Claws

Claws is my favorite Cajun shrimp restaurant the shrimp are Big and delicious Is way better than boiling crab everyone is super nice and they always get my order right our food is always hot and fresh I love the garlic fries and the butterfly shrimp it come with a delicious sauce, they have a full bar and their micheladas are the best me and my husband love coming here at least once a month they also have other food in their menu unlike the other place the restaurant is always clean.

Came here on a Saturday night for my mom’s birthday because we wanted to try some other place than Boiling Crab. I’m pretty skeptical trying similar boiling crab places because they tend to not be as good but I was pleasantly surprised with Claws.
There was no wait and plenty of parking when we arrived. I liked how they had the combo deals. We went with the 5LB meal deal which came with 5LBs of seafood and 3 choices of appetizers. They charge you extra to separate the types of seafood in different bags.
We got 3LBs of shrimp, 1LB of clams, and 1LB of crawfish. The crawfish was kind of on the smaller end and they charge $ 1 extra for the live crawfish — which i thought was kind of weird. I love getting clams at these places but I feel like its never worth it because you basically just get a bag of shells! We went with the cannonball seasoning and i would say it was pretty close to the boiling crab flavors!
For the appetizers we got the chicken rolls, the bacon wrapped shrimps and cajun fries. The fries were fried to perfection, where they were soft and crispy at the same time YUM! The bacon wrapped shrimp was to die for they had a cheese filling with honey mustard too bad there were only like 4. Our server recommended the chicken rolls and they were just okay, sort of like an egg roll with chicken in them, eh.
Overall I liked this place and would come back!

My favorite crawfish joint in OC. Come here if you are a garlic lover cause your breath is sure to smell after eating their sauce. They have moved to a bigger location since their opening. Luckily it’s in the same plaza so there shouldn’t be as long of a wait. Like most crawfish places, I recommend getting their shrimp (with the sauce that includes everything… don’t remember what it’s called) and their Cajun fries. They also have good combos that include some appetizers along with different kinds of seafood. It is a little pricier than their competitors down the street but their flavors are bold and well worth the cost.

3.5 stars for the food itself, but the service bumped it up. Water was always full, and they helped you with your bib which was nice.
The food was good, the sauce isn’t as good as some others, but their Cajun fries was pretty good. In addition, their shrimps were pretty good size as well. Be careful of the mild, because it is still spicy.

The cannonball sauce is better the shabang. Crawfish and clams were so yummy but some clam shells were empty. Shipwreck appetizer is a must have. For HH come between 4−6PM Mon-​Fri and get the 2lb mixed seafood bag for $ 20. Gumbo was also super yum. Will try more when I come back like fried frog legs and loaded garlic asada fries.

How I heard of this place: My sister! She had been raving about the «shrimp buffet» since I visited two years prior. This time, we weren’t to be swayed from our path to shrimp.
Type of cuisine: Cajun.
«Since founded in 2007, our mission has never changed: To serve high quality cajun cuisine at a great price. We guarantee we have the best Louisiana Crawfish and Cajun Seafood in town. Whether you’re craving seafood or not, we range from seafood to steaks to pastas to soups, assuring that you will find a meal that will satisfy your cravings. Come aboard and join us for an unforgettable adventure and „Let The Head Sucking Begin!“»
Ambiance: A little kitsch. A lot of space. Clean and shiny. Tall ceilings host tiled floors, brick half-​walls, and an array of life-​sized pirates, mermaids and other such décor, as diners are seated around tables/​chairs set for large parties throughout the dark, expansive establishment.
What I ordered: Among the three of us adults (and two children), we chose to enjoy the Mix ‘n Match 4-​lb Seafood Meal Deal ($ 67) with shrimp in the Cannon Ball sauce (a combination of all three: Cajun, Garlic Butter and Lemon Pepper), in mild. Our meal came with Chicken Cajun Rolls (our choice), Fried Calamari, and Garlic Fries. Sides and additional seasoning for our bag of shrimp, and the pièce de resistance: a bag, twisted at the top, and full of little beady eyes! We also requested one serving of rice to sop up the extra yummy sauce!
What I loved: The calamari was a surprising favorite of mine, not including, of course, the shrimp, shrimp, and more shrimp.
Why I loved it: Just plain yum. In a bag.
Cost: High ($ 20+ per person with the meal deal)

This place is ON PAR with Boiling Crab!!! Plus, usually no wait when you go compared to Boiling Crab!
The shrimp, crawfish, and cajun fries are all delicious!

Sooooo good. This place has way better sauce and flavor than boiling crab. Their strawberry lemonade is delicious and actually has real strawberries in it. I repeatedly come and dine here with my family.
Claws.thanks for existing!

Went there for a friends birthday very clean and great service, would definitely give it another try didn’t get to eat much that day since I was sick but definitely would go back for the great service

For some reason this place has made it’s way onto my mental «severe cravings» list. There’s something about it that I can’t resist. Myy guess is it’s the bottomless peach iced tea (with real peach bits!), the cajun fries, the Cajun rice, and not to mention the shrimp!
I suggest getting the cannonball sauce with your seafood I normally get «fire in the hole» spice level and it lives up to its name (most of the time). Sometimes they are inconsistent with how spicy things are.
The service is normally pretty fast. There’s this one girl that works there who is amazing at refilling drinks! I never had to wait more than two minutes for her to notice my cup is empty.
Also, this place is cheaper than many other Cajun seafood places in the area and offers happy hour from 3−6pm. Don’t miss it!

Meh… I was definitely not impressed with Claws. Since the popularity of Boiling Crab, there have been other restaurants that have come up with similar concepts of Cajun seafood boil. I feel like most of them are never as good as Boiling Crab, but most of them try very hard to at least try to be on par. However, I felt that Claws was lacking a lot compared to Boiling Crab.
I came here on Labor Day around 7:30 PM for dinner and there was a wait of about 20 minutes. Labor Day this year was SOOOO hot, so I expected AC to be blasting in the restaurant. However, the AC was broken in the restaurant. I understand that this is not really the restaurant’s fault, but it made the dinner experience less enjoyable when you are sweating into your food. I actually considered calling our waitress over just so that we can feel a breeze when she came by (I didn’t since that would be mean… LOL). I also don’t understand why there was a wait as parts of the restaurant was actually empty.
I decided to go for one of the meals (the 4lb meal deal), which included 2 appetizers and choice of fries. I ordered the shrimp (which is $ 1 more per pound), calamari, onion rings, and garlic fries. The appetizers and fries came out first. I thought that onion ring and calamari was just average. There was nothing special about the dishes. The garlic fries were pretty amazing. The fries were crispy and the flavoring on the fries was delicious. The shrimp came out shortly after. I was VERY disappointed in the shrimp. I decided on the Cannon Ball (Claws’ version of the whole shebang) and the sauce was very flavorless and watery. We thankfully ordered a side of Fire in the Hole sauce, so I ended up dipping the shrimp in the sauce just to get some flavoring.
In addition to the food and lack of AC, it was also very hard to track down our waitress. I think she was very busy. She was very nice, but when the AC is not on and you want to leave, it was very frustrating when you are unable to find the waitress. Overall, I think that if you are planning on spending money to come here, a better option is to just go to Boiling Crab or try another knock-​off version.