The Kickin’ Crab

This place definitely tops Boiling Crab.
There is no wait. The sauces are soooo much more flavorful. Service is quick and they’re friendly. PLUS!!! They have garlic noodles on the menu.
The garlic noodz have huge pieces of chopped garlic. Be prepared to bring a pack of gum if you have other obligations afterwards. Adding the noodles was too much for the meal but it made for great leftovers.
We got a pound of shrimp, kickin style, mild. The shrimp pieces are big and juicyyyyy. I got the crispy shrimp basket with cajun fries. we got an order of sausages and corn on the cob. The corn was mehh. I’d suggest to get the corn with whatever sauces/​toppings/​additions they recommend (it’s on the menu). Hidden gem for boiling crab lovers.

Kickin’ Crab is so much better than Boiling Crab! Twice I’ve been here, we only waited no more than 20 minutes. Spacious and quick, friendly service.
Garlic noodles portion is quite generous — good enough for 4! A must order. I like to dip the noodles in Cajun sauce. Yum!
The place to be to get your seafood fix!

Not going to lie but i do prefer this place over the BC. Came in for a group of 13 last Saturday we go seated right away since it was still early for dinner. The dinner went smoothly. Waiter was on top of it .
What surprise me that they didn’t char gratuity! *Thumbs Up*

I go here way too often for my own good haha. They never disappoint!
I order a pound of shrimp and cajun fries which is always on point. Other items that I think are p bomb are the raw and fried oysters!
I haven’t had a bad experience with them and I recommend this place over Boiling Crab bc the wait over there is like 10x longer. Although parking here can be a little tricky since it’s located at a small plaza.

Friday night seafood fix? You’ve got to kick it here!
You won’t regret it it because it’s a 20 – 30 minute wait as opposed to the 1.5−2 hour wait at boiling crab, AND their sauces are kickinn (better than BC but that’s just my opinion)!
My friend and I both got 1 lb of shrimp (market price is $ 10/​lb) w/​grilled and seasoned corn, and potatoes, as well as a basket of cajun fries (literally the cherry on top of any kickin meal). I’ve always tried the kickin style sauce but decided to do lemon pepper just for a lighter taste. I usually get all kickin extra hot and it’s a punch on the tongue but also a punch on the stomach.
Food was out hot n ready in a jiffy! My friend and I literally downed the food (and had leftovers). Cajun fries are always a hit – mildly spicy, crispy, not too thin/​thick. Shrimp tastes fresh and the shrimp head… juicy off the charts. Loove the corn – it literally soaks up the sauce so each bite is flavoriffic. Potatoes because… who says no to more carbs and extra goodies in your bag?
Not even a question if I will be back because I WILL be back. Not 5 stars because I was sad they didn’t have the garlic butter tilapia/​salmon plate at this location compared to the one in Irvine (maybe they changed the menu? Correct me if I’m wrong).

The very first time I had Kickin Crab, I wasn’t quite impressed. Of course Boiling Crab was the more popular place to eat some shrimp. But over the years, they’ve improved a lot! I’ve noticed they give out more chunks of sauce than Boiling Crab, as of recently at least. They go along with your order of shrimp and clams. The chunks of sauce go well with rice especially. And I also recommend adding sausages with your meal. I normally always get shrimp kickin style and cajun fries.

Shit. I feel like I’ve been converted. Boiling Crab used to reign supreme over my life until I utilized Unilocal and found that Cajun can be found elsewhere a.k.a. Kickin’ Crab.
Kickin’ Crab is located in a small plaza so there is parking, but just know that it might be hard to find when it’s busy here. Once you step it, you’ll see everything. All the tables are out so don’t think there’s another room or something because there’s not. What I like about this place is that they have sinks outside so you don’t really have to go all the way to the bathroom just to wash your hands.
My boyfriend and I came here on a Saturday night hoping to meet up with our old coworkers but instead they never showed so a group hang out night turned into date night. Not that we were complaining. We got here around 8:40pm and the kitchen closes at 9:45pm so we had a lot of time to eat. My boyfriend got 1lb of shrimp and a corn in their Kickin’ sauce and I got 1lb of clams in their Kickin’ sauce and an order of their Cajun fries and garlic noodles. Bro, it was about to go down.
Service was a bit slow at first. After being sat down and given a few minutes to look over the menu, it didn’t look like anyone was really our server. Eventually someone did come over and take our order and food came out relatively fast after that so that was good.
The food is good, guys. Like, really. Their sauce is somewhat different but still goes well with everything and honestly, you can pour some on the garlic noodles to bring it up a notch. For someone who’s sick of eating Boiling Crab, this was actually a nice surprise. My boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed his food, too. 1lb of shrimp doesn’t sound like much, but it was enough to keep him full and ask for help to finish the rest.
Overall, money well spent. Can’t wait to come back and eat some more. ;)

I had such a fun time here at my first crawfish boil!!!
1) There will probably be a wait. We waited about 15 minutes on a Sunday night around 7:30.
2) When we went, they were blasting the loudest EDM, which I thought was AWESOME because it really set the mood and made it seem like you were at a party full of delicious seafood.
3) We ordered 4 pounds of crawfish and 1 pound of shrimp. I could probably have eaten 2 pounds of shrimp just on my own! There are various sauces and spiciness levels. Personally I liked the sauce that was all the other sauces combined. The shrimp they gave you are HUGE and so juicy and delicious. Crawfish reminds me of itty bitty lobsters. They taste the same, but personally the work of peeling them off is not fun at all. I’ve never had cajun boil before but they give you giant plastic bags of seafood soaked in sauce. DELICIOUS. The sauce is so savory and garlicy.
4) Make a combo of ketchup and mayo. Then dip the seafood in. For some reason, this sauce goes so well the crawfish and shrimp! I also added lime and pepper, which really kicked it up a notch.
5) For sides, we just got potatoes (underdone and bland) and rice. Personally, I wish we had tried to garlic noodles.
6) Your hands will definitely get soaked and covered with sauce and seasonings. Just embrace it and know you’ll have to scrub your hands afterward. They do give you a bib in case of splashes, but I would wear short sleeves because long sleeves could keep running down.
7) Coconut escargots. They have snails here! Soaked in a creamy coconut sauce. They are also in the shell so you have to suck them out. They were fine, but again like the crawfish, there was just too little meat.
8) We paid about $ 90. Between 3 people, not bad!

SOLID CAJUN boil spot in a beachy atmosphere, what you’d expect for a casual seafood spot like this
we were lucky to come on a weekNIGHT so there was no wait
—combo with kickin crab spice: the spice level on this was PERFECT! at some places when seafood is not fresh or frozen you can taste the lower quality, but Kickin’ Crab was delicious!
NOTE: make sure you get a bib because eating with your hands gets messy

I’m not the biggest fan of crawfish but this is my place if I have to go for Cajun style food. Crawfish are just too much work to have a little piece of meat.
My go to here is the shrimp kickin style medium spicy. Medium spicy is the perfect level because it’s not too hot but does have a kick to it. The mussels are just ok because they tend to not soak up with spices so they aren’t as flavorful. Cajun Fries are really good. They are the shoestring style with a lot of flavor and very crispy. Garlic noodle are decent. The noodles aren’t that soft and the flavor doesn’t have as much garlic as you’d expect.
Overall it’s pretty good compared to all the Canjun places that are around. The service has improved since the first time I’ve been here. Just make sure you use the gloves and bibs they give you! Your hands and shirt will thank you later!

Before coming here for the first time, my group that consist of 5 people decided on Boiling Crab but we eventually found out that they were closed for the holiday. We ordered Garlic Noodles, Cajun Fries, Sweet Potato Fries, and 1lbs of shrimp for each of us. This should cost you around $ 80 something with 5 people.
This was as I said first time and I had no idea how Kicking Crab would be like because we only had Boiling Crab. For the Garlic Noodles, it was so delicious! They had the right amount of garlic and the consistency was tasty! I found out about Garlic Noodles from other reviewers on Unilocal!Both the Cajun Fries and Sweet Potato Fries were also good and I’d recommend it when eating these type of foods! Now onto the shrimp, it was very appetizing and pretty good! The shrimp seemed as though they were just caught and freshly made for us! Also, they were pretty big which filled me up! However, compared to Boiling Crab, I believe the seasoning was more on the sweet side rather than spicy but I think that can be easily fixed! Other than that, I had a great experience here with my group and the waiter took great care of us and answered our questions with great knowledge!
Wondering if I’ll come back here again? Well, I AM! Just because their spiciness wasn’t on point doesn’t mean I won’t come back. They satisfied our seafood cravings during this and introduced us to Garlic Noodles that we never had before! I give this restaurant a big recommendation if you’re in the area because it is worth it!

LOVE THIS PLACE!
I actually prefer kickin crab more than boiling crab because I never have to wait AND the service is always on point. I feel like their entire staff works as a team and they’re all willing to help each other out. I never have to ask for refills and the servers are always quick with our requests.
I always get the combo #1 (comes with 2 pounds of shrimp or crawfish and 1 pound of clams) w/​kickin style and medium spice. There’s a lot of food in this, so you can easily share this with three people or two if you’re really hungry. I believe this combo was roughly 37 dollars before tax and tip but it’s SO worth it. Also, do yourself a favor and get the Cajun fries! They’re super good and fried to the perfect level of crispness

I have to say that I currently like this place better than Boiling Crab!
It seems that Boiling Crab changed their sauce recipe recently, and it just didn’t taste very good at all the last time I went in December. So, we came here to Kickin’ Crab and we were so happy to try this place!
They REALLY pack in the pound of shrimp here! Whenever I got a pound at Boiling Crab, I wouldn’t get full. The shrimp here is bigger, and it seems like they give you more!
I also would recommend the Garlic Noodles. But they’re SUPER buttery, so definitely don’t get it just for yourself (it’s good to share with 3 – 4 people who also have ordered shrimp).
If you’re not a big eater, definitely get a half-​pound because the pound here is a LOT!

Came here on a Wednesday night and the wait time was only 10 – 15 minutes.
The sides here are amazing and a lot larger than Boiling Crab’s sides! We got the Cajun fries, sweet potato fries, and garlic noodle ($ 8.99). The fries lasted us until we finished halfway of our shrimps. And normally (with 5 people), we devour the fries way before the shrimps come at Boiling Crab. The garlic noodles were SO BOMB though. I will most definitely come back for the noodles.
The shrimps were pretty good! They were pretty big and each 1lb bag came with around 20 – 25 large shrimps ($ 11/​lb). The kickin’ sauce isn’t as great as Boiling Crab though. The sauce here is a bit sweeter than Boiling Crab and not as spicy or garlicky. My sister actually got a allergic reaction from the shrimp’s sauce that she never gets at BC. Perhaps it was the Louisana sauce that got her. But either way, it was really good here!

Not bad. 3.5 stars.
I came here with my cousin, and we were seated right away. We each ordered 1 lb of shrimp, and my cousin got medium spicy while I got spicy. We both agreed that the sauce wasn’t even spicy –_​_​– The sauce was pretty watery but the flavor was good. I love the cajun fries and garlic noodles!

Best bang for your buck as far as these types of restaurants go, in my opinion.
We ordered the garlic noodles, combo #2 with lobster, and an extra pound of shrimp. The garlic noodles are fiercely delicious. Smooth and buttery (?) to line your stomach before the main event. Combo was totally worth it, in my opinion. They didn’t have crawfish when we went, but they more than made up for it in shrimp and clams. Sauce is just like Boiling Crab — so good, I was tempted to take the bag home with me! Shrimp was fresh and peeled super easily. Clams were a nice size, too.
Service was speedy and friendly, which is just perfect for this kind of environment. If you’re a pansy like me, they can provide you with gloves and/​or an extra bib. Will definitely come back here!

Boiling Crab is where I would usually find myself when it comes to cajun seafood but sometimes I don’t like waiting more than one hour for my food!
I’ve been here on several occasions but I suppose it’s time to give it a review.
Came here on a Tuesday night and the place was packed but was not overly crowded. We wait roughly 15 minutes for our party of six. Once seated, we were handed the menu and our waiter was quick to take our orders.
I got the one pound of shrimp with kickin’ style and medium spicy. I also ordered garlic noodles for the table to share.
Within 10 minutes our food came out and we were ready to dig in. The sauce here is slight different than Boiling Crab. It’s more sweet than savory and with not as garlicy (sad face). The shrimp were a hit or miss in my bag. Some were nice and crispy while other ones were overly cooked and mushy (yuck!).
The garlic noodles were still amazing though. Noodles were cooked perfectly and the amount of garlic used in the noodles were on point. Also, there was tons of butter used in the noodles (YES, BUTTAH).
This is a pretty good place to try cajun food but it’s personally my favorite. I suppose I’m a forever faithful Boiling Crab fan…

Forget Boiling crab and Crawdaddy. I’ve found my go-​to-​place for my seafood craving and it’s all because of the garlic noodles. I personally can’t tell the difference between the sauces at all three of these establishments so there had to be something special for me to pick this place out of all three. Again, those delicious garlic noodles! Best I’ve had any where and I would never have thought so if I hadn’t tried it myself. They looked so plain and boring initially, but the flavors and consistent was so good. I am a noodle fiend and I love this so it is obviously good. lol
Honorable mention: the fish tacos were better than I expected actually. It’s a good option for those who don’t feel like eating out of a bag. hehe
Great, fast, friendly service. Comparable pricing. I’m coming back. It’s so nice to have a place like this on this side of town.

Two words: GARLIC NOODLES!
My favorite place out of all of the cajun seafood places in the bay area!
Go-​tos
— If you couldn’t tell already… GARLIC NOODLES!!! Eat it by itself or even better, have some sauce dabbed/​soaked on it!
— Shrimp in either kickin style or garlic butter, mild! Love the sauces here. very flavorful and they’re tastiest here!
— Adding corn and/​or sausage
— Cajun fries
— Combo deals are great for bigger groups! You can get a better variety and try a little bit of everything. I like the combo deals for the clams and mussels, along with the fun add-​ons of the sausages/​corn!
I’ve waited from 5 minutes at times to 45 minutes at times… I guess it all depends on what time you go. Service has always been friendly. My only gripe is they haven’t opened one in SF yet! =P

This place really deserves a Unilocal review since I’ve visited over 11 times already!
I prefer this place over Boiling Crab any day! I think the sauce tastes a lot better, the garlic noodles are heavenly, and you don’t have to wait as long which is a plus! My favorite items to order are the Garlic Noodles (of course!), Crawfish (when it’s in season), Cajun Fries, & the Clams!
The Garlic Noodles are the best you can find in San Jose. It’s definitely made with lots of butter and not good for your cholesterol, but I promise you it’s worth it. As for the seafood, I recommend trying it with the Kicking Style sauce. It’s just amazing and so addicting! Also be sure to wear some raggedy clothes since it gets really messy eating with your fingers.
Parking can be a little tough here since the parking lot is a bit small. Depending what time you go, there can be a bit of a wait as well. Not as long as Boiling Crab’s wait though! If you’re also eating with a big group, I recommend sharing a combo meal. It’s definitely worth the money! :)