Crab Cooker

Recommends

Thomas G.

Joined 2 years ago

Thumbs up!. Their seafood is simply amazing! Will definitely come back!

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Casey05

Joined 2 years ago

I love this place!. I truly love this place. Nostalgia at its finest. I used to come here for my birthday dinner every year. Now, I can afford it a little more, but still always think of those fond memories.

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gogo11

Joined 2 years ago

Seafood lovers:). Amazing place for fresh seafood. Love it, i come here really often and will come more:)

Doesn't Recommend

sincity328

Joined 4 years ago

To go or To go in the trash?. I used to love this place (years ago), tonight we got 3 meals to go, luke warm SOGGY Mahi Mahi , less than ONE cup of rice pilaf for a side, and a sliced raw tomato for the other side (not even salted). The crab cakes were not even as good as Albertsons deli (that you heat up at home) This place charged like a top notch restaurant yet sold my friends and i absolute GARBAGE and tiny portions at that! I will never waste my money at this place again they should be ashamed of themselves.

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abdgr

Joined 4 years ago

Best seafood this side of Maine. Coming from Maine, it's hard to impress me with seafood. I can't say much about Lobster as I haven't had it here yet, but the chilled cracked crab is a must.

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scuff

Joined 6 years ago

The Best. Hands Down.. Let's get this straight. Crab Cooker is the hands down place for the World's best fish. My wife and I have been regulars here for years. If you like fancy-smancy entrees covered in a brazillian mango chutney foo foo sauce, go somewhere else. This is fish as God intended it to be eaten. Simply grilled, lightly brushed with butter and seasonings. All served on a paper plate. Yes, a paper plate. It's as if your best friend was the Gorton's Fisherman and you were having dinner at his place. I've been lucky enough to travel all over the World and have had some very good food, but nothing compares to fish at Crab Cooker. And the funny thing is that I'm not really into fish. Guess what?... CC is the only place on Earth I've ever ordered fish. If you haven't had their romano-cheese mashed potatoes or their Maryland crab cakes (yes, even if you're from Maryland), you haven't lived...

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mlapham

Joined 6 years ago

Hands-down, local secret. Used to live in the area and went several times a year. Go for an early or late dinner and parking will be easier and no/hardly any wait. Park on the little island in the middle across from Woody's. Be careful crossing the street. I don't know what everyone is complaining about, if you go on a weekday or at a less busy hour, the max you'll wait is probably 10 minutes.

The waitresses are never rude. They're just old and no-nonsense and will joke around with you.

If you want alcohol, order a beer. Who would order wine at a place like this anyways? Crab cooker is like a seafood shack with four walls and a bathroom. Love it.

The super hard sticks and rolls are supposed to be that hard. I've had a fresh bread stick and it's not the same.

Always get the catch of the season. The legs are huge, the scallops are perfect, local lobster is a must if you're a tourist. Don't order shrimp. I've had seafood from places like New England, Florida, and San Francisco and this place has THE best Alaskan legs and lobster. The chowder has beautiful chunks of clams, not your sodium-loaded canned soup in a china bowl. Excellent sides too. Although I think the rice is like boxed rice, it's still flavorful, scalloped potatoes have a perfect crusty shell, cole slaw is not drenched in mayo, and for some reason, the plain tomatoes are so flavorful and ripe. I wish they put more on the plate though.

Now I'm used to fancy but cheap seafood prepared Chinese banquet style with lots of flavors and garlic so my palate is bored by "American" seafood, but Crab Cooker definitely knocks down Boston.

The Tustin location's chowder has too much potato and is too sour. Support your local economy and go to Newport. Can't trust "seafood" from a town with no water.

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celsior

Joined 8 years ago

Fresh seafood. Taste the nature.. There are plenty seafood options. We had the clam chowder, smoked albacore, crab cakes (yum!!), local lobster, Alaska king crab (wow!) and mahi mahi (today's catch). Their clam chowder is Manhattan style (red) and kind of like thick minestrone soup with clam. If you are looking for New England style clam chowder, they don't serve that. The seafood is fresh and cooked with minimal spices (cayenne, salts and some peppers) so you can actually taste the seafood. Their crab cakes are also very good. They are coated with a very thin layer of flour with some lemon juice and tartar sauce. The atmosphere is like a pub and there is no presentation on your food. They are on paper plates with plastic utensil. If you only care about the quality of food, this is definitely the place.

The parking is metered and limited. Writing this review makes me hungry again. Time to visit the crab cooker again!

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daveknowsbest

Joined 7 years ago

DO get your hopes up. Sorry to disagree with others posting reviews of the famous crab cooker, but in my opinion they are dead wrong. There is a reason this has been a Newport Beach Institution for so many years.

I've eaten at the crab cooker a zillion times and its delicious. Matter of fact, I drive all the way from LA to eat there. Go early to avoid the lines (no reservations). Dress is casual, go after a long day at the beach in your shorts if you want. Yes they serve on paper plates and with plastic forks. Order the shrimp and scallops on a skewer and you won't go wrong. Or, order the lobster -- super cheap for a nice portion of broiled lobster already out of the shell. Also, order the red clam chowder and a loaf of their hot bread. Take home some chowder too.

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cubasianchica

Joined 7 years ago

Dont get your hopes up. I remember going to this place when i was very small. i remembered it was fun, good food, all around wonderful. I went just a few weeks ago to see how the place was doing after all these years and its not as good as it used to be. As a matter of fact it is boarderline terrible. The service was awful. The waitress was an older lady with such an additude. I thought she was gonna yell at me for what i ordered. The food took forever and we didnt even get what we ordered. I asked if they had this soup that i remember having a long time ago they laughed at me and made me feel stupid for asking. Lastly they dont even have real plates or utensils. There were paper plates, plastic utensils and you have to ask for water... if you dont ask you wont get. It seemed cheap and like a low budget place. The food was ok, I have had better fish at mc donalds though. and the portions are very small..we left hunry and went to a Burger King. Also they have a little container with these round ball-like crackers onthe table for the guests to eat but those sit there all day, day after day. They do not replace with fresh ones at the end of the day. They were so stale I can only imagine how long they have been sitting there. i guess they refill it when it is either empty or when its so hard you can play golf with it!!??