The crew at The Kickin’ Crab Orange, including (back, from left) Roy and Kenny (front, from left) Zedric, Manager Jayson Mai and Miguel, indulge in their menu’s seafood boil.  Mai, who started with the restaurant chain as a server more than 12 years ago, has now assisted with bringing nine new store locations to The Kickin’ Crab family. 

- - - -

The Kickin’ Crab 

At the start of this year, The Kickin’ Crab expanded farther into Orange County and opened its 32nd location, this time in Old Towne.  The Cajun seafood restaurant opened in the space that previously held Hector’s on the Circle at the end of January.

“We’re looking for new regulars who love our vibe,” says The Kickin’ Crab Supervisor Dawn Nguyen.  “We want you to share, and we want you to get messy. Kids have fun eating with their hands, and that’s just what you do here: get messy and have fun.”

The Kickin’ Crab, established in Santa Ana in 2010, is known for its distinct style of seafood boil where guests wear bibs and eat with their hands.  Diners select items like shrimp, mussels, clams, crab, lobster and crawfish in flavor-packed bags, or choose plated options, including seafood scampi.

“Our most popular dish is the heads-off shrimp, which makes it easy for customers to enjoy the seafood,” says Jayson Mai, who manages the Old Towne location.

The Kickin’ Crab team is also recognizing that some customers want to try the dining experience without the usual hands-on process, and is starting to accommodate more options for customers.

“We have fun ideas to help the community, especially in Orange, enjoy our menu more and make things more approachable for them,” says Mai.  “We just introduced a new soft-shell crab taco dish to start.”

Mai emphasizes that spice levels can be adjusted and encourages those who are hesitant about spicy foods to not be put off by the menu.

“The great thing about our dishes is that we can modify them to whatever spice level customers are comfortable with,” he says.  “A lot of customers may think our Cajun food is too spicy for them, but we are very flexible and want to give new customers a chance to try our seafood.”

The restaurant also features a full bar, the first Southern California Kickin’ Crab location to do so.  The team is looking forward to learning more about the background of Old Towne to make the new location distinct.

“The community has been really receptive to a new restaurant, which is great,” says Mai.  “Everyone has been filling me in on the history of Orange and the location.  It’s pretty cool that we’ve been given this blessing and support from the start.”

The Kickin’ Crab
116 East Chapman Ave., Old Towne Orange, CA 92866  /  714-363-3007