Wild Crab — Restaurant in Santa Ana

What do you do when Claws is closed? Look for Korean BBQ or try out Wild Crab? Did you say beer deals? Okay, Wild Crab it is!!

Stupid Claws. I've loved you so much, but the last few times I've gone you were closed. How am I suppose to get my shrimp-on during Labor Day when you are closed? You have given me my second ROTD, last year, but you are no longer a secret and Everyone goes there. The "No waiting" at Claws is over, but I can't blame reviews. I blame myself.

Anyways... Wild Crab time.

Step 1: Big screen TVs everywhere, a projector, and NFL Network - Check

Step 2: Service with a Smile, cute servers (sometimes) recently it's been just dudes- Check

Step 3: Menu with pictures. This is great for new customers - Check

Step 4: Fresh Seafood! - Check

Step 5: Clean, Clean, and Clean. Everything is clean, imagine a 4 or 5 star Hotel Clean. This is very important. Sometimes the other Cajun Crawfish type restaurants smell like a fart and Cajun barf. I don't know about you but if you enjoy that smell while you wait in line or eat your food. Enjoy it. I prefer and place you can stay and enjoy.

Step 6: Great Environment.

THE FOOD: I ordered "My Usually" at these Cajun restaurants, because it's the safest thing to start with. 2 lbs of shrimp all spiced -hot with calamari on the side. I was a little nervous and excited about trying out a new shrimp joint, but the atmosphere was awesome and there was no wait. I was praying the food would be good.

The Calamari was very crispy which is just the way I like it. The flavoring was okay, not the best but above average. The Shrimp was amazingly fresh. It was jumbo size and cooked just right. You need to get the Shrimp with the heads to suck the juices. It was very juicy and you can tell that the shrimp was cleaned well. So, you won't be sucking dirt mixed with spices. Sorry, I didn't have time to take pictures, because i was too busy enjoying, but this is a good thing. If you have a time to take a picture you are not truly enjoying your food, you are just showing off.

Ranking: Claws is still my over all favorite. Spicy Crab in Irvine- thanks for being close by but your quality is dropping fast Boiling Crab- who cares. I have better things to do than wait 1 or 2 hours and waste time playing games on my phone. Rockin' Crawfish- over hyped, not good

WILD CRAB- If I want a sports bar that doesn't just serve wings, you are number 1 on my list! I will be sure to catch at least one football game this year and make use of the $1.50 imports :). Yeah for football!

Conclusion: The sauce is tasty and spicy, but needs more garlic. Maybe I will ask for more next time. The shrimp quality and preparation is top notch! None of the other restaurants compare to the Freshness here. You win my Shrimp Award!

Fresher than an mother**! I'll be back....

Came here with a friend,

To be honest, the wild crab wasn't our first option. Hell, it wasn't even our second option. Being the holiday weekend, our first two spots were closed. Rudy knew abut this location so luckily they were open. It was pretty dead inside, but he had been and swore it was legit.

I really like their combos on the menu. It was just two of us. We got the number two combo, which came with any 3 pounds of food you liked, with corn and sausage. We got two pounds of shrimp, one pound of clams, and added one pound of muscles. A s for the flavoring, we got the mixed all spice option with medium heat.

The clams and muscles we cooked very nicely. They were not chew at all. The shrimp was nice and firm too. You know how some over cooked shrimp is mushy and falls apart? Not here. Their medium level spice was perfect. I really enjoy heat and can handle hot. But when there's a lot of food, it's a little tougher to enjoy. The heat level here was perfect. At BC I find medium to be a little spicy.

I love when I'm pleasantly surprised. And for that reason, I give this place a 4 Star. I will be back and I do recommend it.

Until...

First time seeing this place. I'm in hotel right across the street. I ordered one pound of snow crab to go. I wasn't that impressed when I first pulled the plastic bag out of the paper bag. But then I ripped open the plastic bag and the aroma hit me. (they also give you the big wax paper sheet folded up in your bag. They put those on the table in the restaurant I'm guessing, to avoid a mess. Smooth move I must say. Lol anyway, bottom line, it was amazing. I loved it. I only intended on eating half and saving a bit for later. That didn't work out. I ate every bit of it. It was so good. It comes with a small red potatoe and corn cob all drenched in that tasty sauce. I got the "popular" sauce, they said (a mix of all 3, garlic butter and 2 others) and ask for medium heat (spiciness). I really love spicy food so I can handle heat, but recommend not going above medium. It's pretty spicy but not so much that you don't thoroughly enjoy the flavor.

If you get it togo make sure you have something to crack the shell with. They only gave me a weak plastic fork and knife set. Any good pair of scissors works...