Crustacean Euro Vietnamese Cuisine

It seem as if every table was placed with much thought and with great attention to the feeling of the place. The food was not memorable, but who noticed when the ambience was so dramatic. Pros: Decor, elegance Cons: Price for the quality of food more

I'm not surprised to read some bad reviews from 2008. I'd never been to Crustacean before, but this was my first time and my last. The restaurant is beautiful and the walk on water is nice, but they have tables wedged into places that require a contortionist to navigate! The waitress was nice; she was enthralling with her description about Crustacean's history and the ""secret kitchen"" into which only An family members or employees with 10 years' + experience are allowed. I thought, ""this food should be something!"" We started with a sampler plate. It wasn't ""bad,"" but when I saw that it cost $25 it was!! I mean, really. $25 for a plate of nicely presented appetizers? Our shrimp entree was tough, even the waitress agreed, ""someone overcooked these!"".. she took one back and returned with two, one on the house! Unfortunately, none of the shrimp were remarkable, and the very small portion of garlic noodles... jeepers! Those cost $11.00? I've been to hole-in-the-wall style Vietnamese kitchens in the Mission District in San Francisco where not only do you get a better value, but the food TASTES better, too! The crab was very good, but for $50? Crustacean is overrated and not at all worth the money. Our dinner for two was $200 w/ watered down martinis--my mother could make better and she's 91! I cannot recommend this place. The inside looks great, but spend your money elsewhere and get better value and better taste. The ""secret"" is out: there is nothing so special about Crustacean. Follow up: I note that a reviewer may interpret me for a miser: not at all: I've dined in some of the finest eateries in many countries on six continents; many were much higher priced than Crustacean. Here's a tip: if you pay $1 or $111, it doesn't matter: lousy food is ""lousy."" ""Vietnamese"" is not a trivial cuisine to cook, and poorly made drinks served with equally mediocre food says something about the business, not the diner. Pros: Nice fish under the walkway! I wonder if they would taste better than what I ate... Cons: Whoever did their tasteful interior design should now help improve the taste of the food! more

good lychee martini cocktails. Waiter's crab recommendation was great. The crab was a little oily, but nevertheless, tasty and infused with lots of garlic. The garlic noodles were delicious. If you like lots of garlic in your food, there are lots of selections on the menu. The decor was romantic. The band was a little too loud for my liking. I would have preferred something a little more mellow. Pros: dungeness crab and garlic noodles Cons: loud band, price more

Dood. if your going.. remember your paying for the ambience. Really..you can come to my house and i'll make you the best damn garlic noodles in town..all for $5. I'll even add shrimp in them suckers. Smart Vietnamese people...selling it for 15x the price. So really...if you do get the garlic noodles...get a side of rice...it's bland and salty afer a while. And they should have the host/hostesses in the front be a little more welcoming. C'mon...how ya running your business. Pros: your walking on water woo hoo! Cons: the whole place is a con more

We arrived on time for our reservation and waited for 30 minutes to be seated. while waiting at the bar we were largely ignored by the bartenders who were busy making drinks for the tables while ignoring those at the bar. While seated at the bar we noticed several of the wait staff sampling customers drinks that were waiting to be delivered to tables. One waiter in particular put a straw that had been in his mouth back into a customers drink at least 3 times. Once seated at a lovely table in front of the wait station and half hanging out into the main aisle our poor service began. We asked for a wine list and then our waiter disappeared for about 15 minutes. The bad experience continued from there with the food being nothing more than over spiced, over cooked, under sized portions, of not so special items. The patrons were loud and the band only added to the noise. The organ player had tuned in a sample that sounded, I kid you not, like a fricking accordion. I wasn't paying to be at a bad Polish wedding but thats what it was starting to feel like. Then the highlight came with the bill $480 for dinner for 4 not including tip. Red Lobster was starting to look attractive after this experience. I have no problem with expensive if I'm getting what I'm paying for and this was so far from that kind of quality, it was insulting, I felt robbed. The final insult came with the interminable wait for the valet and a $10 fee with tip for that as well. All I can say is don't bother with Crustacean there are far better places around at half the price and places at this price that are orders of magnitude better. Cons: EXPENSIVE, Poor service, bad food, loud, EXPENSIVE more

The famous crabs are excellent, I would totally recommend the Roasted Garlic Crab. But if you prefer a lighter choice, the Drunken Crab is also great. more

Very simple and good. Enjoyed the garlic crab and noodles. The atmosphere, waiter's and bar tenders-great. The front desk rude and snobby! I have been there a few times and it's always the samething. No prompt seating with or without reservations. Pros: decent more

Went to this place with my boyfriend and his parents and it was one of the best meals I have ever had! The decor is fabulous with a koi aquarium in the floor beneath your feet. The bartenders were nice and attentive while we waited for our table. Once seated our waiter was amazing and made sure we loved everything we got. Definitely order something from the secret kitchen which is a kitchen only family members of the restaurant are allowed inside of, because the lobster and their signature garlic noodles from there are to die for! This place is not a cheap place by any means but if you want to splurge this place is the place to go hands down. One of the best dining experiences of our lives. Pros: beautiful place, amazing food from the secret kitchen, helpful staff Cons: took a bit to be seated, adds up quickly more

It's really expensive for deep fried or microwave food, beautiful place to look and being look at, but if you go for the food, you are in the wrong place. Pros: Nice looking Cons: Deep fried or microwave food. more

Crustacean was really something when it first opened in the '90s, an over-the-top interpretation of Asian seafood in a unique (the underfloor koi-stocked stream trickling through the bar) and quite stunning (the multi-level dining room is warm and comfortable, unlike many of today's glass and concrete morgues). The food was exciting, interesting, fun and expensive, and at the end of the meal you felt like you really experienced something. Pros: Comfortable interior, some interesting dishes Cons: This fish is getting cold more

NOV 21, was my birthday and my lovely girl was taking me out to a fancy restaurant. I have lived in Chicago,NYC and Miami and now reside here in downtown LA. With that said I can definitely give my opinion on fine restaurants that I have had the pleasure of dining. The interior of Crustacean is beautiful, the service is supreme but the food is a RIP OFF. I don't mind paying for delicious food but this was a joke. Not to be mean but the small portions and the average taste left me hungry afterwards. Nothing special about the ""Garlic noodles"" except the price. A couple of empty Lobster tails with 5 pieces of meat on a plate full of noodles $40. Since when did the price of noodles go up? I had the Chilean Sea Bass that was 4 fork servings in size. Our waitress was a doll. . . and very attentive. The band that was playing during our meal should have been in a pool hall tavern. They lacked the style to accommodate such a stylish room. Pros: Service, Interior Design Cons: Average food more

I just finished my first meal at the restaurant. I'm disappointed. Let me start off by saying that if you are not from los angles or unaccustomed to a ""dining experience"" then Crustacean still may interest you. The famed decor is actually quite impressive, the service and people watching are both excellent. The drinks are surprisingly strong. Pros: Ambience, service, desert Cons: entrees, value, small selection more

First and foremost, I have to give this place an A+ for decor. Really, it has an incredible ambience and yet you feel like you have so much privacy. The service and staff was also an A+- they were all so attentive. However, I was underwhelmed by some of the food. The garlic noodles were of course, delicious. I also got the Roasted Crab (which was enormous and messy- but you can pay an extra $9 to de-crab- I should've done that) but I didn't think it was any better than any other Vietnamese or seafood restaurant I had been to. Also, the food got cold right away so it wasn't entirely enjoyable to eat. The yellowtail for an appetizer is also recommended (soooo good.) Of all the dishes I tried, I think I liked the Tiger Prawns best (and it comes with the garlic noodles!) We ended with the coconut cake which has a delicious filling. Overall, a good exeperience, but I was looking to be Wowed and I wasn't entirely. Pros: Yellowtail, garlic noodles, decor, and SERVICE Cons: Not worth the price more

Aside from feeling like an idiot that I thought I would fall into the stream (didn't see the glass), I loved this restaurant. more

I was fortunate enough to have eaten here for free one evening a few years back -- the tab was picked up by some company that was trying to schmooze my former employer. The restaurant itself is amazing, with water flowing under your feet on the first floor and a great overhead view from the second floor. The open-air design of the building and the tasteful decor set the mood for what will most likely be one of L.A.'s top ""Pan-Asian""/seafood restaurants. The service was impeccable, even for our high-maintenance party of about 8 or so. The food was delicious -- try as many different things as you can if you get the chance. Crustacean also has a very impressive cognac / brandy / rum selection in their dessert menu for smooth sipping as you reflect back on the one or two C-notes you just dropped on dinner. Enjoy! Pros: Upscale ambiance, excellent food, impeccable service. Cons: Beyond expensive. more

To start, great location and easy parking. Valet service available and a garage directly across the street with a $2 flat rate. On entering, beautiful surroundings including the underfoot aquarium leading to a large two story main dining area that is not expected from the smaller entrance. Beautifully done interior, simple, not overly creative or unique but charming. The server was knowlegable and told an interesting history of the restaurant which enhanced our anticipation. Drinks came relatively quickly after some prompting minus one which was forgotten but soon remedied. The appetizer plate with the beef skewer, chicken dumplings, crab puffs and coconut shrimp was 'ok'. The beef was luke warm at best, cheaper cut, the puffs burnt at the ends and the shrimp tough and over fried. Dipping sauces were nice but nothing extraordinary. The highlight of the meal was the appetizer special lobster salad which was decent. Nice greens and veggies with a miso soy type dressing that is familiar to anyone that has had chinese take-out. The over-hyped grilled crab was some of the worst I've had. It was absolutely soaked in oil which overtook any other flavorings that may have been present. I literally went through 4 steamed napkins trying to keep my fingers degreased. I honestly felt it was something you would get at Red Lobster. My friend's entrees were ok, the seabass being nice and predictable. Nothing I haven't had many times before. The beef tenderloin overdone, no more flavorful than the skewer. As for the garlic noodles... pasta with lots of oil and some garlic. That's it. And that is the Signature Dish! The chinese place around the corner has a similar dish for $7. Wow. Very typical of LA I guess. Lots of hype surrounding something that gets a 'C' in comparison to places I've frequented both here and New York for a quarter of the price. Will not be returning and recommend you go elsewhere to spend that much of your hard earned money on a meal. more

I went to the original when I lived in SF- at the beach, then its expansion to Union Square-not even sure if that still exists..but have now been living in LA for 6 years and cannot believe I hadn't eaten at the BH one until 2 months ago! My loss!! The food is absolutely delicious!! Go simple...crab & garlic noodles (someone at the table MUST get it) my husband prefers..tiger prawns & gn...you CANNOT go wrong nor will you break the bank with these orders! Go authentic and wash down with vietnamese beer . If you are still hungry, get the fried bananas/plantains...I also recommend sitting in the backroom/or the balcony for dinner..front room is a scene.. if you prefer a scene ask for a canopy table by the live jazz band... great happy hour-try some small dishes, have a beer, listen to music..downside-slight delay on table that I don't think was necessary, valet can be really tough, still smell a bit garlicky.. Pros: Food , Service, Live Music Cons: Valet more

Decor here is pretty awesome. The glass walk way with the lit up koi pond underneath is something to see.... more

Decor here is pretty awesome. The glass walk way with the lit up koi pond underneath is something to see. The food is over-rated. The braised sh... more

Service was great, seating arrangements were kindly accomodated. Interior of the restaurant is very nice,... more