We didn't know what to expect when we stopped in for lunch. The restaurant was appealing and we were seated right away. The menu was different. There were many options for putting together a seafood boil. We were wanting something more simple for this meal, so we decided to get the baskets. I had the oyster basket with sweet potato fries and my friend had the shrimp basket. Both were very good and there was loads of food. We each had a delicious margarita. We will be back sometime to try one of the seafood boils. read more

My sister & I were craving a seafood boil and this place did NOT disappoint!! Service was friendly and relatively quick. It was very easy to choice our boil, you can order by the 1/2 lb and full lb, or you can choose between their preselected boil which comes in a large or small! We went for the small boil, but next time will pick our own now that we know which were our fav! I loved the crab legs and my sister said the shrimp were the best she'd tried. Definitely recommend doing the sauce where it's all 3 mixed! It was very cute and what you would expect from a seafood place, parking is plentiful, booths were comfortable. read more

Crafty Crab - Small boil Seafood Platter - Seafood Near Me - Fairview Heights, Illinois

I was a little worried to try this place with the reviews. My nephew really wanted to try it so we did. I am so glad we did! It was really good! We had crab meat fries, crab legs, shrimp, and sausage in a boil. The fries were good ok but not what we thought it would be. We had broccoli in the boil with the corn and potatoes. The broccoli was an amazing add. PWe ended up doing "The boom " seasoning with a medium spice. It was fire! The seasoning was sooooooo goooood! Highly recommend. The restaurant itself is older and you can tell when you use the restroom. So don't go expecting fine dining and a high end decor. We had so much fun putting on bibs and gloves and mostly eating with our hands. Our faces were covered in sauce and our gloves were well used. It is a messy way to eat but dang it was delicious! The server was amazing. Her name was Aretha. She was polite, well versed, and fantastic! She got super busy and had to ask the manager for help. Between the 2 of them they ran the restaurant, keeping everyone happy. We will go back, especially if Aretha is working! read more

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I have never been told a full size bar was closed. That was a major issue with all the TVs on no bar availability management PLEASE

I wish that I would have taken a picture of this food but it was sooo good and I ate it so fast! It had the best taste, the portion size of the potatoes and corn could have been a little more for the price. It was awesome and my daughters and I enjoyed this so much! I had a taste for a seafood boil and I got exactly what I was looking for. I will definitely be returning and I recommend this place to ANYONE that wants some seafood. I got the lobster and my daughters got the king crab and shrimp! read more

Got the seafood boil. Had intestinal issues immediately afterwards and still going as I type this 12 hours later. I had to ask for a crab cracker tool. The server advised that they have people steal them and they have to pay $5 out of their pocket when that happens. The bathrooms are disgusting, rusty and smelly. I should have known something was wrong by the lack of cars in the parking lot on a Saturday at dinner time. This was my first time here. I do not recommend and I won't be back. read more

I thought it was closed because there weren't many cars in the parking lot. They were, and it was great.

5 stars! 10/10! Great food! Our server was amazing! He was very sweet and personable. The whole restaurant was empty on this Monday afternoon, which kinda surprised me because where we came from (Atlanta) the crab spots are full almost all day. But since it was empty, we were seated immediately and the food came out very fast! The ambiance was great because the music played was current hits, the tables were clean, the seats were comfy, and it was just very laid back. The food....my god... THE FOOD! It was so freakin good. It reminds me of the Juicy Crab in Atlanta where we used to eat at all the time. The sauces were good. I got Cajun and my husband got the garlic butter sauce. BOTH were delicious. The fries were sooooo good and hot. Like FRESH! The cheese sticks for our appetizer was amazing. My husband's fav appetizer is cheese sticks and he said these were some of the best he's ever had, so that's saying something. Everything was fairly priced and it was overall a great experience. This is our anniversary so we hoped it would be good and it exceeded our expectations. We will definitely be returning. read more

Crafty Crab - After we finished eating. All that was left was my ramen, our fries, corn and some potatoes. - Seafood Near Me - Fairview Heights, Illinois

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This was my second visit to this restaurant. The first experience was good, but unfortunately, the second visit was disappointing. I ordered the crab and shrimp (1/2 portion), but it tasted more like a chicken-flavored noodle packet than seafood. When we asked for an extra crab cracker, we were told we could only have one, which seemed unreasonable. Overall, the quality and service didn't live up to my first visit. read more

This place is so disgusting. My order was incorrect for a to go order and once I stated that it was incorrect it seems as if the manager got mad at me and retaliated with an attitude. I made two separate to go orders so things would not get messed up and they messed it up any way. She wanted me to give my food back to her to correct the order and I would not because that's simply disgusting. Not to mention that this was not the order that was incorrect. I tried to explain this to her and she got completely loud with me and when I got loud back she told the server to call the police. Then she accused me of trying to get free food when all I wanted was what I ordered. I am very disgusted and will never go back especially after spending well over $60. read more

First time coming to this restaurant and we certainly won't be coming back. The best part of the meal were the crab meat fries although it didn't get a whole lot of crab meat with it. The catfish basket was very bland and it literally tasted like Andy's seasoning was used. The shrimp basket fries were pretty good but the shrimp tasted overdone/rubbery. Waitress kept ghosting us and we never got refills of our drinks. We waited 20 minutes to get our bill and that was also after she went to a different table to get their order first then came over to us. Men's bathroom was disgusting. read more

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I wouldn't recommend this crab place to anybody. I used to work there. They don't clean they soda machine correctly. They let it sit and soda water the night before most of their seafood and size are seating in the cooler uncovered. They are very overpriced and they also don't care about their customers or severs, I had a table whose chicken tenders were undercooked and Will the head cook me since she ate one she can't get them took off her ticket but she can get them remade. She said she didn't want to remake and started throwing a fit so he said he'll take them off, but she wasn't allowed back in the store. Which was ridiculous because her stuff was the one made wrong. read more

We started off with crab cakes which were pretty decent. My wife ordered fried oysters and I ordered steam scallops. The oysters were mostly breading and they were very strong. The spices on the scallops I scraped off and then I was able to eat the scallops. We also got some snow crab legs that were totally dehydrated and mostly just nasty! Needless to say we are not recommending them! read more

Came here for a girls night out. I was looking forward to the DJ and karaoke they supposedly have every Saturday night but unfortunately nothing was going on this night. Bummer! So the service was not great. My sister got her food like 30 minutes before everyone else so we had to watch her eat while we waited. Also the server was not great at remembering our orders, we had to repeat ourselves numerous times about our orders. The food was great! I ordered a crab leg and shrimp boil, you can choose from like 4 different flavors. I got the garlic butter it was delicious. The boil only comes with one corn on the cob and two potatoes, you have to order sausage and eggs separately. The drinks were good. This place would be a lot better if the service was better and the bathrooms weren't that clean either. read more

Crafty Crab - Seafood Near Me - Fairview Heights, Illinois

Clean restaurant, friendly staff and the food is very delicious! Good for families, large groups or date night. Can't wait to go back and try more from their menu! read more

Crafty Crab - Fried Catfish Basket with a side of Coleslaw - Seafood Near Me - Fairview Heights, Illinois

The food was just ok. My elderly mother had to ask for butter for crablegs. They gave her cold butter. She had to ask for crab Crackers and was told to make sure to give them back. We had to ask for wet naps twice and was told they were busy, but they weren't. The nerve! Go to Red Lobster across the street. read more

2 stars only for the amount of food you get, 1 star for the flavor. The food temperature was hot (good) but the boil was lacking flavor! Plus I got the special #1 which was over $40.00. Which is typical for a nice size boil. But it was lacking flavor. The restaurant was quiet with a few parties inside. My waiter was nice. read more

Crafty Crab - Crab leg boil - Seafood Near Me - Fairview Heights, Illinois

Service was horrible. Our waitress only had 3-5 tables at any given time for the 1.5 hours we were there and wasn't friendly at all. She almost acted inconvenienced. Our drinks sat empty for 26 minutes the first time and then again for 31 minutes the second time. Then when we were done eating we sat there with empty drinks again waiting to pay for 18 minutes. The food was good, but service was lacking. The crawfish aren't fresh they frozen but I wouldn't expect fresh crawfish in Illinois. The shrimp were great as were the corn and potatoes. The gumbo lacked flavor but with some salt and pepper it was ok. read more

This restaurant didn't live up to its reviews. We had very slow service and the food was average at best. We were disappointed.

terrible service took way too long for my crawfish boil they dont answer the phone and it stinks

Drinks were good. Food was good. Appetizer was mediocre. Tasted like just some generic stuff deep fried. The shrimp boil was good and the garlic butter was delicious. Good service. Would come back but skip the appetizers. read more

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Ordered Togo more then once. Service as far as Togo's great. Overall good. I'd rather go to krab kingz Delmar as I've been doing. It's not worth the price you pay. read more

Came on a Monday. Had to sit with everyone else in a dark cramped seating area. Considering the pandemic that seems dumb. I talked them into letting us have an open booth away from everyone. No decent draft options. They couldnt even get the Cardinals game on one of their multiple tvs. We almost walked out. Service was ok. I hate to be rude, but waitress (manager I think actually) could have used some breath control. Food was not great. Calamari was rubbery with breading falling off. Daughter got chicken strips which were undercooked. Muscles in my bucket were rubbery and rather disgusting. Crab was ok. Price was ridiculous. 2 - 1 lb buckets (schrimp/snow crab, muscles/snow crab), kids chicken basket, calamari, cheese sticks, all for $111. Waited while staff had a meeting to finish for them to finally bring our check. Definately a pass on this place. read more

Great Oysters! The sauce was great that you dip them in!!! Service was great and staff was friendly

I purchased the (2 orders) snow crabs and headless shrimp boil. It was the worst seafood boil I had ever eaten, First of all I used Door dash and I received my food in 45 minutes which was great. Upon opening one bag I found a string of hair in my food. They did not answer the phone when I called to inform them. The crabs were tiny and it only contained about 8 shrimps in each bag and they were small. There was not a lot of flavor on them. I probably will not spend 70.00 ever again at their establishment. My family told me not to order from Krusty Crab but since I had never eaten there I decided to give them a try. So Krusty Crab you I put you with Sponge Bob at the bottom of the sea. read more

The best! Boom is the best for your seafood boil! Service is always pretty good! Definitely recommend. read more

My experience at the Crafty Crab was wonderful! We came in and were seated immediately, our waiter was very kind and gave us a lot of suggestions for appetizers. We went with the crab meat fries which were delicious you all should definitely give them a try! I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy enjoying the food. Definitely check this place out if you want a great reasonably priced seafood boil! read more

Food was amazing! Waited an hour after we were seating to receive our food. And our waitress only checked on us twice the entire time we were here. read more

Soooo good our waitress Crystal was super attentive. The shrimp were very fresh and good, crab was fantastic and can't even begin to describe the fried Oreos! read more

Crafty Crab - Fried Oreos - Seafood Near Me - Fairview Heights, Illinois

Everything is amazing ! Me and my friends went there yesterday night, the environment is amazing, huge TV screen and very clean, foods are very delicious and every time we need help always someone there help us, it is worth to the price ! I will come back next time! read more

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The catfish looked amazing, however, it was very fishy tasting and it had a black/grey jelly like texture from top to bottom.

100% DO NOT RECOMMEND. We were super excited to try out this restaurant on our vacation - and were even more pumped because there were not many cars. (They we're less than half full and had SEVERAL empty tables.). After being seated and waiting for 20 minutes, we decided to leave. Not a single waiter stopped to greet us, to take drink orders, or even to say they would be with us shortly. We know they weren't short staffed, because we saw multiple waiters serving other tables (despite 2 seeming to always need to call over their waiter). Upon getting up and leaving, the host looked questioned why were leaving and told us he would wait on us right then. Sorry....too little, too late. read more

Perfect seafood boils! Yummy sauce, great spice level, and fresh seafood. Will be going back again!! read more

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10/10 recommend. Food was great, restaurant was clean, and we had good service. I'm not sure what the bad reviews were about, but we enjoyed our meal. read more

I've been here a couple times with my wife so far everything was excellent we always getting the crab boils oh the wing in boom seasoning must try great atmosphere read more

I'm from the SF Bay Area and visiting family in Fairview Heights, I took them for dinner for seafood and crabs which we thought would be good, but we understand the midwest won't have the same quality of seafood as in the west and east coast. That said, we were incredibly disappointed in the service and food. The waiter was disinterested and took 15 minutes to bring butter and salt & pepper to our table, and our potatoes were cold by then. The crab cakes were okay, notting to write home about, but the scallops were awful. The ambiance was more of a take out and delivery. Sadly, we won't be going back, read more

Stay away from this place. Service was awful. Ordered salad and a meal. They brought the salad with the meal. I ordered crab legs and lobster, it was brought out in a bag which was fine but the sauce over powered the taste of my food plus it was hard to crack the legs because they were too slippery from the sauce, plus there was no meat inside had to send back atleast they weren't in all that sauce, finally meat. My friend ordered chicken tenders and she said tasted like fish and she doesn't eat fish. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY GOING HERE read more

Excellent fried catfish and fries. Husband liked the coleslaw. Very friendly. Everything we had was good.

It held such potential, but really underdelivered. The King crab came with 2 1/2 half legs so basically 1 leg plus a little. When confronted on if this was a pound, they doubled down on that is a pound.... My wife had the snow crab legs and they were the smallest, most anemic legs I have ever seen. Everything was overly salty and the drawn butter tasted like used frying oil. We will not be back here. We are disappointed as we were looking for a close crab place read more

Service was horrible. We had to ask for everything from silverware, salt and pepper, the actual food that we ordered and did not receive. I wanted to order a glass of wine with dinner, but was told that there was no bartender. But they could pour a draft beer? Language barrier did not help either. Cool old Joe's venue, but poorly run. read more