We've been to a few of these seafood boil places and comparatively, Kickin Crab ranks in the top half. Pricing is OK -- it's more expensive than places in North OC/LA or even Santa Ana, but obviously not as expensive as a touristy spot like Santa Barbara. Parking could be a challenge on weekends and meal times -- during peak times, we avoid the main lot and parking garage, and go straight to the extra lot off of Alton (next to H-mart on the other side of the driveway). Wait time is usually about 30 minutes during peak times. For our family of 4, we usually get Combo 3 plus an appetizer and extra sides like pasta or rice. Comes out to about $200-$250. Service is inconsistent. Sometimes we get great service, other times, we're waiting to get gloves and water refills. read more

Expensive as hell but worth it, You basically get everything you want, including the table cover and lemon slices, the juices alone is amazing but you have the option. The worker was basically like, "you want snow crab, potatoes, sausage, eggs, corn and you want it hot?" This was extremely delicious, but not $70-$80 delicious. The place is expensive but totally worth it, I just can't justify paying so much. It should have cost $50-$60, you don't get the actual entire crab, just the legs. They charge you for the entire crab, every items you order, it should at the minimum have given me those metal crab opener things or a mallet. Also, the worker pretty much wanted me out of the store, they never asked me if I wanted to dine in there. Only reason why I don't rate this 5 stars is the price and lack of utensils. read more

I'd give this place a mixed review--there are definitely some good points, but also a few things that could be improved. The spice level is well done--level 1 has a nice kick without being overwhelming, so it's a good choice if you want flavor without too much heat. The shrimp and clams were decent and enjoyable, but the crab and lobster didn't taste as fresh, which was a bit disappointing. This is definitely a spot where it's best to go all in and order everything together to really enjoy the experience. One small but important note: you'll need to ask for lime specifically, as they only provided lemon by default--and lemon and lime really do make a difference in flavor. I still don't love that they use foam containers for hot water. It just doesn't feel right having hot liquids sit in foam, and it takes away from the overall experience. Service was another downside. It wasn't the friendliest or the fastest--both the waiter and waitress seemed like they didn't really want to be there. The restaurant can also get pretty busy during dining hours, which probably contributes to the slower service. Also, be prepared to get messy. This is not the place to go if you want to stay clean while eating--hands-on is part of the experience here. Overall, it's an okay spot if you know what to expect and go in with the right mindset. read more

KICKIN' CRAB @ DIAMOND JAMBOREE The wait on memorial weekend wasn't that bad, only about 15 minutes for a group of 3. Their house seasoning for the seafood boil bag in medium was perfect--not too spicy and not bland. It's a pretty casual place to go out, make sure to ask for gloves! read more

We ordered the garlic noodles, seafood scampi, seafood alfredo pasta, Kickin' Combo Deal #3 and chose the kickin' style for our seasoning, and a pound of snow crab legs. Everybody at the table loved the garlic noodles. I liked the texture of the noodles here. I didn't have much of the seafood scampi, but the pita bread it came with was good. The seafood pasta was great too and again loved the texture of the noodles! There were 5 of us and we shared the kickin' deal #3 where you can choose 1 of the following: lobster, Dungeness crab or snow crab legs. Then the second portion you can choose 3 options from: clams, shrimp, crawfish, or mussels. It's an additional $2 charge for head off shrimps. We ended up choosing the snow crab legs, double shrimp and one crawfish. For our seasoning, we chose Kickin' Style. Kickin' Style is a mix of the Garlic Butter, Cajun, Lemon Pepper, and Louisiana seasoning. My favorite thing was definitely the snow crab legs... which is why I ended up ordering an extra pound of it after. I didn't really love the shrimp and crawfish though. When we walked in I think I saw a white board that said they were out of live crawfish that day so maybe we got the frozen ones? The live ones are probably better. Service was good, I think we shocked the waiter with how much we ate haha. They give you gloves to make the seafood boil experience less messy. They also have a sink where you can wash your hands after and when they bring your bill, they give you hand wipes. read more

The Kickin' Crab - KICKIN COMBO #3 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

Love Kickin' Crab!! Located In Diamond Jamboree Center!! Relaxed Ambiance & Friendly Staff!! Casual Restaurant Serves Cajun Seafood Boil!! Great For Lunch Dates & Family Gatherings!! Menu Offers Appetizers, Soups, Seafood In A Bag, Seafood Entrees, Garlic Noodles, Add Ons & More!! Ordered Pound Of Shrimp, Added Eggs & Potatoes, Mild Kickin' Style Seasoning & Rice!! Good Seafood Lunch!! Service Was Quick, Helpful & Attentive!! Will Return For Future Visits!! ThankU read more

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Kickin Crab has stuck as a classic seafood boil spot for as long as I can remember with so many locations in SoCal. I like them because they have great combo deals, unique appetizers, and fast and friendly service at this location! My friends all wanted shrimp, mussels, and clams individually. Instead, they offer a great combo #1 deal with all three of our choices which was very nice! The combo comes with a pound of seafood of 3 choices from their selection of 4 items, 2 corn cobs, 2 potatoes, and 4 pc sausage. Now I would add extra if you were really feeling hungry, but we found the portion to satisfy our cravings enough. We did order their Cajun fries, though, which were addictive and spicy! It's a simple seafood boil joint, nothing fancy but it doesn't need to be. The seafood was fresh, hot and delicious! I want to try their coconut snails the next time I am back! Overall, standouts were the food and service at The Kickin' Crab. read more

The Kickin' Crab - KICKIN COMBO #1: Shrimp, Mussels, Clams (1lb ea) - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

My daughters know I love to try new things so for Mother's Day they brought home an amazing feast of seafood and all the fixins from Kickin' Crab. We enjoyed snow crab legs(their Alaskan king crab was already sold out) shrimp, mussels, garlic noodles, andouille sausage, potatoes, corn on the cob, fries and rice. My favorites were the mussels and garlic noodles. You choose the spice level and we chose mild which still has a slight kick to it. It was so delicious !! Since our order was "to go" I have one suggestion to make the experience better. The staff should automatically ask if bibs and gloves are needed. My daughter forgot to ask for them but I feel the staff should always ask this on pick up orders since the person picking up is so busy making sure all the food is packaged up, it is easy to forget to ask for the non food essentials. Doing this simple thing just helps to complete the entire food experience. All in all a terrific food experience! read more

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Great service and no wait on a Saturday noon! The flavor of the seafood boil sauce was fantastic, but only can do full pound orders and no half pound. The quality of the shrimp was outstanding with no mushy shrimp at all. The Cajun fries when dipped in the seafood boil sauce was delicious but only their own, the Cajun seasoning was not as prominent Definitely would return again! read more

The Kickin' Crab - Shrimp, Cajun Fries - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

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Located in diamond jamboree where parking could be hectic. But food is very good and flavorful. Cajun fries is always good Can't go wrong with shrimp Clams were juicy Garlic noodles are garlicky Fried oysters were hot and freshly battered Sweet potato fries are decent We ordered the combos with Kickin style sauce that includes all the sauces they have. It's good ! They provided the shell crackers for our snow crab legs so it was easy to eat. Request for gloves if you want to keep your hands clean ! read more

The Kickin' Crab - Combo 3 and 1 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

I am a fan of Kickin Crab always. The wait on a Friday night is usually long. We were 12th in line which was about an hour wait. If you get cold easily, request to sit on the right side of the restaurant. The left side is colder for some reason. Anyways, the host quickly got us seated when we received the text. Our waiter was attentive at the beginning, but later, he slowly got busy with other tables and wasn't attentive any longer. We were later being helped by other waiters. Our usual order consists of Kickin style medium crawfish with sausages, Cajun Fries, and Kickin' wings. The prices are starting to slowly go up. For a piece of corn, it's about $2. Right now, you have an option to choose live or frozen crawfish. We always go with live and it's about $21 per pound. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Crawfish; Cajun Fries - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

Kickin Crab is a hit or miss depending on the day. Difficult parking during busy hours + friendly service. We ordered crab legs and shrimp this time around which were not fresh. Sauce lacks in flavor. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

Currently has fresh crawfish much better than frozen in the boil bags. Great fish tacos. Pass on the clam chowder, popcorn shrimp and seafood scampi plate not work the $21 with 3 mussels, 3 clams and 3 shrimp. Good taste but not worth the money. Pitas with the plate were good fluffy and soft . read more

The Kickin' Crab - Shrimp, crawfish and dungeoness crab boil. KICKIN COMBO #3 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

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My family loves this place. We always get snow crab and shrimp and it's great every time. I'm particularly impressed with the shrimp -- it's cooked perfectly every time -- never overcooked and rubbery like at some places. And they're nice big and juicy. We've always also ordered the sausage and potatoes with the snow crab, and it's pretty good. We've recently also started ordering the red rice and broccoli and while nothing special they're good sides. They sometimes run out of the utensils like the crackers and scissors -- we've even talked about bringing our own. read more

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Came on a Saturday afternoon and was immediately seated which was ideal since we were starving! We ordered #2 and got snow crabs & shrimps with the Kickin' Style seasoning. The service was speedy, and our server was super attentive and regularly checked in. I can't recall the last time we feasted on seafood like that, and boy, it didn't disappoint! The restaurant was clean, welcoming, and it's in the perfect vicinity of other dessert spots after your meal! read more

The Kickin' Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

The seafood in a bag, especially the shrimp and mussels, was absolutely the best, perfectly cooked and bursting with flavor. Sometimes the mussels are undercooked. I could eat the shrimp again and again without getting tired of it. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Shrimp, Mussels - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

The Kickin' Crab in Irvine, is located at the Diamond Jamboree plaza. During busy times of the day or night, parking can be a big pain if you're trying to find a spot in the main lot. There is additional parking available in the parking structure behind the plaza. They unfortunately do not have a wait list on your Yelp app, however, they do have one inside that you can add your name to. This household loves seafood. The kids constantly ask for a seafood boil but wait times are usually longer than we are willing to wait. This last time was an exception on a Saturday evening. The wait list was surprisingly only 20-25 minutes. This time around, we sat over on the left side of the restaurant. In previous times, we were seated to the back right where it's a bit darker and more cramped. I'm glad we got to sit where we did this time around. Our server, whose name I totally didn't catch, was amazing. What we order; 1) The Kickin' combo deal # 3 - $129.99 We chose the snow crab, shrimp, crawfish and mussels. I wish we would've done more shrimp or chosen clams. Although crawfish is good, they're not as easy to take apart. So much work for such a small amount of meat. This comes with two pieces of corn, two pieces of potatoes and four pieces of sausages. This bag and the other items we ordered that were in a separate bag, was full of chopped garlic. So good. Since I am the only one who likes spicy, we ordered the food with garlic butter. I asked for a side of kickin style sauce in medium. In reality, I could've gone one spicier. The medium was very mild to me and I could barely feel the heat but the sauce was tasty. That's what I get for asking someone how spicy something is. We all have different spice tolerance , so I need to take that into consideration next time. 2) garlic noodles with shrimp $23.45 - a must for our little one 3) extra snow crab legs - Market price 4) extra shrimp - Market price 5) extra mussels - Market price 6) Dungeness crab - Market price Overall Kickin' Crab is five stars for this fam but I have to take it down a notch because they really need to learn how to clean the bathroom floors. The floors were really dirty and stained, along with the lower half of the walls. Other than that, we love this place and look forward to dining there every now and then for some delicious Cajun seafood boil. read more

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Came here on a weekday evening and was pleasantly surprised that we were able to get a table pretty quickly. I've seen lines outside of this joint so we were pretty excited about getting seated swiftly. The ambiance is what you expect at a seafood broil restaurant. I was impressed by the overall cleanliness and decor. Food came out quickly - fries coming out first. The fries were definitely good, but a lil cold when they came out. Wish they were more fresh. Same applies from the seafood. Unfortunately the shrimp just didn't taste super fresh! The sauce was pretty good and it definitely helped. The combos are probably the best value if you're feeding more than 2. All in all, not bad! I was pleasantly surprised. read more

It's been a minute since I've been to a seafood boil place, but these places are always fun to go to with a group of friends. We went on a Wednesday night to this location, there was essentially no wait for a table of 6. For our starters, we ordered the calamari and Cajun fries, both of which were seasoned and fried very well. Then we decided to do the combo with the shrimp, clams and added the snow crab legs with the kickin style and mild spice. Then we added some corn and sausage on the side as well. Overall, everything was delicious. The sauce wasn't too overpowering, mild spice was a good level for me and the seafood seemed fresh. I'm not too picky when it comes to these seafood boil places. As long as you're getting together with some good friends, and getting your hands dirty with some delicious seafood, its a good time. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

Came on a Tuesday at 5 PM and there was no wait and plentyyy of parking in the diamond jamboree lot. we got 1 pound of shrimp, (frozen) crawfish, and clams along with garlic noodles and and cajun fries. the seafood was perfectly cooked and well seasoned. we got it in spicy and none of us thought it was spicy, just temperature hot so we will prob get spicy spicy next time. my favorite was the shrimp - juicy and plump yummy. garlic noodles had plenty of garlic and butter and was a good portion. cajun fries were crispy and paired so well with the food. i do wish there was more cajun punch to it, but still really delicious. service was good and attentive - they refilled our waters regularly and was available when we needed. bathrooms were also clean. overall, a great time :D read more

The Kickin' Crab - shrimp, crawfish, clams + potatoes. kickin style spicy - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

Came here on a Friday evening and had to wait about 60-75 minutes for a table. Service was okay but they were definitely a bit scrambled. Ambiance is kind of loud, there are TVs on and people usually come here in groups so there is a lot of chatter and background noise. Food was good, we ordered a crawfish seafood boil, fried shrimp & fries entree, and fish & chips entree. Everything was good. This is messy eating so come here wearing something you're ok with getting a bit dirty and get ready to roll up your sleeves and dig in! read more

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Twins birthday choice for dinner. They loved it and want to go back. Thank you for making the experience great.

Basic ambience, quick service and delicious (seafood) fresh stash served piping hot on the table. What more can one ask for!? A perfect place for groups, be it family or friends. I visited with my folks a little over a month ago for the first time and I definitely will visit again. Their broth in the bag is so tasty. I would recommend not wasting it at all rather ordering fresh steamed rice and a portion of Garlic noodles to go along. We had the prawns in super spicy broth. Yum highly recommend. The fish n chips were decent. The garlic noodles are lip smacking for the taste buds, drool! The place is huge, well spaced out seating and sweet service. Plenty of parking available outside the restaurant. Must visit when in California. read more

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The Kickin' Crab offers delicious cajun seafood in the popular Diamond Jamboree plaza. Parking can be difficult to find on the weekends, especially in the evenings. This spot doesn't take reservations so you'll have to check in with the host early if you want to eat at a typical dinner time. For 2 people, we ordered: -2 lb shrimp head-on, kickin' style, medium spice level -1 lb clams, kickin' style, medium spice level -3 pc corn -6 pc sausage 1 side of white rice We also shared the following with friends: -1 order of cajun fries, medium -1 order of sweet potato fries -1 order of garlic noodles -4 pc chicken tenders I appreciated that the server checked on us regularly and refilled our water. I also liked that they provided gloves so we didn't have to get our hands that messy. The garlic noodles, seafood, and cajun fries were my favorite items. read more

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This was my first time at this location and we will not go back or recommend it to anyone else. We ordered crab legs and we were only given one cracker to use. We asked for scissors and there weren't any. They told us they had splitters and they only brought us one. We asked for a second one and they said they're all in use and could not. Our main meal was crab legs. We didn't have any sides. So one person would have to wait while the other one ate. They told us their scissors and splitters keep getting stolen. We sent back our food and came to the Santa Ana location that is 3 miles down the road. How is it your customers fault that your utensils are getting stolen? Your servers do the best they can, management needs to do a better job. People pay a lot of money to dine here. read more

Terrible got there 30 mins before closing. Not busy at all and won't sit. Hope owner sees this and see how much your business losses money with this mentality! Contact me if you want your business to grow. read more

just wanna say that I love kickin crab. would possibly take a bullet for them honestly love getting a pound of shrimp covered in kickin style mild and going ham on it. flavor is solid and it's a fun experience! messy but so rewarding :) but the best thing abt kickin crab is their Cajun fries. literally best fries in the universe. THATS what I'd take the bullet for. without kickin crab Cajun fries on this earth, I'm moving to a different planet. perfectly crispy and packed with flavor. and I love soggy fries so it's especially telling that i like these crispy crunchy fries (though I do like them when they get soggy lol) garlic noodles are also yum!! I like to mix it in with the kickin sauce. same goes for the fries. service is always good. never had a bad experience from the countless times I've been! as for the interior, has very nautical and sailor vibes. very cute and ON THEME which needs to be mandatory in all establishments thank u very much writing this is making me want kickin crab rn :( read more

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Exorbitant but tastes good. Paid $35 for a meal that was scrumptious at first but towards the end was so bloating and stuffy that I couldn't finish it. The Kickin' Wings was yummy and crunchy. The Seafood Alfredo Pasta was delectable too, but towards the end, all that fattiness and carbs filled my stomach and I got full off the carbs instead of off of protein. + Helpful staff. - Situated in the busy, overcrowded Diamond Jamboree, which often has entitled, stop sign-ignoring drivers. I had: $20.10 Seafood Alfredo Pasta + $12.80 Kickin' Wings + tax = $35.45 read more

I've visited several Boiling Crab locations, and aside from the parking situation, this might be my favorite spot for Cajun seafood. Today, oddly for Friday at 11:30, we found front parking and was seated immediately. We were offered water and placed our combo order, along with two sides of extra fried oysters. Service was great, including refill of water without asking. As a big fan of clams and mussels, I found the portion size to be generous, and the seasoning was spot on with the level of spiciness. The shrimps were large and fresh...skins peels off nicely. The flavors and sauce were so strong that I have to eat the seafood with a side of white rice!!!! The garlic was a tad too much and overpowering to me. Next time, i may need to make a special request to skip the garlic. read more

The Kickin' Crab - The Combo #2 - a pound each of shrimp, crawfish and mussels. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

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This was my first time at Kickin Crab in YEARS and MMM it was just as good as I remembered. For 6 people, we got 5 lbs of shrimp kickin' style, sweet potato fries, and cajun fries. The shrimps were perfectly cooked - tender and juicy. I can't wait to be back! read more

The Kickin' Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

I really enjoyed our seafood boil. We got the combo #1 and got shrimp, clams, and crawfish we ordered a side of rice to add bc all that sauce needs to be eaten with something lol. The service was quick we came on a week night and got seated in about 10 minutes. Inside has a nautical theme and it's pretty clean as well. Overall if I'm back in the Irvine area I would eat here again. Our clams were so big and juicy I've never had clams like them before! The shrimps were so good and not overdone. read more

The Kickin' Crab - KICKIN COMBO #1 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

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Always a good time at the Kickin' Crab. Favorites are the EZ peel shrimp, sausage, calamari, and chicken wings. Parking can be a hit or miss with how busy the plaza is. Ask for Jasmine, she was fantastic! Food- 5 stars I've tried most of the menu here, but my favorites have to be the EZ peel shrimp, sausage, fried calamari and chicken wings Service- 5 stars We usually have Jasmine as our waitress and she's fantastic. She was attentative and always made sure we are taken care of. Bottom Line Great place to get cajun food. Don't skip out on the wings or calamari! read more

I love the canjun shrimp and the sausage are so good. I ordered a pound of shrimp today with sausage and corn, also I ordered the canjun fries. Customer service was great I'll give you 10/10 the hostess was so nice and she makes recommendations read more

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For the long weekend, my wife and I decided to treat ourselves to a seafood boil--something we hadn't done in over a year and a half. We originally had our sights set on The Boiling Crab, but curiosity (and convenience) led us to The Kickin' Crab instead. I'd never been before, so it seemed like the perfect time to check it out. We arrived around 6 PM on a Friday and quickly found ourselves on a waitlist behind 17 other parties. The wait took about 40 minutes, which honestly wasn't too bad given the busy evening vibe. The interior has that familiar Boiling Crab energy--TVs on the walls, wax paper on the tables, plenty of paper towels to wipe down the butter, bibs to catch the inevitable splash damage, and a super casual, laid-back atmosphere. We went for the classics: shrimp (medium kickin' style) with sausage, corn, a side of cajun fries, and I topped it all off with a cold glass of Modelo. The food hit the spot--it wasn't quite as bold or flavorful as I remember from The Boiling Crab, but it was still satisfying and definitely scratched the seafood itch. All in all, it was a decent experience and it may be another year or two before we visit again -- I don't think my cholesterol levels can take this more than once a year haha :( read more

A highlight for me here was the service! Everyone was very friendly and helpful. There is ample food that comes with an order of a pound. I hate to compare the two, but the flavor profile of the boiling crab seasoning is just more favorable for me. I didn't quite love how sweet the sauce was. read more

This is the best Kickin Crab location that I have been to. The food was awesome and had great flavor. The service was quick and we had no wait. The inside of the restaurant is very similar to the other locations - a standard quick eatery set up. read more

I don't know why the stars are so low here because I come at least twice a month and i love it here!! They have really good seafood. I get the snow crab and shrimp, kicking style, medium spicy, with the fried apps and a soda. SOOO GOOOOD!!!! I can't get enough. They are super nice, fast and helpful with the service. Lots of seating, the wait goes by fast if there is any. good vibes and good food read more

I love seafood boils. Growing up, I went to my local Boiling Crab mostly for special occasions, but as I earned my own income I'm proud to say that I can eat a seafood boil just because. The most recent time I came to this location, my server Jasmine H. was amazing. She was super kind and attentive, and she has such a bright and happy attitude. It was super busy, as it usually is around dinner time, so I felt really special that she paid so much attention to my party despite running around so much. As for the food, it never misses. A pound of kickin style mild shrimp always hits the spot. It's perfectly cooked and sometimes I get extra sauce on the side for dipping. I'll usually get the garlic noodles too and mix it with the sauce from the shrimp for extra flavor, even thought the garlic noodles are already so flavorful. I'm just a garlic girl~ read more

The Kickin' Crab - 2 lbs of shrimp, 1 lb of clams, corn, sausages, potatoes, and garlic noodles - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Irvine, California

Kickin Style seasoning is the best and I really like getting it on the side. Maybe when you get it on the side you can get multiple. One for spicy lovers and another for non-spicy. Since it already comes in to-go containers, it was obvious that I have to just take it home to make my own crab broil! read more

Favorite seafood boil spot. Good sauces and good food. Very pricey which is expected for seafood boil spots. Only complaint is that they are not open that late. read more