The Boiling Crab — Restaurant in Honolulu

I had great expectations for this place comparing it to the former Raging Crab in Honolulu however there's not many similarities. Bottom line, TINY PORTIONS and LOUD.

We decided to not go for the full-fledged crab/crawfish/lobster/shrimp served family style in a plastic bag but instead try their "I Like It Fried" baskets. I ordered the $16 Fried Softshell Crab Basket, the $12.50 Fried Oysters and the $8 Hot Wings (regular size). My wife and I decided to split a $10 "Michelada", a beer/bloody Mary concoction.

I was a bit dumbfounded when they came with the fried oysters. Maybe six pieces in a tiny plastic basket. Barely an appetizer for my wife and I. Next came the crab basket. Mostly French fries and decent tasting by scant soft shell crab assortment. Lastly came the hot wings. Best value going with a decent amount of meaty wings for the price but better can be had elsewhere. The Michelada drink was really quite tasty but serving a $10 drink in a plastic cup just doesn't cut it.

The loud pop music was cranked up to what I call employee-energy-level but simply too loud for diners to have much conversation. Add to that sitting near the hand wash station with electric hot air dryer and the decibels hit about 90 when the hand dryer comes on.

Although we didn't get their signature "What's Your Catch" seafood bags, all the tables around us did. I estimated the portion size was well under half of what we got at the former Raging Crab and as the menu lists most of the offerings at "Market Price" I would imagine its quite expensive. Its a lot to pay for a full-on plastic and paper dining experience.

BTW it was my wife's birthday and although she's not big on birthday recognition I did sneak away and ask if they could do anything for her birthday. They were apologetic however replied "we do not".

If you want to try The Boiling Crab my advice is to get there quickly as they can't possibly survive in the costly digs of The Salt at Kakaako. I don't think even location, location, location will keep this place alive unless they begin to double the portions, lose the plasticware and...

Absolutely worse experience I have ever had in my entire life at a restraunt. I went to go eat with my younger brother while we were on vacation about a month ago. The entire time i was sitting and talking to our waiter the woman from takeout kept giving us dirty looks. The food was fine, however the portions seem small. I had asked the waiter at one point if the weight of crabs was correct. He said yes , and all was good. Now the same woman in take out rolls her eyes and sighs loudly as if it is a problem. I let it go and actually order another pound (three pds total) because we are still hungry. We also order another two sides because i wanted to bring a little back for family. While im eating i realize that it is more pragmatic if I just make it a combo instead. When the bill comes, i realize they charged much more than what a pound for the last set of crabs. Iam talking to my brother about it and letting him know i want to ask about it and also change it to combo if possible. While im calling the waiter over the woman from takeout storms over and gets in my face saying everything is correct and i shouldnt have a problem. she literally is spitting in my face while talking and pointing her finger at me. I was shocked.... i never in my life was treated like this at any restraunt ... i start to get angry because she is literally acting like she wants to fight. Instead of stooping to her level, i ask for the manager. He comes over and starts being super rude and acting like she is right... yet he was in the back room and saw nothing. I think the waitress and manager thought it was about the money.. maybe people do that here.. but coming from Palm Beach florida , we are used to overpaying. Money was never a problem which is why i still gave a great tip. Honestly i was ready to call the cops but i came to Hawaii to enjoy myself, not to let someone like that ruin my time. Do not waste your time going here. It is dangerous and bad vibes. Not kid friendly and the food is not worth the horrific service. That woman should be fired and so should the manager. They are the type to spit in your food,...

We are here from Georgia and have never spent this much money on seafood before and The Juicy Crab in Atlanta is way better and a much bigger franchise. 50 bucks for one cluster of snow crab and it does not include any sausage, potato, corn eggs or etc. you have to pay additional for add ons. For what you get at this restaurant…it’s way too expensive. The portions are small! So it’s definitely not worth the money you will spend. You’re basically paying for their shipping cost to receive seafood from the mainland.

I ordered shrimp and had to send it back because it was very mushy and they DO NOT clean the shrimp. The manager offered to make more shrimp for me and I politely declined. If I have to clean the seafood…I don’t want it. Especially when I’m spending my money. The seasoning is also very thick and very salty. They do not provide gloves to eat your food as they do on the mainland. There is no bucket on the table to dispose of the shells you have to ask for an additional an plastic bag. The menu is NOT kid friendly so beware when being small children. Chicken tenders and fries is all that they have. They don’t have any utensils! The lady offered us chopsticks and spoons. I thought that was a joke. There is a hand washing station…so I’ll give them credit for that. If you come here…beware of the sketchy high prices as the prices for the seafood is listed as “fair market value.” And that can be potentially any price they want to charge in my opinion. This was our first time at the restaurant and the waitress did not do a great job explaining the menu and the way food is priced but I still gave him a tip.

I’m from Florida so I’ll cook my own seafood before they get this type of money from me again. It wasn’t worth it. And this is coming from someone who...