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Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar

3.4 (692 reviews)
Updated over 3 months ago

Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar Photos

Business Info

CRAWFISH SHACK & OYSTER BAR ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Dogs allowed
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar

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Crawfish boil with an extra ear of corn
Cilicia L.

This place is unassuming, but that doesn't mean that their food isn't delicious. My son and I ordered 2 pounds of crawfish. It comes with 2 potatoes, 1 ear of corn, and 2 sausages. We added an extra ear of corn. We kept the spice level at medium, which was perfect for me. The server offered us bibs and gloves. We took him up on the gloves. It was nice to enjoy crawfish without getting the spice in my skin. The sauce was so good! We peeled our crawfish and dipped them in it for extra flavor. A few of the crawfish were overcooked and mushy, but only a few. We will be back to try some of their other boil options as well.

It is only 45 for what I ordered and picked up. What am I paying for the service? They never gave me.?
Aislynn D.

DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR CARD INFORMATION OVER THE PHONE! I ordered a pound of snow crab to go!!! 2 days later they charged me almost 20 dollars for a tip!! Scammers! Ultimately, I am very, very sad because this was my favorite place to go came here almost 3 times a week. I cannot come. I do not trust them because it's the fact that I scratched out the tip amount to avoid this type of thing and they still proceeded to steal for me. Also, from the looks of the other reviews, this is not the first time they have done this and I promise that they are not gonna get away with this.

Megan L.

I have no idea why Crawfish Shack is so poorly rated, but I am in love with this place. They have THE best crawfish in Austin, and service is always really good. I believe there's another location, but go to the Wells Branch Parkway location if you can. I've been to both, and this one is the superior one. Their oysters and crawfish seasoning are delicious, and during crawfish season, you can tell their crawfish are really fresh. I couldn't recommend this place more. It's a bit dingy on the inside, but you're honestly there to eat good crawfish and nothing else. I want to try their shrimp po boy in the future, but I've been happy with my experiences.

Crawfish boil - 1 lb
Kelli M.

AMAZING!!! Best crawfish spot in town! Friendly staff & Cajun feel! & a $3.50 beer in Austin, Texas, just can't beat that.

Ordered to go. Make sure to pick up quickly or it'll stay cooking in the bag which makes it hard to peel.
Sarah L.

Been going here for years. One of my top 5 in the city for crawfish. The juice is good and so is their seasoning. Sometimes they go heavy on the dry rub but not always. Their shrimp and crab legs is also a must!! Simple to go service as well.

2 lbs crawfish, 1 lb snow crab legs. Comes with corn, potatoes, sausage, and mushrooms. March 2020.
Shannon B.

Yep, I said it. Five stars. I've been eating crawfish all over this town for 30 years now after growing up in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Texas (which is basically Southwest Louisiana). I keep coming back to Crawfish Shack because they never disappoint when it comes to freshly boiled Viet-Cajun crawfish during crawfish season (roughly Jan - May). The seasoning & spice are just right, service is great, and the mudbugs are well-sorted and clean. This is why you'll see lines out the door every weekend during the season. I was really impressed on my most recent visit when the server delivered a 3 lb tray to the table and noticed there was a head missing the tail. He made a point to check to see if the tail was just pulled off during the transfer from pot to tray and then, unasked, went back to the kitchen and brought 4 more crawfish to the table to make up for the issue. Further, I have never encountered any mushy or straight-tailed crawfish (indicating dead before the boil) in years of visits. This attention to quality & detail is rare these days and something that makes me want to keep giving my business to Crawfish Shack. For the 2020 live crawfish season, the going price is $10.99/lb, which seems a bit steep compared to what you might find in Beaumont, but we're not there, we're in Austin. After the season, they'll usually offer previously frozen crawfish for around $8.49/lb and they are still quite enjoyable. We usually throw in a pound of snow crab legs for fun and those are going for $19.99/lb at this point. For crawfish, you are typically ordering 2-4 lbs per person (as you can expect only 15% of that weight to be edible tail meat). All that is to say this is not an inexpensive meal but for a special treat with a group of friends who love the seafood boil experience, it's a treasured way to get together and worth the splurge. The staff will bring gloves and bibs on request - do request it - and sharp kitchen shears for crabs. The table is covered in thick waxed paper and this is where you'll pile your shells in the center of the table. Sadly, the BYOB days of 2019 have gone and you can once again order from a selection of domestic beers for around $4/each. According to Texas A & M (a respected food science authority), "Crawfish are an excellent source of high-quality protein and are low in calories, fat and saturated fat. They're also a good source of vitamin B12, niacin, iron, copper and selenium." If that didn't convince you to give it a try, go for the shrimp or crab boil instead. The rest of the menu of typical Gulf Coast fried seafood and Cajun options is okay, but it's the high quality seafood boil that keeps Crawfish Shack packed. Decor is what you'd expect from a "shack" - nothing fancy, just a little "hole in the wall" kind of place in a suburban strip center, entirely appropriate crawfish boil atmosphere. Come in your t-shirt, flops, and jeans and get ready to have a messy, delicious time.

Calamari
Elisa M.

It's crawfish season and with a name like Crawfish Shack you expect to be able to get crawfish but tonight that wasn't the case. We arrived, waited for a table and got sat next to the bar. We placed our drink and food order: 2 beers, fried calamari and 2 lbs of crawfish. The waitress asked if we wanted our calamari first or did we want to get it all together but I came hungry so I asked to get the calamari and hence the wait begin. I was half way through my beer when the calamari came to the table. Nothing fancy, no lemon but they did give you ranch. I will say that this calamari wasn't rubbery or over breaded. It was actually good and now I'm wishing I had ordered that and some fries and called it a night. So as I'm waiting, the ladies at the table next to us start talking about how the crawfish ain't right and the waitress comes to the table and then some guy comes to the table, apologizes and offers to make it right. Then the people at the table behind us are saying the same thing and I'm starting to get worried now. Two ladies come in and they are told that they are out of crawfish and my mind is now spinning cause we haven't gotten our crawfish yet and then "plop" here comes our crawfish. Now I heard the lady say that you get a corn and a potato per pound but she said it's per two pound and you get a sausage (make sure you clarify this) however regardless the crawfish didn't hit the mark. Ours like the other two tables got over cooked mushy crawfish. The guy comes out and offers to get us more but I'm like "I thought they were out of crawfish" which the waitress says they are but they are trying to round up enough to replace what we had. Next batch isn't any better and we opt to go with the shrimp. Now call me what you like however I'm not a fan of head on shrimp and I hate peeling and deveining cooked shrimp. I know it may not bother some folks but this gal ain't about that "black track line". So now I'm struggling to peel and devein shrimp and realize I have NO silverware. The waitress brings me a knife and a fork but I realize im working way too hard for my food and give up. The ladies at the table swear to me that tonight is an off night and that I need to come back, the manager is extremely nice and squares things up for us but I left still hungry and I really had my mouth set on some crawfish. Price point: $9.99 for a pound of crawfish Oysters are ridiculously priced everywhere right now but they are wanting $29 for a dozen, I believe the board had $42 for crab but I finally stopped looking at the board cause at this point I'm done ordering. Will I come back, I will, I just hope the next time is far better than this experience.

They claimed it was "live and fresh" Before I ordered ......
Minh N.

Not sure what happened to this place but it has gone downhill. Before ordering to go, I asked if their crawfish was "live/fresh" since it's in season now. The girl on the phone said yes. Got home, the meat was mushy and worse than frozen. The shells were soft where u can bend them easily. The meat will break apart if you try to pull out of the shell. I called them back and asked why it's not fresh and they said the manager will call me back tomorrow, they are "swamped" right now. Funny, because when I was picking up the food, they weren't even that busy. Even worse, the manager never called me back the next few days. Even worse, crawfish was 14$ a lb for dead mushy crawfish. Lost a customer, never coming back. Please be honest and treat your customers right.

Emily N.

Service is... underwhelming. Waited for a table for 6 despite watching 4 parties of 6+ leave while my party was standing outside. When I went inside to ask to be seated at the large empty table (16+ seats open) among the 4 large open tables, I was told no because "the table is for 10+ people...? I then proceeded to watch a party of 6 sit there 30 minutes later but anyway.... Finally got seated and I observed tension between the wait staff. Seemed awkward for a waitress to be barked at by another guy who definitely wasn't helping out with much. Ordering was easy and prices were very reasonable (for austin). I got 8 pounds of crawfish (medium spice level) for $79.99 and it came with 4 corn/potatoes/sausages. For those who don't know, March is peak crawfish season -- when they should be the biggest and most plentiful! The crawfish here sucked. Worst crawfish I've had in my entire life. I've eaten crawfish in New Orleans and Houston over a dozen times each and never tasted a MUSHIER, SALTIER crawfish than here. Now, you may be wondering "worst crawfish ever and still 3 stars?" Yes, indeed. The manager mansplained that "f**ked-up February" with the cold weather caused the crawfish to be mushy... hard to believe when I had delicious, non-mushy crawfish from another establishment last week... but the manager was nice enough to offer my group 3 pound of crawfish on the house to make up for it. I appreciated his generosity and that's where the additional star(s) came in. Jambalaya was wayyyy to spicy btw. Avoid. Also, 18% gratuity is automatically applied to the check for 6+ people BUT their mobile payment device doesn't make that clear (auto-clicks "0%" pretending you haven't tipped yet and instead putting the 18% as part of the "tax") which is a bit manipulative considering I was about to double-tip... not cool! I'd like to go again and give them another chance... maybe

Menu
Edgar S.

After years of passing by this place, we stopped after leaving the rolling rooster which i reviewed. Truthfully we were both frustrated because of the place we just left with lousy service but as soon as we walked in we were greeted and seated. Our waiter stopped by our table on the way to the back just to get our drink order. I ordered a poboy and she had the crab legs. The food was good and the service amazing. The only negative is that the soda had a little after taste like unfiltered water, but easy fix. Just order a beer instead. We will be back

Fried Alligator, Boudin Balls. Craw Fish

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1 year ago

The crawfish tasted frozen and it was sitting in a lb of oil... I would never eat here again for crawfish..

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Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar

Is crawfish shack changed to LA crawfish?

No, for some reason the Google Maps name changed it to it. It's still Crawfish Shack.

Are you "BYOB" restaurant?

BYOW - you can bring your own wine but since beer is sold here, you cannot BYOB. Come weekdays 5-7pm for $1 off all beers!

I would like to know if this place tastes like The Boiling Crab in Dallas?

Though both The Boiling Crab and The Crawfish Shack are delish af, they are two different entities with different seasonings and sauce variations. However, what they both have in common is that they both fall under the category of Viet Cajun and I… Read more

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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If you've never had cajun food before, you MUST eat here!! The menu is so well-spiced and will…read moreshock your taste buds in such a new way. I absolutely loved it. This place operates on a tab-based system, so no need to wait for a check, since the tab is opened for you before you're seated. This worked very smoothly! This would be a great place for a date or anything requiring an aesthetically pleasing ambiance, the wood lining and ceiling along with the blackboard menu give this place a great vibe.

went to try another cajon spot as I wanted to get some jambalaya.. well, at least more cajon…read morebefore I leave end up ordering pretty much the same thing here, catfish courtbouillon. another catfish... i was thinking, it come with rice and there is shrimp and there is roux, might as well get the catfish and lets have a showdown... well, it wasn't even close... price wise, it is +6 ... i might have end up tipping more here as i was too lazy to change the options down. end up doing 18% tip... so it was total 34. actually more expensive here with less... less portions, no free sides, and i didnt order a beer... anyways, the food was pretty good. it has more of tomato based roux taste... not the same. the shrimp was the highlight. it was bigger and perhaps cook and seasoned separately. service was kinda weird. you order upfront and they take the food to you... should i even tip? kinda confusing...i got a cup and pour water for myself initially. then the waiter came and refill it. nevertheless, the waiter was very polite when answering my questions about the menu initially. can't give this place more than 3 stars food wise, it didn't come with free side and the portion of the fish was smaller and price was higher... triple no no ....perhaps it was a different class restaurant... don't seem like it. maybe just different real estate... if this was a 5 star dining in the westin hotel or something, then I can understand the rip off.. but I think both are same class... anyways, food is good. slight edge with the shrimp but roux per my preference, I give it to the other place. i think the portion of the fish just shocked me, as i had the same dish 2 days ago at another spot... that affected my experience here. i would say, this is most likely a college hangout, the other place would not have the same crowd.. here, you can probably see sigma chi or the tri delts come in and have a party at the bar... probably a comparison of huntington beach vs long beach... thus the difference... just a matter of location...

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Lil’ Easy - Cracklins

Lil’ Easy

4.0(170 reviews)
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crawfish was great. waiter was the worst waiter I've literally ever had. so extremely rude and very…read morehostile and acted like everything we said was stupid. did not feel welcome. otherwise the bartender was great!!!

Visited Lil' Easy with friends for the first time for a late dinner on a busy Friday night, and…read moreLOVED it. This is a Cajun restaurant through and through, with friendly employees, a NOLA vibe, and awesome food. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed everything we tasted. After seeing Lil' Easy's extensive Frozens list, we had to taste test. My friends ordered the Cowboy Coffee and Celestial Sunrise, and I tried the Saturn frozen. We were surprised at the complex flavor of the frozens, and enjoyed all three. To eat, we started with the boudin balls which will now be a mandatory order for all future visits -- crunchy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside, served with creamy creole mustard aioli. My friends loved the cajun meat pie and fried butterflied gulf shrimp. I enjoyed my order of the gumbo, and snagged one of my friend's hushpuppies, which was perfectly done -- not dry! We ended with an order of the rum cake with vanilla ice cream, which was deliciously decadent. Counting down the days until our next visit at this fun spot. The only negative was the bathroom line -- there are only a few individual bathrooms, so be prepared to wait. Our server also let us know that they are having crawfish boils every weekend in Spring for everyone looking to get their crawfish fix!

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I had to get in some cajon food in this town…read more this restaurant is very close to my hotel and I have been eyeing it ever since I got here. finally, checked it out a couple days ago. i order the catfish gumbo which comes with 2 sides. I got beans with rice and the veggie of the day, also got a shiner bock beer for 5 bucks. total with tip was ~33 i think i gave 5bucks tip the fish gumbo was really good. i also really like the beans with rice. it has a slightly different flavor profile but also very good. i think this place is a hidden gem.... good portions, decent price, and easy parking, had to figure out another P for a triple P. i think this was better than when I got rip off on bourbon street, yrs back. that was straight up super expensive double charge the tourist stuff...

As soon as you walk into this spot, it feels truly transformed. It's like a time capsule of old…read moretimey New Orleans. We tried to go to happy hour with my partner's parents, but that was only available in the bar area. Given they have some health problems to consider, we could not move over and hover over teeny tables to have dinner so had to handle full price. At full price, I'd give it a solid 3.5. Bumped to a 4 because this is hard to find around here. We got: - shrimp yoli (if you only order one dish, get one with this SAUCE. It's to die for. The shrimp had too much seasoning that it was a little choke worthy and I NEVER complain about flavor. Just lighten up a little!) - escargot (the butter was broken.. so it was kinda rough) -catfish gumbo (solid portion) -redfish add lump crab (while we enjoyed this, it was pricy for what it was) -shrimp and crawfish pasta (good) -orange crème brûlée (light.. not my fav crème brûlée ever but fun to try) - chocolate cake brownie with ice cream

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It is hard to find a good Seafood Broil place and it is a little sad I have to drive do far to get…read moreit, but it is worth the drive! If you have a large group, you definitely need to make a reservation in advance. Especially on the weekend! Parking is decent since it's in a shopping center, but on the weekends it is a little difficult. When walking in the atmosphere is great! With a beach vibe and the smell of deliciousness in the air. They are a great drink selection, but the show stopper is the food! From appetizers to the boils! They are all delicious! And the service is usually great! So if you are in the mood for great seafood and good drinks, then look no further because Hook & Reel has it all!

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4.8(747 reviews)
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Had the catfish, shrimp, Mac and cheese, and yams. Best meal I've had in a long time. It was…read moreamazing. I'll definitely be back

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Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar - seafood - Updated May 2026

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