I'm laughing at a bunch of these 1 star reviews - this place is known for their crispy fried calamari, not their customer service. It's a big hit at parties and you seriously can't go wrong with this. It's so good, so addicting. Because of that, we overlook the bad customer service and just deal with it. They close at 5pm so do plan accordingly. Where else can you find large batches of crispy, fried calamari that's consistent in taste no matter when you have it? If you want to order anything bigger than a single order, be sure to order ahead. When I called and went on a Saturday in December, a young man was working the front. He looks like he might still be in high school, his customer service isn't always the best. He won't greet you, and he'll be short with his responses, but he's quick and efficient. He also memorizes the prices from the top of his head. He could work on his communication a bit... This place is no frills, pick up your fried yummy food and just go. In addition to fried calamari, they have fried wings, egg rolls, fried fish fillet, etc. They raised their prices since a year ago- single order of fried calamari is $27, but it comes packed in a plastic container. I bought two for a holiday party of about 15 people and it was almost gone. A small tray of fried calamari is about $70 ish, quite pricey but if you're feeding a large party, it's so worth it. Dip it in vinegar and garlic, SO GOOD! Also this is cash only so be prepared! read more

King Calamari is all about the food--don't expect anything special when it comes to service or ambiance. The service is direct and to the point: you hand them cash, they head to the kitchen, and moments later, voila, your addictive tray of deliciousness is ready for takeout. That's it. No frills, no fuss. As for the ambiance, this isn't the place for a date night or a sit-down meal. You don't come here to linger or dine in--it's strictly a grab-and-go spot. Also, don't bother calling because they never pick up the phone. But when it comes to the salt and pepper calamari, they absolutely deliver. Crispy, seasoned to perfection, and ridiculously addictive. Just be prepared for cash-only transactions and the irresistible urge to eat it all in your car (but don't leave it in there unless you want your car smelling like a fish market). For a quick and satisfying snack or pulutan, especially to pair with a beer, King Calamari is hard to beat - so 5 stars strictly for the salt and pepper calamari but 3 stars overall if you want to factor in service and ambiance. read more

King Calamari - I shouldn't have opened this in the car. This is so addictive. Instead of going home, I might end up in the emergency room - Chinese Near Me - Union City, California

I used to love this place... I remember buying a single order for $12.50. After the pandemic, they gradually increased... that now... it is about $25/order. Compared to before, they put less per order too. In the past the container would not even close because of how full it is... so the restaurant would put a rubber band to try to hold it together. They still put the rubber band now, although I do not undertand why, because you can actually close the container and seal it. I still buy it once in a while when it is requested at a gathering, but I no longer buy for myself. The actual calamari is still okay. Although sometimes it would taste like old oil. read more

The calamari is crispy and pairs well with spicy vinegar, but the customer service could use some improvement. read more

King Calamari - These are the current prices for king calamari! - Chinese Near Me - Union City, California

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I called asking if we had to call ahead of time to place an order, and the guy said no, that we can just walk in and order, and the wait time won't be long. I asked if they were going to be fresh fried and hot. He said that they fry very often and that it would be hot when I would come in. Their Salt and Pepper Fried Calamari was so good and exactly like he said, nice and hot. read more

King Calamari - Chinese Near Me - Union City, California

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We always buy this as appetizer for our parties and it is always a hit. Does anyone know if they opened elsewhere?

Customer service is 0 stars. Food is ok. Ordered our food 2 days ahead of time and we were told to pick it up at 11:00 AM. We arrived 2 days after, and the door still had a sign "closed." When we finally got in, the cashier had an attitude like he didn't want this job. After paying, he told us one of our orders would be ready in 15 to 20 minutes. It defeated the purpose of calling ahead of time as they will cook it after you pay. Bad business. I don't recommend it and will not come back. For the male clerk, please quit the job if you don't want to be there and do the business a favor. read more

King Calamari - This one is $63. Expensive - Chinese Near Me - Union City, California

I've been trying to pickup some salt and pepper calamari since the store reopened after Covid. I finally was in the area during their shortened hours and was able to grab some! Food: 4 I craved their salt and pepper calamari but what I got did not taste as good as before. It didn't have any fried jalapeño slices and a few pieces were soggy inside, while some were a little too crispy (overly cooked). Overall, still the best fried calamari I've had. Service: 3 Not rude but not overly friendly either. I got my order in about 10 minutes while I was there. Ambiance: 2 The store is sad and empty with chairs/tables stacked against the wall. Not inviting at all and there was a pretty gnarly smell as soon as I walked in. Their menu is very limited to just a few items on a small sign by the cash register. A few things to note: -Cash Only -They don't pick up the phone so if you want to order, you can't do it ahead of time. read more

This place is always closed. They only accept cash, one regular order of calamari is now $27. The calamari is not that great compared to what it was before. The service - well, they don't speak well English so it's hard to communicate. Very disappointing since we used to love their calamari. Ambiance is what's expected from a to go place. There is no sit down dining but you can order other food items as well. The pictures of the food looks great but the quality is gone. Don't think you can call in advance to place an order. They never answer their phones. read more

Over priced calamari! I stopped buying. Lack of customer service and ventilation. You smell like fried food coming out from that place.

Their Calamari is one of the best that I have yet i thought it was pricey. I'm giving 1 star though because I called ahead to pick up a small tray at 1pm. I arrived there on time and no one was on the front desk to check our orders. I've waited about 20 minutes that's when he asked my info for the order. Even though I ordered ahead, my order isn't still ready, and I wasn't able to get the food literally at 2pm. They don't even have chairs for us to wait so everyone else is just standing there. There's only 2 people that works there. Also they are so stern and look like they hate what they are doing. read more

Calamari was nice and crispy! It'll pair well with some some spicy garlic vinegar sauce. Yum!!

The person that yook our order had an attitude like he didn't like working. We ordered calamari and he told us the order will be ready in 10 mins. When it was time to pick up our order, the order was at room temperature. We asked him why the order was not fresh and hot (after all deep fried food should retain some heat) and he said it was the hottest order they had... It looked like he was passing old fried food as fresh. If you dare order food here, double check to see if your order is fresh. read more

My husband and I were pretty excited to try this place as we have been craving crispy calamari for awhile... we used to go to a location back when we lived in San Jose but now that we live in the East Bay, it's quite a drive to get to especially when all the Bay Area traffic. We were in Union City and thought we'd search around the area to see if they may possibly have crispy calamari a bit closer and lucky for us, this place popped up and seemed to have a mix of ratings. I can understand why it's a mix though... This place only operates a few days a week and is not your typical Chinese fast food place.. which I thought, "Oh okay, fair enough.. maybe their food is really good and they have a high demand.." We waited for a day it was open and looking at the menu, everyone raved about the calamari and was super excited thinking it may even be better than the original place we went to. Walking in... we weren't really greeted. Because of COVID, it made sense there was no indoor seating and everything was "to go" only. They also didn't have their full menu, which I thought was odd knowing they're open only a few days a week. Basically, they had only about 8 items on their menu (all dishes that seem to be only deep-fried foods) and that was all you can order. No fried rice or chow mein, no lunch combo plates... nothing. The chalkboard menu also didn't have any prices listed so it was a real surprise to us how much it totaled. So, my husband and I decided to just buy the calamari and walnut shrimp. Heads up that this place is CASH ONLY. It's to be expected as most mom and pop shops don't want to pay card fees anyway (kind of like donut shops). The total was about $34. I believe the calamari was $22.99 and walnut shrimp was $10.99. Obviously the calamari keeps the business going. Now the food.. walnut shrimp was great. Walnuts weren't as caramelized, tons of lettuce but thought it was a good balance between the creaminess of the shrimp. Calamari was a huge disappointment.. the pictures seemed to have jalapenos on it before and we didn't have that... or any dip for the squid at all so I just made a sauce at home. The calamari was definitely crispy but it definitely had a weird aftertaste on its own.. kind of like gasoline or old oil? I'm not sure, but it would leave a weird bitter taste. For a business that operates only a few days a week, you would think they'd make up for good customer service and amazing food.. but everything was mediocre. Probably won't go here again and would just keep going to the location in the South Bay to be honest. read more

They have the best crispy calamari. The only problem is their customer service. Need to improve a lot! The guy who answers the phone was not even friendly . read more

Calamari their specialty is excellent! Fresh and crispy! Will recommend to friend and relatives read more

Food is good Service needs to be improved Ambiance is ok Would recommend but they need to accept card for convenience read more

Just recently order calamari it's not use to be before really good This time i taste it there been using old oil to fried not really good my coworker they said look very old already read more

I only love this place 5 star only because of their great crispy Calamari. The 2 star is for the ugly place no chair. No customer service for person who answers the phone as well as for the person who gives the Calamari. And lastly, for the expensive price $27 for a small container! read more

My mom asked me to take her to King Calamari because she heard (from a co-worker) it was really good and crispy. My mom was so excited about their calamari she insisted that we drive from San Francisco all the way to Union City. Crazy! She wanted that chance to sample their calamari hot off the fryers! I am no one to complain because I would do the same for good food! Upon entering the restaurant, I was put off by the ambiance. The place gave off a vibe that was strictly meant for making orders to go. I felt that the ambiance was also dark red sweet n sour color. It felt a bit disconcerting. There were menu panels behind the L-shaped cashier table, mostly covered by paper with Chinese characters. I assumed that this place used to sell the typical Chinese food, such as Mongolian beef and chow mein. In fact, some of the menu panels revealed generic pictures of the discontinued items. The L-shaped table made the restaurant seem so generic and almost mysterious. To add to the mystery, you could see a dark doorway with a curtain that possibly led to the kitchen. We were greeted by a young Asian man who was pretty chill. I noticed that the wall posted Crispy Calamari and Soft Calamari. I asked about the soft version and I wasn't sure if I understood him completely. He clarified that the soft calamari was also fried but "soft". Kinda confusing. Since my mom and I came for fried calamari, of course we asked for "crispy". In addition to calamari, we order smelt and salt and pepper chicken wings (my choice). The fried food came out in about a good 10 minutes. Disappointingly, the food was served at room temperature. The calamari came out really crispy, but in a "hard" way, if that makes sense. Given that the calamari was not hot, this food could have been leftovers, but just refried! The calamari was cooked so thoroughly, the seafood was cracked-like in and out. Keep in mind, that's not a good thing! The chicken wings were also a disappointment. The meat of the chicken was dry and not juicy on the inside. Given that this was salt and pepper flavor, I did expect jalapeños. They definitely put jalapeños, but large briskly cut portions. I just call that lazy cooking. We had the same jalapeños topped on our calamari as well. Come on! I am not going to even talk about the Smelt. My mom did sample one from this place and she said it was pretty good. Two stars here just because I'm nice and this place was fast. read more

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I met this reputed rude customer service guy for the first time today & my experience was the complete opposite. Maybe you get what you give. I planned & called ahead & was given all the expected courtesy even with my placing a big order that would take some significant time to prepare. My order was delicious & no wonder my people from all the way in SoCal are asking me to pick this up for them to DRIVE DOWN to the Los Angeles area. If people are asking for this from 5 hours drive away, where there are likely dozens of competitors from Union City to Pasadena, then the food is PROBABLY better than some of these other reviewers might claim. read more

Drove all the way to Union City, just to try the calamari I have been hearing about. WORTH IT! 100%. It's a nice appetizer dish to bring to a party! read more

The best I normally don't eat calamari but this is the only one I eat. Like others said it's addicting. You don't even need a sauce. I just eat it as it is. And even days later the consistency and freshness still there. The secret (keep it at room temperature and leave the cover/foil it came with loosely) and itt still taste the same there day you pick it up. Whenever we have parties is the first dish to disappear . The costumer service forget if. This is not you sit down diner you just pick up your food and leave. Maybe because they know they're three only one that serves this dish and how good the food is but it's tolerable. Idk about the pick up. Even if you say you'll pick up at certain time try coming early. Because they don't cook your order until you get there so prepare to wait again. Other than that it is the best darn calamari. Perfectly delicious. read more

Have always driven by King Calamari wanting to try it. Finally came in today to place a single order of their "Salt and Pepper Calamari, also known as their Crispy Calamari. Let me tell you - This was one of the biggest regrets I've ever experienced. If you're looking for a nicely seasoned and chewy calamari experience similar to what you get from a Chinese restaurant, this is not it. Not even close. First off, they deep fry this dish to a crisp. When you bite into a piece, you think you're eating a potato chip or chicharon. Second, there is no trace of actual squid inside any of the pieces. It's purely just overly fried starch. Third, no actual pricing is found inside the restaurant for their "Single Order", "Half Tray" or "Full Tray". My small single order came up to $25. Seriously? $25 for a box full of literal squid chips? I should have read the other recent reviews before coming in. In the last year, looks like new management has taken over and it shows. Never again. read more

The calamari was the best here and the rest is ok. A lot of people buy the calamari here and prices went up.

I called yesterday to place an order of large calamari for next day pick up at 4:30pm. The guy on the phone confirmed the order and said to make sure to pick up by 4:30pm since they close at 5pm. This morning, I called again to confirm that it will be ready. He said it will be ready and to come before 4:45pm since they close at 5pm. I came in today at 4:10pm and the doors were closed. I saw a guy cleaning the floors and as i try to open the door, the guy was yelling "we are closed, we are closed". I said i have a pick up order and he pretended he didnt hear me. I tried calling their phone. I can hear it ringing from the door and the guy wont pick up. Why take my order and confirm it will be ready if you cant fulfill it? This place just wasted my time and gas coming from south bay. read more

Best calamari in the East bay! I recommend to call and place order before going there, especially during holidays read more

Very good and stays fresh at all times. always the favorite and most requested appetizer in the party read more

Ordered crispy calamari, disappointed.It's not as good as before anymore. There's an after taste that i couldn't explain. I remember even if i order the small tray, it's over flowing that the tray couldn't be close. Yep, it's downsize people! It never satisfy my cravings anymore. Please bring back the original flavor or it might the over used oil that you keep on using. And also the ribs were too small too! Probably it may take for a while before we buy again. read more

Fried crispy Pusit is the best we've ever eaten in Bay area. This is the whole family''s request for every gathering we have. read more

Ordered this small tray of crispy calamari for $64 plus dollars tax included. So disappointed. Now their deep fried calamari is coated with cornstarch! We used to order this a lot and it was not like that. I wish they will bring back the original crispy calamari. read more

King Calamari - Crispy calamari now coated with cornstarch - Chinese Near Me - Union City, California

So it's been quite some time since I've bought the soft calamari from King Calamari since the last time we did call earlier this year they were closed and didn't have any squid/calamari. Well today we came and ordered a small calamari and was just sad that the quality went completely down. What changed? Not sure, but I noticed when we entered that the menu on the top inside was completely marked as not available. Then the price of the calamari was now $16.99 + tax for one single order. The calamari also was different. The breading was different. The pieces were larger (they kept the body in tact instead of cutting them in half) and they kept the "bones" of the squid, breaded it and deep fried it. That's just weird. I've never eaten the bones of a squid. It also felt less crispy than normal. The squid itself felt dry and old. I'm sad that the quality has gone down. I guess we'll stick to Wonder Wok in Milpitas going forward. read more

King Calamari - Pricing as of Dec 2016 - Chinese Near Me - Union City, California

Rude customer service. Food ok, pricey for the quantity , once in awhile ok to buy but not recommended for people with good taste

There should be a negative star for this kinds of businesses. We ordered a large calamari scheduled to be picked up today at 3pm. We arrived at 2:15pm and they said there's no more calamari, including our order! Why the f*** do you take orders if you can't fulfill them? I bet this restaurant will see its end soon! read more

If you like chicharon you will love their crispy fried calamari. Shelf life is about 4 days stays fresh with proper storage. read more

Make sure the condiments are inside before walking out. No malt vinegar or salt and pepper were given and of course made the meal tasteless. Will try again, since its under new management. read more

The crispness of this calamari was amazing & it's really tastes good, even though for a week, the crispness stays. I recommend everybody to try this, your money's worth on this food. Mhelds C. - Hayward, CA read more

I am only rating this place for the calamari. Small place...and the lady at the counter is hard to understand. She was helpful though and fried us samples to try two kinds they offer - soft or crunchy. I love the soft calamari. Has a little crisp and squid is good and not chewy. The prices are pretty good. The small plastic container is only $11.99 but they stuff it and rubber band to hold all the calamari. It's not really spicy but they add jalapeños. They have two tray sizes as well for a decent price. They offer other foods. The last time we came here, everyone was picking up their calamari orders. It was a really busy Sunday afternoon. Will be back to try the other food as its looks good and decently priced. read more

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they do not want business today tomorrow . They keep hanging up and do not want to answer their business phone. tsk tsk tsk. useless.

The calamare is so good ceispy and delicious Service is a lit bit slow but worth the wait Place is little but its ok read more