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    Kai's Crab Boil

    4.4 (564 reviews)
    Closed 12:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 1 month ago

    Kai's Crab Boil Photos

    Business Info

    KAI'S CRAB BOIL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Trendy
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Kai's Crab Boil

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    Medium garlic butter shrimp eggs corn potatoes
    Angela M.

    Yummmmmm. I got the medium garlic butter with shrimp, potatoes, eggs, and corn. The flavor was so good. I was definitely satisfied. The inside is just ok but I'm here to eat.

    Jessica W.

    ‍We walked into Kai's Crab Boil and stumbled into their weekday dine-in special: 2 lbs of snow crab for $50. Unplanned, but welcome. Snow Crab: Sweet, fresh, and easy to crack. Claws had a fair amount of meat, and the texture reminded me why snow crab is always the safest bet. Seasoning: We chose the mild Kai's Cajun seasoning, and it delivered -- flavorful with just enough kick. A balanced blend that didn't overpower the crab. Butter: They use clarified butter. It's rich, heavy, and greasy enough to make your stomach turn if you don't pace yourself. I needed water... and a Sprite. The fizz from the Sprite honestly saved me -- carbonated drinks can work like edible defibrillators when your stomach's on the ropes. Extras We Ordered (not part of the special): * White Rice: When you layer crab and butter over it? It makes sense. * Garlic Noodles: Sounded promising but lacked flavor. The dried parsley garnish gave it Fiona-from-Shrek 2 vibes -- trying to pass as royal, but still swamp deep down. Tossing them in the bag might save them, but just barely. * Sausage: A standout. Juicy, seasoned well, and soaked up the flavor nicely. * Corn: A disappointment. Tough, dry, and not worth the bag space. * Potatoes: Nothing bad to say except... for the price, I was expecting more than spuds the size of a toddler's thumb. * Egg: My dining partner's request. I took a taste and immediately knew -- it looked wrong, and it tasted how it looked. The Blue Crab: We added one for $7.50 -- out of curiosity. What arrived was a female blue crab packed with roe -- bright orange crab eggs, clumped inside like a seafood surprise party you didn't RSVP for. For folks unfamiliar: blue crab is smaller and messier to eat. You don't crack and pull like snow crab. You lift the top shell, remove the inedible parts, and dig for the meat in small chambers. It takes work, and if you're not into crab anatomy, it's probably not worth the trouble. What else could $7.50 have gotten us? 1. Thomas's tip 2. A gallon of gas and a gas station soda 3. Three king-sized packs of gum -- which I almost needed after that butter The Drinks: We ordered a Sprite (fizzy and reliable) and waters. Their drink cups are generously sized -- meaning the average drinker only needs 1-2 refills, which is rare and appreciated. The Blueberry Mojito was... just okay. Not bad, just unremarkable. No bold blueberry flavor. No stand-out freshness. It simply confirmed you're over 21 -- not impressed by it. Quick Crab Talk: Kai's offers several types: * Snow Crab - Mild, sweet, easy to eat, solid yield * Blue Crab - Smaller, more work, often has roe * King Crab - Large legs, more meat, more money * Dungeness Crab - Slightly sweet, meatier than blue, more effort than snow Besides price, a lot of people don't really know the difference. If you're unsure -- stick with snow crab. It's the least stressful bite for your buck. Final Thoughts: Overall, the boil itself was a win. The snow crab was solid, the seasoning hit, and the sausage held it down. The butter was intense, the blue crab was a surprise I didn't need, and the sides were hit or miss -- but if you build your own bag wisely, Kai's can definitely satisfy the craving. Just... don't let curiosity write a check your stomach can't cash.

    Seafood boil

    Service was amazing and I was so excited to try a seafood boil for the first time cause we don't have any back home where I'm from. It was better than I could've imagined and it was an overall amazing experience, I definitely recommend it

    Calvin P.

    I have been eating here since they opened a few years back, actually I was the first customer ever here. The seafood quality has been up & down but today is the day I decided to walk out and will never come back. As a restaurant owner, I totally understand the food quality coming from food supplier is unpredictable. However, I also know when to take losses when it come to my customer satisfaction. I paid $114.99 for one lbs of king crab leg & the meat was deteriorated inside the shell to less than half & the manager said unfortunately he couldn't see what inside the shell so he couldn't take it back!!! I asked if we could swap the king crab for more Dungeness crab since we are not going to eat it but he said no & he gave us a complimentary cluster of Dungeness Crab that was nice of him but come on a $24.99 Dungeness cluster to replace a $114.99 lbs king crab???

    Pacific Combo
    Jeremy L.

    The service and the food was incredible!! Moving to Columbus from Maryland, I miss getting great seafood and this place killed it! It was so good and exactly what I have been looking for in a place to get crab and shrimp! I will definitely be going back!

    Menu
    Katie O.

    We absolutely loved this place. We started with a Kajun fry app. They were seasoned so salty and delicious. I ordered dungeoness crab and 1/2 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp in Mahin medium. It was so good. I will have to admit next time I will reduce a spice level and may not add kajun as the seasoning overpowered the seafood. Our server was quiet, kind and and attentive. However we did see much more personable waiters which would have been nice. We loved this place. I would come back

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    1 month ago

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    14 days ago

    Food was good asl ain't had food this good in a long while, everything was js fire in general. Will be coming back several times

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    7 months ago

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    2 months ago

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    Kai S.

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    6 months ago

    Good was good seasoning was good will be back the corn was good a lot of shrimp too the crab legs were fresh too

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    7 months ago

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    Kai S.

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    4 months ago

    They said the wait time is 10-15 but it toke over an hour just to even get inside. The food was amazing, toke me back to my childhood.

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    1 year ago

    This is the only place I get my pizza hands down!.. The best plus the topping seem endless!

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    4 years ago

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    1 year ago

    One of the best places for seafood! One of the best meals I've had in a while! Will certainly be back soon.

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    Page 1 of 15

    Ask the Community - Kai's Crab Boil

    I wanted to get a gift card(electronic or physical) for two people to enjoy a nice crab boil. How would I go about this and what dollar amount would you recommend for a nice crab boil? I realize prices vary, so perhaps a price range. Thanks

    Hi Chuck, thanks for your question! We offer gift cards that can be purchased in person at our restaurant. Please note there is a $50 minimum purchase for gift cards and can be purchased in any increment above that. For our seafood pricing it can… 

    Why the menu doesn't have prices for the 4 step area? If I do shrimp and add potatoes, corn, and egg. Then the Kai's Kajun sauce medium. How much would it be?

    Hi Sujood, the reason we don’t have the seafood pricing on the menu is because our pricing for seafood is based on market price and is subject to change. The current market price as of today, 1/13/2020, for head-on shrimp is $13.99/lb, headless with… 

    Do they accept reservations?

    Unfortunately we do not accept reservations; we seat based on first-come, first served.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Over the Counter

    4.3
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    Feels like a neighborhood bar. Lots of TV sets with closed captions…read more Loved the French onion soup because it has a rich, thick beef broth as the base. The onion rings were more plentiful this evening rather than the last time we were here. The Hugo Spritz depends a lot upon who makes it. The price certainly is better than LA prices. Good service.

    We waited to order. We waited longer for the food. How long for the food....?…read moreWell from the time we "ordered" over 45 minutes and never received food. we left hungry and cold. (It was freezing inside that restaurant) It was relatively empty The server was nice. Not sure what the delay was. kathy the server said there was a huge take out order that delayed our order and ours would be right out. (Which I feel may have been a fib.... Not sure but my gut say probably.... Why? No one had come in for a "big"take out order, I think she forgot to log in our order as she was distracted with the table next to us that had their former cook there. I could see that easily happening under this situation.) After waiting another three minutes and no food, we were "over" Over the Counter and nicely told her were leaving. To cancel our order. She nicely tried to entice us to stay saying the owner was going to give us a gift certificate... but that just further solidified that they "knew" our meals timing had gone sideways and we had been neglected. We chose to leave and we dont really plan on coming back. Why? The inside seemed old. We saw the kitchen from our table. It seemed disorganized. It gave off a bad vibe. Add our wait. Meh. Like I said Im over over the table.

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    Over the Counter
    Half Cobb salad with blue cheese dressing.
    Half Cobb salad with blue cheese dressing.
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    Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar

    Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar

    4.0
    (365 reviews)
    3.8 mi
    $$
    Full bar
    Takes reservations

    Man, we were fresh into Columbus on a very hot and sticky day and needed a covered outdoor patio…read morefor us - and Puppy . We saw this spot and decided to hit them up for a din-din and beer on this auspicious late afternoon. We were seated and they quickly brought out a menu - including one for our pup! How cool was that? I ordered their house lager- hubby ordered chicken Caesar salad- I got chicken tenders and waffles for me with fried okra for the table- puppy got a whole chicken breast- nice! Ok the taste - I'm not a huge okra fan. But these fried little morsels were spiced up and hit the spot- hubby loved his salad while I munched down my chicken and waffles like - you know - stat! And the service was great- definitely was awesome. If you want a little taste of the south? Check this place out?

    This was my first time to this location of Tupelo Honey. I had been to the original in Asheville,…read moreNC, but even then, it had been quite some time. The atmosphere was modern with a southern twist. I'm not going to lie, I chuckled a bit when I noticed my water glass said "Bless Your Heart". In Appalachian culture, this is actually an insult. We had a large group, but the service was excellent. Very friendly, attentive, and everything was brought out timely and correctly. My food was really good! It was brunch time so I had coffee, the "Mimosa of the Moment" which was an apple cinnamon, a biscuit with blueberry preserves, and the Southern Shakshouka. All were fantastic and I would definitely get again. I also thought the price was affordable for the quantity.

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    Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
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    Lee's Seafood Boil

    Lee's Seafood Boil

    3.8
    (217 reviews)
    0.8 mi
    $$

    Love coming here! Daniel at the front is so great!…read more This time I got 2 lbs crawfish and 1 lb jumbo clams! Homemade juice extra hot!

    We've gone several times and have always had good service and good food. We went tonight (Sunday)…read morearound 6pm and it was PACKED. Which is a good sign these days. Pretty loud and hard to hear, but that vibe is OK for a boil place to me. Only waited about 15 minutes. Two adults, two elementary kids. I like Lees of all the boil places because they have good options for non seafood people too. Both kids found wings, chicken fettuccini, etc. Started with the hushpuppies, about 12 smallish sized but a perfect starter for 4 people. Came with ketchup, I wish they would do a remoulade option. My wife and I split the duo (snow crab, shrimp) and I decided to add a LB of blue crab. Medium homemade juice sauce (always....it's sooo damn good). Snow crab was really good this time, snappy not bendy like some places. knuckles sweet and not overly briny. Perfectly cooked and came apart and out easily. Shrimp were just a tad overcooked but not much. Potatoes were perfect. We sub +1 tater for the egg. Corn is never good at these places. :) gotta do those fresh not frozen to get it right. The blue crab had good flavor. However, crazy overcooked which made getting meat out damn near impossible. Stringy instead of in chunks and stuck totally to the shell. I mostly gave up. My biggest complaint is they have ZERO typical utensils. No crackers/pickers/hammers/etc. I managed to cut myself trying to get into a snow crab large claw, and the lack of pickers made the blue crab impossible to eat. I'm bringing my own next time....serious. Finished with the fried oreos which were a perfect finish to the meal. 6 oreos for $6 was a great price.

    Photos
    Dining area
    Dining area
    Crab, shrimp, lobster
    Crab, shrimp, lobster
    Lee's Seafood Boil

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    Kai's Crab Boil - seafood - Updated August 2026

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