The Crab Cracker

Doesn't Recommend

MichaelParker

Joined 4 years ago

Worst Sea Food. This is a sorry excuse for a restaurant. Bad service, high prices and terrible food. How can you mess up salmon in Seattle? This place should never have been allowed to open their doors. I took one of my most important clients there and it was the worst I have ever seen. It was extremely over priced for the quality of food and the worst is how dirty the place is..........more like slum dog restaurant. A complete embarrassment.

There are plenty of great sea food restaurants in Kirkland. This is not one of them.

Recommends

SheltieOne

Joined 5 years ago

Good Food But Needs Cleaning. We have been going to The Crab Cracker for years. The food is excellent and the service is great. I go even though I don't like sea food because my husband loves sea food. At least here I am always able to find a dish that I will enjoy. The parking is great and it is free. The only complaint we would have is that it needs a good cleaning. I wish they would get rid of the dirty runners and replace them. The wood floor also needs a good cleaning and the beams overhead need to be dusted. The food really is terrific and the service can' t be beat.

Doesn't Recommend

MamaMaddox

Joined 5 years ago

A night to remember (or not). We had reservations at 6:30 for nine of us to celebrate my birthday. We were seated promptly and attended by a very enthusiastic (but new?) waiter.

The table next to us was subsequently filled with "famous" local people. The manager himself and two waiters served them appetizers, cocktails, wine and dinner all evening while our dinners languished somewhere in the kitchen.

Our dishes were brought by our struggling waiter one plate at a time ..after the other table was served.

My daughter ordered the salmon special (with mango salsa) and got a special with lemon buerre. When questioned, the waiter avowed it to be the mango...

My mom and three friends had the grilled combo- the plates were cold and obviously had sat some time. The shrimp was so dry and chewy that my mom couldn't finish it.

My boil was very boiled...the clams and mussels were over done and the crab was dried out. The number of unopened mussels was about one quarter; the number of unopened but broken...hence "not good" mussels was large enough to flavor the dish (yuck).

The tuna etouffee was bland, pale, oily and lacked any of the traditional finishes: no sherry, no parsley, no lemon...nothing.

My husband's fish and chips was outstanding. My daughter's grilled salmon was fine.

My guests were too polite to complain- I wasn't aware of their discomfort until later.

Over priced, poor food and poor service. We will plan our celebrations elswhere.

Doesn't Recommend

teambs

Joined 8 years ago

Overpriced for Quality. Whoa, very disappointing food! The menu prices lead you to believe you're about to have a very well prepared meal, and then your waiter brings the dishes to the table...bland, oily sauces mask the taste of the fish; is this because the fish is not fresh? Your money is better spent else where. On a positive note, the service is professional and friendly.

Doesn't Recommend

sauerkraut81

Joined 6 years ago

Avoid!. My mom and I ordered the king crab legs entree ($30 each) and my boyfriend ordered the mixed seafood grill entree ($21). The food quality is mediocre at best, approximately the same as Red Lobster.

=>However, it is at about double the price!!

Portions are very small. If you walk in hungry, you will also walk out hungry.

Decor is best described as "rustic." This is the kind of place to take visiting Midwesterners who want to go to a "fancy" seafood place because they won't know any better.

The Crab Cracker is a complete waste of time and money. Service was not wretched, not awesome.

Doesn't Recommend

pickycritic

Joined 6 years ago

Strong ammonia smell of old seafood (manager says it's just "off") and way overpriced. I've been lurking on this site for a year now since I moved to the Seattle area, to help me find good places to eat. I love to eat, to try new restaurants, and have traveled around the world, always on the lookout for great restaurants.

But I've never written before tonight... The food there was enough to compel me. The squid dish that I ordered had a really strong ammonia smell of old seafood and the crab cakes, as the previous poster hinted, indeed do taste of filler and grease.

The service was good, the waitress apologetic and the manager came at her request. He remedied the situation by taking it off our bill and adding a small order of crab cakes. He said that there was another squid that had also been "off" but it wasn't rott3n -- just a few in the same batch. I'm not convinced... the urea in fish converts to ammonia in fish when left around -- meaning it's really old to begin with. The cook should have smelled it while cooking. The sauce has lots of capers and grease, maybe to cover up the smell. At $18, you'd think whatever they would serve would be reasonably fresh -- at least not rott3n. I am pregnant and am regretting the two slices I ate, disbelieving my first bite.

We spent $35 including tip, for a bowl of soup and my husband's crabcakes.

There are way better places in the area to spend your money.

Recommends

jags999

Joined 7 years ago

Best crab cakes!. I've never had a bad meal here. Always delicious, always fresh, and always flavorful! They have the best crab cakes I've ever eaten w/ the spicy sauce! Not cheap, but a great meal!

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

A classic waterfront fishhouse on the fringe of downtown Kirkland.. The Scene
Dinghies, nets, buoys and other fishing gear hang on the walls and in the high rafters of the warehouse-like wood building, which can feel drafty in winter. Befitting the setting, jeans, shorts and T-shirts suffice, even next to suits. At lunch, more co-worker groups gather, but happy hour and friendly service draws a noisy, jovial bunch.

The Food
The long menu is organized by preparation method. In addition, specials treat fresh seafood with highbrow adornments like port demi-glace and shiitake-brandy sauce. At its heart, this is a place for old faves like steamer buckets, red and white clam chowders and deep-fried combo platters. Dungeness crab turns up frequently in flakes and chunks atop salads, adrift in chunky bisque or mounded atop Louie salad and stuffed into butterflied prawns. How is all that crab? Mostly sweet, solid and firm. Cocktail cups of the meat are a simple, sure winner.

Doesn't Recommend

stef_

Joined 10 years ago

Anywhere else would be a better choice. Don't eat here. Terrible both times I've gone. The "crab" in every dish I tried was imperceptable. "Gratin of crab" is just smothered in cheez whiz. Pasta with cream sauce: overcooked seafood (rubbery scallops, frayed shrimp). crab-stuffed jalapenos: smothered in cheese with crab filler underneath. They just have buckets of this filler and use it in every dish, 1 part crab to 50 parts breadcrumbs and dicedonion. Crab cakes: are just patties of filler. I've had so many terrible crab cakes and so few good ones that I'm afraid to even order crab cakes anymore.

Fresh, well-cooked vegetables. Too bad the same can't be said of their seafood. Service is excellent, but doesn't make up for terrible food costing $100 for two (one app, 2 dinners, 2 desserts, NO drinks).

Doesn't Recommend

berdedbear

Joined 10 years ago

From Mediocre to Good. Well where to start... Oh yes, the Crab Cracker is overpriced and the food is mediocre. Having said that I have to give them points for service. If the service was at the same caliber as the food, then the place would not be in business. Avoid the 'Thai Shrimp Spring Rolls' and the 'Crab Bisque'. One word sums both of these items ... Mediocre. However in the restaurant's favor, the 'Rock Shrimp Salad' was interesting, but should be served cold.