Swamp Daddy’s

We were traveling through the area and stopped in without much enthusiasm from the couple we were traveling with. After taking a look inside, we left when the other couple expressed concerns about the small area for dining an the overall ambiance. Luckily, we returned and found the booth to be open where we all enjoyed the shrimp platter. The other customers were all ordering and eating the heaping platters of crayfish, but we were on a time schedule so ordered the shrimp which were perfectly cooked, tender and tasty.
If you enjoy little «no frill» local places with good food, give this place a try. I gave it four stars only because we had to bus our table before (and after) we ate and the table was never cleaned.

Swamp Daddy’s is all about the crayfish. I was, as usual, alone when I eat out during my travels. Had to wait a few minutes for a table for one. The staff was friendly and generally very real. You could have a bit of conversation and they took some time to get to know you as they served you.
The beer selection sucks. Not even any Abita? Had a Coors lite. Chemicals in a bottle colored to look like beer.
Had some gulf oysters to start. Bingo. They were fresh, cold and obviously just shucked. They leaped into my mouth. These are gulf oysters so they are sweeter than New England oysters with less of a briny flavor but still excellent. Good cocktail sauce as well which I used only sparingly but it was also obviously fresh.
Ordered the three pound size of mud-​bugs and they arrived in very short time. One beer until they showed up. They were accompanied with a potato and some over cooked corn. No matter just throw those away. I found the crayfish to be spicy and not overly salty with a good mixture of sizes. They were clean and hot. The tails and claws were sweet and fresh, something we east coasters have trouble getting. I found the heads to be reasonable full of head fat. I sucked the big ones and scooped the smaller ones. My pinkie finger was colored red from all the scooping. I finished two plus pounds before I was undone. the ambiance of the place is simple. Everything was as clean as could be. Crayfish have a way of escaping to the floor. The place was busy when I got there and was mobbed when I left. A big take out crowd as well.
All they need is some good beer and the experience would have notched up a lot. Even some Bourbon would be good.

Nice size but very VERY dry. Dirty as well. To be a crawfish «specialty» place to eat, they fell VERY short on expectations. They were also not full. Nothing in the head whatsoever.

If you have never tried crawfish before, this is the place to start. In every way, these guys give you a real Louisiana Cajun Crawfish presentation. Everything about this place hits the mark if you want to experience true crawfish enjoyment.
Rules for enjoying Crawfish:
1. Go here
2. Take a friend or 5
3. Order the 5 lb Crawfish — get a primer on how to get the tail out. There is a good technique, but let one of the locals show you. They will be happy to help.
4. Suck the head. Ok maybe not, unless you really want to show off. I have never shown off, nor do I intend to in the future. The tail and claws are quite sufficient for me.
5. Sip a little sweet tea along the way. It takes a while to extract the meat out of 5 lbs of crawfish.
6. Don’t get too disappointed at the small piece of meat in the tail. The big flavor makes it worth all the work — over and over again.
7. Keep a few paper towels handy. And don’t worry about that yellow stain on your fingers.
8. If you shell them the right way, the poop chute will come off automatically. Otherwise, it’s very easy to remove, unless you prefer to consume it. Lots of people don’t worry about it.
9. You MUST order the bread pudding for dessert. You won’t find better bread pudding anywhere outside of Louisiana.
10. The crawfish are largest when they are in season. That’s usually between late March and mid June.
11. Crawfish in Louisiana is like Sushi in Japan. If you are there, you have to give it a try. And Swamp Daddy’s will make it real for you
If you see the little guys on your platter and decide to chicken out, no worries. They can bring you some great shrimp, crab legs, or even a burger and salad. But don’t be a wimp.

the promptness is what I’ll give two stars for. The crawfish was all salt and no flavor. Potatoes were over cooked to the point they couldn’t be eaten. I’ve been to other places in Alexandria that has crawfish and this particular one definitely has room for improvement.

Never «sucked heads» before… and this is a great place to try it. Sadly… I’m not going to be a craw daddy fan … my wife was under whelmed also; To much work for too little reward. Very and attentive server though.

Eat Here Now!
We arrived in Alexandria with a Los Angeles based film crew for a quick three-​day shoot, but before we split town we had to throw the city boys a real-​life Louisiana crawfish boil. That’s where the owner Brian and the rest of his crew come in.
I grew up in Louisiana so I know what I’m talking about here. Brian, on a very short notice and a very limited budget, showed up at our location with his portable boiler and did it right! They were very patient with us, as we weren’t able to start on time, and they treated my crew and the rest of the fifty or so guests that were there like friends. The crawfish were huge and they were seasoned just right. Truly perfection! They killed it! They had my director and one of my camera guys going back for seconds and thirds and they made my sound mixer cry, but in a good way.
We’ll be back in town this summer and we’ll be bringing everyone we can to Swamp Daddy’s. Thank you again to Brian and the rest of the gang. You really came through and you helped make our little wrap party a huge success!
Dan

$ 8.99 for a dozen oysters, $ 17.99 for 3 pounds of crawfish, $ 2.25 bottles of coors light and hands down the best bread pudding I have ever had. I’m a huge fan and I’ll be back.

The only place to get crawfish on Sunday and Monday when Robbie G’s is closed.
The crawfish are good, not overly purged and clean, but still good.
The bisque is amazing though… you must try it.
This also has easy access off of I-​49, due to its good central location.