The Crab Bay — Restaurant in San Jose

Decided to try this place out today because of videos I saw on instagram about it. I am usually nervous to try new seafood places just in case I end up not liking their sauce. However, The crab bay has a variety of flavors to choose from. Today, I only got 4lbs of crawfish, each with a different flavor. Because I love crawfish.. and wanted to try out each sauce. Some of the crawfish did have a little old taste to them, but fresh crawfish aren’t available right now or else I would have got those. Let’s talk about the important thing.. The sauce - My favorite was hands down the Lemmon pepper, hot. I also got the garlic butter sauce, loved the garlic about it but for me that sauce made the seafood feel a little bit too dry. I also got the backyard boil sauce, it was good but seemed to be a little on the sweeter side. Lastly, I got the house special sauce, which to me was an acquired taste. I wasn’t sure about it when I first tried it.. but then it started tasting so good while finishing eating it. It tastes like a real Cajun flavor. I ended up dipping some chips in it when my seafood was gone🤣Overall, next time I will go with maybe 3lbs of Lemmon pepper flavor and 1lb of house special. I am giving a 5 star review because I know their other food has to be really good, I just haven’t tried it yet. Also, they seemed to give generous portions of food. The 4lbs of seafood I got from here felt like 8lbs in the bag when I picked it up, did not dine in. I went to eat eat crawfish last week(another fav spot), and the same 4lbs of seafood I ordered didn’t feel nearly as heavy. The crab bay is for sure worth trying out 👍

UPDATE: I am updating my review, I am still a crawfish lover. The crab bay now has fresh crawfish and it is a game changer. It is soooo good. Perfection!! Still loving that Lemmon pepper sauce! My favorite and I get it ALL of the time, in either mild or hot. Xtra hot is good too, but packs a punch. I have been coming to The crab bay ever since I first ever tried it, and will keep going. It’s my favorite.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2024; still going strong with the crab bay 🤣😁 I get seafood like every weekends here. Combo #1 3lbs crawfish, Lemmon pepper XTRA HOT , seafood fried rice and XTRA HOT side...

New favorite Cajun spot in SJ! Overall such a solid and consistent restaurant! Great service, consistent portion sizes and food quality, and affordable! I love how spacious the place is. I never feel cramped or overwhelmed! They do a good job of keeping the area clean too.

The sauce is creamier than most places and very flavorful! I like the consistency - it’s both smooth and chunky at the same time. The seafood (specifically shrimp and mussels) are always fresh, cooked correctly, and a consistent size! Some places give smaller shrimp and mussels depending on day but Crab Bay always serves us huge shrimp and mussels! We ordered crab with the combo 3 and the dungeness was crab was so heavy! The portions of the sides are also great! Most of the sides are definitely family style portions. We were able to share a combo 3, garlic noodles, jambalaya, and fries between 4-5 people. Crab Bay has the best garlic noodles I’ve ever had at a seafood boil restaurant! Definitely worth a try! There are so many options on the menu. They have a huge selection of sides and other items that aren’t seafood boil.

The drinks are also amazing. Tiramisu, salted cheese, and manchee (light sweet) were my favorites. I would definitely come back just for the teas! They even have a full bar!

Tyler, our server took great care of us! He always made sure to check in and was very helpful when we had questions about the food items and menu! He gave us the best recommendations too! The owners are also so sweet. They are so kind and check in on customers as well! They were so exited for us to try out their specialty teas and coffees. Our party felt so welcomed!

Last thing - pricing. For some reason our bill here always comes out less than when we visit other spots like this! The garlic noodles and fries alone are much cheaper than other places in the area (and so much better)!

You can find the best overall value at The Crab...

Would give 0 stars if I could. Horrible. Absolutely horrible. Starting with the food- it was terrible to put it nicely. The two boils we ordered were by far the worst we have ever had and we have eaten boils at nearly a hundred different places over the years. The shrimp was so overcooked it was inedible; unable to peel it with a rubbery texture and flavorless. The king crab we had to order (the server failed to inform us they were out of snow crab which was the sole reason we went- had we known upon sitting down that the kitchen was out, we would have left) was either poor quality or also overcooked - most likely both - because the shell was so soft it wouldn't crack, only smash when you attempted to crack it; also flavorless. We were only given one broken crab cracker and plastic silverware- it made the process impossible. Only limes are served with the seafood and oysters which is something I have never experienced at any seafood restaurant anywhere in the country. Moving on to the service- worst I have ever had. We had to chase down utensils, the server was slow and inattentive. Failed to relay information such as the kitchen being out of items. The restaurant itself disgusted me in the fact the womens restroom was disgusting. No soap at all and the water would barely come out of the faucet in a trickle. And lastly, it is the most EXPENSIVE seafood place I have ever been to. For two boils, fried shrimp and half a dozen oysters with 4 drinks- it was $237 dollars. The cashier compensated just under $40 for the overcooked shrimp but quite frankly- the entire shrimp and crab boil should have been comped due to how terrible it was. I have worked in a higher end chain restaurant before and service and food like this would have been comped due to the overall terrible experience. Don't waste your time...