The Bayou Shack

Added this place to my favorites list, whenever I take my family to Kalahari. The service was awesome and the flavors of the shack bags super delicious. We decided to mix all 3 sauces. My family loved it and we plan on coming back.

Update below original review. Now our favorite place close to home! Sadly I’m lowering my rating after 2nd time. Atmosphere.. barely anyone there.. so one of the employees or owners was doing tik tok videos and for my birthday atmosphere that was distracting. He Could have done after hours. The first order I received an item I did not Oder. When food was brought back, it was very just boiled water flavor. There was no. Salt or seasoning other than garlic. Just tasted very bland. The muscles did not have beard removed and were not cleaned. I was offered a reorder but I declined a 3rd try. I ate some of my son’s food as well and it was very bland. The crab was good but not the shrimp or potatoes. The potato was still hard.

We tried this place for the first time last Saturday night. We arrived about 6:30 pm and the place was packed.It is quite small but that was unimportant to us. We were quoted a very reasonable wait time of 20-25 minutes. We were seated and greeted. I ordered the Shack bag #1 1lb snow crab and 1/2 shrimp with lemon pepper, garlic lovers, Cajun seasoning, with MEDIUM spice level. (Server said it was actually like a level 9 spiciness) I like spice and was okay with that. The food came out within about 10-15 minutes. The flavors were absolutely delicious and finger lick in’ GOOD🤤!! The spice level given was correct but still enjoyable! The margaritas were mouth watering. I had a frozen passion fruit margarita with a Tajin rim. They were not stingy with the alcohol! The music was on point!! They plated a mix of R&B new/ oldies but goodies. It was a wonderful experience and we will definitely be back soon! Hope this helps anyone looking for a fantastic seafood boil!

We dined in here once and had excellent time. Very excellent service and decent portions. We opted for take out on two occasions and it was a night and day difference. On both occasions, there were only a handful of fries… the second time we called to figure out why and the response was “well those are $2.00 worth of fries, you don’t think that’s enough??” Mind you, the plate itself is $15.00…. Do not order from here if you are looking for a good take out option.

Oh my goodness. The Bayou Shack really knocked it out of the park. Decided on a whim to try it after the first Cajun restaurant we were going to try was closed. I am so happy the other place was closed because we wouldn’t have had the delightful experience of dining here. Dennis was our server and he made sure our dining experience was top tier. You would think he owns the place with how much he cares (maybe he does). My husband LOVED his shrimp basket. My snow crab and crawfish were the best I’ve ever had. The hush puppies, also the best. I’m stuffed, but I can’t wait to go back.

The food was good and drinks were strong. I got one of the combination boils and added clams with all the sauces mixed together. It’s messy but they provide gloves and a bib. The corn was great but it had some spice to it which I enjoyed. I could have used a small crab fork and some scissors for the crab.

Typically this is my go to spot but these last two take outs has been pretty disappointing. The first time they forgot my mussels and appetizer, the next day I called and they refunded me my missing items from my large order. But today, it was just overcooked and ended up throwing away more than half of my crawfish. Flavor is always there and it’s better in store just not to go. 🫠☹️

We have ordered from here through Uber Eats a few times and really liked the food. Tonight I ordered the catfish nuggets and the photo looked very appealing. I was highly disappointed. I got 9 tiny nuggets for $12 where if I had ordered the basket I would've gotten 3 full filets AND a side for $14. My husband got the chicken wings and the sauce was only on one chicken wing rather than distributed on all 6 wings. We also ordered a side of cajun rice that although the flavor was good the rice was overcooked and mushy. I tried calling the restaurant for over a thirty minute period to discuss my order but no one ever picked up the phone. I hardly ever leave bad reviews for any place. Due to the inferior food quality and not bring able to contact management, I'm leaving this review.

The food here is yummmm. Super fresh and tasty. They were so nice upon us entering with everyone greeting us. And the food comes out quick without sacrificing quality. We got the hush puppies and they're fluffy and crunchy little balls of tastiness. The shrimp po boy is delicious with big, meaty and crunchy shrimps. I also liked the tartar sauce that it came with. And the beignets are delicious - soft yet crunchy and full of powdered sugar. Support your local restaurants and check this place out. The food is great. I'm excited to try the seafood boil next time!

The seafood boils here are really great! Awesome flavor and cooked well. I'm scared to try the Scorpion heat level as the level below already packs some good heat. The staff is really friendly, though the few times I've gone I find that the service can be a bit slow. Limited to beer and wine margs on the bevvys. They do have a couple of TVs at the bar area. They have an outdoor area, but I've never seen anyone out there.

My partner and I have had great experiences here and really sub par ones. The good: Shrimp is consistently fantastic in the boils. Green muscles are also a nice addition to a bag of goods. Chill atmosphere with super nice and attentive servers. The bad: Closing is 9pm and on several occasions the kitchen has been closed around 8.20 or doing take out only. I called in advance to check and there is no answer. Bartender and staff aside from servers can be quite rude, put out to have patrons 45 min before close. The last time we were there we ordered margaritas on the rocks, which described including tequila (of course!) When we got them there was no tequila in it, but some white wine or some such. Being gentle, we asked the server what kind of tequila was in it and being under legal age she asked the owner. He replied he just makes them himself and refused the request of information. The crab and especially the crawfish were very over boiled and largely inedible as the meat was waterlogged and turned to gunk when opened. One must request butter, lemon and dry seasoning. There was only a single corn and 2 potatoes that had been boiled and just added to the bag. The extra garlic sauce ordered was terrible, some weirdo red concoction with not a hint of garlic. The last trip was so disappointing, we as repeat customers may not return.

If you are from the Gulf Coast, you're likely to be unimpressed with The Bayou Shack in Round Rock. The service is great, but the execution of the menu is just okay. As Cajun/Creole transplants, we just had to give this place a try for Saturday lunch in November 2024. I suspect we'll stick with our other reliable sources for "a taste of home". If I lived nearby, I could see coming back for the cheap beer ($4 Dos XX at the time of purchase; with today's inflation & tariff talks, that price may not hold) and tavern ambiance, sticking to the pub-fare menu items. We always test a new Louisiana-inspired joint by 3 things: seafood boil, po-boy, and gumbo. By comparison, our longtime genre faves in the area that succeed on all 3 include Stuffed Cajun Meat Market, French Quarter Grille, Crawfish Shack, Deckhand Oyster Bar, and Cypress Grill. Right off the bat, the $7 cup of gumbo at Bayou Shack was a headshaker. Seasoning was weird, and it had a thick, gravy-like consistancy more like an etouffee. Strike 1. Next up, hub's $14 fried catfish poboy with Cajun spice-dusted fries. Nothing terrible here, but it was the typical not-in-LA poboy that tastes like a sandwich made by someone who does not eat poboys. Bread was a right-out-of-the-bag hoagie roll, not the crispy-on-the-outside, light-and-fluffy-on-the-inside Leidenheimer, Gendusa, or Langlinais-style, toasted french bread loaf that it should be. Strike 2. My $21 "Build Your Boil" half-pound "Bottom of the Bayou" flavor snow crab boil was pretty good, although I was offended to pay an extra $3 for the addition of a single red potato. The nicest part was the provision of proper boil-eating tools, including gloves, a bib, shell crackers, and crab leg pick, plus lemons and melted butter for dipping. I'll have to come back during crawfish season to see what I think of their offerings for that kind of boil, since the boil is where they seem to do best. Our waiter was wonderful but we didn't have the heart to tell him the truth when he asked what we thought of each dish. Our total for 3 meals at lunch before tip was $75, a bit over-the-top. $15 for chicken tenders and $5 for Sysco fries? Yikes!

Did not go to the restaurant in person. Used Door Dash recommendation. Do not understand the number of items given, different from menu. 3 very mushy boudin balls. Not sure if old or just under cooked. Ate half of 1. All I could do. The gumbo had so much salt I added a potato in it to see if that will help to eat tomorrow The catfish and shrimp plate with fries. Photo on site shows garlic bread. Nope-none in the container as you can see. 3 shrimp, supposed to be 4. The catfish are so small they should be on a kids plate. I requested cocktail sauce for my shrimp and fish and only got ketchup. I hope tomorrow I can attempt to eat the gumbo. Very disappointed! Will not order from again.

Service? Terrific. They're helpful, but not overbearing. Ambiance? It's in a strip mall, so there's that. Inside is charming. Nautical vibe. As it should be. Food? The catfish, shrimp, and blue crab we ate were all tasty and cooked perfectly. The Boudin Balls were fine. The coleslaw was crispy, just like it should be, and you get plenty of it. Overall, our party of three enjoyed the food and the service. We'll be back. Improvements I would suggest: 1. Lay off all the plastic. If we're eating in house, give us real utensils and ramikins that aren't going to get tossed in a landfill. 2. Expand the non-alcoholic options with seltzer waters, mineral waters, n/a beer, etc. As I said, we'll come back. Terrific little Cajun joint and the prices aren't obscene. Our party of 3, with tip, was $80.

10/10 service. Our waiter was literally the chillest dude ever and had such a great charisma to him.Very attentive and cool. We ordered the gator bites, catfish basket with hush puppies, shrimp po boy with fries and strawberry daiquiri. The daiquiri was STRONG AF. Not super frozen, but damn was that a strong drink. As a lightweight I took a couple of sips and it took me OUT. 10/10 worth ur money if you're trying to party. Shrimp was big and juicy, catfish was flaky, fries were crispy. No complaints! I'll definitely be back simply for the service and the food is solid as well. Will have to try more of their menu soon!

I recently visited Bayou Shack in Round Rock, and the experience was fantastic! From the moment we walked in, the customer service stood out--friendly, welcoming, and attentive without being overbearing. The staff really made sure we felt right at home and were quick to check in on us throughout the meal. We started with the fried oyster appetizer, and it was perfection--crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, with just the right amount of seasoning. For the main course, we tried the seafood boil bag, which was packed with flavor! The seafood was fresh, and the boil sauce had the perfect blend of spices. The portions were generous, and everything was cooked to perfection. Overall, it's not just the food that makes Bayou Shack a must-visit, but the excellent customer service that takes it to another level. I'll definitely be back! Let me know if you'd like any further adjustments!

This is not our normal Cajun spot but we wanted to try this one out and let me tell you this may trump our usual! Cute vibes inside there was an outside area available to eat with lights hanging. Inside area was nice and neat and clean. Food was hot and steaming and delicious I can't wait to come back!

I finally was able to check out the Bayou shack... And the only thing I can say is why did it take me so long super friendly staff and bartenders, a warm welcome goes a long way. The menu has countless delicacies to try... This trip I checked out the Bodin ball appetizer- which consisted of four large beer and balls that appeared to be handmade. They were very tasty and delicious... Super hot temperature wise out of the fryer, but oh my goodness they sure hit the spot. I was tempted to go with a crab and shrimp boil package, but I decided to leave that for my next trip... Lots of great things to put in their cornon the cob, potatoes, in addition to the seafood choices. This trip stuck with the fried oyster basket combo and threw in two fried shrimp with onion rings as my side. The onion rings had a very sweet tasting batter, and were long and thin, but very tasty the fried oysters were good, next time I will just get a couple to add to a basket rather than having them as the primary entrée... There was still very good but for me, I want them to complement rather than be the main dish. The fried shrimp were very good. I really like the breading on the fried items... Not Overly breaded but very well seasoned and a nice coating to the item being fried. The restaurant is in a strip center like space... They do have several TVs space throughout, but carefully placed so that if you didn't want to watch sports on TV... You could sit at a table and not even though they were present. My only real complain about my visit was the TV placement, so if you know, that's my biggest complaint this place has a lot of things going for it. I will be more selective on my seat placement next time in but the food and service were outstanding and for most of the time that's the real reason you go to a place to eat... Right? Good food, cold, beer, friendly service, not overly crowded in a place you can easily kick back and enjoy everything. If you haven't checked them out, you need to give them a try.

The food was even better than it looked! The service was top tier and a very pleasant experience. The establishment was clean and well kept throughout. The bayou aesthetic matched the menu very well. We ordered snow crab, shrimp, catfish, and hush puppies. All were very delicious!

Closed the kitchen 30 mins early tonight.... Shouldn't really have to say much else every time we try to call a order in for dinner they never pick the phone up... I've worked in the food industry making food isn't hard at all now having lazy people in the establishment will drag everything down this placed used to be the best around now they are on a downfall.. stop hiring kids and actually pay adults to work and maybe things will be way more professional...

My husband and I have been wanting some really good Cajun seafood boil. We also wanted to try something new and when I say this was it. I MEAN THIS WAS IT! I don't say this EVER and this was the best boil we have had. EVER. Hands down. We got 1/2 lb snow crab, 1 lb shrimp, 1/2 lb sausage, 4 corn, 1 lb of crawfish and 4 boiled eggs. We did spice level "fire" with the "bottom of the bayou" flavoring. It's a mixture of all of the flavors. It was the PERFECT amount of spice that left you keep digging in. We cleared our tray. I'm so glad we decided to try this place. I'm already super stoked to take more family and friends there. Especially when it gets a little warmer outside. We sat inside and the atmosphere was really nice and super chill. We got all of that and three bottled beers all for $94.00! That is a great price for how awesome this place is. Can't say it enough. Service was really great as well. I'm excited to go back and try more than just the boil. Ya'll go now!

Was visiting friends and they took us here and said everything on the menu is good. We tried the "dirty balls", I almost didn't want to share and totally recommend this appetizer. I followed up with the pasta and absolutely recommend this plate. The place is really cool and worth the visit if you're in the area.

We found this place online (fortunately) and didn't know what to expect. We ordered the 3 most popular items, according to our waitress. The photo is the shrimp poboy! They know how to do it right. I tend to be wary of jumbo shrimp bc they get tough so quickly, but these were hot, crispy, and perfectly tender. The fried catfish and shrimp had roughly 5 or 6 jumbo shrimp and 2 large catfish filets. The catfish stayed hot for the entire duration of our stay which impressed me. Finally, our bag turned out to have potatoes, corn, and about 10 jumbo shrimp and at least an entire crab, if not more. They cook it how you like it, and you can always add sausage. Everything was delicious & we will back soon! I will also mention that the location was nice because it was quiet and unassuming, perfect for a seafood shack, and the staff was very friendly and welcoming.

Best place for crab legs ever!!!! This business is family owned and the owner always comes over and says hello to us. Him and his wife are very awesome people and they run a very good business. I love the Micheladas from here and I always get the shack number one flavor, fire, and bottom of the Bayou sauce, which is a mixture of all the seasonings together.

Highly recommend! I had low expectations since there was no Yelp page, and it seems the Louisiana Crab Shack that was here previously had ok ratings so I wasn't sure if it was the same restaurant. I decided to wing it anyway since there were five stars on Google with raving reviews and pictures of menus with the Bayou Shack name. My friend and I came here around 5:30PM. There was plenty of parking and it was easy to find. We were seated pretty quickly since there were a lot of booths and tables open. They were playing a lot of oldies and I loved that the music was not too loud. We saw people of all ages coming in so I think it'd be a great spot for food with family and friends. The waitresses were all super welcoming and sweet. Our waitress let us know they no longer had fresh crawfish - only frozen. This was my first time dining in but the fresh crawfish I'd gotten for takeout before was clean, meaty, and flavorful. My friend and I ordered the sweet tea, dozen oysters, catfish with onion rings, gator bites, gumbo, and beignets. -Sweet tea: good and nothing out of the ordinary. -Oysters: super fresh and came with horseradish sauce, cocktail sauce, and lemons. I'm happy to report there was no terrible stomach aches afterwards. -Catfish and onion rings: Delicious and fish was soft but not mushy. Batter was perfect on both the catfish and onion rings. Catfish was crisp on the outside too and onion rings were the perfect bite sized pieces. -Gator bites: Yummy! Batter was also great on these and I loved the sauce. -Gumbo: Delicious and perfect size of you're not super hungry. I ordered this so I could have room to try the rest of the appetizers and dessert. Even though it was 90 something degrees outside, it was perfectly cool inside the restaurant so I could actually eat a piping bowl of soup without melting. -Beignets: I hadn't had these in years so I looked forward to them the most. They came out with all of our food initially but were still fresh and warm when we cracked them open. It was a bit messy with the powdered sugar getting all over the table but so with it. The inside was super fluffy and I loved that it wasn't oily. Our waitress gave us the dipping options for the beignets (strawberry, honey, chocolate, and caramel) and said we could get all of them if we wanted to, so we did. They didn't charge us extra so that was great. Our bill came out to a little over $90 with tax but I'd say it was worth it for the delicious food. Would definitely come back again!

Let's start off by saying service was amazing from start to finish. (10/10) Dennis was our main server but a couple of other people came by to make sure we were well taken care of. Everyone was very attentive and really friendly. Food: we ordered a plethora of things for the table. I would like to start off with The Fire Kracker shrimp- the shrimp were large, juicy, and full of flavor! Probably one of my favorite things I tried that night. The side of rice definitely completed the dish perfectly. You can obviously order that dish for lunch and be satisfied as the serving sizes are more than enough. The fried catfish basket with Cajun fries- I personally don't like to order fish at restaurants but my husband seemed to be a huge fan! According to him the fries were the perfect crispness and just delightful. Fried oysters- I'm more of a raw oysters with a side of mignonette kind of gal but for fried oysters...WOW! Super flavorful and not gummy, watery, or anything. I would definitely like to try the fried oyster Poboy next because of this dish. King crab, mussels, shrimp boil bag- FANTASTIC! The sauce was A1 and personally I believe the "sauce" is the main reason why you would come to The Bayou Shack. I honestly thought the spice level was perfect (although I would like to try the next level) but when you're sharing with a group this level was perfect. The prickly pear & margaritas- beware one of these will have you on your back pockets but that's not a bad thing. The perfect amount of sweetness and fruit flavor. I would definitely like to try the other flavors next time! Thank you to The Bayou Shack for a great experience while visiting Austin, TX. WE WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK!

Wonderful service great food atmosphere with excellent some of the best seafood around!

Awesome mixed seafood plate! I got the 3 sauces on my crawfish, crab, shrimp, potato and corn bag. The sauce was awesome! Loved every bit of the sauce covering every nook and cranny. You can get your bag of seafood any way you want it. My wife and son got theirs with garlic and butter and loved it. Awesome place. Can't wait to try again.

Great environment great food! The service was amazing. It felt very organized and the gumbo is some of the best I've ever had.

We were in Round Rock for a sports event coming from Houston we wanted to eat some place where we had a seafood option. We saw the 5 stars so decided to give it a try even though we know we weren't near water and it is a saying to be careful eating seafood when not near water, but we decided to give it a go. We had an order of crab legs, and mussells and those were seasoned well, my other athlete had a bag of steamed crawfish (frozen) and crab legs with all seasonings and it was good. The issue I had was the fried seafood. The catfish and shrimp basket was no the best. The catfish was not cleaned to where it was enjoyable. When you fry catfish, you must filet it and ensure it is cleaned to where you can enjoy the seasoning of the fish, which there was none. The fried shrimp was not seasoned, it look like seasoning was put on top once it came out the fryer. My husband got boiled shrimp and it was undercooked to where he sent it back, upon receiving fried food - he experienced the same. Overall the service was good, the waitress was polite, checked on us, and all, but fried seafood and what we paid for this food and coming frim Houston, it will be a no for us next time. We were very disappointed.

Always great! Fantastic service from our server Sophia . She was so patient with our orders and helped us decide from all of their delicious choices . We are foodies from California and we know good food. We highly reccoemmemd Bayou shack to anyone who is looking for delicious seafood.

If you're ever off 79/Round Rock and you're hungry.... stop in at The Bayou Shack and ask for Lucky. You will not be disappointed. The boil was delicious!!! This is a family owned business. #datenight2

The food and service were excellent! I think we found our new go to Cajun spot. Boudin balls might be the best I have ever had.

Lucky was awesome!! The food and drinks were delicious and it was a great place to hang out for date night.

Got a boil bag with shrimp and snow crab, along with fried alligator and boudin appetizers. I grew up in Louisiana and have been eating Cajun food all my life. This most definitely hit the spot. Looking forward to trying more on the menu.

I'm a true foodie and sous chef that's new from Los Angeles and I will vouch for this restaurant! The food is amazingly delicious! I got the catfish Po'boy with sweet potato fries and it was amazing! The fish is well seasoned and fried perfectly, I will be making this one of my regular spots! Sorry I didn't have any photos, I was super hungry when I got home and devoured it! Great service and the ambiance is definitely giving seafood shack! It looks like they're getting ready to build an outdoor patio area, that will be a nice addition to the restaurant. Stop passing by it and just stop inside it lol! It's great!

The only thing that went well was 1he service. The wait different i t took too long to be seated.0 Mmmmmmmmmmh

My granddaughter recc going here and I am so glad she did....It was great. Beyond great... the staff was professional kind and attentive. Do yourself a favor and drop by this seafood eatery... YUM

Amazing customer service! The food was perfectly seasoned and cooked! Music was also great!

Absolutely amazing service and food. We stopped in on a visit to Kalahari as a family of 5 and everything we ate was so good! The owner and staff were so personable and the food was so flavorful. The environment was comfortable and family friendly. I would recommend anyone to eat here!

The food was awesome. You can tell the people who work their really take pride in their work. Mathew was an amazing server. Very bright restaurant with lots of natural lighting as well.

Food here is absolutely fantastic. We usually don't order fried catfish because no one makes it better than us at home, but we may have a contender! It was really good. Also had the fried shrimp po-boy which is a personal favorite dish. Shrimp were huge and perfectly cooked. We will be back. Service was attentive as well.

Cathy was very informative about the food, attentive and great personality The food was phenomenal We had the hush puppies on our boil & on the side! The bot were incredible!!! The ones in the boil complemented the flavors of the hush puppy and made a party in your mouth The crab was juice & tender and fell out of the shell!!! Soooooo delish

I am writing this review because I have eaten here three times and I'm just riding in the car thinking about how much I want to eat this food right now. The serving size is huge and hearty, the seasoning is perfection. Best seafood in the area. The catfish bites are the closest piece of heaven.

Hubby and I love this place. Good food, good atmosphere and great music. Our usual order is the shack #5 and add on 1/2 lb of mussels, fried calamari and sometimes fried oysters. Our choice of sauce is the Garlic lover mild. Sometimes the sauce seems to be off in flavor but we still come out with a full stomach and a happy customer.

Went in just to try the beignets and they were fantastic. Freshly made and came with 2 dipping sauces-honey and raspberry. Both were great. Will definitely be back to try their main menu.

First, let me say that Cathy in the front of the house is a wonderful hostess and server! She impressed me with her warmth, smile, and attentiveness! Second, attaboy/attagirl to the back of the house because the dishes were all exceptional, excellent, outstanding, superior, and served HOT! I had the gumbo with fresh okra, tender shrimp, tasty andouille sausage, all in a freshly made roux! What?!!! I also had the freshly made hushpuppies with a nice tangy and delicious tartar sauce. I decided on the Build Your Own Boil and ordered the 1/2 lb Snow Crab legs with the garlic sauce and with medium spice heat. It was awesome! Nicely sauced - perfect amount of garlic and chili oil sauce- yummy! Wasn't going to stop there with "Bayou" in the name, of course I had to have a big bad Gulf Shrimp boil! I had a 1/2 pound of the biggest juiciest sweet Gulf shrimp just as I recalled them - having had them in New Orleans for my first 31 years of life as a resident of NOLA (hi to the homies)! Now this I ordered this boil in Cajun sauce and FIRE spice level. Can I thank GOD right here ya'll! The sauce was spectacular! I'm talking thick Trinity (onions, celery, bell peppers) puree with chili oil at once spicy and a bit sweet! I mean I swear they roasted everything before pureeing it! Aromatic and so satisfying to the taste buds! I savored every bite! You will need the bib, gloves, and paper towels ya'll! I washed it all down with Dis Equis Lager Especial and when I told Cathy I was immediately shouting them out on Yelp she let me know I had some beignets coming on the house! Now my NOLA folks now that's called Lagniappe! Okay! I'm coming back with my Cousin for the Shrimp/Crawfish Boboy, more boils, the bread putting, beignets and more deliciousness on the menu! I asked and was told they opened in February 2024! I had to wait 5 years of living in Austin to find "the spot"! Go everyone! They will delight you! 'Nuff said ya'll! Enjoy! You'll thank yourself for going. P.S. going to Kalahari Resort &, Waterpark, and/or Tom Foolery's? STOP on your way there or on your way home!