11 St. Louis crab boil restaurants we love

St. Louis may be land-locked, but that doesn’t mean you have to hop in a plane to indulge in a boiled crab feast. There are many locally owned options for low country- and Cajun-style boils, as well as a number of spots offering fresh takes on the traditional boil using flavors drawn from global cuisines. Here’s a list of places to try the next time the yen to crack claws hits. 

Cluster Busters
Cluster Busters offers three boiled crab leg platters; all come with snow crab clusters, red potatoes, smoked sausage and six boiled shrimp as a little boiled seafood bonus.
5003 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314.449.1544; 4320 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, St. Louis, 314.387.9111, Facebook: Cluster Busters

Gulf Shores Restaurant & Grill
As the name suggests, this restaurant specializes in all things seafood. Crab legs – both king and snow – are on offer; options include platters served with your choice of two sides or a combo designed for two people featuring a pound of snow crab legs, half-pound of shrimp with your choice of preparation (fried, grilled, blackened or sauteed), four sides, two corn muffins and your choice of dessert.
12528 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur, 314.878.3306; 215 Harvard Drive, Edwardsville, 618.650.9109, gulfshoresrestaurantandgrill.com

Crab’s Landing
This recent addition to downtown’s restaurant scene offers snow crab legs by the half-pound or pound as well as in combos, tossed in your choice of Cajun or “juicy special” seasoning or garlic or plain butter, and served with corn and potatoes. A Dungeness crab combo is also available, served with a half-pound of boiled shrimp.
701 N. Tucker Blvd., St. Louis, 314.833.3280, crabslanding.com

Mariscos El Gato
This Mexican restaurant specializing in seafood offers several platters featuring crab legs. An all-crab option is available, or go for one of several mixed seafood platters that include crab along with shrimp, mussels, oysters or octopus.
4561 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, 314.282.0772, Facebook: Mariscos El Gato

Tiny Chef
Though the Tiny Chef’s Korean crab boil is a semi-regular special rather than a standard menu option, any local crab boil list would be remiss to omit this creative take. Chef Melanie Meyer, aka the Tiny Chef, tosses snow crab legs and sauteed shrimp in a custom spice blend and serves it alongside sauteed Shanghai bok choy, sliced, hard-boiled eggs, roasted small potatoes and Korean cheesy corn. Meyer does the boils about once every month and announces the boil’s availability through Tiny Chef’s Facebook and Instagram pages one to two weeks ahead of time. It usually sells out quickly, so set an alert to remind you when ordering opens to avoid missing out.
4701 Morgan Ford Road (inside The Silver Ballroom), St. Louis, 314.832.9223, Facebook: Tiny Chef

Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co.
Peacemaker’s king crab legs come with drawn butter for dunking, along with potatoes, corn on the cob, andouille sausage and a buttermilk biscuit.
1831 Sidney St., St. Louis, 314.772.8858, peacemakerlobstercrab.com/st-louis

Broadway Oyster Bar
The New Orleans-style staple offers a platter featuring a half-pound of Alaskan snow crab Cajun-steamed and served with a baked potato and fresh green beans. Diners looking to up their crab quotient can also add an additional half-pound of crab to their platter.
736 S. Broadway, St. Louis, 314.621.8811, broadwayoysterbar.com

LA Juicy Seafood
At Cajun-style restaurant LA Juicy Seafood, you have the choice to order either whole crabs (Dungeness and blue crab) or just legs (snow and king crab), sold by the pound. All orders come with one piece of corn and two potatoes.
10732 W. Florissant Ave., St. Louis, 314.942.6668; 373 Winding Woods Drive, O’Fallon, 636.294.9171, ofallon.lajuicyseafood.com

Blue Crab Juicy Seafood & Bar
At Blue Crab Juicy Seafood, your choice of whole blue or Dungeness crabs or snow or king crab legs can be seasoned with Cajun seasoning, garlic butter, lemon pepper or a combination of all three. Boils are sold by the pound at your preferred spice level and come with corn and potatoes.
3248 Laclede Station Road, Maplewood, 314.282.0055, bluecrabjuicyseafood3.com

The Mad Crab
The Mad Crab offers crab either a la carte or in combos; all are sold by the pound. Whole Dungeness or jumbo king or snow crab legs are available a la carte with the option to include corn, potatoes, pork or beef sausage and boiled eggs for an additional charge. Crab-containing combos include the Angry Combo, which features one pound of snow crab legs plus additional seafood choices, and the Hangry Combo, featuring either one pound of jumbo king crab legs or two pounds of snow crab legs plus one pound each of shrimp, black mussels, clams and crawfish. When you order, select your spice level, which ranges from “non-spicy – plain and simple” to “XXX – Can you Handle It!”
8080 Olive Blvd., University City, 314.801.8698; 12490 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, 314.455.4338, themadcrabstl.com

Joyful House
Vietnamese restaurant Joyful House is the spot for those looking to try Viet-Cajun seafood in St. Louis. The style blends the peppery heat of Cajun-style boils with flavors common to Vietnamese cuisine like lemongrass, ginger and garlic. At Joyful House, a great way to experience this culinary trend is by ordering your crab tossed in the house Joyful Sauce, which the menu simply describes as “the joy of Cajun.” Other seasoning options include sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce as well as the standard issue garlic butter and lemon pepper. King, Dungeness and blue crabs are all available by the pound or as part of combos, as are clusters of snow crab legs.
3900 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis, 314.696.8255, Facebook: Joyful House Restaurant