Crab Loco

This place rocks! …Well correction this place did rock. Not sure what happened or if they plan on coming back to Pilsen. Anyhow, I’ll still give it a review in case they pop back in.
My husband and I fell in love with their the baja fish tacos and dynomite shrimp. I found them to be very crispy and not too greasy. Although keep in mind that the dynomite sauce was practically used on every dish. I would definitely come back to this place for the baja fish tacos alone. The owners are very friendly and had excellect customer service. I thought this place was even better than abuelos on damen. It’s shame they’re gone now. So our quest for the best fish tacos continues…

Great addition to the hood. Super friendly!

Where did you move to???

My tacos were good, but what is with the flour tortilla? I prefer corn tortillas, which they don’t offer (gasp!).

This place is a disappointment. What sucks even more is that i work right across the street from this place and i have to look at it everyday! Illegal U-​turns for this place is not necessary!
My first visit was on 11÷2÷2010 and i was super excited to try it out! Their menu makes everything sound sooo tasty! — «this is seriously addictive», «OMG», «super delicious», and «this is gourmet’. We had Baja fish tacos which is cubed cut cod in corn crust and come to think of it the sauce did taste like the sauce on a big mac! Crispy shrimp tacos– same as the Baja just with shrimp, Cajun fries — nothing special, i make better fries a home and Dynomite shrimp… again corn crusted like everything else on their menu in a sauce that was not so «dynomite».
The second time i ate from there was on a Sunday afternoon… my boyfriend surprised me with lunch (:[ that was me) Blackened chicken and dynomite shrimp… i gave it another shot. The blackened chicken was flavorless… if your looking for REAL blacken chicken go to Wishbone! When i bit into the shrimp the damn thing STILL HAD ITS SHELL! GROSS! Whats up with that! Sorry Crab Loco i will not be giving you any of my business!

I can’t believe how high the ratings are for this place. (It’s actually a bit suspicious.)
I found the food heavy, bland, and covered with the same «special sauce.» (It honestly tasted like the same stuff they put on the Big Mac.)
The owners were friendly and all, but that can’t make up for totally unoriginal food. I originally awarded them 2 stars (the owner was a really friendly guy), but I have to be honest with Unilocalers: This place is NOT worth going to.
My brother and I ordered fish, shrimp, and blackened chicken tacos and, honestly, THEY ALL TASTED THE SAME. Everything is deep fried and topped with the same accoutrements, making for totally indistinct tacos.
Treat yourself to something delicious by going to Big Star in Wicker Park instead. Big Star’s tacos pescados are the way it’s supposed to be done.

I was driving to my parents’ house and noticed the funny looking crab sign. It was literally calling my name. I was hungry so I went on my phone to look it up on Unilocal to make sure it was legit.
I busted an illegal U-​turn and very happy about it. The 2 part owners I met were really cool and down-​to-​earth. They just opened a month ago and pretty much told me their life story. It was dope.
–Crabby cake sandwich/​burger. They are not stingy with their crab! Not sure what that sauce was, but it went really well with it.
–French fries were surprisingly good! Perfectly seasoned. Very generous portion, I was only able to eat half of it.
–1^st cup of soup (I forget what was in it, but it was red). Eat it while it’s hot! After 10 – 15 minutes, it got cold and very salty.
–2^nd cup of soup was yellow-​ish, creamy, and had shrimp in it. Very good, even after it got cold. This was on the house because the owner wanted me to try it. Slightly spicy, I like.
–Unlimited fountain drink. Thumbs up.
All this UNDER $ 10 because of the coupon I got for checking-​in. iPhone Unilocal app FTW! @Jasmin, they take credit card now!

The most amazing place in Chicago. Great food, the best fish tacos and famous crabcake burger with an egg are very delicious. Very comfortable atmosphere inside the restaurant, very clean, amazing food, great menu choices, lots of great seafood variety…
Definitely a gem in the area. A «must try»!!!

We just went to Crab Loco today, it was pretty good, the place is clean, its been open for 3 weeks, the owner seemed nice, he gave us a sample of the soup and it was pretty tasty-​the husband got one to go!
I had the special, the 2 tacos, fries and pop, I can’t remember what kind of taco I got, I think dynamite shrimp and some fish one and both were good…
Husband had the volcano shrimp, that was pretty good as well!
would go back, maybe try the crab taco next time…

I had to visit this place twice before I wrote a review. At my fist visit to crab loco, I literally just popped in and ordered one fish taco to go. I already had dinner, but this place all of a sudden showed up on Unilocal and so I just had to sample it. I was utterly impressed with all the 5 stars reviews, but to be honesty I was quite disappointed that fist time. I could bare taste the fish, becuase of the over powering batter. The sauce was good, but not enough to go around in the single taco. It was put together nicely, but just not what I expected. I was sure that they were just rushing maybe since it was near closing. So I gave it another shot day after and boy was there fish! The baja taco has 4 nuggets of battered fish (not sure what kind, but tasty and fresh!) It was prepared so nicely as we ate in. The corn and season looked wonderful topped with their special sauce. The sauce is good, I suggest they also spread the sauce under everything else.
The co-​owner took our our order. Very nice guy and super friendly. The interior is great too. Love the dark blueish wall paint. It makes the two red doors in the back pop. And the table are very clean and everything is spanking new! Hope this place holds up with all the other competing taco joints.

Loved this place. A couple of things first: The phone number on the web site is wrong (312, not 773), and their credit card system isn’t set up yet.
We got several things for takeout. First, the «killer shrimp roll.» It was good.
Second, the «crabbycake burger.» It was excellent. Delicious crabcake, egg on top a nice touch. My wife liked this best, but she can write her own review.
Third, the two tacos: «Baja Fish Taco» and «Crispy Shrimp Taco.» These were just fantastic. Loved the roasted-​corn based salsa, loved the sauce, loved the breading. Just nothing bad to say about these at all. I’m not an authenticity freak so I can’t really say much about that, but we’ve lived in Pilsen for more than a decade and in that time we’ve eaten a lot of tacos, and this is a damn good taco.
Because of the issue with the credit card, they threw in a bowl of soup. I wasn’t going to eat it, because I was already full and it had a layer of grease on top. But since it kind of looked like the dende oil on top of a moqueca, I tried it. It wasn’t moqueca, it was a chowder. But it was really good, and I ate it. Maybe they could skim off more of the fat. But the soup underneath was delicious.
And finally, the fries. I don’t know what item those were included with, and I usually turn down or throw away the free overkill soggy fries that come with storefront food in our town. But these were crisp and a bit spicy, and we ate most of those too.

Baja fish taco — Good fried fish with some sort of corn mayo mix
Crabbycake burger — Very good! Good amount of crab!
Dynomite shrimp — I loooved this except it does come with the shell on the tail so if you are picky about eating the tail be careful it’s fried and covered in spicy mayo goodness
They did not take credit card when we went, but they did just open so hopefully soon!
Plenty of street parking; pay at the box

The fish tacos were awesome and dynamite shrimp was excellent. Worth the drive from up north

A lot of my family is from California, so I often get the craving for good ol’ California style fish tacos. Similar to Rubio’s or Wahoo’s, where the fish is breaded, the sauce has got some spice and after a couple, just hit the spot.
Up until this place opened, I hadn’t found a place to get those types of fish tacos. Now I have. I know that this place has just opened, but I love the tacos (both the shrimp and the fish) and have fallen in love with the Crabcake Burger or whatever its called. The egg is a nice touch!
Just a heads up that this place has a very cajun flavor, so most of the food is spicy. Highly recommend this place! Kinda wish they delivered!

Went here with my husband last night and we both loved it! We got the dynamite shrimp, a fish taco (YUM!), killer shrimp roll (tortilla, big shrimp, rice and spicy red sauce!), and the crab cake burger (very good). All very very good and well priced. We got all that (plus a drink) for $ 22. We easily could have spent $ 15 though as we got just a bit too much food! Good quality shrimp and cod. Just a really great, quick, cheap, good quality, pretty unique place! My only smaaaaaall complaint is the use of mayo in many of the items. But I kinda have a thing with mayo, so it may just be me!

Went to Crab Loco the other day with some coworkers to see what all the buzz was about. Had the Crabby Cake burger with the egg on top and it was amazing, it was very flavorful and more than enough for a full meal at $ 7.50. Usually I would have needed something else, but it was just too much food. I can’t wait to try the Thai Shrimp Wrap as that is what a coworker had and I definitely had food envy. Definitely going back to Crab Loco!

It is a rare occurance for a small restaurant to focus on seafood in Chicago, not to mention in the Pilsen area. Once we walked in, it reminded me of Belly Shack, Del Seoul. Small and focused menu, with a few tables to sit. You order at the countera nd sit down to wait for the food to come.
We got fish tacos, shrimp tacos, crab cake burger, seafood soup (like a chowder but spicy) and cajun fries. All were great! This will become a standard take out place for us. One caution is that they use their spicy mayo on many of the items, very tasty, but some people have a thing about mayo.
Next time when I go back, I will have the dynamite shrimp, fried mushroom, crab cake burger again (it was that yummy and the fried egg just melted everything togther.)

This place is soooo good… its just wrroooowwng!

This place is as good as it gets! Forget that greasy, unhealthy fast food your used to! Crab Loco has great, fresh, healthy food– for the same (if not even cheaper) than the crappy fast food chains on every corner.
By far my favorite is the crabcake burger! OMG! You can get it with a fried egg on top and in two seconds you will be in taste bud heaven!!! Add the cajun fries and a snapple to complete the meal! The only issue I have is that they are not directly across the street from my house– or else I would be there right now! But they are so conveniently located even that is not really an issue– there is ample street parking and also has a bus stop right in front of the restaurant. Thanks for opening Crab Loco!!! My taste buds love you!

I have to admit, the Fish Tacos are THE absolute best I’ve ever had! (sorry Rubio’s)…A fresh change from all the taquerias around the area. Not to mention, this place is nice and comfortable. A great place just to come and chill while having really good, affordable, fast sea food.
The Crabcake sandwich is ridiculous too! MMMMM! Get it with a fried egg on top =)
Something called the DynOmite shrimp is just Oh SO GOOD!
The cajun fries are amazing, AND they have a SEAFOOD BOIL! Whaaa?!
Definitely a new, fresh alternative in Chicago!