This was some of the freshest snow crab I've had in a long time and the signature red and black sauces were packed with some impressive flavor. If you're looking for some high quality seafood, this place will hit the spot. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the International Market Place, just above the luau area. They were having a luau when we arrived for dinner as the sun was going down, which made for a pretty nice atmosphere. We started with the chilled seafood sampler which came with some super meaty oysters, shrimp cocktail and ahi poke. I usually prefer oysters on the smaller side, but these tasted so fresh and clean that I'd order them again in a heartbeat. After a few suggestions from our server, we decided to go with the signature combo and added some snow crab and lobster. It came out in 3 separate bags so we went with each of the 3 signature sauces to give them all a try. My favorite sauce was probably the red, which came packed with cajun flavor and a hint of spice, but the black and white sauces were delicious in their own right. The flavors of each sauce were more nuanced and complex than the ones I've had at other seafood boil places, which is something I appreciated. All of the seafood in our combo was cooked perfectly and tasted great, but the snow crab and lobster were the real stars. Each giant piece of crab leg was filled with sweet, buttery meat and when paired with the chunks of spam covered in the sauce, was just perfect. If you want to indulge yourself a little bit, get yourself some snow crab and some giant lobster claws and you will not regret it. The meal ended with a unique and fun dessert that they made for the kids, which capped a very satisfying experience. I was a little skeptical about this place after reading some of the reviews, but this was one of the best dinners we had on our trip. I think some of the reviewers might have come here expecting a bargain or some cheap eats, but to be honest, real quality seafood comes at a price. I can tell these guys take care in sourcing quality, which is why I'm looking forward to coming back. read more

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This was my first time trying this restaurant. I had the shrimp and chips appetizer and a small cup of chowder. Both were very disappointing. The chowder was very watery and could not find a single clam. The shrimp was fried until it was burnt and had an odd taste. I didn't even finish one. But the fries were good. I will say that our server was very nice and attentive. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Shrimp and fries - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This review pertains ONLY to the visit I made 28 December, around 1:30pm. Was in area figured I'd come in for a late lunch/ early dinner. Please see the pic I posted day I came so you can refer to what I saw visually walking UP to the place. The menu table normally is at main entrance up against door so patrons can view the menu. Not the case this day. Also none of the doors were open, and all blinds were lowered giving the appearance they were closed. Patrons/guests would have to enter the premise block the entryway. I entered the building, no one was at the cashier/greeting table. I walk further in, then an elderly lady sees me and gets super startled - stating "Oh! We weren't expecting anybody to be here!" She quickly grabs menus and proceeds to take me to a table. All tables are already made up with paper lining and all, and with it just being me, I mentioned how I usually sit at the bar as I don't want to mess up the tables and waste materials, since I wasn't eating the boil. She gave this look of immediate disapproval, and just said 'Whatever'. Sit myself down, she slaps menus next to me and immediately walks away, disappearing into kitchen. Now I'm seated and no one come over to greet me, or at least bring me water for a couple of minutes. Finally get brought a cup of water by bartender, still no greeting walks away, and starts tending to getting supplies ready completely not addressing me. I FINALLY have to call her over just to order a beverage, and then she just nonchalantly 'What you ordering?' Now if you aren't getting the gist here ZERO customer friendly interactions when you have a completely EMPTY restaurant!!! I said I needed a bit more time to place food order but place my beverage order while mulling over the choices - something crispy but light refreshing and not to heavy that will paralyze me. I'm enjoying my beverage - bartender completely not monitoring the entryway - as this group of Japanese tourists enter, and are waiting at guest counter for seating. Not lying - this bartender completely unaware there was ANYONE around - I could HEAR them talking half way across the ROOM!!! I decide NOT to assist to see HOW long it would take for this person to use her Situational Awareness to SEE she had guests! I SWEAR it was almost 3-4 minutes!!!! The group was starting to shift uneasily about, unsure what to do. So I finally "Ahemmed!!" loud enough - the bartender FINALLY looks up at me - and I point to the door where NO ONE was and rather than rush over and being apologetic, slowly finishes up what she was doing, and calls for the elderly looking lady. That one comes out seats them - walks off and again it takes time for the bartender to even bother going over to properly greet and address them! That's when she comes over to me, muffles a thanks. I'm on E for my beverage at this point and request a refill. Was given a look like how DARE I get another beverage before eating, and was gruffly asked if I was ready to place my order. No sooner do I place my order, does refill my beverage, takes away all the menus (usually the Manager or the other bartender would leave them on standby in case I wanted to order take out) walks off and ignores me until the food is ready til food was just about ready. No friendly engagement at all. Truth be told I WAS wanting to do a to go item for my dinner later - but considering the unwelcoming behavior, rudeness of the bartender, I got up walked over to pay my bill - oh yeah ZERO tip - deservedly so! And from here on out - I will NOT dine or support this business when these individuals are on the clock. Will DEFINITELY take my business elsewhere because I sure the heck was made to feel MY business and presence there was EXTREMELY unwelcome and NOT wanted. read more

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Literally AVOID AT ALL COST. I should've listened to the reviews for this one. There was a reason this place was so empty on a weekend evening when other restaurants were not. I love sea food, everywhere I've traveled, I've had this type of seafood boil. And this is probably the worst place I've had it. In the entire world. From Amsterdam to Canada to anywhere in the US. This is the worst place to have seafood boil. The seasoning/sauce is so bland. I got the white and black sauce as it seems to be their speciality. Where is the flavor. They might as well just advertise straight up boiled seafood without sauces. Definitely not worth the price and definitely not worth the visit. I usually give 2 stars lowest, just for service, but the service wasn't good enough to make up for the bad food especially for the price you pay for lobster. Tl;dr - food sucks, don't waste your time or money. If you really want to try it, don't get the black and white sauce. read more

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I don't know why it took me so long to write this, but maybe I was too busy dreaming about the crab boil of my dreams--because CrackinKitchen truly delivers. I went twice. Yup, twice. And both times? I dove headfirst into their snow crab seafood boil, spicy enough to make you blush and messy enough to remind you that the best meals are never clean. The flavors? Smoky, buttery, kiss-of-heat perfection. Every bite had me licking my fingers and shamelessly reaching for more. Pair that with service as smooth as the Hawaiian breeze, and you've got yourself an experience, not just a meal. The drinks are solid too! Oahu, I'll see you in December. And you already know Crackin' Kitchen is on my itinerary. read more

Too pricey though. Let's look at the location the pricing and the servings. They do not marry well.

Waitress was not friendly. Food was tasteless. Ambiance was zero. The serving of food dumped from a plastic bag for the diners at the next table was gross looking. We had lived in Hawaii many years, and this restaurant left no good memories. read more

Located on the 3rd floor of International Market Place in Waikiki along with a bunch of other restaurants on the same floor. Great ambiance, the space felt very open as half of the restaurant had no walls so it's like dining outside but with shelter. It was the weekend and there were only two tables occupied for lunch time. I walked past this place a few times and wanted to try it, so that was the day. We tried their clam chowder, gumbo, crab cake sliders and garlic shrimp with the garlic noodles substitute. The clam chowder was creamy and delicious. There were quite a bit of clams in there too, but I'm not sure if it's worth $9. My hubby said he liked the gumbo. I tried a bite and it was good. It came with rice as well. The crab cake sliders were decent as well. My biggest disappointment was the garlic shrimp. It seemed like a great deal. You get a shrimp plate with salad and rice and 12 pieces of shrimp for $22 (garlic noodles sub $3). But geez, I haven't had such old shrimp in a restaurant before. I mean, it wasn't to a point where it smelled, but the swimmerets and parts of the body of a few shrimp were blackened - a sign of getting exposed to air for too long. And even for those who weren't blackened, the shell was shriveled away from the meat already, and the meat itself kinda broke apart, instead of the fresh plump shrimp meat that one would expect. I was served 12 shrimps, but I think I could only eat 6, and forced myself to eat 2 more, but I really couldn't finish the rest. It's the first time I left shrimp on my plate like that! I let one of the kitchen staff know but he didn't seem to be bothered either lol. So I guess I won't bother to come back too. This place has potential and being one of the few (or maybe the only one?) seafood boil restaurants in Waikiki, it could really draw in a crowd. I hope they can source better shrimp as it's a staple for a seafood boil restaurant. Hopefully that was an isolated incident, but I don't think I'll spend money here again to give them another try. There are so many other restaurants in town. read more

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My wife booked a crab boil for herself and her brother. They were the only place in Honolulu with king crab available at all. When we arrived, the gentleman was apologetic that all he had available was red king crab; a better crab at a higher cost. One might think this to be a problem, but it was better than she had expected and the higher price point was irrelevant. She and her brother, both true foodies, left walking on air. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

No. Just no. Very disappointing. Came for happy hour, prices were on the affordable side compared to other places around but still spendy since it's Hawaii. We did not try their actual seafood boils hence this was not a one star. Wanted to give them the benefit since there were others eating and their crabs and shrimp looked fresh and good. We got the calamari which was not very crunchy. Their batter was subpar, small portion size. And they literally just drizzled thai chili sauce from the store on it. Nothing special. The kalua nachos was even more basic, no special ingredients to speak of simple foods, not sure what we were expecting. Service was friendly and quick. 2 sides to the restaurant, a more open to air side and the ac side. Not busy at all during late lunch/happy hour time. Should've been our first clue to stay clear. Will not be back, but would give their actual seafood boils a chance and just avoid their other apps and happy hour menu. Happy eating! read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Calamari and nachos - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Located on the top floor of International Market place. It had a great view of the sky as you dined. We ate without reservations and arrived before the dinner rush so we were seated immediately. We ordered clam chowder fries as an appetizer. As clam chowder fans, we thought it was delicious. We also ordered one of their specials which was recommended by our waiter. A signature combo that included all three different spices that they offer. This included king crab legs, mussels, clams, shrimps, corn and spam. Also ordered a side of garlic noodles. Three sauces included lemon butter, cocoa with cracked pepper, and cajun. Most seafood boils leave the food in bags to retain sauce/seasoning and heat but they dumped our food on the table for us. After 5 minutes out the bag, our food quickly grew cold. Although all flavors were amazing, we wished to enjoyed it hot. Definitely a great spot to satisfy seafood cravings. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Clam Clowder Fries - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Fun experience. Hostess was awesome! Food good. Would have preferred a lot less sauce, naked seafood with sauce on the side. Service was great! Ambiance as what you see. Open air dining . read more

Atmosphere: Located on the 3rd floor of the market center towards the back. Some of the tables do sit very close to where people are walking but we got a seat in the back away from shoppers. Food: I ordered the 1 pound head off shrimp with potatoes added, Cajun, hot. The option to add potatoes was not on the menu, but you can. It was good and spicy! There was a ton of shrimp, but there were not many potatoes added. My friend added corn to hers and it totaled one ear of corn. Drink: I got the pineapple drink. While it was pretty, it was overly sweet and I couldn't finish it. Service: I hesitate to define the overall service of a restaurant by one server, but he had to be one of the least attentive servers I have ever had and didn't check on us until we paid and stood around on his phone. Overall the food made up for the drink and lack of service. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Shrimp with potatoes and corn - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The food is bland, uninspired and overpriced. Skip this one. No one has ever eaten here twice.

Table for 5 under name Friday ... Omggg this place food is out of this world delicious. My husband and I ordered the king crab for 2 with red and black sauce spicy level 2 and my sister in law Dungeness crab with Portuguese sausage in red sauce. My brother ordered crab fried rice delicious. Family friendly and super efficient helpful staff. Yes another highly recommended must eat place in Waikiki and you will not be disappointed. Thanks for showing us how to properly use the tools for opening our king crap legs. read more

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Looks like I'm review number 13 for this restaurant. Despite all the hustle bustle and long lines of people waiting at the street level restaurants, we were able to get a table here without a long frustrating wait. Everyone who worked there was enthusiastic and friendly with their greetings and service. We got the signature combo with garlic noodles and the food came out quickly. It was a good amount of food, especially for the price. The signature combo comes with all three sauces. All of them were good in their own way. We got the sauces spicy and they were more like medium. Spicy without going very far up the heat scale. The Diamond Head Margarita was refreshing yet strong. It made it easy to drink. A satisfying, comfortable, and fun meal all around. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Good folks with a sense of humor here. - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Outstanding service and a lot of fun! Great food....the pork is AMAZING! love the ambiance! The house vinegrett is one of the best I have ever had! We tried to talk them into bottling and selling it...LOL! I totally recommend this restaurant! read more

First, Lower the prices to start. Then give a decent sized portion for what you pay. It's hard to justify the prices except for the owners. Rent is sky high being in Waikiki I'm sure. read more

Although we are dining out later with friend I needed a lunch nosh loved the tropical lemonade the with mixed strawberry and guava I stuck with the standard tea. We ordered the lunch crab fried rice, Guava soy wings and the Garlic Shrimp plate. Not the biggest place but quaint read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - The entrance to island cuisine - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Great great food very impressive. This restruant is a personal favorite of mine in Waikiki. The ambiance is great and a very subtle red coloring on the inside. The service is some of the best In Waikiki. all of the staff was great better than any other restaurant in Waikiki. read more

We were on a quest for seafood and "Kauai Garlic Shrimp" were calling our names. We were wandering the international marketplace in Waikiki, so we dropped into Crackin' Kitchen. We ordered the Garlic Shrimp plates, one with garlic noodles (as an upcharge) the other with rice as it traditionally comes. The flavor was great, but the shrimp were peel and eat and not deveined, which was a turn off. My husband opted to try the crab cake sliders instead, which were very good. We would definitely come back, but would probably avoid the shrimp on the next visit. read more

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The food sucked and it was sooo bitter and the butter tasted like parmesan cheese and out of all it was expensive.GET BETTER

Prefacing this with the fact that I don't like seafood, so I can't judge the main meals. The pork nachos and chowder fries were really tasty, however. The service was solid, if not above average. They have a very interesting setup, with paper towel, gloves, special crab leg opening devices (little plastic claw things), and they placed a sheet for the meal. This works out to be a really cool idea (not that they invented it, but they do it well), where the large amount of seafood we ordered was in bags, and they dumped it out on the table. We put our bibs and gloves on and dug in. The staff instructed us on how to use the crab leg tool. We had 3 sauces, and they were all solid, but I can't speak on it much because i don't like the seafood taste, although I tried everything once! Fun place and a rating of 3 or 4 stars seems accurate. Not inexpensive, but you get a good amount of food and nice service! read more

I should have read the reviews before trying this place. But I so hungry, the name intrigued me bc I love seafood but don't come to this place for seafood. I wonder why it's so empty too. The food's not great. To start, we were given water and in the middle of drinking, I found an ant in my cup of water! I asked for a new cup and she immediately threw away my water and gave me a new one so thanks for that. Waited a bit for our food. I got the shrimp curry and my friend got the fish. The food is mid. Not great. Not the best. Edible, but I would not come here again. Plus Waikiki, yes it's going to be expensive. I honestly can't believe there doing business and are still open. How are they not closed?! I had also ordered the fries and they must've forgotten my order because we did not receive it. My friend called our waiter and reminded them that we ordered fries and she was like "oh yes, let me get them for you" It took a while to get to us and it was soooo gross. Not enough cheese and bacon. There was like 3 pieces of bacon... tf Again, this place was empty! There were like 3 other tables but the vibe wasn't there. Music horrible. Outdated. Waiters would be just standing there either doing nothing or talking. Ant in water, Food is mid, you can get better, they forgot what we ordered, wait was long, empty restaurant explains a lot. Do not go here. They should close down. read more

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The customer service was very good Professional and Friendly . I LOVE Crab. The Crab, Shrimps., Muscles and Clams were on point and they taste so good The special sauce wasn't hot nor salty . Just like I like it Would I go there again YES.!!! Kudos to them at Crackin' Kitchen. read more

The food was great! The staff were amazing! Loved the openness of the dining experience! I will eat here every time I'm in Oahu!

I saw this spot advertised on International Market Place's Instagram page and was so excited to try. Last night we finally made it over and it definitely lived up to the hype! My husband and I both have gluten sensitivities and our server was super knowledgeable. He advised us on what to avoid (all sauces, bummer) and the spices. BUT we started with kalua pork nachos (no cheese sauce-that contains gluten) which were delicious! Next up we ordered the crab leg boil, lobster and shrimp with melted butter as a sub for sauces. SO GOOD! Even my picky kids were gobbling up crab, mussels and clams! Having the boil spread out on the table is really fun, especially with family or a group of friends and the service was truly top notch. We will definitely be visiting again soon! read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Crab leg boil with an add-on of shrimp - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Food is ok, not worth the price. Portion appeared small. Their signature sauce isn't that remarkable. Service- bartender was great, the drinks were good, hence 3 stars. read more

We didn't try any of the main shellfish offerings here but we did try some of the other options. The seafood pizza was excellent among the soups and appetizers. Not a very large restaurant located in the Waikiki area International Mall. In the super upper lever restaurant row. Very nice venue. read more

Waitress was rude. Asked for three waters with no ice when the waters came with ice I asked for without ice she said why didn't you tell me before. Rude waitress only ate appetizers and left. read more

We were really hungry and walking around the mall looking for something unique. My hubby spoted this place. We ordered a seafood combo. The flavors were all unique and delicious. I didn't like the spam mixed in with it much but that's Hawaii for you. We would visit again. read more

Third floor of the international market. Clean, good place to sit, relax, and enjoy a meal. Friendly staff, actually the most friendliest I've experienced so far on this trip. Garlic shrimp plate was good, I wish it was more garlicky, it tasted sort of bland but the side of hot sauce totally made it. The salad dressing was the bomb, very light and savory... loved it. Totally worth the price and they only serve this during lunch. Overall enjoyed my meal, will come back for dinner. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Menu - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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In Waikiki the food is more expensive and the quality in some restaurants is not great for the price. Crackin' left us waiting 45 minutes on our food. When we got it, it was mid at best. We ordered their signature seafood bags with three different sauces. The music was in competition with the music coming from the international market system. It was a rough experience. For our wait we were offered free alcoholic beverages but we don't drink, so no bill credits or other offers were made. That was pretty disappointing. But not as disappointing as the flavors that didn't make any sense together in our meal. Not a good look for a prime location destination in Hawaii. At least the server was nice. read more

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We love this place, the food is so good we love all the 3 sauces. If you want a really spicy one pick xxx sauce. Their seafoods tastes fresh. I cannot complain anything with the service, kudos to Mr. Jun "owner" makin sure now and then that we got everything we need. The place and set up is gorgeouse, nice location. This place is a must try if your visiting in waikiki at the International Marketplace. 2 thumbs up! It was our very first and last lunch during our stay in waikiki!:) read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - #Crackin Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

While walking through the International mall, this place caught my eye. I ordered the shrimp head on with snow crab legs and fried rice. The shrimp and crab was delicious especially when dipped in the house special RED sauce with XXX spice. Pricey but you expect that from a seafood boil. Food came out quick and inside the restaurant looks great with lots of space. If you want shrimp/crab this is the place for you. Third floor of the international market place with a beautiful view looking down at the mall center. read more

I've had my fair share of seafood boils in Bay Area, California and Ontario, Canada but this has topped it 100000%. Service was quick and very nice The sauce we got was red sauce and we had xxx and medium for spice ( it was so good we went twice on our trip to Hawaii) The most tender muscles ever and not overcooked at all. The snow crab was the star of the show. It literally melted in our mouth. It was the perfect amount of garlic and spice, some places put too much garlic in the sauce and it hurts your stomach the following day but not here! Really good price also for feeding two people. We were full off of just the combo bag with the snow crab shrimp muscles and mini muscle with sausage and for $78 it was a steal. The location is also very nice. It's a smaller sized restaurant but the open feel of the main room near the bar was great, open doors/windows let in a cool breeze and if u want more air conditioning there's another side where it's closed off and much colder. read more

Where do I start, I thought I was going to go to flavor town but did not the crab legs had no flavor nether did the sauces. The mango lemonade nor sour than delicious. While we were eating we were getting stared at while eating so the dinner over all was not worth the $116. read more

The service was great but the food... not so much. We got the Dungeness crab for two which came with one whole crab, one corn cob cut up, one potato cut up, and a container of spam cut up for $190; not anywhere near enough for two people to be satisfied with that price. The sauces included were subpar and lacked much flavor at all, we could only taste a metallic bitter flavor with a hint of garlic. I recommend visiting a different boil establishment as the cost and flavor are not worth it. I will give credit to the service as they were good. read more

The signature combo with black, red, and white sauce was amazing. Everything was perfectly cooked and marinated. Nick was a great server and made the experience worth it! read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Had a fantastic experience at Crackin Kitchen, I was especially impressed with manager Yasushi T. He gave my family and I outstanding customer service and also showed his knowledge of the food being served. The ambiance is great being in the beautiful international marketplace, doubly so at night!!! the food tasted great 10/10 experience with my time at Crackin Kitchen, would recommend. read more

Crackin’ Kitchen - Oysters - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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