In the Know: New Shaking Crab serves Cajun-style seafood in Bonita Springs

Cajun-style seafood dominates the menu for the new Shaking Crab restaurant and bar in Bonita Springs.

The lunch and dinner spot opened Oct. 1 in the former space of Paradise Buffet between Stein Mart and Prado Stadium 12 movie theater in The Prado at Spring Creek retail center off U.S. 41.

The name Shaking Crab may initially conjure up a vision of a nervous crustacean but the term simply means that the seafood is shaken in a bag with spices and garlic butter, said owner Yong “Tommy” Dong, a San Carlos Park resident who also operates The Grand Buffet, an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant he has owned for more than 17 years in the Gulf Gate Plaza on U.S. 41 in East Naples.

“It’s a new style in this area, a new concept,” Dong said.

When the shaken bag of seafood is opened tableside, the aroma of garlic butter and seasonings fills the air, Dong said, noting that the restaurant provides a bib and gloves to diners who want to “get their hands dirty” while eating their meal at tabletops covered with white paper.

“Open the bag and eat it with your hands or it can be put in a bowl and eaten with utensils,” he said. “I love it because you have food and have fun.”

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The “Get Your Hands Dirty” section of the menu includes a pound or half-pound of more than 10 varieties of seafood served with corn and potatoes. Options range from a half-pound of crawfish or clams at $6 to a pound of king crab legs at $33. Other choices include blue crabs, snow crab legs, Dungeness crabs, green or black mussels, lobster tails and shrimp with heads on or off.

Diners also can choose the type of seasoning and heat level. Choices include Cajun, garlic butter, lemon pepper or all of the above. Spice levels include mild, medium, hot and extra hot.

Combo specials, which feature a half pound of each item with corn and potato, include crawfish and shrimp for $13, black mussels and shrimp for $15, snow crab legs and crawfish for $19, and snow crab legs and shrimp for $19. A house special features two pieces of catfish and four each of jumbo shrimp, oysters and scallops for $24.95.

A seafood boil combo for two includes a pound each of snow crab legs, shrimp, crawfish, clams, mussels, corn and potatoes for $65. Oysters are available raw, steamed or Cajun-style at $9 for six or $16 for a dozen.

A variety of fish fillet meals include red snapper, flounder, catfish, tilapia and whiting, as well as scallops and fried oysters and shrimp. The meals, served with coleslaw, fries and hush puppies plus a choice of dipping sauces, range from $8.95 to $12.95, depending on the seafood selected.

The menu also has 8-ounce steaks — a ribeye and a New York strip — served with salad or soup for $12.99 each. Seafood gumbo and clam chowder are available as well as appetizers ($4.25 to $9.95) such as crab cakes, lobster rolls, fried calamari, coconut shrimp and popcorn shrimp.

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There are chicken nuggets, tenders and wings for the kids and desserts feature slices of cake: molten lava, red velvet, lemon coconut and cheesecake.

Lunch specials, featured noon to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, include fried baskets served with coleslaw and fries for $7.99. Options include flounder, tilapia, whiting, shrimp, calamari and chicken tenders.

A three-quarter pound of boiled seafood served with corn and potatoes ranges from $9.50 for clams to $13 for headless shrimp. In between are boiled options for head-on shrimp and black or green mussels.

Chicken wings also are available in six, 10, 15 or 20 counts served with fries and celery. A chalkboard special last week featured lobster, shrimp or fish po’boys with fries.

The more than 200-seat restaurant includes a full liquor bar with at least a dozen seats. Happy hour with two-for-one well drinks is 2 to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. Daily happy hour specials include $5 Margaritas on Mondays, two-for-one draft specials on Tuesdays, 50-cent chicken wings on Wednesdays and domestic bottles of beer two for $6 on Thursdays.

The 6,000-square-foot space of the former buffet was renovated with clean, modern finishes and fish replicas decorating walls.

“We gutted everything,” Dong said. “We put in everything brand new.”

Shaking Crab, 25201 Chamber of Commerce Drive, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. For information or takeout call 239-301-2176 or go to ShakingCrabFL.com.

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