Restaurant Review: The Crab Shack
While the Crab Shack in La Habra provides dishes that will satisfy seafood cravings, the 30-minute drive from Diamond Bar does not warrant a return.
Upon entering The Crab Shack, I was greeted with aquatic-themed decor, including a steering wheel and knick knacks of starfish, crabs and anchors on the walls to mimic the environment of a pirate ship. The interior decor and ornaments contrasted nicely with the dark floors, high ceilings and glass windows, which added more of a modern touch. Hawaiian inspired music played to complete the restaurant’s ocean theme.
Happily, the theme did not extend to the usual overwhelming smell of fried fish and boiled crab. In fact, our server brought us lime slices on a paper food tray, and the citrus provided a sweeter aroma.
The first dish, consisting of snow crab legs ($26) with lemon pepper seasoning and mild spice, was served in a plastic bag, which was oozing with the flavorful juices of the boiled crab. While seafood is typically more pricey, the cost still seemed high.
The taste of the crab made up for the presentation. The crab meat was well seasoned and marinated with spices, allowing one to actually taste the zesty flavoring the lemon pepper had to offer. Since the garlic was slowly cooked, the herb provided a sweeter flavor to the dish. Per the suggestion of the waiter, I dipped the crab in a salt and pepper mixture that was topped with lime and discovered that it gave the crab an unpleasant sweet and salty flavor.
The next dish, garlic noodles with shrimp, pork sausage, parmesan cheese and fresh basil ($13.99), had a kick of spiciness to it that blended nicely with the shrimp flavoring of the meal. The overcooked seafood was rubbery and unsavory. I expected the noodles to be chewy, but they were al dante.
Due to religious reasons, I asked to not include the sausage in the meal. They followed through on the request, which does not always happen.
At $40, I felt the meal was a bit too pricey for what we got.
As expected, the food was quite good, but not worth the long drive to experience as the dishes were typical of other area seafood restaurants.
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