Shaking Crab (Boston Common)

Food was excellent and it was a great experience. They provide some gloves and an apron for your meal and it creates a fun type of experience to eat with your hands like this. We ordered the tray "deep ocean" which came with two lobster tails, two clusters of crabs, a ton of shrimp, two corns, and some potatoes. Although expensive, it was well worth it. The Cajun seasoning was excellent and flavorful. However, I do agree with some of the other reviews here. The place does feel a bit... Lacking in cleanliness.

12/04/2025 Went today to eat ,wanted 🦞 🦂lobster. Bought 2 of them they where nasty. They was hard and Yellow. Never had ate such a discussing thing. Couldn't even finish it. It wasn't even clean. Wow I think it wasn't even fresh. WHO EVER GOES THERE B CAREFUL 🧐. CHECK IT WELL BEFORE EATING IT. BUT I ADVICE TO GO SOMEPLACE WITH BETTER QUALITY

Shaking Crab MADE my visit to Boston so far. Simply AMAZING in every way. I’d read the reviews, and knew I had to come try the seafood. I wasn’t sure when I walked in the door. Decor is understated and casual is the theme. The floor is slippery (for obvious reasons) Shiggy gave me two bibs and two sets of gloves…that’s when I knew I was in for something good. I was amazed. Simply amazing experience tonight. Thanks Shiggy. You have great customer service. The seafood was so fresh and amazing…from The Alaskan king crab to The shrimps. I highly highly highly recommend the Shaking Crab . I hope to be back soon. UPDATE. My second visit was more enjoyable than my first. Shiggy remembered me and what I asked for my first visit. Very enjoyable. Fantastic food once again. It would be a Regular if I was close enough to make it that. Exceptional meal

This was my first time trying a seafood boil...it did not disappoint! Loved it! The staff was great and friendly! We had the date night option B and the Deep Ocean combo, both with the creole seasoning and a side garlic noodles. Every dish was delicious! Will definitely come back here again.

One of the Best Seafood restaurants in the Boston area. Awesome drinks except the margarita. The food was amazing. Cajun was the best seasoning. Crab, Lobster and Shrimp are too good. Corn and bread with Cajun seasoning is the best thing you will ever do to your taste buds. A little expensive but definitely worth it. I would recommend visiting this place. Thanks.

Everything was simply amazing! I had the whole lobster and my family had the shrimp and mussels. Super tasty and delicious!

Food was disappointing. The shrimp didn’t seem the freshest but was cooked well. The sauce lacked any salt so really didn’t have any flavor. Most places seem to use butter for the sauce base so I’m assuming the same here except it tasted nothing like butter, contributing to the lack of flavor.

Seriously overpriced, plate for “two” costs 96$ and the size of it is just about good enough for one person. Shrimp was super soggy, crab legs were great, lobster tasted old. Atmosphere is extremely mediocre for being Boston next to the park. It’s as if an old apartment was turned into a room with a kitchen in the back. Only pleasant thing was the server - she was very nice and friendly. Left with a 178$ bill - could have spent it at a much better restaurant. - don’t waste your money this place is garbage.

Really good seafood platters. Our server Shiggy was excellent. 10/10 service, would go again just because of that. The price was also decent for seafood in the middle of Boston

I went and got crab legs, Shiggy my server let me to think that a half isn't good enough so I bought two. If you can't eat that much that's definitely a mistake. It came with potatoes and corn, I really love corn so I got a side of their fried corn. I don't regret that at all, though I could eat less cuz it was so much food. I also got muscles and shrimp, the sauce I got was really good. I love this location because you get to look out at downtown while you're eating, and you can find parking actually. The servers are great and friendly. This was on a Super Bowl Sunday so there wasn't much people there but they did have the game on. I like that they cater to their customers.

The food was so good and came out really fast along with drinks! The service was efficient and attentive, and most importantly friendly. It was a cute view of the city and cemetery. The rating is way too low, great stop if you're in town!

This place is soo underrated! Their seafood boil is so affordable, so delicious and so juicy! We got 2 pounds of the shrimp head on, 1/2 pound of mussels, 1 pound of snow crab and a side order of the sausage. Plus a side of the garlic noodles. It came all in one bag with 1 corn and 1 potato. We got the SHAKING sauce medium level spicy and it was so flavorful and it has a good balance of flavor and spice. It comes with a lot of garlic and seasoning as you can see in the photo, they were piled right on top of the seafood! The shrimp and mussel were super big and juicy! It goes so well with the sauce!! The snow crab came in a big cluster of 5 and the meat was cooked just right. We shared all of this among 3 people and I think it was just the right amount for $22 per person. However, there was a big table of drunk people behind us and they were so loud and disturbing. The place is not that big, so they really took up lots of room and were really load. We sat right next to them and they really gave us a headache and it was hard for us to even talk to each other without yelling. I wish the employees could have handled them better or at all, but I understand how difficult it would be to control a big group of drunk people. That was our only issue but I hope this is just a one time instance and it doesn't happen often.

The food was great! Especially, the boiled bag with king crab, shrimp, lobster tail, potatoes and corn ( add on). The crawfish roll...not a fan but it was great because I had lobster roll and crab roll today to another restaurant. Service was good he obliged to request that we sat in the first floor because of medical reason. The shack was cool . Lighting was good too.

Overall rating: 5 stars, a hidden gem in Boston and my absolute favorite for seafood boil Food: seafood boil, calamari, noodles, we got the combo bag which could either be purchased in 1/2 pound bags or 1 pound bags. Our combo bag had shrimp, king crab legs, mussels, potatoes, and corn. Texture: the house Cajun sauce is gooey and delicious, it coats the seafood and sides beautifully Pricing: $35 for a half pound bag (you get a half pound of chosen seafood) Ambiance: There isn't much for ambiance, a few nautical inspired decor. The windows face Boston Common and lets a good amount of light in Seating & Parking: lots of seating, it's located above a cafe, no parking spaces Service: straight forward! Music: pop and country Bathrooms: men and women bathrooms Final comments: move favorite seafood boil spot, they empty your seafood boil into trays for easiest access

Great place!! Service and food was exactly what we wanted!! And to think we almost didn't stop in bc we say a 3.5 rating!! WAY TOO LOW!!!

Everything about this place is great. Fast prompt service. Drinks are great. The ambiance is fitting for a seafood place on the water. We did tuna tacos and clam plate. Clams were melt in your mouth and the raw tuna tacos were flavorful.

Good food. Good service. The ambiance was just blah like most places in Boston. I think it's a Boston thing. But I was able to watch the Celtics vs Heat on tv while I ate a late dinner after seeing Tracy Morgan comedy show that was being taped for HBO. The taste is different than similar restaurants in other parts of the country. I will admit that I like I had a choice of spiciness for my food.

I was disgusted after receiving my crawfish and crab legs only to find a roach in the bag of crawfish. I couldn't believe it. Makes me wonder about the sanitary conditions of this restaurant. I will never eat here or order from this place. I am beyond disgusted. I called to inform them and someone told me to email Simon, and they provided the email address. I emailed and sent pictures. No response. I have written a rating on Yelp in years, but I refuse to not share to prevent others from having a similar experience. I wish I could leave a 0 rating.

Great spot to nourish before reasonable walk to Theater District. Not a lot of seating. Would definitely make Reservation over weekend .

Super spicy good garlic sauce - Only thing must have less oil - But overall good food Cajun style served over -fresh seafood. Easy peel prawn with additional $- Just A bit unused to,as the view of the window while we are eating is cemetery maybe is normal over there - Good tasty spices food experience

We had a great time here with our 3 and 7 year old. Muscles and shrimps are superb. My kids loves all kids meals - even my husband. Will be back soon! And 4 of us for under $100!

Good EXCELLENT and Service, Riken, also EXCELLENT 5 Stars! We had the lobster roll, kid's catfish and clam chowder- all sooooo good!

Upstairs seating at the Shaking crab overlooking the Boston Commons with a/c was a pleasant experience. We had the Toasted lobster roll with tasty fries and a Cajun seasoned shrimp and snow crab boil. The whole experience of a shrimp and crab boil is messy but a good time. The waiters brought extra gloves, napkins and a wet towel at the end.

Shiggy is the literal best. We truly cannot emphasize enough how much we appreciate him. He has not 5/5 but 6/5 star service. This was my first time at Shaking Crab and I had high expectations coming from Los Angeles considering broils are super popular everywhere. Nice people really make a place the best. Shiggy stood out and was diligent manning so many tables and acting super quickly with our waters and gloves. His smile is so welcoming and you can tell he represents this restaurant impeccably well. He knew accurately around how many mussels or clams would come with half or full pounds. Thank you again Shiggy!! Ps the mussels, shrimp (head on), and crawfishes were our favorites with medium level Cajun sauce!!

I loved the food and the service The shrimp was fresh and tasty I went there several times, however sometimes the shrimp wasn't fresh enough but overall it's good to try it.

In town visiting, came across Shaking Crab since it was nearby and took a flyer on it. Happy to say food and service were great. Had the lobster roll and shrimp. Medium spicy was actually a little light but brought out the flavors better, not buried in hot pepper. Place was busy but our server kept up. Thumbs up!

The MOST INCREDIBLE seafood feast we have ever had. Worth every penny and more!! Shiggy was amazing and made our evening one to truly be remembered. His service was so wonderful, we had to ask if he was the owner! This man needs to be the face of this restaurant because they're both equally out of this world.

Food came out really fast, the seasoning was delicious! They gave us all the tools we needed, including bibs, gloves, wet wipes, trash bags, and shelling tools. There were lots of options for sauces and spicy levels. Only thing is that we got a lot of food but didn't feel full at the end

Shaking crab always hits the spot and is such a good price for the amount of seafood you're going to get. The only issue I had was that this location just isn't nice. It doesnt look very clean and the ambience is non existent.

My family and I really enjoyed this! Great seafood at a pretty fair pricepoint. Loved that they gave us bibs, gloves, and all the tools we needed. I liked that they put a wax paper (?) sheet over the table too for sanitary reasons.

Food was just alright. I had the fried catfish platter with sweet potato fries. The fries were good but the fish was not as crispy as I would like. The servers were very sweet and friendly but the place was very understaffed. The restaurant was less than half full but you had to wait a while to be shown to an empty booth. If service were faster then maybe it would be worth to come back to try their seafood boils since that's what they are known for.

Great service. Shiggy was great and very considerate as our server! It's the little things. Our food was good too!

Loved this place. I didn't know what to expect here before I entered, so I was a bit nervous. But everything went well. They have made everything so easy for the customers. Once you go in and find a table to sit, you will have to scan a code to see the menu. There are mainly 2 sections. 1. Shaking menu 2. Regular menu (Sandwiches, sides etc.) I don't see the point of going here and not having something from the shaking menu. Basically they give you a plastic bag that contains your order (meat/veggies/fish/crab/lobster + flavor + spice). They give you plastic gloves to protect your hands. Once you wear your gloves, all you have to do is dig in! I ordered the Shrimp + Mussels with their house flavor and max spice level. the flavor/sauce was spicy and delicious, although I would have loved more spice. The shrimp and mussels were fresh, well cooked and tasty. We also ordered a chicken sandwich, but it was not that good. Won't make that mistake again. Overall, a nice experience at Shaking Crab! Will go again to try some Crab/Lobster/Craw Fish!

My boyfriend's favorite place he's ever eaten. Go ahead, ask him! He loved how huge the pieces of crab were and loved being able to see the cemetery across the street from our table.

Delicious! Crab, shrimp and lobster was amazing!! Great services and the yummiest food!!!

Throw on a bib and dig in! Shaking Crab is a chain restaurant with five locations in Boston. The whole concept is that you pick your seafood, pick a sauce, and they bring the cooked seafood out in a bag. You don't actually do any shaking because the servers take care of that for you. They give you bibs, gloves, and seafood crackers to get right into the meat. It's a really fun experience because you have to work for your food! Two of us walked in for dinner around 730PM on a Saturday night before a show at the Wilber. There was no wait and we were seated right away. At this location they had a special menu with three different combos. (It's cheaper than ordering everything separately from the menu.) We picked the middle combo which included a choice of appetizer, two pounds of snow crab legs + half a pound of shrimp, two add ons, and one side. We had the fried oysters as the appetizer and they were delicious! They were perfectly fried and juicy on the inside and they came with two types of dipping sauces. For our seafood we added sausage and corn and selected the Shakin' sauce (house Cajun). For the side we ordered the garlic noodles. The Shakin' sauce was flavorful and mildly spicy. The garlic noodles were decent and worked as a filler. We ate everything and we were stuffed! Overall this is a great spot for a saucy seafood fix!

Fun place to catch up with an old friend (which is exactly why I was here). For 2 people, the waiter recommended 3 pounds of seafood or 2 pounds of seafood plus side dishes. My friend and I opted for 1 pound of mussels with medium Shaking sauce and 1 pound of crawfish with hot Seoul sauce. We got a side of sweet potato fries as well. Since we are quite thorough with eating seafood, we just sat there for a couple hours, shooting the sh*t as we devoured two pounds of sea critters. They do provide bibs (which saved our shirts) and plastic gloves if you want to be less messy. In terms of flavor, I think I slightly preferred the Seoul sauce, though both sauces tasted relatively similar. The "hot" level had a decent kick but not enough where I was gulping water, a good place for me. Sweet potato fries were cooked well but were bland (I think you can ask for seasoning but we just decided to dip them into the extra sauce in our bags, lol). Overall, I enjoyed my visit and would be happy to come back!

So, while ubering, we asked our driver about some places with good seafood and he mentioned this spot. The initial customer interaction from the host/waitress was awkward. She was very nonchalant and not very attentive. So we walked in around 2:57 in which she indicated that they don't ope til three and by the time we finished interacting with her it was 2:59 but we weren't seated about 3:10 but I digress. Long story short the service needs some work. There were others that checked in once that were much better. So what saves them is the food. I had the catfish basket in which I added cajun to the catfish and fries. It was very delicious. I was impressed. I think the portion size was little lacking portion wise compared to other places in a similar price point but it was good. I also tried some my friends lobster roll and it was so good and full of meat. It was seasoned well and the toasted butted bread it was served on was a nice touch. It was a good portion size. Lastly, I tried my other friends buffalo chicken tenders. They were good safe choice also.

I ordered the dungeonness cluster and clams. I think the portions were kind of small compared to other spots. May not recommend this combo since the clams are usually fallen out of the shell and can easily look like you're end up with very little. I think the sauce was more dominant with the melted butter. I ordered the shaking spicy and there was very mild spicy level to it. Also, the Shirley temple was very sweet. Too sweet for my personal preference. I would be open to given this spot a second try.

when i tell you... THIS IS THE BEST LOBSTER ROLL IVE EVER HAD. the price might be a bit tooo much in my opinion but due to the fact that this was soooooooo amazing, i might have to purchase again.

It was a bit too pricey so we left, as not what we were looking for that night in town but food looked like a good seafood broil to go visit. Reminded me of Louisiana's Cajun seafood broils.

So much food and so much seafood options. Definitely worth it to try here....their crab and lobster are great. Be ready to mess the table . Try everything.

Disappointing. Was hopeful we would have a reasonable meal, but turned up to a pretty empty place. Not clear where the restaurant was! Turned out to be on a 2nd floor. Menu only online and confusing. Food seemed overpriced for what we had. I'm sure I could find better value seafood elsewhere. This is basically a street-food place in a building. If it was street-food anywhere else on the world it would be 100 times better - consider finding somewhere else. (Plus the a/c cranked to sub-zero all evening)!

It was good testy food- thanks gays! Place is small... service is good! My daughter loves crayfish not me... Thank you for good time in restaurant I'm recommend for everyone! Thanks

TLDR: Cajun seafood in a warm bag Had a ton of fun eating at this place. Pick your seafood and have it presented to you in a bag full of spices of your choosing. Prices are fair and food is yummy. It's a bit of a mess and you get gloves to eat the food so don't show up in your tux unless youre a true pro at eating.

TOPICS COVERED: Customer Service (picture included), portion sizes, take-out experience, and bar service Twice I've come here to pick up food. The open dining area on the bottom floor is really small so I wouldn't recommend eating there unless you're with a small group. The first time I sat at the bar and got a drink, which was alright. The only unsettling thing was they duped my cup into a bucket, an actual bucket, of what appeared to be juice or a mixer. It was very odd. The food stayed hot until I got home which was a good 45 minute travel time. I always get the shrimp and snow crab with Cajun sauce. This time around the shrimp weren't cleaned! In the past, order from here and their Quincy location I remember having cleaned shrimp. Also the portion sizes vary, based on location. I find Quincy gives more than the Boston location. Yet this past visit on 7/26/19 they gave me a lot of shrimp (though unclean) and two clusters of snow crab....in the past I've received one. On my last visit 7/26/19 @ 4 pm My biggest upset was the customer service. Ordering before hand over the phone was a seamless process so picking it up should be just as easy. Not this time around. Though the host desk is literally two feet from the front entrance, I had to stand and wait watching the host text on his phone, while I was waiting to pick up my order. Luckily another server came by to help me out, otherwise who knows how long I would have been standing there. Also he remained on this phone the entire time I was there, only stopping (with the phone still in hand) to ring up my order through Apple Pay on the store iPad.

Went here for my friend's birthday and everything was perfect! She has a few dietary restrictions and they accommodated her without any issue and even gave her a free shot. I will say it was a little pricier than places I've been to before, esp because you have to order everything separately like corn and potatoes but the food and sauces were great. Def get the calamari appetizer, it's big enough to share for 3, maybe even 4 people and has fried banana peppers. My friend and I split a fishbowl and even though it tasted good, it was def low on alc so if that's what you're into, order something stronger. Server's name was Steven he was great!

The food was delicious, but we paid $80 for three people and we are all still hungry!! If you are looking for a great flavor and fresh seafood I would recommend this place, but it will be an expensive appetizer preceding your follow up meal at the Taqueria down the street.

Sunday 4pm Was excited to try this. Garlic noodles. Too oily too salty. Looks like they added a lot of soy sauce No crawfish that day Shrimp and clams Envie sauce. Shrimp was solid Clams were overcooked Shrimp and mussels Originally wanted to get shakin sauce but they accidentally gave us envie sauce. When we told the waiter about this he gave us a sauce on the side to make up for it. Thanks. Added potatoes. There were like five six small potatoes. Snow crab legs. Wasn't full with the above three so added this. Got it with Seoul sauce but came out tasting exactly like shakin??? I don't think I saw this in other photos or reviews but they give you a clamp (what do you call it??) to crack shells and another thing to scrape the meat, but fingers probably work better. Shell was soft and meat was mushy.....Not fresh As much as I don't prefer using straws, providing straws for the water make sense considering your hands are messy from eating Nice that they give plastic gloves but it gets prickled while eating so your hands will get oily and smelly anyway. They give you wipes at the end so it's aight. Sauces were not memorable and seafood wasn't up to par. This doesn't make me feel insulted but I couldn't get myself to give 3*

This was a great place and for our last night in Boston, it definitely hit the spot. Family friendly and service was great. Jennifer deserves a raise for her friendliness and attentiveness to details. We ordered the shrimp and clams combo with the envie, added sausage and corn. Just right for the kids and not spicy at all, but just enough flavors. The garlic noodles is a must. Highly recommend this place for locals and visitors!

Four of us shared two combo bags: 1lbs shrimp + 1/2lbs of clams and 1lbs shrimp + 1/2lbs of mussels. We added half a pound of shrimp, potatoes, and sausage to each of the combos and also ordered the BBQ wings as an app. We opted for the Seoul and Shakin for flavors but couldn't tell the difference between the two when we were eating.The shrimps were large and fresh! Surprisingly, we were all full by the end of the meal. I definitely recommend sharing with friends so you can all try the different flavors and seafood.

So so in love with this restaurant! My first time ever trying anything like this and it is now one of my favorites. This location is fairly new since it has only been open for one month and they sure left a lasting impression. Great selection of seafood, prices and drinks. Service: our waitress was very bubbly, gave us recommendations and earned herself a great tip. Eating here is quite unique as you won't be eating with forks, spoons or even plates. They set a sheet of white paper on the table, hand you a bag that brings wet wipes, gloves, a plastic bag and a bib. Everything is essential since eating will probably be pretty messy. I got the Argentinian shrimp with head off (this was an additional dollar). My flavor was "shakin" which was the house Cajun. For spice level I got hot. It was in fact really hot but, I enjoyed it a lot more than the medium spice. If you like a little bit of spicy but not too much I would go with the medium. My boyfriend got the blue crab, but he also wanted to add shrimp to it. Since you can add sides to your order the waitress suggested to get the "shake it up" as a side this included a 1/2lb of shrimp with a side of fries. Everything we ordered was perfect, a little messy but delicious. The flavor was my favorite part as well as the spice. Prices here are very reasonable. I feel as though we got a great deal for the amount of food we got. In my order alone, I got over 20 plus jumbo shrimps, talk about generous portions. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. I haven't been to the other locations yet, but so far this one takes the cake. The location is prime right in the middle of Boston common and for the great service I received I have zero complaints. I will most definitely be back again!

Cool concept. I love the put your phone down and enjoy some messy food and shared drinks. I was confused when I saw warnings about the "no phone" policy until I saw a massive spread of crab, bibs, sauce, sides and juices flying. So we made a reservation and still had to wait a bit so they definitely get busy and I would try for a reservation. Service was friendly but inconsistent. After we got our food we weren't really checked on. My spouse and his mom did not receive those utensils for cracking crabs. I grabbed them some where I thought they might be. They were slammed to be fair. I had some of the chicken strips, shrimp and crab. I love their concept of crab boil and choose your sauce, but I didn't think the flavors permeated enough. The chicken strips came with a heavy paste dumped on top so that flavor was weird too but the texture of the chicken was on point. Tables are kind of close together, so mind your juices a flyin. Sides were ok. Mac and cheese and coleslaw were standard. Overall, I love the fusion idea of NE seafood and Louisiana flavor, but this had me missing the gulfs crab. Cocktails and shareable drinks were crowd pleasers. My spouses mom had a great time and I have to give them props for that. Loud music and TVs just FYI. Parking is hard but it's in a good spot so I think T is expected.

This is your basic Cajun seafood restaurant. Quality food, decent portions, pricey bill... so it all came down to the quality of service. Our waiter seemed a little annoyed that we were taking so long to decide our orders, and then he disappeared after taking them down. In terms of food, we ordered 1/2lb of snow crab legs, 1/2lb of headless shrimp, and 1lb of mussels. For sides, we got Cajun fries, fried shrimp, garlic noodles, and corn. Everything was so good, but I wouldn't order the mussels because half of them couldn't be opened. We also ordered the Pineapple Express, which I would recommend if you're going with a big group and willing to spend $40 on drinks.

How exciting that a "boiling crab" style restaurant finally made its way to Boston! Haven't tried any of the other branches, but this was great. This just opened on Jan 23, so the service was still in its teething phase; it was little bit haphazard. Our servers were very pleasant though. We came at around 7 on a Saturday and there wasn't much crowd, probably because the place is barely a week old. Food itself was tasty! I had the combo shrimp and clam bag ($19), husband got the shrimp and crawfish ($21) and my friend got the snow crab ($23). Would recommend the add on of potato and corn if you are hungry. We tried the Shaking Crab and House Cajun, but I couldn't rly tell the difference between the two. The sauce itself wasn't overly garlicky or salty which I think can very easily happen. Spice levels were as expected: spicy is actually spicy and medium is medium. We also got some Cajun fries ($5) which was GREAT-- well fried chips with old bay seasoning. I'd definitely come back if I was craving a seafood boil. Pro tip: if you check in on Yelp, you get free garlic noodles. Extra tip: the sweet tea isn't overly sweet and didn't give me a toothache. Order one if you like iced teas. Enjoy!

The door sticks! We tried to open it but someone had to let us in. Came during a soft opening on 1/24. The place was empty. Our servers were really attentive and nice - our water/cokes were refilled and the food came promptly. My friend and I took advantage of the free garlic noodles with a check in on FB promotion. In addition we got snow crab legs, clams, and shrimp with sausage and quail eggs as sides. The quail eggs were dissappointing as they were cold and flavorless but the rest of the food was spicy and delicious!

This is Boston's best kept secret!!! If you are looking for a great seafood boil, this is the spot! and you won't break the bank. Definitely a place you must visit.