Crawstation

The staff was extremely friendly. I ordered two pounds of crawfish, two half ears of corn, and a potato… all boiled in their cajun seasoning, medium spicy. The crawfish were very small; the corn was spicy and pretty good, but the crawfish and potato really weren’t. If you’re used to New Orleans style seasoning, this is not the same.

Immediately as I walked in I got the sense that this place has a lot of «regulars.» I’ve been really digging the Cajun seafood scene so I wanted to check it out.
Food: Ordered two pounds of shrimp in their House Cajun sauce. It was good, but a bit pricy. Recently went to another local restaurant with the same selection but at a better price and couldn’t really tell the difference.
Service: Great service. Both the waiters who helped up were attentive and nice. They were cheery because the Warriors game was on. #NBAfinals
Overall it was good, but probably won’t come again. The most memorable part was the neighborhood this place sits in. The location on 9^th between Irving and Judah is a prime spot and one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. If you’re in the area, it’s a great place to eat, but not outstanding.

Disclaimer: I’m a huge sucker for these «Boiling Crab» type restaurants, where your choice of seafood is cooked and delivered to your table in a bag. I’m glad there’s one in in my neighborhood. Let me tell you, I made quite a few visits to Crawstation the first year I moved to SF. I even took my parents, who traveled over 5000 miles to SF, to Crawstation. The service is great.
Put on your bibs and roll up your sleeves. It’s about to get messy. Come to Crawstation if you love seafood. Specifically, shellfish. I love the crawfish. Everything is sold by the pound and the prices are decent. I like their Cajun seasoning, extra spicy, please (it gets to be a bit salty, though, so make sure you have a drink handy).
The sides are typical of this kind of restaurant, including corn, potatoes, rice, etc. I like their gumbo (but I always love gumbo).
What would make it better for me? A wider beer selection. Maybe a bit more in the way of side dishes. But I think they have a good thing going. Come here with friends.
Oh, and they do takeout!

I decided to reach out to the Manager before writing a Unilocal review via email (which is located on there website, I haven’t heard back, so here’s my review)
Food is whatever, BOILING CRAB is worth the drive!
I decided to try this location on Monday night it was around 7:45ish, there were only 2 tables that were there dinning, one waitress (so I thought) but there were people hanging out without uniform.
Me and 4 of my friends got a table.
The table we were going to sit it was dirty, the waitress cleaned it right away.
1.We were confused of why there was an empty bin, just in the middle of the table until the waitress heard us talking about it she filled it up with napkins.
2.We got one of our orders and I have asked for salt and never received until I finished my first order. (even though she was constantly looking at her phone and probably texting)
2^nd– I got 2 black potato’s that didn’t look good too eat.
3^rd– Your male Asian employee interrupted our dinner by asking me and my partner if we can please move so he can get in and turn off the sign or if I can do it for him, EXCUSE ME! This is absolutely rude.
4^th– This was an employee without uniform, I didn’t even know why he was walking up to our table.
5^th– I had to yell across from my table to your waitress who was sitting down talking with your other employee’s (if I can get a box to go)
6^th– Tip was already included of $ 18, I strongly feel that this was absurd, especially with the service that we received .
7^th– Y0UR EMPLOYEE’S NEED PROPER TRAINING.

Got a groupon for 2 crab plates and it was so delicious. I really regret not getting more groupons for this place. For the crab I got the garlic butter and Cajun flavor. I liked the Cajun flavor more because it was more flavorful. Garlic noodles were good. Sweet potato fries good. Cajun fries just ok, it lacked in flavor. Would definitely come back again!

good flavors and great service but. i got food poisoning from their crab :(

This is my wife’s favorite seafood restaurant in Bay Area! People often call this place — Bowling Crab of San Francisco.

Freaking love this place! I have tried a couple Cajun style places in SF and Daly City, and Crawstation has remained to be my favorite! I always order a pound of shrimp with House Canjun Sauce with two corns. Yes, one is definitely not enough! I also really like the garlic noodle as a side. It’s The fries is not bad but I would say garlic noodle is better.
*WARNING* For y’all spicy lovers out there, don’t order the «Dynamite» (the spiciest level) for the House Canjun sauce. It’s out of the world spicy. I eat very spicy, I mean very! I’m crazy about spicy food and I don’t really know too many people who can compare to how spicy I can eat. I always get the spiciest level when I am offered a choice and usually to me, it’s still not too spicy. But man, I was wrong about Crawstation, the «Dynamite» is so freaking spicy. I had to run to the bar and begged for a cold drink so I could put the glass on my lip and then chugged the whole drink! It wasn’t fun! But if you are up for a challenge, go for it! Mad respect for ya! Otherwise, stick with the «Medium» and you should be fine!
Overall, I really like this place. Price is not bad compared to a lot of other similar places. Service can be a little bit slow but it’s totally worthy! Man, I want some now ;) Just be aware that afterward your clothes, your finger and your hair will all smell like Crawstation, so don’t make crazy plan after eating there lol

I’ve been here quite a few times for their Groupon crab deal. I’ve tried the crab at both garlic butter mild and medium; prefer the medium more. The shrimp and corn at medium spicy and their pineapple mango cooler are also equally delicious.
Nice servers and good service. It was close to closing time the last time we went it and we didn’t feel rushed to finish our meal.
Food can take a while to come out so don’t go if you’re starving and want food right away.
Overall, great experience!

Poor impression after first visit. Was told by the host, Colony that it will be a 15 minutes wait then it became more than an hour wait. I went in to check and it turned out that a few wait list with 3 – 4 pax behind of us were seated already.
Finally got a table, we were told that we have just got the last portion of two crabs. 15 minutes later, the waiter came and told us that his colleague took the two crabs before him and have requested us to pay extra for a bigger crab which of course we did not agree to pay extra.
Aside the two incidents, the food was good.
For diners heading to this restaurant, be sure you speak to Colony and wait inside the restaurant or you will not get a seat even after wait list!

My family and I went here on a fluke. We were craving some seafood and my boyfriend just randomly suggested this place, so we went and decided to check it out. My family are all Unilocalers, so I was surprised when we decided to randomly try this place without doing our homework. By the time we sat down and read the reviews it was too late and we were hungry. We ordered the fried calamari, orkra, sweet potato fries, garlic noodles, a lb of shrimp, mussels, and calms with cajun house spice mild. Our other friend also ordered 2 lbs of crawfish and shrimp with the house sauce but medium. It took them about 15 minutes to take our order. They forgot to give us bibs and the essential sauces for our food. Fried catfish was brought to our table which we didn’t order. Our food came in 20 minutes and then another 15 minutes our garlic noodles came after. There was no cohesiveness of the timing of how our food was brought out. Timing of each entrée coming out makes a huge difference on how our food is eaten. Most of our food was eaten, before our noodles came out. All the seafood was Frozen, not fresh. The garlic noodles were good, but everything else was
mediocre, nothing that made us lick our fingers more then once. Compared to Boiling Crab, Thang Long, Crustaceans, PPQ, and Hang Ten broiler, this is at the very bottom (no comparison). But for what they charge you would expect the food and service to be awesome and delicious, we were highly disappointed. For dessert my sister wanted to try the beignets, which were oily and overly dusted with sugar powder and sprayed with too much whip cream. What made us even more pissed that we noticed all the other customers around us were treated way nicer then we were, they were given all food essentials and the waiter and waitress tied their bibs for them. Their glasses of water were always full and sadly for us we had to constantly look around for someone to ask for water. On top of that when waiting for our food my sister went on Unilocal and surprisingly saw a warning that this place had a low food inspection score, so please be careful and caution before eating here or just go to another seafood place and really get your money’s worth. Let’s hope and pray we don’t get food poisoning. Well good eats and always remember to read up before you mess up. Always family, food, and fun. Always get yours money worth for everything you eat!!!

We had family that were visiting in the city to have dinner with us they Unilocal this place up, so we decided to come and try it. My sister Unilocal it and the ratings pop up about their poor health food scale. I thought it wasn’t a big deal. Then when we got there i check in and Unilocal it and it pop up again so the whole time i was thinking about it then i told my family well see how everyone feels tomorrow. It was very crowded in there so i was just wondering why so many people come here if the food health is very poor and why is it still open?
We order the oysters and it was not fresh at all very fishy i had couple of those so far today im fine. We order clamari, shrimp, crawfish, sweet potato, okra, garlic noodles and everything was good.
At the end we realize they didn’t give us salt pepper and lemon. They were very short staff. I order the beignet and it did not taste like it taste like a donut that i could make a home with dough and just fry it. I would not come back.

Dynamite Cajun Shrimp. ACTUALLY REALLY SPICY. And you can trust me on this. Calibration: I’m born and raised in Thailand. I frequently dine at authentic Sichuan places without breaking a sweat. The «infamous» Volcano Curry in Richmond does nothing for me. Halfway through the shrimp I’m crying. We split the bag and made it through, but not without a river of sweat and tears. My buddy barely made it out alive. So if you’re looking for a challenge, here it is. Probably the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten in this city. I’m impressed.
Another notable mention, Cajun Wings. Light and crispy on the outside, hot and juicy on the inside. Solid execution.
They have a few beers on tap. Perfect for after work when you’re craving something hot and spicy. Will come back again.

Came here for dinner last night with our family of 5. We ordered one lb of Shrimps in garlic butter sauce, one lb in house Cajun. Both sauce were really good. We first wanted the house cajun to be medium spicy, but the waitress reminded us the medium is like a 8 on a scale of 10, so we made it mild instead. I’m so happy that we got the mild — it was like a 5 out of 10 spicy already.
We also had the okra fries and sweet potato fries and appetizers, both were good, but the sweet potatoe fries were a little dry, though my kids don’t seem to mimd.
We also ordered a clams-​and– muscles combo. While the clams were good, the kids love them, the muscles were not fresh.
We had both beignets and fried Oreo for desserts. The kids love the fried Oreos of course, but the adults like the beignets. They’ve crispy on the outside, and soft inside. Very tasty.
We would come back again.

I get the cravings for shrimp real bad sometimes but I’m not willing to drive all the way to San Jose for Boiling Crab so I either come here or Cajun House as an alternative. The wait was about 45 minutes which isn’t too bad but I usually am pretty haaaaangry so it felt like forever.
Service — Really good! They are really nice and quick.
Food —
1. Mango pineapple juice — sooooooo good! I can drink this stuff everyday!
2. Alligator bites — yummy and def not dry either!
3. Tater tots — loved it! Much crispy goodness.
4. Garlic noodles — def would pass next time. I wasn’t a fan of them… too much garlic and overcooked.
5. Medium house cajun shrimp — NO JOKE. I usually am able to handle spicy food but the spiciness got to me so bad that I got a stomach ache for the rest of the night…
I wouldn’t hesitate to come back but I’m not so sure anymore just because of the health score… yikes.

Been trying to go here for a while! Really great service, super messy but a lot of fun, great groupon available, my husband and I got 2 full Dungeness crab dinners for $ 45!
Got some oysters and wings to start, both excellent, then crab with side of rice, half corn on the Cobb, and rice.
Server did awesome job of spacing everything out and packaged the extra sauce up for us!
Left full and happy but not overly stuffed. Wonderful experiance
So much Cajun sauce left over we are going to poach eggs in it for breakfast.
It’s a special occasion thing for sure but will be back.

I’ve been here a handful of times and would give their food 3.5÷4 stars. Love the crab and shrimp with the cajun dynamite sauce. Although you get a handful of shrimp that are old and mushy so not worth it if $ 16lb. Their garlic noodles lack flavoring. Big chunks of garlic on overcooked noodles. Sister had beignets before and highly recommended them. Ordered tonight and they were dark brown and only room temp. I cook quite a bit and know when old oil has been used.
Now to why 1 star… What I’m upset about is after spending over $ 300 and tipping $ 50…the waiter wanted to charge me .25 cents for a plastic bag when they have a sign that says SF mandate .10! Really?!? You’re going to cheat me .15 cents after tipping you $ 50!
It’s a quarter! I don’t mind paying but it’s the principle I’m upset about! I’ve been to many Asian crab/​crawfish restaurants and no one have charged me .25 cents for gloves that costs them a few pennies and .25 for a plastic bag. Food might be good but you’ll lose your customers from being unethical.

Been here a few times so this review is based on my last experience. I had great customer service. They refilled our drinks constantly and always checked if we needed anything else.
So why three stars? Because the crabs they brought us out were like baby crabs. We ordered two crabs and both so small. I was thinking in my head, where’s the rest of the crab. So we ended up ordering a pound of shrimp and that also didn’t look right. It looked like maybe ¾ of a pound at most. I’ve gone here quite a few times but not sure if I’ll be back after that. I might give in and give them one last try. We’ll see…

I love this place, despite the still awful music, because the food is so good. Although if you think about it, it’s hard to mess up draft beer and seafood boiled in garlic and butter.
My hubby and I came in late because of his work schedule and instead of just letting us know they couldn’t serve us, my mild order was so spicy that my husband just apologized because he thought I was being a sissy last night.
Well. Now, I’m bringing my teething toddler and I don’t care what he throws on the floor. At all. I might just join him! :D See you soon!

Bought the groupon for two crabs for $ 45 which was a pretty good deal! I read online previously that you need to make a reservation if you are going to use the groupon, but that is no longer true. I called when they opened at 4PM to try to get a reservation at 5:30PM, but was informed that reservations need two hours in advance. I asked if I could still use the groupon and they said it was not a problem. No need for a reservation at that time. It is a small place.
In addition to the two crabs, we ordered a pound of shrimp, garlic noodles, sweet potato fries and a corn for me. We tried the lemon pepper, garlic butter, and house cajun (for the shrimp). The garlic noodles were a must to complement the seafood. My favorite one was the lemon pepper sauce. The corn was super sweet and delicious. This was a lot of food for two people, so I was getting stuffed. We managed to finish everything.
A bit on the pricy side if not for the groupon. The bill came out to be around $ 45 (so including the groupon it was $ 90) $ 16 for a pound of shrimp was not worth it.

I love craw station. I had garlic noodles and one pound of shrimp with Cajun spice in medium and a corn. The corn is SO NECESSARY. It was so delicious and I’m drooling thinking about it right now. I think this place is totally comparable to the infamous Boiling Crab! I would definently go back if I’m ever around the city!
–Kristen
5 stars from Kristen. Edmund was not here to rate.

Yummo! My bf and I had dinner here and used the groupon for 2 crab meals. We also ordered a pound of shrimp and their garlic noodles. yes, there was just two of us… eating… and yes, we finished everything. (Don’t judge)
I ordered my crab in lemon pepper with dynamite sauce while my boyfriend ordered his crab in garlic butter with dynamite sauce. My bf actually liked my sauce better but said that my crab wasn’t as fresh as his. I honestly couldn’t tell. We both really enjoyed the crab.
One pound of shrimp, Cajun style in hot sauce. The shrimp were huge! They were perfectly cooked and tasty! No complaints there.
The garlic noodles. I enjoyed it while my bf thought it lacked flavor. He fixed it quickly by dipping the noodles into the sauce. Lol.
The service was good. We made a reservation so were seated right away. Our waitress sheena was great.
We will definitely be back if we’re craving seafood boil!

Service is not great, but the crabs are delicious.
We had the garlic noodles and two delicious crabs. I had the garlic and butter one. loved the flavors, so well seasoned. The garlic noodles were pretty amazing too. I love how they have so many options that you can include to your sauce.
Definitely not a fancy place, service is not great, but if you are looking to enjoy a delicious and whole crab this is a great place to go.

As my friend and I longed for the chicken wings of San Tung we were shocked to find out they were closed on Wednesdays. To help pick up our spirits of disappointment we stumbled upon the Crawstation. We decided the only way to drown our sorrows were a couple pints of Sierra, A 2 pound crab, garlic noodles, and (what the hell) some chicken wings.
To our surprise and good fortune the chicken wings were delicious. Not San Tung but pretty frickin delicious. It paired especially well with the crab and the beer. Neither of us were big fans of the noodles as they were doused with garlic and rubbery as hell. A matter of fact I’m still tasting the garlic this morning after a rigorous amount of brushing and flossing. The crab however was well made and seasoned just right.
Service was fine but nothing I’d rant and rave about. I will say once your food is out there don’t expect a follow up till you beg for the check. Bathroom is clean but there is only one so go easy if the spice runs through you. Also there is a back room as well so if it looks full up front don’t fret.
If you’v been to hang ten boiler in Alameda well then you’ve pretty much been here. Nothing I haven’t seen before in a crabshack but why screw with a good simple formula.

Kicking crab will always be my favorite spot but it is such a hassle to drive from the city to San Jose. With that being said, I am sooooooooo happy I tried this place out becomes it comes close to comparison. My bf and I got here right when they opened so there was no wait. We ordered a pound of shrimp and a pound of crawfish. The dynamite house Cajun sauce was delishhh! The garlic noodles, calamari, oysters and pineapple cooler were great also! I love that you can get unlimited refills on the cooler! As for customer service, our waiter was super nice and attentive!
My bf and I walked out full and satisfied! Will be back for sure! I’m interested in trying the house noodles next time!

I came in with the Groupon. Read some reviews before coming that speculates they require reservations for the Groupon as a way for the restaurant to know you’re coming in with a discount… so perhaps you get the smaller/​older crabs?
My friend and I came in, we ordered both crabs with garlic butter. I got mild he got dynamite. Mine was quite mild and he said his was pretty damn spicy. The sauce was certainly butter-​y though and delicious! We also ordered garlic noodles on the side. GARLIC GALORE!
The service was decent, I felt the food came out quite slowly but it wasn’t a big deal. They regularly came by to fill our water cups.
For $ 40 for 2 crabs? Definitely worth it!

Two of us shared:
* Crab with mild Cajun sauce — $ 46.75: Super tasty. Whole crab cooked in a fragrant, flavorful, and buttery sauce. The wonderful smell lingered on my fingers for a long time afterwards.
* Cajun tater tots — $ 4.99: Normal.
* Steamed rice — $ 1.75: Overpriced.
Although I liked the preparation of the crab a lot, it felt a bit expensive given the overall dining experience. (For comparison, crab at R&G is roughly the same price, and R&G is a well-​run establishment.)
No wet naps or bibs, so dress accordingly. We didn’t even get napkins until we asked.
Service doesn’t appear to be this place’s strong suit.
We were seated for less than a minute before being pushed to order. Ordering here felt like walking in a minefield. There were so many explanations, disclaimers, and warnings that should probably be written on the menu to save everyone some time and save the servers some talking. (I won’t bore you with the details.)

I was really craving some crab and seen this place on Groupon ad they had a deal. Buy 2 crabs for $ 45. NOT BAD!
I was a little surprised when I walked in for my first time as the place is REALLY small. Only about 6 tables. Me and my partner sat by the window and I was greeted by a nice waiter. I came at 4pm and I want to say this was a good time because by the time 8pm came around it was pretty crowded.
I didn’t like the fact that people can walk passed and see me eat but the server guy that I had was nice enough to put the blinds down so we had more privacy (which was nice). I liked the fact that the place was empty at 4pm so my food came pretty fast!
Now lets talk about the food! HUMMM… can we say UMM UMM GOOD! I loved the crab and the different flavors that it offers. I got the Garlic Butter mild as I am not a fan of spicy. It was good. BTW FYI-​Garlic noodles was not on the menu but if you ask for it then they have it. Noodles are very tasty!!!
The pricing was not bad at all and the food was VERY good. I was full by the time I had garlic noodles and could barely eat my whole crab!
I would definitely come again but only if I had a Groupon. There are many crab places in SF but this is NOT bad!

My friend recommended me to come here after I told her I was craving some Boiling Crab. She’s a regular here and became friends with the owners.
I came here on a weekday night. No wait for a party of 6.
The menu works just like Boiling Crab’s if you’ve been. You pick which type of seafood you would like (different prices per lb based on market price). Then pick what seasoning sauce you would like and the level of spiciness preferred.
I always get 1 lb of shrimp (they don’t let you do ½ lb like boiling crab :() with corn and potatoes, sometimes sausage. And our table always shares the garlic noodles (A MUST) and the cajun fries (I can’t live w/​o french fries). I always get the house cajun sauce (similar to the whole-​shabang) medium spicy. Their dynamite is similar to XXX (I like spicy, but I want to taste my food too). Their shrimp is pretty good, they vary in size, most likely due to the season. But their price usually goes around $ 10-​$ 12 per lb. Their sauce has also improved over time. Good job Crawstation! Their cajun fries are always on point, seasoned well, nice and crisp, but still soft on the inside. Their garlic noodles always taste amazing. One of my favorite places to get garlic noodles. If I had to choose one, I would pick garlic noodles over their fries.
Since my friend is friends with the owner, we’ve gotten complimentary sangria (a pitcher) and crawfish! AMAZING!!! However, I only get it when I’m with her :(. I wish they knew me too! Their sangria is pretty good.
I heard their fried fish doesn’t come with fries anymore: O for $ 10?! They used to :(. I was surprised by that news.
Service was great when I come here, could also be because they’re not super busy either (and I got a special person w/​me).
Price is average, expect to pay around $ 20 (if you eat 1 lb like me).
Tip: wear clothes you won’t care about (the sauce splashes and you’ll come out smelling like your food)
Overall, good place to get some cajun seafood w/​o having drive down to San Jose!