The Crab Shack, Gardena, Tozai Plaza — Restaurant in Gardena

Let me tell you about The Crab Shack in Gardena – it's become a real cornerstone of our local food scene, and for good reason. But to truly appreciate it, you need a little backstory.

Before we landed in Gardena, our seafood boil cravings meant a trek all the way to the San Gabriel Valley or Koreatown. So, discovering The Crab Shack was practically a culinary miracle – a fantastic seafood fix just minutes from home! It quickly became our go-to.

Then came our wedding anniversary. We decided to revisit an old favorite from our pre-Gardena days, a competitor that had just opened a new spot in Torrance. We were excited, nostalgic even. My wife had her heart set on one thing, and one thing only: King Crab legs. And guess what? They were out. Completely out. We were there to celebrate, so we settled for lobster tails, but the disappointment was palpable. That night, I heard the words, "Never Again," and trust me, she meant it.

So, back to The Crab Shack – our reliable, never-out-of-King-Crab haven! Yes, seafood can be a bit of a splurge, especially when the wifey has her eye on those glorious King Crab legs. But for us, it's worth it. Our go-to seasoning is the "Crab Shack Style" – that perfect blend of lemon pepper and garlic butter. We usually stick to mild, especially with our 7-year-old in tow (they have mild with a little kick, medium with some heat, and spicy for the brave!).

My wife's usual order? Those coveted King Crab legs, plus some sweet corn on the cob and juicy shrimp. For me, it's all about King Crab legs with the pork sausages and shrimp in that flavorful boil. We're firm believers in keeping the shells on until we're ready to eat. We think it locks in all that delicious seasoning.

When our son joins us, he's a big fan of their Garlic Noodles – buttery, garlicky goodness with shrimp, pork sausage, Parmesan, and fresh basil. Or sometimes we opt for the Crab Shack Garlic Fried Rice, their signature Cajun-seasoned fried rice with the same tasty shrimp and sausage combo.

My wife has also ventured into their Gumbo, and she raves about the rich roux sauce packed with okra, andouille sausage, shrimp, and chicken. Flavorful is an understatement, she says!

For starters, we can never resist the Garlic Fries – crispy and loaded with garlic and Parmesan. Or the classic Crab Shack Wings with Fries, those fried chicken wings coated in their signature seasoning are just addictive.

The Crab Shack isn't just a restaurant; it's a reliable spot that consistently delivers on our seafood cravings. It's where "Never Again" turned into "Always Again" for our seafood boils. If you're in Gardena and looking for a fantastic, flavorful seafood experience, The Crab Shack is a definite 5-star recommendation...

The Original Crab shack Flavor (sauce) is what will bring me back eventually but can someone help me understand why it took them 15min to bring my table the drink and water? On another note 2 parties where served before us (party of 2 & party of 6) even after they were seated long after us (2) we didn't ask for anything out of this world. Services just weren't there and that is very important to ME, specially for the price paying. Like how does a party of 6 get served before a party of 2 that was seated 30min prior? 🤔 anywhom probably won't be ordering the calamari next time either it was salty, tartar sauce had a small too bitter sour after taste as if it was on edge of being spoiled, on the last unpleasant note the sausage skin was not chewable literally like plastic & I had to remove out of my mouth because I couldn't break it apart to allow it in to my stomach. I found about 3 over cooked shrimp in my order and will continue to wonder how that can happen, my company had the same question. On the bright note, Because their sauce recipe is very tasty I didn't rate them a 3 as I feel this visit called for. I will return and hope that I can update them to a 5 but if the same or other issues arise I will change down to a 3. I will for now give them the benefit of the doubt. 📝 Ps. Follow me on other platforms & see what I am up to. @...

Do not I repeat do not go to this place if you want to eat..

So I don't mind the 15 minute wait for to get a table it wasn't bad the place wasn't crowded at all.

So after being seated before we ordered the king crab legs we asked him did they have the tools to open them and they told us yes.

So four out of the five people I was with order king crab which is one of their most expensive things on the menu.

They brought us our food but didn't have any tools and the only thing they can do is apologize. How are we supposed to eat King Crab legs with no tools to open them.

How can you even call yourself The Crab shack if you don't have the utensils to do anything.

And after we told him how to ridiculous it was they stopped serving us and we waited over 20 minutes and had to ask for help just to get our to go bags and our check.

Out of all the crab places in Los Angeles this is by far the worst one I would not waste your time coming here especially spending your money.

It's really disappointing when places like this want you to come support after Corona but they completely don't even care it said it's not their problem that they ran out of utensils. That is of course excuse for a Crab shack and at this point honestly save your money or go...