Claw Shack

Just ordered take out two days ago. Walked in and placed my order and they called me when it was ready. Took less than 15 minutes. I ordered two pounds of shrimp in shambalang sauce and made it a combo deal. The combo includes potatoes, sausages, corn, and they also give you bread on the side. I ordered one garlic noodle and one order of the Cajun fries as well. Everything was amazing!!! Can you believe it fed 6 people? (We also had rice ready at home too to drench our sauce with it hehe). When you get your order and put it in your car, omg it just makes you want to drive faster so you can eat it all already..!

The shambalang sauce is great. I'm not sure if there's any butter used but it didn't make me feel icky and oily after. I love how they include lemon slices in the sauce and minced garlic. I think it makes the sauce much more flavorful and the garlic clings to the shrimp. The shrimp was cooked perfectly. NO overcooked pieces at all and the shrimp was very plump and fresh. We ordered with head on because we think it gives the shrimp more flavor!

The garlic noodles was soooo good. I'm sure it's not spaghetti noodle but it's a thicker cut and holds a lot of flavor. They add whole garlic and it was cracked so it released all that garlicky goodness. They also add pepper on top. Comparable to kickin' crab but tastes better. I really wish I took photos but I couldn't wait!

The Cajun fries were great too. No spice added and none needed! Crispy and great big portion enough to share with a family of 6.

Two years later and I still stand by what I said back then.. still better than kickin' crab and boiling crab! Swear!

Parking is great.

Lots of seating but it can get packed really fast.

Garlic noodles are a MUST TRY, one of the best in San Jose.

Clam Chowder is also fantastic.

The regular clams (1lb) was out of season/frozen, overpriced.

We also got a side of sausage and got what you would get from a Costco brawurst but half the size of one piece.

Love love this place. It's so close to our house. I could walk there. It's not in a popular spot. Matter of fact it's next to an auto parts store but once you go in you're transported in seafood haven. My favorite is the shrimp with the shackies sauce. We got medium and it is so delicious. It's sweet, salty, garlicky, spicy and all that umami goodness. Hey shrimp was good and plump. We got crab and a bunch of friend platters. Next time no fried stuff just saucy seafood. I highly recommend this place and we will be back

This review is mainly for the service here, MINUS RICHIE. I would only eat here if Richie was serving, since hes super friendly and attentive and knows how to treat customers nicely
The other two servers are not it. We came on May 14, around 8:15/8:20 ish.
First off, I would like to mention that it wasn't busy when we came so I expected better service. The dude with the chain was our server tonight and I did not like his attitude. It's all about the tone lol
He seems like he hates working here
and didn't check up on us the entire meal. My friend asked if we can get some gloves, and when he asked how many I asked if each of us can get one. FYI at most cajun places, they usually give out gloves along with bibs. I don't think he was having an off day either since he's always like that everytime I come.
He responded with "I don't wanna waste so..."
Um?? are the gloves coming out of YOUR paycheck?

Moving on to the other server, ivy
she was running the food and called out the names and my friend was sitting on the opposite end of the table. She was like "omg so far ..all the way over there?" ...you didn't even need to walk that far LMFAO it was only a few steps away why are you a server?

I have to laugh. Lolol Please skip this location and go to the berryessa one instead
Or request richie to be your server!

Extremely disappointed this time around regarding my to-go order of shrimp and fish and chips. The shrimps were over cooked--the skin was not easy to peel off and the shrimp was all mushy on the inside It was incredibly hard to finish my pound of the shrimp.

Not sure if they changed their seafood sampler, but the fish from the fish and chips looked like fish sticks... The breading was extremely thick and not at all appetizing. Highly do not recommend getting fish and chips at Claw Shack.

My family ordered from Claw Shack for a special family dinner. Every item was cooked perfectly and the sauces are the best I've had.


The crawfish was very very small, but I was never a fan of crawfish in the first place so whatever. The mussels and shrimp were a good size though.

The corn inside was overcooked and the kernels lost their crunch. The sausage was also pretty standard.

All that being said, the sauce was phenomenal and made up for all of it. We got the Shackie's sauce which was so garlicky and well balanced. It's definitely my favorite sauce out of every seafood boil restaurant I've been to. The Shamalang sauce had a nice acidity to it and I enjoyed it a lot as well.

The garlic noodles were also very good. Not better than Poorboy's, but better than classics like Kickin Crab.

I'll be back!

Heard about this place for awhile and that day we was down the street from here. It was a little hidden if you're coming one way so map it if it's your first time. Came in on a Friday around 7pm. Keep in mind that it was during the 3rd-4th quarter of a warriors playoff game. It was at about 70% capacity which wasn't bad, got seated right away with plenty of TVs to see the game. We order two of the combos with the shackies sauce which was recommended by the waitress. Also two orders of the garlic noodles, two beers, and the calamari with fries. This came out to $165 for 4 people, no tip yet. The crawfish tasted fresh and they were huge! The noodles were good with tons of flavor. Couldn't really taste much the flavors for the shackies sauce, this was after mixing it around in the bag too. I say this because for a second I thought to myself, "hmm I can't taste much flavor. Do I got Covid?". I then proceeded to try the other food items and I tasted those so I didn't lose my taste. Over all a good experience, the customer service is top notch, we had like 5 different people come check on us periodically to make sure everything was okay.
Pro tip: peel the shrimp and dip it in the bag for more flavor. Use a mussel shell to scoop sauce from the bag onto your garlic noodles for more kick.

This is the BEST cajun/creole seafood restaurant that I have tried in the Bay Area. It is hands down one of my top favorite restaurants.

My favorite item is the fresh crawfish when it is in season. However, the frozen ones when it is not in season are still great! I love the lobster tail too. I have also tried clams and mussels. I recommend all of it! Man, when it's in season, all of the seafood is fresh! Just great. Good seafood. For sure add some corn, potatoes, and sausage in your combos or boil packs. All satisfactory.

The flavors, spice levels, and options at Claw Shack are the reasons for why it is so great. If you try other joints, you'll know.

The best sauces for crawfish, lobster, and any seafood option would be Shackie's, House, and Garlicky. Shackie's is packed with flavor and is a perfect blend between garlic, the savory flavors, and spices. It's a thicker sauce. House is more sweet and just mouth-watering. It is liquid-like, but still thick like sauce. It is my current go-to. Sooo good! Garlicky is also super good. Garlicky would be third place.

I have tried all of the sauces at the restaurant on the crawfish, but these 3 I listed above are the best. Special and Lemon Pepper are also good sauces for the seafood. I do not recommend Casian.

I recommend the Medium or Medium/Hot spice levels. I have been getting Medium/Hot recently. Manageable, but still a kick!

The wings are also great! The best flavor is the Garlic Honey. Those are wet wings. Savory, great flavors, and makes you comfortable. Zesty is also wet wings, but not that great. It tastes like tamarind, which is interesting. Not bad though. Lemon Pepper wings are okay. The chicken wings overall are pretty tender and not too dry. Good!

I LOVE their sides! Best garlic noodles in town. Or ever! Super well marinated, packed with flavors, and makes your mouth go crazy! Strong garlic flavors, great texture, and also unique. The garlic fries are a must grab too. Good flavors and also crispy texture. Honestly, all of their fries are great.

I'll always eat here. Spread the love.

12.15.2021

We picked up take out from here for a small family dinner. We ordered two of the combos for 15 people and it was more than enough.

I loved how they packaged the sauce separate from the seafood. When we were ready to serve we mixed it all together. The bags were clean and safely sealed. Nothing leaking and no smells of seafood or sauce.

One combo all shrimp with heads had the Shackies sauce with corn, potatoes, and sausage.

The other combo with mussels and shrimp with heads had the Shambalang sauce (slightly spicier) with corn, potatoes, and sausage.

The seafood was FRESH!!! The shrimp were tasty and huge. The sauces were spot on. I had no idea what they were and there weren't any descriptions on their app or website so I just figured they were like their specialty/house sauces. The corn and potatoes were fresh. The sausage was a bit spicy but was yummy.

It was easy to order and pay on their app and hubby said pick up was easy as well.

We had left overs, which we froze. Then the next day we finished it up. The leftovers easily warmed up in a pan with a bit of water to help steam. It was still yummy!

We will definitely come back for more next time we're in the area!

Definitely order the wings and shrimp!

The wings here are perfectly crispy and saucey. The shrimp here are on the larger side and aren't over cooked.

Skip the garlic noodles - they were literally just spaghetti noodles and garlic. I remember them being way better a few years ago.