Crab, Lobster or Shrimp? What to Order at Crab Boil for 1, 2 or a Group

Crab Boil Menu Guide • Updated August 2026

Opening a seafood boil menu sounds easy until you actually have to order. Do you spend your budget on snow crab or get more shrimp? Is lobster worth choosing instead? If two people are sharing, should you order a crab-focused combo, a lobster-focused combo or one that gives you a little of everything?

At Crab Boil, those decisions can lead to very different meals. The menu ranges from a half-pound Shrimp Boil to larger combinations packed with crab, lobster tails, shrimp, mussels and calamari.

So instead of asking only, “What is the best seafood boil?”, start with three simpler questions: how many people are eating, which seafood do you actually want, and how much variety do you want on the table?

Start With the Number of People, Not the Seafood

It is tempting to begin by choosing crab, lobster or shrimp. For most people, however, party size is an easier starting point.

A solo diner does not necessarily need several pounds of mixed seafood. Two people have combinations specifically designed for sharing. Once you reach three people or a larger group, shrimp-heavy and mixed seafood packages begin to make more sense.

What Can One Person Order at Crab Boil?

A seafood boil does not automatically mean ordering a huge sharing platter. Crab Boil has several realistic solo choices at very different price points.

Crab Dose vs Mix Boil vs Lobster Dose: What Should Two People Order?

This is where the Crab Boil menu becomes particularly useful for comparison. Three two-person choices currently sit within only a few dollars of each other.

Choose Crab Dose If Crab Is the Priority

The Mississauga Crab Dose currently includes three crab clusters, 1 lb shrimp and ½ lb mussels, with rice, potatoes and corn.

If both diners came specifically for crab legs, it can make more sense than paying slightly more simply to add lobster variety.

View Crab Dose →

Choose Mix Boil If Nobody Can Agree

For a first Crab Boil visit, the Mix Boil may be the easiest recommendation when both diners want to sample several parts of the menu.

At Mississauga it currently includes:

• one lobster tail;
• two crab clusters;
• 1 lb shrimp;
• ½ lb mussels;
• rice;
• potatoes;
• corn.

That means one order introduces the table to lobster, crab, shrimp and mussels.

View Mix Boil →

Choose Lobster Dose If Lobster Is the Priority

Lobster Dose currently combines two lobster tails with shrimp and mussels.

You lose the crab component found in Mix Boil, but your money is directed more heavily toward lobster.

View Lobster Dose →

What Should 2–3 People Order?

Which Crab Boil Combo Is Better for a Group?

View Boil Lovers  •  View Boil Party  •  View King’s Catch  •  View Ocean’s Bounty

Snow Crab, Lobster or Shrimp: Which One Should You Choose?

Choose Snow Crab If You Want the Crab-Leg Experience

Snow crab makes sense when cracking crab legs is actually part of what you want from the meal.

You get a slower, more hands-on experience than simply eating a bowl of shrimp, and the crab meat becomes the main reason for ordering.

Choose Lobster If You Want the Premium Seafood to Lead

Lobster creates a different kind of meal. Instead of several smaller shell sections, lobster tails provide larger concentrated pieces of seafood.

That makes Lobster Boil and Lobster Dose especially useful when lobster itself is the reason for your visit.

Choose Shrimp If You Want More Eating and Less Cracking

Shrimp is one of the most straightforward seafood choices on the menu and appears throughout Crab Boil’s combinations.

It works naturally beside crab, lobster, mussels and calamari and gives a table many more individual pieces to share.

If you care about the sauce as much as the shellfish, more shrimp can sometimes be more satisfying than spending the entire budget on premium crab.

Is King Crab Worth Adding?

King crab is a different budget decision because it is sold by weight, and pricing and size can vary by location.

The better question is not simply whether king crab is “better” than snow crab.

For someone specifically craving larger king-crab pieces, the premium can make sense.

For a group trying to maximize seafood variety, a Mix Boil, Crab Time, King’s Catch or Ocean’s Bounty may make better use of the same total budget.

Because king crab prices can change and already differ between location menus, check the current menu before ordering.

What Comes With a Crab Boil?

Many Crab Boil combinations are served with:

• white rice;
• potatoes;
• corn.

Some meals also include sausage.

Rice gives you something to combine with remaining sauce, potatoes add a heavier bite between pieces of seafood, while corn brings sweetness and catches the sauce.

You can also customize many orders with extras such as eggs, broccoli, corn, potato, rice, sausage, garlic bread, extra sauce, shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, crawfish, calamari and octopus.

What Can You Get at Different Budgets?

What If Someone at the Table Doesn’t Want a Seafood Boil?

A seafood-boil restaurant can be a difficult group decision when one person does not want to spend the evening cracking shells. Crab Boil’s menu goes considerably beyond boiled seafood.

Mississauga, North York or Ottawa: Choose the Menu for Your Location

Crab Boil currently has ordering menus for three Ontario locations. The core menu is similar, but quantities, descriptions, products and prices can vary.

So, What Should You Actually Order?

Frequently Asked Questions