With a little more attention to detail, the food at The Crab House could easily be five stars, but it just doesn't quite make the grade. We'll keep coming back, though. We'll just be choosy. Some items are great, and the prices are good - especially in this rising-cost economy we all face.
The backstory: One of my son's favorite shops has moved near The Crab House in Englewood. We love seafood and Cajun seafood boil. He's brought us two take-out meals so far.
Meal 1: My son ordered in person to check out the menu in the restaurant. It matched the online menu, hurrah! Off to a good start.
We had the Special Cajun F, a combination seafood boil listed as 1 lb lobster tail, 1/2 snow crab, 1/2 pound shrimp (head off), with 2 corn, 2 potatoes, 2 chicken sausage, and Cajun sauce, medium. Price in early January 2025 was $37.
At that price I figured it had to mean "one lobster tail," which turned out to be correct. The lobster tail is listed as 6 ounces and was a good size to share in a. meal with other items.
Unfortunately it was overcooked, so the large uncovered end was tough and quite dry. The sauce was definitely appreciated. The bottom half of the tail was firm but more flavorful and not so dry in texture. None of it was tender or tender-firm and moist, which would have been preferred. The lobster tail was just okay.
The 1/2 snow crab was good, cooked right with a nice large claw. I wouldn't hesitate at all to order more snow crab.
The star of the show was the shrimp. Half a pound totaled nine plump, meaty shrimp done perfectly, with split shells that were easy to remove. The shrimp hooked me.
We were shorted a potato, and the one we got was tiny. Sad for two people, but oh well; it was done perfectly and tasted lovely for the two bites we each got. Two sections of corn on the cob, about 1.5 inches each, delicious and sweet. Two thin strips of chicken sausage, okay.
The medium Cajun sauce was excellent.
This was a good late lunch for two. It wouldn't be quite enough for a two-person dinner without a salad or some other item.
Meal 2: We ordered boiled clams in medium garlic butter, a pound of shrimp with medium all-in-one sauce, and a lobster roll with Cajun fries included.
The shrimp were excellent once again. Top notch. The medium all-in-one sauce was a little hotter than the medium Cajun sauce. It's probably better to go for the distinct individual sauces, though.
The clams weren't pictured on the menu. As I expected, they turned out to be Manila clams, mostly shell and very little meat. At least all the shells were open so we could eat them all. Our order yielded about 16. Not much to each clam, but each was tasty and chewy enough to provide a satisfying experience if not just gulped down. Take your time.
We hadn't been sure what to expect with "medium garlic butter." It was a pleasant surprise, loaded with little chunks of minced garlic which made up most of the thick sauce. There was a slight butter taste with medium spice. We ended up loving it.
Each boil-bag was supposed to come with 1 corn, 2 potatoes, and a strip of chicken sausage. We lucked out with an extra corn in each bag. (Lack of attention to detail in our favor this time, but consistency or consistent generosity would be better.)
The Cajun fries were plentiful and very good.
Below is what the lobster roll looks like on the menu ("image for reference only") followed by the actuality. Not even close.
With considerable effort and forethought, it was possible to make each mouthful a huge bite of bread with a tiny bit of the lobster salad. The lobster salad was delicious but there was far too little of it, and it seemed like it had been minced. Every bit of lobster was tiny; no chunks at all.
Fortunately the bread was warm with a lightly toasty crust, tender, and extremely delicious. If the bread had been less than perfect, the lobster roll would have been a bigger disappointment than it was. We won't be ordering that again.
So four stars, and we'll keep trying. I hope the restaurant keeps trying too! I look forward to tasting their crabcakes, Dungeness crab, and fried seafood among other items, and I'll always aim to get some of the boiled shrimp to avoid disappointment. read more