Cajun seafood restaurant opens in Midway

There’s a new crustacean in town in the Midway District: King Crab.

The new seafood eatery recently opened in the mall at 3960 W. Point Loma Blvd. in the remodeled space previously housing Soup Plantation, which closed during the pandemic.

Exterior view of King Crab at 3960 W. Point Loma Blvd. in Midway.

Its Louisiana-style menu features a plethora of seafood and other delights including: Blue, Stone, King, Snow and Dungeness crab, lobster tail, scallops, calamari, oysters, shrimp, crawfish, catfish, green and black mussels, clams, clam chowder and shrimp cocktail.

On the origin of King Crab, co-owner Jenny Ipek, also a real estate broker who is from a family of restaurateurs, noted she and her husband, Engin, both “love food.” She added they “went everywhere on vacation” looking for just the right place to fulfill their dream of one day owning a restaurant. “We went to Louisiana more than 10 years ago and loved their culture, gumbo, all the seasonings – everything,” she said adding they thought, “Wow, this is so awesome. We don’t have any similar restaurants in San Diego. So we took this (Midway) location as our first in San Diego.”

Ipek noted she and Engin had been eyeing the former Soup Plantation’s large and open buffet space, which could accommodate all of their needs including providing room for wedding and birthday parties, wedding showers and group meetings. The new restaurant has a 224-seat capacity including outdoor patios, which will be opened next spring with warmer weather.

“We have a lot of dining tables for guests and our food concept is all Louisiana-style seafood where you can ‘get your hands dirty.’ It’s so much fun when you eat with your hands with gloves on,” Ipek said.

Mitch, Kristi Kulosa, Jaya and Zoey Patel from Pacific Beach enjoyed a seafood lunch recently at King Crab.

That was clearly evidenced on a recent Friday afternoon as the visiting Patel family from Pacific Beach dined, wearing bibs and gloves, on a medley of seafoods.

Crab King has a beer and wine license. “We also have margaritas, mojitos, smoothies and Boba tea,” Ipek added.

The eatery’s website at kingcrabca.com says it offers the “absolute best Cajon seafood boil combining our signature spice blend with the freshest, juiciest and tastiest seafood you will find anywhere.”

All menu items at King Crab include potatoes and corn, according to the website, which points out there are special spices to choose from such as Cajun, lemon pepper and garlic butter. “We can vary the heat level to suit any tastes,” states the website.

Ipek said King Crab offers 50% off all drinks during happy hour Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. “We do a lot of catering and customers can order their food for take-out and delivery from our website without paying extra money,” she added.

“It’s (crab) getting so popular right now,” said Ipek of similar, smaller crab and seafood-style restaurants sprouting up around San Diego, some of which have limited parking.

A crab boil at this Midway eatery. (Photo courtesy King Crab)

“For us, we have a huge parking space,” noted Ipek, adding they are also happy to serve patrons attending sporting events, like San Diego Gulls hockey at the nearby Sports Arena.

“It is something we can do for the community to support each other,” pointed out Ipek, who added they’ve gotten a positive response from clientele on their food offerings. “Everything looks so yummy to them,” she said about their guests trying new seafoods, or Louisiana staples like Po-Boy sandwiches. “They say, ‘I’ve never had this before. I’m so glad you guys are here. Now I have a restaurant where I know where to go for my dinner or lunch,’” concluded Ipek,

A second King Crab location is coming soon with the same business concept somewhere in North San Diego County.