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Category: Cajun/Creole
Neighborhood: International DistrictMon-Fri. 2:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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I drive by this place everyday when I go to work literally, but tonight was my first time giving it a try since they opened!
My list of make it or break it.
Pros:
#1 Very unique mixture of spices for added ingredient in their sauce, but tasty
#2 Fun adventure definately ahead if we're getting bibs.
#3 Relatively cheap for the amount of food we were getting
Cons:
#1 Front of menu stated there is atuesday special which is a lie! The waitress just said that all they had was buy 5lbs of crawfish and get 1lb free! BIG FCUKIN WOOP!
#2 Never tried crawfish before in my life until my first sample which looked like a pretty good size crawfish(steroids HGH) compared to the actual order size we got!
#3 Restaurant must be Asian owned because our waitress was quick to take our order then after our food arrived she didn't come check on us at all until we were practically done with our dinner.
To summarize my dinner, I would probably still come back but not for their Crawfish.
I am still wreaking of garlic as I write this review! And that was 4 days ago! I kid, I kid. But I do warn you that your pores will be spilling with garlic for at least 12 hours after you eat at Crawfish King!
My boyfriend and I ordered 2 lbs of crawfish with the "big easy/crazy" sauce. It also came with a few potatoes, half of a corn-on-the-cob, and a few pieces of sausage. They could be a little more generous with that stuff I think... Anyway I have never eaten crawfish before, so I didn't realize that you can only get an inch of meat after all that work to crack the body open! haha! I love interactive foods, so it was still fun but I was also still hungry afterward and felt like I needed a burger to compensate. It was a little too spicy for me because I am pretty weak when it comes to spices. I'd be open to going back to CK, but I think I'll order something different or at least order it Cajun style/lil crazy.
I hope that I can write a better review after the next visit.
It's worth a try though. =)
I've been back five times in less than three months. That's pretty good considering it's a bit of a drive and it's not something I would normally crave. However, Crawfish King has become my favorite place to get seafood (at least in the shellfish variety).
We always get shrimp and king crab with the "Big Easy" sauce in the "Lil easy" spice level. The seafood is steamed perfectly and the meat is tender and juicy, not overcooked or rubbery at all (my biggest pet peeve about seafood). The sauce is the real kicker... it's spicy, garlic-y, lemon-y.... just AWESOME. The food comes out super fast and is piping hot! The cajun fries are the best seasoned fries EVER. We usually end up getting two orders of them because they're so tasty. The wings and gumbo are also delish! YUM.
A satisfying and fun meal that surprisingly doesn't feel too heavy. We'll be back very soon!
To sum it up, I was blown away.
When my brother (Patrick L.) suggested it, I envisioned something…
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Ahhh YA man! this place is crazy good. I'm still stuffed man. great crawfish. sucks ya gotta go to china town for it. But hey, isn't all the good stuff hiding in china town.
I came in tonight with my boyfriend after reading the Yelp reviews. We were greeted right away by the nice waitress and seated immediately.
The interior was unlike anything I expected, very well decorated, seeing as though it is right in the middle of China town, I expected it to be a bit more...dirty. The furniture was "log-esque" kind of reminded me of being in a big wooden shack on the beach, only it was in Seattle and in the middle of a huge thunderstorm.
I asked the waitress how many pounds we should order and she said she usually eats 4 lbs on her own. My first thought was "wow this little lady can eat!" but sure enough she was right. We ordered 3 lbs of the craw fish with the "house" seasoning and were going to decide later whether or not we wanted to order more (which we did;one pound) It had tons of garlic and was heavily spiced. YUM. We got the Crazy sauce, which was a little bit spicy but you could still taste the flavor of the craw fish.
My boyfriend also got a side of the gumbo. It was good but I've had better.
If you love seafood and aren't afraid to get messy then you should visit this place. The staff is very friendly (This place is owned by Vietnamese people) and the place is nice and clean
I debated whether or not to give this place one more try before writing a review and I will sadly not be back. We ordered 2lbs of crawfish and only ate about 1 ounce of actual meat. Yes 1 ounce! You literally get a 1/2-inch piece of meat from them. We only ordered one 'lil crazy' spicy flame and it was hot as hell! My gut was ON FIRE, but at least it made me eat slower. If the crawfish was this disappointing, I don't even want to try the other shellfish. On a brighter note, all the other deep fried goodies ordered were quite tasty. Fried orka, hot wings and the boudin balls were right on. Oh and we tried the beignets which weren't really "beignets" but way-too-thick and large pieces of fried dough. Even the deep fryer couldn't save these.
When I heard there was a new Crawfish place in town I had sudden flash backs and images of boiling crab from SoCal....so I HAD to try it out! I took my friend for her bday and we ended up going in early Aug which surprisingly turned out to be the "last" day of Crawfish season. So sad. Thankfully they still had fresh Crawfish.
We ordered a few pounds of the Crawfish with "The Big Easy" house sauce and shrimp. This place is great in terms of "Seattle", but overall compared to similar places the boil spices are light, not as flavorful as they could be, the price is pretty expensive and they weigh out the portions "exactly".
The staff was very nice and even cooked us up an order of sweet potato fries which were NOT on the menu. After we ordered it we convinced them to put it on their future menu. I haven't checked if it's on there or not.
One other observation I made was that the Crawfish they ship in is of a certain breed with extremely hard and brittle shells, I don't know if this was because it was at the end of the season, but they were not very tasty. They were old and small. Hopefully this was because it was the end of the season and they get their Crawfish shipment from a different place now.
I'd give this place another shot before I completely rule it out.
With a industrial-sized sink in the bathroom almost big enough to shower in, you know things are going to get messy.
Started with some fried oysters and cajun fries. The oysters were big, but fairly bland. The fries had an nice crispy, coating of seasoning.
Following were two pounds of crawfish, one with Rajun Cajun sauce, the other with Big Easy (rajun cajun plus more butter and spices) sauce. Both were lip tingling spicy at the "crazy" and so delicious that I searched frantically for more food items to rub around the inside of the bag.
The crawfish themselves were moist and tasty, but I'll need to go back now that I've had a practice round. I felt I missed out on a lot of meat, just because it took a while for me to figure out the best method of getting the goods out.
I had a great time, the service was quick and attentive and it's fun to attack a pile of food with your hands.
The main downside was the dinky portion of sausage and corn that came with the crawfish. Yes, it's a nice bonus, but at least give two pieces of each when there's two people.
Also, watch out for that third squeeze bottle, that is butter.
I'll be back.
Could it be that they have failed me?
The last time I went it was not as good. I was not happy with my food and got all excited for nothing, and I did not feel like I got my money's worth because it's far from cheap. SAD... so so sad... Where do I go now for Cajun Seafood in Seattle? ='( *tear*
I went again yesterday for the second time in the pouring rain.
* - The Laker and Denver game was…
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What can I really say to add to my little sister's review directly below? Prior to eating here, I hadn't read any reviews, but had heard great things from friends. There's a well known place in LA called Boiling Crab that has been around for a few years, and is almost exactly the same. I'm just glad we have something like this in our area. The only complaint is that you get a small piece of corn on the cob, a couple pieces of andouille sausage, and one russet potato for each 2lbs. of crawfish you order. They should change this to the way it is at Boiling crab, where you get a portion of those sides when you order a certain poundage of anything (crab, clams, lobster, etc...) not just crawfish. It's kind of ridiculous to make each of those items a side item.
The Crab Pot is the closest thing we had previously, but it doesn't even remotely compare. Their only sauce is melted butter on the side, and the only flavor is some dry cajun seasoning sprinkled on top.
Great service, good location, and a nicely decorated restaurant. It was also clean, which is a rarity in Chinatown. I do wish the prices were a little better, so that I could eat here more often than I foresee actually happening.
I've been around this crawfish craze, hitting a few places in SoCal, Vegas, and SF. So I'm not one to say no to when I learned Seattle opened up a place!
Our party of three, we started off with two pounds of crawfish ($8.99/lb) with The Big Easy seasoning and Lil Crazy spice. (They also offer Rajun Cajun, which is their original seasoning and includes cajun seasoning and butter. The Big Easy has cajun seasoning, garlic butter, and lemon pepper in it.) With every two pounds, you get two pieces of sausage, two pieces of potato, and one piece of corn.
As we waited for our order, we checked out the additional sauces already on the table - creamy butter-like sauce, ketchup, mayo, hot sauce, and salt and pepper. They also give you a container of red pepper chili seasoning with some limes.
We dug right in when our order arrived. Lorna D. wasn't handling the Lil Crazy spice very well, unfortunately. And we soon learned that the sausage wasn't tasty at all. Bummer. Nonetheless, we ordered an additional four more pounds, but this time with no spice and just the regular cajun seasoning.
Service could definitely use some improvement. Our waitress (along with all the other employees) mostly hung out by the register and didn't come around to check on us or anyone else until the very end. We had to flag them down for refills on beverages and more crawfish, and anyone with grubby hands know how annoying that can be.
The weirdest part was the group of guys sitting at the tables near the restrooms. They were there when we first arrived and were still there when we left. They weren't eating, just hanging out. It was weird because they were checking out anyone who walked by them, guy or girl, so it felt a bit uncomfortable.
The best part - Fat Tuesday's special of Buy 5 pounds, get 1 pound free!
Other items on their menu include Po-Boys, Boudin Balls, Fried Catfish, blue crab, live prawns, snow crab, lobster, king crab legs, dungeness crab, etc.
Overall, Crawfish King is okay and would satisfy my crawfish desires if I lived in Seattle. Compared to other crawfish places, I've had better. If they improved their service and got better sausage, things would be looking up for them in my book.
I had high expectations before arriving at Crawfish King and I left very disappointed.
Ordered 2 LBs of crawfish. Along with generous 2-LB worth of crawfish, a;so included were 2 large potatoes, 2 small pieces of sausage, and 1 large sized corn.
I was thoroughly disappointed for following reasons:
-- The sauce was not saucy enough. Plenty of garlic but it needed more butter and wetness. The sauce here doesn't come anywhere close to cajun crawfish sauce in Texas (i.e. Boiling Crab, Pappadeaux, Aw Shucks, etc...).
-- The sausage was tough. Almost tasted like it had been overcooked or re-cooked.
-- Potatoes were huge pieces so inside was just BLAH. Better to use small potatoes that will suck up the sauce.
-- The biggest complaint was that not all crawfish was fresh. Some of the crawfish was DEFINITELY previously frozen or reheated. I've eaten enough crawfish in the past to be able to tell the difference. If you are going to charge $8.99/LB, the least you can do if serve fresh-live-crawfish.
The only thing that allows me to give this place 2-stars is good service and the cajun fries were good.
After reading the reviews and hearing other's experiences we decided to give it a try. We had crawfish, a dungeness crab, and the the crawfish etoufee. I would not recommend the etoufee, as it was bland and contained very little crawfish. The crawfish was tasty, but as others have commented, you won't leave full. As for the crab, although not nearly as wonderful as Crusteaceans (in S.F.), it was great: lots of flavor (the big easy), a decent size, and okay price. If you're in the mood for crab (and don't mind getting dirty and your hand smelly - it will smell for a few days), skip Elliots, Ray's Boathouse, CrabPot, etc and head over to Crawfish King.
My coworker and I went here for some crawfish today after work. I am from Louisiana and she lived in Texas for a while, and we both miss that good old Gulf Coast seafood. She wanted to check out Crawfish King to see if it delivered the goods.
Crawfish King delivered!
We ordered 2 lbs of the Rajun Cajun and 2 lbs of the Big Easy style crawfish for comparison's sake. Both were ordered "lil crazy" heat level. I also ordered a cup of gumbo (more on that later).
I'd rate the crawfish a 7 out of 10. The highlights were that they tasted well purged, and the seasoning was great. I preferred the Rajun Cajun, which was more of a "dry" Cajun style seasoning. The Big Easy started with the Cajun spices and added garlic butter and to my utter disbelief - rosemary. But the rosemary only ruined the corn and potatoes (comes with every order over two pounds), since the flavor doesn't get into the crawfish meat.
I really liked the gumbo. It was a Cajun style gumbo (no tomatoes) with okra and seafood. At first the price seemed a little steep - $5 for a cup, but it was jammed packed full of the good stuff. Crab, shrimp, oysters, sausage...I am salivating just thinking about it again. My only quibble is that they crumbled the bay leaves throughout the gumbo. I didn't freak out too much because they were pretty soft, but they should think of using a bouquet garni for the bay leaves, or just leaving them whole so that the diner can pick them out. Other than that, I thought that it had great seasoning.
All in all, it was an enjoyable experience. The restaurant was cute and clean and the service was friendly. I definitely recommend it and I will be back!
It's like that scene in Pulp Fiction....and our waiter was our own personal Mr. Wolf.
Crawfish parts that missed the bucket, shards of crab shell from when I feverishly and impatiently tore them open to get at the meat. Juices running, and soaking into the table "cloth." Pieces of crustacean meat and brain flecked on your cheek, your sleeve, your bib. And our waiter, regularly swooping by to clear soaked paper towels, to empty filled buckets of shell, and to refill drinks to keep us hydrated for the work.
If you want a decent, downhome seafood experience, I recommend coming here...perhaps with a change of shirt and definitely with nowhere important to go afterwards. If you do it right, it'll take you three hand washes to get all the crawfish/crab debris/goodness from under your fingernails and off your hands completely.
This probably isn't a good lunch joint if you have to go back to work afterwards. It also probably isn't a good first date joint, unless you want to test his/her daintiness level early on. However, it's a great place to go with good friends who are willing to get down and dirty with you, while drinking a beer and cracking jokes.
As a native South Carolinian, being able to eat crawfish and blue crab for a reasonable price ($8.99/lb. today) in Seattle--and in Chinatown, no less--was quite a treat.
Warning: Vegans and political vegetarians, turn away now... DO NOT READ ON. You've been warned.
How to eat boiled N'Awlins style crawdads:
1. Check to make sure that all the crawdads have curved tails. If the tails are straight, they probably weren't dead when they were boiled, and are not safe to eat. And if anything is moving after the boil, uh oh. No crawfish had straight tails and none moved in the bunch here, a very good thing.
2. Twist the tail straight off the body. Go ahead, rip it off.
3. Pinch the end of the tail. Grab the meat hanging out of the tail, and pull. It should easily pull out. Note: Larger tails are a lot easier to work with than smaller ones, so start with those first.
4. If you're really daring, you can "suck the head' part. Lots of gooey stuff to swallow, plus a nice seasoned spice in there.
5. Drink your beer to wash it down.
If you have a hankerin' for gobs of seafood boiled straight up, like I did, this is a great place to go. I ordered the range in prices: a pound of the crawfish ($8.99/lb.), and a pound of the king crab legs ($18.99/lb.), with a $1.99 order of spicy sausage (well worth it) in the mix. I also ordered a cup of the jambalaya, and a side of cajun fries. And of course, beer. This is LOTS of food. But 1-2lbs. of fish should be about right per person.
The jambalaya is spicy and good, not mushy, and packed with sausage and chicken -- it really is excellent. But the "cup" doesn't provide much, and wasn't filled all the way up. Still, it IS filling. The cajun fries were pretty good -- with that nice crispy cajun fry, but lacking in the special cajun spice I love so much. The fries also seemed to get cold pretty quickly, making them less enjoyable, but were a nice healthy serving for $1.99. Eat them fast!
The beer is beer, Heineken and Corona being the top shelf offerings. These are great beers to compliment spicy food, but it would be nice if they had a few microbrew offerings, or Louisiana Abita, to help wash down that tear forming in your eye from the spice.
There are a few levels of heat, from "lil crazy", to "crazy", to "xtra crazy". I got the medium crazy, and against my gut feeling, went with the recommended house sauce, "the Big Easy", which is the original Rajun Cajun spice with added butter and lime. It's just too much. I wish I stayed with the original, but it was still good. Lots of garlic. But I didn't feel like the spice really permeated the seafood, like at the crawfish boils I experienced in New Orleans. It was more like the sauce was layered on top of it. But otherwise, the spice hits the mark in its flavor.
The carnage after you're done makes you feel just a little nuts, as you wipe your sticky fingers on your bib, and try to wipe the rest of the guts off with the ream of paper towel conveniently left at your table.
It's like you just got out of a fight club match against a sea army of crustaceans, and won. But then, we humans don't gravitate toward coastal locations for no reason. We LOVE seafood (perhaps why the Japanese live so long?), so eating here takes you back to your Hominidae roots.
It's a unique experience, to feel this carnally human, and to leave so satisfied -- enjoy it, Tyler Durden style, but leave the anti-consumerism behind. You won't find that kind of nonsense here.
I went yesterday after reading mix reviews with my husband because I am seafood fan. I had Crawfish and couple corona. Server was sweet and nice. Price was reasonable. This place need some work done. Could be one of my favorite place in Seattle.
We went to Crawfish King tonight and it was an okay experience, but I don't think I'm going to be returning back anytime soon. The decor was fun and the service was okay; however, the menu wasn't that great. First of all, the menu advertised on the website is not the actually menu at the restaurant. Another confusing part about the menu is that you need to order 2 lbs of crawfish to get one piece of corn, two potatoes, and two pieces of sausages in your boil. Otherwise, you need to purchase these items separately.
Being in Seattle, a mecca for microbrews, I was really surprised with their beer selection. They are literally a half a mile away from the Pyramid Brewery and all they had to offer was Corona, Heineken, and Micaloeb Ultra in bottles. Yikes.
We had a cup of gumbo and cup of jambalaya and they were good, but tiny tiny for $5.00 each. I was really disappointed that they were out of clams. Oh my. We ordered 2 lbs of Dungeoness Crab, which is one crab and 2 lbs of crawfish and went a lil crazy with the Rajun Cajun sauce. The crab was delicious, but the crawfish were just too much work for what you got. Also, the crawfish were not that fresh and they tasted too gritty for me at times. I like sucking out the heads and for a fresh crawfish the meat in the head is yellow and it tastes kinda like uni or sea urchin, which is delicious. If it is not that fresh or overcooked, the meat in the head is dried up and tastes like a pocket of fishy salt. I also had a problem with the size of the crawfish. I thought they were in season now, but we got a bunch of tiny crawfish and only a couple of jumbo ones.
At the end of the night, we spent $60 plus $9.00 gratuity, but was not completely satisfied. If you decide to go, they do have a parking lot across the street from the restaurant.
I am a huge fan of crawfish and haven't had a "mess" of them since my last trip to New Orleans, so I had to try this place out when I heard about it.
We skipped the platters and went straight for the goods: Order your seafood (crab, lobster or crawfish) by the pound. Your table is covered with butcher paper, you are provided with plastic bibs and a roll of paper towels, then the boiled goodness is dumped in the center, with a bucket for the unedibles. Fyi our server recommended 2-4 pounds of crawfish PER PERSON and she was right on. For 3 of us, we got 6 pounds and we were all full but not stuffed.
We tried half in the house sauce and half in the "ragin' cajun" sauce, both with the most mild spices. Even that was rather spicy! I preferred the house sauce, a garlic and butter mix that was simply delicious. The crawfish came with corn and potatoes cooked in the same sauce. YUM. Free refills on soda, and everything pretty is pretty low tech. Simple, delicious, and a lot of fun. I'll be back for sure.
BEER!!! BEER!!! BEER!!!! YIPPE!!!!!!!!!!!
NOW, I know how to order here! I really wanted to like this spot! I had 2lbs of the mud bugs, & a pound of shrimp, I requested the corn & potato's be separate (too mushy to be included in bag)! The crawfish are very tasty but the hunger satisfaction came from the 1lb of shrimp (heads on), they where plump, juicy and meaty! ~ a woman HAS to have her MEAT!
I discovered the BIG EASY ~ CRAZIEST Seasoning! OMG!! There was tons of minced garlic with hints of rosemary all married in with the HOT!! WHEW!! Yummy!
aiight.....
Went back tonight... Sunday, March 1st '09.... Told Mr. (hubby) I'd take him there on…
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It's a little kitschy, Boats and scuba divers hanging from the ceiling, lots of fish nets. You almost forget you're in the ID. But the vibe is friendly, the place smells fantastic and the servers are enthusiastic. Our server Athena(I know this because they write their names down on the butcher paper they put on the table) was nice but a little less informative than some of the other servers I overheard. For example, the menu says that you get corn and potatoes with 2 pounds or more shellfish, so we ordered a pound of crab and a pound of shrimp. As it turns out you only get the veggies with a crawfish order. Still Delicious regardless of any confusion.
And now my public service message to any men who may decide to go to the bathroom while you're eating there. The sauce is hot, very hot and you've been picking it apart with your fingers. Before you handle yourself to do your business, wash your hands very very carefully or you may find yourself with a uhm, spicy memory in the nether regions for several hours after you leave. I speak from experience!
Definitely A-OK!
Dining in here was like dining at a theme park... which is pretty awesome, if you ask me. I like it when restaurants really go all out- no matter the cuisine- and really immerse you in the experience of whatever it is they're serving.
This is definitely the case at Crawfish King. I felt like I was sitting on a barge, I sh*t you not. Ropes and netting, buoys. These folks give Baranof a real run for their money. Props to the King for that!
We were seated promptly by a very sweet, hard working gal who, as she covered the table with paper, relayed how the who dining deal works here. Get a X pounds of crawfish, maybe some corn and potatoes.. a side or two, and dive in, quite literally- into a plastic bag of head n' tails. Done and done. "Two pounds please," I announced as I tied on my bib. "Oh, and don't skimp on the heads, please!"
The food arrived just a few minutes later, along with a big silver bucket.
And so it began: Shuck, suck, toss (x100)
We also tried the soft shell crab n' fries and the jambalaya.
The crawfish were appropriately spicy, and were fine... but they were kind of 'neither here nor there' for me. If you like the little buggers, you might like this place, but just know that the crawfish here aren't that big- so don't come in expecting Maine lobster... or even a fraction of that. Apparently in the South, they're twice the size. Here: 'lil guys is tiiiiiny.
The soft shell crab was a bit over done, the fries were fries (yay for curly!). The jambalaya was pretty good though; definitely the winner of the night.
Nice folks, solid service, and appropriate decor. The down side- $46 after all was said and done... and we just weren't that full. I do believe this place fills that coveted crawfish void that we've gone so long without in Seattle, and that if you order enough- you'll be perfectly sated.
We just didn't want to order 6 lbs of the stuff to find out.
Definitely check it out for yourselves. It's a fun evening and they do serve up catfish, lobster, etc... and various po' boys!
I had the Shrimp Po Boy; my kids had the Fried Shrimp Baskets. We had an appetizer of sausage; this is a spicy sausage cooked in little wedges., which was pretty good. My sandwich was OK quality; the kids seemed OK. I will admit we skipped the main attraction (buckets of mudbugs); I'll try it when I'm sans kids.
Good points: Athena, our server, was attentive. Refills were fast and the food was served as it came up, instead of all at once. I prefer this as the food is hot when you get it.
Middlin points: the TVs were too loud. I could have asked them to be turned down, I suppose, but everyone was watching March Madness so I didn't want to cramp anyone's game day celebration. My poboy was mostly bread; I'd suggest you skip it should you go.
Low points: none, really.
I fully expect to raise this to 4 stars on a re-visit when I can take on the mudbugs.
Found this restaurant on Yelp and suddenly had a surge to eat seafood, more particularly crawfish. Let's just say the food definitely did not disappoint and very flavorful. What surprise me was the chick wings that we ordered that tasted excellent along with the lime. Service was excellent and they weren't rushy or kept asking if you need anything constantly, but just the right amount of time. Overall, very satisfied with the food and service. Definitely returning for more soon.
*Warning: this is all finger food, so prepare to get messy and your fingers marinated with sauce.
The food is BLAND.
The waitresses; rude rude rude! One of them forgot my friends order and when we told her... she goes "oh....okay?" and then WALKS AWAY!?!!? NO TIP NO TIP!!! I seriously wanted to walk up to throw something at her.
I ate with a group of about 20 people, and only five minutes in the servers acted like total snobs! They got annoyed of us because we were such a big group.
PS. Not one of them EVER smiled. and they're not even cute! ugly snobs! I want my money back!
LISTEN HERE LADIES..THIS ISNT A FIRST DATE SPOT..
With that said...I enjoyed myself.
Here is what happens at Crawfish King..
You are seated and there is butcher paper thrown on the table..RAD
you are given the low down on what to eat..how much per lb and what is what..my date and I went with 2 lbs of Crawfish and 2 cups of jumbalaya (which was my favorite).
Then you are given BIBS...yes ..I said a bib, bucket, and a steamy bag of crawfish that you get to get down on as you please.
This was my first time eating these things so I liked it but would say like crab, its a lot of work for a little payoff.
I had a good time...glad I tried it. My BF and I each had 2 beers and our bill was like $45.
Try it out..oh and bring wet naps..cause they aint got none here!
I like this place, but I wasn't blown away as everyone else was for some reason...
I had seen movies and pictures from the south, where people had mounds of red steamy crawfish piled high on their table. Breaking off heads and sucking juice and then devouring the tails. The crawfish and crab here seem to be boiled and then tossed in a sauce of sorts. I think it has to be some kind of pan reduction of cajun spices, butter, garlic, etc. It ends up being pretty tasty.
My real beef has to do with the size of the crawfish. They seemed really small and some were definitely not worth the manual labor to extract the sliver of flesh. The waiter (who was great by the way) said they'd get larger but were small due to the season currently.
Along with the crawfish, we had a Dungeness Crab which was boiled and then covered in the same sauce. I believe we got it a "lil crazy" which was tasty. Just the right amount of heat for most people, but I'll probably opt for the next level if I go again. The Crab was about 2 pounds and as with any crab I've had - Good.
You know, all in all, I feel this place is similar to a Steak restaurant for me. I hate ordering a steak at a restaurant because I can cook it as well or better at home for a fraction of the price. Case in point - Crawfish were $8.99 or so a pound and Crab was about $10.50 a pound or so. Add corn for .50 a piece with potatoes at like $1.75 or so for a large red potato cut into three pieces. Add two drinks and tip came out to about $47.
With $47, I can and have fed about 12 people with enough crab, shrimp, corn, potatoes and sausage to the point of nausea. I think the King is a nice place where you can have some cajun food whenever you want and make a mess in a restaurant and not have to worry about cleaning up pieces of carapace off your carpet. For me though, it's just not worth it and would rather cook it up myself.
All that said, it's a nice friendly restaurant and the food is good. I don't regret having eaten here, but think I can do it better or as good for a fraction of the price.
This is a fun place, as Carla said. Eating with your hands is ALWAYS fun!
So let's go through it, shall we?
Decor: wood everywhere, maybe 8 big screen LCDs, it has a nice welcoming feel to it.
Service: above average. The servers were all friendly, attentive, and food was delivered quickly (although we didn't get corn and potatoes but ordered the obligatory 2 lbs.-hmmmm)
Food: spiced very well (big easy seasonings and 'crazy'-medium. We had crawfish and shrimp. To tell you the truth, I don't think I'll eat crawfish again. There isn't very much meat to be eaten (no, I didn't eat the heads; I tried one and it had a weird bitter flavor), and to tell you the truth, looking at them kind of grossed me out. The shrimp were great, though.
Overall: a good experience; I'll be back again, most likely on a Tuesday when they have their crab special.
Awesome! Loved the food! The crawfish was really quite good. We tried the two different sauces and our favorite was definitely "The Big Easy" (lots and lots of garlic...yum!). It was fun eating with our hands although it did get quite messy - good thing they provided plenty of paper towels and bibs.
It would have been nice if we had more beverage options besides beer, soda, tea and lemonade. Also, some moist towelletes would have been nice after all that messy food. Needless to say, there were a lot of women waiting to wash their hands in the ladies room.
All in all, the food really got us hooked and we certainly will return a few more times, at least during the crawfish season!
Had a delicious meal here last night 2 lbs of crayfish fairly spicy and 1 Lbs of blue crabs. I would say the crabs were not really worth it but the crawfish... oh my. The gumbo we ordered never arrived and the po' boy was only so so with no remoulade just regular mayo. But I will keep going back for the mud bugs!
The décor makes it feel a bit like a chain restaurant or a flagship soon to be chain...
They really need to get their beer and wine license because those bad boys need some beer to wash them down with, and what's up the raspberry tea I know we are all fancified up here in Seattle but nothing wrong with a bit of plain old sweet tea now and again.
And wet naps, eating with your fingers is messy work please give me something; a damp towel or moist towl'et would have been oh so welcome.
Amazing that when I opened yelp to review a different service that the reveiw for Crawfish King was front and center!!!! I got Gumbo to go last night and I am a GUMBO SNOB! This gumbo was so good that I probably won't make my own anymore. The only thing I would do for sure is supply some file! (fee-lay) Sassafras sprinkle. maybe some cornbread?
My recipe was passed down through family for generations and this was really close! I like lots of crab in mine but the price was just right for a bowl and it was authentic enough that I didn't miss it.
Thank you Thank you Thank you
When I was younger, my parents always gave me the white meat from the chicken. I grew up thinking I preferred white meat because those pieces came with a lot of meat and very little work to get it. I don't know when I finally realized that dark meat is actually better because those pieces tend to be juicer and was worth the work.
While at Crawfish King yesterday, trying to get out the little sliver of meat from the crawfish claw because I had already devoured the meatiest part of the crawfish (the tail), I was thankful that we had only ordered 1 pound of the suckers because 1) the lil crazy seasoning was more spice than I could handle (I'm a wuss, but I'm also getting over a cold, so the congestion in my lungs didn't help) and 2) there isn't a lot of meat on crawfish to reward my efforts. It was my first time eating crawfish and I wasn't quite sure what to expect from these mini looking lobsters. Thankfully, we had also ordered a crab, which provided more meat and was actually worth the effort. And, I don't know why, but it wasn't as spicy as the crawfish.
In addition to our two shellfish choices, we also ordered a cup of gumbo and a cup of jambalaya. The gumbo was the preferred choice of the two, but it was delivered to us slightly cold in the center, which leaves us to think that it's pre-made and then warmed up in the microwave. A little stirring made it all better, but c'mon, couldn't they have done that in the kitchen?
Things to note:
1) They don't give you wet naps, so you'll need to go to the bathroom before you leave.
2) The menu is a bit deceptive - you only get corn and potatoes included in your order when you order 2 pounds of crawfish. You don't get it if you order 2 pounds of anything else.
3) You order by the pound, but a single Dungeness crab is 2 pounds. So, if you want it, expect to pay for at least 2 pounds.
4) Market price for items ranged between $9 and $17 per pound
Perhaps it was because I am getting over a cold, or I'm a wuss about spice, but I just thought this place was okay.
Went for the first time yesterday (5/23). Both my wife and I are from the South and have eaten our share of Gulf seafood.
Atmosphere: Kitschy but fun - plenty of places on the Gulf Coast look just like this.
Service: Decent, not awesome.
Food: Quite tasty if you know what you're in for. They do low-country-boil style (pick your seafood, pick your add-ons like corn or sausage, pick your sauce & spice level, and it all gets prepared together). Butcher paper gets spread on the table, you eat with your hands, and there's a big paper towel roll. Oh, and there are bibs. Yes, you have to wear the bibs.
If you've never eaten crawfish or shrimp with your hands this way, you may want to go with people who have. We're talking pinching the heads off, removing legs and claws, and generally being carnal about it. But it's very tasty.
Plenty of condiments (spice, butter, hot sauce, ketchup, s/p) to accompany the seafood.
For the more tame, there are Po-Boy sandwiches and fried seafood platters. But you really should try the boils.
Yummy! Ordered 6 lbs of Crawdads with medium hot and it was great! If you like garlic, there was tons of it. Also had the jambalaya, clams, and shrimp were all good.
Service was great, always there to refill soda and waters.
Just didn't like the part when the slapped a mandatory tip for party's of 6 or more, counting my 3 year old as the 6th, who didn't eat anything. We probably would have tipped more.
Got to at least try it once!!! but that's about it.
Disclaimer: I really dislike seafood of all forms. If it's in the sea it's not for me... so perhaps this is not a fair review at all.
I went here with a group of friends who were dying to try this place out. It is in the international district, and at first I was a little worried. Turns out this place looks like pretty nice for the area.
Everyone else in my group ordered crawfish, shrimp, and crab and pretty much loved it. I, on the other hand, ordered a chicken wing appetizer and fries. The fries were pretty good and well seasoned. The chicken wings were really not very good.
So, perhaps this is not a fair review, but I ate the entire non-seafood selection on the menu and one of the two items really wasn't very good at all. So if you are like me, and are tagging along with a bunch of seafood eaters and you aren't one of them... perhaps you can sway your group to go elsewhere. If you like seafood, well.... everyone else in my party seems to really enjoy what they ate.
We came with no expectations, we left satisfied with tears in our eyes and runny noses. At last some one who knows how to make food HOT, and not drown out the flavor. We had the crawdads as hot as it gets (very good flavor) and the jambalya ( not bad at all), and were stuffed.
As some one pointed out in an earlier review, if you gotta hit the can go before you get your fingers coated with the sauces. My only regret was no shrimp on the menu that night.
Definitely coming back when we're in Seattle.
One of the joys of being from south Louisiana is seeing if people from far away can get our food right. usually the further away you get from Louisiana, the more unusual/ inauthentic a restaurant's notion of "Cajun" is.
this place has got most of it right. I tried the gumbo (pretty good), the boiled crawfish (excellent) and the boiled shrimp (overcooked so that they were hard to peel but tasted okay). the main problem is that having to import non-NW seafood jacks up the cost, so a pound of crawfish costing $4.99 in a restaurant in Louisiana costs $8.99 here. Ouch.
things that were weird:
no beer yet. they've applied for a liquor license and I'm sure beer is coming, but crawfish without beer is just wrong.
they brought a condiment tray of salt/pepper ketchup mayo and tabasco with my crawfish (?!), or maybe it was supposed to be for the gumbo. But when I later order boiled shrimp, I had to ask for horseradish to mix a cocktail sauce. I didn't even try to ask for Worcestershire sauce. my crawfish was also served with two lime wedges and a small container of what I assume was cayenne pepper. I used the lime wedges to try to get the spicy residue off my hands when I was finished eating but I'm not sure if that was the intention or not. I have no idea why I'd want to sprinkle cayenne pepper on my crawfish or my gumbo (I'd use tabasco on the gumbo if it needed spice, not cayenne)
your boiled seafood is served in a plastic bag in a metal bucket. they put heavy paper on the table so you can dump the contents on the table and peel them, but I'm not sure why they use the bag. are they boiling each serving individually? it's just kinda weird.
since I'm an old pro at eating this way, I didn't need instruction on how to peel a crawfish, so I have no idea if the staff is good at helping neophytes master the art. If you have no idea how to peel a crawfish try to bring a dining companion along who does know or it will take you an hour to eat 15 crawfish. Keep in mind this is messy food (peeling the crawfish means you get squirted with spicy liquid on your hands and possibly your clothes), so you probably wouldn't want to eat here with a first date. If you're from LA. and you miss crawfish boils, this is a pretty good place to get a mudbug fix. I'll be interested to see how they do after a few more weeks in business...its a promising start. having beer to neutralize the spice will certainly help.
I found this place on yelp. Read the reviews, thought I'd give it a shot.
What we ordered for 3 people:
2lbs of crawfish
A couple cobs of corn
12 pieces of sausages
A couple of blue crabs
A bowl of jambalaya
Two lemonades
The experience:
The directions told us to take a right on 8th ave S or something like that. Coming down on Dearborn St. off of the freeway there's 7th and 9th, but no 8th. So be on the look for a block with no street sign. Building has a huge sign, can't miss it. Street parking.
We were quickly greeted by a waitress who just so happened to be a former coworker of mine from awhile back. Service was normal and waitresses were helpful. They give you a bib, lay down some butcher paper and dump your bucket of crawfish before your eyes.
We got the big easy which was the house sauce for the crawfish. Loads and loads of garlic. Crawfish meat was yummy but the sauce seemed a bit too salty. Especially with the sausages. I think ima yry the rajun cajun sauce the next time we come in... If we do come back Jambalaya was ok, I wasn't blown away.
Overall, the food was mediocre. Wasn't worth the 50 bucks. I've had better.
pros:
crawfish was solid
poboy was tasty
the serve abita beer
messy
cons:
kind of expensive
no wet ones
any night out involving butter as a squeezable condiment is a-ok by me.
Crawfish King was pretty good all-around, but they are still working out the kinks, which they freely admit to be the case. I will definitely try it again in a month or 2 to give them time to get their bearings.
I have to say that not including corn, potatoes and sausage into the boil automatically is odd because those items are standard boil ingredients. And under their method (1 corn, 2 potatoes, 2 sausages per 2 pounds of crawfish), it doesn't matter that you order 2 pounds of crab or shrimp or any other seafood that is MORE EXPENSIVE than the crawfish, they still don't throw in the corn, etc.
Another thing we asked for was bread for mopping up the tasty sauce and they said they planned to start including that with the meal (or maybe just offering that as a side order, I don't remember exactly). Either way, bread is a must.
We had the house sauce at a spice level between the lowest and middle (so out of 3 stars, that would be 1.5 I guess), which is the standard boil with butter and some other stuff added in. It's definitely the messier choice between the two sauces due to the butter. For 4 people (one of which was not very hungry) we ordered 2 pounds crawfish, 1 pound clams, 1 pound shrimp, 1 pound snow crab, 3 extra corn, 6 extra sausages, 3 extra potatoes, and a basket of fries. We also asked for bread after the boil arrived and they gave us each a warmed roll that they put their Po' Boys on, it was really soft and worked perfectly for mopping. That amount was just right for us, we finished every last bit and I'm glad we didn't order any more than we did. The flavor of everything was really good. The spice level just right for me since I don't like it super taste-bud-burning spicy but I got that lip-tingling sensation and my mouth was definitely warm for a while after we finished.
You really have to let your inhibitions go when you eat a boil because you are going to get messy. If you are too cool to wear the plastic bib you will have splatters and mud bug bits all over your shirt and will end up looking even less cool than if you had just put the stupid bib on in the first place. So get over yourself, bib up, and dig in.
We all just ordered sodas so I can't comment on their alcoholic beverages selection, but they are working on having those wine-based frozen "margarita" things, one plain/lime, one mango. They gave us some samples and the mango is better than plain/lime though really, let's be honest, a margarita made with wine is just a frozen bottle of Boone's Farm. They should call it wine slushie or something.
As for the service, they were friendly and attentive and helpful with choosing what to order in our boil. They did a great clean-up job at the end too.
I just realized I love crawfish...and I love…
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