The Boiler Steam Kettle Cooking - Chino Hills, California

MiTom P.

I recently explored this place, and had a delightful experience. The ambiance is warm and inviting, with the unique touch of watching the chef cook right in front of you using steam kettles.

The food was surprisingly good, exceeding my expectations. I initially ordered an IPA, but they were out. However, the waitress offered a double IPA that wasn't on the menu, which was a pleasant surprise.

I tried the house pan roast, and it was delicious—I devoured every bite. The shrimp scampi was a bit soupier than I expected, as I'm used to a more traditional pasta dish, but it was still enjoyable. The Cajun crab cakes were also quite good.

Overall, my meal was a satisfying culinary adventure. I would definitely recommend giving this place a try!

Marc R.

The Boiler is one of the best steam kettle cooking restaurants I have ever been to. If you enjoy cajun/creole seafood, you have to try out The Boiler in Chino Hills. I always take out-of-town visitors here because it's a unique dining experience that you really can't find in too many places.

The best dishes to order at the Boiler are:

* House pan roast (lunch price: $17.50; dinner price: $28.00): this is the main dish that everyone comes to The Boiler for. It has shrimp, scallops, crab, and clams in a tomato cream based sauce. It is absolutely delicious. You choose a spice level between 1-10. There are spice levels aren't that bad at the restaurant - I normally go with a 7, and it's just enough spice. You can also ask for the scoop of rice on the side if you don't want it inside of your bowl when it's served.

* Fisherman's chowder (lunch price: $17.50; dinner price: $27.50): if you like New England claw chowder, this is the option for you. This chowder has calamari, shrimp, scallops, crab, mussels, and white fish in the creamy chowder sauce.

* Shrimp diablo (lunch price: $16.50; dinner price: $24.00): large prawns in a white wine, garlic butter, olive oil, and spicy tomato sauce served over linguini. Delicious texture that pairs perfectly with the noodles.

* Cajun calamari appetizer ($12.00): I always order the cajun calamari to start. It's a large appetizer order, good enough for 3-4 people to share. The cocktail sauce with the horseradish that it's served with is a delicious complement to the calamari sticks.

* Cajun fries ($6.50): When I am extra hungry, I get the cajun fries on the side. I love dipping them into the house pan roast as well.

I've tried all of the main entrees on their menu, and can say that the house pan roast, fisherman's chowder, and shrimp diablo are the best options. I've had better jambalaya and gumbo elsewhere, so stick with the options I listed above.

The staff is extremely friendly. Try to get a spot in front of the steam kettles so you can see how the chefs prepare each dish. It's really fun to observe and ask questions too!

Jeffery S.

The only place I have had Pan Roast is in Las Vegas and it was delicious but let me tell you The Boiler is so much better. In Vegas its always a 2 to 3 hours wait time but at The Boiler you can sit at the bar or grab a table. The employees are friendly and the food makes you happy. My wife and I shared the shrimp scampi and the house pan roast. The flavors in the house pan roast was absolutely amazing! The shrimp scampi was good but too light of a dish for me. There are so many other dishes, I can't wait to try them all. If you're ever in the Chino Hills area you should definitely check this place out. And always remember Thank You For The Food!

Nancy L.

This place is comparable to the steam kettle place in Temple City. Despite the they were short staffed. The waitress was super attentive and kept on refilling our drinks. A+++ to her. The only thing I wish they did do is provide more rice. The rice and sauce ratio was off; I had only one ice cream scoop of rice and with plenty of sauce. As for the cioppino entree's noodle was the right portion. Overall, I would come back.

K W.

There was no one in the restaurant hardly and they have this rule on weekends that they cannot seat two people at a four-top but if there's nobody in the restaurant then it should be doable. I had the linguine with clams and it was not a sauce it was more of a soup and so the sauce didn't stick to the pasta. it wasn't the best, they needed to try to thicken the sauce because it runny. The sauce had broken and it was like they didn't know how to fix it or they didn't try to fix it.The fried oysters we're very bland and they weren't cooked long enough; they only had ranch dressing, they didn't have blue cheese for the sweet potato fries so they didn't have a lot of different condiments. The service was okay but it could have been way better seeing as there weren't that many people in the restaurant. If they showed more care for their food then it would be better.

Jane D.

This place was delicious, nice atmosphere, and the customer service was great. I'm not a fan of seafood and our server helped me decide what other options I had like chicken or sausage. My friends and I ate here and all of our dishes were good. I ordered the chicken gumbo (picture on the left) and it was delicious. The meat & vegetable portion was perfect.

Precious

This was our second time here the last time was about four years ago. The service is still good and so is the food. I like that you get to choose your spice level. It looks a lot like the oyster bar at the Palace station in Las Vegas but no where near as good as the one in Vegas bit a good substitute if you can't make it to Vegas.

Tila

Hands down the Best Pan Roast in the area. They used to have lobster in the house pan roast, but not anymore. All good, so much flavor still and loaded with other goodies (shrimp, crab, clams, scallops). Expect slow service, but the employees are working hard and understaffed. Be nice.