parking is street dining area is a good size with more than a dozen tables and plenty of space for more. service was great from the beginning to the end. we ordered two combos; snow crab with shrimp and snow crab with green mussels. both came out in a good amount of time. both steaming fresh. the seafood were all fresh. the crab and mussel were cooked to perfection while the shrimp was a little overcooked. i wonder if they can separate the shrimp out coz the cooking times differ. their sauce is on the very salty side but delicious with the generous butter. will return to this holly crab as it is better than other holly crabs i have tried. read more

See all

Best seafood boíl restaurant in lowell, we got the snow crab and shrimp combo and ask for the shrimp heads off and deveined, also we add a lobster tail to out bag, we got the Holly crab sauce with medium spicy level and it was delicious the heat was perfect and we also order the rice balls delicious as well, the service was amazing the server was so nice, the ambience were great too there was music but no too loud enough to talk, I definitely enjoyed and recommend this place most go in Lowell read more

Came here with my family and had a great time! Got the king crab legs and they were delicious. The service is was quick and it was very quiet so I would return, for sure! read more

See all

Great experience. Really nice server. Very helpful answering questions. Crab was so good. I will be back. Next time I am going with plain boil with butter on the side. Inside was clean. We sat by window and people watched. read more

Very tasty. Good service and fresh seafood for reasonable prices :) will go back for sure

I've gone here twice and it's great! The Cajun butter sauce is delicious, and everything is always so tender. The service is pretty good, they make everything fresh so it's a small wait. It's never that busy, and its very authentic, minimalistic interior. The prices are what you'd expect for seafood, but it's the best and closest seafood boil to me so I don't mind. read more

Manager was on phone for at least 15 minutes before realizing that we were there. Walked out

For as long as I worked in downtown Lowell, tourists always asked for seafood options and then bam!, a few years ago Holly Crab opened up. I enjoy their selection of various 1 lb of seafood options. I usually go for the shrimp and mussel combo. Although, I do notice that anything with a shell is kinda tricky because you might end up with some empty shells and no meat. As for the drinks, I LOVE that they have soju, so I can have my favorite seafood and drink at the same time!! The staff (I've only ever seen her ever!) does her job quite well. read more

Holly Crab - Soju - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

See all

I tried the clam with potato, sausage, and plain noodle in a mild holly crab sauce. My favorite part was the noodles which is ironic considering this is seafood boil not a noodle place. They were soft and pieces of minced garlic was dispersed throughout the strands. I also liked the clams. The sauce is an extremely thin consistency and does not coat the food very well. It just kind of pools at the bottom and I had to continuous dunk my potato into it to just get a small taste of the flavor. Some people like that but it's just not my personal preference. It just felt that my food was just dry most of the time Speaking of the flavor, you can tell there was a bunch of seasoning added. However, you taste a lot of saltiness just overpowering the other flavors read more

Food is just so-so. The same is true of ambiance and Service. There are better options to explore in the area.

Been meaning to try for the last few years and finally made it . Did not disappoint, well overall a 4 but a few misses . Shrimp was awesome and crab was good , service very good . Corn was like mush but overall was good and will try again . Thank you Holly Crab read more

See all

The location for where this is located it sucks because of parking. They have a good amount of seating and the place is casual, a lite intimate. The food varies. The food is good and sometimes is like wthell is this why does this taste old as hell ? They are skimpy with there sauce. I had to order more on the side but that is okay. I ordered on the go and ate in a few times. The service is slow and they need to hire at least another person. read more

Holly Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Let me start by saying that I got crawfish and shrimp boil. It was good, really good. I would definitely get it again however, here are some points I'd like to offer. My mate was asked on his meal if you wanted fresh crawfish or the regular frozen one. I think maybe, you should decide which ones you want to use and then charge accordingly. Letting me know that the Seaford was frozen, bummer. I got my seasoning medium. I don't know in what world that was medium, it was quite hot. And I like spicy. I think they need to adapt the seasonings to the local Community. It was quiet. We went on a Saturday. I think we are the third table in there. From the time we left our car parked in the center of lowell and walked to the restaurant, about a five minute walk, we passed six policeman. My mate actually asked one of the policeman if a special event was going on because we saw so many? His response? No. I think the location might be an issue I don't think there's enough for people who don't eat seafood. Chicken fingers? Not everybody likes chicken. Maybe throw in a hamburger or two. Also, when we were done and the table next to us were done, a big huge trash barrel was brought to the table. I think it might be a better idea if the waitress for a person who to clear the tables, brought the stuff to the trash barrel. Will he got a trash barrel in front of me when I was eating my meal was upsetting. All in all, it was pretty good. I think the prices are a little high, but that again. It is seafood. read more

See all

Snow crab and sausage was delicious and 1 serving fed me and my husband. Great spice level and garlic butter flavor. read more

Holly Crab - crab legs, corn and potatoes in a plastic bag - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Superb Gumbo! First time customer, ordered via DoorDash and can not be happier. read more

Holly Crab - Gumbo, Rice and Corn on the Cob - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

The aroma of seafood boil when I first walked in makes my mouth watered... My boyfriend and I have been craving seafood boil for awhile now and we decided to give Holly Crab a try because it's was the only seafood boil closest to us. So my boyfriend originally wanted lobster but they didn't serve lobster that day (01.05.19) and since they didn't have that, his next choice was dungeness crab. It was on their menu but the girl that was serving me stated "they no longer serve dunguness crabs..." bummer! So we just decided we'll do a snowcrab combo with crawfish and 7 lbs of crawfishes. It's not in season so there is no live crawfish. I also ordered two sausages on the sides. The prices were very reasonable. my server stated my order would take about 20-25 mins. I was sitting there excitingly waiting for my orders to come out. 20 mins later it finally came out. I got 2 heavy bags for carried out. So happy to get home and try out our seafood boil. We got all the seafood boil with the holly crab sauce and spice level mild. My first bite into the sausage. I didn't like it, it had a weird texture to it. Then went on to the crawfish and it tasted plain because the sauce didn't stick to it. Some crawfishes were watery and some were dry and in one of the bag, it only had a couple of crawfishes with a bunch of claws at the bottom. Although the frozen crawfishes were very clean and didn't have a weird textures to it. I'm very diappointed... it didn't reach my expectations. It wasn't worth 147$. I rated 3 stars because it's a seafood establishment you would expect them to have what's on their menu, the lack in flavors and textures of the food. I guess I'll just have to take the drive to loui loui in Stoneham the next time I'm craving seafood boil. read more

See all

So it isn't the best tbh. I wouldn't recommend coming. The time we went was around 5-6pm but there wasn't many people. There was about 3-4 tables that has already been served with lots of previous tables garbage on without being clean and many tables that were empty. The server know we exist hopefully unless we're invisible or there being blind. It took us 20-25 mins being seated then another 10-15 till they clean and give us a nice clean table. Now let's move on to food cause the service was horrible already forget tips. The cute thing was they make their ice for drinks shaped like a hat that was sooo cute! The food was decently good not great but okay. read more

See all

The food was absolutely delicious. I recommend the cheesy noodles and the garlic butter sauce. The only negative feedback I have is that it took probably at least ten minutes for someone to take our order, and at that point they were not busy. Unfortunately they seemed to be understaffed the whole night, which of course isn't the waitstaff's fault. By the time we left around 7:30pm (on a Saturday), almost every table was occupied but it looked like there were still only two servers (one of whom was also the hostess). They should hire another person! It's not fair to the two overworked people covering all those tables, and it makes service slow which can make some customers unhappy. Just a suggestion: if the service will be a little slow, they should set up a serve-yourself water station so customers can get their own water instead of waiting--the food can be spicy! read more

Disgusting, poop was still visible in shrimp. The service wasn't the best, it was my birthday and we told the worker and she had a unfriendly attitude towards us. Food wasn't fully warm and they let a random man in who came up to my family and started to be a disturbance. They just sat there and did nothing about it, we had to leave the place due to lack of service and safety. Not the best at all. read more

Came here on a cold, windy Sunday afternoon for lunch. We were able to park off-street right in front of the restaurant. Arrived around noon, we were the only table the entire time, plus maybe three or four take out order pickups. The food is on the pricier side ($8 for three rice balls, $1 for a potato or a corn on the cob, and of course, the crab). The portions were good, and food was well-seasoned. The snow crab and the one potato that came with the meal were very good. Many of the clams had broken shells so had to be careful with picking them out. The corn on the cob was disappointing, like the frozen overcooked variety I'd expect from old KFC (my last KFC visit they only had canned corn). The rice balls were ok, just balls of rice flavored with oil and furikake. The server was friendly and helpful. read more

See all

Where do I stare? Amazing! I started with oysters which were paired with a savory sauce and lemon. Next on to the truffle fries abs calamari . For our entry we had booked shrimp , fried catfish and cole slaw. All made to perfection. The service was great our server was working double duty on the register and was great. This is a must Try place ! We will be back again and again read more

Here is why this place gets only 4 stars and not a perfect 5. -While the Holly Crab med-spice seasoning on our combo was perfect, the shrimp was a little stringy, like it was frozen and thawed too many times. But it was delicious still. -Service was't amazing. They were good, and competent. Very much 4-star worthy, but a little too nonchalant for a 5-star rating. Now here is everything that we LOVED about Holly Crab: -The crab was perfect. Perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. -Surprisingly, the sweet potato fries were amazing. You might think to yourself, "What can be so good about sweet potato fries?" and to that I say, "IDK, just try them and see for yourself." but they are perfectly cooked and seasoned too. -The location. I have wanted to go to the one in Boston for a while so I am glad it opened near me in Lowell. -The prices. Not too expensive for seafood. read more

Holly Crab - A combo with crab and shrimp, med Holly crab spice with a side of sweet potato fries. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

So much fun! Wheelchair accessible. The tables aren't too close together and the bathroom is very roomy. Sturdy armless chairs. Yay! Definitely get the shrimp and crab boil with extra potatoes and corn. We chose garlic butter with a mild spice level and it was plenty flavorful/spicy enough. Only downside was lack of parking. read more

See all

Service Sucks!!! Food is great!! but SERVICE SUCKS!! just 1 or 2 waitress for the whole place read more

Holly Crab - best menu - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

I was incredibly disappointed by my Holly Crab experience. The food was mediocre (and definitely paled in comparison to Cap't Loui) but what was must frustrating was the customer service! I had ordered a shrimp+crab combo online (and added corn, sausages, and broccoli), totaling ~$50. After picking up the order and driving home, I was shocked to find that there was NO CRAB in my order! When I called to let Holly Crab know, the response I got was "that's not possible. I made the order myself and I put crab in there." Clearly he had not. The employee then told me to drive back to show him my order and then he would fix it. I told him that it was a 20 minutes drive there and another 20 minutes drive back and that was not ideal. The employee then stayed silent and then I had to ask if I could get a refund on the crab that I did not receive. And he agreed to it (though I still haven't seen a refund processed). Overall - I was disappointed in how Holly Crab just avoided admitting to their error; and even more disappointed that they did not even try to redeem my customer experience by offering something to compensate, and that I had to ask. I've never been to a restaurant where the kitchen staff said that they were right, and that I was wrong, and if I wanted to actually receive what I paid for - I had to go even more out of my way. It was a terrible interaction. The food, as I mentioned, was mediocre at best. The sauce was watered down. The corn was clearly overcooked because the kernels were soggy. All in all - it was definitely not worth the $50 price tag. Next time - I'm driving an extra 15 minutes to go to Cap't Loui in Stoneham instead. read more

The waitress was not the best, but wasn't the worst. She didn't tell us much and she seemed confused every time we would ask a question about something on the menu. The restaurant is a little sketchy on the inside. The food was good, it's a bit pricey but it's seafood so it's going to be! The kitchen made the food fairly fast, and the soda they give you is in a can which threw me off a little bit. They give you a bib, and some gloves when you get there. The grease and butter gets through the gloves onto your hands which isn't the worst but i thought the gloves would hold up better. The food was good quality. I would eat here again, and I do recommend it for a seafood boil place. Sorry if the picture of the menu isn't the best! I found it in my camera roll from when i went but thought it might be useful to some. read more

Holly Crab - The Menu - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Can't say I eat a lot of Cajun food but was in the mood for seafood. I didn't know what to think when I walked in and saw the patrons wearing clear gloves and eating out of bags. But I'm game for trying something new and I'm glad I did. Got the shrimp and clams with the Holly Sauce, medium Spice. What a great dinner! It was fun to put on the gloves and dig in. Definitely recommend. read more

This type of seafood consumption is the new craze ! My family and I tried this place seeing how it was the closest to us and all That day they didn't have any crawfish and it was our first time and we wanted to experience it all so we almost walked out but figured let's give it a shot anyways So we got a bag of everything but the crawfish The spiciest level of course Seafood was piping hot rich in flavor and the sauce was a beautiful color or at least I was told so (I'm legally blind jk just color blind ) The wait staff was almost nonexistent there was a host a waitress and like 20-25 tables to be waited on Oh the host was the waitress BTW they need more help for sure read more

Wow , the signature flavor holly sauce is the best! Seafood was fresh and cooked properly nice portion. I had the king crab and was so full leaving there. Love the atmosphere and the prices were fair. read more

I tried to give them the benefit of multiple trips, but the seafood is just not good. It's either egregiously frozen or left stewing in the steamer too long. I complained last time when the shrimp weren't peeling easily but they said I was the one having trouble. read more

As a louisiana native, I'm not sure how to really rate this place. By my standards or local ? By my own personal standards it was just average. I ordered 2 lbs of crawfish with shrimp and then 1 lb of crawfish by itself to enjoy with a friend. At first upon taste it was ok but as we kept going we realized we wouldn't be able to finish because we were choking on spices!! My friend called it "atomic crawfish". haha. The Spice was there but no real flavor or seasoning. I say it's nice to try but I wouldn't count on an authentic experience. read more

Loved this place! Went with my kids to celebrate my birthday. Great atmosphere and even better food! Highly recommend for anyone looking for a good Cajun seafood boil! read more

Holly Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

Okay this is actually like a 3.5 but I can't do half stars. I LOVE seafood boil. Absolutely my fave. This place is just good enough to get by. The service is alright. Can be slow at time but I get it for a small spot like that all you need is one or two servers on. The food came out at a good amount of time. I get the shrimp/clams and my boyfriend likes the chicken. The flavor of the seafood..... it tastes like they cooked the seafood then put the sauce over it in a bag and shook it. There's no full, deep marination (if that's what even happens). I constantly have to dip the food in the bag of sauce again to feel more fulfilled. Eh. The sausage and corn and potato, same thing. Tastes like they threw it in and *ding* ready to eat. Their chicken and cheese noodles I admit is really good. Cheesy noodles beware it can be spicy. There's no way to make it mild because of the sauce. Parking can be a pain. There's a garage but it's a short walk if you don't mind. I wish there was another seafood boil spot local cause I would prefer it. But this will do if I don't want to drive far and if I'm really wanting seafood boil. read more

The holy crab in Lowell is horrible. The lobster was brown. The meat was brown and not red. The place was shabby..they didn't have good service. Not a good experience..they didn't even offer to fix it. Horrible. read more

Ordered 2 lbs of crawfish and got 2 lbs of noodles with 10 crawfish. Ordered a lb of clams and got a lb of NOODLES with 10 clams. Gave this place a 3rd try and this is it. Never again. Whoever is packaging this food is RIPPING people off. read more

I've been here a few times with friends, family and fiancé from Nashua. We don't mind driving 30 mins if the food is well worth it-- which it is! We love the open, cozy and relaxing atmosphere of the restaurant. The seafood here is incredibly fresh and yummy! I'm a big fan of spicy food but WOW-- Holly X sauce had me sweating bullets. I recommend having that sauce on the side btw. We paired it with cold beers which was incredibly refreshing! When my fiancée and I was there, the owner came out and chatted with us for a bit. He was surprisingly young but importantly, he seem to show great passion for food and care for his business. He brought out Korean chicken wings (which wasn't on the menu yet) for us to try and ask what we thought. We devoured it in a matter of second and ask for seconds =] haha ka-sa-miii-taaaa! read more

This was an interesting new experience. We have been to similar style restaurants and this is my least favorite of all but I would say it's solidly average. One big strike is that their menu isn't kid friendly. All of their food contained at least a minimal level of spice and my kids hated it. As an adult I enjoyed the mild spice that I chose I thought it was just right. So if you're going with kids they should like mild levels of spice. The service was good and the atmosphere was typical for this type of restaurant. read more

This will be the second time I ever review an establishment. This time around, I'll try to hold back on being sarcastic... but holy crap, this establishment does everything wrong. Let's begin with the service. Holy crap, let me tell you. It is actually horrendous. I will start with the order timing. On 4 separate takeout orders from this place, they have gotten it wrong 4 out of 4 times. They're scripted to say 20 minutes to wait for your order, but actually it's about 70 minutes, plus the scripted 20 minutes. Hint hint, that waiting bench of yours is extremely uncomfortable. Along with horrendous cooking time estimations, they also cannot seem to get my order right. With the same 4 orders, they've gotten it wrong 3 out of 4 times. First I was upgraded from a large order of wings to a small. Second, I asked for spicy and was given regular. Third, I ordered boneless chicken and was given a bone full of wings. If we do some math, that's... holy crap, a 75% order failure rate. Luckily for them, they do not need to utilize any math to get an order right. Since I at least get food, I'll give them a 1/5. Next up is their food! Luckily for them, their food is good. However, on my latest order, a combination of fried chicken and their seafood boil, I was served a RAW piece of chicken... my thoughts exactly! Holy crap! I really wanted to say something good in this section but after receiving fresh salmonella, this got very challenging. I have to say, when their chicken and seafood is not raw, you just might enjoy it. 2/5 Since there is no half stars for rating, I will be rounding downwards. Overall, I am disappointed in this place. Their food is actually not so bad. Definitely a bit inflated but still tasty. Unfortunately, with the recent issues with food and order management, I will not be ordering from holly crab again until something is done to remedy these problems. read more

Wife and I went here because we were craving seafood. Service was horrible: Slow service and pushy. Food came out to the table cold, and the place was not busy at all. I ordered a 2lb crab, and waiting a very long time, they brought out my clams first. After i ate the clams i asked about the crab, I was told that they tried to cook one and could not serve it. I asked for more detail, and i was told the crab was "no good" and it was "you know... stinky" so they they would prepare another one. NOPE. check please. Note: Crab has bacteria that will contaminate the entire tank if one dies. So.. i asked that they do not cook another one and that i would just pay for what we already had. wife had a shrimp basket and i had the clams (not knowing about the crab), which were pretty bad. I'm not a fan of room temp clams and a sauce that over powered the flavor. The portions are disappointing. I was concerned about food poisoning after i left. I'll Never go here again... If i could give it 0 stars i would. I hope a health inspector will shut it down. read more

People in Lowell try this spot because Loui Loui (which is better) is far of a drive. Sauce is okay, which is why I give 2 stars. Other than that, the reason they suck is because they are SKIMPY. $57 for this. ($61 with tax). We got the crab leg/shrimp combo and then crawfish. Literally 9 crawfish by the way! Holly, if you gave more for the price maybe I'll give you 4 stars. ‍ read more

Holly Crab - cooked shrimp and corn on a plate - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Lowell, Massachusetts

See all