Crackin' Kitchen Waikiki

Crackin’ Kitchen is located in a busy shopping center with lots of foot traffic, but the restaurant itself wasn’t too crowded when we came. Prices are definitely on the higher side, but the food and sauces were interesting — definitely something different from what we’ve tried before.

The only downside was that a lot of the mussels and clams were closed, so we couldn’t eat those. Overall, it was an okay experience — unique flavors, but not sure I’d rush back for the price.

The wait staff attempted Credit Card fraud by overcharging my credit card. I visited the Crackin Kitchen restaurant on the 3rd floor of the International Market Place in Waikiki on Wednesday September 17 between 7-9 pm.

I was traveling solo, so I ordered a glass of red wine and the crab fried rice which came to about $40 and I added an $8 tip despite being ignored the entire visit.

I planned on adding mussels to my order but the waiter never returned to my table to check on me or to ask if I was OK. I never received a glass of water or anything. He only returned to my table to drop off the rice, at which time I informed him that I wanted to order something else but since he never came back to check on me, I asked for a carryout box so I could leave the restaurant.

I packed up my food and proceeded to the counter to pay for my wine and crab rice which came to about $40. Again, I added a $8 tip but my Chase credit card was charged $72.70.

I knew something wasn’t right in the first place (red flag) when I first walked in and the waitress looked at me and simply said “Menu?,” then she quickly handed me a menu and walked away. She never asked me how many people were in my party or if I wanted to be seated, she just walked away from me and started whispering to the other waiter.

I was seated and waited on by a tall gentleman who also was very dismissive. As I reviewed the menu I turned it over to read the back and he said “ oh don’t worry about that ..it’s in Japanese,” at which time I kindly informed him that I was visiting from Japan and have lived in the country for 8 years.

The waitstaff made certain assumptions about me being a solo African American traveler and then proceeded to overcharge my credit card for 1 glass of wine and crab rice. Do not patronize this restaurant. The wait staff attempted Credit Card Fraud. My bill was $48, but they charged me $72.70. The manager covered it up by refunding the tip.

The crab was not seasoned and two snow crabs for $60 per pound. My thoughts was about 3-4 crabs

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

The two fried chicken sandwiches we ordered came out burnt, but after another 25 minutes the second round of sandwiches were very good. The fish sandwich was very good. Garlic shrimp and nachos were mediocre. Served Aliya did a good job. Overall good food, not worth the price though.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

After waiting an hour for our food, it came out absolutely inedible. My husband was able to eat some, but it tasted like straight up soap. We ordered the combo with 3 different flavors, and all 3 tasted like soap. I am a crab leg LOVER, so I was very shocked to find out I couldn’t even finish a single crab leg. I’ve never been not able to eat crab legs, this is definitely a first. Very disappointing especially after spending $130. Seafood in Tennessee is 100000 times better than this, and that’s saying something. Please avoid this place, a tourist trap at its finest.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

We arrived when the restaurant was empty and still had to wait forever. Drinks weren’t filled. People in our party were overlooked when ordering. We had to ask for their orders to be taken, then they never received their food. Seafood was overcooked. Will definitely not be returning.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

Ordered the fish and chips ,they took a half of a piece fish cut it in half so I got 2 very small pieces of fish no taste and it was also like rubber with a plate of fries,I felt like I had been robbed when I got back to my hotel. Twenty four dollars wasted.

Food: 1

Service: 4

Food was so bad and so overpriced.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 3

Slightly overpriced, but the food was good!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

Servers were very attentive and helpful. But they advertised cajin gumbo. There was nothing cajin about the gumbo. It was more of a stew with a side of rice. Portions were very small. No cajin seasoning or seafood in the so called gumbo. Very unsatisfied. Will not return

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

My son wanted me to treat me to a dinner i never had. We started with a not welcoming waiter. We asked for hot water as we were having some coughing problems and the waiter just brushed it off saying it will take a while. We decided on the seafood combo. . When it was served onthe table it really looked like a mess. My son and I just looked at each other like what is this? The potato tasted funny, it had 3 small shrimps 2 corn, 2 or 3 cubes of spam and a small half of prawn. It was salty and disappointing considering that it was pricy at 90$. We had a small
Cup of gumbo as. An appetizer and that was probably the best of what we ordered.
The whole order cost us almost $200 with tip . We were totally disappointed and
Will not go back again.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

We had a very poor experience here. We ordered their fresh squeezed watermelon juice, their signature combo, and a side of fries. We should have left after being served sour, rancid watermelon juice… the seafood boil was bitter, salty, definitely not fresh, and just disgusting. The final nail in the coffin was this rotten, deflated shrimp we found (see attached). The only thing remotely acceptable was the fries, but we were scared to eat it given the health and safety standards we witnessed. When we brought this up, the restaurant only wanted to comp 20% saying that the owners are stingy. The bill was still $137 for food we didn’t really eat. We further disputed the bill and they comped the boil. We ended up paying $27 for the fries and the 3 juices.
We are getting on a plane tomorrow, so hopefully we do not get sick from this, unlike some of the other customers had experienced.
DO NOT GO HERE.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

It was terrific! My girlfriend and I were trying to figure out what to order based on what we wanted. The server made a suggestion to save us money and get us most of what we wanted. Everything we tried was very tasty. We'll probably order it a little hotter next time since the normal wasn't spicy at all. But that is not a bad thing. It was all so good! Service was great.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Shrimp, Lobster, Clams, Sausage, Snow Crab Combo, French Fries, Mild

Incredible!! 100% would recommend, the watermelon margaritas will be a hit! We had two!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Really good but expensive.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5