Always love coming to Kicking Crab! The shrimp is my absolute favorite. One thing I've realized is that their spicy is REALLY spicy for me, and I don't enjoy it as much. The mild is perfect, though! This is just a reminder to myself: always order mild! read more

Here's a version that keeps the disappointment clear without sounding like you're just ranting: My wife and I used to be loyal Kickin' Crab customers before we moved to the city, so I was really looking forward to having it again. Unfortunately, today's experience was nowhere near what we remembered. We ordered a pound of king crab, snow crab & shrimp, and snow crab with Cajun fries -- definitely not a cheap order. We were also told we couldn't order or pay over the phone because of the cost, which was already a little frustrating. But the food was the real disappointment. The sauce was extremely watered down, to the point that the seasoning wouldn't even stick to the shrimp, crab, potatoes, or corn. The crab itself was flimsy and somehow tasted dry like it wasn't fresh, and several of the claws had little to no meat in them. Being a pescatarian, and I can honestly say I've never thrown away a pound of king crab until today. For what king crab costs, that says everything. We used to love this place, which is why this experience was especially disappointing. read more

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This was probably one of the best visits I've had here so far. Usually I complain about the service and the lack of attention given to my table after the food is dropped off. This time we ordered combo #3 with the snow crab legs and 2 lbs of shrimp, and 1 lb of mussel. They were out of clams but it was okay. The sauce and the flavor were superb and everything was cooked to perfection in the kickin sauce, mild. My friend whose favorite is boiling crab, really liked this place. Staff actually came around to check on us and to refill our waters. It's been pretty slow every time I come in here but there's plenty of tables to choose from and sit at. They still play some really good music and it's a vibe. Still one of my all time favorite places to eat. read more

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We got 2 lb shrimp head on with the kickin sauce. Very bland. The sauce did not penetrate through the shrimp. The quality of the shrimp was fresh and the head tasted good, but again, not much flavor. I really liked their shoestring Cajun fries because it was thin, although it didn't taste "Cajun" at all. Corn was my least favorite; was not sweet and overcooked. The servers were friendly but unfortunately does not make up for the taste. I most likely will not be returning. read more

Good food good service staff is friendly, would recommend it to those who enjoy shrimp

The wife really likes this place. When I walked in I noticed they have sharks hanging from the wall and people have written all over them, pretty cool inside. When got the spicy cajun blend. Very spicy! Very thing was really good. We left full and ready for a nap. My only issue was the staff could have checked on us more. They were nice and all but waited a while for refills. Parking was ok. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Inside - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

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Food is average. We got their house sauce. A bit runny to my liking, and I wish it could be a bit more savory/flavorful. Staffs are nice and we got seat very fast. Store is well lit and clean. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

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I USUALLY CHOOSE THIS PLACE INSTEAD OF BOILING CRAB BUT DAM they say this a pound of shrimp which is obserd I asked a worker about it and he said yea when you order head off it's less shrimp . How does that work so your telling me we get 1pound of shrimp if we order with head on And if we order head off we basically get 0.5 a pound never coming back her don't recommend if you want to get ripped off read more

The Kickin' Crab - Supposedly a pound of shrimp - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

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We visited on a Friday night, there's always plenty of parking, and we got seated right away. We ordered the Combo #1 with shrimp, clams, and crawfish with corn and potatoes. I enjoyed the combo but wished there was more sauce/stronger flavors in the sauce (I do enjoy the sauce more with the salt, pepper, and lemon). We also ordered the Cajun fries which were 5/5; I liked the strong flavors which paired well with the acidity of the ketchup. The garlic noodles were good and savory and had many cloves of garlic for a good balance of flavors. The staff was sort of attentive. The ambiance was chill and busy. read more

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Wanted to give an upated review as of 08/2025. This place got a little better, but please do not order their garlic noodles. It sucks. As for the seafood boil, we got a mix of all the seasonings, medium spicy and chose the 1st combo (2 lbs shrimp 1 lb crawfish). It was enough to feed 4 girls! The spice was there and this time it wasn't super super watery. I would say there are definitely better seafood boil places like cajun bistro 7, the crab bay, and clawshack. However if you're lazy to drive to these places and kickin crab happens to be near you.... just know it wouldn't hit the same! Service was ok, we weren't really checked on too much and only had our water refilled once. The employees there didn't seem too happy to work there. It was a Friday night as well and the place was half empty. So there's your sign that it's prob not as good as other places lol read more

The Kickin' Crab - menu as of 08/2025 - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

The benefits lots of parking lots of space inside that's pretty much it. The downside the cost is quite high for the combo and my friend found a rock inside of his meal when we asked the server they said that it was common and that happens often. Who says that.... read more

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Love a good seafood boil any day! We went late on a Wednesday night and it was not crowded at all! The shrimp is good, but the kickin style sauce was not as good as the other location (capitol). If this location is closest to you then this is great, but if you do not mind driving south san jose, I would recommend trying the Capitol location. read more

My family and I went on a Saturday evening and were seated very quickly. Staff seemed pretty busy but were still able to get us settled. We got our orders taken and our food came out very fast!! We got the Garlic Noodles (9/10) and Kickin' Combo Deal #2 (8.3/10). I like my noodles on the chewy side and they were very flavorful yet not too oily, so they were my favorite. For a table of 6 people, the food got us full and we left satisfied and happy. read more

It's okay. I suppose it beats not having to wait hours for a table like one other place we really like. Pretty bummed about my last visit though. Placed a food order over the phone to pick up and go. Confirmed my order with them, they got it right over the phone, but Lo and behold..got home and was missing the sausage and potatoes in the bag with the order. Called to let them know and they told me to come back to get it. Mind you, we were already eating at this point when we notice there was no sausage or potatoes in the bag. So they wanted us to stop in the middle of dinner, drive 15 minutes there and 15 minutes back to fix it. I just asked if they could give me a refund and they said I couldn't get a refund. I wasn't about to just let them get away with charging me for something I didn't get. We stop dinner. Wash our hands. Get in the car. Drive out to pick up plain sausage and potatoes that weren't even hot. They didn't even bother putting in Sauce for us which is probably why it wasn't hot. Get home, put the food in our half eaten bag, microwave everything because it's not hot anymore. Seriously was some BS they couldn't just refund me for the $4 in sausage and $2 potato over the phone. I absolutely will not be back. read more

No hate but I don't plan on coming back. The sauce was watery and the shrimp was ok, but what ruined the meal was the fact that my Dungeness crab had gone bad. I took a bite and it tasted off, so I cracked open multiple legs and the meat was green. They took the crab and apologized, we had two different servers come up asking if everything was okay. I did pay for the whole meal and tipped cause the servers were on top of keeping the restaurant clean but I wouldn't come back. read more

It's closing at 10pm, but we arrived at 9pm, and we closed early because there were no customers. We drove an hour, but it'll be frozen again read more

The Kickin' Crab - 9pm close - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

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Their sauce is absolutely the best for mixing with shrimp and clams! The customer service here has always been top-notch in the past, except for our last visit. When we asked for the check, the cashier told me to come up to the front to pay instead. This has never happened before, as they usually bring a small portable machine to charge our card at the table. Despite this change in service, I love the flavor and will definitely be coming back. read more

Really wanted to love this place since both Hubby and I love seafood boil but we gave this place two tries and besides their garlic noodles (huge garlic lover here) their seafood boil was lacking flavor. First time we ordered their shrimp with Mild Kickin' Style but there's barely any taste to it, so the second time we tried their shrimp with Spicy Kickin' Style. It was spicy but besides that there isn't much flavor to it, maybe it's just us being used to heavier seasoning. Also added on extra seasoning which only came in tiny little sauce cup, not really worth the price. Overall, think we would only get their garlic noodles to go in the future. read more

I love how the garlic noodles have so many garlic chunks. Definitely get it if you love garlic! We got the combo #1 ($60) to share between 2 ppl and it was the perfect amount of food with some leftover. Surprisingly a lot of seating/no wait and a nice place for a last minute dinner read more

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Sooo yummy!!!!! Fast and friendly staff. Can't wait to go back. So much food we have leftovers!

1. Can't order online. If you call, you have to try 3x or more before someone picks up. Short staff. 2. Food used to be good here but our last few orders were bland, not as flavorful as it used to. 3. Service is ok, need more staff in my opinion. read more

Unfortunately, this place is just not what it used to be. The last time I was here I noticed a change in the flavor of the food, but was hoping that it was a fluke and there was someone new in the kitchen. But unfortunately, after coming back again yesterday I realized that the food here really just isn't that great anymore. Our first red flag should have been when we came on a Saturday afternoon and there was absolutely no one else inside. This place used to be so busy! When we came we told them we had a party of 9, so they had us sit at one of their larger tables in one of the corners. After about 15 mins of sitting there, we were asked if we could move because the table was only Reserved for larger parties. The table being only for larger parties is not a problem of course, but why have us sit there in the first place then? Also, let's be serious, there was no larger party coming anytime soon! Now the food... it was just a huge disappointment. We ordered 4 bags of seafood in total and each bag was seriously so BLAND. We even let our seafood sit in the bag for a bit hoping it would soak up some of the flavor, but unfortunately there was no flavor to soak up. The potato was also so undercooked that we left it in the bag to hopefully steam some more, but by the end of the meal it was still so hard. I also used to think that this place had the best garlic noodles, but you guessed it, it was also flavorless and lacked the deliciousness it used to have. As you can see in the photo my rice also looked so old and was hard/burnt in some places. The service was also sub-par. For a place that only had less than 5 tables seated, you think the staff would be more attentive, but they were not. Only once did we have someone come by to refill our water the whole time we were there. We even waited around so long for someone to bring the check that we just went up and paid. Won't be coming back anytime soon. read more

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Sad because this was once my favorite spot to order (what's advertised as) live crawfish. Today I put in an order and received a bag full of spoiled dead crawfish. I was instantly put off by the grey green color and cleanliness with the crawfish. I gave it a taste and was met with a strong ammonia flavor that filled my mouth . I opened a few more for good measure and all of them are grey green and mushy. The crawfish were definitely rancid and I'm sad that the restaurant felt it was a wise idea to serve this to their DoorDash customers. read more

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Sauce is too watery to coat the seafood. Lacks flavor. This location is not as good as the So Cal locations. Garlic butter sauce has so much garlic cloves, I was excited at first but it was bland it's just garlic cloves in butter. Disappointed in food. 8/2025 read more

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This was my first time at Kickin Crawfish, and it was very disappointing. The crawfish were extremely small, mostly just legs with hardly any meat. The little meat there was had turned black, smelled bad, and seemed spoiled--like they were dead before cooking. On top of that, the food was overly salty, which made it even harder to enjoy. The only good thing was the Cajun edamame, and the customer service was okay. Unfortunately, the overall experience was unacceptable, and I won't be returning. read more

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Guys I always eat here actually more than 10 years now and no problems zero nada but in the last 3-4 years I ate here again and then boom I got food poisoned and then didn't come back again but yesterday I tried it again you know give it a chance again but I GOT FOOD POISONED AGAIN so guys idk about you but I don't think I'm coming back here.. just don't want to risk it idk what happen they used to be so good and no problems just be careful if you guys do go just disappointed that happened to me read more

Found a rock in my what's supposed to be 3lbs order today. Wonder how many more rocks there are in other customers' bags. Told the manager and the end and they said "okay". read more

The Kickin' Crab - Rock - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

Me and my wife have been coming to this location since 2012 for amazing bags of seafood! Thank you for the spicy and great flavor! The food is served fast and always consistent. The service can be a little better but the we love it here! We have tried all other hyped up places but they don't offer the same quality of seafood as they do here! Very generous on sauce and portions. read more

Kickin crab has always been my favorite seafood boil restaurant, and I wasn't sure if it was just nostalgia. After trying other spots and eating here again recently, I can confirm its still my favorite! The garlic noodles are the best I've had at a seafood boil, and I swear their pounds are bigger than other places lol. Service was great and friendly, constantly checking in on us throughout the meal. I'm craving a seafood boil again as I type this read more

Some highlights: - Kickin Style Medium spicy is my favorite. It has the right amount of heat, but is edible and flavorful, so you can really indulge. - The restaurant itself has a cute nautical theme - You will get messy, so the hand wash stations outside of the restrooms are very helpful - Dungeness crab is sold whole (not just the legs) and that's not specified on the menu. On that note, when you order a pound of crab, they'll charge you for the weight of the whole crab without notice, so expect to be overcharged. - If you don't like eating shrimp with the head and vein intact, order head-off shrimp. Head-off shrimp are deveined but come with an extra $3 fee. - Be mindful of signs notifying customers that To-Go orders won't be corrected once you exit the restaurant. They make mistakes frequently and will argue with you over it, so check before you leave. - To-Go orders are given to you with the bags untied and unlabeled which results in a potential mess and confusion. - Despite the clumsy service, I keep returning because the shrimp is just that good! read more

Hey there Party People Had to take a chance on a crab boil as a treat for my amazing God Daughter. I'll be honest I'm not a fish person. The atmosphere of the restaurant had a great vibe and the service was friendly. However there was a very long wait for our food because they were having issues in the kitchen. I was able to get a non fish dish of Garlic noodles. I absolutely loved them I'll tell you no vampire will come within a 100 yards of me for a week. My husband and Bestie got fried shrimp which was very over done and slightly rubbery. My Amazing GodDaughter had King Crab in a bag. After dealing with Cracking the legs with a plastic tool which was not very effective the meat was good and drowned in a buttery sauce. Over all it was OK but if your a true fish lover you may have a different experience. Be kind to one another read more

The Kickin' Crab - Garlic noodles - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

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The kickin' crab has the best food ambiance and staff. It is very spacious and music is always on point. Food comes out fresh warm and as ordered. Prices are very reasonable for the amount of food offered. I can eat here all the time!! read more

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Food was amazing and came out relatively fast. I did not have any stomach issues. I always get weary eating at seafood places because you never know and I'm glad I didn't have any stomach issues. We ordered 2 pounds each of the mild and hot shrimp with rice and corn. Kids had fries and chicken. We came here 8/19 after the 49er bronco game at the Levi stadium. It wasn't packed at all. Service was great and it wasn't full here with customers which I liked especially with little ones and an infant. Ambiance was good with decorations, music, and an area to wash hands after. The 4 stars is because this place does not have a baby changing Station in the bathroom. So it does not cater to families with little ones that needs a changing station to change a diaper. I had to change a diaper and clothing in the restaurant by putting chairs together in a neighboring empty table. read more

The Kickin' Crab - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here on a lent Friday evening but the wait time was only about 5 minutes which was great. Service was friendly and attentive, we ordered a combo deal which included king crab with a side of Cajun fries. Everything came out in time, there were many servers around so it was easy to flag them down for any assistance. Overall a good experience! I would recommend this place for any seafood boil lovers! read more

This location has been open for a very long time and I'm glad they're still open and running! Parking might be a little hard when you go on busy nights because it is a smaller plaza w/ a lot of business' and there isn't a lot of parking spots. You cannot use the Jiffy Lube parking spots either after they're closed. So you just have to be patient. But the last two times I went here, it hasn't been super busy, so parking shouldn't be hard to find anymore. Even now, after the pandemic, this place is still one of my favorite spots to go for seafood. My family of four always orders one or two of the Kickin' Combo Meal #1 (All Shrimp 3lbs, that comes with 2 corns, 2 potatoes, and 4 pieces of beef sausage. Kickin' Style which is all their seasoning, Mild for spice level) I definitely recommend the Kickin' Style! Always the go-to! One order of the combo meal #1 already fills up my family of 4, but depending if we're super hungry, we'll order two, but we always have leftovers from the second bag. We ALSO, order their garlic noodles here! It's really good! I definitely recommend it if it's your first time here. You won't regret it! Sodas are refillable and water is free! On busy nights, you have to make sure you go inside to get your name written down on their list. They don't use any online platform for waiting lists...so be attentive when you're waiting because they will just call your name. They used to have signatures all over the walls here which I thought was pretty cool because I thought it fit the ambience of the restaurant & the decor of boat and fishing gear. But they re-painted it so it's all just a clean slate of orange again. They NOW have a QR Code for their menu on a stand by the entrance that you scan before you get seated. The place itself is always clean which is a plus because it shows that they take care of the establishment. The servers are also great here, they're attentive and you can easily ask for things you need! They automatically provide your table with salt and pepper, lemon, and plastic bibs so that the sauces don't get on your clothes. *pro tip* If you don't want that lingering smell of the seasoning sauces on your fingers, you can ask for gloves! After ordering your food, depending on how busy they are, takes about 15-20 minutes to come out. But once you get it, it's fresh and hot and the fun of peeling your own seafood begins! After you're done, they have a wash area in the hallway with two sinks for just your hands and bathrooms that are not gender neutral. (Be careful when you turn on the hot water because the hot water can get really hot quick!) If you don't feel like dining in, you can also do take out over the phone so that your food is ready when you get there to pick it up! Which has been a popular option among many as well if they don't want to dine-in still and they still include everything AND you can ask for the parchment paper to-go as well that goes on your table so you don't have to deal with that mess at home. Haha. Overall, service is great, food is still amazing all throughout the years I've been eating here! So if you're ever craving seafood, this is a place to definitely consider! Great for big parties too! Their combos feed a lot of people! read more

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Service terrible, don't expect the workers to come up and ask if u need anything, you'll need to walk up to them where they're sitting. Portion was terrible and definitely not the pounds they advertise. If I order a pound of something why am I getting much less than. I've been to the other location plenty of times and when I came here the same exact order was much smaller. When asked they said it just seems light, mind you I get the same exact thing every single time. If you buy here make sure you're getting the correct weight of food, they skimp on it. read more

The Kickin Crab | San Jose 1. Cajun Fries ~ crispy fires tossed in Cajun seasoning 2. Garlic Noodles ~ sauteee in garlic butter 3. Shrimp IN a Bag ~ kickin' style, mild 4. Steam Rice Where do I even begin? I've come to terms that cajun seafood is one of my favorite type of foo. Something about eating Cajun food with friends, family, with no plates, no utensils....just your hands, and a bib is a vibe. Anyways, The Kickin' Crab is a local crustacean fun-filed cajun seafood house that serves a wide variety of seafood that's utterly unique and drenched in a combination of spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors. They offer not only just seafood but have items like chicken tenders/soup for those who don't like to get their hands dirty (lame). As always, I gotta start off with cajun fries to prep my belly for their bomb garlic noodles which is a must when ordering food at this place. Each cajun fry is fried and seasoned with their secret cajun seasoning. Once the garlic noodles come in, you already know that you're about to eat good because you can smell the noodles from a far. I know it's a lot of carbs but trust me on this one, you have to get them with your shrimp. Lastly, the shrimp is the main course and be prepared to get a little messy with your hands and mouth because that's what cajun-style seafood is all about. There's no room for judgment or opinions when eating this type of food. You can eat it however you want and whenever you want! read more

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I've been to many Vietnamese Cajun spots in the area, and this one is my favorite. I really enjoy the flavor of their sauce, and the seafood is always fresh. The servers are friendly, and the atmosphere is super relaxed -- we can talk and laugh as loudly as we want! No one complains because honestly, everyone here is loud and having a good time. read more

I have always wanted to try Kickin' Crab because of its popularity and as for my first time, I was a little disappointed due to the lack of flavoring. We got cajun fries, 1 lb of crawfish, 1 lb of shrimp, and sausages. For seasoning, we went with kickin' style and mild for our spice level. Perhaps the lack of flavoring was because of the mild spice level. The cajun fries were seasoned but it was also lacking some flavor. Although the food was okay, the service was good! They made sure to check up on us and also asked us if we wanted to order anything else before the kitchen closes. read more

The Kickin' Crab - cajun fries - Seafood Near Me - San Jose, California

I went there two weeks ago on Sunday with my family. The food is fresh. The service is good and smooth. My son and daughter loves this. It was a good family dinner. read more