Crab Catcher Restaurant Reviews

Wonderful dinner, great service, beautiful view visiting our Marine & daughter in law. Will definitely come back next time we are in town!!

Busy at 630 pm but was empty by 8 pm...service not so great...two of us went and we ordered a glass of wine each and only one was brought out. Had to wait for the second one and when it came it had a lot more wine in the glass than the first one - same wine, same glass, same orice, different sized pours! ...then when we finished our meals, they brought the check real fast. It was obvious they wanted to close and it was only 830!

Good food ... great staff .. beautiful views from the patio ..

Great view across the bay to Scripps pear and with cormorants seating on the nearby pine trees. Lively environment with locals and visitors in balmy evening air. The food could be cheaper but we enjoyed the quality and good job of servers.

It was a really nice night for us and the view from this restaurant was spectacular. The service was very good . Unfortunately I felt like they missed an opportunity to pair the ambiance with great food. The food was just ok and for the price you'd hope for a lot more.

I went for my Birthday with my wife and we had a great time. we drank at the bar and had appetizers until the best table in the place opened up. It was so romantic looking out at the ocean while holding my wife's hands. The service was also great. I would definitely go back.

We had a great lunch... The view from the table was brilliant. The service first class and the food was very tasty and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the city of LaJolla...

Fantastic food and views. I had brunch and absolutely loved it. Eggs la jolla was perfect with pouched eggs severed over blue crab cakes. Would definitely return.

My husband and I have been to the Crab Catcher many times, and we absolutely love it! We were first introduced to it in 2014 at my company Christmas party! Since then, we've made it our restaurant of choice for our wedding anniversary!

Misty was our server for our first anniversary, and provided exceptional service! She has also worked my company's Christmas party for the past few years (including this year's, which was a couple days ago), and she always remembers us!! For our second anniversary, both our server (Richard) and the manager (Justin) went above and beyond to make sure we had an enjoyable evening.

The food at the Crab Catcher is always incredible! The crab legs are to die for, and their oysters on the half shell are some of the best we've ever had. The oysters Rockefeller are also AMAZING, by the way (there's BACON in there, guys!). I highly recommend their crab bisque, as well... and the poke tacos are also quite tasty!!

For our anniversary dinner, we like to get the meal for two, which includes lobster, king crab legs, shrimp, and vegetables - definitely the best bang for your buck, and I promise you won't be disappointed!

For dessert, my personal favorite is either the chocolate torte or the creme brulee, but you really can't go wrong, because they're all delicious!

Enjoy!!

Amazing. Food excellent. Staff very friendly and server Misty was awesome. Thank you.

Great views, atmosphere, food and service! Enjoyed my birthday luncheon!

Love the food. Great service, a little pricey but worth the meal

Outstanding views, excellent food and drinks, service with a smile. A little on the pricey side but not more than expected for an upscale place in this area. Very tasteful and classy.

Hidden downstairs. Good food. Recommend the crab cakes. Also the outside seating is the place to be. Great view and cozy heaters.

I personally wouldn t serve my family and friends microwaved nachos & soup.. but crab catcher would!
I guess the birds picked a good place to poop! Lol!

I've been going here for years thanks to Groupon. If you get there around 5 to 5:30 you end up with the best seat of the house on the patio. The food is always delicious and if you use the Groupon deal it's very affordable. It was my girlfriend's first time trying a Maine Lobster. She was hilarious and the waiter was cracking jokes and backpedaling to try and make it more convenient. Always great staff always good food. Can't complain!

The food is amazing comment the views are outstanding, the service is perfect and you should come here if for nothing else just to say you did try the crab it is amazing

The food is really good here. I've been here twice now with my wife and we both really enjoyed it. The price can be on the steep side so i HIGHLY recommend buying a Groupon or living social coupon and you'll get $100 for $50. We both ate the crab stuffed halibut (catch of the day) with farro. Delicious. I think if you stick with the fresh fish or seafood you can't go wrong. Just don't come with more than 2 people because you WILL spend a lot of money. That seems to be the complaint from most of the reviewers here.
One negative aspect of sitting on the seats outside is the have a perfumed air freshener that is way too strong. It bothers you when you're eating. I guess they have it because the seals and the ocean can put off an extreme odor, but honestly I'm not sure which is worse.

The food is consistently delicious and the location can't be beat. My husband and I always love our visit to the Crab Catcher!

Love this place. Go here every year for my anniversary

Amazing views but food was over-priced and just ok.

Great food really really great food service is excellent the views are spectacular I've enjoyed this restaurant for 30 years

Oh what a wonderful place (Our new HAPPY Place) to enjoy a few drinks and have lunch!
The service was superb, the Martinis and wine were on point and of course the food didn t disappoint!
Definitely returning to this gem in La Jolla!

Go for the signature dish!
Friendly and welcoming atmosphere. If you're right in time you may get a place with lookout onto the ocean.
Food is well prepared and delicious.

I didn't catch crabs here but I did catch a bread bowl. The fish tacos are breaded and they're the real stars of their show.

Great service and do delicious food. We had the fresh fish of the day and the presentation and taste were amazing.

This place is pretty much a mess. The decor is dated without taking any advantage of the view, bar small with stools facing away from the windows. Bartender was slammed in his tiny space with other employees trying to help, but hardly anyone could move. Food was just awful. I ordered the fettuccine with shrimp in cream sauce. Sauce was watery with no flavor, shrimp way overcooked. I told the waitress when she asked how our meal was, that it was so-so. She took it back to the kitchen and, I kid you not, it came back with about half the sauce and hot. I honestly think they just poured some of the "sauce" out and stuck it in the microwave. Fortunately they took my meal off the bill. Wines are uninteresting and incredibly overpriced. I think this is just a tourist trap, and there are so many other good restaurants in La Jolla. Skip this and find a new place. At least the exorbitant bill will buy you a good meal.

I'm going to post a review from Yelp because this is exactly what happened to us on our night out. This place is not worth the money. We walked in and got the "happy hour" bar menu. There was only 1 waitress for the whole place, and even though there was only 4 tables the kitchen was backed up. We had an appetizer come out before we got our drinks, one Tom Collins which the poor waitress didn't know what it was and one bottle of mineral water. The water took way too long to come out.

The food and I mean all of it except the crab claws were covered in butter or cheese. This chef doesn't know how to give anything flavor to use so much cheese and butter. I have to say what the lady on yelp said is completely true Gordon Ramsey needs to come in and revamp this place.

Nice views, I door and outdoor seating. Great crab cakes and oysters!

Not my style of seafood, but nice location and atmosphere.

Always delicious!! Celebrated a birthday - even the kids that joined enjoyed the dinner options.

Not gonna lie, I love this place. Right on the water adjacent to Longway fish charters in Little River. One of the few fishing villages left. That being said, I noticed last Friday night(9-29-17) that they had a Black Sea bass special. Me and a friend ordered that because we both enjoy BSB and typically go offshore out of of the docks 2-3 times a year. Once served, it was obvious that at most 25% of the special was Black Sea bass. I am not questioning that the remaining fish was straight off the boat, as it obviously was, I would just like to request that if you are gonna serve a smorgusboard of fish, let the customer know. I would still have enjoyed the meal. My only complaint is paying 20.99 for a BSB special and getting served a mix. Call it the same and all is well. Don't deceive you customers.

Daniel Wallace

can't go wrong. gorgeous views and fabulous food! great date spot if you're trying to impress a lovely lady ;)

Holy moly the view and service was amazing!!! The food was so delicious. Our waiter had a great personality. I understand why its a little price because the quality is completely worth it! Everyone must try Crab Catcher for real!.

The food was good and the chef was very accommodating to food allergies. The staff was great. The prices were a bit high for the food.

We had dinner last Saturday and it was great. The food was outstanding and so was the service. Our server was Heidi and she was the best. We will be going back soon

Food was absolutely delicious! A divine experience and the view was amazing

Great views. Great food. Great people. Dog friendly. Park underground in the rear.

The view was gorgeous and perfect for a lovely evening although our entire experience was ruined because, our waiter was condescending and rude our bus boy was much nicer and attentive then our waiter. We would have much rather tipped our bus boy then our waiter. There portions were also too small and the restaurant is hard to locate.

Amazing food, really good service and the outdoor patio was so pretty!! We will definitely be back!

Food was good, service mediocre. There was a "warning" on the menu stating that due to the increases in products a small percentage (can't remember exact amt 3-5%) would be added to each bill. I guess that cost less than printing new menus. We used a Groupon and when the check arrived a 15% tip had already been added. I thought that was pretty tasteless, especially since we would have tipped a minimum of 20% of the total amount. So the server lost out by predetermining our tip. I have never seen this done except with larger groups. There were only two of us.
This is a restaurant I always loved going to when we are in LaJolla, but probably won't go again. Too many other nice restaurants in the area.

Great food with an even better view! If you plan to eat by the window better make a reservation ahead of time or you may get lucky and get one anyways

Poor management of reservation; overbooking led to us (with a reservation) waiting an hour and missing the sunset. Food is great, but I wouldn't recommend visiting if you have better options.

Great seafood with spectacular views. Highly recommended while in San Diego.

The wait staff was fabulous the food delicious the new price list absolute wonderful place to eat

Happy hour Wednesday is awesome! Very friendly staff.

Wonderful experience! We came without a reservation on a Sunday evening and were seated without issue. We had the $100 Groupon voucher so we decided to splurge and opted for a dozen fresh oysters, the seafood platter, and a few drinks. Service was timely and staff was friendly.

The oysters were very nice and delicate. They came with marinated diced cucumbers, cocktail sauce, and lemons (included a slice of grilled lemon) for garnish. This was quite possibly my favorite part of the meal.

The platter was more than enough for two people. It came with two crab legs, a crab claw, four prawns, and a whole lobster atop a bed of roasted cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, and zucchini (and a side of melted butter, of course). The prawns were cooked to a perfect consistency and the lobster and crabs were such a delight. The potatoes and the carrots were a nice touch as well (didn't try the cauliflower or zucchini because I was quite full).

I had gotten the key lime pie martini, which I thought was good but a bit sweet for my liking. My fiance opted for the LA Skyline martini (comes with blue cheese stuffed olives), and he says it was good but could have been dirtier.

What would have been an exorbitant price turned into a mildly expensive amount spent (which was an absolutely phenomenal deal for what we received). Definitely a destination for those who want to spend a little bit more!

Great seafood place the only thing that spaghettis for kids little spicy..

Great place! Great drinks, great view, and the is food excellent!

Always great food and service. Ambiance and views are awesome

Food is just ok, which does not justify the high price. I guess your paying for the setting with a great view, that is if you can secure one of a few tables with a direct ocean view.

Great Sunday brunch! Have great Groupon deal. Love the view, food, location and service. Certainly one to keep for future occasions.!

Stopped in for an afternoon cocktail while strolling through La Jolla. The Creme Brulee martini was delightful and the view was spectacular!

Order any fish stuffed with crab.
Bisque soups a must awesome
Salads on pointe
Crab cake a must
Impossible to go wrong eat there

Service was excellent and the seafood was very good. Interior of the restaurant is a bit dated and could use an overall.

One of the best sea food restaurants I've ever been to!

Always delicious!! Celebrated a birthday - even the kids that joined enjoyed the dinner options.

Very good cuisine coupled with outstanding water views and shopping.

Great staff and attention to detail. Don't get the filet mignon. It's terrible!

We got a good table and our reservation time was just perfect. We had an amazing view and the food was great!

An acquaintance told us about this restaurant. I had my mouth set for something delicious esp given the price but it was just okay. The wait staff was very friendly though. Great view.

Service was very friendly and the menu was surprisingly cheap for the area it's located in.

Service was great. Beautiful setting. Food was fresh and well-prepared. Wide variety of wine and drink selections.

This was our 2nd visit & it was just as good as the 1st time. The food is amazing, very fresh and priced correctly for the portion size & quality. The staff is very nice and the view...well that alone is worth going.

Robert is great! I really enjoyed the chowder soup was very good.

The food is always well prepared and delightful, cashiers provides great service. I love how clean it is and atmosphere. I highly recommend this spot.

Lovely views and pretty good food. The prices are higher than the quality provides but as this is a tourist spot that is somewhat to be expected. Get a seat by the window, don't expect amazing food and don't look at the bill and you'll have a great time in the beautiful building overlooking the bay.

Great food and atmosphere. A must stop when I'm in the area.

This place need a serious overhaul. I have been for dinner, brunch and happy hour. Only the brunch was worth it. The decor is old, the staff are friendly but the food is overpriced and nothing special. So sad, because it is a fantastic location.

Overpriced mediocre food. I had the lobster steak surf and turf. Steak was flavorless. A McDonald's hamburger has more flavor than their steak. No seasoning, not juicy, just bland. The lobster was nothing special either. Save yourself $100. You will get a tastier meal at red lobster. You are just paying for the view here.