I visited this place last night and it didn't meet my standards. Taste wise I've had better. Crawfish spot in west Covina is a million times better. First off I ordered cajan (what I always order) and it was wayyyy too spicy for me. Thankfully my co worker got medium house special and that was tolerable for my taste buds. My other co worker got hot house sauce and she said it wasn't as spicy as mine... now moving on to the service. We simply didn't get good service. We wont be returning. :-( read more

Came here on a weekday for lunch with coworkers. Was not busy but heard the weekends are crazy. Food and customer service was good. I got the fried oysters and fries and corn. Good enough for me. My coworkers got the peeled shrimp n crawfish in the bag. They enjoyed it. read more

Boat House - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Alhambra, California

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I am going to basically be reiterating the last few reviews, but they've got it spot on: BoatHouse is NO Boiling Crab. To paraphrase Wayne and Garth, it's a *cough*ripoff*cough* From the TVs, to the writing on the walls, to the nautical decor, it's pretty much a huge attempt to be Boiling Crab. A for effort. We went to Boiling Crab on a Sunday night hoping that the wait for 4 of us wouldn't be too bad. Sadly mistaken. They quoted us almost 2 hours. We were hungry and didn't want to wait, so we gave BoatHouse a shot. There was absolutely no wait here when we came in. Why you ask? There is a method to the madness, friends. I'm not going to say that this place is terrible, because it's absolutely not...far from it, in fact. However, in all honesty, there's just no comparison. The sauce here just lacks the soul and the je ne sais quoi that its competition clearly has. I felt no urgency to pour the sauce over my rice, nor a need to save precious sauce from going to waste by finger licking or any other eyebrow-raising and possibly socially unacceptable means. The sweet potato fries and clams were the savior of our meal here. Everything else: nothing to write home about. Oh wait. The future brothers-in-law and I, being guys, couldn't help but notice that the waitress uniform here consists of Daisy Dukes and a tight-ass white shirt. It's a pretty obvious ploy at getting the male demographic to fill their empty seats. Well played, BoatHouse. Well played. Boiling Crab has a wait for a reason, folks. If you're willing to forego the extra flavor in lieu of waiting an extra hour or so, then by all means, give this place a shot. Just don't say we didn't warn you. read more

I do agree that this place is a great alternative to the infamous Boiling Crab... you certainly won't have to deal with the wait. In my opinion, the flavors here are very similar and just as good. The shrimp is fresh and cooked perfectly, cajun fries were seasoned well, and the service was outstanding! Employees here are very attentive and catered to our specific orders when it came down to the sauce. There's really nothing negative I can say about the food. A couple things that prevented the perfect rating was the fact that they don't offer half lbs., sauces can't be mixed when your only choosing 2 flavors (ex. cajun and lemon pepper), and that the parking situation isn't that great. I do recommend giving this place a try... especially for the shrimp! read more

I've always wanted to try Boiling Crab, but was intimidated by the wait time. So when I discovered Boat House on Yelp, I just couldn't wait to try it. My friends and I went on a Thursday night and we were seated immediately. I thought our server was a bit snooty, but at least she got things done fast. We ordered about 4 lbs of shrimp and 1 lb of crawfish, all medium spicy with the house special sauce. It was DELISH! So delicious that I went back the week after and took my boyfriend, who also really enjoyed. A dinner for two cost about $44, which included 3 lbs of shrimp, 1 lb of crawfish, a side of calamari, fries, and two sides of rice. Not bad! And service that night was way better too. A definite recommendation! Pros - good food, cheap prices, quick service Cons - crowded parking in front, shady parking in back (esp at night), and inadequately equipped bathrooms read more

This place is so not good! First of all it's run down shabby looking inside The waitress wasn't friendly, I had to ask her for her name since she never mentioned it. I ordered 1LB of clams, when I got the bag it sure wasn't 1LB, whatever no big deal I wasn't that hungry anyways. The sauce was not hot (I got Spicy) && very watery. I didn't get a bib nor lemons nor salt and pepper. I asked for lemons she seems annoyed at that. I've been to The Crawfish Spot, Boiling Crab, Stinkin' Crawfish && this has been the worst! This was a waste of a cheat meal don't even waste your time! Oh yeah, parking sucks! read more

The Boat House is delicious, affordable, spacious, inviting & family friendly. We arrived and were seated right away. The specials of the day were visible & the waitresses were nice & answered all my rookie questions. The food was great! Will definitely go again & recommend it. ONLY complaint, the restroom is tiny. read more

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my family went to eat tonight. The food was great. The service however was not so great. After we finished we paid and told one of the waitresses that we would be rite back in with the tip. The lady name Wendy, she is so rude. I paid with my card and wanted to leave a cash tip. As we are walking out another waitress follows us out yelling that the tip is not included with the food. My husband turned around and let her know that he was going to take the tip inside and that he had already told the other waitress, and she said it was fine. The other waitress came out and told her something and she said it was ok. You could tell she was very upset with the girl. I understand that is how they make there money but you dont follow someone out yelling for a tip. Its safe to say we will not be going back. read more

Crabulous was only two blocks away from this location, but don't ask me why I'd rather go to boathouse. It's coz it's not as crazy packed as crabulous. Very short waiting period. We came with a huge group, and got seated on their private room. Their crawfish are super yummy. The sauce was superb. I heart their spicy french fries too...My faves are their corn, shrimp, and sausage. I'm just not a crawfish person, but I still enjoy their other items. The other cool thing about boathouse is that you can order rice! Yeah, thats right. Being Asian, my family wanted some rice to go with their crawfish and they have it! wohooo... Spicy crawfish sauce+rice+spicy fries+beer=heavenly goodness. Four stars for boathouse.Try this place instead of crabulous. It's worth it! read more

Been here a bunch of times but never wrote a review...till now! :D At first look i thought the inside would be super small but its very spacious, welcoming, but very cold. I believe they turn the AC up so you won't sweat as much when eating their spicy/cajun seafood. (or because the cold air makes people want to eat more.) They were currently having a [Buy up to $35 and get 1 lb of Shrimp for free] which is pretty awesome. My boyfriend and I got oysters, soft shell crab, and i got 1 lb of crawfish and my boyfriend got the shrimp. The oyster was fressssssssssssh! they give a good amount, even and fair. The soft shell crab was delicious! drench the outside with lemon and the crab is juicy! The crawfish was flavorful, dip it with some lemon & salt/pepper (ask). The shrimp was fresh, though very standard it was good. Overall Atmosphere: Comfortable when you start eating due to the high AC. TV and music for entertainment. very nice Overall Service: Very good service, checked on the customers, refilled drinks and responded to our needs quickly. Overall food: delicious, especially the soft shell crab (highly recommend), flavorful, just know what you want. read more

This place is such a good alternative to boiling crab!!! It wasn't crowded when we came which was awesome so we were seated right away. We got 1.5 pounds of shrimp with sausages and corn......AMAZING!!! The Cajun fries were okay....but it's a great place to go to if u don't want to wait forever for this type of food!!! I still love Boiling Crab but I will definitely come back here to eat yummy shrimp =) read more

Boat House - Good alternative to boiling crab! Not so crowded so you don't have to wait a long time to eat! - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Alhambra, California

Fish and chips are very good (photo 389). You get 4 pieces of white fish and a lot of thin crispy fries. Light crispy breading on the fish. read more

Boat House - 4 pieces of fried fish and a lot of thin crisp fries. Very good. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Alhambra, California

Recently went back to this place with El Senor Picky the sulky aloof yet adorable pre-teen AND he totally loved this place. It was his first trip to Boat House. He wants to keep going back here, and he's totally forgotten about that other place we used to go to; what was it called? "Bad Servulous?" (AKA Crabulous.) I'm excited. So this is a good place to take the picky kids to. And the owner is super nice and the employees always come back to check on you. Nice! And affordable! read more

This is actually our 3rd time here...and we have never been disappointed! We had originally planned to go to Boiling Crab, but since their wait time was over 1.5 hrs we opted for The Boathouse! Great decision, there was no wait, the servers were very attentive and friendly, the snow crabs legs (with house sauce) were steamed to perfection, the wings were fried and the french fries (no cajun) were addicting! Best thing that our food came out within 5-10 minutes after ordering it... We will back next week with friends, next week and I'm very excited!!! read more

My first time at this restaurant by accident. I was on my way to another and it was closed and decided to give this one a try. Its just as good or better than the ever popular "Boling Crab" and there were no hordes of people necessitating a long table wait. The servers were cheerful , attentive and prompt. The prices reasonable and the food delicious. I ordered 1 pound of seasoned crawfish and 1 pound of seasoned mussels with corn on the cob . I chose the spicy sauce which is a bit fiery so be careful it was great eating. The food came quick , the place is clean and there is a small parking lot in the front. Also parking on the nearby street. My total tab was under $27.00 and I would definitely go back. read more

The food was delicious. Came here with a group of 12 people and 2 toddlers. The servers were very accommodating and kind even with the chaos the toddlers were making. It's a great place for a big family. read more

Love it! We got the shrimp in the House Special sauce. The sauce is super garlicy and you can choose the spiciness level. Medium was barely spicy so next time I'll try it spicy. Yummy! I need to come back here and try more stuff!!! I like this way better than Crab Hut in SD and the Crab Pot in Seattle. read more

I came here to try to find a good alternative to BC. I hate the wait. Here, there is no waiting in line.... but there are a few things I don't like. I don't like the sauce. It taste very much like a chinese stir fry. The shrimp shells stick to the shrimp. The fries are from smart & final. I know this because I bought em during my college days. Plus all the ketchup is Smart & Final brand, so that gives it away. The fried rice is made with frozen peas and carrots and canned shrimp. It is no bueno. On the plus side, they have good oysters and cheap beer. Good service and they have dices and games for when you drink. That's fun. read more

We came with huge appetites and empty pockets... and left with full stomachs and little damage to our credit card bills. GREAT PRICE FOR THE AMOUNT AND QUALITY OF FOOD!!! The seafood was tastey, fresh, and meaty... Boathouse doesn't hold out at all. The restaurant is filled with ship/pirate decor and the walls are full of graffiti... it's fun yet CLEAN (a combo that is often hard to pull). I have yet to visit Boiling Crab so I can't compare but if the deal is better, I will be floored. Good job, Boathouse... I'll be back :) read more

First off, I have gone to the Boiling Crab in Garden Grove and the food was not good at all, lack of flavor. I was told to try BoatHouse and I would go again. The seasoning is perfect (I got the mild seasoning). The crab legs are the best! I liked the shrimp as well. The service is great and I liked the atmosphere. I went on a Friday night and the seafood did appear to be fresh and the place was not empty, like I read in other reviews. FYI: Parking can be a little hard and you cannot park in the lots next to the place. Give it a try! read more

As far as the flavoring goes, Boat House is boil is more oily and garlic pungent than the Boiling Crab. It is two different interpretation of the boil. The house sauce is excellent and has the right amount of heat. Raw oyster and it's accommodating sauce is tasty. As far as it's comparison to BC, BC has better flavor in their fried food. If you try their cat fish, you will know exactly what I mean. People are friendly here. Completely satisfied with their service. read more

We went to visit BoatHouse yesterday for the first time. I highly recommend this place. when we got there - we were the only guests in the restaurant. we were seated promptly facing the big screen tvs. awesome. the waitress then presented us with the menu. we ordered - two orders of fresh oyster. - 2 pounds of shrimp - house special sauce - 1 pound of crawfish. there were two choices - fresh or frozen. fresh was 6.99 (i think) and frozen was 3.99 - 1 crab (almost three pounds) - cajun fried rice - 3 orders of steam rice. - fish and chips overall, we had good experience with the foods. they were delicious. we chowed down on the steaming hot steam rice, with the "house special" sauce and the crab. boy - it was spicy. another plus --- Cheap beer... 2 bucks.. now, the negative part: - limited parking space. - sauce needs more "cajun" taste "old bay seasoning" - it does not accept discover card / american express - chair was too low for me. After awhile, i kind get use to it though. - they were stingy with lime... read more

I'm usually not a big seafood fan especially growing up to Chinese-style banquet seafood in the San Gabriel Valley, but this place is unique--a Louisiana-style seafood restaurant owned by Chinese people. The prices might be steep for some, but when you add a couple pitchers of beer in the mix, the shrimp, crawfish, fish & chips, fried shrimp & chips, and so on makes for one superb dinner when sharing with friends. This place has been open for months but is still below the radar for most, so if you're hungry and looking to eat with good service and sans a gnarly wait, hit me up and I'll help eat. read more

I'm not gonna talk about its decor, service etc etc. After all, what is important are the food. Forget boiling crab and the long wait. I'm a big fan of the Boathouse now. They have a special for ordering more than $38..you get a pound of shrimp. We ordered king crab leg with cajun sauce, clams and crayfish with house special sauce. Plus corn, sausage and cajun fries...ooh and free refill on sodas. Food tastes much better than boiling crab (The house special sauce kicks ass!!) . I'm aware there are review of service being slow, but i was there twice this week and service was good. (oops sorry mentioned the service..LOL) read more

This place could use some better customer service. We literally had to seat ourself and then proceeded to put our menus on the table and not even pass them out or ask anything at all! RUDE. I ordered the 1 pound of Shrimp with Medium House Special sauce with cajun fries. First off the fries were the skimpiest fries ever and had cajun seasoning sprinkled over it and not even over all the fries! I could have made those at home with the 99 cent bag of fries you get at the grocery store. The shrimp was so oily without any flavor at all! The one good thing about the shrimp was that when you open them they are thick with meat. Gotta love that meat if only there was more flavor! There are alot of menu choices which was good but the prices are more on the expensive side. If you like Boiling Crab stay with Boiling Crab with it's ridiculous long wait times at least you will get better service. read more

I love this place!! Me and my boyfriend come once a week for the shrimp and the snow crab! I always order one pound of shrimp with the house special seasoning! It's so delicious! If you guys are looking for a seafood restaurant I highly recommend this restaurant!! The waitress are so nice and they always having a good smiling!! read more

I was first introduced to this place about 5 years ago and to this day, my heart always comes back for more. Great place, super great food, miss the wooden benches but I am more comfortable eating my House Special Clams. Good vibes all around The Boat House!!! P.S. Great music and we never have to wait a long line, even if the restaurant is full. read more

Came here based off the reviews... since the boiling crab isn't open for lunch. Such a bad idea. Was greeted when we walked in which was great, sat down promptly. But it went downhill after that. The hostess was the waitress and she was alone. Took 10 mins to get our waters. Other couple walked out because she sat them down and just walked over. The waitress seemed to be more interested in talking to a "friend" or someone who was there to buy a couple pair of sunglasses off her (saw the woman give her cash and she put it in her pocket). I had to get up and interrupt her so that my table could get refills of water. She got my order completely wrong and when I asked her if it was possible, she said no with an attitude. I seriously beg to differ... what I got wasn't what I ordered. Food was mediocre for the price, but won't be coming back after the lack of service. She even asked to add her tip to the receipt before running my card. read more

Was looking for seafood boiled and liked the experience. A little expensive but is expected specially for the yummy shrimp, lobster tail and king crab legs I just had. I order those items with garlic butter and I added lemons. It was so much better than my last performance. For those that hated the Cajun seasoning, try garlic butter and then add lemon. It changed my whole perspective. Def coming back. read more

So me and 2 of my buddies were trying to go to the Boiling Crab for dinner on Sat but was deterred by the 45 minute wait so we came down to Boat House (no wait at all!) We were immediately seated and service was extremely quick. Between the 3 of us, we had 3 baskets of sweet potato fries (they are absolutely delicious!), 3 pounds of shrimp (soaked in all sorts of yummy spices) and a basket of fish and chips. The food was as good as it gets...will definitely visit again when I return to LA. read more

First time being here my experience was great. Not very many people here at 7pm. Yes I did read the reviews, but I have to experience the dine in myself and can't go based on other people's reviews. The customer service was good they did their job by making sure we had enough water and drinks on our table. Ordered the fish and chips with the two lobster tails medium with garlic seasoning and it was amazing. Hands down I really enjoyed this place. I understand everyone has a different experience with this place, but I can only talk about my experience and say that the food and service was great. I will for sure be coming here again if I'm in the area. Best fish and chips inhave had in a long time and the price was reasonable. read more

This is my go to place it boiling crab is busy. The crawfish is just as good here as in boiling crab. Do you have a quicker to go process and it's relatively inexpensive. Great place to dine in as well get some beers and watch the games.Go check them out read more

If u are looking to have urself a seafood mukbang this is the spot right here! The house special sauce, shrimp deshelled or not, sausage, white rice alllll of it is so good wow you're gonna wana soak everything you got on that house sauce! They're service is great and parking is a lil small but not like you gotta divide and conquer to find parking. Seriously this is the spot right here! read more

Love the shrimp & clams here! I eat here with friends at least once a month. Never disappointed, never had to wait & the service is super fast.. I recommend ordering extra extra spicy if you can handle it :p read more

Boat House - Located on the North side of Valley, West of Garfield. It is right next door to The Hat. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Alhambra, California

SAME AS BOILING CRAB !! My friend was in town from New York, and we only had time to meet for lunch. I wanted to take her to boiling crab, as it is such a unique dining experience, but of course they're not open for lunch. As I was searching for similar places in the Monterey Park/Alhambra area, I came upon the Boathouse. I was slightly skeptical, but depended on you other yelpers! Walking in on a Thursday around 1, the place was dead. There were only two other parties eating. That definitely made me uneasy, but we sat down anyway. Menu is the same- choose your seafood, sauces, and they offer a lot more deep-fried dishes than BC does. We shared a pound of shrimp, with house special sauce, and deep-fried scallops. The bag seemed less than a pound, in my opinion, but the sauce was the same as BC's, didn't taste any different to me! Same deliciousness. The deep-fried scallops were awesome though- thinly sliced, great batter, good fries. They gave us lemons and salt pepper, everything was good!! The place is also decorated the same way. I'd come here again the next time I get a craving for boiling crab, it's the same food minus the hour-long wait!! read more

Stupid Crabulous forgot to change their clock so we ended up going here. I actually liked the place. We thought of going to Boiling Crab but my husband warned me about the wait time. Sometimes they make u wait for 3 hours. He did say it's ok if it's just the 2 of us then you don't need to wait that long. We're a big group so no way we'll eat anytime soon. Anyway, this place serves the meanest sweet potato fries! Yum! I love their spicy cajun spice. You can always request to make it mild. Hmm, they ran out of the blue crab which I don't mind since there's more meat in a Dungeness crab anyways. I liked their shrimp, crawfish and the dungeness crab. They also serve beer and sake. read more

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I first came here one time because my friend and I didn't want to wait an hour for Boiling Crab. To our pleasant surprise, the shrimp here was actually better than at Boiling Crab. I've been back several times since, and I actually prefer this place over Boiling Crab. No long wait and good shrimp. And the garlic bread was bomb! It went really well with our shrimp. (Other places don't offer garlic bread, but I wish they did. Try it here and you'll see why.) read more

The seasoning of the food definitely changed. The house special sauce doesn't taste the same.

After ditching BC on Valley because of a 45 minute wait, we decided to try out BoatHouse instead. Walked in and there was literally no customers besides two tables. Sat down promptly and reviewed the menu. Every crawfish spots have pretty much the same menu so I ordered my usual 2 lbs of crawfish with all the seasonings (shabang style i guess) medium. The seasoning was different, I mean it wasn't terrible but different than what I'm use to, more of an Asian style? The crawfish was fresh and plentiful, but at the same time, the bag was halfway filled with butter haha. Their free 1 lb of shrimp deal if you order more then like 30 bucks was pretty cool. Overall, I would recommend this place if you do not want to wait at Boiling Crab. read more

We were really craving shrimp and crab and were a little skeptical at first with trying BoatHouse. But after driving by BC and seeing the long line, we gave BoatHouse a shot. At around 6 pm on a Friday night, BH was empty. Fantastic! But on the other hand, we were a little scared that maybe this place wasn't all that good, hence the emptiness. I hate drawinga comparison between BC and BH, but let's be real, it's the same cajun-style food, with the same type of menu, however, BH has a few extra side dishes, which were really good (I'll get to that in a bit). The decor has the same tagging on the walls/sports theme/pirate-esque setup. BH's seasoning is called the House Special (lemon, cajun, butter, garlic, etc.). It's not as a spicy as I'd like. At BC, I normally go with the medium sicy. At BH, spicy is not really spicy, so I'd recommend ordering x-spicy if you like to sweat and sniffle a little. We ordered: King crab legs (pretty darn expensive, $39.99/lb) - meaty, fresh, and all around good. Shrimp - tasty, but the quantity (as others have commented) does seem to be slightly less than 1lb. Fish and chips - crispy, battered fish served with some good fries Cajun fried rice - delightfully yummy! we ended up ordering two orders of this! Short ribs - your typical korean style ribs, nothing special but was ok. The nice surprise: When you order $38 or more, you get one pound of shrimp for free... score! The service was attentive and decent. Around 7:00, this place started getting packed, so I guess it does draw crowds later in the evening. We'd definitely come back here as an alternative to BC down the street. I'm not one for waiting an hour to eat, so BH is a great option! While this place nickle and dimes for sauce and condiments, they don't charge for water like BC does. read more