Crawfish Cafe

My only favorite crawfish joint in Houston! Besides home cooked! I love there garlic butter and Thai basil crawfish! The clams are also great!

My husband was really wanting crawfish and the place closest to us had only 3 stars so we decided to drive to the Hong Kong city mall to this place. It’s one of the mall restaurants so it’s not that big. We had to sit at the bar or else wait over 40 minutes. Turned out to be a good idea. We ordered 3 pounds of the mix (garlic and lemon pepper) and 1 pound shrimp (just garlic). It was definitely garlic filled. Huge chunks everywhere! Not the best taste but good enough to quench a craving. Cost about $ 50 which is a little expensive in my opinion. Anyways… we may come back. Might want to try other restaurant’s flavorings first.

A few friends recommended this place, so we came here for dinner. You have to walk into the super asian looking shopping complex to get into here and the seating is basically open space in this mall. Only other time I really had cajun/​creole seafood was in The Boil back at NY. A lot of people said that Crawfish Café is much better than The Boil, but I honestly couldn’t really tell that much of a difference!
The seafood was still really good in my opinion! We ordered the seafood platter fried basket, crawfish with Thai Basil (Spicy), little neck clams with the mix (Spicy), and snow crab legs with lemon pepper (Spicy). I have absolutely no tolerance for spicy food and I found the food to be too much for me to handle! But my friends said it wasn’t spicy at all, so I can’t really be trusted with judging the spice level. I felt like the crawfish had a lot of flavor and I really liked the Thai Basil spice. The little neck clams definitely had the most flavor out of all the seafood we ordered; normally I’m not a huge fan of clams, but I loved this! The snow crab legs didn’t really have much flavor to it and I felt like the meat didn’t really pull out of the shell smoothly, so it might have been a little too overcooked! The seafood platter fried basket was delicious as well. I loved the fried catfish the most and the fried oysters the least.
The staff was really attentive and kept refilling our water when necessary (which helped me so much, since I was dying from the spiciness)!
Overall, it was a pleasant experience here, but wasn’t anything amazing to me. I would still recommend coming here if you’re in the area!

We decided to go eat crawfish at this place. It was good. We ordered 8 lbs of 2 different flavored 4 lbs each flavor, 2 seafood platters, 1 cajun calamari– which looked like for kids meal. I remember they use to give us more than what we had this time. I don’t know if they are cutting back but the price was not worth eating it. Overall it the flavor was good but the calamari wasn’t worth it.

Kicking Cajun spicy it’s the best flavor for crawfish or my favorite seafood, the snow crab. Really tick sauce and Absolutely delicious!!!
Excellent service, spacious tables, screen tv all around the place and it’s Byob.

This Saturday, my son and I ventured over to Hong Kong Mall to try this place for the first time. I ordered the Kicken Cajun medium and «The Mix (mixture of lemon pepper and garlic butter flavors)» medium and my son the Garlic Butter spicy. Plus some corn and potatoes. I think their spice levels should be adjusted because medium is mild and spice is medium in real terms — next time I go I will get everything extra spicy.
All the flavors were good, size of crawfish varied but this tends to happen throughout crawfish seasons (you get big and small sized here and there on occasion) — the pound of The Mix flavor had small to medium sized, the pound of the Kicken Cajun flavor had medium to large sized and my son’s Garlic Butter flavor were medium to large sized.
I didn’t enjoy the price at $ 7.99/lb plus extra for corn and potatoes, but I give it to them the crawfish were cleaned well, no grittiness and no dead weird crawfish in the bag. These were fresh. Looking forward to going back to try their specials and the crab I see other Unilocalers raving about :-) Not the best crawfish ever, but solid and flavorful and satisfies the crawfish craving, if you in the neighborhood.
Service was hit or miss it started out good but got shoddy mid way, but ended ok. Plus this restaurant is very clean but the mall’s restrooms are old and not well kept and leaves something to be desired (just an FYI).

This place was recommended by everyone when the discussion of crawfish came to hand. So I finally came and I must say it was delicious and matched my expectations! The Cajun fries are a must when you order you crawfish or shrimp. I had the mix seasoning and it was spicy but nothing crazy. You can also add for potatoes and sausage to your order as well. For my girlfriend and I it was around $ 60 including tip.

First visit was average with their crawfish being tiny and small & seasoning being not too bad… until I’ve decided to give it another try yesterday! ALL of their crawfish were large. Even though sometimes I prefer medium-​sized for the best texture of the tails, no one would deny to take on huge ones. Thai Basil = Personal favorite seasoning, as I was recommended by my friend, though many might say that it’s slightly too sweet. Started with Medium and finished with ordering another pound of Spicy, however couldn’t taste much spice. Perhaps, next time extra spicy is the way to go. And reading from other reviews, I can’t disagree with most that also said this place has improved. Server was courteous and protective of the business, as a simple attempt of paying out our bills with a credit/​debit card = check ID’s.
Side items recommendation: Crawfish EggRolls

It’s crawfish season so sure enough we go gotta get our crawfish fix. Been here twice now and thought I can give a decent review. The first time we went with a group of people and went early on a sunday at 5 so there was no line. Second time we went only as a couple on a Friday night at 8 and boy the wait was long! Both times we ordered 3 lbs of crawfish 1 lb of shrimp with their the mix flavor with xtra spicy, Cajun fries, and 6 wings in Cajun buffalo. They allow BYOB which is awesome cause beers goes great with crawfish and wings.
The crawfish came out really good and hits the spot. The wings were a bit dry. The fries comes out fresh and hot so that’s definitely a plus. The shrimps are my favorite even though they’re a bit pricey compare to the crawfish in this season-​time.
The service is great. The servers come around and clear your shell bowl frequently so you don’t have a big pile of shells everywhere. Definitely would always come back.

This place is stepping up! Maybe they read some of our reviews.
From my first review/​visit, the only thing I didn’t like was the fact that there wasn’t any flavor once you got inside the crawfish. But it was so good this time! Flavor everywhere! The seasoning on the outside was and is great too. I highly recommend The Mix seasoning. Seasoning is on point.
I also ordered the crab fried rice this time around and that was pretty good as well. I would probably order it again!

This place definitely stepped it up this time around! Their garlic butter is still my absolute favorite out of all the flavors. Their menu is very small, so if you have friends that don’t like crawfish, don’t bother with this place.
What to get:
–crawfish, duh!
–anything boiled really
–spicy cajun french fries (so fresh and crunchy)
–fried baskets were okay
–wings were decent.
What not to get:
–fried rice (portions too small for the price and tasted ehhh)
Overall, this place is definitely on my crawfish radar now. Before, I specified how the inside of the crawfish lacked flavor. Now, the inside is packed with flavor and juice! So glad they were able to fix it. I will be back Crawfish Café!

Oh how things change, or I guess how people change. 2 years later, I’m visiting this place 2x a month because I just can’t get enough. Try their house «Mix» sauce, heavily loaded with garlic and sweet to the taste. Everyone knows there is something about sugar that lights up parts of the brain which makes you want more. Combined with their Asian magical spices, their house mix is having me begging for more like a lost puppy. Even in mid January they have live crawfish at $ 7.99/lb. Really satisfied my cooped up cravings throughout the past 6 months.
More importantly I suppose, is their awesome Dungeoness Crab. Out of all the restaurants in the world I’ve been to, even the freshest seafood restaurants in Shanghai does not compare to the soft deliciousness of this. It is absolutely cooked to perfection. The shell cracks so easily and crisply. The meat is fresh, really fresh. It is seriously one of my favorite foods now. It’s so good, I constantly have a dilemma should I order more crawfish or get the Dungeoness? They sell by the pound at market price, which is usually $ 21.99/lb and each crab is 2 – 2.5lbs each. Totally worth it!
Not totally important but it is a factor, they are BYOB!

I moved from Houston this past summer, and all I can think about is Crawfish Café!! :(I’ll be back in Houston soon just to eat here. If the owner is reading this, PLEASEEEE expand your dining area!

I came kinda late on a Friday night and they were still pretty busy. Crawfish season has just started but the size of the crawfish are pretty decent there right now. We each ordered crawfish and some other dishes to share.
I got the Mix (garlic butter & lemon pepper) at medium spicy this time. This is my usual order here, and for some reason it wasn’t as spicy as it used to be and it was a lot sweeter in flavor too. I’m not sure if they changed their recipes or not. Nonetheless, it was still delicious!
We shared the Cajun fried rice which comes with sausage, shrimp and crawfish. Pretty good fried rice for a seafood restaurant. Flavor was really good and not too oily.
The fried oysters surprised me because it was actually very tasty. I think it’s the flavoring they put in the batter for the oyster. I really enjoyed this dish and would probably order it again.
And we got the cajun fries. The fries themselves were really crispy and hot which was really good. But the «cajun» flavor simply comes from the seasoning that they put on top.
Can’t wait to get my fix here again this season!

A lot of people recommended this place. I had 2 lbs of garlic butter crawfish, 6 Thai chili wings, and Cajun fries. The wings were kind of small so I was a little disappointed. Usually at Asian places, wings are big. Fries were good but the waiter took them away before we completely finished them. Now onto the crawfish. It was 7.99 a lb. The crawfish seasoning was pretty good, but I wish the garlic butter had more butter. It was also a little too sweet? Also I got a corn with it and $ 1 corn is pretty pricy. What makes up for it is that free ketchup, mayo, mustard, limes, and tony seasoning.
Not the best crawfish but I did leave satisfied! :) I definitely want to come back and try their kickin cajun seasoning next time.

I never been here before. wanted to try their crawfish since people gave it a 4 star. there was plenty of space on a friday night to eat… the wait staff was friendly.. The negatives: the crawfish was too soft today. The taste was fine.. but the restroom in the Hong Kong mall was horrible. .that was not their fault, that was the malls fault.

Easily one of the best crawfish places in Houston. Get the lemon and garlic seasoning and you will not be disappointed. The «restaurant» itself is inside a shopping center and the dining area isn’t large, but they are pretty good about seating. Never really had to wait longer than 10 – 15 mins for a large party (unless there’s another large party there).

The lemon pepper flavor for crawfish is good. The original cajun seemed like an absence of seasoning. Mild spiciness is just as you would imagine it. I got 4 pounds with corn and potatoes and it was about $ 40. It’s located on the right side of HK4.

my most favorite crawfish place ever! The mix (garlic butter & lemon pepper) is AMAZING! Crawfish usually runs 7.99 in season and is pretty decent size! Their sauce is just so good!!! it doesn’t taste like some places where they just boil it and toss it in garlic butter. Their sauce soaked in with the crawfish! Also grilled oysters are pretty good too!

It’s been one of my favorite crawfish spots since it opened rivaling my top choice across the street. The prices for seafood by the pound are average for the area. The dining area isn’t gigantic, but there are tables for various group sizes, even a long table if you’re looking to bring a party of ~10. They primarily have booths that could seat 4 – 6 depending on how much room each person would want for grubbing.
As of 01/​09/​2015, they are still BYOB. They’ll even give you an ice bucket for your drinks, if you want it. The supermarket does sell some beer for any last minute buys.
I’ve found the service to be always friendly but not always available. The worst spot to sit, for service, are either corners of the dining area. They’re like black holes. There are decently placed TVs around and they’re good about having some sort of game on.
Garlic butter and Thai basil are my favorite flavors to get for the seafood. I got «spicy» recently and didn’t think it was very spicy They’ve been having $ 5/​dz for oysters on the half shell on NFL game days. We went in for that and the oysters weren’t very big, but I think it was fine for $ 5.
The parking can get tough. Crawfish Café is right next to Ocean Palace, so during Saturday nights and Sunday mid-​day can be challenging with weddings and people getting dim sum during those times. The availability of parking is plentiful. You may just need to walk a bit, if it’s busy. Restrooms available are the ones for the entire center. It’s gross so… I suggest wiping down, lemon your hands to hold you off until you get to a decent restroom. Otherwise, enter at your own risk.
In the past, I’ve seen crazy lines during crawfish season during dinner time. I agree with Michelle V. to come at least 30 mins before dinner to avoid long wait times.

Cajun spicy crawfish and shrimps excellent. Inside at the far end of Hong Kong Market. Nice place good food excellent service

Easily one of the best crawfish restaurants in Houston. Love the garlic flavored crawfish. In season and always come in good decent sized; normally big, which is good & really filling. Oysters are pretty good too. Clams are good, but because of the weight of the shells, you don’t get as much. Will definitely be back for more crawfish!
Love the easy location inside HongKong4 City Mall. Parking everywhere, and you can walk the mall, go grocery shopping, stop for tapioca and snacks etc.
heads up. They open at 3:00P.M and on Sat-​Sun I believe around 12:00 P.M.

Came for lunch this past Sunday and the crawfish were pretty big for this time of the year! Apparently it’s because this winter wasn’t very cold so they were able to grow bigger. Price was $ 7.99/lb and shrimp was $ 12.99/lb.
I recommend getting the Mix flavor at medium spicy. They’re spicy isn’t too spicy here. My other recommendations include Cajun fries and the seafood platter.

Setup: various visits
The good: good size crawfish and crabs, consistent, very tasty seasoning, comparable pricing, fried okra, fried rice, oysters, BYOB!
The bad: located inside HK4, so sometimes parking can be a hassle and the wait can be long
Observations: they will give you a bucket of ice and bar blade for the beers you bring in, the staff is always friendly but occasionally get overwhelmed when busy so things can be a little slow
Overall recommendation: definitely one of my top crawfish picks! It’s been slowly creeping up on my usual go-​to across the street.

THIS PLACE HAS THE BEST CRAWFISH I’VE EVER TASTED. You’re in for a euphoric experience.
I’ve been to quite a couple crawfish restaurants and although they are all pretty awesome in their own way, nothing leaves a lasting taste in my mouth like Crawfish Café does. Ever since the first time I was brought there, I have always craved it – whether or not it was crawfish season, but moreso during crawfish season. The flavor is not too overpowering, but contributes a lot to the delicious experience. I always end up ordering 3 or 4 lbs of crawfish in one sitting, and I don’t even mind taking leftovers home.
I come here every chance I can get whenever I’m in the Houston area.
Seriously one of the best places to get crawfish.

This is solely on their crawfish. Had the mild mix and it was awesome. Very flavorful and gives a bit of a differeny flavor from the rest of the Asian crawfish places. I wish there were more garlic to eat off the crawfish but owells.
Do not order the oysters. They tasted very fishy and were definitely not fresh. Overall I’d recommend this place to anyone solely on crawfish.

$ 7.99lb crawfish.
Came here passing through Houston. I can only comment on the crawfish partially because that’s all I ordered.
The restaurant is inside of a strip mall and is set up like an indoor patio with wooden booths. They give you 2 metal bowls one for your shells and one for your crawfish. They also give you mayonnaise, ketchup and lemons. Bonus they also give you bibs where most people charge you some change for ones.
Overall they weren’t bad they were a lot bigger then I am used to. The shells were harder because these are older crawfish. Which was a bonus when cracking the claw meat. Flavorwise isn’t bad… I mean they are a pretty decent size. The flavor I got was the Mix garlic butter and lemon pepper and spice level was spicy I also got 1 boiled corn for .99 cents added on. Spice level was okay I think I probably could’ve gotten extra spicy and still been okay. I think because these crawfish were a bit bigger then the ones I’ve tried and the shells were a bit darker there wasn’t as much juice as I’m used to when sucking on the crawfish heads but the tail meat was still good.
Hopefully I will return soon to try other dishes that they offer since they also have oyster on a half shell, clams shrimp and other Créolé/​New Orleans style dishes.

My favorite crawfish place in Houston so far. It’s a bit pricey but it satisfy my cravings. I always get the mix (best flavor) and then I ask for extra garlic butter and put it in my dipping sauce. Their corn and potatoes are so juicy and full of garlic butter. I always get the oysters on half shell too. But sometimes it’s not that great and tastes like the ocean.
I also like the fries a lot. It’s crispy but not burnt and hard. Their wings are cheap and good as well. I like the nuoc mam and garlic flavors.

–1 star for the long wait. We didn’t get seated till 945pm and it also took a while for them to bring our crawfish.
My sister and I ordered 4 pounds. 2 of them mixed and 2 of them being garlic and thai basil. We also ordered red potatoes to munch on as appetizers but didn’t realize they already come with the crawfish.
They give you gloves to peel off the crawfish but it doesn’t really work since the smell and juices still get to your hands. Maybe wearing 2 sets of gloves will work.
Overall pretty good crawfish. I liked the mix more than the thai basil flavor.

I just feel sorry for all the other crawfish places after having the ones here.
+ Food comes out fast! Usually crawfish takes a while to be made to your liking, but even with a half-​full house, we got all our food MAYBE 20 min after ordering.
+ Great service! We were greeted, seated, and served by all-​around nice people.
+ And of course, the crawfish. How, just how, do they make them so succulent and flavorful in such a short time? We tried all 3 flavors and were so satisfied that I’d have a hard time ranking my favorites.
Gotta try these flavors on the shrimp next time! My glands are already watering just thinking about it.

Came back the 2^nd time with a friend. Sweet potato fries is not recommended, other crawfish places have better ones.
I came back because of the big/​jumbo size they have a week ago. This time was a huge disappointment! Crawfish was pretty small and overcooked. Lack of flavor this time as well.
I’m not sure if i will come back again.