Nhung N.
Yelp
Hook & Reel Seafood and Bar is part of a chain with locations in Maryland, New York, and soon to be Rhode Island. The restaurant focuses on Cajun seafood (NOT Cajun/Asian). You have several flavors crawfish boils with varying spice level, seafood Po boys, gumbo, and Cajun fries. Its Revere location is located inside of Wonderland Marketplace, a strip mall with Marshall's, USPS, and other. There is ample parking.
I want to give Hook & Reel a 3.5 stars review. Overall, decent but no where close to the competition in the area. There are several reasons this isn't a 4 stars for me. First and foremost, they do not have an option for fresh crawfish. When your competition (Luoi Luoi, Holy Crab, Shaking Crab) all have fresh crawfish and you're opening a seafood restaurant in New England, you need to source some fresh crawfish. Second, when I asked how spicy their spiciest level was, our waiter said that it is not even spicy. So for a lot of those crawfish lovers out there who like a kick in their crawfish, be sure to ask for two level spicier than their spiciest.
My experience was overall pleasant. We went here on a Thursday night for a late Father's day dinner. There was plenty of parking and we were seated immediately. I was impressed by the size of the restaurant. It can definitely accommodate large groups of 30 and maybe even 40 patrons. There is a huge bar selection as well. The restaurant was also decorated appropriately. It was aesthetically pleasing. Our waiter who served us was really polite and he gave us plenty of time to look the menu over and answered questions we had.
We ordered the catfish Po boy which came with a choice of fries, either plain or sweet potato fries. This is probably the best item that night. The catfish was absolutely delicious. It was lightly battered, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. It needed more spicy mayo sauce but that's just my opinion.
We also did the pick three 1 lbs seafood combo, and picked all 3 lbs of crawfish in the house blend. The house blend is a combination of all of the flavors. Then we did the pick two seafood with the snow crab. We ordered shrimp heads on (sweeter that way) and clams with the snow crab in the lemon pepper sauce. My favorite had to be the house blend.
When our food arrived in plastic bags, we were given plastic gloves, bibs, and plenty of napkins. I have to say, all of the seafood tasted fine, but live fresh crawfish would have made it all the better. There is nothing more disappointing when eating a crawfish boil than finding frozen crawfish.
The leftover seafood and sauce were not wasted. We took it home, shelled all the seafood, and then had it over rice. It was amazing but an absolute sodium boost. So good but so bad for you.
I will definitely be coming back but this is not my top go-to place for crawfish. I think it has a lot to do with my preference for a spicier flavor profile and the fresh crawfish option that Hook & Reel lacks. It also doesn't have the Asian fusion menu that I like at the competition. Still, I would say it is perfect for lazy nights when I don't want to drive into town. Give it a try. See my pictures.