Crab Catcher Restaurant

Don’t bother wasting your time! View isn’t the greatest and they pick and choose their happy hour times, regardless of what their website and leaflets say. See picture below! Clearly trying to rip people off.

Great service with food that’s hit or miss. The salmon is always a safe option but for the price, I could make it at home for ¹⁄₃ of the price. The cioppino was plentiful in seafood which was cooked well but the sauce was way too salty. My favorite is the crab-​stuffed fish; the fish is different based on the day’s catch so sometimes it’s cooked well and other times it may be a tad dry. The calamari was pretty good: cut thick, a bit bland in the batter, but tasted yummy with the lemon and aioli. My favorite dish (which isn’t even a dish) is the truffle fries: shoestring style and crispy on the outside but soft on the inside.
The restaurant boasts spectacular views of the cove but only if you’re lucky enough to get seated by the windows.
3.5 stars since the wait staff and busboy were all super attentive and friendly.

No matter where we stay when we visit Southern California we have one special lunch or dinner at The Crab Catcher. The beautiful setting overlooking La Jolla Cove, the fantastic food and great service make it a favorite spot. We were even able to use a Groupon good for lunch or dinner. Make sure to ask them to validate your underground parking.

I first tried CC about 2 – 3 years ago and don’t remember being that impressed but when I saw a $ 100 groupon for $ 50 I thought I could give it another try. We ordered a few drinks from the bar which were good and stiff and we shared the lobster bisque as well as a lobster, shrimp and shellfish dinner for two for $ 125. It also came with some potatoes and other clambake type of items. It was good but without the groupon I am not sure it would have been worth the money based on the quality and quantity of food received. The wait service was good and I would probably return but I don’t think it would be at the top of my list without a groupon. You’re paying for location, location, location. If that is what you’re looking for and you roll hard enough, then this might work for you. Happy Dining.

This is our go to place for a beautiful dinner. We come every once in a while and the wait staff is always super friendly and helpful. Each time I come with an «out-​of-​towner» they make me feel like a regular and that totally impresses the hell out of my people. It makes me feel like I’m super posh and eat out here all the time (even though I don’t).
best think on the menu??? I DIG, DIG, DIG their beef! I know, right? It should be the crab, or the seafood. No! They totally know how to grill as well. And I love fish, but the beef here is super good. I also love their brussel sprouts and their wedge salad. Yummy!
There is also a happy hour every day next door in the bar area.

My family and I went to the Crab Catcher in La Jolla, for their Mothers’s Day Brunch, and we had the most difficult experience. It was very challenging to say the least.
First, I had a cup of coffee and the coffee was served in a paper cup! Now, I am having lunch in La Jolla, California and I am drinking in a paper cup. Can you believe that?
Secondly, they advertised that their guests would enjoy croissants with their lunch but guess what? They ran out and we got very old, hard, sourdough bread. I could not believe that, either?
I ordered their crab enchiladas, and the crab meat with dark brown. Now, I have never seen dark brown crab. It was possibly canned crab. The dish was cold and very small portions. Sour cream was poured all over the beans. In fact, all I could see was sour cream. The rice was bright red. Horrible Mexican rice and beans.
I suggest that you do not eat at the Crab Catcher, it is an old unorganized and poor quality restaurant. All it has going for it, is two or three tables with a view of the ocean. Please stay clear of this restaurant.

I would have only given this place 3 stars for being over priced and outdated (understandable as they are 1. In la Jolla and 2. A few of their tables have a view of the ocean). Their chowder was tiny for $ 12 and overly creamy. The waiter seemed reluctant to sell us the «special» which was not in the menu but recommended by the cave store across the street. 2 fried fish tacos with a green salad and $ 16, I think the cheapest entrée on the menu. It was fine.
We ordered water (not bottled) that tasted funny an then a Diet Coke «diet Pepsi ok?» Sure. It came out flatish. What blew me away was that they came back not only with a cold can of Diet Coke for me but also a real can of coke for my dad. Pepsi partnership be damned they kept some in the fridge just in case.
We didn’t order that much food (split meals and no alcohol) but it still turned out to be over $ 70 for 3 of us.
In all my years of eating out I’ve never had anyone offer, or just bring me, a cold can of soda like that. For that alone I have them an extra star!

Just had lunch. Pablo was a great server!
As always, this place is the best. Been coming here for many years!

Awesome view if seated properly, good food but not amazing was sort of disappointed in whole experience for the price.
What attracted me with this restaurant was the view. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to sit in a great spot but still enjoyed the atmosphere. The outside seating is very small. Wish the view can be seen in every spot.
Food, was good but not for the price. We ordered calamari, filet minion, the chicken, and truffle fries. The calamari was thick and came with a great sauce but the breading did not have a taste. The filet minion was good but not for $ 45. It didn’t melt in my mouth. The chicken was good as well just not amazing. The truffle fries were actual yummy!
Server, ehhh. I don’t really remember her.
Buser, very friendly! He was more nice than my server.
Best part of my experience was the live music band. They played such fun-​romantic music.
Overall, this place won’t be on my list to come back. Nothing special :/

Came here for my 22^nd birthday dinner and had a very pretty view of the ocean from where me and my two girlfriends were sitting.
The ambiance of the restaurant is SUPER cute, fancy, and very elegant with cute sea-​themed table décor. The entrance is very cute but kind of hard to find coming from the main streets of downtown La Jolla: you have to go in an elevator and navigate through brown stairs. Definitely get there a bit early if you have reservations because the place is hard to find.
The food was just OK and very pricey. I got the crab cake (which was already expensive on its own) and added the combo which came with a small scoop of mashed potatoes and a couple pieces of fancy-​looking veggies. The decoration of the plate was definitely pleasing, but I am more of a food taste quality type of gal.
Overall, the place was okay, but I think I would prefer another place for fancy, upscale seafood dining.

Not too bad, but also not that amazing!
I called to make a reservation for lunch, and upon arriving was seated right away. The restaurant is actually a little bit hidden, and is actually quite small. If you’re coming from the main street with all the shops, you need to take the stairs down and follow the signs to the restaurant. If you’re coming from the lower level street closer to the ocean, you can take one flight of stairs up.
The hostess at the front was not friendly. She was accommodating yes, but her entire personality was very apathetic and never smiled. Luckily our server was great. He was informative, helpful, and decently attentive although I did have to ask for a refill on my water several times.
If you want to have a nice view with your seat, it’s kind of hard to get. There are only about 2 tables near the edge that face the ocean from the patio seats, and we were seated the furthest away from the edge and near the entrance. Oh well.
For lunch there was complimentary champagne which is nice. Also croissants. We ordered the crab cake which was good and filled with crab. My entrée was the crab stuffed fish and we got a seafood platter for the table. The crab stuff fish entrée wasn’t amazing. The fish wasn’t that great in itself — hard, a bit tasteless. The seafood platter was pretty good though, except that the lobster was a little bit rubbery.
Luckily we had a Groupon deal that helped, because this place is NOT cheap. We also parked in a lot that was $ 7 all day parking which wasn’t too bad.
Not sure if I’d recommend coming here or come again myself, but it’s fine to experience it once.

The only thing worth paying for here is the view and you have to get here early to grab it.
We purchased the Groupon $ 60 for $ 100 worth of food and made reservations through Open Table totally recommend doing this. We got here about ½ hour early and were able to grab decent seats, 1 table back from the cliff. During the wait, the staff was unbelievably nice. They seated us the bar and the bartender was one of coolest person ever.
As we were seated, we ordered the Lobster, Crab, Shrimp combo for $ 120 (since we had the Groupon deal it was only $ 60). The food was pretty decent and the only complaint I have was that it was sort of cold when it came out and the lobster was a little rubbery. Other than that, the view and service was spectacular. Not sure if I will come back here, maybe if I can find the groupon deal again!

I enjoyed our anniversary dinner here. It had a bit of everything: amazing view, great ambience, and delicious seafood! The groupon totally was worth it too… would go here again. The dinner for two special was $ 125, but it was more than we expected; crab legs, lobster tail (halved), & grilled shrimp with savory well seasoned vegetables. I recommend this place for anyone who’s around La Jolla area. Bön apetít! Oh and save some for desert too! The paradise pie is a must!

I’ve had amazing experiences and not so good… Sad too say it’s a hit or miss. I’ve had a horrible waitress she made the whole experience bad it sucked because we spent over $ 300 that night. I’ve also had an amazing experience with a nice gentlemen who was amazing and really knew what he was doing.
The scallops are what I come here for there addicting and I love them.

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$ 3 Fish Tacos! They’re big, though the actual fish portion is on the smaller side, but overall very delicious. Besides the $ 4 champagne and margaritas, this was the only really good deal here… the rest of the Happy Hour menu, drinks and food, looked like normal prices rather than Happy Hour prices…$ 8 for a caesar salad? $ 10 calamari? But then again, this is downtown La Jolla, one of the most expensive areas of San Diego, and an expensive restaurant… so maybe it is a good deal? Or maybe I’m just too poor…
Gorgeous view of the water if you get the right table. Our server was excellent and very accommodating. If you’re not rich, check out Happy Hour. if you’re rich, check it out any time.

Considering my mom came armed with a groupon, I went in to my casual Christmas eve family lunch here with exceptionally low expectations. I will, however, admit that Crab Catcher far exceeded those expectations on all fronts.
I was a bit surprised that the venue was so empty, considering how pleasant the weather was out. After a couple days worth of drear and gray, I would have guessed that a spate of mostly clear skies would warrant all sorts of patrons flocking to the outdoor dining space overlooking the water here. Surprisingly, it seems like a mere third (or less) of the restaurant held patrons, and we were there through prime dining hours!
While I can’t speak to any of the mains, between the four of my family members, we pretty much sampled almost the entirety of their small plates selection and everything won approval from our group.
I felt the clam chowder was merely acceptable, verging on boring, many of the other dishes really stood out. Try both the ahi tuna and the crab ceviche tacos. The presentation, quality of ingredients, and excellent flavors work for both. The taco shells themselves impressed me for how delicate they were, yet how well they held up to their contents.
Considering the price, I was amazed at how generously portioned the crab cake was. Additionally, when they put a «crab cake» on the menu, they really mean the «crab.» I certainly couldn’t identify excess filler in the cake, and having lived a number of years in the DMV and enjoying many of Maryland crab cake, this one would easily hold its own against its east coast cousins.
To top it all off, our service was quite excellent, and our server, Patrick, was proficient, didn’t appear to treat us any differently considering the use of a groupon, and graciously split dishes at our request without complaint.
Whereas I fully expected Crab Catcher to primarily be a sketchy tourist joint, it ended up impressing me as a place that I would totally return to, even if I had to pay full value. I honestly think the final bill ended up running up to less than I would have guessed. Sure, it’s not cheap, but you get plenty, given what you’re paying — and a grand view of the ocean to boot!

While vacationing in La Jolla, we had a girl’s night out and wanted to grab dinner. Not familiar with this area, we relied on Unilocal!And found this spot right by the ocean. It’s fairly big but to be safe, we did Open Table.
TIP: if you’re on a date, make sure you get the tables with a view! It’s a beautiful view of the La Jolla coastline!
We had: 2 dozen Oysters (really fresh) to start and crab cakes, and dive into the entrée. We ordered to share 2.5 lb lobsters, 2 different kinds of Alaskan King Crab legs (one was orange and one was red)… I found the red one was much sweeter! And it came with a nice corn salsa. Ask them to double crack it, easier to eat. There was also a risotto with scallops special — wasn’t memorable. Definitely go for their seafood, it’s their namesake!
We had drinks as well, think they were generous with their alcohol — my friends had fun being tipsy! LOL
Service was attentive at first but once we got our food, hardly anyone came by to do refills or ask if we needed anything else. That was a bit disappointing.
Overall, worth a visit, I’ve had better king crab legs, would have liked a bigger seafood selection.

3.5 stars. Unilocal was spot on.
Decided to try this place out because of a Groupon. Was it worth trying? with the Groupon, yes.
Food: It was pretty good! better than expected.
Calamari appetizer was great — generous pieces, fried to perfection.
Crab stuffed fish — the crab was good, the bass was decent.
Crab stuffed ravioli — it was very rich, and not too many pieces of ravioli, but was good.
Service: Our sever was great, the busser not so much.
The waiter was very cordial, came to check in on us often, and even brought us a free cake when he found out we were celebrating something! Much appreciated!
The busser however was one of those awkward loomers who just hung around too close and would clear the plates too quickly, or ask if you were finished when you weren’t. Meh.
Atmosphere: At a place like Crab Catcher, planning to sit outside with the view is a must. Unfortunately I regret doing that =/​On the Saturday afternoon we went, it was pretty hot, and even though they have umbrellas covering the entire patio, on a hot day all that warm air creates a sweltering environment. And it smells. Oof.
All in all our experience was pretty good. Nothing blew me away and I don’t know if anything was quite convincing enough to get me to go back.

You want a beautiful view and have some extra $$$ laying around to spend? This is THE place for you!
It was all street parking (that’s downtown La Jolla for ya!) but we were fortunate and found parking within a 5 min walk. Service from the beginning to end was flawless. Our waitress was very informative and came by to check on us often. Even the busboy was nice and kind to us. I wish I caught his name… he deserves a promotion! He was great.
Anyway, onto the food! We started off with two apps:
Fire shrimp & grits: little bit of a kick! shrimp were perfectly cooked. really tasty dish! $ 16
Oven roasted oysters: with bacon, spinach, and parmesan. they know how to do oysters right! we ordered half a dozen for $ 18 or you can get a dozen for $ 28
Entrees:
Scallops: perfectly cooked scallops with potato croquettes with swiss chard and lobster sauce — succulent to say the least! $ 38
Crab stuffed fish: came with seasonal vegetables and farro. very delicious… but not as good as my scallops. $ 34
At this point, we did not have any room whatsoever for dessert. We saw their dessert tray that they bring to patrons to help them decide which one (s) perks their interest. I was eyeing their tiramisu… anyway it was a great experience! A pricey one, but nice for a special occasion.

What an amazing meal from start to finish!
Our server Scott was very friendly, and greeted us right away! Water and bread were brought quickly after! I ordered a Piña Colada, and the hubby ordered a Mai Tai! Both were strong, tasty and cheaper on our bill than in the menu (always a nice surprise)!
Hubby ordered Calamari that was large, well cooked and had a yummy dip to go with it! I am a vegetarian but eat fish from time to time and made an exception this night! It was worth it! If you like calamari this is the place to order it!
For our meal we shared knowing that we wanted to have dessert! We ordered the mixed grill, which on this night worked out perfect for us! It had medium rare ahi tuna with a white sauce, black tiger grilled shrimp, and two perfectly seared scallops. All of these were set on top of a polenta creamed yummy goodness! The scallops were PERFECT inside and just the right seasoning on the outside! The shrimps were large and not overcooked (everyone always likes to kill shrimp), and the Ahi was warm but still rare-​ish inside and the sauce on top was amazing!
During our dinner the waiter Scott was very attentive, personable, and really made the place and experience even better! He was chummy but not too much and stayed at the table just the right amount of time!
For dessert we did the chocolate tort, which was really worth the extra calories! The ice cream melted perfectly on top of the hot chocolate surface!
All and all this place has amazing views, great service, high end finishes, fresh meal selections, and great drinks! I would not miss out on dining at the Crab Catcher if I were you!