J’s Seafood Dock

BEST crawfish I’ve had so far. J’s is located inside the French Quarter farmer market. We got there around 11:30AM and they said we have to wait 45 mins for it. I paid for the crawfish and walked around until they are ready. They cooked the crawfish in a huge batch right there so I get to eat them right off the stove. They were so big, juicy, spicy and delicious. It was a little salty but still so good. It was a little more expensive ($ 12/​lb) than most places but it’s because you get the best quality of crawfish. This was definitely one of my favorite eats in NOLA. I want some right now.

This is another spot that I was told to eat at… and pretty much each one delicious. Now this place also had a bad mother shucker (oysters)… It was his joke but I’m going to repeat it here.
So we got some oysters, fresh and flavorful. Nice and plump but way more briny flavor than the standard blue points. Served with a bunch of cocktail sauce and horseradish, but damn good on their own.
We also got the bbq shrimps. Not exactly sure how to describe them (as in what spices they used). But they were tangy and pretty damn near perfect shrimp.
Last we got the crawfish beignets. This was the a little disappointing. It was mostly a hush puppy and I really couldn’t taste the crawfish.

Dead. Roach. In. My. Jambalaya. Enough said. Jambalaya was undercooked to begin with, boiled crawfish sat around for who knows how long. I was sick 2 hours later and all day the next day. Avoid this place like the plague it will inevitably give your stomach.

I was excited to come here because of the good reviews! I was disappointed though cause our shrimp was overcooked, we could not peel the shell off without the meat coming off too! The rice on the jambalaya was not done! Even the guy beside us told us that his rice was not cooked. The crawfish was good though. We didn’t try the oysters but we heard they were good!

The crawfish was very spicy but damn they were so good! The prices are good, and the staff is pretty friendly too! One thing I noticed us though that they don’t seem to be as hygienic as a outdoor restaurants should be, so please work on that and more customers will come.

A few friends and I were visiting New Orleans from Chicago and we happened to pass by this place while roaming the French Market– and I’m glad we did!
We ordered a dozen raw oysters and the boiled shrimp. The oysters tastes SO incredibly fresh; we saw them shuck them right then and there! The shrimp was amazing. easily the best shrimp dish of my life! A perfect mix of seasoned and spicy, topped with fresh herbs, plus they were very generous with the portions too!
This place is great and is now one of my must have food places whenever I go to New Orleans. 5 stars and 100% recommend!

This place right here… Freshest crawfish boil & raw oysters EVER!!! The «Bad Mutha Shucker» was AWESOME!!! He made you feel like part of the family! Sucking heads and pulling tails has never been so much fun!!! If you are a raw oyster virgin the Bad Mutha Shucker is very willing to show you the way. Happy Birthday Stefan 35 & holding!!!

Came here with friends to grab a bite to eat. I will say that the cashier girl was not exceptionally friendly. She could do to smile or something bc her customer service was terrible. Wasnt very informative about the menu and looked/​seemed like she didnt want to help us. Dare I say was even annoyed that we were there. But we were all itching for boiled crawfish so we stayed. She said it would be a 45 min wait and told us we could put in our order when it was ready.
I ordered the BBQ shrimp $ 10 and 1lb boiled crawfish $ 13. The shrimp was probably the best part of my meal. Really flavorful and well done. It was slightly more cooked than I wanted but it was still good. Portions were a bit small though considering it was 10. But I’m a tiny girl so it was just enough for me. The boil was alright probably a bit under cooked since it was so hard to peel and crawfish done right should not be. My friend got the shrimp and grits $ 10. ABSOLUTELY AVOID IT. Was the worse thing we got and despite being $ 10 we refused to finish eating it.
Overall it was ok. I’d go back for the bbq shrimp only and maybe not even really then bc the customer service leaves A LOT to be desired. Food was alright. Portions were small. Not an exceptional place but gets the job done.

Terrible service (slow and rude), overpriced, and small portions. DO NOT EAT HERE!
We ordered a small fry, which we wrongly assumed would be an easy order for them to handle. We stood there and watched as they served roughly 8 people that ordered after us and even got more complicated orders. After 15 minutes I went and asked the lady what was going on. She went in the back and had a short conversation with the back staff. Clearly they hadn’t even started our order. When I realized this, I proceeded to ask for my money back because we were already going to be late to meet up with our friends after waiting for so long and I didn’t want to wait any longer. They told me no, because the food was just about to come out. I politely told them that we had waited a ridiculous amount of time and that we were late because of them and we didn’t even want the food anymore. They said no, and continued to say no until the food finally did come out, and then they said they couldn’t refund our money because they already made the food. They tried to say that they warned us about a long wait; they said no such thing. Not once did they say anything to us, the entire time they just continued to bring out full orders of shrimp and crawfish while we sat and watched. Again, terrible service, overpriced, and small portions. DO NOT EAT HERE!

As much as New Orleans is best known for crawfish. I don’t know why it’s soooooo hard to locate a crawfish boil joint in the city. Yes I tried hunting them down in Unilocal,but most of the spots are way outside city limits. Oh well, at least there’s J’s Seafood Dock.
No its not as authentic as your uncle Steve’s crawfish boil, but this probably comes pretty close. Yea I said it, I never had a proper boil before, but the ones here are very good. I only say that because the only crawfish I’ve had were the ones sitting in a heater tray at a Chinese buffet. Those are ok, just that this one is properly delicious.
I did the an order of crawfish, an order of shrimp and an order of fries. The shrimp wasn’t very good, it was rather under done, and I don’t care much for that. The main event for me was the crawfish, those were properly delicious. I like how fresh they are from the boiler. They literally cook it right in front of you. You hand them your ticket, then they hand you your crawfish. Fries were fries, they’re crunchy and tasted like fried potato sticks.
Service was great and I definitely enjoyed eating my crawfishies here. At least now I have a spot to take people who has never had a proper crawfish boil.
Thanks J’s Seafood Dock!

I love oysters and what better way to entice someone to try your oysters then to watch them be shucked in front of your eye?
Take a moment to recognize that you need to order the oysters on the opposite with the cashier, instead of salviating over the oysters. We also ordered the shrimp, some charbroiled oysters, and raw oysters. The shrimp were good, but too much work for my opinion. If you’re a fan of unpeeling shrimp and eating them– go for it. They have a kick, if you enjoy spice.
The raw oysters were delicious and the people at J’s are kind enough to give you some saltine crackers to eat them with. I was a huge fan and wish there were more than the six I ordered.
But the best item at J’s was the charbroiled oysters. Take your spoon and grab the oyster and place it on the bread they give you and start munching. It’s delicious, addicting, and will make your waistline increase. I was such a huge fan of these and would definitely stop by the next time I am back in New Orleans.

Best fried crawfish!!! We ended up ordering 2 orders and going back another day and they were still that good!

Bomb!!! Crawfish was HELLA good especially the seasoning it’s cooked in. Oysters were big and tasty! Our first time trying Shrimp and Chesse Grits it was ok just not our thing, but worth trying. The guy shucking the oysters was very funny and entertaining! A Go To Spot if you ever come to New Orleans! Would go back in a heart beat!

So I was in NO with 7 other friends to celebrate over the weekend prior to the weekend before Fat Tuesday. We mostly ate out over the course of four days. Our third stop was the Seafood Dock at the French Market on N. Peters around lunch time on a Saturday. For me the French Market is similar to Eastern Market in DC or a smaller outdoor version of the Reading Terminal Market in Philly. Vendors hawk all kinds of Mardi Gras stuff, jewelry, purses, t-​shirts etc. and there are also lots of places to eat – cue the Seafood Dock.
So we looked at several food stalls and settled on the Dock because the line was long (normally a sign of good food) and it smelled pretty good. Ordering is somewhat chaotic because there is no line, just people bunched up near the cash register. They were out of the first two things I requested so I settled on the Shrimp boat (essentially a poboy) and one of my friends got the shrimp grits. It took just over 15 minutes to get the food.
While waiting I looked behind me at the oyster bar where a guy was shucking oysters and noticed the crawfish. Note that if you want crawfish, you need to order them at the Seafood Dock register, then take the receipt over to the person in oyster/​crawfish stall. The price was $ 12 per pound. Unfortunately, the crawfish were very small and it seems like they were pulled up before they got big enough which is usually around early March. At any rate they were heavily seasoned and spicy so we worked with those little tails the best we could. The shrimp boat was fine, however I will say that the shrimp grits were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. My biggest gripe is the price – we paid nearly $ 50 for two shrimp boats, one shrimp grits, one order of crawfish beignets and a bottle of water. The food is seasoned well and taste good but I think you could find equally good food at a better price.

Expensive for the portion you get but the Crawfish Beignets were everything. One of the best things I had during my trip to NOLA. I know it’s pricy but you should try their CBs. My friend ordered it first and offered a bite. I bit, and I went straight to the line.
Knowing then how good the CBs were, I thought everything else on the menu should be just as bomb, i thought their shrimp tacos would be just as delicious. Ehh, wrong. I think you can pass on them. I don’t like the tortillas they use, I enjoy flakey tortillas not the chewy ones like the soft tacos at Del Taco.

Half of the items on the menu were unavailable, especially the light options. Guess New Orleans is not about light options. The wait is long, the service messy and people that ordered after me got served first. Being in New Orleans, you know that fast and efficient service is not in the cards, it’s past of the charm, yet, this was exceptionally slow and messy.

My first 1 star review… I didn’t want this to happen.
The market this little shop is in is wonderful. I enjoyed walking thru it and all the items I bought were very reasonable. But this review isn’t for the market.
I have to say of all the places I went in New Orleans this was the most disappointing. I paid $ 16 for 2 tacos, so I expected them to be pretty great. There were 3 pieces of shrimp in each taco. THREE. The only other ingredients in the tacos were Spring Mix and some sauce. The tacos were not full, they did not taste anything beyond ‘eh’. I also had to wait over 15 minutes. I understand you pay for locations, but there were so many other great looking places within 20 feet from this place. My boyfriend got a crêpe from a few feet away that was so big he couldn’t finish it and paid half of what I paid. And it was actually good. The people were also not that nice or helpful when asking questions. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone.

I purchased 2 shrimp tacos and a diet coke, for over $ 12.00. They were good but not worth the price since I’ve had better at Rubio’s

It was pretty good, I was not overly impressed. The wait was a little long & they did not seem to be crowded to me at the time. The samples looked good, but didnt meat the expectations I had. I would try a different spot in the French Market when I return.

Before I begin, I know the French Market is a tourist trap, but I was craving a crawfish boil and shrimp and this place was at hand. J’s Seafood Dock is actually a booth next to Organic Banana.
Overall, I enjoyed the process of waiting for my crawfish more than actually eating it. The crawfish boiler was set outside of the booth in a open area so the crowd could watch the unveil. The cook came out singing songs and then handed out servings using checkered paper boats. The actual crawfish I got was of questionable freshness, salty as hell, but oddly satisfying to eat.
I also ordered the shrimp, but it came with no song and appeared from the back area of the booth. Unshelling and de-​veining the shrimp was a pain, but again the process of doing so, made eating the shrimp gratifying.
In some, not something I need to do again, but I am glad I tried this place at least once. If you are in the area and looking for some simple seafood, you could do worse.