88 Boiling

This place was packed, line was waiting outside the door into the parking lot. This neighborhood crawfish spot is the place to go! Delicious all mixed sauce and they even have corn, potatoes, and sausage to add too. Cajun fries were delicious and so were the fresh oysters! There was no available seating inside so we had to eat outside, and this was in the evening. Only half of the string lights worked outside and our half it was off. The bench attached to the ground was also loose and one of the people at our table almost fell due to the poor infrastructure. The wait, due to it being very busy, was long and service also took a long time. The bathrooms were also completely out of stock with toilet paper and paper towels - which granted we are eating at a seafood place would have somewhere for us to wash and dry our hands properly. I saw that they were taking to-go orders and dine-in orders as well, trying to keep up with everything. Overall, delicious, great crawfish place that I hope to return to but hopefully conditions and unkept sanitation will be improved.

Usually they’re good but lately it’s been 👎🏾 !! Seems like the pounds are getting smaller as the price increases smh they gotta do better !!! No way this is 5 lbs of crawfish and 2 lbs of shrimp 🤯

I’ve been coming to this place since I was in high school and I’m deeply disappointed in this business. Last Sunday 3/30 I went and got wings and fried rice my total was $15.13. On Monday my bank updates the charge to $35.13 due to a “tip.” I tried calling to speak with a manager and was told to come back. I brought my receipt just in case and asked them to find my receipt to match. The lady that I spoke to took none of this seriously and kept laughing in my face and telling me to calm down. Not only were they unprofessional m lacked common courtesy they continued to lie and saying the bank did the amount change not them, which was not true. I will never patron this place again and I wonder how many people they did this to and no one caught it. No one tips more than what they actually ordered. Be careful buying food here they will scam you.

This is a hole in the wall, no frills kinda place, but so far the BEST crawfish in the area. I have been on a crawfish kick, ordering boiled crawfish everywhere I can, and so far 88 Boiling has been the tastiest. The crawfish were huge, juicy, and cooked perfectly. The seasoning is fantastic. I chose the raging Cajun and on a separate occasion the 88 special blend, and both were fantastic. Hubby ordered grilled fish, it was a bit overcooked but very tasty. Can't wait to go back and try more items on the menu.

I order food from here an notice something brown with legs by my fish. Please check your food they have roaches really bad. This experience made me sick for weeks n my stomach was upset from just the thought of eating this an I did not notice.

Horrible I’ve order from here a few times this visit was by far the worst This chicken taste old or maybe it’s the grease It was over cooked The rice was extra gummy This shrimps & chicken wing plate was given a good 2 today I’m writing this review because I was asked to pull up & wait for my food all for it to be HORRIBLE

The seafood and cajun fries were so so good. Loved the flavors and seasonings. Two complaints is that the corn was mushy and not very fresh. Felt like it was old and been frozen for a while. The eggs were also not the freshest as the inside yolk was turning black, not bad yet but you can tell is old and going to go bad soon.

Food was delicious. It came out fresh and hot. They give you alot of food probably could share it with someone. Customer service was good. Waiter took our order and was knowledgeable of the menu options.

Get the raging Cajun boiled shrimp. It was the best one out of all. Definitely get that Cajun flavor.

No tp in bathroom. Fried plate was OK. Tiny cup of Catsup, no bottles on tables. Tarter sauce smelled and tasted old, expired. Had to ask for lemon but only had lime. Salad, no choice of dressing, you get what they have....white Never got a refill on drink or anyone asking if I need anything...not once. I watched as people got their plastic bag of crawfish(weird), no plate or not even a container on table to put the discarded heads. There is actually a sign that says they will charge for plastic gloves LOLOL I listened as customers said thank you several times, no response from owners.

This is my 2nd time here, my first experience wasn't the best so I decided to give this spot one more chance. We came here for a UYE & when there's crawfish involved you know I'm there. I arrived at 12:10 & my friends informed me even though they open at 12:00 we needed to wait until 12:30 to order which isn't a good look. If you want to have your business run smoothly then be there at least an hour before opening to prep on your food otherwise you'll have a lot of hangry customers waiting to order. We got to try a few items on the menu. Started off with some onion rings and combo fried rice. I ordered 2 pounds of crawfish with a cluster of snow crabs & some potatoes. For dessert the group ordered the mango sticky rice. The onion rings were solid and it came out piping hot & were huge as well. The combo fried rice was nothing special and there was barely any shrimp in my rice. I got their 88 special xxx spicy for my crawfish. Flavor wise it was good but I didn't taste any lemon pepper. I also was expecting my tongue to burn, a runny nose and a little sweat but it wasn't that spicy. I eat spicy all the time so this was like a mild for me, it definitely had a kick but not enough to be triple x spicy. The snow crab was small & over boiled which made it dry. Definitely wasn't worth 16 bucks. The mango sticky rice was okay it just didn't have enough coconut milk. Overall, it was okay decent. The service was meh as well. Our server was not that nice but she did her job. I will say that the manager was extremely pleasant with us. The decor needs some TLC. The walls need new paint, the tables were unbalanced and the chairs look like it's been there since they've opened. Also the way it's set up, we were crammed up together. The tables were just too close to one another and it was hard for us to move around. Will I come back? Only if my friends decide to come here otherwise nah I'm good.

Came with a group of yelpers on a Saturday. Arrived at 11:55a since then open at noon. Staff member was just opening the door and turning on the lights. I walked inside, and the staff member told me they would have food ready by 12:30p. I said wait what? Then she said ok, maybe 12:20p but need time to cook. I was surprised, to say the least. Not a good start. Ambiance - your typical whole in the wall spot. Keep your expectations accordingly. Food- I ordered 1 lb of crawfish/$8.99 market price, with there 88 boiling special seasoning. I got medium spice. And it was spicy enough for me. I saved the extra sauce from the bag to make ramen at home, like I usually do. I think they charge for gloves and butter? The reviews I recently saw said they are charging automatic gratuity for a party of 2 or more, yikes! Review that receipt before you pay.

Had dinner with my family here when we visited Houston. Was really looking forward to it as the reviews looked great. It was also close to our Airbnb in the heart of the Vietnamese area which was convenient. Unfortunately, we did not have the best meal here. First, it's inside the end of a mall so don't expect a great view or ambiance. Service was alright, kind of slow. The biggest complaint we had was some of the bags of seafood we got were barely lukewarm. You would expect everything to come out hot, especially for Cajun style seafood. The taste was just alright, seasoning was not to my liking. I will say, when we mentioned this to our server, a manager came out and gave us 2 bags for free and they were very hot. A very nice gesture for sure, but I don't think I would go back.

Customer service was very minimal. no eye contact whatsoever! The food was affordable and tasty

My friend and i loved this place so much we wanted to return with someone else the very next day to spread the joy. Sauce was different from other Cajun places we have tried. Everything was buttery, just the right amount of spice (i think we got med) and huge potato balls. Place was on the grungy side, not the cleanest but as long as i dont see insects or little rodents running around, i dont care. The food was great. Highly recommend

Three of us had dinner here on 4/7/23. This place is simply all about the good food, reasonably priced. There is pretty much no decor to speak of. We had: Garlic bread - 3/5: Okay. My daughter ordered this as she loves garlic bread. What came out was two very thick pieces of bread that had some melted garlic butter on it. It was a bit lacking in flavor. Onion rings - 3/5: Okay. Picture below. I will say it tasted better than it looked but certainly nothing to write home about. Gumbo - 3/5: The flavor was very good but the portion was a bit small for a "bowl" of soup. Crawfish - 4/5: Very good. Ordered 1lb special sauce mild and another 1lb special sauce spicy. The crawfish were perfectly cooked and quite large. Both sauces were very good but the spicy one was not very spicy at all. Clams - 3/5: Good. Ordered with special sauce mild. Again, the sauce was very good. We've now been to three different cajun-style crawfish/seafood restaurants in Houston. 1 did not have clams at all and two of them (including this one) used the white shelled clams you usually find in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets. We moved to Houston from Los Angeles less than a year ago. In LA, whenever clams are offered at these types of restaurants, they are almost always manilla clams, which are fresh and much more flavorful than these previously-frozen white clams. I don't get it... Snow Crab - 4/5: Very Good. Ordered with garlic butter mild. Really good flavor to the sauce and crab. Combination Fried Ric - 3/5: Good. The fried rice is very traditionally flavored like one would find at a Chinese restaurant (soy sauce and beaten eggs). No house or secret sauce added. Overall, the food is good to very good. The rating takes into account how reasonably priced this restaurant is versus its competition for similar food.

Food was good, fast out to the table. Small but Clean eating area. Tons of garlic in the boils, I liked it but my partner didn't enjoy as much. Fair market prices.

Amazing first experience. The nicest ladies and staff. The crawfish was spicy XXX and made my face hurt... so good! It was perfect snd not just hot but had a good flavor. Sometimes it's just hot and taste blah but this was great. Good atmosphere and ambiance and just overall great experience. Highly recommend.

Unsanitary! Disgusting! Lack of care! This used to be my favorite spot when I was craving crab legs, good fried fish and fried rice. That is all history now after I was handed a bag of crab legs that I was ready to dig into with a side of ROACH! I will never eat here again.

It's been forever since I have been here and I was looking for some fish and shrimp. Called in my order 1-2pm, probably took about 10-12 minutes, for it to be a week day and a late lunch they where pretty busy 2 pieces of catfish and 6 shrimp with Cajun fries and 2 pounds of peel n eat shrimp. Fish fillets and shrimp were both small, could have gotten more. Cajun fries didn't have any Cajun seasoning on it, it just looked like they were fried differently. Also ordered 2 pounds of peel n eat shrimp mild house favor. The first were great and very seasoned. I would definitely recommend the boiled food, but the fried food is lacking.

Food & service was nasty The entire place was gross and slippery. Their table and chairs are broken

Safety hazard to both your health and your physical body, make sure you wear slip resistant shoes before you go in because if you fall the staff will just ignore you. Also make sure you use the restroom before you dine. Food was below average, place is very dingy and everything feels sticky. Live crawfish is not live, and you can tell some were dead before being cooked.

Food: 4. Came by because we had a crawfish craving. No real research on the place. Interesting place as it has a drive through. Crawfish not in season so only frozen available for $8.99/lb. We ordered 2lbs of crawfish, corn, sausage, crawfish fried rice, oysters, and Cajun fries. Food came out timely and at the right temperature. Crawfish was good. Fries were very crispy. Oysters were too salty but fine with the rice. Crawfish fried rice was excellent. Ambiance is like a modified takeout restaurant. Service was very good. Pricing very good compared to Orange County Service: 4 Ambiance: 3 Value: 4

Great service, great sauces, and most importantly fresh seafood! My group of 11 came at 3PM on a Friday so 88 Boiling Crawfish was pretty empty, only about 4 other parties dining in. We were seated immediately and our food came out super quick. However, I can see how this place might have a long wait during high traffic times - seating was very limited both inside and outside. We ordered 2lb crawfish and 1lb shrimp. On this day I was feeling particularly courageous and asked for xxx spicy 88 sauce. Let me start off by saying...DON'T MESS AROUND WITH XXX SPICY BECAUSE IT IS ACTUALLY SPICY. I can handle spice decently well but I admit that I was sweating halfway through. The sauce was very delicious though...just...extremely spicy. As for the seafood, everything we had was fresh. I don't know what it is about California but our crawfish are sooo small. I was pleasantly surprised that 88 crawfish were a nice size!

Came here at about 1pm on a Saturday. The parking lot was packed and we had to park in the grass, but once we got our food I understood lol. We sat ourselves after getting menus at the counter. It was a gorgeous day so we chose the patio, which is thankfully covered with clear plastic that can be rolled up. The tables are covered with plastic sheets and secured with commercial binder clips which allowed for quick table turnovers. I ordered 1lb of headless shrimp and 1lb of crawfish, and 4 each of sausage, potatoes, and corn. (I didn't realize until the end that I never received my corn.) I also got shrimp fried rice for my son who doesn't like peeling crawfish, and three drinks. They only sell bottled drinks, no fountain. The bag of crawfish didn't feel as heavy as the shrimp and they were mostly small, but the flavors were phenomenal. I chose 88 special medium heat and although my girlchild complained I don't regret a thing (she loves spicy food but loves complaining more.) It was approximately $53 for everything which isn't bad at all. We were full and everything was delicious so money well spent.

Stopped in for a bite to eat. First time here. The best part for me I believe is the drive-through option. I opted for some King Crab legs, shrimp, a piece of fried catfish and shrimp fried rice. Yes, I was sharing. My King Crab legs were tasty but not spicy (according to my flame-mouthed daughter). I'm cool with the flavorful tinge oh heat‍. The servers were friendly and attentive. This is not a fancy place, but I will come again for good food.

Service was great. Crab legs were great. Oysters were pretty good. However, crawfish are not boiled as in boiled in crawfish boil and any typical seasonings. This crawfish tastes like it was boiled in water and served in a bag of seasoned oil. If you're looking for "boiled crawfish" like the Gulf Coast, this is not the same thing. Even the most basic light liquid crab/crawfish boil wld help.

This is my absolute favorite crawfish place. I haven't gone in off seasons but the seasonings alone are phenomenal.

Even though I moved areas, I will make the drive and go here, my go to Crawfish boil!

I enjoyed the flavor, BUT your bill includes "tip" for a party of 2. And unless you are a hawk eye, you will add the "gratuity " so graciously calculated for you. I am all up for compensating hard work, but a tip is automatically included for a party of 6 or more in most restaurants, BUT a party for 2? No thanks. That's a scam.

I have lived in the area for over 10 years and I am not sure what took me so long to visit this restaurant. Great service, great food and most importantly reasonable prices. We had the shrimp fried rice, gumbo and 10 lbs of crawfish. All outstanding!! This is my new spot for mud bugs! They were good size and very tasty. The location is a bit interesting but nonetheless a must!

I placed a take out order and that took a standard 20 minutes. For my ordered I did a snow crab boil and bowl of gumbo. The eggs, potatoes, corn and sausages will cost extra. I opt in for the 8& Special which is all three seasonings put together and spice level spicy. First of there is nothing spicy about the sauce. The sauce itself wasn't too bad but not spicy. Secondly, it's not a true boil where they boil the sauce and ingredients together. I did not like the fact that they placed the boil eggs with the shell on. One of my eggs was very difficult to break apart. The best part of the boil was the sausages. Bowl of gumbo is a bit pricey for the small portion received. It was okay but could use a bit more seasoning.

The food quality was good, the service was quick and accurate, the ambiance needs a little updating and some kind of way to diminish the smell when you walk in...

So good and cheap, I just might move to Houston for this place. My brother and I drove through the city and stopped by for the live crawfish. Incredibly fat and juicy seafood with such a savory sweet 88 sauce!! We also sat outside on their shaded patio seating on a warm December day. Would highly recommend this place.

Gosh, this was a missed for me. I done at a lot of Crab Boil restaurants and unfortunately, this restaurant was just ok. I had a lb of Crab Legs. I wasn't hungry but since I was visiting, I wanted to give them a try. The sauce was alright. I prefer to have a lot of garlic with all of those spices. The crab seemed overcooked. Lastly, the service was ok. I asked the server for butter and he left then returned a few minutes later and he asked me "did you ask for something earlier?" Well, I'd give them another try.

The worst crab legs ever! One pound is supposed to be 2 clusters but one of my clusters only had 2 legs and the other cluster had 2 legs that were void of crab meat. They were way too salty, so I sent them back and told them just to steam them with no seasoning. The second batch was just as salty and looked like the 1st batch I just sent back. They want you to eat out of the bag and won't give you a plate. The only tool they give is the cracker pliers, no fork to dig out the over cooked crab meat. I complained to management, and they said if I got one claw then that was considered a cluster even if it only had 2 legs. Never again.

This place is pretty popular and keeps customers coming in and out the door. I prefer crawfish that is boiled in the flavor and not just seasoned with it after boiling so the crawfish is a 3/5 for me but the fried food is yummy and BYOB policy is bomb because you can bring a slushy, juice, or whatever beverage you prefer.

I love this place. When I stayed off Hayes Road they definitely got all my income tax money.. lol!! The fish is the best and I love their garlic butter sauce it's the best.. the crawfish and shrimp boil is banging:

The seafood is really good for the price. I get the fried catfish and shrimp basket. I asked for the cajun fries once but it didn't seem any different from the original fries. The service is usually quick. I always get my food to go!

Great service, fresh crawfish, super superb sauce, great fried rice and wings, jumbo shrimp! What more can you ask for! Give it a shot you would walk out surprised

Ok, so there's been so much hype about this place and so I had to find out what it was all about. Ambience; packed, super busy, you have to sign up to get seated. There is outside seating. There is also a drive through option. It gets busy pretty quick. Had the ragin Cajun crawfish spicy, with corn and potatoes. Also had pork fried rice. Crawfish was super salty!! Omg! My fingers were tingling from the saltiness. In terms of spicy, it barely has a kick. The pork fried rice was ok. Honestly, I may give them another try on a good day, but this was a let down.

I ordered shrimp and crawfish all the way Med spicy and the seasoning was very good but heavy on the ginger but medium really isn't very spicy. I also ordered the chicken fried rice and it is the BEST BEST in the city no debates! Service was quick ordered and got my food in a good time. It's a casual setting inside and outside even a drive-thru Enjoy!

Ordered the large catfish plate and it was OK if you're down with it being overly salted to stroke level. The young lady who took my order was professional and pleasant but their restrooms needed attention. I won't be back.

Friendly staff and amazing food! The taste is on par with the boiling crab in California. Had the xxxspicy with the 88 sauce and the shrimp friend rice, and it hit the spot!!

Great food. Reasonable service. Sometimes the wait can be a bit long. The clientele can behave rude and entitled towards employees.

Best crawfish I've ever had! The flavor is great, they serve fast, food was served hot and nice

I've only gone here for the crawfish and shrimp and it's really good this is my go to spot when even I randomly want to get some

First thing to note is that this place gets VERY busy both with indoor dining and their curbside pickup. If you decide to dine in, just a fair warning that their seating is not socially distant. All the tables are packed very close to one another. For the food, we ordered the shrimp with medium spice in the Cajun sauce, some crawfish also with medium spice in the 88 sauce, the fried oyster platter, fried rice, and grilled oysters on the half shell. I liked both the Cajun and 88 sauces, but I did find the Cajun sauce very salty. The crawfish were cooked well, but there were quite a few pieces that only had the head and not the tails. I liked the taste of the fried rice, but they give a small portion. The fried oysters here were also very good. The only thing I did not like here were the grilled oysters. First they use very small oysters and then cover them with some red sauce that covers any taste of the oyster itself. Because this place is so busy, do not expect for the server to come to your table any more times than to just take your order. You have to flag them down to get their attention. Overall decent food, but the service and the attempts to social distance are mediocre at best.

Amazing is all I could say. Husband and sister had crawfish and they were in love with it. Seasoning on point. Service was good as well. Ambiance was cool bc it forces you to talk (I have an 11 year old who at times gets glued to his cell) people were all enjoying themselves and happy. First time, will definitely be coming back. Ps: the fried chicken wings are huge and amazingly fried

Absolute banger. Some of the best crawfish and fried catfish ever. No nonsense mom and pop shop vibes. Good service and great seafood.

After coming back to 88 for the start of this crawfish season, I have to give it 5 stars for consistency. The 88 special seasoning always hits the spot for me and it's been my favorite for ~10 years. Nothing has been able to knock it off of the #1 spot for me. The size of their crawfish is also consistently larger than most other places at the same time during the season. Tip: if you want your order to go just call it in - order is usually ready in about 15 min. The drive through window takes forever.

Crawfish were great. Available with several sauces hot medium and mild. Fried catfish was perfect. Great service, easy parking. Ambience was your typical low cost seafood place like all down the coast. Also an active drive through. I'll be back!!

If you are a spice lover, you have to try this! Too much goodness. Here, you have the option of dine in, to go and drive through as well. I have tried their snow crab legs with cajun flavor xxx spice level. After you choose your seafood, choose your flavor and then spice level. They have five varieties of flavor: cajun, lemon pepper, garlic butter and 88 special (all in one). I have tried their cajun flavor, and the seasoning is really flavorful and it got that kick to it. Only downside is that its too salty. For my next order, I'd try requesting if they could adjust the salt or else I'm avoiding cajun and going for 88 seasoning instead. I chose xxx spice level, and I tell you, I can handle super hot and spicy food yet I was in tears with xxx spices. I won't repeat xxx spice again. I liked that I can order any sides separately if I want. Unlike some other restaurants, my order isn't filled with many unnecessary sides. I like to enjoy my seafood with minimal and my choice of sides; not with whole lot of sides, half of which I don't like. My recent to go order was during this pandemic time. I really appreciate that they have maintained the social distancing guidelines. I saw many to go orders and drive through. Thank you for your service especially at this current situation!

The best crawfish and shrimp in Houston. For those who moved from LA CA, this is like boiling crab with cheaper price.

Not much of a crawfish fan but I looooove crab legs and since all the boils here looked good, we checked it out. After pulling up, it was clear that this used to be a previous fast food restaurant. It came complete with a drive-thru window which I guess is convenient for orders that have been phoned in advance. No issue there except they hadn't done anything to spruce it up. It wasn't terribly unclean just old. The setup is interesting but bearable. We grabbed seats in the outer covered patio area. The waitress seemed uninterested in listening and even more uninterested in caring if we noticed. Even when she did attempt to engage and provide a recommendation, it didn't meet our expectations. We got hushpuppies as an appetizer and then snow and King Crab legs with an ear of corn and a potato. The hushpuppies were just ok...not seasoned with no great flavor. They just tasted like little balls of corn meal. The snow crab legs were pretty good in the 88 special sauce, the potato wasn't cooked through and the corn was forgettable. The other issue was with the King Crab legs. I had 1.5 very lightweight legs and my friend had 4 which felt substantially heavier than mine. When we asked about the difference, we were told "that's just how it happens some times". For $30/lb, I need a better explanation. But we decided it wasn't worth a deeper discussion and just left. Doubt I'll be back.

Always fresh and tasty ! Limited choices but all are very good. In house or to go, never been disappointed

88 Boiling Crawfish and Seafood is absolutely a great place to visit especially for the food. The Snow crab legs with the Cajun sauce (little salty) is amazing. Grilled jumbo shrimps were great too. You can't leave this place without trying out the chicken fried rice. Ambience and the seating could have been better but if you are okay to compromise the ambience with some great delicious food, it's definitely worth.