Pending review from 1st visit: 04/25/15 - glad to see the place is still open to date: September 2024 I haven't been brave enough to visit "The Boiling Crab" so it's kinda hard to compare this place to it! I think I'm more of a "butter garlic" sauce kinds gal. It's recommended to order combo meals for groups to save money nonetheless. The fried oysters were pretty good. I expected more for fried calamari though so I wasn't too impress with it. I like TENTACLES! As of last night, the business still has a "PENDING" alcohol license so I recommend to BYOB! Haha jk My additional 2 stars is for GREAT customer service!! They were super friendly and very attentive! Oh yeah, I loved that they had HD TV's all over the place coz I got to see the Warriors beat the Pelicans! Heck yeah!! read more

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Great food and the best service ever! Jackie is the sweetest person ever. The flavor is 10/10

The service wasn't good at all, but the food was great! The servers were hanging out, talking, and I had to find them for drink refills, napkins, etc. But my kids and I loved the food and had a really good time. read more

The flavor is reminiscent of Ray's Crab Shack, and the prices are reasonable. I've always enjoyed the seafood there. Please support local restaurants they are trying their Best. read more

In short, lackluster. I went during lunchtime on Saturday and the place is completely empty. I suspect the seafood was previously processed. My reasonings: All the mussels were firmly attached to the half shell but the other half is missing, so I don't know if they're fresh or dead. The shrimps have heavy grits in the veins. Both were dry and tough to chew. The Tom's combo sauce were oily yet lack the spices such as garlic or smoke paprikas. read more

Tom's Crab Shack - Just before noon on a Saturday. Completely empty. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

HORRIBLE! Crab was cold, potatoes hard, crawfish no flavor. Water tasted like cleaning products! Nothing shouts sanitary or servsafe approved. Certifications should be provoked. My boyfriend didn't touch the seafood at all after the new batch came out 5 minutes after complaint. And they offered 10%off until we said 10 percent wasn't eaten and they then gave us 30. I will never switch my seafood spot again. Yall used to be poppin. I'm ashamed read more

Let's start with my husband and I came here a few years back. My husband enjoyed everything he had at that time; the service and the food. Wasn't sure if they were still in business so we drove out to Concord to see. We walked in and there was nobody in the front to greet...no worries so we stepped in a little more and saw a young lady standing and she said "can I help you " we asked if we seated should seat ourselves. That should have made us rethink our visit. We found a table and placed our order. We ordered garlic noodles, a fried combo and seafood boil. The fried calamari tasted like the frozen fried shrimp, the seafood boil had no garlic flavor, garlic noodles lacked flavor. Not to mention each item arrived separately. When my husband asked if his boil was garlic and the waitress said " did you order garlic" and my husband replied yes...she then said " then it's garlic ". We have removed that place from anywhere we'd visit again. The waitress hardly came to check on us, so when I would happen to catch her and ask for water or napkins it seemed as if I was inconveniencing her. I refuse to pay for bad food and bad service. Not worth the 95.00 we spent. read more

Oooooh weee! This place is so on hit, my mouth is watering just thinking about our meal here. It's the place where you put your hair up, wash your hands, tie your bib and get to work! In that order, too! We ordered the Alaskan crab and shrimp, the corn and garlic noodles. Before I continue typing, I had to stop and breathe bc I wanted to just bury my head in the bowl. You get messy. You're using your hands, your fingers, getting your fork sauced up bc you're eating noodles with each bite of crab meat you successfully dig out using the scissors. I personally like to dip my corn in the sauce that the crab and shrimp is swimming in. It is just a delightful sin to eat everything in front of you. Everyone's got their hands in the bowl trying to get their crab legs and shrimp. It's just a big fat edible orgy! read more

Tom's Crab Shack - The players: garlic noodles, corn, Alaskan crab and shrimp - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

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I'm gonna give my most honest reviews The food was absolutely delicious We came here after leaving another spot down the street that didn't look so great This place is like a little hole in the wall/mom and pops style vibes (I'm sure it's family ran) the waiter looked young and nervous but absolutely a sweetheart, I feel price wise it's a great deal and portions were large, Husband and I shared the classic combo, basket of oysters and fries, garlic noodles and it was so good, great flavors and good heat. I initially asked for a mild combo flavor and then asked for a small amount of heat to add and it was great. We're actually on our way over again now. Definitely a place to try read more

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Visited this restaurant again and it was just as good as the first time we came around. I learned from our previous visit to order a Mild Tom's Combo sauce for the boil and was glad I did. I don't think I have a sensitivity to spiciness, but we were able to enjoy the flavor much more this way. We ordered combo #3 which came with a choice of shrimp or crawfish, clams or mussels, 2 snow crab legs, 2 crab legs, cut up sausages, 2 sliced corn, and 3 potatoes. The prices are based off the market price, so our combo #3 was more or less $95 before tax. We regretted choosing crawfish this time since it was a lot of work and shell cracking for little results. I recommend choosing the shrimp for your combo. We also ordered a side of fries and deep fried oysters which were really tasty appetizers. Again, we came on a weekend around 4PM and thought it would be very busy, luckily we were able to be seated right away! read more

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This place is a little further and pricer, but it's worth it because they're better than the other place in Vallejo. The flavors here are always on point and I never have an issue with them every time I go. I ordered to-go and when I got there I didn't have to wait. read more

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Food was good, but service not so much. Very slow and we had to get up several times to ask for stuff that should had been brought anyway

We wanted to give this place a chance because our usual spot is closed for the moment ( which we will never go to a different spot again, we learned our lesson). When we first came in the staff just looked at us and we had to ask if we just sat ourselves. There were only 2 other tables there. The food was horrible. The shrimp was mushy, which we have never had happen. It was so hard to take the skin off. We got the Tom's all flavor in medium spice and there was no flavor or spice, super oily. We had to ask for lemons as well as the bibs and gloves. We also ordered fries but we asked if they could add lemon pepper seasoning, they did say they don't offer lemon pepper fries but he said they would add it, which they didn't and we had to ask for it on the side. I wouldn't recommend going here, the food is not good and there's better places in Concord. read more

Nice establishment, a bit on the expensive side but it's seafood in the bay. With that being said, on to the food. I got the combo sampler and ummm, well. Don't get your hopes up too high. The garlic fries are just that, fries with chopped garlic. The shrimp, well yep, it was breaded fried shrimp! The chicken wings had a little flavor and the calamari reminded me of frozen onions rings. Guess, when it said crab boil, I was expecting flavor to be bursting out of every crack and crevice. But, it wasn't. Check them out for yourself. Support your local establishments read more

Tom's Crab Shack - Tom's Combo Specials - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

The food was an illusion, it looked good on the outside but it wasn't good on the inside. The food was lacking A LOT of flavor! The seasoning/flavor was stuck on the shells of the shrimp and crab that when you actually ate the meat it was flavorless! The service was fast but now I can see why cause they don't take much time on the food. The ambiance was alright, nothing special to mention.... read more

Tom's Crab Shack - Combo #2, Classic Combo and Garlic Noodles - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

The only place I go for seafood boil. I've gone to the one across the street and it's not bad but they can't beat Tom's sea food nor their sauces. Let's not forget about great service, clean restaurant and great atmosphere. I arrive happy and leave happier. Thanks all of Tom's staff! read more

The sauce is just okay here, it felt more oily and greasy than other restaurants that serve similar foods (of course my main comparison will be the OG Boiling Crab). I got the shrimp with Tom's Combo sauce but felt it wasn't spicy and flavor was lackluster. Seafood tasted fine, maybe the shrimp was a bit over cooked since the shells stuck on a bit and it was harder to peel. Their menu does have specials so check that out. Garlic noodles were also more greasy than flavorful sadly. Ample parking, usually not very busy and prompt service are pros. read more

Still the BEST amongst the rest crab shack places around. Tried so many different ones but always comes back to TOMS.

Ordered a combo of shrimp & lobster, they only gave me 1 lobster tail in my combo. it said 1 pound of lobster not 1 lobster! if i would have know i would have ordered a different combo. when i told the waiter he said it only comes with 1 tail, he should have mentioned that to us! also the flavor wasn't the best, shrimp comes with the head & all. i wont be coming back! read more

The service was really bad and the food had no flavoring. Just a bunch of oil. There's a reason the restaurant is basically empty. No idea how they're still open. Shut it down. read more

They are okay. Nothing is seasoned at all. That is a fact, so if you're looking for some seasoning on your food that's not the place, but when it comes to their crab, you do have choices so that's a good thing. I prefer to take it home and put that real seasoning on it and get it tasting like platinum l o l read more

Please deliver! You are the best Seafood in a bag! Your spices are excellent, so good. Dungeness crab the best I've tasted!

I think I heard crickets in the restaurant by how empty it was . But let's cut right to the food . Sauce was definitely lacking . It was just all oil and butter and no actual seasonings . The shrimps were over cooked so it was impossible taking off the shell . Everything was under seasoned . They have a good enough beer selection and the servers were nice but no one really checked on us . Decided to try something new but kinda disappointed . I don't think I'll be coming back . read more

Tom's Crab Shack - a wooden bowl of seafood - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

Went here recently for a late celebratory lunch and it was empty which was nice! The sauce can be really buttery but the seafood wasn't overcooked like at rocking crawfish. The clams, shrimps, and mussels were perfect! Although I have to say the spicy was not even spicy at all. 10/10 recommend and can't wait to come back again read more

Great place to eat, friendly staff . Great food. I recommend the butter, spicy sauce!

Wooden interior like a cabin, not busy when i came in during lunch hours, tasty food. There's parking in the back, the restaurant was hard to spot from the main street. I thought there was going to be a sign sticking out or something to make it noticeable. Came here to try a different seafood boil place besides Rockin Crawfish, although I enjoy that place, I wish they had combos. I really like this place because of the seafood combos which comes with sausage, corn and potatoes. The sauce is really good too, I got it in tom's combo "hot" and it had a kick to it. The cajun fries were really potatoe'y and seasoned nicely. I ordered the strawberry lemonade but they ran out... also no refills on sodas. Definitely coming back though, the combo is worth it. Had plenty of left overs too. Enjoy! read more

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We love this place. It's delicious, we are never disappointed. We ordered combo 1 with shrimp and clams. Combo comes with corn and red potatoes. We get the Toms spice on it- so good. We also ordered the fish and chips so we could dip the fries in the yummy sauce. It's never crowded when we go- there were 4 other tables eating when we were here. They have big screen TVs they are happy to change to whatever channel you ask for. Plenty of parking Music level is just loud enough to enjoy the songs you like- low enough to be able to enjoy conversations at your table Staff is very friendly. They are good about refills of beverages and happy to bring us extra Toms sauce. read more

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I will start with the positive first as, unfortunately, there were many negatives to our visit. There were 2 girls working that day (so it seemed short staff, especially with a waiting on a 12 seated table as well as the restaurant)... they did as best they could and I felt they were still very nice despite everything else. They kept up their positive attitudes. The garlic noodles are very flavorful & their seasoning is as well... which is one reason we would possibly consider going back (but for now we are steering clear). I walked inside and it was HOT, which we later found out the AC was broken. There's no windows that can be opened & they kept the door shut so we were boiling in there. A guy in the restroom even said he got a nose bleed from how hot it was inside. We ordered a lot of rice, again we were a party of 12 (my family alone ordered 3). After receiving our shrimp & waiting for a while we asked where the rice was, and that's when we were told they only had 2 cups left and it would take an hour to cook more. I'm not sure why we were not informed before... I guess it was better to have your guests waiting on something that was never coming, then to mention they ran out. AGAIN, we were a party of 12 & made a reservation AT LEAST 30 mins before... I'm assuming they didn't check how low they were on rice before we got there. It was also pretty full by the time we started eating, so I overheard another guest ask for their rice which they finally informed them they were out... this was at least 30 mins after they told us. If I ran a restaurant I would inform everyone at the same time, especially when another table asked a while ago. They offered us French fries in replace of rice.... we ended up ordering one thing of garlic noodles to replace my families 3 orders of rice. My family ordered 3 pounds of shrimp, 1 of them never came. I feel they forgot (although they told me it was still being made).... but another table that came after us got all of their food first. There were no gloves & no wet wipes (which I feel is normal for a crab shack), maybe they didn't have any funding to invest in those items. I left still pretty hungry. I would suggest new management. read more

Tom's Crab Shack - 1 lb shrimp - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

Always my go-to Cajun seafood place in Concord. I always get their garlic noodles. Though the food there is kind of pricey, they taste better than Rockin' Crawfish in Concord. read more

First, let me admit that I have no idea what their food tastes like. Nevertheless, I have a strong opinion about this restaurant. First impressions: Fairly large dining area of no particular distinction. One waitress. No customers. This was 2pm on an early September Saturday. The menu is short and to the point. The short list of fried entres were unappealing, so we scanned the lunch/dinner crab-mussel-shrimp combos. The first thing you notice is that none of the entres come with a vegetable or salad. They're all extra ($1.75 as I recall). The detailed lunch menu is exactly the same as the dinner menu, except salad and a vegetable is included (I believe. I'm writing this from memory). The combos looked very comprehensive in their variety, with no explanation as to their preparation. So we were left to interrogate the waitress as to what to expect. She made a game effort, but her reaction was if she'd never been asked before. So, we looked again a noticed that none of the meal combos had a price on the menu. I asked the price of the first combo dinner. "54" was the reply. After digesting this news for a second, during which I calculated that my son and I were considering partaking in what was shaping up to be a $150 lunch of unknown quality in a depressingly deserted strip mall restaurant, I informed the waitress that, we would be leaving. Immediately. I have no idea how this restaurant stays in business. Maybe their food is so indescribably delicious that it's just mind blowing. Whatever the attraction is, you are free to discover it without any help from simple me. read more

The food was ok. I felt like the seasoning in the combos didn't have much flavor it was super greasy though. We didn't get asked if head on or head off on our shrimp we assumed it was head off and omg we got heads with the whiskers :-/, we also ordered the garlic noodles and they were too dry and so stuck together, they were hard to swallow or eat bc of how dry they were. Service was ok as well. read more

Tom's Crab Shack - This what was left bc it was too dry to eat. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

Shrimp and other stuffs are just ok there is much better restaurant than this and not aiming to come back here

Came in during the quiet hours, and even though they were full staffed service seemed awfully slow. Although we got our drinks and menus quickly everything else seemed pretty sluggish from their. One thing I noticed was that when my friend was having a question about something on the menu, the server seemed very annoyed, not sure if it was the question or just their day. Not cool. We ordered 2 pounds of shrimp, 2 cups of rice and the garlic noodles (out of curiosity). We got one pound mild and one pound spicy for the flavoring and heat level. Personally didn't taste the difference at all, another disappointing factor. Take not that since they serve their food in bowls, all the sauce, seasoning and all are on the bottom. Seems like they lazily tossed the shrimp in the bowl and that's it. Other than that, shrimp were just basic shrimp you can make at home. However the garlic noodles were delicious. I probably should've gotten another serving. Ending the time at Toms wasn't pleasant. We had asked for the check twice and once we got it they took awhile to pick it up. Once they picked the check, it took even LONGER to have it processed and paid. About a total of 25 minutes passed. I wouldn't have mind if it was really busy, short staff or something else, but you just hear them in the kitchen area laughing and talking loudly. Hmm... maybe a different experience might happen, but for now I'll go elsewhere. read more

Tom's Crab Shack - Mild shrimp (most of seasoning and taste are in the bottom) - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

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This is a cute place for a laid back relaxed meal. Unfortunately, the kitchen needs some work, BUT if you just stick with the crab it's fairly good. Ordered corn, garlic noodles & the snow crab. -Corn was horrid....way over cooked, than just left in the pot. Straight water logs!! -garlic noodles was also a pass. Nothing special. -snow crab......LOVED IT! Nice pieces, good price....loved the seasoning. Ordered Tom's special/mild....would have bought the seasoning to take home. ;-) Not convinced the crab wasn't frozen...but I enjoyed it & would order the crab again.....all to get more if the great garlic/lemon/mild sauce. ;-) Service was ok...not spot on, but willing to try. I do think management would do well to provide more training as...wait staff didn't know the difference between the types of crab they're selling...(Dungeness crab, snow crab, or king crab legs). That I thought was funny, but the staff was young and I think that is a management issue. read more

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Their hours say they open at 11:30am on Sundays, so once we arrived on time I didn't notice any open sign lit up. I figured maybe they were running a little late. 15 mins passes by and one of the workers waiting in the parking lot told us whoever had the key was running late because of traffic. It was almost noon by this time and then two guys finally arrive and go unlock the door. So after waiting for a total of 30 mins we finally go in and order food. This is very unprofessional for an establishment to have their patrons wait for this long!! They didn't even offer anything for waiting!! So before heading out, make sure you call cause apparently they don't open at their assigned business hours. read more

Tom's Crab Shack - 12 pm and still not open - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

I have come to this restaurant multiple times with my family for special occasions (which usually consists of parties of 10+). This was by far the worst experience that we have had thus far. I'll keep this as short and sweet as possible: Party of 17. Saturday around 6pm. There were 3 hostesses who all did the best they could to service the entire restaurant but seemed very frazzled. They apologized profusely, but still couldn't keep orders straight and had to be the frontline of all complaints (since food was coming out late and incorrect). The table next to us mentioned that this was their third time coming and that they have had problems each time. Maybe they're under new management? Not sure... but bottom line is: DONT COME HERE. Go across the street to Rockin' Crawfish. Thank me later. read more

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We celebrated late Father's Day here at Tom's Crab Shack and I must say, its a good Cajun seafood restaurant and is not too far away form home. Per usual, we ordered a couple of pounds of shrimp and clams. We also ordered some calamari, garlic noodles, and cajun fries. We had mild and hot as our choice of sauce. First off, the hotness level of TCS is proper. I was getting my workout (which I definitely like) with their hot flavor and mild also has some kick to it. Big kudos on this one as cajun food should have heat to it. Their calamari was very delicious! Soft and tender, salty and crunchy, I couldn't imagine it being better. The flavor of their sauce was good, but not as good at Ray's Crab in Newark. It is not anything less though (probably about the same) than the over hyped Boiling Crab? Overall, we had a good time here at Tom's Crab Shack. Good straight service and close to home is a good formula for a likable cajun seafood restaurant. read more

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This was my first time having boiled seafood like this and it definitely did not disappoint us! The sauce combination of the garlic butter and lemon pepper was amazing. We got the combo that came with shrimp, muscles, corn, potato's, and sausage. Everything was absolutely bomb, and we'll definitely be back. The flavorrrrrrr!!! read more

Tom's Crab Shack - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Concord, California

High recommend seafood restaurant in concord !there are food is very delicious, also they have Nice booths and fun wallboards, a lot of funny stuff writing in the board Lol~ read more

Tried Tom's Crab Shack since the other crawfish place didn't open until later. We ordered 1lb crawfish and 1lb shrimp to go. The crawfish was not fresh. It was rubbery which was very disappointing. The shrimp was much better. We had the Tom's special sauce with medium heat which was actually pretty good. Unfortunately, we will not be returning. read more