Love boat house! Especially when I'm craving a boiling crab type of seafood and I don't feel like waiting in their ridiculous lines. I've never had to experience a wait when coming here. I'd say the flavor of their version of the whole sha-bang is almost identical to boiling crab so no complaints here. It does seem to be a little bit pricier though. Quality of seafood has always been fresh too. Parking can be a hassle since it's a small lot, but there are lots nearby which I feel like other people have parked in for the boat. read more

I'm no fan of overpriced frozen seafood BUT if I had to pick a place, I would definitely pick this place over Boiling Crab down the street. Boiling Crab's triple x spicy is definitely spicier but it's not worth an extra two hour wait. The fried shrimps are also much better and bigger here than they are at BC. They get an extra star for great service and friendly staff. read more

We dropped by last Sunday to check this place out. When we first arrived the place had just a few tables seated. We checked out the menu and decided to stay. Besides, it was getting close to game time for the Laker's game that day. They have several flat screen TVs so you can have a view of the game most of the tables. We ordered crawfish, shrimp, a dozen oysters, and chicken wings. All of these were good. They have several seasonings available when you order the cooked seafood. We had the spicy cajun seasoning with our crawfish and the house special seasoning with our shrimp. The house special was ok only. The cajun seasoning is the way to go. They need to improve their beer selection. The selection was bad in my opinion. They only had bud, bud light, and michelob amber bock on draft. We tried the amber bock.....YUCK! We ended up drinking newcastle the rest of the time that we were there. Some other good points were that they turned off the music and had the sound on for the basketball game, they had some good specials on the board, and also the waitress hooked us up with dice cups so that we can play a game while we were waiting for the Laker game to start. read more

See all

Boiling crab is overrated and over an hour wait. This place no wait and taste exactly the same.

simply perfect!!! off the damn chainnnn!!! the house special goes hard extra spicy!!! hand in da flame kine bite!!!!! love dis place like no other!!! W Vikeni W read more

See all

Boat house is honestly my go to comfort food. The service is great and parking is accessible. The shrimp is very flavorful and if you feel it isn't up to your expectations simply communicate with the staff and they will accommodate. I've been coming here for 5 years now and will continue. read more

This was my first time here and overall I thought it was okay. It's a good alternative if I'm craving seafood but not in the mood to wait at boiling crab or something. My friend and I ordered 1.5 lbs of shrimp house special medium, fried mushrooms, 1 plate of rice, 1 corn (in the bag), and "cajun" fries. It's a minimum 1lb per order. I mean it would be nice for half pound, but let's be real, I'll probably eat a whole pound anyway. The seasoning was alright. I prefer more of the chopped garlic seasoning and such. It had more oil than anything and that kind of just made it seem like the shrimp was swimming in oil. The spice has a nice kick to it and I really liked it. The cajun fries is pretty much fries with seasoning sprinkled on top of it. The bottom fries didn't have much seasoning on it. Pretty much just dipped the fries in the shrimp oil for some more taste and fat. Ok, so I think my favorite part of this meal was the fried mushrooms. Fried foods are great. Mushrooms are great. Fried mushrooms are even better! Yum! They come with a small side of ranch dipping sauce. We dipped it in the shrimp oil (can't get enough fat ha) and the ranch. The service was whatever. It was a pretty slow sunday night and there were actually quite a few waitresses on staff. They came by our table for a total of 2 times: asking for our drink order, and then our food order. I had to flag down a waitress to get a side of lemons. They did come quickly though to drop off the check and pick it up to charge. Honestly I don't expect much for service in this city, most asian restaurants you have to pick 2 things between good prices, clean environment, or good service. Can't have it all. read more

Lobster special, come to find out it's frozen and it can't peel off the skin, they over cooked it...

I'm a huge Boiling Crab lover. But last night, I was craving Boiling Crab, and the line was insanely long, as usual. So I wandered over here. I was pretty pleasantly surprised! Anyway, I'll just do a little comparison of the two, since Boiling Crab is so well known and loved.. and most people come here to avoid the Boiling Crab wait. :p - their house special (basically shebang) sauce is more flavorful than boiling crab's. Boiling Crab's sauce has more butter/oil/garlic, while this one has more Cajun Spice/MSG-flavor (though it might not be MSG). i actually sort of like this sauce better, and it's less spicy, so that's great for me haha - no long wait! - their portions are smaller than boiling crab's. their 1 lb is definitely smaller than boiling crab's 1 lb, not that i really notice since i can't finish 1 lb anyway - their sausage is thin and not the big andouille sausage i'm used to - their potatoes are huge! like one piece is similar to a baked potato cut in half. they don't use red potatoes though.. i think they're russet potatoes? - their fried food is not as good as boiling crab's :( cajun fries in particular were not good - their garlic butter is also not as good as boiling crab's (less real garlic taste) - their crawfish and shrimp are pretty fresh! i would say their seafood is definitely better than boiling crab's. i'm a self-proclaimed crawfish connoisseur (haha), and i've had crawfish everywhereeee from the swamps of louisiana to random skeevy buffets to here to backyard crawfish boils to yea, everywhere.. i just love crawfish. and this place has some PRETTY GOOD and FRESH CRAWFISH :D boiling crab, on the other hand, is a hit or miss - service is on par with boiling crab. the waiters aren't running around like crazy like they do at boiling crab, but that's just because there's less customers here. - prices are on par, if not a dollar or so more expensive than boiling crab - they say you can really judge a restaurant by the cleanliness of their restroom... and their restrooms are DISGUSTING. i really did not like that :( so yea! you may like this place or you may not, depending on what you're looking for. but i'd say it's a pretty good alternative if you're hating boiling crab's line. read more

If you're looking for boiling crab flavor without the wait or price, come here. Decided to check this place out and I was glad I did.

My 3 stars for this place is a tad bit generous and it's only 3 cause of the $1.89 Corona bottle / $5.69 Amber Bock pitcher special. Anyway, I ordered 1lbs of shrimp / 1lbs crawfish w/ house special / spicy and my friend ordered the 1lbs shrimp / 1 lbs king crab leg, garlic butter / spicy and boy oh boy... we knew coming in it wasn't gonna be like BC but we didn't think it'd be that much worse. 1st - The quality of the shrimp is awight, but I had a couple super mushy pieces that melted in my mouth which sorta told me they we're bad. 2nd - The sauce barely covers the bottom of the bag, where as BC pours that shit in. 3rd - The sauce is OILY dood it's not like that nice spicy roux like sauce at BC I sorta feel like it's unfair to compare the 2 since BC sets such a high standard but how can you now? This place filled the need but barely. read more

No line! Yay! Headed over here after being informed that the wait at BC would be over 2 hours long. We ordered a ton of food and I have to say, BC is good but BH has great sides! I will be back, especially since it's basically the same thing like BC sans waiting. read more

I love this place. I thought it taste the same as the famous boiling crab down the street. No waiting compared to minimum 2 hour wait on boiling crab. The cajun seasoning is similar but i thought the chicken wings are way better here. Price is also slightly cheaper here. So because of all these factors i have never gone back to boiling crab since i discovered this place. read more

Been coming here for years .. the food and service is good. Rather come here than boiling Crab .. usually no wait .. fast service .. totally recommend .. on my way there now actually .. :) read more

This spot is the damn jam! who needs to wait in line at the boiling crab for an hour when this spot does the same thing! you can even write on the walls n everything. oyster game is nice, and everyone that works here rules read more

This place is down the street from boiling crab and me and my bf usually go there but hate having to wait 2 hours. This place is closer to us so we decided to walk here and give it a shot. The house sauce is delicious, the wait is shorter and prices are slightly cheaper. It's a win win! The environment is more or so the same, I'll definitely be coming here instead. read more

I have lived in Alhambra for 4 years, only a few blocks away. I finally tried it about a year and a half ago, I fell in love after the first visit. I go there at least twice a month. My guilty pleasure is a pound of regular shrimp, cajun, spicy, potato, corn, sausages and wash it down with a pitcher of beer. Hits the spot every single time. read more

I didn't want to wait for Boiling Crab so yelped other cajun seafood places nearby. I ordered their shrimp (medium hot and special sauce) and cajun fries to go. The sauce wasn't as strong or flavorful as BC's but maybe that's a good thing? A little less artery clogging. I really liked their shrimp though - super plump and fresh. The fries were ok but I really appreciated how they punctured a hole in a styrofoam box so the fries were not soggy when I got home! I have ordered fries from BC a handful of times to go and each time the fries end up soggy at home. read more

Good alternative if there's no Boiling Crab around. I love the architecture/designs of the building! It really brings everything together. Price-wise, it's pretty good. read more

I had dinner here a couple of weeks ago and it was sooo good! I ordered some spicy peeled shrimp, king crab legs, fried mushrooms, calamari, and some cold sake. There was no wait to get a table (unlike Boiling Crab) the food was fresh and delicious, the employees were efficient and friendly, and the place was clean. read more

So couldn't make up mY mind on what to snack on so I decided why not get fried mushrooms from this local hole in the wall called the BOAT HOUSE AND GUESS WHAT THEY WERE DISGUSTING SOGGY NOT FRIED AT ALL. Waste of about $9 never again. read more

Boat House - Nasty soggy mushrooms - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Alhambra, California

so my friend and i went here because boiling crab was too crowded.. the food was so-so....but i love crawfish so i'm easy to please. there was also another fellow texan looking to get some cajun food and he thought likewise. the service was good, and the food came out quickly. i thought the flavor was a little bland. i definitely like boiling crab much better. the price for a couple pounds of crawfish, shrimp, and crab came out to $80 for two people. the set up is like joe's crab shack and parking was not bad, although they only have a couple of stops. i would only recommend this place if you were craving seafood and everywhere else was completely full... read more

NOT FRESH AT ALL! I came here cause too long line for boiling crab, but choose here as alternative is definitely a MISTAKE! The shrimp is just OK the oyster is frozen, the 35 dollar per pound king crab leg is not fresh at all!!! Dungeness crab is over price tag as 50 per pound, wtf? read more

I like Boat House, I actually prefer it to Boiling Crab. Usually we order shrimp, and while it is slightly pricier than Boiling Crab, the shrimp is a lot bigger, and in my opinion a lot more fresh than Boiling Crab. At the same time, there is no wait especially on off-peak hours (but the other time I came with my family, it was a Saturday night and we had to wait). The ambiance is lacking, the crowd is a lot older, but the taste of their food is so much better than Boiling Crab - and best of all, there's no wait! read more

Boat House is a decent alternative to Boiling Crab. If I sound biased it's because I am. I am even particular about which Boiling Crab I patronize. The BC on Valley- not Main- is where you want to visit if you are looking for that garlicky, hotter than Hades bag of shrimp swimming in sauce. SAUCE, I said, not oil. The one on Main seems to have toned down their spices because the last few times XXX has been disappointingly tame. Never the case at the Valley location. Back to the Boat House: the shrimp was doused in oil and there was very little garlic. It seemed like the equivalent of one clove was used per pound of seafood. Also there was no lime or lemon- not a single wedge included to squeeze over our shrimp! Are you serious? What goes better with heat and seafood than citrus? Come on. You have to include some fresh vitamin C and a pepper packet. Also, after seeing the sad attempt at cajun fries other Yelpers have posted and gripped about I didn't bother but made an extra trip to pick up the fry order elsewhere. However, the biggest complaint is the spice factor. I LOVE spicy food. This is not the place for me. The "X" on the menu's "X-Spicy" option must stand for "negate" rather than "extra." I'm not trying to be unnecessarily sassy but really; I specified twice over the phone that I wanted "extra, very spicy shrimp." I got...shrimp. I had to grind about two full turns of Ghost Chili into both bags (mine and my boyfriend's) before we felt we got the real kick we wanted. So why three stars and not one or two? There were some significant upsides. Now, I never eat at BC because it's a crowded mess and it takes forever to get seated. I always call the order in and eat at home over a table covered in newspaper. We live close by so the food is still hot and fresh when we get home. Yet sometimes it takes upwards of 5 calls before you get through because BC is insanely busy at all times. Not the case with Boat House. I called and got through right away, the order was ready in 10 minutes, and parking was a cinch. If you want to go with friends and eat at the restaurant you should definitely consider Boat House. At dinner time on a Saturday there were at least five empty tables of 4-6. The food was good and they had other options that BC doesn't offer such as coconut shrimp that I may go back for someday. If you want really spicy, flavorful shrimp, and good fries at once place-- skip this spot. Boat House deserves a try but wait for when you should suggest a low key dining experience or when you need a place to pop in at whim and know you'll get seated immediately. read more

Great food! There is hardly ever a wait and the price is good also the staff is great and there's beer and they show games on the tv

I came here couple of months ago, and if you had been there, you could see the similarities between Boat House and Boiling Crab. There are, of course, few differences! Too lazy to say any more, but I I like this place! (: read more

Food tasted great when I went. The shrimp to me seems more fresh than boiling crab's, and I've never got a molting shrimp at Boathouse yet, unlike my 4/5 times going to boiling crab. Great promo, spend $30 get a pound of shrimp free definitely keeps me going. Overall a nice simple great tasting place to eat at. The fried fish isn't as good as boiling crab's, but I usually come for the shrimp so I'm a happy eater here. read more

My husband and I went there today for the very first time. Let me tell you it was great we were seated right away. ( unlike the boiling crab we waited 4 hrs) The flavors ate intense and so delicious. Plan on getting your hands dirty. The waiters were great. Relaxed atmosphere. My favorite was the garlic spicy shrimp. My husband loved the THe KING CRAB legs Cajun medium. read more

House special sauce is somewhat similar to boiling crab except more butter based and less garlic but still yummy! For some reason it seemed like they gave us less shrimp! The Cajun fries and calamari rings were okay, but better to save your money and not get them. Oh and the sausage we ordered with it were sliced sooo thin compared to other places. Bathroom and parking is horrible as well. Good thing service was super fast. Got seated right away and our food came out 5-10 minutes later. read more

Pretty good crawfish and shrimps here. I only went here because I kept calling boiling crab but they would not pick up their phones. It's been like this for months. Anyway, I guess they are really busy and didn't need the business. Called this place and ordered pick up and food was ready on time. seafood was fresh. read more

I love the boat house the staff is great the seafood is good ! But I just have to honestly say with all the money they make there restrooms are disgusting and the doors are dirty. That place needs a overhaul! read more

I think this place is severely underrated for the food and service it has. I would say that the sauces/flavors are comparable to Boiling Crab, the prices are the same, but the kicker is that there is no wait and it is really just as good as BC. If anything, I would say that the food and service is even better. My friend likes to come to this place because they have mussels (whereas BC doesn't). and I would say the highlight of the dinner would've been the house special (which we got with shrimp) and garlic butter sauce (with clams). The garlic butter sauce is a must-get if you're a garlic fan. The sweet potato fries are good as well. Parking is terrible (like a lot of places in the SGV). There are only about 4 spaces in the front and about 4 more behind the Boathouse building. Overall, I would choose this place over Boiling Crab any day. The food is tastier, service is better, parking sucks (but not worse than BC), and most importantly, there are no lines. read more

Get ready for some messy eating ! No plates or forks . Gotta use your good old fashioned hands and eat out of a plastic bag. We ordered 2 pounds of the house special flavored shelled shrimp , potatoes, and sausage medium in the spice range. The seasoning was lacking that bite. The sauce wasn't spicy at all even for a medium spice. The price is definitely reasonable if you take the shells off yourself otherwise prices are pretty high. The parking isn't adequate. The waitresses are not friendly and don't come to check if anything is needed. read more

I ordered a 2.5 lb crab and it was only 1 pound. Then the manager came out furious and red, he tried telling me it was 2.5 when we weighed it since some friends of mine have a scale with them since they count their macros. I thought, "Hmm, wonder what would happen if I weighed this." And I didn't know it would be COMPLETELY off. In the end, I just wanted to eat but then he refused to realize that he was ripping us off or he was lying to himself. I ended up not caring and was just going to pay for an extra pound but then he wouldn't even let me have it and said to order something else. It seems all he cares about is money and not about the customer. He wasn't going to change his mind, so I didn't want to waste any more time. I just ended up eating some of my friends meals and said forget it. This isn't a good place, because you're more than likely going to get WAYYY less than you pay for. read more

Customer service is good, but the taste, if you want to call it that. . Is bland, watered down. My 4th visit here hoping things will change, but nope. My gf loves it here, I don't know why. Boiling Crab has better flavor and good customer service too. read more

I prefer boiling crab over boat house. Their prices run around the same. Their seasoning and their seafood is just not as tasty as the Boiling Crab. read more

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE! aaaghh so delicious, I love that I never have to wait to be seated, service is great and food mmmmm I love the shrimp and the corn. I even order to go sometimes cuz its just so good, honestly my favorite place ever! read more

Last time my niece and I went to Boat House, one pound shrimp looks like half pound of shrimp instead. Their service could be better, quantity is declining and not wanting to give what people paid for.. I like the cajun House seasoning that's the only reason why I like going there but need to start finding another locations now.. hmm read more

Horrible service! Let me start off by saying the little Asian waitress asked for her own tip! And when I told her I'm paying with card and I'll leave tip in cash ( even though I wasn't because she was rude! ) she gives me back my receipt as I looked she charged $6 to my card for her tip!!! When I confronted her she tried to play it off saying she thought I said put tip on card. So I suggest all customers check your receipts .. This girl probably does this all the time. NEVER GOING BACK AGAIN!!! Everyone stick to boiling crab. read more