We came in for Christmas Day and although it was busy, we were able to grab a table for six. The service was so attentive, quick, and kind. Very pleasantly surprised with how tasty all of the dishes were. I've never had Vietnamese crab hot pot before. The spring rolls are a MUST order. They're so much bigger and crispier than any other restaurant. La lot is also so good and even better that more comes with the hot pot. Ended off with che Thai that was perfectly mixed!! We travelled from Portland for the food so definitely coming back just for this! read more

Crab Hot Lau - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Such a fabulous dinner. I was craving a bowl of pho and this hit the spot. Don't recall which one I ordered but it was delish. Service was fantastic too. My water and tea were always full - the tea was a lovely fruit called pandan and now I am going to have to find some to take home - it was that good. read more

See all

The food was okay. I think it was more on the expensive side. We ordered their famous crab soup and another dish that I can't remember. The food overall was okay but not memorable. There was plenty of seating available on a weekend. It wasn't too busy. There is plenty of street parking nearby. read more

Cuisine: 7 Service: 7 Decor: 6 Value: 6 Overall: 7 This Vietnamese restaurant has a large menu full of items my group wanted to try. The best item we ordered by far was definitely the delicious Egg Coffee, which I would come back to do take out for in the future. Unfortunately, most of what we ordered food-wise turned out to be average to good, but nothing stood out. With the name of the place, obviously crab was a focal point. Sadly the only crabby thing that I thought was decent was the Square Crab Spring Rolls. I found the Rice Field Crab Noodle Soup and Stir Fried Glass Noodle With Crab Meat both somewhat interesting. They were interesting, yet I would unlikely come back for them again. Note to self if I should return, skip the Vermicelli Sour Bamboo Duck Soup. Go with the Bun Cha Hanoi and some appetizers instead. read more

See all

Its been on my list to try for so long. Went with a group so we could try a variety of dishes. Had their infamous chicken wings, crab spring rolls, papaya salad with beef jerky, crab soup with noodles and lemongrass chicken. It was ok overall. I think the flavours really didn't come through and was somewhat bland without their hot sauce. Also tried their clams which was too much on the fishy side so it was my least favourite. Service was good. The restaurant was very clean and the only establishment with a bidet in Vancouver! Their hot tea was always hot and jasmine fragrant was nice. Prices were not too bad either. They have parking underneath the restaurant if you can't find street parking. read more

See all

I was very excited to try northern Vietnamese food. I went on a Sunday night and there weee some empty tables. Pit group tried the crab spring roll, the rice field crab noodles, the chicken wings, pate w mini baguette, pork vermicelli. They were all very tasty dishes. I especially liked the chicken wings (very garlicky!) as well as the noodles which were different from the rice noodles in pho. I am excited to bring others back to try some other dishes. Looks like they have snails' read more

See all

Discovered the secret to enjoying their foods -- visit early on a weekday to avoid weekend lineups & crowds. We went back to visit during midweek around 1115 when they open and there was no wait. Food arrived quickly and service was excellent with topping up teas. Free street parking available in front of restaurant and there's even a separate to go section next door for efficient to go service. Square crab roll is still a must order on my list and I also recommended trying their broth-based dishes. Their hotpot items is great for sharing on a rainy day. 5 stars for all their crab dishes and this could also be my go to place for Vietnamese coffee - i enjoy their iced coffee with condensed milk, especially on those hot summer days. I save 5 stars ratings for places that can provide memorable dishes or consistently yummy foods or excellent service or special and cool experiences. This place is definitely a top choice for delicious and authentic Northern Vietnam meals with good service and comfortable dining environment. read more

See all

Finally got to try this award winning place! It did not disappoint! The restaurant is clean and service was on point! We ordered the famous crab spring rolls, some lemongrass pork skewers, and the crab hot pot. It came with a couple of the side dishes such as the Thac lac, which are fish cakes, and pork wrapped in lolot. It also came with some thick rice noodles, and veggies. The crab spring rolls were my favorite out of everything we ordered, they are crunchy and flavorful. Pork skewers were pretty tender as well. The hot pot broth is nice, but very salty. Maybe because of the crab sauce we put in at the beginning. It was my first time trying the fish cake, it was too chewy for me, and has an acquire minty taste. However the pork wrapped with lolot leaves were pretty yummy, it tastes better than it looks! The waiters checked in with us pretty often to make sure we have everything we needed, also made some recommendations on what to order at the beginning. There are also other items on the menu I'd like to try, and already planning to come back! read more

See all

So refreshing to see a nothern Viet restaurant!! the broth was one of the best I've ever had...I think I drank nearly all the soup massive portions Not so good service (maybe understaffed?) but we waited for 30 mins for a table even tho the waitlist app said our table was ready great ambience!! read more

Crab Hot Lau - Field crab vermicelli -$17.99 - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

The crab hot pot was quite an experience. Was a bit different than the usual hot pot I usually have, but it was packed with flavour nonetheless! read more

The food here is genuinely tasty. We ordered the bun ca la vong (grilled dill turmeric fish) and the mien ga (chicken glass noodle soup). The fish was flavorful and cooked just right. The chicken glass noodle l soup had a really nice, comforting broth that hit the spot. Unfortunately, the service wasn't great. My soup took almost an hour to come out, and by the time it arrived, my friend had already finished his meal. It seemed like they forgot about it, and there was no apology or acknowledgement for the delay, which was extremely disappointing. Also, when I went to pay, the waitress tilted the screen in a way that made it feel like she was watching how much I tipped. It wasn't a huge deal, but it did make me uncomfortable. Would come back for the food, but hoping for a smoother experience next time read more

A neighbourhood favourite it seems, as it was full of people. The food on the tables were plentiful and looking tasty. Space is clean. We came to try the crab square and we found them to be nicely fried and not oily. The flavour was good and the crab tasted fresh. It's on a busy street and challenging to find parking read more

I've been here twice now, dinner on a Friday. We came at 5:30pm to an empty restaurant, which easily filled out by the time we finished dinner at 7. Ordered a sea crab noodle soup, duck noodle soup and crab vermicelli soup. Pate banh mi for an appetizer. Just under $80 for the three of us in total Pros: - Plenty of free street parking on kingsway and side streets - Quick and friendly service with a tablet device to browse the menu and offer food - Option to use the call button to request service - The flat noodle was very bouncy to the bite. - The banh mi was definitely a fan favorite of the night. It's served hot and buttery with filling of pork fluff and pate. - Restaurant was clean and tidy and appeared recently renovated Notes: - The duck and crab soup broth was mild compared to traditional beef or chicken pho, in Chinese, we would call it "clear" read more

Crab Hot Lau - Banh mi w pate and pork floss - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Really great portions of crab meat and amazing flavours in all their dishes. Service is great and with very attentive and polite staff. This is a great eye opener to other Vietnamese cuisine than just pho or bun. They're winning awards and opening new locations for good reason. Congratulations! read more

See all

I discovered this restaurant through Instagram, and their Vietnamese-style hot pot looked very interesting. I finally had a chance to visit this place. We ordered Crab hot pot, deep dried fish cake and pork lolot and square crab spring roll. Crab hot pot: traditional Vietnamese hotpot featuring a rich broth made from fresh field crabs,with rice noodles , fish cakes, pork lolot, and crispy fried pork fat with crab roe. The staff brought out the hot pot broth, and we waited until it started boiling. Then, we added crab roe and crispy pork fat to the broth and waited again for the flavors to blend well. After that, we added noodles, fish cake, pork lolot, and vegetables. It looked amazing! They served a dipping sauce, but I was already very satisfied with the broth itself--it was very flavorful. The noodles were also very delicious. I really loved this hot pot! Deep fried fish cake and pork lolot The fish cake was just okay, but I really liked the pork wrapped in lolot leaves. The minced pork and crispy lolot leaves were a great combination. Although we could add this item to the hot pot, I preferred eating it on its own without adding it to the broth. Square crab spring roll There was a lot of filling! The outside was very crispy, and the filling was so juicy and flavorful. I noticed that almost every table ordered this item. So delicious! Overall, we were all satisfied with the meal and the unique Vietnamese hot pot experience. I will definitely revisit and try different items! read more

See all

Came here on a whim after my friend and I sadly saw that Cafe Xu Hue (down the street) was closed for Lunar new year lol. Time to try something new! This caught my eye, as I do enjoy a crab soup. My friend and I shared everything - crab spring roll squares, beef pho, and crab pho with thick brown rice noodles. I really liked the crab square thing - excellent crisp outside and delicious inside. The herbs and lettuce were really good with it. The beef pho tasted too sweet for me, but the cuts of meat were nice and tender. The crab pho made me think it was going to be like bun rieu with tomato, but it was more of a clear broth with pork rolls in it. I liked the crispy things on top. Not a huge fan of the giant flat rice noodle - made everything splashy and hard to eat. Service was fast and attentive. They have a "call" button on the side of the table. Ambiance felt like I was in my auntie's basement about to do karaoke. They had 2 huge speakers up front blasting poppy Viet music, and 2 giant TVs on either side of the restaurant, playing looping videos of how they make the crab spring roll square. LOL read more

Crab Hot Lau - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Came to the area to try another Vietnamese place across Kingsway...but they did not open when they were to at 11 am. So walked to Crab Hot Lau...and very happy we did. Grabbed a booth and reviewed the menu. This is definitely a northern Vietnamese establishment. I opted for the Bun Bo Hue. Loved the broth and level of spice. Even better with the addition of the pickled garlic slices. It was the perfect comfort food lunch and the service was great. It was a very positive food experience and happy to recommend Crab Hot Lau. read more

See all

Always a delight coming here for hot soup and crab spring rolls. Bún riêu is bold and flavourful. There are crab cakes, fish cakes, and crunchy tofu bits. The square shaped crab spring rolls are crispy on the outside and juicy inside. read more

Crab Hot Lau - #1 Crab Field Noodle Soup - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I saw a few reels on Insta promoting the restaurant and the dishes looked interesting and the inviting. So when an old friend suggested trying it out, I immediately said yes. The four of us dined there about two weeks ago. It was so good so we took my parents there for family dinner last week. On both visit, we had the oxtail hot pot, crispy crab spring rolls, fried squid cakes, and the chilled durian Thai sweet soup for dessert. The oxtail hot pot comes in various sizes from single to 5 ppl. We order a 2-ppl portion for a party of 4 the first time and a 3-ppl portion for a party of 5 the second time. We had plenty of food on both visits with other dishes. There were beef, pork, mushrooms, veggies and noodles. We had to take home the leftovers. The spring rolls and squid cakes were very aromatic and delightfully flavourful. We were recommended the durian Thai sweet soup for dessert on our first visit. It was so good that we ordered it again on our subsequent visit even though we are usually fond of south East Asian desserts. The durian paste comes on the side for those who like to mix it in the soup. The rich and lightly sweetened coconut soup is adorned with lychees, sea coconut, dragon fruits, and different types of gelatin pieces. My mom is always cold and never has anything cold or chilled (foods and drinks) but she had 2 bowls. She said, " I'm having a 2nd bowl even it's cold ". read more

See all

Been longing to try Crab Hot Lau for a while and was happy with my recent visit! The restaurant serves up a delicious variety of vietnamese dishes that you don't typically get a taste of. In my visit I had the Seafood Combo w/ Sea Snails & Scallop + Grilled Pork & Sea Crab Spring Rolls Vermicelli + Crab Noodle Soup. Everything had so much flavour! The seas snails was a unique treat and the crab noodle came with these thick egg noodles that perfectly soaked up the broth. Would definitely visit again to try out their hot pot! read more

See all

I love the variety of northern Vietnamese dishes here! Most dishes are crab based and they have large hotpots for 3 - 4 people. They give free green tea infused with strawberries and other fruit. The square crab spring rolls were crispy and delicious with the dipping fish sauce. It comes with a portion of lettuce and cilantro. The pork cheek comes with sticky rice and a sour dipping sauce that work well together. I think most tables have a call button to call the waiter. Either way you sit, their tvs repeat a playlist showing their most popular menu items enticing you to order more. read more

Crab Hot Lau - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

- service was good. we had a question about one of the side dishes. server might not have the most fluent english but we appreciated her trying her very best to explain to us - it was our 3rd time to this restaurant and we did notice the portion sizes got slightly smaller. but given the inflation in the ingredients, the amount served was still reasonable - however the tastes of the dishes we tried this time are still very impressive - we liked the crab fried rice the most read more

See all

Came here with a group of 6 and we really enjoyed the Rice Field Crab Hot Pot! We got the Rice Field Crab Hot Pot (for 2) along with a bunch of other dishes and the hotpot really stood out! The crab broth was SO flavourful, and it came with a bunch of veggies, fish cakes and some leaf pork rolls, with some rice noodles! The noodles cook suppper fast (like 10 seconds) so make sure to put that in last! Definitely a great spot to take a group! read more

Square crab spring roll is a must-try! Crab soup hotpot is ok, for my own taste, I'd prefer stronger spice in soup. read more

See all

I've visited Crab Hot Lau 5 times now and I have to say they are good, but never taking me to the next level of mind blowing. Either a dish is so mediocre such as the snails to the crab spring rolls which are my favorite item on the menu. They are packed with crab, pork, vermicelli and woodear with a crispy light skin. They're revamped the menu a couple of times and I can see they will continue to improve so that's a good sign. Service has been consistently below average though. Unfortunately, I think the younger staff is probably voluntold to work there and there's this one younger female worker who is always in a bad mood. It sort of kills the vibe sometimes eating here. The noodle soups are decent, but can be ordered anywhere else. Broth is on the lighter side since it's based on the style they are going for. Sometimes it's what you're looking for. read more

Crab Hot Lau - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I'm kind of person who likes to order the same beef soup at Vietnamese restaurants. However I had a thought of I want to have the pho noodles but something different. So I found this place and It was so unique and tasty pho I have ever tried. I didn't felt much crab flavour from the broth but from their signature spring rolls? Yum! This soup supposed to come out with thick noodles but substituted for pho noodles and it was great! The service was excellent. When I went there, the restaurant was not busy. Quiet and clean ambiance. (I can't remember if there was any music). The soup was very hot! I highly recommend it read more

Crab Hot Lau - #7- Crab Spring Rolls(Bún Chả Giò Cua) / #7 - 蟹春捲米线 - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

North Vietnamese dishes. Famous crab roll, and other apps. All delicious fresh ingredients. Claypot rice was amazing. Then there was pho too. read more

Crab Hot Lau - Wings, crispy tofu, chicken pho, crab rolls, mushroom chicken clay pot rice. Not shown, papaya salad with dried beef must try. - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

The food was delicious and very tasty. Service was excellent and the ambiance was clean very comfortable. Truly a great place to explore and enjoy a great meal . read more

Awesome tasty food and great fast service . Recommend #13 special beef pho also the dry noodle read more

See all

Crab based pho place on Kingsway. I must say this is a rather unique niche. Parking is plentiful on the side streets. The place used to be a Chinese restaurant, and it really shows on the interior. Decently modern. The glowing RGB speakers add a tacky party (Asian uncle and auntie karaoke night) feel. Staff are friendly and helpful. No complaints. As this place is more about the crabs and seafood, the menu actually doesn't have that many beef dishes at all. In fact, I think I only saw 1. However they do have some chicken dishes. Something to keep in mind. I had their signature field rice crab noodle soup, as well as their signature square crab spring roll. The bowl only comes in one size, and is decent. Instead of pho, they use a brown(?) version of wider rice noodles (somewhat similar to wonton soup). Besides the blob of pulverized crab, it comes with some fish cake slices, as well as some leaf wrapped pork sausages. Quite tasty, and definitely something different around here. The square spring roll is more like a large square "cake" that is cut into quarters. Nice crispy spring roll skin. Inside is the same filling as the pork sausages, mixed with clear vermicelli and some crab meat. Served with a generous portion of fish sauce, and some lettuce. Tasty, but definitely on the pricy side. This place also serves alcohol, and I think it turns into an uncle/auntie karaoke place at night. They dim the lights when it's party time. As of the time of the time of writing, there is a 15% discount on Mondays. Definitely worth checking out if one is in the area. Recommended. read more

See all

Finally came for lunch. We were a large group so got to try quite a few dishes. The restaurant is nicely decorated and good size with a few big tables. We had the crab spring roll, chicken wings, glass noodle, pork belly, 2 types of crab noodle soup. One is with Vietnamese crab and the other with local Dungeness crab. Both noodle soup was good but we all prefer the local one as it was more tasty. We also had the beef rib noodle. It came with a big piece of beef rib. Everything was tasty. Our bill came to $32 per person which is quite expensive for lunch. We did order quite a few dishes as we wanted to try all these different Vietnamese dishes. I would still come back and try their hotpot for dinner. This is more of a high end restaurant and not an every day pho place. read more

Servers are friendly and available when we do catch their attention (likely because we picked the further corner table). The food are all super interesting and different from the food you can get from the regular pho restaurant. The food seemed interesting and unfamiliar to my tastebuds but many customers here seems to speak Vietnamese and come with their family so must be authentic. Will come back and try the other things again but not the brown thick noodle and not an immediate love! read more

See all

Make a reservation!! And maybe still avoid weekends as it took us awhile to get seated and around 20 minutes before food arrived. Our kind waiter noticed that we were getting hangry and moved our 2 top order ahead of the big tables (there were 3 big tables of 8-15 people). We really appreciated that and the first dish to come was the crab spring rolls. It was phenomenal: good crunch, amazing flavours with the fish sauce, big chunks of crab. I would come back for this dish! The crab soup with wide noodles felt a bit more flat after the excitement of the spring rolls. The noodles had a really good Al dente bite, and again, I love the big chunks of crab. They did not skimp! Overall, I would definitely come back, most likely on a weekday and try their hot pot next time! Saw lots of table ordering that. Street parking was scarce, you will need to look for parking in the residential street behind Kingsway. A big thank you to the staff at Crab Hot Lau that were patient and attentive! read more

Crab Hot Lau - B1 crab special with wide noodles - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

So I came here based on a friend's recommendation. This is not your typical Vietnamese restaurant. Came here on a Saturday brunch/lunch. Street Parking and accepts credit cards. Lunch here is not too busy. Hot pots which they are known for starts after 5pm but it's summer and to hot for hot pots. Ordered: Glazed chicken wings appetizer - would love to give it a rave review but we found a hair imbedded in the first piece. We let the owner lady know - she was apologizing a lot and letting us know either she can replace the dish or not charge us or discount the bill. We ended up getting a free appetizer - that's why this place did not get a 5 star. Crab roll, grilled pork vermicelli - it's very different from regular vermicelli dishes. The pork comes in a warm soup that you can dip the vermicelli into. I do like the taste as it is very flavorful. Great for a hots summer's day. Large portions. Next time will ask for cooked bean sprouts. Crab rolls really delish iced Vietnamese coffee - you can have ice cubes or shaved ice in the drink. I chose the cubes. They got busy and the waiter forgot our drinks order so had to remind them a couple of times. They are overall very nice and different. Got the fish cake vermicelli in soup. The soup base is very nice with tomato but it does have a spicey kick to it and there are pork knuckles in it. will try again if I get a chance - very different from regular Vietnam dishes. read more

See all

We went to the restaurant last Sunday. We ordered the hot pot soups from the restaurant and they gave me the leftovers soups from the previous customer. That is horrible. I never come back to this restaurant. read more

My friends and I searched online and found this special Vietnamese restaurant that was highly rated, so we decided to give it a try. We ordered three dishes to share. They were a crab hot pot for one person, glutinous sticky rice with mung been, pork floss, fried shallots, and Vietnamese ham and an appetizer (A4 - Fresh vegetables, pork belly and pork skin. Wrap it yourself with rice paper). We did not enjoy any of the dishes unfortunately. The appetizer was very dry even though we could dip the rice paper into the fish sauce. We couldn't taste the crab broth in the crab hot pot. The crab hot pot came with some sauce with crab cream/sauce but the crab hot pot didn't give us a crab flavour at all. We felt disappointed about this dish. The sticky rice with mung been, pork floss, fried shallots and Vietnamese ham was a bit better among the three dishes. We might probably order the wrong dishes. But we did not enjoy the three dishes at all. We could have gone to better Vietnamese restaurants in the same neighbourhood. I gave three stars because the service was good. Servers paid attention to us and provided what we needed. There is street parking right in front of the restaurant on Kingsway. People can also park on the small streets in the residential area. read more

See all

Came back for dinner! Food was delicious and came out promptly. Loved the crab spring rolls, the noodle soup and dry vermicelli. The gluttonous rice was also a crowd favorite. The chicken wings were crispy and rivalled other spots. Flavors were all on point this time and everything came out hot. Ambiance was alright... loud music, felt like I was at a rave haha. read more

See all

Wow, a local friend highly recommended this place so we knew we had to give it a go. The service was friendly and accommodating with my toddler and infant. They were very understanding when my youngest was whiny and they were lovely with my oldest. But the food. Man, was it good. I've never had Northern Viet but it his was DELICIOUS. Everything we ordered had a unique flavour and taste - the broth for the crab (signature dish) was wonderful! The spring roll was so unique. The wings, at first glance, seemed ordinary but they were wonderfully marinated. But my favourite was the beef carpaccio. No one at the table was a raw onion fan but it was perfect in the salad. I'll be dreaming of these dishes for a while! read more

See all

Got me a group of 4 other friends so we can try as many dishes as possible. Crab Hot Lau specializes in northern Vietnamese cuisine so very different from the many pho restaurants in town. I appreciated their well curated menu with regional specialties presented in appetizers, every day meals to hot pot. We were there this past Saturday evening and it was fairly packed. They do take reservations and glad I called in a few days before. I really enjoyed: #A6- Nem cua biển HP (square crab spring rolls) #A14- Combo chả cá + chả lá lốt (Combo fried fish cake + wrapped in piper leaf. The betel leave is from the pepper family and considered a mild stimulant and used in traditional herb medicine in SE Asia) #A18- Cánh gà chiên mắm (Vietnamese fish sauce glazed chicken wings) #A20- Mực tươi nướng muối ớt (grilled squid) #A21- Tôm nướng muối ớt (grilled prawns with chili peppers) #10 - Miến xào cua biển (stir fried glass noodles with crab, mushrooms and vegetables) I didn't like so much: #5 - Bún ốc chuối đậu (Vermicelli with snail. I found the snail meat to be tough and hard to chew so not my thing) #16A - Xôi thịt HP (Sticky rice, braised pork belly, ham, pate, pickes and meat sauce. The pork was dry, ham was not special but the warm pate was awesome) I would love to come back for their hot pot dinner. The reddish brown flat rice noodles intrigued me. A friend also had a cold ice coffee and said it was strong and delicious. The prices are a bit high than the typical Vietnamese fare but well worth it. Sometimes it's hard to find parking on the Kingsway and the side streets as there are so many other restaurants near by. Be patient or park further away and walk in. read more

Crab Hot Lau - Fish cake and piper leaves - Hot Pot Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

See all

Came for dinner with 2 friends Thursday evening around 6:30 and it was maybe half full. They have a pretty large menu, but they're known for their crab spring rolls and crab hot pot, so that's what we shared! We ordered #A6, the crab spring rolls, for $19 and the 2 person crab hot pot for $44. I appreciate that they offer the hot pot in various sizes, from single servings up to large groups. The spring rolls came out hot and crispy. They're cut into 8 pieces so are great for sharing. I couldn't actually taste the crab at all; as far as I could tell it was mostly pork and mushroom with some shrimp at the bottom. But it was still good! The 2 person hotpot was also good, though we were a bit confused why it's called crab hot pot when we couldn't tell there was any crab in the dish. Maybe the broth is boiled from crab bones? It comes with fish cake and rolled sausage as well as brown rice noodles and veggies. Everything was good except for the fish cake, which we all didn't like as there was some weird flavor or herb inside. Overall I enjoyed the meal. I'd come back and get the spring rolls again but maybe skip the hot pot and try one of their other entrees. read more

See all