Crackin’ Crawfish

Had 6 lbs of crawfish with 1 lb of clam today. The food was delicious. Will definitely come back soon.

We always get the combo #3 with lemon pepper and garlic butter flavor. And also mellow for spiciness. Wow! it was so good.

I ordered the Combo 1 (Crawfish, 1lb Shrimp, 1lb Clam). The sauce was amazing. It is spicy, which is what I like. I think it can be adjusted if it is not what you like. The seafood was good. My only quip is that the shrimp is not peeled so you will need to work at your food.

I used to love this place! But I won’t return until they bring back the buy 1 lb of snow crab, get a lb half off special. Very disappointing for myself and all of my friends/​family members I’ve taken here to enjoy seafood at a reasonable price.

We went to the Crackin Crawfish today for lunch and ordered the Combo 3: a lb of crab, lb of clams, lb of shrimp and lb of crawfish. They were out of the crawfish so they substituted shrimp. There were also two corn cobs, 4 potatoes and a couple of sausages. We also ordered a side of a lb of mussels.
There was a choice of seasonings and we opted for the «Crackin» which was the middle of the line heat index. :). It was very good — perfect blend of spices with a ton of garlic which made me happy!
The seafood was good but I think over cooked. The clams were large but since they were over cooked they were extremely chewy — the same with the mussels. I think this was because our waitress appeared to be the same person preparing the order and she seemed a bit preoccupied with family members or friends. The service got better after a second waitress arrived but by that time we had completed our meal.
The restaurant is very basic with butcher papered tables and a large paper towel holder for your napkins. The food is served in a large bowl and you are given a styrofoam plate and a bib as an accessory to your meal. Thank God we had the bib… By the end of our meal we had Crackin sauce everywhere!
I probably would return but I would definitely come prepared with my own napkins, baby wipes and maybe some goggles. ;)

Here in California, we have tons of these cajun/​crawfish places everywhere which are usually packed. I’ve never had it from Louisiana but the restaurants make it pretty good here, so we wanted to see how it was in the South.
BF and I was in Charlotte for business and saw this place when we went to the wine store next door earlier in the week. We got here for an early dinner and was seated immediately. There was only 2 other parties eating at the time. We ordered 2 pounds of garlic butter shrimp, spice level «Crackin» (medium). We also ordered rice and cajun fries.
Food ended up being OK, although the Cajun Fries were on point. Rice seemed overcooked and the shrimp and sauce was not as good as it is at home. Is the seafood in Charlotte even fresh? Service was nice though. Our waitress tolerated me (nicely) when I asked to split the check so I could cover a portion with my travel card.
Not sure if I’d come back if I were ever back in Charlotte.

I’ve only been once but my experience was great. The food was really good and the service was good. If ever in the area I would go back.

I’ve been here once and it was a pretty fun and nice experience. Food was pretty tasty. I only wish it was cheaper. But definitely a nice place to try for the first time or a special date out.

Very good food and service. I’m a Louisiana native and this is the closest thing to going back home.

The atmosphere is nice but the food just… doesn’t take like anything. The sauce doesn’t have much flavor other than spicy. Overall it looks much better than it tastes… We went there because the boiling crab place we like closed down recently :(this place definitely didn’t live up to our expectation. Probably won’t go back…

Great atmosphere… but that was the end of it. Not only was it far from cajun it was all boiled in unseasoned water and the seasoning was thrown on top after the seafood was already boiled. Anyone who has cooked seafood knows that if you don’t season what you cook it in then it will taste like water and the metal pot. To say this is not New Orleans style is an understatement. This isn’t California style either, this was overpriced and bland… best part was the seasoned fries. Would not eat here again or recommend to anyone with tastebuds who has ever traveled out of NC for food experiences. Do not see this business lasting long… Cajun Queen in Charlotte is a true NOLA experience… went there right after leaving this bad food experience.

I haven’t had such a disappointing restaurant experience in years. The server was friendly but clueless. I got to sit and watch my friend eat as his food came out a while before mine… I guess the cook doesn’t understand syncing cook times? Then while my crawfish was tasty, I was sick the whole next day! Yikes… ALL of my friend’s food was disgusting. He ordered two dishes. Even the fries were bad. And the sweet tea was sour. Lesson learned. Never again.

I’ve been here a few times and the service is always super slow. You can tell they are extremely understaffed but those who are working are literally running around the restaurant trying to deal with the patrons.
Tonight. My husband and I came for crawfish, a Valentine’s tradition. Upon walking in, we were told it would be a half hour wait unless we sat at the bar. We decided to sit up there, thinking we would get faster service. 15 minutes later, someone came by to ask us about drinks. We deliberately asked «you still have crawfish, right?» And our waitress told us they did. We placed an order for five pounds and waited. And waited. And waited. 25 minutes later, she came back to us and explained they were out of crawfish. We had been there 40 minutes and had nothing but water. She said she was sorry but offered no consolation, no «please come back for a pound on the house», no nothing. That sucked.
The only reason they get 2 stars instead of 1 is because I have been here before for lunch and it was decent. Bottom line — call first to make sure they have what you want, then ask twice, then still come hella early.

Wow… we were excited to enjoy some great crawfish. Naturally, we went to a place with Crawfish in the name. Upon arriving there were three empty tables and a totally empty bar but they said it would be a 30 minute wait. We first confirmed that they had crawfish and then sat at the bar. 15 minutes later someone took our order. 25 minutes after that, instead of our food, they let us know they were out of crawfish. I asked why she confirmed they had crawfish and she just shrugged to say sorry.
What a wasted drive and night. We love crawfish but with service like this, I don’t think they can or should stay in business. I understand things happen but they literally offers is nothing but a sorry, which I certainly don’t accept.

Fresh seafood and amazing flavor!
My friend and I shared a dozen raw oysters and the boiled shrimp, corn, and potatoes in the «extreme crackin’» flavoring. Solid cajun flavor and substantial heat/​spice. The oysters and shrimp were extremely fresh. Staff were very nice and helpful. Great experience!!!

I had to drive about 2 hrs just to get to this place but I was excited despite it having some of the ratings. With family in the west coast I’ve been addicted to «boiling crab» & «crab hut.» So to find this on my trip to Charlotte was exciting. We got there at 530pm on a Saturday and we were a group of 4. There were about 5 other tables seated. Pretty busy but not as busy when we were leaving. Immediately when I got there I already knew what I wanted because I went on there site. Combo 3 which had 1 lb snow crabs 1 lb Clams 1 lb crawfish and 1 lb shrimp. I shared with my wife as usual and ordered it with lemon pepper and mellow sauce. Being asian we had to have it with rice so we could poor some of the sauce onto it. YUM! 20 minutes later they got out bibs, gloves, bucket and napkin the excitement started kicking in. It took about another 10 minutes for them to bring it out. We threw down. I love going to these places because with us using our hands we sat there and talked all night. No one was on their phone texting or on a social media app it was just talking face to face with people.
We didn’t leave till about 7pm and it got busy with groups. But luckily most of us who were in there were about to eat. They had chairs for people to sit while they wait and they also had an outside seating which I thought was pretty cool. They have a bar where could sit at.
The wait staff and owner definitely came over to make sure if we needed anything and just talked to us. Found out she was from cali.
This place is definitely still new from what the owner said it opened up in February. From the time we left you could tell this place will be busy. Can’t wait to go back!

I took an out of town friend to this place and she had a great time! Its a very unique experience (you get down and dirty with bibs, sauces, lemons, etc) and also quite fun! As far as the food goes, we got the combo with their special sauce and it it was perfection! We had crawfish (i think they are too much work for too little meat), crab/​clam and of course sausage/​corn/​potatoes. I like that there are other options (e.g. Rice plates etc) if youre not up for peeling crawfish or other seafood items.

We drove from Fayetteville to eat at this place. Great service and amazing food. Was nice to see the variety of people eating here. If you are familiar with the boiling crab it’s pretty similar to that restaurant.
Like the reviews say the crawfish is a little small. But I don’t see that as a big deal.

Been to this place since opening a total of 5 times because there’s always someone I know that would like to go try it out. Let’s just say, haven’t craved crawfish since and didn’t care for them anymore
1^st time: flavor was good! It was grand opening, was super excited to have a crawfish place here. However, crawfish were the size of my pinkie. Seriously pissed me off they had the guts to serve it and didn’t even warn or tell their customers. Not really sure why they decided to have a grand opening when crawfish weren’t even in season yet. However the flavor was good so I’ll wait to come back again.
2^nd time: flavor was still on point, garlicky and spicy just the way I like it. Crawfish however were still on the small size.
3^rd time: Server seems new and lost. Didn’t bring out our foods unless we asked for it or questioned when is it coming? It was frozen crawfish served to us this time and it was actually not bad.
4^th time: flavor was off. It’s all greasy and powdery. It’s like they’re starting a new twist and trying out new things with their sauces. Left hungry and went to Phở Real to fulfill my empty stomach. Like every visit.
5^th time: MAJOR disappointment. Flavor was whacked! More like no flavors at all! Super bland and powdery, no garlic or buttery taste. Crawfish were still small. And what the heck is this cheap pink sausages they decided to try as a cheaper option? Tasted like crap and was super irritated at this place. And that’s the last time I’ve been there. Haven’t even cared to come here and I’m the type that crave for crawfishes all the time. Plus it’s too far away of a drive. They need to step up their game if they want to stay in business in Charlotte. Stop changing recipes and sauces flavors. Learn to welcome people when they come into the restaurant and please turn on some music would ya? Everytime I come there it’s like crickets noises. Super awkward to eat.
6^th time: Finally! Live crawfish and decent flavorings! It was good, I enjoyed it.

Everyone that I know was hating on this place so I had to try it out myself! I’m used to home-​cooking boils– this whole *bib on* kinda thing was a new experience. (yes, whenever I went to the West Coast or Texas I never went to a crawfish place!!)
I got one pound of crawfish, one pound of clams and each side item to put in my bag with Crackin’ seasoning. It was definitely creole but with a sweet buttery taste which my girls and I enjoyed. The spiciness kept getting kicked up a notch with each bite which is expected. The crawfish, itself, weren’t the biggest but I don’t think it was minuscule like some people were ranting about. Ps, the fries are BOMB.
I will be back to write another review when the crawfish are bigger. Maybe some things will change but for Charlotte, this place is pretty good.