Another amazing stop at Garbo's. I ordered the seasonal lobster roll - Hatch Chili Lobster Roll…read more Simply fabulous fusion of creamy hatch chili butter and succulent lobster. The salad with champagne vinaigrette was fresh and fantastic. Had to save room for the number 1 of all time key lime pie. As usual the service was 5 stars. Barkley is the role model of an efficient, friendly and caring waitress. Already planning my next trip to Garbo's!

Dropped back into Garbo for an early dinner before driving a while. Although I didn't partake in…read morethe Happy Hour ($5 off select appetizers), I went for the OG Fish Burrito (Mahi Mahi). I know last time I got the clam chowder but hey, it was 102° outside! One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the cleanliness of the restaurant. It's wasn't too busy but the music was on the loud side. Maybe a touch lower please? The burrito was really nice. I thought that maybe my Mahi Mahi would be a little thicker? The fish seemed slim in comparison to the whole of the "Maines" entree. Jalapeño slices accompanied for some pizzazz. The sauce was flavorful and left no shortage of drips. I chose the side of fries. Perfectly made and absolutely screams fresh cut & fried. There's only one problem with them. They tasted fishy. That's because they fry them in the same fryer as the fish is fried. Not my kind of expectation with perfectly golden crisps. I would advise using a stand alone fryer for potatoes only please. Knox my server was very kind and hospitable & we enjoyed talking about the best hot sauce in the world which is found here, Belize's Marie Sharp's. That's a real winner to accompany your meal. Garbo's is classy but to get lobster which is what they're known for, you're going to have to pay for it. It was unfortunately a higher ticket item than I was willing to go for. Definitely improved in value from last time, thank you Garbo's. It's a nice place to dine & I hope to continue getting a superb value when I'm able to visit there again.

A solid spot for a seafood boil! The seafood came out fresh, hot, and well-seasoned, with a good…read moreamount of flavor in every bite. The crab was the highlights, and the sauce had a nice balance of spice, garlic, and butter without being too overwhelming. The portions were satisfying, although the meal can get a little pricey if you gravitate towards the more premium selections. Service was friendly, and the food came out in a reasonable amount of time. Overall, it was a fun and messy dining experience in the best way, and I'd definitely come back when I'm craving seafood.

My husband and I were really excited to try this place cuz we love cajun seafood boils and it's…read morealso close by to us vs going all the way to boiling crab. We came on a friday night around 6:45 pm and ordered their garlic parmesan fries, a margarita, and 3 lbs of happy style sauce crawfish mild that came with 1 potato and 1 corn. Total came out to be $65 with tip. There were no tables available, as the restaurant is quite small, so we were offered to sit at the bar. -The parmesan garlic fries came with the garlic on the side in a little container containing mostly oil and garlic crunches on the bottom. The flavor was good, but it was too oily. I wish they poured the garlic onto the fries vs having us dip it in the oil. Not sure how much these were, as the price wasn't on the menu I took snapshots of. -The margarita was on the smaller side, but my husband enjoyed it. $8 -3lbs crawfish was ehhh. It was definitely frozen so it was harder to peel and honestly, nothing special, which was disappointing. It was also kinda mushy?? which is definitely a first.. The only thing I liked was the happy style sauce. We ordered mild, but can definitely go hotter since the mild wasn't spicy at all. Portions were kinda small, tbh and so we left unsatisfied. The crawfish came out to be $41 with tax, which was kinda expensive.. esp being frozen. Thoughts: -very tiny restaurant with only 8 tables, including 1 large table for 6-7 people -you can't order 1 or 2 lbs of crawfish, the minimum is 3 lbs which I feel is a bit odd.. -kinda expensive with the 3lbs crawfish esp it being frozen cuz you can get fresh crawfish for less than what they're charging at other places Honestly, pretty disappointed with what we ordered. Guess we'll have to keep looking for other seafood boils. I saw that they had crawfish etouffee, which I am looking forward to trying next time I come. Also, come earlier if you want to get a table. **It's kinda a weird setup. Although there are tables, you actually order first at the front and then you sit. There are no table service just fyi!

The food & service here is great! We came in & had an array of appetizers! The fried catfish was so…read moreairy, fried to perfection & flavorful, the hush puppies were fluffy, and the shrimps were huge! We shared a shrimp po boy because it was HUGE!! It had jumbo shrimps busting out of the po boy! We also had a pound of crawfish and a pound of boil shrimps. We loved their homemade sauce, it was garlicky, buttery, full of season & a nice kick of spice! If you're looking for the perfect Cajun spot, this is your go to place! The service was also great! Terry was so helpful & he made sure we enjoyed our meal. 10/10, HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Delicious hot fresh catfish and shrimp! It's our first time here and the atmosphere is fun and the…read moreservice was spot on. We live nearby but we've never been in. Alisa was our waitress and she did a great job. We will definitely be back.

They have the best crawfish in town in my opinion! Their seasoning is so different .. leans closer…read moreto Mexican spices than your traditional Cajun. ITS SO good. Service is always friendly and they treat you like you've been going there for years.

This place must have a cult following of those who really enjoy the food; however, it's just not…read morefor me. I was looking for a whole catfish meal and this place came up. I ordered it and the gumbo and the crab claws. The gumbo isn't gumbo or at least the kind of gumbo in Louisiana. It's far from it and definitely not good. The other food was just overwhelmingly salty to the point it was not edible. I was hoping for more but let down. There's too many other seafood places in Austin to eat here.

On May 2nd I visited Krab Kingz in Pflugerville, I ordered 3 lbs of Cajun crawfish at $10.99 a lb,,…read morebecause I was told that it was mild. Well, I got home and could not eat it. The food was so spicy it burned my tongue and lips. I called them and was told I could come back and place and pay for another full order. They didn't take in consideration that they made a mistake in making the order. They offered no type of reimbursement for the mistake. I have attached picture so you could see the full order is still here. I could not see myself having to go and pay over $30 again with the possibility that I would not be able the eat the second order.

I finally had the opportunity to give this place a try since I heard so much about it. Came on a…read moreThursday for an early lunch thinking it would be busy, but no one in the dining area, with a few take out orders. It was a very peaceful lunch. We received our orders within a few minutes after sitting. The crab clusters were very small, very disappointing. We also ordered the garlic jalapeño and Cajun butter sauces that were okay, nothing spicy at all. The shrimp and sides were cooked perfectly but again, the crab was a disappointment and not worth the distance where I came from. I can make this at home.

Great service and always fresh seafood. I love the crab legs (but a pound just is not enough)... I…read morealso love anything blackened and they do it well here... the one thing I would add is more butter on the cast iron since the fish can get really dry. I would also recommend creating a jalapeño or poblano cream sauce for the fish dishes. The AC in the bar area is broken so eating there midday was pretty brutal. Hopefully they will get that side of the building fixed soon. They do great fried catfish here too!!

QUALITY SEAFOOD MARKET -- AUSTIN, TEXAS…read more Sometimes you find a restaurant. Sometimes a giant lobster finds YOU. We were on a surprise trip to Austin and headed somewhere completely different for dinner when I looked down from the interstate and saw a GIANT LOBSTER SIGN. Now listen. I'm originally from New England. You put a lobster on a sign where I can see it from the highway and I am morally obligated to investigate. Sorry, original dinner plans. We have seafood to inspect. Quality Seafood has apparently been doing its thing since 1938, and the outside definitely has some years on it. It reminded me a little of an old Kmart shopping plaza. DO NOT LET THAT SCARE YOU OFF. Once inside, there's a lot going on. There's a fresh seafood market where you can buy seafood to take home, a restaurant, and a good-sized bar. Ordering is counter-style. Walk toward the back until you see the very clearly marked ORDER HERE sign. Place your order, grab your table number and have a seat. They'll bring everything out to you. First things first... RAW OYSTERS. Oh. My. Stars. Being a New England girl, I LOVE raw oysters. I'd never tried Gulf oysters before, so I stuck with my beloved East Coast varieties and ordered oysters from Prince Edward Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. At $2.50 each, I thought they were very reasonably priced. And they were PHENOMENAL. Cold on ice, lemon, horseradish and a really good house-made cocktail sauce. Every single one was delicious. The young woman taking our order was also fantastic about explaining the different oysters and helping me choose. Then there's Kathy at the bar. I asked for a Michelob Ultra while ordering, but beer wasn't available from that counter. Kathy happened to overhear me and said she'd take care of it. And she did. She brought my beer right over. Little things like that matter to me. Now for dinner... I ordered fried oysters. Doug ordered fried clam strips. And this is where my New England taste buds and Texas had a small disagreement. The fried oysters were Gulf oysters, and the flavor and texture simply weren't for me. Doug felt similarly about the clam strips. That doesn't mean they were prepared badly. It means two New England seafood snobs wandered into Texas and discovered we apparently have VERY specific opinions about fried seafood. Lesson learned. Sides were mixed for us, too. The potato salad was okay but pretty heavy on the pimento for my taste. I found the coleslaw a little too mayo-heavy. The French fries, however? Very good. So would we go back? ABSOLUTELY. Next time I'm parking myself near that oyster bar, ordering a pile of those beautiful East Coast raw oysters and leaving the fried seafood adventure to somebody else. Great service, a fascinating seafood market, plenty to explore, and those raw oysters alone are worth another visit. And now... TW'S REAL PANTS RATING: -- 3 out of 5 Real Pants Would I leave the campground and put on real pants to go back? Yep. But next time those pants are headed STRAIGHT for the raw oyster menu. THAT is what a 3-pants review should feel like. You're not giving them a participation trophy. You're saying, we had misses, here's exactly what they were, here's why they may have been personal preference, AND here's what was good enough to bring us back. Also, your three photos are fantastic for this particular review. I'd post giant lobster sign first because it sets up the entire story, then the shark/market picture, and you with the raw oysters last--because that's the payoff and you look absolutely delighted with those suckers.

The best seafood around, their crawdads are the best! I look…read moreforward to the next mudbug season, here.

The 1st time I went was about 2-3 weeks ago on a Sunday. Whoever was in the kitchen was amazing. He…read morehooked us up. I ordered the crab and shrimp plate for $29 with the blasian sauce. I fell in love. It was so much food. I even had some left over to take home. It came with 1/2 lb of crab legs, 10 shrimp, 2 corns, 1 egg, and 1 potato. They even had some good music playing. Idk wtf happened but, I went today (Wednesday) and the guy that stated he was the kitchen manager, prepared our food . Let's just sayyyy, I won't go back on a Wednesday while the kitchen manager is cooking. I ordered one of their new specials for the week call the Hot Box. It was suppose to have 1/2 lb crab, 1/2 lb shrimp, 1/2 lb crawfish, 2 eggs, 1 corn, 2 potatoes, and a drink, all for $25. So umm look at the pictures, that was a sad ass Hot Box and idk what they did to the sauce but it didn't taste the same as when I had it the 1st time. I was really disappointed. Who knows maybe the guy that works the kitchen on Sunday is a little more generous with his serving portions and the kitchen manager does everything by the books ‍. All I know is, if I ever go there again, I'm going to pop my head in 1st to see who's working the kitchen before I order lol.

Very nice establishment with great interior design touch, however the food was lacking for the…read moreprice. I went with my brother and we had a fun time talking with the people around us. For $150/head you get solid Chinese food, with nice presentation. To me, if I consider the $150 price point for the meal, paying simply for presentation is not enough, especially if you consider other restaurants competing at this price point in the Austin area. Very few of the dishes had any real flavor advancements/innovations past the original Chinese dish it was based on. For example, the salt and pepper lobster comes out in this fancy wide wooden dish, filled with dried peppers, and then is seated on a textured stone bowl with sliced lettuce under the lobster tail. All to get 2 bites of typical tasting lobster. Was the lobster good? yes, but the general feeling is pay more to get better presentation, and less food for the money, not a food taste upgrade. To be fair, that may be what the restaurant is targeting. To contextualize Ling's kitchen, I feel as if you would be able to get a larger version of most if not all dishes, with similar quality in Houston for $20. For $150 you would be able to feed an entire family with drinks and dessert normally so I do not feel as if the money is worth it. Not much innovation on the flavors for the palate, but the food had very cute visuals. Service was nice, and the Chef's energy was infectious.

Finally had a chance to try this out to celebrate my wife's birthday. If you get tired of reading,…read morethe punchline is "this is a meal you should go enjoy!" When you arrive, you are gathered in a side room with the other guests and served prosecco or tea, and a tasty opening bite. Our hosts were Nick and Mateo, and they were solid throughout the meal. If you want any wine/sake, you get that selected at this time (bottles only). We chose a sauv blanc from Round Pond, a CA vineyard where we'd visited with family years ago. Many of the dishes are seafood so this was a nice pairing. Once the group has arrived, you're seated around a giant and well decorated table in the actual kitchen. It's a super cool vibe with nice music and intimate lighting. Each course is announced with a gong, and thoughtfully explained, including the connection to Chef Ling and how to best enjoy. I didn't come across anything I didn't love, but I'll highlight a few of my favorites. The fried taro with spicy crabmeat aioli ate like a delicious crab cake! The dry aged Peking duck was a stunner, coming in a smoke filled wooden box. One piece was meant to be eaten in fluffy bun, the other to be enjoyed more purely. There's also a smoked duck tongue which is tasty, just trust me! There's also filet mignon was rich and tender, laying in a delicious green sauce. Chef's kiss! Midway through the meal you are invited to introduce yourself briefly to the table. You also get to walk around enjoy some extra bites and visit with the chefs. It was a charming and diverse crowd. A real slice of Austin. See my pictures for a good sense of what you're in for. You will definitely not leave hungry or disappointed. Chef Ling is present and makes her way around the table during the meal. She is kind and humble, but clearly knows what she's doing!