My boyfriend and I are currently visiting Santa Barbara for the first time, so today we happened to stop by this place for lunch, and were pleasantly surprised! We’ve never been to one of those places where you’re given gloves, a bib, and a covered table, and are then given a bag of seafood to eat, all without even a plate to eat on! But it was a lot of fun and definitely a unique experience. I totally recommend this place to out-of-towners!

Pound of shrimp, Louisiana style, mild, fried calamari, and a cold drink. Best place for a seafood experience!

Delicious mussels and shrimps (ordered Louisiana style). Highly recommended!

Food is awsome service is awsome!! Really cool spot for Family's to eat awsome Sea food and extra a must try!! Family Favorite and waitress was awesome!!!!!

Great food! Super fresh and the mimosas are a must have

+1

First, the food was excellent. The service was great and for one reason only. Our server actually provided quality service. He was patient and tried to accommodate us, even though it was a large group. I would definitely go back!!

Foods were great. Bread bowl soup tasted good too my kids loved it. The spiciness was flavorful. Service was ok but they automatically add tips in the receipt when only 4 of us went. Don't approve of that.

I don’t even know where to start. The drunken crab is amazing, the employees are all super helpful and give great recommendations, they are attentive and you can tell they care about their work and that they do their absolute best to give you the best service and experience possible. The king crab legs are to die for, some of the best crab I’ve ever had in my life. If someone in the family isn’t big on seafood the chicken tenders and chicken wings are both a hit everytime. If you’re visiting Santa Barbara, or just looking for a nice meal. The drunken crab is the place!

First time there and Mac did an amazing job explaining how it worked. His service was awesome and everyone else was very friendly and help and food was amazing

Clean, tidy atmosphere with phenomenal service and great menu options! Came with my family and our server, Ray, was outstanding! The crawfish are to die for! Make sure to get them louisiana style, too 😉.

Wow, what a great atmosphere here. Crabs were crabby. Oysters oystered. Shrimps got shrimpy. Great beer selection, and better service. Highly recommend for families visiting Santa Barbara!

Had a birthday party the staff were awesome

I’ve been here twice I love that give a lot of the king Crabs. The seafood sauce is amazing.

Food is delicious, service is a bit slow. Definitely best seafood boil in Santa Barbara!

I came in on a Tuesday night, not too busy and a pretty relaxed atmosphere. The staff was really friendly and helpful! It seemed like they enjoyed their jobs and being around people and the manager easily took care of 4 tables while keeping a smile and conversation. The chicken strips were great, not greasy at all and a good portion size. The brussels sprouts were a good, crispy alternative to fries. A few regulars came in and you can tell the place takes care of their customers and sees them as friends, not just profits. Will definitely return!

I cant even describe how great the staff was. The food here was amazing! Our waiter John was extremely personable and attentive. The manager A.J. took the time to talk to us about all the local sights while in Santa Barbara. We were taking a trip up the coast and he even gave us recommendations for the entire trip. Definitely recommend for the food and great service!

Recommend the shrimp: Garlic butter + Louisiana style. I had this for >10 times!

The food was really good, the total experience with the gloves, bibs, eating out of bags with your hands was so fun! Our waitress Angela was so awesome, she was upbeat, quick with service and really sweet. We will be going back again for sure!

What a great place! I loved the food. It was our first time here, went with a friend that raved about it and it didn’t disappoint. We had the Louisiana style shrimp with the garlic sauce. We literally had to lick our gloves because the sauce had the right kick and the most amazing garlic flavor. We literally had to dance of happiness while eating. They gave us paper table clothes and we put them in the back of the truck at the beach and ate. I would recommend going to eat your food at the pier lots of tables and free parking for the first 90mins. Can’t wait to come back to Santa Barbara.

The service was great, and the food was good.

I’ve been craving seafood boil for quite awhile now I was finally able to get it and it was so delicious and flavorful tastes exactly how I was expecting it 10/10 recommend! 🤤

Caleb, Sam, Cade, and Paul were the sweetest waiters ever. Made my Valentine’s Day

We enjoyed the food and the friendly staff. We’ll definitely come back when are in Santa Barbara again. I had the Cajun sauce with shrimp. Yumm

I love this location in Santa Barbara. Staff is friendly and the food is so good. King crab with lemon pepper and Cajun mix was my fav

The waiters were just a bit slow and sense of urgency was absent. But the food is amazing. That's the only reason the 5 stars is there.

Came here with my sisters, we left feeling full and satisfied. Definitely worth a try if you’re in the area. They gave me free cajun fries since it was my first time here!

Awesome flavorful sauces. Who needs plates, just dump the seafood on the table. We wiped every inch clean. Fries? Douse with the sauce and dump in the mouth. Baked potato? Just mash on the table soak every last drop of the sauce and lick it off! Loved house special spicy one and garlic butter sauce both :)

We had dungeness crab Louisiana style, peeled shrimp, side of Mexican street corn and Cajun Fries. All nicely done. Cade our greeter should teach everyone how to greet customers , good looking out sir! Sam (witness protection) our waiter outstanding 👏 Joe (whoodie whoo) the Area Manager checked in on us as if we were royalty 👑 Food was hot and delicious no complaints. Make this your stop to Eat

Excellent Cajun seafood spot. Their house sauce on crawfish was amazing. they make a real good michelda as well. The kids meals were a good size and the kids loved them

Absolutely phenomenal experience! Curtis was the star of the evening—his energy, knowledge, and attention to detail made our night unforgettable. Landy kept the good vibes flowing, making sure our beers were ice-cold and always full—absolute legend!!! Every recommendation they made was spot on, and they had us laughing the whole time! The food was beyond perfection—fresh, flavorful, and cooked to perfection. And Wyatt, the manager, personally checked in to make sure everything was flawless. Talk about top-tier service! This place sets the standard for seafood boils—do yourself a favor and experience it. Curtis and Wyatt, you two deserve a standing ovation!

order via DoorDash but Emilio got that fixed in no time. Vet professional.

We dined in on a Sunday evening and were seated right away. Our food order came out very quickly and it was delicious. We got the drunken special over jumbo shrimp and it had a good kick. Ordered a side of wings, Buffalo style. Plenty of food for 2 people. Service was great!! Highly recommend.

Jocelyn Brooks

Came here while vacationing with the Mrs. Ordered a seafood boil with crabs, mussels and shrimp. Food came out hot. I enjoyed a cider while I was there. I don't think that they have any hard liquor. My server was amazing!! I enjoyed my boil, although I wish the sauce was a little bit thicker like in used to. However, the flavor and mild spice level was good. My wife ate her share the next day and liked it. She also enjoyed the spice level.

EvA

Incredibly great food. Super friendly service and great atmosphere.

Geoffrey B

What a terrific place this is. Great atmosphere & being right on lower State Street it's walkable from the beach or from anywhere downtown. The staff are young and friendly and very courteous. I would recommend this for visitors guests and locals alike. Plus I lucked out today they're having $1 blue point oysters! Oh and my hazy IPA is fabulous and so is my calamari.

asha wademan

The service was great, and the food was good.

Jay

Absolutely amazing worth every penny! I was skeptical spending so much for something I’ve never tried before. However, the atmosphere, the service and of course the Crab Legs/Shellfish was everything I imagined and pictured, if not better! It truly made my 25th birthday something to remember! Thank you

Alexandra N

At a first sight this place looks weird because of plastic bags on the tables. I was skeptical about it at the beginning, but when I got my seafood bag with amazingly delicious shrimps in spices - just WOW. If you like seafood and want to try something new - try it. Just be careful with spices if you not into spicy food. You can choose sauces, there are several of them. Recommend!

Visited this place during a trip to Santa Barbara. Came in with my wife for a quick snack of oysters and beers while my son and his friend were shopping at stores on the State street. We loved the food and the friendliness of employees. Stayed long enough for the kids to finish shopping and join us at the Drunken Crab. Ordered more fresh oysters, calamari, clams, crawfish and fries. Everything was very flavorful. Everyone enjoyed the food. For seasoning we liked “All Three” which was recommended to us. It hit a perfect balance between spicy, buttery, and savory. On the next trip to SB I will try to make it a point to come here again. 👍

At a first sight this place looks weird because of plastic bags on the tables. I was skeptical about it at the beginning, but when I got my seafood bag with amazingly delicious shrimps in spices - just WOW. If you like seafood and want to try something new - try it. Just be careful with spices if you not into spicy food. You can choose sauces, there are several of them. Recommend!

Absolutely amazing worth every penny! I was skeptical spending so much for something I’ve never tried before. However, the atmosphere, the service and of course the Crab Legs/Shellfish was everything I imagined and pictured, if not better! It truly made my 25th birthday something to remember! Thank you

What a terrific place this is. Great atmosphere & being right on lower State Street it's walkable from the beach or from anywhere downtown. The staff are young and friendly and very courteous. I would recommend this for visitors guests and locals alike. Plus I lucked out today they're having $1 blue point oysters! Oh and my hazy IPA is fabulous and so is my calamari.

+6

Incredibly great food. Super friendly service and great atmosphere.

+6

Came here while vacationing with the Mrs. Ordered a seafood boil with crabs, mussels and shrimp. Food came out hot. I enjoyed a cider while I was there. I don't think that they have any hard liquor. My server was amazing!! I enjoyed my boil, although I wish the sauce was a little bit thicker like in used to. However, the flavor and mild spice level was good. My wife ate her share the next day and liked it. She also enjoyed the spice level.

The food was delicious and my server, Delilah, was incredibly helpful and provided amazing service! The food came out quickly and staff was very friendly. Definitely will be returning and requesting the same waitress again!

Came in on a busy Tuesday night yesterday. Although it was busy the service was really attentive and the food was excellent. Lots of fun to pour the bags on the table and share the food family style. Tyler was our server and was very friendly

The last time i went was maybe 4 months ago. An dam that was so good. I forgot what the bag was called but had crab legs sausage i think potatoe an that sauce, DELICIOUS. service was good an the wait was normal. Goin to take my daughter for her burfday tomrow, cant wait to show her wasap.

Allison Hendrix

Came in on a busy Tuesday night yesterday. Although it was busy the service was really attentive and the food was excellent. Lots of fun to pour the bags on the table and share the food family style. Tyler was our server and was very friendly

Gerardo Rodriguez

The last time i went was maybe 4 months ago. An dam that was so good. I forgot what the bag was called but had crab legs sausage i think potatoe an that sauce, DELICIOUS. service was good an the wait was normal. Goin to take my daughter for her burfday tomrow, cant wait to show her wasap.

Enjoying fellowship with my former supervisor. Beautiful day of fellowship. Good was quite good. I had crab bisque and she had fish and chips I tried 4 fries they were amazing. A good choice for a quick lunch in Santa Barbara. Service was welcoming and efficient.

The seafood and wings were great! I only have one small criticism: our waitress Gracie was very nice. However, she didn’t write down anything we ordered. I wouldn’t have minded it, but both times we ordered she put in the wrong thing and someone else was stuck fixing it. I suggest that they have servers write down the orders.

Server was really nice. Jumbo head on shrimp and craw fish were delicious. Anything you order has to be Louisiana style or youre missing out on the full experience. Medium spicey level was not spicey at all so I'll try hot next time but the sauce itself was great (all 3 option).

Food and service were great. So much fun!

The place was pretty packed when we arrived, wait was pretty short. Food was tasty, I personally did not liked having a potato inside a bag.....the potato keeps breaking down and if you leave it for last, it will turn into mashed potato in the bottom of a bag with seafood and the seasoning. I wish they will offer the option of a second bag with the potato, corn and sausage.

The service was great. The Dungeness crab was really good. I wasn't a fan of their garlic butter sauce. I don't care for Cajun that much so was hoping the garlic butter sauce wouldn't taste that much like Cajun, but it did.

Good food. Cocktails were okay. Server (Mia) was attentive and fast. Thanks!

The fish and chips were great! The Brussel sprouts were great! Oddly enough, the crab was NOT so great....especially for the price. I asked for it to be taken off the bill and was met only with a smile and a "what?". Service was decent outside of that. Decent selection of beer on tap.

We've been here a few times but their food has gotten worse. The mussels are tiny and when you order seafood by the pound, you barely get anything since most of it is shell. They changed their fries too. It used to be a crispy shoestring fries and now they are thicker, softer, and worst. The service is okay for State, just the bare minimum for a sit down restaurant.

Management and staff very friendly. Food really tasty (I love the Drunken Special medium or spicy), and it comes out decently fast! Beer at a great price, beer towers too if you have two friends to share with! The only thing is sometimes some of their shrimp are a little soggy, so one star off for that. Other than that, a fun dining experience! And can't beat $1 oysters for happy hour.

The last time we were here we sat outside, behind the building. I kinda like it better than the indoor seating. They have a firepit and standing heater which helped because of the a little cooler weather that evening. No TV outside, so pretty much a nice thing to have, more than a casual setting. Bathroom was a little dirty, flooded with water on one of the urinals(leaking). Needs a little TLC, otherwise it is less than OK. Service has improved since the last time we were here. Food are the same, good and tasty. Good quality. Overall, I recommend coming here.

Love this place.. I've gone two times.. I think I will make it a habit once a month..

Catherine Hunt

This is our first time for dinner. We ordered Brussel sprouts for appetizer, battered shrimp with Cajun fries, and battered soft shell crabs with fried sweet potatoes. My husband wanted the fish and chips & they ran out. The food came very hot and crispy. The portions were good size. Our server was friendly. I hope that the restaurant would consider combo plates. I would have liked to order half lb mussel, half lb clams, and half lb snow crabs.

Brandi

This spot is great for lunch for any seafood lover. Flavorful sauce in every bag. Our waiter/bartender/hostess was attentive and friendly. The only negative thing to mention are about the crab legs; we got one thick piece and the rest were Tiny-thin legs. That 1lb of crab legs is the priciest I’ve seen in any other similar seafood restaurant. If I’m ever around Santa Barbara area and in the mood for seafood , l will be stopping by at The drunken crab to hopefully get thicker crab legs on the next visit .

This spot is great for lunch for any seafood lover. Flavorful sauce in every bag. Our waiter/bartender/hostess was attentive and friendly. The only negative thing to mention are about the crab legs; we got one thick piece and the rest were Tiny-thin legs. That 1lb of crab legs is the priciest I’ve seen in any other similar seafood restaurant. If I’m ever around Santa Barbara area and in the mood for seafood , l will be stopping by at The drunken crab to hopefully get thicker crab legs on the next visit .

This is our first time for dinner. We ordered Brussel sprouts for appetizer, battered shrimp with Cajun fries, and battered soft shell crabs with fried sweet potatoes. My husband wanted the fish and chips & they ran out. The food came very hot and crispy. The portions were good size. Our server was friendly. I hope that the restaurant would consider combo plates. I would have liked to order half lb mussel, half lb clams, and half lb snow crabs.

No spice... is bit too spicy At least... for us Fun place... similarity to crab shack Super friendly service Nice place Strange new “ service” charge showing up on restaurant bills This was our first encounter 17.7 percent And then another 2% This is not a tip substitute... far as I know Managers have discretion as to who gets this ... server may get none! Not sure how this place handles it. Hopefully they are not screwing their servers So.. This being said Liked the place and people Didn’t like the bill or the “super” spicyness Think we will prolly not go back anytime soon

Had my mouth set for the bottomless mimosas. Its for my birthday. Its the only reason why I chose this place. Drove an hour and a half out here. Arrived 30 minutes after they opened/happy hour began and the only alcohol they had was rum. What a complete let down. If I didn't drive this far, I would have left.

Came here with my girlfriend to eat dinner. Everything started great until we had to ask our waitress for our drinks multiple times after she walked away as soon as we ordered some food and didn’t give us a chance to order our drinks. The waitress also ignored us for about 10 minutes because she was too busy talking to some of her friends that came to eat that were seated about 3 tables down from us. Other than that food was good and enjoyable but service was terrible as our waitress didn’t really mind us any attention or when I needed a refill I had to go to the counter to ask for one as she had he backed turned to us most of the time and not really attempting to make any eye contact with any of her parties. This was the waitress that worked tonight on 4-28-2021 for the closing shift sorry to put you on the spot homegirl but you need to do better. I could understand if you guys were about to close but this was at 7pm and you guys close up shop at 9pm. I’ve been here probably about a dozen times and is not the first, second or third time I’ve experienced bad service here at The Drunken Crab but I keep coming back because I love your food but I’m starting to realize that maybe things won’t change with service and that’s unfortunate because it’s lead to this post and I typically never do this.

Drunken crab, first time in for local. There's a 17% gratuity auto added to all checks. Menu is haphazard with no real logic, no hard alcohol for drinks. Food was overcooked and didn't taste fresh. Service was nice but slow and forgot to bring stuff twice. Not the worst place but better bang for your buck elsewhere.

You have to take a loan out to eat here! 4 of us. Each had a bucket of food. I had 1 glass of wine while the others had soda. They automatically added a 17% gratuity to our order. Our bill was just under $300.00. Too much $$ for what you got.

While the food was good, the service was bad. Not once did our waiter ask about refills or even acknowledge our presence. We had to wait for a while before we could even obtain our check from someone else, not our server. We won't come back.

This is the most different restaurant I have ever been to. First thing is theres 1 person working. Theres a podium like theres supposed to be a hostess but there is not. This was at 1p.m. after seating ourselves we were greeted by a super happy and friendly waitress. We placed our order mine was crawfish and the other was snowcrab legs... We were informed that our food would be served in bags... this I HAD to see... sure enough she brought 2 bags of food to the table! Clear plastic bags with crab legs in 1 and my crawfish in the other... no plates no utensils no leg cracker just 2 bags of food. Both bags of food were really good to my astonishment.. like really good.. I will go back but will be prepared.. dont dress well and be prepared for flinging crustation... it's a fun place just super messy... theres paper on the tables for the mess..

Omar Navarro

Right on State street, parking is best to go to a parking lot nearby. Not too busy, recommended getting all three sauce, spicy, mild didn't really do it for me. Wings were cooked perfectly, cajun fries didn't really impress me. All in all, okay place.

Right on State street, parking is best to go to a parking lot nearby. Not too busy, recommended getting all three sauce, spicy, mild didn't really do it for me. Wings were cooked perfectly, cajun fries didn't really impress me. All in all, okay place.

+6

Good spot for a drop in meal with friends and family. The atmosphere reminds me of a Florida beach front stop with wooden booths and wax paper drops for your in bag boils. Staff was attentive and enthusiastic. Don’t expect high end seafood, if that’s your thing. Green mussels came pre split and slightly over cooked. Oysters had no brine and were washed heavily. Come to enjoy the atmosphere, beer on tap, and eat all the crab you want. Good spot overall but for me it doesn’t hit a 4 or 5…. yet.

Food was fun, eating food from a bag counts as fun surely? It's a tourist trap, zero frills but that's fine for a one off. Food was ok, shrimp heads-on were good, shrimp heads-off and mostly shell-off were chewy. Dubious charging scheme employed here (you'll read it in most other reviews) 2% charge for eating in the restaurant (as opposed to a 2% discount for take out?) and an automatic 15% gratuity. Then when the check arrives you are asked for extra gratuity on top of that. Rent must be high here but that kind of thing puts people off tipping and word spreads.

Richard Strawson

Food was fun, eating food from a bag counts as fun surely? It's a tourist trap, zero frills but that's fine for a one off. Food was ok, shrimp heads-on were good, shrimp heads-off and mostly shell-off were chewy. Dubious charging scheme employed here (you'll read it in most other reviews) 2% charge for eating in the restaurant (as opposed to a 2% discount for take out?) and an automatic 15% gratuity. Then when the check arrives you are asked for extra gratuity on top of that. Rent must be high here but that kind of thing puts people off tipping and word spreads.

Zachary Byrd

Good spot for a drop in meal with friends and family. The atmosphere reminds me of a Florida beach front stop with wooden booths and wax paper drops for your in bag boils. Staff was attentive and enthusiastic. Don’t expect high end seafood, if that’s your thing. Green mussels came pre split and slightly over cooked. Oysters had no brine and were washed heavily. Come to enjoy the atmosphere, beer on tap, and eat all the crab you want. Good spot overall but for me it doesn’t hit a 4 or 5…. yet.

Team was kind of not service oriented, but nice though. Like beginners. Atmosphere not great, and flavor just alright. Not excited by the experience

Terrible value. Food was less than mediocre. Brussel sprouts were underdone, mussels overdone, clam chowder just bad. Service not good either.

I don’t know where to star. We had dinner on a Friday night. They weren’t pretty busy for a Friday night. We order drinks, I ordered a soda. My friends got their drinks and I waited and waited for my soda. Food arrived and I asked our waiter if i could please finally get my drink that I ordered since we got there. He responded with “hmm sure I guess I can bring that out for you now” our waiter only checked on us about 2 times, I noticed that he kept skipping our table. When we got our check I noticed that he charged me for 2 sodas… when I only ordered one. I hated that they added gratuity to our check, because he for sure didn’t earned the amount that was added on there. Terrible service. Be advised.

The food was good, but a little problem.. we went here for the first time last Saturday for dinner around 7:50pm. We even called before we went to make sure their outdoor seating is open. When we got there, Camile asked us to wait so she can get us seated. A minute later, this guy comes up to us and says "Our kitchen closes at 8:15, do you know what time it is?" We said it's 7:55 we know what we want.. and he seemed pretty annoyed. We got seated, ordered our food, The guy is making it clear to everyone sitting outside, he is only here to serve ONE table, two ladies that he was flirting with, and he was asking what they are doing later because he is getting off in 15 minutes. Other people have witnessed him purposely ignoring a gentleman who asked him for extra napkins, and he did not seem too interested in helping us either. He just made it clear to everyone that he did not wanna be there. VERY RUDE and VERY UNPROFESSIONAL. Don't get me wrong, the food was great, CAMILE our server was great, she was very kind to everyone, and made us feel welcomed. THANKS CAMILE!! but won't be returning.

Was told that there were fresh lobster that just arrived ordered it just for them to say they are out of lobster. Settled for the king crab and they over cooked it twice. Was tired of complaining. Service was good but food not so much. Two stars based off the waiter he was awesome.

Super fun place to bring the family or friends. Great food and drinks. 2 negatives, when we were getting seated our server came up to the host stand saying the 4 top that they are going to seat are not going to get service for 20 minutes, that was odd, as it was us and this is the first thing we hear. It was not a great start. The second the server didn't drop off the bill, I had to go get it at the bar. When he gave me it, he said nothing about it being an 18% auto gratuity on a party of 4 and I read nothing at the restaurant or on the menu about it. I'm glad I looked at the bill and not the credit card signatures sheet that he provided on the top. Food was great but not the best time for over $163.00 for 4 people Also, the menus are not up to date.3 beers we ordered on the menu, they didn't have anymore, super frustrating.

FacedbySurperb

Was told that there were fresh lobster that just arrived ordered it just for them to say they are out of lobster. Settled for the king crab and they over cooked it twice. Was tired of complaining. Service was good but food not so much. Two stars based off the waiter he was awesome.

Frank Kelley

Super fun place to bring the family or friends. Great food and drinks. 2 negatives, when we were getting seated our server came up to the host stand saying the 4 top that they are going to seat are not going to get service for 20 minutes, that was odd, as it was us and this is the first thing we hear. It was not a great start. The second the server didn't drop off the bill, I had to go get it at the bar. When he gave me it, he said nothing about it being an 18% auto gratuity on a party of 4 and I read nothing at the restaurant or on the menu about it. I'm glad I looked at the bill and not the credit card signatures sheet that he provided on the top. Food was great but not the best time for over $163.00 for 4 people Also, the menus are not up to date.3 beers we ordered on the menu, they didn't have anymore, super frustrating.

Went here with families. Not only they kept messing up our orders (brought spicy fries to a child who ordered regular fries, forgot about one of the orders,etc,) they were playing rap music with profanities, this is what got to me, not sure who the manager is but this is not a way to run a restaurant business. One more thing, why the heck do you put a service charge of about 18-20% and then ask for another 20% tip? We left tip to the waitress but I feel this is a ripoff. I would not recommend this place.

Worst place I've been to. Waited about 30 min just to place our order in. Then waited another hour and our food was not ready. Everyone around us even tables that came after us got their food. When my husband went to check the manager (guy with dread locks) said " your food ia ready, do you want it or not?" Then we just asked for our check for whatever we consummed since the food was still not ready. They still took so long and still werent given our check. I dont know how this place is still standing. Not to mention the other server, no customer service what so ever and took litterally 6 trips to bring our drinks instead of using a tray. Waste of time. Never again. You've been warned!!

Horrible horrible experience. We were in Santa Barbara on business. At 745 we placed a large order, the waiter taking the order told us 15 min. I told him we were more like 30-45 min out he said no problem. We drive all the way there and they tell us there shut. No phone call, no cancellation nothing ! Manager was completely rude and unaccommodating. It was 830 and there were multiple people still eating in the restaurant. Listing online said they shut at 930. At this point nothing was open to order from. Very rude and horrible service

Worst experience ever. The service is horrible, and the waiter with the bun (dread locks is unprofessional and hates his job) he did not want to take care of me and my family. It was a party of 12. We waited with just drinks for 1hr and 30 min to get our food. We had to leave because our food was still not ready. They did not care about their customers. I don’t not recommend this place at all, unless you want to waste your time. This place is a joke.

If I could put zero stars I would, place has nothing but spice. no flavor whatsoever. plus they include gratuity on the check and way overpriced for what it is we will definitely not be coming back. I review this with full on 100% honesty!

The food was terrible. We ordered the fish and chips with two different types of fries. The fish sme in the shape of a few dark brown cylinders which were supposed to be batter but whatever was used around the fish was an extremely soggy and oily concoction that was not anything like the expected crispy , golden beer batter. The fish itself inside was sparse and tasteless. We didn't bother to finish the sweet potato fries, again a mushy, soft pile of ruined food. We had been recommended the Louisiana sausages as a side dish. They came in chunks inside a clear plastic bag set on the wax paper on the table, so you had to dig into the grease up to your wrist to reach them. They were extremely salty but at least they were identifiable as some type of cured meat. As soon as we had given up on our food, a waiter came to sweep the wax paper from under our hands, although we were the only customers there except from one other person. During the meal I had to go to the bar counter to refill my glass of water, as nobody came. To finish on a postive note, the waiter and the host were very pleasant and friendly.

Went here as it's highly rated on Google. Got a bad service from the beginning. The wait staff told us that he didn't have time to explain the menu as he's busy serving 3 other tables. Surprisingly, he took some time flirting with some female customers near our table while taking their order. Avoid ordering the king crab! Been frozen too long, not fresh at all. No sweetness on the meat and the shell was tough and chewy - impossible to crack it open. On the positive note, we did enjoy the shrimps and the drunken sauce was good

- Highly recommended to go elsewhere! (0/5 stars if possible). - Unbeknownst to us, we got there 22 minutes before open time this past Sunday afternoon and were met in the front entrance area by an extremely rude worker (male, mid' 20's, white) who was cleaning up/prepping in the front area. He practically scolded us that they didn't open up for another 30 minutes (in the most untactful, rude manner I've encountered in the last 30 years of restaurant experience). - Never returning.

Me and my wife came here on New Years for the first time and unfortunately did not have the best experience. We told our waiter that it was our first time there and they didn’t really help us with figuring out the menu. We ordered our food: crawfish with all three sauces and peeled shrimp, lobster tail with corn cobs with garlic butter no spicy for anything and an order of bread. When we got the food I noticed that corn was not seasoned, and that the shrimp and lobster tail were had the wrong seasoning as they were spicy and did not look anything like garlic butter. I let a different waiter know what was wrong and he said that the corn does not come mixed with sauce and I told him the waiter who took our order said that it did. He said he would get us a cup of sauce for the corn and get the lobster and shrimp remade. When the waiter brought back the new shrimp and lobster he did not take away the original order and also didn’t specify that we could still eat it if we wanted to so we didn’t eat it. After finally trying the food again the order was still wrong as the sauce from lobster and shrimp still tased mixed with some spice and atleast 1/4 of the crawfish was just claws and empty top shells. Whenever we asked the waiter for anything or had a question they made us feel like we were being a bother. We were really hoping for a good experience since we love seafood boils and did not like feeling we left without getting what we actually wanted or paid for especially since we are not from Santa Barbara.

Pricey, Boiling crab is 10 times better and it's cheaper. Service was good, our waiter was nice. If you like flavorless shrimp and good service this is the place to go

17% MANDATORY gratuity and service charge no matter the size of the party. And they still want tips after. Not to mention it was already very pricy given the portion that was given.

On top of the pricey food there was an automatic 15% gratuity and 2% service fee. That 17% upcharge should be criminal. Food was also disappointing for the menu price, let alone the “tip”.

My family and I had been wanting to try this place for some time now, so we finally decided to go this easter weekend. Upon arrival we had to wait outside for quite a while although the waiter saw us and clearly had empty booths for us. When he finally came to seat us he showed no interest in talking to us. About 20 minutes had passed by since we had received the menus and our waiter was nowhere to be found and yet the place was still very empty. Eventually when he got back to us he seemed annoyed and uninterested, he was about to leave without even asking if we’d like any drinks! Once again the wait time for our food was like 30 minutes although we were one of the very few families there. When he brought out the food to us he basically just threw the bags on the table and left… note that at this time we still had NOT gotten any of the drinks we ordered. The place was beginning to get more fuller however he still had plenty of time before to bring us our drinks. Since we were all very shocked at how horrible his customer service was, we all just sat there staring at our food since we also had not gotten our bucket, gloves nor the plastic bag/bib to tie around our necks. Eventually he noticed us, came over to our table, and just stared at us. He didn't even bother to ask what was wrong or what we needed. We then had to tell him that we were missing our drinks and the other stuff and his response was, “oh”. After he brought back our drinks he never came back. We had to ask for the tab from another waiter. We find this all to be racially motived since we are hispanic and when a Caucasian couple was sat behind our booth the same waiter that was serving us actually took the time to introduce himself to them and offer drinks as well as help them with ordering. Whereas with us he was rude and basically forgot about us. The only reason we found out his name was because we overheard when he introduced himself to the couple. CURTIS, we advise you to do better, our money counts just as much as anyone else’s.. just because you see a hispanic family don’t go treating them differently. Overall the food was good but the customer service was horrible.

Food is good, but service makes me not want to return unfortunately. Staff needs to be better, Curtis was our server and he was acting like he couldnt care less about his job. Team members need to be let go and bring in some people who know hard work and customer service. Should not take almost half an hour to bring out an extra side of plain white rice. Also needed a drink refill and never came back to check on us. ESPECIALLY when there is a mandatory gratuity added to each bill regardless of party size, I expect better.

I tried all three sauces on my crab legs which was a bad ideal it was a very salty but all in all I ate them. My margarita was very sour one sip and I was done with that. Then the bill as we all know seafood is expensive but then they add on a service charge of 15% talking about Covid. That was insane. Never again.

This had been our favorite sea food boil place for a long time!! Unfortunately, the last few times we have gone it has been quite disappointing. We have gone to the Drunken Crab several times (different timing.) The latest we have gone has been 7:40pm(that was tonight.) On the website it says the restaurant itself closes at 9:30 pm but when we arrived they told us the restaurant was closed?!?!? This isn’t the first time this occurs to us. We have also tried placing orders over the phone around 8pm and have been told the restaurant was no longer taking orders. It just really is disappointing. Why have your times online when you guys change them depending on the day. I get the employees want to leave on time but in that case update the time on your website that way people don’t waste their time/gas driving to the place.

D Key

So I came here to honor my Late Mother, our Birthday tradition was to have Crab Legs. I usually just make them myself at home, but I didnt have time this year so I went out. I never tried it before and was excited. I get there, and they tell me it's a wait, so i ask to sit at the bar. I was Inforned that they don't serve food at the bar, so i asked if I could sit and wait at the bar. I was pretty much given the least amount of attention as possible before I was asked if I wanted a drink. Got a glass of wine, and waited for my table. 30 minutes later I was sat. I got snow crab legs "MP" Aka market Price, as a boil +6.95 and some drawn butter. 1.99. less than 10 minutes later a bag of seafood was dropped on my table and I was left to eat on the table like a traditional crab boil in the south, very casual, very quick service oriented, clearly. After another glass of wine, and very little service. Much to my dismay, I got a check for 80. Dollars and some change. And saw that I was Auto Gratuitied for 15 percent of my bill, as a SINGULAR PARTY OF 1 PERSON! and when I asked. I was told that it was standard policy. I asked where this was posted. As I saw no signs in or outside the restaurant in plain view. And i was given the menu, which had this small barely readable gray print on a white background. I paid 48 dollars for 2 crab clusters 1 sausage 2 pieces of corn and 2 small potatoes pictured below. Not worth it. I will never be back. Pay your employees a living wage, and just do better. I find this practice sneaky, and bad for business. I didn't recieve a level of service that required an Auto Gratuity. It's not an upscale restaurant, my food came in a plastic bag for christ sakes, and I ate with my hands.

So I came here to honor my Late Mother, our Birthday tradition was to have Crab Legs. I usually just make them myself at home, but I didnt have time this year so I went out. I never tried it before and was excited. I get there, and they tell me it's a wait, so i ask to sit at the bar. I was Inforned that they don't serve food at the bar, so i asked if I could sit and wait at the bar. I was pretty much given the least amount of attention as possible before I was asked if I wanted a drink. Got a glass of wine, and waited for my table. 30 minutes later I was sat. I got snow crab legs "MP" Aka market Price, as a boil +6.95 and some drawn butter. 1.99. less than 10 minutes later a bag of seafood was dropped on my table and I was left to eat on the table like a traditional crab boil in the south, very casual, very quick service oriented, clearly. After another glass of wine, and very little service. Much to my dismay, I got a check for 80. Dollars and some change. And saw that I was Auto Gratuitied for 15 percent of my bill, as a SINGULAR PARTY OF 1 PERSON! and when I asked. I was told that it was standard policy. I asked where this was posted. As I saw no signs in or outside the restaurant in plain view. And i was given the menu, which had this small barely readable gray print on a white background. I paid 48 dollars for 2 crab clusters 1 sausage 2 pieces of corn and 2 small potatoes pictured below. Not worth it. I will never be back. Pay your employees a living wage, and just do better. I find this practice sneaky, and bad for business. I didn't recieve a level of service that required an Auto Gratuity. It's not an upscale restaurant, my food came in a plastic bag for christ sakes, and I ate with my hands.

HORRIBLE BUSINESS!! Be careful when paying with a credit card here. Pay ONLY with CASH!! On March 3, 2026, at approximately 4:20 PM, I took my wife and our 1-year-old daughter to this restaurant for a simple meal. We ordered one pound of shrimp (about $32.00) and two waters. We intentionally kept the order small since we didn’t want to overeat. After finishing our meal, I left $15 in cash on the table as a tip and paid the bill with my Visa card. The next day, while reviewing my bank statement, I noticed I had been charged $52.42. It appears that an additional $20 tip was added to my credit card, despite the fact that I had already left a $15 cash tip. There may be a lack of communication between the wait staff and the cashier regarding tips, raising concerns that the waiters may be pocketing cash tips. This could leave the cashier unaware that a cash tip was already provided and result in an additional percentage being added to the bill. Regardless of the circumstances, altering a customer’s receipt and making unauthorized transactions is unacceptable. This experience left me extremely frustrated and feeling completely unappreciated as a customer. I was simply trying to enjoy a meal with my family and be generous with a cash tip, yet it appears an extra tip was added without my authorization. Because of this experience, I would strongly recommend carefully reviewing your receipt and bank statement if you pay with a credit card here or consider paying entirely in cash. I’m sharing this so others are aware and don’t end up dealing with the same situation. Regardless of any gratuity or service fees, what occurred is criminal period!!! With business practices like this, I would be surprised if this place lasts more than a year and a half. A successful business is built on reviews, 100% word of mouth, quality of service, quality of food, and, most importantly, 100% trust. Customers should want to return for more, not leave feeling deceived and never come back.

Charged us $90 for 2 crab legs. For over $200 we got 1 sausage, 2 potatoes, 2 corns , 6 shrimps and 2 crab legs. Your money is better spent elsewhere. You'll spend far less for far more anywhere else In California, maybe even the country lmao.

Ate here expecting a decent meal. The food was honestly terrible for the price. Boiling crab is so much better the sauce here just lacks any flavor. On top of that our waitress never offered a refill, she charged us for peeled shrimp when we wanted head on. There’s also an automatic 17% service charge on every check. This just means the establishment clearly doesn’t pay their staff enough. I wouldn’t even have an issue paying it if the service was half decent.

Sean Lenz

Charged us $90 for 2 crab legs. For over $200 we got 1 sausage, 2 potatoes, 2 corns , 6 shrimps and 2 crab legs. Your money is better spent elsewhere. You'll spend far less for far more anywhere else In California, maybe even the country lmao.

Max Magnus

On top of the pricey food there was an automatic 15% gratuity and 2% service fee. That 17% upcharge should be criminal. Food was also disappointing for the menu price, let alone the “tip”.

Boe Jennings

Ate here expecting a decent meal. The food was honestly terrible for the price. Boiling crab is so much better the sauce here just lacks any flavor. On top of that our waitress never offered a refill, she charged us for peeled shrimp when we wanted head on. There’s also an automatic 17% service charge on every check. This just means the establishment clearly doesn’t pay their staff enough. I wouldn’t even have an issue paying it if the service was half decent.

juanita tavira

Pricey, Boiling crab is 10 times better and it's cheaper. Service was good, our waiter was nice. If you like flavorless shrimp and good service this is the place to go