The Boiling Crab

I visited on Friday evening and waited about an hour to get a table. It was my first time here, and I was pretty excited to try it. Honestly, the food didn’t fully meet my expectations, but the ingredients were fresh. Overall, it was a decent experience I’d say it’s worth visiting once to see what it’s like.

Food: If seafood is what you're craving, then this is the spot for you. It's so scrumptious. 😋 A great addition to the menu is the chicken strips, for those who don't wish to have seafood. The staff is always amazing and very attentive. I love that they provide you with bibs and gloves as an option. As far as the atmosphere goes, it's a super chill vibe. It feels like everyone is just in their own little bubble (table), with no judgment on how people are eating, because things can get messy. 😆

We visited The Boiling Crab in Los Angeles in 2025, and while there are a few things you should know before you go, this place is absolutely worth it if you love bold, flavorful seafood and don’t mind a bit of a wait. Parking Let’s start with parking—because in LA, that’s always half the battle. The good news? There’s plenty of parking in the underground structure, and Boiling Crab validates your ticket for up to $15. So even though the garage might say $20, you’ll only end up paying $5 out of pocket if you dine in and get it validated. That’s a solid perk and makes the trip much more stress-free. The Wait Now, here's the downside: the wait time. Expect to wait anywhere from 1 to 2 hours to be seated. That’s right—even on weekdays or slower times, this place draws a big crowd. And honestly, it makes sense—the food and experience are just that good. That said, come prepared: Get on the waitlist early if possible (call ahead or check if Yelp Waitlist is available). Bring your appetite and patience—you’ll need both. During the wait, the area offers a couple of great spots to explore: 85°C Bakery Café is right next door—perfect if you want a little pastry or iced coffee while you wait. HoneyMee, a Korean-style ice cream shop next to the bakery, is also a fun stop. Their desserts are top-notch and great for killing time. The Food Once you're seated, it’s game time. The seafood is phenomenal. We ordered: Lobster, shrimp, mussels, and clams – All cooked to perfection. Their signature seasoning mix (“The Whole Sha-Bang”) – Bursting with flavor, spicy, garlicky, buttery goodness. Steamed rice and Cajun fries – Great side pairings to balance out the rich seafood. Appetizers and soups – Also flavorful and generously portioned. Whether you're a fan of spice or prefer something mild, you can customize your order to your heat tolerance, which is a nice touch. The seafood is fresh, the sauces are bold, and you’ll want to lick your fingers when it’s all over—and that's encouraged here, given they give you gloves and bibs for the full messy experience. Service & Atmosphere The staff is friendly, fast, and attentive. Whether you need more water, extra gloves, utensils, or anything else, they’re quick and polite, even during the rush. The atmosphere is casual, loud, and fun—perfect for groups, friends, or even family outings if you don't mind a bit of a mess. Final Thoughts Pros: Incredible seafood Excellent service Fair parking situation with validation Casual, fun vibe Great nearby snack options during the wait Cons: Long wait times (plan ahead) Not much else to do nearby if you don’t want sweets If you’re looking for a top-tier seafood boil experience in LA, The Boiling Crab delivers big time. Just don’t come starving and expecting to walk right in—this is a place worth waiting for. Highly recommended! Just be strategic with your arrival time, and maybe grab a sweet treat while you wait.

Everything we shared in our group — snow and Dungeness crab, shrimp, lobster, and veg — were delish. The vibe was amazing, everyone around us was having a great time. And the service team was the absolute friendliest, helpful, and overall great set of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting! Honestly! You can’t miss with choosing this spot.

This food was really good! The sauce was amazing! I ordered the snow crab boil and fried shrimp basket was an appetizer… delicious! The food came out fast although, the wait was like an hour -service was good. I spend around $78

Unbelievable experience for me today and my girlfriend. We were really craving boiling crab and decided to order some take out for the house . When I picked up the order , the lady helping me was really nice and went over my order and I noticed I was missing 1 rice order . Although she did tell me I only paid for 1 , I agreed to pay for another one and she did charged me for it . When I get home I noticed I was missing the extra order of rice that I paid for after . When we sat and took out our order , we noticed we were missing 1 order of rice :((( we were really disappointed . I ended up calling boiling crab to explain my situation and notify them about my concern . All what “Allen” did over the phone said I’ll just refund you the order of rice . That got me more disappointed because how is that your answer to a guest that’s disappointed. He also gave me the option to drive back to pick it up but I live far away so there was no way for me to go back . So I got really mad and responded that it wasn’t necessary to get my refund back (It was only $2.50) just told him I was leaving a review of my bad experience and I’m never coming back again . I also tipped to not get my full order :(((((((((( Order at 12/19/25 @8:27pm #3883

Ordered for pickup and had a great experience! The girls at the front were really nice and welcoming. Plus, the shrimp was absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be back!

Hey, you guys... So I ordered online and went to pick it up. The parking wasn't bad when I arrived, just a lot of homeless people walking around and it smells like pee before walking up those steps. The atmosphere is ok because it is on Wilshire and Normandie, but the inside is nice, and I walked right to the counter no line. The food looked ok. When I got home, the food just wasn't as seasoned as I like. And the shrimp wasn't juicy. The crab legs were big like I liked, but the flavor just wasn't where I needed it to be. I spent like 216.00. At this point, these restaurants have been just taking my money and serving mediocre food. I had to hook this meal up so I added the noodles for some extra flavor and an egg and of course some lemon.

No need to explain Just go eat it. It's lil way spicy for me so I need to order mild next time. If you like seafood and spicy food. This is your spot.

Pretty solid spot located in Koreatown. Keep it mind that there will be a decently long wait for a table during peak hours, but I went to the soju bar nearby to pass some time. Food itself was pretty good. Not the best seafood boil I've had, but definitely satisfied the craving. I got The Whole Sha-Bang! sauce which was pretty favorable but next time I would add more spice.

Off the bat the service from every single employee was outstanding super cool staff 10/10 I tipped 2 different waiters/waitress $10 each cause they attended to myself and my sister good. Now to the food I ordered a pound of shrimp, with sausage, and boiled eggs: the whole shebang (mild) and a side of Cajun fries. The food was so bland like it had no flavor and the fries were like over cooked cause they were hard and not even crunchy can't really explain it and I didn't even enjoy or finish it I asked for a to go box cause my stomach was feeling upset after 30 minutes of trying to stomach the food. I paid $72.98 plus the tip but the food wasn't it today sorry. It's pretty loud in there but really clean and it was busy so show up early! My sister didn't wanna complain so she forced the food down and apologized to me cause it was her idea and I said it's ok maybe next time we might try it. Honestly it wasn't worth $72.98 it was pretty mid and flavorless I was expecting everything to be good but it wasn't. Your customer service is amazing keep that up but the food needs work I asked for a receipt and was never given one and called to speak to management but I couldn't get through

Server kept asking about a tip all during the meal. I usually tip more but only tipped 15% this time. Next time they mention a tip I am leaving 0 Food was great as usual

The only location that gets the flavor right! I always crave their shrimp with rice -- it's my go-to! We always order the same: shrimp with mixed sauce, potatoes, rice, sausage, and corn. Try making a rice ball, dipping it in the sauce, and topping it with shrimp -- best flavor ever! The only "problem" is you'll want more rice because it's so good. Their servers are always super friendly too!

Good customer service super friendly tiff been our server whenever we are here thank you for your vibes and energy

Great gumbo! Big enough to be a full meal-- especially w a side of fries. ;) If you order Gumbo with rice they just give a tiny scoop inside, so if you want a more hardy meal maybe order a full side of rice. I don't eat too much seafood, so I passed on the boil (my friends enjoyed it a lot!), but they have other menu options like chicken tenders, fried shrimp, and gumbo, for those like me. Great upbeat ambiance and super quick service! The bags came out in a heartbeat.

Yay one of my best friends who moved to Texas finally came back to LA for just one day to visit and while we were gonna go out to Eastwood after dining here, they had to move on to going to Vegas. But in the interim, we still gotta enjoy a meal we were all highly anticipating, Boiling Crab! We went with mild the whole shebang, which is one of the best sauces they have here for the seafood that they put in their bags. The mussels we got were full of flavor and boiled to the perfect temperature. While the shrimp were hard to peel and did end up poking my friend's finger, they were big and full of flavor as well. A lot of the sauce just sticks into that head area and it's really good to get that flavor there. Then the snow crab, which was my first time ordering it, tasted really similar to their king crab. Could hardly tell a difference, but it's definitely not the same amount of meat. One downside I would say is that if you do want king crab, with the prices nowadays, that's definitely going to cost over $100 for an order... My ex wife and I used to get king crab at boiling crab, along with other things, for under $100... Now that's not even possible anymore, which kinda sucks. The sausage we got which isn't pictured was good and full of flavor. What I liked a lot was the corn. The corn just has the right amount of steam to it that each bite bursts with flavor and when mixed with the seasoning, that taste is just so memorable. The potatoes were good too. I don't know why, but whenever I come here, I always want the fried catfish too. I think when it comes to fried fish, boiling crab does it right too. Our server was so kind and attentive and made sure we got everything we needed. The wait was only 10 minutes and the ambiance here is always fun with how many people are just honed in to their exciting meals and just going at it. I'm happy I came and look forward to coming again. Jennycat also enjoyed wearing the bib when I got home! Meow.

Awesome food and service. The host was very fun and good at his job. His name started with a C I think... very funny guy. Our waitress was very nice and patient with us. We ordered medium spice and our mouths were on FIRE so be careful lol. Everything was still super delicious and you can't beat the price. The area is a little odd to navigate. A lot of cars are just stopped in the middle of the road. There's underground parking that can be validated, it costed us $5 to park. The restaurant itself was on the smaller side, but still made for a great dining experience. I can imagine it gets busy on weekends

The experience was great we did wait about 1 hr and 10 minutes or so. Once we got in the server was very attentive and our food didn't take very long as we both were very hungry lol.. There was some good music being played while we ate. The food was delicious I ordered a pound of crab legs, the sha bang bang shrimp, potatoes/corn and a order of fried oysters which were seasoned nicely and fried just how I asked for them to be. 10/10 Tuesday night experience. Full and happy!

As a seafood boil lover, this experience disappointed me. Got 1.5 pounds of head on shrimp, 1 pound of frozen crawfish (they did not have live ones), and 1 pound of snow crab legs. This was after waiting for 1 hour to get a seat. The flavor of the Shebang sauce was amazing and truly made the meal, but the seafood was heavily underwhelming. The shrimp was very hard to peel - likely because it was slightly overcooked. The crawfish was good but I could tell it was frozen; unfortunately I could not get the live ones. The snow crab legs were probably the worst - for some reason they were VERY salty, so much so that I couldn't even finish them. As a whole, the meal was still good, but definitely not worth the price at all. I highly recommend not getting the snow crab legs. Nevertheless, the service was great and it's a family friendly environment.

One of my favorite places in LA. Definitely come with friends so you can eat more...I eat until I'm so full I feel like throwing up every time And come early because the line is insane!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I came in on Saturday January the fifth to grab a fish dinner some corn and potatoes. The cashier was very nice. My food was delicious. Thanks for making my experience with you wonderful.

Great food, great customer service. Location is very busy and parking is hard for come by. But overall a great experience.

We were seated right away for a Party of 2 at 5:30 PM on a Wednesday Night. The Sha-Bang 1 Lb Shrimp, with Eggs, Sausage & Corn! With some rice & Calamari. My bf got Snow Crab & Clams & Potatoes. Also Half-Dozen Fresh Oysters and 1 Soda. Very flavorful and worth the money. Total was $122 Before Tips. Flavor is 10/10 Service 10/10 Will come back again if we're ever in LA!

I love this Boiling Crab location! Although the wait can be long, it's always worth it. What earned this five star review though, was Joshua's exemplary and phenomenal service. He was so attentive, kind, and really went the extra mile to make our experience 10/10. Thank you Joshua for being the MVP of servers! We will be back very soon!!

We came here with a big group of 16 people, and they accommodated us with no problem at all. From the moment we walked in, the staff was friendly, welcoming, and very attentive. The service was fast and efficient, even with our large party. The food was absolutely amazing--everything was fresh, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned with that signature Cajun kick. We ordered a variety of seafood boils, and dish was a hit. The sauces were rich and tasty, and the seafood was cooked just right. It's hard to find places that can handle big groups and still deliver great service and food, but this place nailed it. Highly recommend it if you're craving delicious Cajun seafood and a great dining experience with friends or family.

Everything.!!!! The food was fresh and was nice and HOT. The temperature was perfect and as usual you'll need a doggie bag

Stopped by here last weekend for a party of 3 around 7pm. We signed up for the waiting list and said it'd take about an hour. We walked around the plaza and hmart across the street to kill time. Ordered 1lb of shrimp for $16, rice for $2.50, and a basket of crab fries (half order) to share $9. Their medium sauce was pretty good! Wish they added more garlic to the sauce like Crab Hut. The shrimp and crawfish were huge compared to other seafood spots I've tried. Definitely would come back!

Food was out super quick and delicious Ana was our server very friendly and positive attitude Love how they have TVs on Restroom was clean

Food was delicious, atmosphere was calm and relaxing. We went during the week so parking lot wasn't full. FYI they have a parking structure that they validate for, but you still end up paying around $4-5 bucks. Depending the hour, might be better to park on the street if you don't want to pay. Service was great, everyone was welcoming and kind. Our waiter immediately got our orders and was constantly making sure we didn't need anything. Refreshing to be around staff that don't make it seem like they hate their job.

It was so good service waaaaaaaas so good best crab legs ambience was so good and nice people .

It's always a wonderful experience with warm vibes and attentive customer service. Arriving early is helpful since it can get crowded, but parking is convenient, especially when you can validate. Overall, it's a lovely place with delicious food that makes you feel cared for.

Great food, great customer service and what's more important how you have been greeted at the entrance and host Ayessa was amazing so nice and friendly. Gave us great spot and took care of us. We had a great talk and she's been very helpful and nice. Ayessa is real MVP.

Goshhhh how amazing is this place! Honestly super affordable too , I've paid so much more for much less , defff a favorite

Jay was so kind and had good energy when taking our order. Always made sure our table was satisfied. 10/10 service! (: Also miches should be part of the menu!!

Service was great seafood was fresh. Wait time little long, but worth it why are you waiting gorcross that have a couple of drinks, the time will go by quickly. Enjoy the one you're with or with a group.

Worst boiling crab location ever for takeout. Do NOT order take out from this boiling crab. Im a local here in Ktown who typically enjoys boiling crab, however at this location I've had way too many complications and bad experiences to the point where I have to write this accumulation of reviews. And again, Specifically for their takeout part of the restaurant. To summarize all my complaints for those who don't want to read the specifics lol: they have extremely inconsistent recipes( specifically for their whole Shabang sauce which is all I can speak on since that's all I ever get) , their Asian male manager is so rude, their workers at the register don't properly do their job when confirming your order, AND a general con for this location is their parking situation. Don't gamble with your money at this location because clearly their chef in the back can't keep a consistent flavor for their most popular sauce. I'm going to start with the first bad experience I had with them; I ordered takeout over the phone and asked for my usual; half a pound of shrimp whole Shabang non spicy. Because of the tough parking situation, when I went to go pick it up, my dad had to go receive my order while I had to make laps around the block due to there being no parking. All was fine until I got home and tried my food. I disappointedly realized they gave me spicy instead of non spicy, which normally I wouldn't have bothered to complain about but It was genuinely too spicy for me to tolerate. I called the location and asked to get the right order; in which they first had to check their cameras to confirm that they messed up. Apparently, the manager said that there was no mistake on their part, but when I checked my receipt, I realized that they never wrote done non spicy, they put spicy. So the worker who took my order through the phone ended up writing my order wrong. It was annoying but I do understand that mistakes happen, I wasn't even too mad about it. Ultimately the manager said if I brought in the messed up order he'd give me my original order . But the manager also claimed that the workers at the register are trained to go over your order before handing it to you to prevent things like this from happening. since my dad was the one who picked up my food,he didn't know the exact specifics to my order like I did, so I thought that it was partly our fault. HOWEVER, I immediately spoke to my dad and he told me that they NEVER even mentioned the spice level like how they're supposedly trained to do. And I WAS able to confirm that they weren't doing their job right when I went in myself to receive my revised order. I kept a close eye on how the workers went over other customers orders to prove my point, and I was right. None of the workers went through all the specifics of the orders( lacking to mention the spice level EVERY SINGLE TIME) . So clearly as the manager, he's not doing a great job at managing and making sure his workers are doing their jobs PROPERLY. And again, While I was there to pick up my revised order, The manager brushed passed me to get behind the counter and was immediately so cold. Barely acknowledged me and even had some attitude. The overall interaction was so unprofessional and rude. I wish I could go into more detail about this second bad experience but there's a word limit. Ultimately, I noticed again that these workers don't confirm your order PROPERLY like they should be doing ‍, and I had ordered 3 pounds of shrimp whole Shabang non spicy but when I tried it, it was definitely the wrong spice level. I had to drive back to the Location cuz I had spent 65$ on this shrimp. I spoke to the manager and she said there were no mistakes at all on their part, which led me to the conclusion that they just don't have a consistent recipe like they should be having. Like I'm paying for a certain flavor that I normally love but they're making it a different way, which is so unfair for customers. Overall I'm really disappointed at this boiling crab and I definitely won't be back. I'd suggest going to the Alhambra location because in my experience, everything always goes smoothly there!

Shout out to the take out team for never messing up my order, and the food always being DELICIOUS! Boiling crab is and always has been number one. :)

Great food great service i'm always satisfied with what I order and they bring it to you right away. The ambience is very nice. I always got sports going, which is one of my favorite is.

First time here tonight with my family and it was such a great experience.. The staff was very friendly and helpful Our server Josh was very patient & explaining everything.. He answered all my questions and didn't mind at all.. The food was delicious We loved everything about our experience at Boiling Crab tonight .. Josh was very friendly & attentive We will be back soon!

I stopped by last night, I placed my Order with the waitress I asked for 1.5 pound of shrimp, two sausage links, 3pc potato, and 2 rice When my rice came in, I tried it and both of the rice were like stale or old, they were very hard, when my food came in I was missing one sausage link, I let them know and also about the rice they replaced both, when they brought the sausage link they brought the wrong flavor, I let the waitress know and she rudely cut me off saying "that's why I double checked with you" without even realizing I was only talking about the sausage that they had recently brought and not the whole order, when she realized it was just the sausage she said "oh the sausage" and took it back and replaced it, but over all horrible service and experience

Great food and atmosphere. Usually always busy and they might need more help since the service can take awhile. Food comes out quick but might have to wait awhile for a second or 3rd drink. Men's bathroom was very small. They have a to-go area right next door. Street parking is metered at 15 minutes for 25 cents but street is always busy. Parking underneath with validation for a few dollars for first couple of hours.

This spot was good, we got seated quickky and our waitress Ana was super cool. Lijed that food came out super quick and it was very tasty. Ambiance was cool too, i enjoyed watching soorts on the many tvs they had.

We ate there on Saturday at 5 pm. My brother joined the waitlist on yelp and they seated us within five minutes of arriving. The food was delicious as always. This is probably the best service boiling crab that I've been to. They are very attentive and super nice. The bathrooms are small and I'm used to having an area where you can wash hands.

The service was great! We waited about 30 mins on a Tuesday night to be seated. Once we ordered the food came out very quickly. The waitress was friendly and helpfu. W Also, there's parking downstairs. We paid 5 dollars with validation and it's better than driving around ktown when you're hungry.

Great Food! We had shrimp with rice. The ambience was great - ship and fishing theme. The service was great and friendly. The food was delicious! The only downside was the wait time, we were a group of 4 and waited for about an hour. It was a weekend and we arrived early like 6.30ish. Will recommend booking in advance. It was totally worth it!

We waited 1 hour to be seated on a Thursday evening. The restaurant was packed inside and out with people waiting to be called. They take your number and text you when your table is ready so you can go walk around and come back. The servers and host are really nice and explain everything to you. The food comes out as it's prepared I just wish all my food came in the same bag together and not separately. I ordered shrimp, potatoes, snow crab.

Great service, only 30 minute wait time on a Saturday. The server was really nice and attentive. Food was delicious .

The food had me sick & I had to go to the hospital. I believe they were rushing and gave us old food due to the time that we arrived which was closer to closing time.

Boiling crab always hits definitely worth the Waite recommend the shrimp with the whole shebang and fried calamari!

Service and ambiance is great. The food was delicious. Only thing is that once we were told we were gonna be seated, we had to wait a bit more. but besides that great.

I've been here twice now an 1.5 hour before closing and I was not allowed in. I can understand if it was 30 min before closing, but 1.5 hours before? I won't be coming back.

Always good, well.. only bad once (so far)... besides that always good. I always grab to go... I always get medium spicy whole shebang... so delicious. I appreciate the extra lemon and wax paper. Good place... and great sauce. Worth eating at...

I made a reservation, waited the almost two hours for them to tell me my name was not on the list!

Got on the waitlist and it said we were 4th in line. Walked in and got seated RIGHT away. Service was great and quick! The food was amazing!

Dear Mr The Boiling Crab I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to express my concern regarding the wait times I have experienced recently when seeking. I waited over an hour to be sat with my party of 6 while a huge party of 10 got seated before us. When my party of 6 arrived an HOUR earlier no BS OVER HERE. This has impacted my overall experience, and I believe that improving wait times could significantly enhance customer satisfaction. I appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to seeing improvements. Thank you for your time. Best regards, The Diddler

Food is always a 10 out of 10, this place never fails, the only reason I'm not giving it a five stars because the wait here is always insane. I've waited 2 1/2 hours to be seated before, but as much as it sucks, the food's made it worth it. Like any other boiling crab it's loud but not too loud. You have sports games playing and servers are coming around asking if you need anything every 10 to 15 minutes so extremely accommodating! Would recommend to anyone as long as you have the time to wait.

My daughter and I love this place! She gets to get messy while eating healthy. It's truly a bonding experience if you eat with your hands The service is great and so is the food. Not to mention that their prices are fair. The only thing I would suggest if you go there on the weekend, is to get there early and not at lunch time. You can be waiting for a little bit it's definitely worth it!