Crab N Draft

Let me put it this way: if you do these bags of seafood proper, you should be tasting your burps.
I am, six hours after dinner tonight. Yeah, that’s right, six hours ago. So that means I’m penning this review at what time, exactly? Midnight, at a minimum? Nah. I’m a New Mexican, which means I grab dinner at around five, five-​thirty. I don’t know why we do this. I didn’t grow up in the midwest doing this. But for some completely unexplained reason, people in this state eat way, way too early.
So what’s the number one rule about real estate? Location, location, location. When we arrived on a Friday night at a perfectly acceptable 5:15ish time slot, this restaurant — which is relatively cavernous and massive — was empty. One hour later, it was still empty. Literally, on a Friday, nobody walked through the front door. I’ll leave that be. Perhaps folks in the «International District» prefer European dinner time slots, 7ish. For a biz that’s been open all of four months, I’ll give ‘em the benefit of the doubt, but me thinks the owners of this place didn’t research their demographic.
Because it’s good food. It’s another rendition on the seafood boil epidemic that struck this town a couple years ago, and overall you’re getting the same food in this joint, at a similar price (snow crab was about $ 14, shrimp about $ 12). My sole note regards the Crab N Draft sauce, it’s a lil’ bit sweeter (not as salty) as the competition, which means you can taste some of the other ingredients, and you will taste this sauce six hours later. Do this place right, dig your fingers in, scoop up the buttery garlic chunks on everything, drown your fingers in it, do not come here on a date. Our shrimp came with sausage, potato and corn, too, so there you go, your food pyramid, solved.

Wasn’t expecting much based on location and outside — but boy oh boy was I in for a treat … The inside is very open, tvs are somewhat small but the food was amazing. It’s rare to get great fish in the desert but some how Crab n’ Draft managed. Definitely will be back … Shrimp crab calamari and fish all hit the mark.

I’m from out of town and I was in the mood for some seafood. I decided to check this spot out after seeing it on Unilocal.The location can be a bit sketch but when you’re inside it’ll take you to a whole new setting. Once you walk in your greeted by a friendly hostess and sat to a table. It’s very spacious inside with a great arrangement of liquor and beer choices from the bar.
I decided to get the alligator bites, clams and crawfish. I also got a crown and Coke to go with my meal which actually complimented the sauce of the crawfish. The gator bites and clams were amazing and I really like the Cajun fries and also the sweet potato fries. I definitely recommended this place, a great place to go and watch a Sunday game or to catch the Super Bowl and also have spectacular service and seafood!

The food here was amazing. We got shrimp and snow crab in the house sauce which were very flavorful and well cooked. The sauce was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon! The fried oysters were also delicious.
There were quite a few beers on the list, but with draft in the name of the restaurant, I thought there would have been more on tap — especially local beers! We ended up ordering some La Cumbre in cans, but on draft would have been nice.
Where I thought they could have improved is the ambience. You walk in and it is one huge expanse — not very inviting. We arrived at 7pm on a Sunday night and it was pretty quiet. Towards the end of our meal, a band started to set up, so we thought we might stick around to see them play a bit. A few couples also started to arrive who looked ready to dance. We waited a good 30 min and nothing happened, so got up to leave. As soon as we walked out the door, they turned down the lights and fired up the music. We are convinced they were waiting for us to leave!
All in all, delicious food, but slightly weird experience.

Good seafood spot, full (and large) bar, and good service. The location is a bit «sketchy,» but the parking lot is well lit and safe. Service was excellent. Seafood was great, plenty of choices. We started off with both grilled and fresh oysters. A few baskets of sweet potatoes fries later, and our seafood arrived: dungeness crab, head-​on shrimp, mussels and more. I can’t speak about the sauces, but only because I prefer my seafood without anything on it. That lets me evaluate the freshness and flavor, and I wasn’t disappointed.
We got the funnel cake for dessert, which came in stick-​form (vs traditional round cake form) for sharing, with some ice cream, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Hot, crunchy, with a perfect, doughy center, it was absolutely fantastic. I ate about a plate and a half of them myself.
Overall, a friendly, family-​run restaurant with fresh, quality seafood and a good bar. I highly recommend this restaurant.

At first I didn’t really know what to expect but after we were immediately greeted by our friendly server and given some good recommendations about the menue I was excited to give it a taste. We ordered the seafoodboil with their house sauce and it was spectacular ! Also they have a full bar which completed the whole experience. I highly recommend this place if you’re looking for great atmosphere with great seafood.

We found this place through Unilocal!Yes the neighborhood is not the best, but omg you will be inside and the parking lot is nice and well-​lit. There were about 5 other tables — it’s relatively new and not too visible from central. Anywho, there a spot for a live band which will be cool once they put someone on the stage. nice big bar with lots of seating. comfy booths and tables., my daughter had the chicken wings which she enjoyed, there are also chicken nuggets .Bae had the shrimp boil and grilled oysters. You pick your own sauce and heat level –we ordered cilantro sauce hot and it was perfection. I had the oysters and they were big and delish. I had several lovely cocktails as well. EXCELLENT service. They have a small beer, cocktail and wine selection– enough to satisfy. I hope this place stays open because we will be back!

I was in attendance with 30 people for lunch– 95% were extremely pleased. It was delicious!

Tried Crab ‘N Draft last night with high expectations. The soft-​shell crabs were all breading and very little crab. Good soft-​shell crabs (I’m from Maryland) are very lightly dusted and quick fried. At Crab ‘N Draft, Colonel Sanders must have created the recipe. Also, our waitress was well-​meaning but seriously daffy. We had to remind her more than once to bring us utensils, water, lemon wedges, etc. just not a great experience.

The food was pretty good. The only thing that will prevent me from coming back would be your meal doesn’t come with any sides. You have to pay extra.

I’m not wild about the location, and I think they’re a bit confused as to what they want to be when they grow up. Identity crises? They’re on Central, in the crappier area right next door to the Pussy Cat Adult theater, and they’re connected to a liquor store, so one is not beaming with confidence when pulling into the parking lot, and a bit more confused when walking inside.
It’s big and open! A huge stage sits off in the distance ready to entertain the dance floor filled with thirsty, dancing patrons! However, there’s no one on stage and the dance floor is barren. It gives you the impression they want to be a live band rock bar… but they just haven’t found their niche, or following just yet. Oh, and a band willing to play for crab eating patrons.
In addition, there’s TVs scattered all over, which was nice as it was game 2 of the World Series and I didn’t miss a hit! There’s also a nice long bar that is waiting for patrons to belly up to, but alas, it sat empty & alone, like a wallflower at a 6^th grade dance. It’s really a shame, because it’s nice! It’s new! You can tell they sunk some dough into the place, but the ambiance is just off a bit.
The wine by the glass selection was limited, but I guess that is to be expected at a bib & crab place. They had a few nice brews, but what might draw the young male patrons in would be the pretty waitresses, they were all very attractive.
They had a very good crab selection, but were unfortunately out of both Dungeness & Blue crab, so we settled for the Snow Crab Clusters. You order it in various seasonings & spice levels. And like any self respecting crab joint, they brought you bibs & a bucket! In addition to the crab, they had nice appetizers & we really enjoyed the Oysters on the Half Shell, along with an order of Alligator. I’ve had alligator before, but my wife hadn’t & we did not tell our daughter what it was until after she had ate it. I know, we’re evil! However, in my opinion alligator is more of a novelty food, it tastes like chicken!
All in all, it’s good & I think they’ll only get better once they get their restaurant sea legs under them. They’ve only been open about two months now. So once they solve their identity crises and start polishing service up a bit, it should become the go-​to crab house in town. Note to management though: Crab Cakes! Look into it!

If you are a restuarant at Central and Rhode Island and almost next door to Pussy Cat Theatre, then lunch probably shouldnt cost almost fifteen dollars. I had shrimp. Friend had crab. Honestly it was all delicious and was plenty of food. The inside is really nice. Woukd definitely come back again.

I’ve been A TONS of restaurants that serves crabs and that place was the best one ever!
Beyond better than other places I was so amazed!
and not only crabs!!! potatoes, sausage and corn tasted amazing as well and also funnel cake was ridiculously delicious
YOU HAVE TO GO THAT PLACE ASAP!!! I can’t wait to go back there oh my… that was sooo good.
I usually don’t write reviews but I had to write this one it was that good

I couldn’t help but be skeptical of a crab/​cajun boil place, but I was proven wrong and can’t wait to go back.
On a Wednesday night, it was fairly empty but after speaking with the waitress and chef, we ordered snow crab and shrimp, as crawfish aren’t fresh in season and didn’t recommend the frozen. I appreciated their honesty and couldn’t wait to go back when they do have them fresh in season. Our ordered arrived in a bag and we tore into it — they don’t skimp and there is a lot of whatever you order in the boil! The spice level was perfect and everything was so flavorful. I liked dipping the cajun fries into the liquid as well. Granted, it’s a messy process, and many napkins died in the process, but the food was excellent!
The service was also impeccable and prices reasonable. If you love seafood and spice, this is the place to be. Can’t wait to take my family and friends here.

Wonderful place and delicious food. Everything was great. Four of us chowed down on chicken wings w/​lemon pepper & crab N Draft sauce, & dungeness crab. & shrimp. Brittany our waitress was friendly helpful & courteous.

Don’t let the neighborhood keep you away from this gem. My husband and I heard this place was delicious, so we gave it a go. We were surprised to find the place empty of patrons. Although we ended up with the whole place to ourselves, this was no indication of the quality of food or service. We had gumbo, snow crab, and king crab. Let me say that I am from the Gulf Coast and can be very critical of gumbo and all things seafood related that aren’t prepared by my family. In the words of my husband, this was slap yo’ Momma good! Move over Joe’s Crab Shack, you have been replaced. These people do it right! Check them out!

For the middle of New Mexico this was pretty good Cajun food. I had the oysters with medium crab and draft sauce. It was the perfect amount of spice with the green mussels that I got. Had their draft IPA to boot, a perfect way to wash down that spice. Almost like adult chocolate milk. Anyway, I’d recommend eating here if you’re in town.

After having a mildly disappointing experience at ragin cajun, I really didn’t have high hopes for this place. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and flavor of the food. I came here on a Monday night and the place was empty, but our server was very friendly and our food came quickly. We got the headless shrimp in cilantro and another in their house sauce. The shrimps were cooked perfectly and I wad able to peel them without issue. The cilantro one was great, but I would recommend getting some rice to go with it because it comes with a lot of sauce you won’t be getting to. The house sauce was by far my favorite because I love garlic more than anything. I scooped up some of that garlic with my fries and it was a yummy combo.
This place really should be more popular. They have a full dance floorwith an area for a band. There is an upstairs area that would be great for parties and each wall has multiple tvs. The back wall has a full bar with an impressive collection for such a new place. I hope that whomever is reading this will look past the area that this place is located and gives it a try. It is very hard to find good shrimp in the desert.

Great Selections of Seafood!
Started off with wings, these btw were awesome! Hot, Fresh, and Just the right crunch to them. Delicious!
Cajun Fries, awesome!
Cilantro Lime Shrimp & Crawfish was great! Although I usually go for the spicy cajun.
Everything was fresh.
Great selections of liquor and beer. Seems like a great please to go catch a game and grab food and a drink~!.
Parking lot is well lit. Overall a good place to hang out and eat!

Brand new cajun seafood joint in ABQ plus full bar! Everything was seasoned to perfection! Not too salty or oily from butter like most places, loads of garlic though, so if u don’t care for garlic tell them to go easy. For me personally I love garlic so it was great! We had grilled oysters, crawfish, clams, and king crab leg in crab n draft sauce and cilantro sauce all medium heat. Our waitress was nice. Pricey but worth it (isn’t all seafood?) We would definitely go back and definitely recommend this place if you like cajun style seafood like no other!