave about.
FE
Fei Li
The wonderful thing about temporary being located in the south bay is my access to a new plethora of restaurants. One of these restaurants that is not to be missed is The Boiling Crab! There is a certain je ne sais quoi about fresh seafood with wonderful lime, pepper, salt condiments all wrapped in a messy bag of spicy goodness. I simply cant resist it. What to Order Here: Shrimp (9.99/lb) Clams (9.99/lb) Sauce: The Whole Sha-bang or Garlic Butter Notes: 1. If you like spicy food, go with MED. XXX can be too spicy and distracts from the flavor of the seafood. 2. If you like toasty pepper flavor I would go with the Whole Sha-Bang, otherwise, Garlic Butter is great alternative. 3. I prefer shrimp to crawfish because you get more bang for your buck! Crawfish is much heavier in terms of weight and contains less edible meat per pound. 4. No reservations taken! Prepare to wait at least 40 minutes in line. Thankfully there is a Target next door (plan your shopping beforehand to save on time). See you in line!
ED
Edward Wu
This location of Boiling Crab seems to always be quite busy so if you arrive here around 630, be ready to wait at least 1-2 hours. There is a boba place nearby with seating for large parties if you need to kill time or head over to Target to do some shopping. I usually order 1 lb of shrimp, non spicy with the best flavoring, the Whole Sha Bang. I feel like shrimp is the best bang for the buck here since everything else like the crab has extra shell weight. The cajun fries ($2.99) are a good filler before or after the shrimp since you have to get full somehow. When I peel the shrimp, I make sure to dip the shrimp back into the Whole Sha Bang to get more flavor. I also add in a lime or two into the bag if i feel like its missing a little something. The best part about dining at boiling crab is the bib. Being messy while eating is encouraged so dont be afraid of diving into the delicious seafood.
SH
Sherry Li
First stop in our long weekend road trip of gluttony. And it was deliciously messy. Your table gets outfitted with thick drip-proof wax paper. And you get outfitted with a thin plastic bib that catches whatever juice that drips. Get ready for the onslaught of tasty crustaceans. We got 1 dungeness crab, 1 pound of shrimp and 1 pound of crawfish. Oh, and cajun fries. It was the perfect amount of food. Ive never had crawfish before, so I definitely wanted to try it. It was delicious. I personally prefer blue crab to dungeness (blue crab is sweeter and tastier), but they didnt have blue crab. I gotta say, dungeness crab has a lot of meat in its claws. We got the shrimp and crawfish in the whole shabang and the crab in the garlic sauce. Both were delicious. I really like the lime with the lemon pepper. Added a whole other dimension of flavor. Seafood heaven.
A
A Private User
When i crave for crawfish and have no one to go with...Ill just call for take out. Maaaannn...this place is the worst place to call EVEN FOR TOGO!!! I mean really?!?!?!!! Its either busy or no one will answer the phone!!! I have to sit and press redial for a good 30 minutes!! Then when they do pick up....ATTITUDE PROBLEM!!!!! Honestly??? If I didnt crave for crawfish the way I did...I would never EVER call this place. Plus...this place is waaaay OVER-RATED!!! Then when you want to eat there...you gotta wait like 2 to 3 hours!! Come ooon....AND you cant reserve a table!!! What the...??? If you do get a table...service is OK. All this commotion for WHAT though?!?!?!!! The flavor isnt that great! AND I just have to say it again...PHONE SERVICE SUCKS!!! booooooo!!!!! (gave 2 stars only because i LOVE crawfish!!!)