Atmosphere is a little rough but clean. The food was excellent and the service was good. Their menu was a little hard to understand. I would recommend a seafood bag where you can pick the seafood and sides for them to boil. It was tasty and plenty to eat. read more

This is Boston's best kept secret!!! If you are looking for a great seafood boil, this is the spot! and you won't break the bank. Definitely a place you must visit. read more

Pretty expensive and everything sits in a think layer of oil. Food initially tasted good but you feel crappy after a while from all the grease. I've had crawfish before in New Orleans, and this wasn't even a fraction as good. I'd skip this one. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Crawfish and shrimps in the classic sauce - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

The food was great!!! Wonderful flavorful sauces! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!! But the interior of the place was depressing!!! It didn't say anything about what they serve! It didn't have that seafood restaurant feel. It felt more like a divey, very dated, neglected bar. That purple color...brings the place down...it doesn't have an identity. I feel they tried to be many things according to the demand of the area. When I walked in I wondered if I was in the right place. Except for a wooden anchor at the entrance and a rope here and a rope there...the interior doesn't serve them at all! I hope the interior of the one opening in Brookline is more in line with their business because the food is fab!!! UPDATE: oh no...just saw photos of other branches...this is really their interior decor!!! That purple is really bad. I thought this branch was a bar they took over and they didn't bother to change the place to make it more fitting to the identity of a seafood place. read more

We got the Argentinian shrimp (head off) with the Shakin sauce in hot, and it was amazing! Crazy flavor and spice, very unique and tasty. Also really great value--paid $16 for a pound and it was filling and delicious. Also got the garlic noodles with the Yelp promo-they were simple but still delicious. We also got a pineapple fish bowl which was yum, strong and aesthetically pleasing read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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At my old age, is rare I find a place that tastes like home. This was still not it but woa! Tasty,tasty. My granddaughter is in one of those new age diets read more

Pretty good place ,seafood Louisiana style service was so so but for the food made it worthwhile

I fail to understand why this place has only 3 stars - it's mainly because of the service and the decor (people are complaining that they don't get a seafood vibe because of the purple walls! - seriously why would you knock off stars for that) Anyway, if you're craving good spicy Cajun seafood, definitely check this place out. Never have I enjoyed eating Alaskan king crab legs more than with the Cajun flavoured spices that marinate into the meat. Loved this place and will definitely come back for more! read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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The food was very good. It was not at all busy on a weekday lunch and only had one server. It is expensive since most items are straight up seafood. It doesn't have great energy but worked for us for a quick lunch of calamari, crab legs and a lobster roll. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Entrance - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Food was just alright. I had the fried catfish platter with sweet potato fries. The fries were good but the fish was not as crispy as I would like. The servers were very sweet and friendly but the place was very understaffed. The restaurant was less than half full but you had to wait a while to be shown to an empty booth. If service were faster then maybe it would be worth to come back to try their seafood boils since that's what they are known for. read more

Me and my friend went to shake and crab on tuesday for dinner. Now I went to the downtown location because it was convenient but I preferred to sit upstairs but they stated they only open upstairs when the level 1 was full so I did not like that. We sat right to hostess table which we could feel the cold air everytime someone opened the door which was pretty often. We decided to order the argentina shrimp with the head cut off and we got it but realized the oil they used for the Argentina shrimp with the head cut off was very oily or not very tasteful. Either way we did not finish the shrimp so unfortunately a little waste of our money. read more

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Wanted to stop by to try their crawfish, which was alright nothing special. Crawfish was half fresh half frozen from the boil!? read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - The aftermath ! - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Yes. All the yes. During a recent trip to Boston, I may or may not have eaten here three times (I did). Each time, I ordered the snow crab legs, with mild Shaking sauce and potatoes. The crab legs were hot, succulent, and the sauce was delicious. One tip: I did find out that they can customize the sauce. The Shaking sauce is pretty garlicky (as in, I got relegated to the couch the first night we ate there), so I ordered the sauce with less garlic the next two times and it was still delicious. So, if you have a job interview/first date/presentation the next day, know that you can reduce the garlic without reducing the flavor. read more

Do you enjoy eating with your hands? You will not need cutlery here, as you will be wearing plastic gloves to eat some delicious seafood. Leave the fancy watch, and rings at home... its time to crack those delicious crab legs, peel some shrimp and eat fries! This replace reminds me of the Boiling Crab in LA, it is the same concept! There are 2 levels, the upstairs is a large dining area. I kept checking in with the Yelp app to get my free garlic noodles but it did not work. They must have stopped giving that out at this location. We started off with a huge drink- the pineapple express. The drink came in a huge pitcher that looked like a pineapple, inside the pineapple was a tropical, alcoholic fruit punch. This drink is meant to be shared, or maybe not. We ordered half a pound of Alaskan Crab King legs. Don't let the thought of half a pound of food scare you, half a pound consisted of 4 crab legs that were meaty and juicy. We also ordered 1 lb of shrimp and half a pound of mussels. So that's about 2 lbs of food for 2 people, which was just nice. There are 4 different flavors that you can choose from- we chose the Shakin (cajun) for the crab legs and the Seoul (miso) for the shrimp and mussels. For the shrimp, you can choose to have it served with or without the heads. You can also pick the spice level- we chose medium for both. The Shakin was not too hot, but the Seoul was really really spicy, I had to drink more of my pineapple express to cool my poor tongue. We also ordered a side of sweet potato fries which were amazing. Service was just ok. Once our food came, our waitress disappeared. I really needed my water cup refilled because the food was so spicy but she kept ignoring me. Overall, this is a fun place to eat and is great for groups! Definitely get the pineapple express! read more

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I was looking forward to eat here for so long. My friend and I were initially going to check out the Newton location (the OG) but the wait was too long and the restaurant was too small. Second time around, I decided to check out the Boston Common location. This one is WAY more spacious. Two floors my friend. Pretty impressive. Love the purple walls, I love that. Being from SoCal, it was nice to see more restaurants that do hands-on seafood experiences. My friend and I ordered the 1 lb + 1/2 lb clam combo with Envie Cilantro Lime Sauce and medium spice which I enjoyed. For sides we got Cajun Fries and Garlic Mac & Cheese. Something that I'm not used to is that seafood places like this on the east coast give you gloves. Back in California, you eat with your hands baby. The shrimp size/portion was a bit smaller than Holly Crab. And it was sad that potato and corn were additional charge. Most places include it with the seafood. Overall, it was an alright experience. read more

This place has serious POTENTIAL!!! We were a bit unsure what or how to order. So, we ordered crab, shrimp, corn and broccoli. The meal arrived in a plastic bag. It came all together which was interesting. That being said we ordered the Louisiana seasoning and hot. It was very good. The seasoning was good. We wished we had some butter for the crab and corn but our waiter NEVER came to check on us... NOT ONCE! That was very disappointing. The food was better than 3 stars but the service was a disaster. I would try it again. It is fun, But be warned it is Messy!! read more

Put on the bibs, you're going to need them! Finding out about this place was a pleasant surprise. It's good Cajun food at a really convenient location. If you like getting messy and eating with your hands, you'll love Shaking Crab. We got one bag with shaking sauce and one bag with Seoul sauce. Honestly, we couldn't tell the difference, but both sauces were great. Fully recommend: Shaking Wings, corn Great: Blue crab***, shrimp Decent: Clam ***I actually really like blue crab. However, even with two of us working on one pound of crab, it was cold before we were even halfway through. I would recommend only getting the blue crab if you are with a big enough group that can finish it before it gets too cold. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Delivery was cheap and easy. I loved the clam chowder. My sister got the lobster roll which she said was OK.

Dope: The bartender and staff. The music and atmosphere. The catfish Po Boy. Life changing: The Shakin wings read more

Ordered lobster roll Was uneatable no mayo Worst I have ever had was not made the way the menu said read more

This was one of the best seafood experiences Ever!!!!! The place is small but don't let that turn you off. The flavors and potions are huge. My friend and I had crawfish, shrimp and blue crab. The best seasoning was the sweet chili. Talk Bout flavor explosion!!!!! We had all of this and a huge drink for 60 bucks. Worth every dime. Also do not ignore the garlic noodles. I am craving them as I type! Bring this to chicago read more

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NEVER go to this place！I stopped by at 8:45pm but they told me they don't have any table for me to sit down and I can only take out(while I saw two tables there available). While I'm waiting for the orders, I sit on a side table. The waiter can not wait and just put the chairs on the top of the table while we are sitting there. For my to go orders, they said there are free corns and sausages in my order but I don't see a single piece. I ordered 1/2 lb of shrimp and there are only 4 pieces in...and they are not fresh at all. The king crabs taste like they have been frozen for 3 months. The sauce was not blend well. You can see a spoon of spicy sauce and garlics sit in the bag and were not blended at all. read more

Very pricey, but the food was good. We got lobster rolls, clam chowder, and max and cheese. The lobster rolls were very nice, not a ton of meat but considering the price of lobster it was good. They were also quite flavorful. The mac and cheese was delicious, very creamy. The clam chowder was decent, I probably wouldn't get it again though. It's beyond heavy to the point of being almost inedible, but I think that's standard for clam chowder. Overall a nice spot if you're willing to pay, and the food is quite good! read more

Keeping it straight to the point. The place is small and cramp. Another patron walked by and knocked everything off my table by trying to get to her seat. Not her fault, the place was poorly arranged. Service, subpar nothing spectacular. Waitress came up to me and asked "you ready?". The food runner dropped the food and left. No one asked if anything was ok. Or went beyond my attention for me to care. The hostess was blah and didn't even welcome us. The Pineapple Express was straight up grenadine and it was $22 for 2 people. No alcohol, too sweet. I've had bigger fishbowls before. The menu is easy to read and they kept it simple. The food was ok. Everything was served on paper plates and plastic bags, with fat gloves and plastic bibs. People who definitely got sat WAY after us, received food way before us. I asked the waitress, wasn't too phased by my inquiry. Ended up, just asking for our check and leaving. They was apologetic took our oysters off the bill. So the food that we did have, friend oysters - 6 for $12 came out hot and paired with 2 sauces. Overall would never be coming back. After going to Capri seafood in federal hill in providence, this place was nothing in comparison. From the atmosphere to the food. Subpar all around. not impressed. Good place if you want something relaxed and casual. read more

I was looking for a crawfish place in Boston and was so excited when I found this. Wait isn't too long (went in a Saturday evening) and the food we ordered arrived very quickly. We ordered fried corn(Cajun seasoned) and Cajun fries. They arrived before our main meal, and they were amazing!!! Best fries and corn I've had in a while. The main meal we ordered was 2lbs crawfish and 1lb shrimp & 1/2lb clam all in the house Cajun sauce at the spiciest level. SUCH a great sauce, amazing seasoning and fresh ingredients. The portions are very good, and we were incredibly full and content at the end! Definitely recommend for crawfish/seafood lovers. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - 1 crawfish and 1 shrimp & clam combo - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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I'll start off by saying the food here was pretty great. Everyone in our party (6 people) was extremely pleased with the food and shareable drink ($39). However, our problem was with the service. We managed to finish our drink after about 15 minutes (craving to buy at least 2 more) and waited for our server to come over but never saw her. We're not even sure if she was still in the restaurant-- another waitress had to give us our check. We wanted to order dessert and more drinks but decided not to purely so the forced 20% gratuity wouldn't go to our "waitress". We really appreciate the other waitress that helped us bag our leftover food! Just a bit silly that they made us wait 45min when the restaurant was empty and then also couldn't even close us out properly. read more

I had a fantastic experience here! The hostess and server were incredibly friendly and I felt welcomed from the moment I walked in. I ordered the mac and cheese, Cajun fries, and snow crab legs in "shakin" flavor and very spicy seasoning with potatoes. The food came out quickly and perfectly hot. The crab had a lot of meat and it was flavored well. They provide a bib, gloves, and tools to pick the crab. I highly recommend if you love Cajun styled crabs. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Mac and cheese. Cajun fries - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

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Very ordinary. We ate before so we only ordered spicy calamari and shrimp crawfish combo. Calamari itself was alright, the fried pickled was is good tho. Shrimp was ok, but almost all the crawfish was dried af. Like they just put dried crawfish in boiled water for 5 seconds. Never gonna go back read more

Waitress told me the kitchen hasn't had lobster for a while (days? weeks?), how does a seafood restaurant run out of lobster and not order more? There's more than one seafood supplier in Boston, people. I was left with ordering a sandwich instead. The catfish po' boy is nothing special. Way too much bread and not enough catfish. I've had far better in Memphis (catfish central). The sweet potato fries were okay and the coleslaw wasn't coleslaw, it was giant chunks of cabbage in a cup. read more

Without the good service, this place could get zero stars. Visited Boston last weekend with some friends when we had a craving for crawfish. We called ahead and asked if the crawfish were live or frozen and were told "live". It did not taste live and was terrible tasting. The flavor did not seep into the meat and was all on the shells. The meat tasted as if it were boiled..that's how bland it was. At $11/lb. I expected better. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - 2 lbs of bland crawfish - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

I came here because I was visiting Boston and looking for lobster roll. The lobster roll was flavorful. I would've added a bit more of seasoning but good nevertheless. read more

Shaking Crab - Boston Common - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Ordered take out from shaking crab with a few of my friends. The pricing does not make a lot of sense, ordering shrimp + one more item combo is exactly the same price when you order them separately. And you think combo should come with potato or corn like any other Louisiana style seafood spot. However at this place, you need to add sides such for extra charge (even for combo!) compare to Loui Loui combos come with them. The pricing does not make a lot of sense, ordering shrimp + one more item combo is exactly the same price when you order them separately. Seafood seasoning can use a little boost, especially the crawfish, you can tell that it's not fresh. And without proper seasoning you can taste the "fishy" smell that crawfish carries if you get what I am saying. read more

Food was good, but you'd think if a customer spent $30 on some macaroni and cheese to go, they might've included a fork. We're sitting in our hotel room using coffee stirrers trying to eat this stuff. read more

Was seeing mixed reviews about this place but we decided to try it anyways and I am soooo glad we did. Being from the south I know seafood and this was great boiled seafood!! Really enjoyed. read more

I would give this place negative stars if I could. The food had no seasoning at all . I ordered lobster, shrimp, potatoes and corn, it had no taste at all. I wouldn't recommend this place to my worst enemy. read more

Go no further ya'll, come here and get some good ol' crawfish boil!! This 2 story restaurant does boils with great flavor. Good choices in what kind of sauce you want and offers everything from crawfish, shrimp, clams, mussels, crab, and lobster! The have about 5 different types of sauce you can pick from. I got the Seoul (sweet chili miso) sauce and at hot level. Spice had some kick but it wasn't overly powerful. Great spot to bring a group of friends. This night we decided to go a little extra and order the Pineapple Express! Think of a giant fish bowl of alcohol, but now think of it inside a copper pineapple. Yeah, that's a must have. Will definitely be returning to this fun spot! read more

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Growing up and having had the best Cajun seafood in Texas, I'd say Shaking Crab is on par with the worst joint in the Lone Star State. I know Boston isn't in the South, but even The Boil and Hot n' Juicy in NYC is pretty good, so I'm disappointed in Shaking Crab (I never got the chance to try it when I lived in NY but there are a few locations there too). We got the shrimp and crawfish with the Shakin' Cajun mix with Shakin' heat (extra spicy) The seafood tastes boiled in either plain water or an extremely dilute pot of seasoned water and then subsequently mixed in a bag of spices. The Cajun seasonings did not get a chance to permeate the flesh of the seafood, unfortunately. The shrimp was large and juicy though, but the crawfish was frozen. You know this immediately when you suck the heads and instead of a sweet, buttery taste you get a slightly bitter flavor. Overall the dish lacked sweetness, saltiness, spice/heat, butter, and garlic. It was even more ironic that in addition to the bland seafood, we got extremely salty garlic noodles. If anyone has lived in SF and eaten at PPQ or Thanh Long, you know what good garlic noodles taste like. Even I make a really good copycat at home. The garlic noodles here were waaayyyy too salty. They were also overcooked and mushy. I'm wondering if it's because we ate there at 10pm that we got the noodles that have been hanging out at the bottom of the pot all day. Maybe it was an off night and we got the bad batches? Maybe they should hire a new cook? It just seems surprising to me that all the chains get good reviews - I feel like I'm missing something. The service was great though. read more

Just a fun, engaging, and delicious experience! Casual and reasonably priced for seafood. It gets messy though, so beware! "Hot" is not actually that spicy, so go for "extra" if you are looking for good heat. Skip the lobster roll - it's clearly not there specialty. Staff was clearly new, but it didn't affect the experience at all. Enjoy! read more

Well, I was excited to see what the buzz was all about. I can honestly say that the commercials make the place seem more than what it is We were seated,, and no one offered water or a cocktail , so I had to wave someone down to get a beverage, the calamari is mostly peppers, the portions are not as abundant as what is shown on the commercials. Not a bad place it was an experience. read more

I had a cousin in town visiting who wanted some lobster. Shaking Crab hit the spot. She enjoyed her lobster roll and fries. I really enjoyed my steamed bag of shrimp, crawfish, and andouille sausage. Reasonably priced. They give you a ton of aprons and gloves so you don't get messy. Service was fine. And food came out quickly. read more