The Angry Crab

Wow! I would encourage people to read David N’s response to my post and you’ll get a sense for how you will be treated at this restaurant.
1. You did sit us right away even though our party was not fully there. Don’t blame me because I show up on time and my friends didn’t. This has nothing to due with the real issue. Either way it didn’t matter because there was never a wait for a table that night. It also shows how easy it is to have some flexibility to your 10′ of rules.
2. Don’t ASSUME I saw the 10′ sign with the rules, or that I saw the rule on the menu, or that I read reviews of the restaurant before I came. I did not know the rule until the check arrived.
3. You can review your footage and see that I drank 1 beer that night, so don’t try to blame it on the booze.
4. Please also review the footage and look how long our paper towel holder was empty. There were multiple unsuccessful attempts to get more paper towels. POOR SERVICE.
5. RESPECT is earned, not given to small businesses. You do that by treating your clientele with respect and giving them excellent service. The Angry Crab has failed. You handled our situation with anger and intimidation. You called the police on us!!! This was far from the best actions a competent manager would take.
You have an OUTLIER policy of only accepting 2 credit cards. The reason you do this is to save money on credit card transaction fees. I get trying to cut costs, but this is such a small fee for you compared to the burden it puts on customers with large groups. This speaks to your business philosophy, maximize profits for YOU at the expense of your CUSTOMERS. Look, this is your policy not mine and in America you can do what you want.
Look, your food was very good, but with the poor service and lack of respect, you’ve lost my business and any referrals to your restaurant I would make. This far outweighs the credit card transaction fees you are penny pinching. When you learn this simple lesson, this restaurant could be great.

I did not like the food, atmosphere, or service.
From start to finish the service was terrible. The lady on the phone was rude, the servers are more rude, and the owner or manager was the worst.
Let’s start with the lady on the phone, not a kind word or pleasant tone to be found.
The servers here have a real attitude. If you don’t like where you work or if your boss is an ass (which he appeared to be) than quit. Life is too short to be unhappy everyday at work. Most of the servers were young and did not have a professional air about them. Obviously management is under paying them and that’s why they only have inexperienced staff that can’t handle the stress and the low wages. They have high employee turnover, which creates an environment of perpetual mistakes and puts added stress on servers who have been there a while. Bad formula.
All your food is combined in one plastic bag which makes all the seafood taste exactly the same, there is no variety whatsoever. I do not like the ideas of my crab, shrimp, sausage, and corn to all taste the same. Boring and redundant. The meal is very, very messy and it’s tough to complete your meal without getting sauce on your clothes.
There are only communal tables, so trying to have a conversation with your dinner party is tough because it’s so loud.
It’s already been covered that parking is impossible and this is true.

Now This is Is A Very Good Seafood Restaurant With Good Service Too!
Love it even do it’s a little pricey but worth it!

Three days later, and I’m still daydreaming about the shrimp, the corn on the cob, the bread the sauce the smell the crab–
Amazing place. Wish I could live here. Coming back as often as possible.

Have been going here ever since they opened and still till this day their lines are ridiculous!
I normally get a pound of crawfish and a pound of head on shrimp, all the flavors plus bulls or sometimes bears spiciness level. I feel the spiciness level is sometimes inconsistent but that doesn’t bother me too much since I love hot stuff. Since seafood is a little pricey I normally get rice to help me fill me up and its good to put the sauce on top.
They know me as the guy who lines up my crawfish heads all over the table but its cool to always have a chat with the employees and owner. Service has always been good its just the waiting time that will annoy most people. If you plan to go on the weekend, better be prepared. Try to go early and since its BYOB bring some drinks to help occupy yourselves.
If you plan on going during the week, try to get there early before they open and you should be good. Also check out rowie’s right across the street! They have good sweets and drinks.

We came here on very cold Tuesday night. Place was still packed, but there was no wait. We seemed to avoid the most common complaints about wait time and service, but I can only imagine what it would be like on a weekend night.
We really dug this place. We shared a pound of crab legs, a pound of shrimp, two lobster tails, corn on the cob, and sausage. Between two people, it wasn’t too much food, and it wasn’t too little. Maniac seasoning on all. «Raging Bull» level spice was good balance of flavor and spice, but if you like it spicy you’d be fine one step up from that for sure.
Seafood was delicious. I was still thinking about it several days later. Probably could’ve eaten here two nights in a row. And the experience was totally unique.
It is very, very messy. Good thing they have bibs and paper towels on hand because wow, what a mess. But worth it.

So glad we tried this place after reading all the great reviews. We went at opening time so wait wasn’t too bad. Agree with all the previous Unilocalers — food is great, experience awesome, service is solid.
We brought our 14 month old and they were very accommodating with high chair and stroller parking for us. We asked for bread immediately to address baby squirming and the warm roll arrived quickly. Apps came out fairly fast, but the seafood does require a bit of a wait and shelling with fingers doesn’t always go well with an impatient eater… just keep this in mind if you are bringing littles to share in the experience.
Overall was a great meal, would definitely go back (probably for takeout).

Worth the wait!!! Amazing seafood. After waiting 3 hours on a Saturday night my friend and I walked to a near by gas station for a bottle of wine to share, YES this place is BYOB! When we were finally called we enjoyed the heck out of our food. Amazing!!!

Just left the AC
Great service … Thanks !
Oyster ½ shell were just ok…
Calamari was really good… hot, just the right amount of breading and 2 great sauces.
Ordered 1lb shrimp headless, 2lb crawfish, 1 lb king crab, 1 lb mussels, 2 sausage, 2 potatoes and 2 corn. Maniac sauce and calm spice.
Shrimp were great, crawfish as well. Mussels were the perfect size.
If you like king crab cooked in lots of spices then you’ll like this. I’m more of a purist… lemon and drawn butter kinda guy.
Again… Service was great !
Cool space… I dug the hand washing station. Trust me, you will too when you’re done. Or ask for gloves (.50cents well spent)
Our bill for 2 ppl — $ 135… crab alone was high cost @ $ 31. So it’s not cheap but well worth it. Great value !
There are plenty of paper towels at the table cause it gets messy quick. Just throw your shells and crawfish heads on the table when your done… no one cares which is cool. Wear the bib they provide… you’ll thank me later.
If you’re into eating well prepared seafood with your hands out of a plastic cooking bag… and if you’re from Louisiana or the low country… you’ll feel right at home.
I can see why Eater and Thrillist are talking so much about Angry Crab. Go early so you’ll get a seat right away. The dude at the door runs a tight ship so be nice to him !

Short lines be damned. The Angry Crab will make you wait for a big bag of seafood goodness, and boy is it worth the wait. The Angry Crab has gotten a lot of buzz since it first arrived on the scene, in part because the food is good, and in part simply because it’s the first seafood boil restaurant (à la The Boiling Crab) in the city. It’s been trendy for a while, but that doesn’t make it any less deserving of the rave reviews.
The formula here is straightforward: seafood by the pound + BYOB. And of course, that aforementioned eternal wait. There’s no designated waiting area so you’ll need to entertain yourself elsewhere. Don’t be the guy or girl that awkwardly crowds near diners while they wait. Just don’t. Also, pay attention to the parking restrictions. That adjacent lot? You better think twice.
The Angry Crab has all the seafood boil staples: crab, shrimp, crawfish, clams, sausage, corn, etc. The crawfish could use a little more meat. Nonetheless, the quality is excellent and everything is seasoned well in the bag. Lest you have seafood boil tunnel vision, know that there are other things to satisfy your appetite. Do not, by any means, sleep on those garlic noodles! It’s such a simple dish, but it’s so delicious!
I suspect that the fact that it’s the first of the trendy seafood boil restaurants on the Chicago map skews perceptions in its favor just a tad. The bottom line though is that it’s a fantastic restaurant. It’s been a while since our visit so I’m definitely itching to get back soon!

Angry Crab has moved into that Hot Doug’s territory where it’s impossible to talk about it without referencing the associated wait. Yes, it’s as long as your friend told you, but to hold that against the restaurant when you know it going in seems arbitrary. Plan ahead, I guess.
That being said, my first trip was everything I expected and more: food was delicious, restaurant was loud, bibs were necessary. Seafood isn’t cheap but I ate about twice as much food as I needed to be full, for $ 35/​person in our group of three (3 lbs. of seafood, two orders fries, corn, sausage, etc).
I’m amazed (but not really because Unilocal) that so many people come to a restaurant that is a glorified seafood boil and complain about service, noise, space, etc. It’s peel and eat food in a lively atmosphere. If you didn’t want that, the seafood restaurant next door is open, quiet and taking tables (though probably not for long I surmise).
Also, the bird store across the street has a toucan for sale; it’s beautiful.

I think my friend and I were winning at life when we got to Angry Crab on a Tuesday at 6pm and were seated right away. Advice for your first time — get there early, BYOB (or sit next to someone that is willing to share), wear clothes you don’t mind getting a little smelly or sprinkled with sauce, order King crab legs and shrimp with butter/​garlic sauce, add sausage, corn and potatoes to it, wash your hands before the food gets there, make sure sauce is mixed all around when the bag gets there, take some
pics while your hands aren’t dirty, stack shells on table, enjoy every hard-​worked bite by lathering it in sauce, smile, laugh, enjoy, wash hands, repeat.
We were in and out in 45 min to an hour. Would do it again tomorrow if I could!

Whoa, whoa, whoa. As I type this, I can still smell the garlic, butter and spices on my fingers. And I’m damn jealous of myself circa last night.
Let’s get down to brass tacks. Yes, the wait can be as much as three hours (ours was actually around 3:15 by the time we sat down). Yes, the place is loud, busy and chaotic. Yes, you will get messy. And yes, yes, OH GOD YES, is it worth it.
We came with a party of 10 at 5pm on Saturday and the place was mobbed. I didn’t believe the hype, that the wait could really be so long, but sure enough they quoted us about 3 hours. That quickly cut our group down to six hardy crab lovers.
Here’s the thing: when you get that news, you’ll be tempted to go to the pop up seafood shop next door (don’t do it), go home or just swing by McD’s for a Filet-​o-​Fish. Don’t. Do. It. Wait it out. You’re an adult, you want to build up your hunger for this meal anyway. Hell, the name is «Angry Crab», what did you think would happen?
Instead, I recommend you put your name and phone number down and hunker down at a local watering hole for the duration. Now, here’s the problem: there’s really nothing around here. The closest and best choice is Sherry’s Bar on Hollywood and Western. It’s a good ½ mile walk, but an awesome little neighborhood dive on it’s own. $ 2 Old Styles will get you warmed up for the battle that will ensue.
Then, keep an eye on your watch. When your table is called, the good folks at Angry Crab put you on the clock. If you’re more than 5 minutes away, all that waiting will go for naught, so get back there when it’s close to time.
Now here’s where things get interesting. You’ll likely be seated at a communal table covered with butcher’s paper, a roll of paper towels and a bucket of ice. All of these tools are very important. Crack some beers (did you NOT notice it’s BYOB), check out the chalk board and get ready to grub out.
The six of us were understandably starving by this point (we sat down at around 8:30 after arriving for the first time at ten-​to-​5). So we went a bit ‘shark’. We started with the Cajun and Garlic fries (great starter). But don’t waste all that space for the apps. We jumped right into a massive boil including two pounds of head-​on shrimp (a must for the flavor), two pounds of crawfish (small and sweet), two pounds of snow crab legs (sweet as candy), two whole Dungeness crabs (at around 2 lbs. each) and a pound of clams (they really soak up the flavor of the boil) — plus the requisite corn, andouille sausage and potatoes.
Next, you have to select the flavoring and spice. You can choose from lemon spice, Cajun or garlic butter flavoring. Stop. Don’t choose. Instead get ALL THREE together. I know, I know. But trust me, you want all of it. Now, the spice level. We went for the third (of five) levels. The spice will build as you go, so if you like things pretty spicy, this will give you that kick.
Ok. We took a breath. We were on the cusp of deliciousness.
Now, that sounds like a lot of food. And it is. But you just waited some three+ hours for this meal, so make it worth it. That works out to about 2 lbs. of food per person, which is about right. That means the more people you have, the more you can try.
When the boil came, it was all packaged up in a gorgeous boil bag. We cracked that bad boy open, the steam and smell was overpowering. And we dove in. To be honest, the next hour is a bit of a blur. Everything was delicious, fresh and so damn flavorful. You get very, very, very messy. And you won’t care.
In the end we were fat, happy and full. It was nearly 10:30, so we spent the better part of six hours on this culinary journey. When the bill came, it broke down to just about $ 40 per person. Amazingly affordable for such an amazing meal.
So there you have it. Believe all the hype: about the long wait times, the affordable prices and the unbelievable food. Be honest with yourself and prepare for the journey — and you two will wake up the next day with the flavor of Louisiana on your hands and a dirty desire to go back for more.

Two hour waiting in the line and the place is tiny. Parking is almost impossible because street parking is the only option.
While crabs are delicious, i will give four stars for the food while the environment is really bad. Have to wait outside the restaurant for forever. They take your name and number in the front and then you start waiting. If you are patient and can bear the coldness outside, go and do not drive here, take an über here.

Me and my husband saw this place on check please lol so we had to try it!
It was delicious and very messy! I came with my husband and three children under five! Although it s very kid friendly! I think it was too messy with them and they weren’t all that interested in the food. They loved the fish and chips so that was great but didn’t care for anything else!
In terms of food we got the garlic noodles which taste like your eating garlic but tasty with the shrimp. I’m not sure I would get them again but they really live up to there name! So if you love garlic get them! In terms of main entrée we got corn, potatoes, shrimp, crawfish and lobster tail! We seasoned it maniac style which is all the spices and we did a kick of spice. Everything was fresh and very well seasoned!
The service here is great and it was definitely packed for a Tuesday night! Luckily we got there a little before 6 so we didn’t have to wait and we got our meal within 10 to 15 mins of waiting so it wasn’t long at all! But if you come after 6:30 it gets packed to where people are waiting outside.
In terms of parking don’t park in the lot right next to the restaurant because they will tow your car. Just park along the street. Plenty of free street parking.
Definitely a seafood lovers dream! So definitely give it a try! :)

If I had to rate my experience here, it would be 5 stars. But I attribute that to the company we had with us. They were the greatest — you know who you are. SInce I’m not certain they will be with us the next time, I’m gonna say that this is a solid 4 star place! First of all, the concept is really unique. Bringing me delightful seafood in clear plastic bags filled with seasoning and spices and juicy buttery goodness? Oh yeah! Reaching into those bags, bare hands and all, really immerses you in the eating experience. Sure, its messy, your fingers are dripping, your mouth is watering at the prospect… there’s a lot of wetness here! But that’s what makes it fun!
We started with the garlic noodles and if I didn’t know that I was gonna get seafood after that, I would have been content to just gorge on those! Not sure how they make something so simple taste so good! Amazing. The dungeness crab is killer good. So are the shrimp. But the star for me was the mussels. Huge, fresh, well prepared mussels on the half shell. So flavorful and so easy to gulp down. Oh man, I can taste them now. I’ll admit I have a weakness for mussels and these were some of the best I’ve had in a long, long time.
People are right about the mess though. There is no place to put your debris — and there is plenty of it with mussel and shrimp shells, empty bags leaking on the paper table cloth… It gets VERY messy. Don’t wear good clothes. Roll up you sleeves and indulge. It’s that kind of place. Would be nice if they offered those wet naps at the table. But they do have a hand washing sink outside the bathrooms! You’ll need it!

If you’re someone who loves fresh seafood, copious amounts of garlic, pushing up your sleeves and eating like a caveman with both hands out of a bag while enjoying your BYOB beverage of choice — the Angry Crab should make you very, very happy!
We spent a couple of hours devouring Dungeness crab, headless shrimp and mussels in varying formats: Cajun, garlic butter and lemon pepper served in plastic bags tossed onto the paper tablecloth. The garlic noodles (served with forks!) were beyond delicious — the garlic got a little much after about 4 bites but, if you take a short break you can dive back in. The garlic Cajun fries were darned tasty, too.
Thank goodness there’s a napkin dispenser on the tables and a washing station in the back of the restaurant because you need both. If I had one complaint, by the end of our meal I felt like we were sitting in a dumpster with all the piles of plastic bags, shells & empty beer bottles strewn all over the table. A little better cleanup help from the staff would have been appreciated.

I was way too generous giving angry crab 2 stars. This place is too trendy NOT to have its own parking lot. Good luck finding parking w/​o warning all over angry crab that you will be towed. This restaurant is too crowded no elbow space and extremely LOUD. I had a son and mother date. We both did not like the service. There is not utensil, no paper plates and you eat like the cave men with your hands. No wet towels either offered to wipe your hands.
The server does not explain nor gives you suggestions as what to order or what is the best item. Is a hit or miss on your part. We did order a bag of shrimps that comes with a half of potato, half of sauce and a half of corn on the cob. The shrimp are not deveined so you have to do that job or eat it. Every item on the bag was charged individually it is NOT complementary. We could not eat the sides because they where too oily and the potato was not cooked properly too hard to eat it. What a shame.
We order calamari to me they were too well done and the crust burnt. I asked for extra Lemon they do not have it only lime that becomes bitter when you cut it. No extra line was given to me.
The only item I liked was the garlic fries. This place is too over rated not worth the drive unless you live in the neighborhood. The service is horrible no one greets you and no one say thank you for stopping by. Too disappointed, I feel bad for my son that was starving he had volunteer in his school. Just to come and clean those shrimps. No thank you

So awesome! This was my first real creole experience and I loved it. The waitstaff was all so helpful and knowledgeable. I love that someone is walking around with water all time — so smart since the food is spicy. The waiters and waitress all helped show us what to do with the different seafoods. Even the owner showed us at one point!
We started wth the Cajun fries with fried soft shell crab on top. I wouldn’t get the soft shell crab again. Not for me. The fries were bomb.
for 2 people we shared one lobster tail, one pound of headless shrimp and one pound of snow crabs, 2 sides of corn and garlic noodles.
Everything was amazing. We had so much food for $ 45 each! Can’t wait to come back. Worth the solid 2 hour wait

Everyone talks about the angry crab. Everyone knows they don’t take reservations. Which I can see why they don’t, they have the daily volume they need regardless. This place is PACKED.
You want to dine in? That’s a 2 hour wait if you have the time.
…Which we did…
Their waiting area is super small, it’ll fit probably 5 people total. So you have to wait outside and pray to god it’s not going to be cold.
We sat outside and waited for 2 hours, how I wish they’d put a bench outside or something though. It’s insane how people are actually willing to wait the 2 hours! We waited with them and actually made friends.
You can also order to-​go if you don’t want to wait, or you can order an appetizer to eat outside while you’re waiting to suppress the hunger a bit.
Once you get in, it’s PACKED, like there’s no space to walk packed. By now, if you’ve been waiting, you’ve already looked at the menu multiple times outside to know everything you want to order. Well, they’re ready for your order, they know it, throw it all at them at once, they got you. Be careful how much food you order and the spice level though.
Garlic cajun fries– either I was REALLLYYY hungry or these fries just hit the spot. They were super good but they were more on the garlic side than the cajun. If you have to order an appetizer here, these are it.
Calamari– This was a miss, only because the batter was so light it was falling off. I really thought this could have been better too, flavor wise of the batter.
House cajun shrimp/​Garlic butter shrimp– This was good, this is the first
and only place i’ve EVER seen them devein the shrimp with the shell still on for you. Serious props for this. If I had to pick between these two sauces though, it’s definitely the garlic butter shrimp.
House cajun clams– I’m a little disappointed in this, this and the calamari are probably the only two i’d actually pass up. The clams were really fishy and they weren’t cleaned. There was a lot of sand/​dirt still there, you’ll feel it when you’re biting into it. The clams had a really fishy taste to them too. I’d say pass on the clams.
Garlic butter mussels– Yum. This was good! Next to the king crab, this was probably my next favorite.
Garlic butter alaskan king crab– I’ve NEVER seen such a huge crab leg in my life as when I was here. It was seriously the size of my hand. It’s pricey, 32 $ for 2 claws but it was seriously good. You get so much crab meat for it. The crab with the sauce was unbelievably delicious. This is a must get.
All of these are heavily drenched in the sauces, which the sauces really stand out with their flavors. If you want, they also sell rice you can eat along with it.
You can also bring your own beer since they don’t sell it but if you bring your own non-​alcoholic beverage, you’ll have to pay a $ 2 fee since they sell non-​alcoholic beverages.
I would have gave this place 5-​star but service was slacking. Our server grabbed our coke with our neighbor tables coke at the same time and swapped them when she handed it back. We knew it wasn’t ours because there was a dirty hand print on it, that wasn’t our, we didn’t even get our food yet, and her hands weren’t dirty. It was our neighbors. Thank god we noticed it because this is a health hazard, we could have ended up with herpes or some disease. It’s seriously risky to refill drinks with the same cups and straws when you’re working in the restaurant industry.