Crab Hut Mira Mesa

Crab Hut in Mira Mesa is finally open! My family has been waiting for this place to open for quite a while and they've been asking me to go with them since their soft opening a week ago. The place was packed when we went this past Wednesday. From what we've been told, it was much busier on the first day.

There are not that many restaurants in the Mira Mesa area that have a full liquor bar. This place has plenty of seating and cheap $3 craft beer specials during happy hour (M-F 2-6).

Oyster bar on the back half of the drink bar. There's even a person standing by to shuck oysters fresh right there for you! Select oysters are $1 each during happy hour and all day Tuesdays!

An octopus battling a whale? Who will win?! My stomach that's who. Yumm...

They did a great job decorating this place. It's a large space and they filled it with interesting props and art.

On Wednesdays there is a chicken wing special for fifty cents per wing. These light and crispy wings are not really that meaty but still a good size for an appetizer. The default wings come in a hot sauce. Unfortunately for me, I came to this restaurant with two people who did not enjoy spicy food and I had to get the regular wings.

Our waitress was kind enough to bring a side of the sauce for me to dip it in. In the end, I preferred the wings without the hot sauce. But one thing you can do is dip the wings into the lemon and salt and pepper mix for a different kind of flavor.

Your typical seafood weapons of war. The shell breaker and meat pick. They also give you a bib and latex gloves if you don't want to get messy.

Don't know what to order? Get the Seafood Bucket! An incredible variety of seafood that feeds two to three people and makes for a great sampler. I recommend getting a bowl of rice so that you can take advantage of the sauce at the bottom of the bag.

This entree includes "King Crab Leg, Snow Crab Cluster, Shrimp, Crawfish, Mussels, Clams, Potatoes, Corn on the Cob and Sausages mixed in Crab Hut's addictive Full House Sauce." The bag doesn't look that big but once you start going at it for a while you'll realize just how much there really is. 

All items were pretty good. The only downside of course is that it is all flavored the same since it is all cooked together. The broth started out just right but slowly my mouth began to feel the spices.

The King Crab legs were huge and simple to eat. Usually I'd break the shell and eat a section at a time but the meat on these stayed intact while sliding out of the shells. Maybe I was just lucky. The Snow Crab legs are something I'm usually more accustomed to so nothing out of the extraordinary for me.

I can't recall the last time I had crawfish but it's just like how I remember - too much trouble for so little meat! It tasted great but I'll probably have to pass next time. The shrimp were decently sized too though you have to break the shell yourself. Mussels were tasty but not enough in quantity. This is a sampler so I can't really complain. For some reason I don't recall eating any clams. I'm sure Lynn and my mom grabbed them all before I could get to them!

Even though it's just a side, the corn was surprisingly yummy. Unfortunately the potato was the least interesting since the sauce didn't penetrate past the skin. You have to break it apart and mash it into the sauce. The sausages were nice and give the meal some contrast.

It's always great when new restaurants open up in Mira Mesa, especially since we won't have to venture far for good eats. We've only sampled two items from the menu but there's more we need to try. With an excellent happy hour and daily specials, we might find ourselves here quite often. Or at least, I might sneak in after work for some grub before Lynn gets home!

*update* happy hour visit

$6 cocktails and $3 draft beers. The prices can't be beat and there's a decent selection on tap!

$1 oysters seem fresh enough but aren't too big. Plenty of brininess to them.

$4 Sausage Sliders taste fine but are a bit underwhelming.

$3 Crab Poppers are piping hot when they come out, light fried breading with a creamy filling. Seemed to have a hint of heat in them.

More 50 cent wings! Reminds Lynn of Wings N Things.