The Blue Crab Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Only hung out at the bar downstairs but it was a great time with a great view. We just missed the band but from what I understand they have live music on the weekends

Came here for happy hour before some dinner reservations. We had a large group of people on the downstairs patio area. The drink specials were really great and the food looked great. We will definitely return for happy hour again and try some of the food as well!

This is REAL seafood. Boiled crawfish, fresh raw oysters and a savory crab cake sandwich. I am in heaven. It was my first time in NOLA and I wanted the good stuff and someone my sister and I met (and now worship) suggested this place. Thanks Angela!
The location can sneak up on you as you go down the road so keep an eye out. The possibility of parking at the restaurant is pretty low but there is another lot right across the street. The view of the dock can be so pretty.
Service was nice and fast. The cashier was patient with my cluelessness. I only took a star off because of the flies. They were tenacious as heck, perhaps some moderately powered fans would have discouraged them. But hey it’s outdoor seating there’s only so much you can do.
Anyway, loved it and would go back if I could!

This place seems like it would be a great place to eat. Location is amazing but food is subpar. Everything on the menu seemed way over priced for what you actually receive. The gumbo was good. My fish was way over cooked and my veggies seemed like they came from a frozen microwave bag. Biscuit would be great if they actually heated them up and not just served room temp. Mac and cheese was the best thing of me and my wife’s meal. Might go back just to get drinks downstairs.

We had a party of 5 (4 adults with 1 toddler). We ordered 1 shrimp platter, 1 combination platter (shrimp and catfish), boiled crawfish, BBQ shrimp, and 1 kids shrimp plate.
We all really enjoyed our meals. The only complaint we had was that the catfish tasted a little fishy. The shrimp were HUGE. The guy that had the BBQ shrimp wanted to bring the sauce home in a jar.
We all agreed that this was a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

This place is worth coming to just to sit on the balcony and enjoy the view while sipping a drink (when the weather is pretty). Service is fine, most of the waiters are younger and some are even pretty cute! I like the vibe of this place, I’m just not quite sold on the food just yet. It’s not that the food is bad, it’s just not worth the higher prices for me (but you’re also paying for location too, I get that). I’ve tried the crab dip, and it was delicious! I also think their onion rings are really yummy too. I’ve tried the fried seafood from the platters, and I thought it was just okay. Last time I went I was with a group of friends, and I ordered a cobb salad with chicken which sounded delicious in the description. Unfortunately, not everything that was in the description was in the salad and it was only mediocre. Some of my friends enjoyed their meals and others thought the food was just okay. Two of my friends ordered a wedge salad with fried oysters, and that looked great. I had a bushwhacker, and it was so strong! I only needed one drink, that’s for sure! I am looking forward to going again to enjoy the pretty view, get a drink, and maybe just stick to the appetizers.

I absolutely love the ambiance! The seafood is top notch and the service is great! The wait is the only Dow side but well worth it. My favorite dish in particular is the crab cake sandwich.
My family loves to order boiled crawfish.
Additionally they have outdoor live bands on many afternoons and evenings.

Great location and atmosphere! So many choices for good seafood in NOLA and although I can think of others with better prices and great food, it’s hard to beat the combination of the location and the food. We always enjoy Blue Crab when we want to enjoy a meal in the lakefront area. The rest of my family prefers the fried seafood at Blue Crab, especially the jumbo shrimp they serve, but I always enjoy their grilled fish dishes or grilled fish salads, which either aren’t available or aren’t very good at many of our local staples for excellent fried seafood. Like some others, I Iike to substitute the catfish for either the mahi mahi or fish of the day in the salad. The grilled fish I’ve had at Blue Crab has always been very tasty and was better than many other excellent seafood restaurants in the city that have great fried seafood.
When it was still pretty new, when departing after a meal, I had been very genuinely asked by a manager (I presume) for candid feedback about the food and service. I remember the first time I went and the onion rings weren’t up to standards compared to many of the more established restaurants in the city, but they have been vastly improved the last couple of visits and have been really good. It seems like they are working to continuously improve.
It’s great to see the beginnings of a vibrant southshore lake shore drive again.

The ambiance of the outdoor deck and view of the lake is reason enough to come here. I found the staff to be very friendly and conscientious. The raw oysters were fresh and plump — I didn’t get a chance to try the grilled ones. Abita Amber on tap.
The salads were very disappointing. My wife had the Gulf salad which was nothing more than a handful of greens thrown on a plate with a few blackened shrimp that were over cooked. The Cobb salad had more going for it which I enjoyed but again the shrimp were dry.
Others at the table enjoyed their seafood pasta dishes, but to me the sauces looked too heavy and rich. A couple of folks had crab cakes (large balls) which looked nothing like what I am used to in Maryland. I didn’t hear any complaints so I guess they enjoyed them. I’m not a fan of fried food so I can’t comment on any of the platters.
Overall the prices were reasonable. This is a fun place to eat and I will go back but will mainly stick to oysters and beer on the deck.

Just arrived to New Orleans from Indy! Had to stop and drink away the pain of an 11 hour drive, and of course try some fresh local seafood.
We arrived just in time for happy hour. just before, actually. Because we couldn’t wait we ordered a few beers and some crab cakes to start. The blue crab is supposedly pulled right out of the lake here, and I have to say those suckers were good! Crab cakes are often overmixed leaving you with a dense mess. Well done! The remoulade was also tasty.
After the appetizer we took advantage of some happy hour drinks, and ordered our entrées. I decided to have the soft shell crab, sautéed. I know it’s a lot of crab but where I come from good crab is hard to find! I’ll definitely be getting some oysters as well while I’m here. Soft shell crab was a bit overcooked, and wasn’t cleaned correctly. I still ate and enjoyed it though, but at that price ($ 23 was it?) you really have to pay attention to the basics.
I would recommend stopping in for some apps and drinks if nothing else! Everyone makes mistakes, it wouldn’t keep me from returning if I lived here. Oh and by the way, yes Indianapolis is still mad about SB XLIV.

Excellent service as always fora neatly lunch. Crab cake sandwich on fresh baked bun was excellent. French fries as a side are some of the best prepared I have found.
The steamed shrimp with sides of boiled red skins and corn on the cob in traditional boil spices was very tasty. Not fancy but simply good and filling.

Pleasantly surprised with how well I enjoyed my visit after coming here. The atmosphere was a tad bit «yuppy», but the view on the outside along with a couple of their drinks makes you forget and not even care about the bouginess around you. I’m always in search of a good happy hour and this one was decent. They offer specials on house wines, $ 2.50 well drinks, beer, $ 1 chargrilled oysters, $.50 raw oysters, select appetizers for $ 5 (onion rings, calamari, etc).
Cutting straight to the point, the food.
Calamari-​Good. Well seasoned. Not too greasy. Would order again.
Blue Crab Dip– I really, really liked this. Perfect combination of flavors makes this dish a winner.
Crawfish-​Not great at all. Very little flavor and seasoning.
Oysters– I didn’t try them but everyone at the table did and got sick after eating them. Be careful.
Entrée:
Fried Shrimp Platter-​Perfection! Beats nasty and flavorless Deanie’s any day. Whoever is frying the seafood here really knows what they’re doing. My husband, the pickiest eater alive and self proclaimed seafood connoisseur raved about good it was. On a side note, I opted for the macaroni instead of the fries. Mistake. Worst macaroni I’ve ever had. Kraft in the box beats this hot mess any day.
I didn’t personally order a drink but I did sample my husbands ‘Crab Trap’ and it was delicious. I’m hesitant to get drinks at restaurants just because I feel like they water them down, but this thing was kickin. I also tasted my friends dessert, some type of cheesecake/​brownie concoction. Not bad, but nothing I would personally order. Something about cheesecake served hot gets me.
Overall, I would come back again. The ambiance on a sunny day draws you in alone. Be prepared to wait though. We came around 4:00 pm on a Friday before the dinner/​happy hour crowd arrived and it was already a 45 minute wait.

I’ve been here before. The atmosphere is great. It is right on the lake with tons of visitors. Upstairs is the restaurant but downstairs has a band and bar (with boiling pot for anyone who wants seafood).
I like the fried seafood and highly recommend the wedge salad. Unfortunately I am writing this review to let everyone know that the boiled seafood (crawfish and crabs) are not up to snuff. I know they just reheat the boiled crawfish by putting them back in hot water. Yesterday I went and ordered two #1 boiled crabs (which were $ 4.25 a piece). Number 1 crabs are suppose to be very big and full which is why you pay more b/​c they are practically a meal. What I received was one big crab (which was not full, kinda empty and overcooked, soft mushy meat) and then one little crab (what??? the ??). They server said they would take $ 1 off of which they did not.
What is great is the happy hour drinks. I recommend the crabtrap but I’ve had other drinks and they are still great too. Please pay attention to your bill. We ordered call drinks (house alcohol; not prime) and were still billed an extra dollar for each drink.
To sum up, I like the atmosphere with lake and sailboats and people but you really have to watch what you order. Fried food good — boiled food not so much.
Hope this helps.

Anyone that knows me… or reads my reviews, knows that I’m a sucker for a great happy hour. Blue Crab definitely fits the bill!
With happy hour Monday-​Friday 4:00 — 6:30, it’s easy to find time to partake.
The happy hour offers $ 3 house wine (they’re very generous with their pours) and $ 1.50 domestic beer. Appetizers are ½ price. Raw oysters are 60 cents, and char-​grilled are $ 1 each.
With a deck right on the water, you just can’t beat the amazing view while watching the sunset.
The service is just o.k. It’s friendly enough, but pretty slow.
The food is delicious. The oysters are fat and tasty. The char-​grilled are just fantastic. I also tried a friend’s fried eggplant sick, and it too was good.
The only thing that I’ve tried off of the regular menu was the blue cheese wedge salad with grilled shrimp. It’s priced at $ 18, but it was a HUGE an delicious salad! Both of my friends didn’t finish theirs.
Atmosphere: A
Service: B
Food: A
Value: A+ during happy hour. B+ for regular pricing.
Tab: 3 glasses of wine, 6 raw oysters, 6 char-​grilled oysters = $ 24 after tax and tip.

IT AIN’T BRUNING’S BUT IT’S FAMILIAR
We went today on a gloriously sunny, 68 degree March Good Friday. Like in the old days, long tables of families crammed together to pick clean the season’s largest crawfish. The bar was packed 3-​deep yet just 2 servers handled it, along with five seated tables, seamlessly. Smatterings of friends basked in the sun taking selfies with picturesque docks in back-​drop. Abita flowed on-​tap, the food came promptly, platters were tasty and it was all good value for the money. So I guess if I gotta embrace change the Blue Crab is a worthy start.
MY ONLY GRIPE:
Serve slaw on the platters! I know it isn’t exactly green but I rankle at paying $ 5 for a bit of roughage as an add-​on.
Regardless, Blue Crab is still our favorite on the lakefront.

My husband and I dined at the Blue Crab with another couple on a Saturday night. Let me just say that the location is on point. It’s the old Landry’s Seafood (or so I was told), and the bottom of the building is open and there was live music outside. There is also seating down there along with outside seating on a deck that’s level with the second floor. We went inside to get a table and was told it would be an hour. So, we got a little buzzer then made our way to the bar to wait for the other couple to arrive. We had drinks — the bar had the basics and a couple of specialty cocktails. I just had wine and the hubster had a beer. The service was fast and attentive at the bar even though they were making drinks for the entire restaurant. We didn’t end up waiting for a table — there’s actually this small table near the bar where we sat and ate (it does fit four comfortably).
We started off with the fried calamari and BBQ shrimp. The calamari was good — nicely done, and not too chewy. The BBQ shrimp is where it’s at! Man this stuff was DELICIOUS! For an entrée I had the softshell crab and my husband had the Crab Cake Sandwich — which he raved about and finished before I had even pulled a crab leg off. The softshell crab was delicious and a nice size. The other couple ordered a fried seafood platter and bisque and said both were tasty.
I actually cannot wait to come back here — with all the nice, new, trendy style restaurants in NOLA (don’t get me wrong I do love all of them) it’s nice to be able to go somewhere and just get a fried seafood platter or some good ‘olé BBQ shrimp.

Our first visit. The location definitely pops out at you and demands you stop and see what they are all about.
You have the options of climbing 60ft of stairs or the elevator. We opted for the ride like any self respecting lazy person would.
The hostess was friendly and promptly greeted us and asked our seating preference, for indoor or outside.
The deck was very nicely set up and the strategic view of the water and boats was very pleasant. Don’t sit out there after 4pm unless your wearing a sun hat and shades. The sun literally bakes you. The shades that are up don’t move so your at the mercy of planetary rotation.
Drinks: Abita Amber… of course. Its the only beer I prefer. Our app was Eggplant Spears. They were nicely fried and not too hard. The breading could of used a bit more seasoning. The dipping marinara wasn’t up to my taste. It was sweet and pasty as if it came straight from a can. The eggplant held its own without the marinara.
My GF had the Crab cakes. I ordered the chicken Ponchartrain pasta. The crab cakes were flavorful, but she spent more time picking out crabshells than she did eating. My pasta was good. I think it was a bit heavy on the sauce, but I did eat the whole dish.
The service was friendly and management was attentive to the needs of the guests.
We would recommend this place to others and will be back for another visit.

Ok scenario:
Table for 8, with a reservation, at 6:30 on a Friday during Lent. Sat inside because they let a 20 top sit on the second floor patio (who does that) and had an «OK» experience.
Food — 4 to 5 stars
Drinks — 5 stars when compared to Landrys
Service — 2 to 3 stars
Our servers name was Greg and he tried, but tonight wasn’t his best day. They don’t do automatic gratuity so his lack of conscientiousness was surprising given how much our tickets were. To be honest, I would have given four stars if he had been more attentive. Don’t worry we still tipped 18%.
Drinks — fine and dandy, the one with Titos is great
BBQ shrimp app — 5 stars for the sauce alone
Fried Calamari — 3 stars, had better
Raw oysters — meh
Whole Flounder — $ 31, not de-​boned but one of the best fish plates we’ve ever had
Mahi — fabulous
Mac & cheese — 5+ stars, one of the best in the city
Caesar salad — what is there to say?
Blackened shrimp — really good
Compared to Landry’s I’d pick this place because they are less pretentious and the food is just as good, if not better. But I would only come to either again if I was guaranteed a seat outside because the prices aren’t worth it unless you have a fantastic view to go with your food.

Sitting at the Lakefront Arena watching women’s college basketball and scoping out Unilocal looking for some good eats close by for after the game… Noticed the Blue Crab and then the reviews of numerous Unilocalers that I trust for the straight shooting lowdown on this place and they were all coming in at 4s and 5s so that was it, Decision made…
Rolled in with my sister and niece… seated quickly inside, outside wasn’t available because all the chairs and tables were still wet from the weather… wished we could’ve got a table by the windows but none were available… that disappointment didn’t last long cause the food took all our attention…
The sister and niece started with a ½ dozen Chargrilled oysters and I started with a dozen raw… I was super pleased with my selection cause they were nice sized and sweet with just a hint of briny… DELICIOUS! The Chargrilled were good per the family…
The sister went with the BBQ Shrimp appetizer and that thing was really a freaking meal, 9 huge shrimp with a biscuit and French bread… the niece went for a Shrimp poboy and it was a nice size and stuffed with shrimp… I had the combo platter with fried catfish (3 filets) and fried oysters (7 of them bad boys) and oh damn it was excellent! The oysters were big and fried to perfection, tender and tasty… The filets were thick and fried just right… I fell on it like I hadn’t seen food in a year! Both my plate and the niece’s came with fries but we didn’t even touch them cause the main dishes filled us up and I for one didn’t want to waste space on fluff… I was actually worried about falling asleep at the wheel on the drive home that’s how stuffed I was…
Good service, great location and great food! I’ll be bookmarking this joint for future reference and wouldn’t be shy about recommending it should I ever be asked…

All of the patios on the lake are so jealous of this patio. It’s got the best view and probably the best food.
It’s two stories of awesomeness but do yourself a solid. Sit upstairs and outside on the patio. INSIST on it. Understand? You won’t be sorry.
The food was great (fried seafood platter which was easily splittable along with a bbq shrimp app) and our waitress was a bit of a weirdo but effective. What really stood out was the view. Sitting there, looking over the lake while sipping on my diet coke and munching on fried shrimp holding my guy’s hand? Well it just doesn’t get better than that, y’all.