88 Boiling Crawfish and Seafood

Tried both flavor (cajun and butter garlic), both aren’t as good as other crawfish places such as Cajun Kitchen, Crawfish & Noodles, LA crawfish and Jenivi’s Seafood Shoppe. Customer service was normal. I would not recommend this place.

Came here with a group of 6 friends for my garlic butter crawdad fix! I’ve been only eating cajun style this season because it’s so much closer to me. But I miss my garlic butter from time to time so we decided to hit up 88.
Place is super compact but they have a few tables that accommodate a larger group. They don’t give separate tickets but you can pay separate at the counter until the balance is zero. Long as everyone is honest (hmmm) about what they ordered, shouldn’t be any problems. My 6 friends are honest lol I was the last to pay and it worked out perfectly. So if you have a cheap liar in your clique, make them go last bwahahaha
I ordered 2 lbs of garlic butter crawfish which was absolutely delicious and chock full of garlic. I just love garlicky goodness with crawfish. Breath prolly be on 5,000 when I’m done but idc! The crawfish were a bit on the small side from what I’ve been eating lately though. Think they were $ 6.95/lb which is probably standard but definitely $ 2 more than what I usually pay!
I also ordered a lb of the snow crab in garlic butter and they were a good price $ 14.95 and delicious as well.
The 88 house mixture of all sauces is yummy… I think it might have been slightly better than the garlic butter alone, but you can’t lose.
They give you gloves and a bib here too. I was straight going to town without worrying about my clothes.
The bathroom situation needs work, one stall and older… not ideal!

Honestly, this place has some of the best crawfish in the city and they were huge in size. If this review was based purely on the crawfish it would be 5 stars!
I also had a oyster basket which was underwhelming. Something was not right about how they were battered or fried (they were squirting water with each bite) and I was very disappointed that there is no option to get Cajun fries with the meal… I literally had to throw away the regular fries and order a separate «cajun fries» which was a waste.
Sadly, I was also completely shocked at the state of this restaurant. The restroom was just plain scary… there was even a roach in there when we went to wash our hands. The restaurant just looks incredibly poorly maintained.
I want to say I would go back based on the crawfish but for sanitation purposes I can’t commit that I will.

One of my favorite place in Houston!!! I love everything about this place!
Located in a small plaza off of Briarforest and Westheimer, this place is such a gem! Don’t be fooled about the lack of decoration and fanciness, the food made up for it big time. Crawfish is always on point, that special 88 sauce is a must! Get it! You won’t be disappointed.
I had tried pretty much everything they offered on the menu and I loved everything so far. For a seafood place, even their fried rice and their Thai tea are on point! Why??? My all time favorites are the the lemon pepper shrimp, of course the 88 special crawfish, and their fried rice.
I just wish that they would expand the place a bit because most of them time, unless you show up at odd hours, you’ll have to stand around and wait for a while to get a table. But the staffs are very nice and quick about cleaning up and getting you situated so no worries! Hands down the best place for not just crawfish but seafood in all!

Food is good. The boiled food. Don’t bother with the etoufee or any real good that’s not fried or boiled.
The customer service is piss poor. Having frequented this place many times, enough is enough and I have not been back to visit and still intend on never going back.
They have no organization or management skills. For a mom and pop it would be expected for them to have better people skills.
Truly. Lotus’ food is much much much much much much much better, and the customer service is on point too. I hate to send business elsewhere.
Language barrier or not, I am spending My money with you, so learn how to give clients good food and at least mediocre customer service.

Damn it!!! Damn it Damn it these crawfish here are awesome! !
I confess! I am a crawfish snob, so to get 3 damn its, the crawfish are exceptional to say the very least!
I have literally drove 25 min out of my way to eat crawfish from Boiling 88!
I always get the cajun medium spicy flavor or lemon pepper, 4 lbs to start with corn and sausage!!,
The corn is actually done right. By «right» I mean coon– ass style .it’s cooked with the crawfish, it is infused with crawfish boil and seasonings!
The sausage is good too, If you want really juicy, easy to peel damned good crawfish,
Getcha ass down to Boiling 88!
Update– gumbo is horrible, the bathrooms look like hyenas have bathed in it, but the beer is cold and the service is great. I still stand by their crawfish!

This is our favorite crawfish in Houston!
Parking: Get there early, preferably about 15 mins before opening. It fills up fast with people even parking on the grass.
Seating: This can be tough during crawfish season. There are often big groups, and they take a while to eat their crawfish. You might be waiting a while, which is why we usually only go at opening. We were even there late one Sunday night and people were still waiting outside the door.
Food: My favorite is the cajun seasoning. My wife loves their special house seasoning. this year the mud bugs were huge so we had great food and like to go back frequently.
Pricing: A little expensive. And you should know that for some reason they are going to start charging for corn and potatoes. The crawfish pricing is a bit high, and they’re going to start nickel and diming the customers. That cost them a star with me.

Hands down the best crawfish I’ve ever eaten anywhere! Like other reviewers have said the 88 Special is amazing. It’s all three of their flavored crawfish mixed into one bag. amazing… Of course, knowing me I got the spiciest option and it was perfecto. I quickly learned to dunk every crawfish tail in the delicious juice at the bottom of the bag. You’ll thank me ;) Also got an order of their boudain balls. They were good but not great. So why the four stars? 1. Parking was definetly an issue like others have said. 2. They seriously need to think about opening a larger restaurant because this place fills up quickly, and not enough waiting room. 3. Floors and tables were a little sticky…4. Service was a little slow and took quite a while to get our check after asking twice. Having said that I will back without a doubt but I may choose to get it to go.
Service: ³⁄₅
Food quality: ⁵⁄₅

Cons: Parking sucks and packed with people
Pros: food was good people was friendly
Order: family 10 piece fish and 15 piece shrimp, fried rice, 8 pounds of crawfish garlic medium, and sticky rice with mango
Everything was cooked to perfection as well as fresh and tasty

AMAZING!!!
This crawfish joint was jumping from the time we got there (Sunday at 1pm) to the time we left. It was packed, but our wait wasn’t long compared to some other crawfish places I’ve been to.
I guess this is what you call Asian style crawfish. It’s really reminiscent of what I ate a long time ago at Hong Kong City Mall. We got 9 pounds of crawfish between 5 people along with hushpuppies, sweet potato fries, boudin balls, and crawfish fried rice (which was aweeessssoooommmeee, especially if you pour the leftover 88 special sauce on your fried rice).
They were selling crawfish for $ 6.99/lb which is less than another crawfish joint I’ve been to. The crawfish were giant and meaty, too! Our crawfish was coated in the 88 special sauce and was medium spicy, but we definitely could’ve kicked it up a notch. It doesn’t come with potatoes and corn, which you can order separately, but we didn’t bother.
Would definitely go back!

Freakin’ AMAZING!!! I love their crawfish and service is always friendly. Mild is already really spicy for me but if you can handle it I would say get medium.

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to finally try this place. Since it is crawfish season, there was a wait when we got there at 6:30PM on a Saturday. We waited outside for about 45 minutes before we were seated. Once we walked in I could smell the sauce already and my mouth was watering.
I ordered the 88 special which has garlic butter, lemon pepper and cajun flavors, in medium spice. I think their medium is spicier than other places and has a really good kick to it. I like the garlic in the sauce and was basically eating all of that up with the crawfish and corn. The size of the crawfish was good as well and they had very few «dead» ones.
Overall really good crawfish, just be prepared to wait if you come at prime dinner time. I highly recommend this place if you like spicy Asian style crawfish.

I’ve been on a quest for the best garlic butter crawfish and 88 Boiling Crawfish far surpassed my expectation! In my opinion, they offer the best Asian-​style crawfish in the city.
The restaurant is located 3 miles from i10W in a small building that appears to be an old fast food establishment. If there are no empty tables, you must put your name on the wait list and wait to be called on. It only took us about 5 mins to get a table on a Sunday night around 8pm.
I was told to get the 88 sauce on my crawfish and it was definitely the flavor I wanted. The crawfish are nicely sized and served very fresh.
My girlfriend ordered gumbo and fried fish. It was good, but our server had to be told to bring it out after waiting 15 – 20 mins. The fish was not hot when she delivered it and when we asked her for another plate she was unpleasant about it. Although she brought another out, I felt like she could have been more helpful.
I visited again the following week and was equally as pleased with the service and food. I live downtown, but the crawfish is definitely worth the drive!

I first came here two years ago before the secret got out about this place but I wasn’t too big on seafood back then. Luckily for me, a recent trip to New Orleans seems to have sparked a new crawfish craving. I came here last night with my family around 7:40 or so. The restaurant was already buzzing and full, but luckily the waiting list to be seated wasn’t very long. We waited maybe ten minutes before a table opened up outside. A rowdy and rude group quickly snatched it, but luckily an employee noticed and stood up for us. She was quick to apologize and stressed that «Everything must be fair for the customer.» I have to applaud 88 Boiling Crawfish & Seafood for handling the situation very professionally.
Now, about the actual food. We ordered 5lbs of crawfish with the 88 special seasoning (medium spiciness) and a family platter with fried catfish and shrimp. The crawfish seasoning is absolutely perfect. There was a mixture of butter, garlic mash, and spices left on the crawfish and at the bottom of the bag that I pretty much wanted to drink. After peeling each crawfish, dredge it through the garlicky goodness for the best little mudbug you’ve ever experienced! And these little things are huge! A couple crawfish we had were so large, we were able to get quite a sizeable amount of claw meat from them. The crawfish were very fresh, with none of that dreaded «fishy» flavor that sometimes happens. Even the potatoes and corn, usually tasteless after being boiled for hours, we’re delicious, especially when covered with the garlic mash.
I didn’t expect to enjoy the family platter much since I don’t like fish or shrimp much, but they were both masterfully battered and fried. The catfish was incredibly fresh, breaking off into flaky pieces. The breading was a tad saltier than I would have preferred, but the cocktail sauce helps to cancel that out.
Overall, everything was really fresh and well spiced and seasoned. The crawfish is definitely the star here, and the 88 special is great since it’s a blend of the other spices (garlic butter, lemon pepper, and Ragin’ Cajun). When we went, the crawfish was a tad pricy at $ 7.99/lb (blue crab had sold out but was $ 6.99/lb) but worth it for the tastiest boil short of going to New Orleans. The fried seafood is a good option as well if you want to fill up without paying for more crawfish.

My loyalty to LA Fisherman (formerly Boiling Crab) wont allow me to give them 5 stars but they do come pretty close when the best crawfish joint in town is closed or packed. The customer service here is pretty good, I usually always get the the 88 Boiling Special for the flavor and «Spicy» for level of spicy. The spicy is comfortable. The mild is super mild… like no kick… Go with the spicy and enjoy you a couple of pounds! I do love the fact that they have a drive-​thru here, so if you’re hosting something or just wanna chill out by the pool and eat crawfish you can run and pick up a few pounds and the wait isnt ussually too long unless tehy are packed.

Oyster：5/5
Crawfish：3/5
The oyster is the best in Houston. Fresh, clean and yummi! The crawfish is just so so. A little bit dirty, we ate 3 dead crawfish. In my experience, the worst one in Chinatown, the no.2 bad at Westhimer, the best is still Manuvel seafood. But too far to get!

My boyfriend and I decided to try out this place on a rainy night when we were really starving for something hot and spicy.
This place is kinda old, tiny but cute. Staffs are helpful. We ordered 3 lbs of spicy garlic butter crawfish, shrimp fried rice and boudin balls.
Crawfish was so flavorful, perfect seasoning. Fried rice was also super delicious and good portion. Everyone recommended the boudin balls so we wanted to try but I dont think I like them. The crust outside was kinda salty to me.
Overall, I really love the food here. As Im writing this review and I cant stop thinking of their fried rice. So hungry now. Cant wait to return soon.

Setup: various
The good: non crawfish food — crabs, boudin balls, fried rice, oysters, mango with sticky rice!
The not as good: crawfish — for some reason it just doesn’t have as much flavor as my other go-​to restaurants. Also, I had quite a number of dead ones. Parking lot is VERY small.
Observations: the service has definitely improved — I think they hired more staff so things are running more smoothly now.

Crawfish season is upon us and I wanted to review 88 Boiling since I’ve now gone twice. Remember to bring a hair tie to tie back your hair and don’t wear your nicest clothes. They do provide bibs but the time I went they had run out of gloves… so if you’re really a pro, bring your own gloves!
The wait: For dinner with a large group on a weekend during crawfish season (we had 7 people and ordered 20 lbs of crawfish), if you come by 5:30pm you can have your food by 6/6:10pm. Come on the earlier side to snag a large table and beat the crowds. By 5:45 the line was out the door and by 6pm there were no tables left and people were hovering, waiting for other patrons to finish their meals, but there were patio seats still available (it was cold outside though).
Service: OK. You can sit down and wait for someone to come take your order (this is wise if it’s crowded so you can secure a table) or you can order at the counter for either sit down or take out. Our waters were always filled. If you want to order additional food you have to wait until a waitress stops by at another table to take their order and wave until they come over. This place is crazy busy so if all else fails you’ll have to get up and go back up to the counter which can be annoying if there’s a long line.
Food: We only ate crawfish — at $ 7.99/lb it’s on the higher end of crawfish pricing but I think they make up for it in terms of freshness and seasoning. We order about 2−3lb per person to eat. If you order 2lb you get free corn and potatoes. This crawfish is FRESH, the meat is tender, and it comes out steaming hot in buckets. The 88 seasoning is super garlicky and you can customize your spiciness level. We got mild which I regret… wish we had gotten spicier. Getting mild is nice cause then you can eat a lot more crawfish without being limited by spiciness, though. Our bags were a mix of huge bugs as well as tiny baby ones. but overall I was pleased with the size of each crawfish. Make sure you turn the bags periodically to re-​distribute the delicious garlicky sauce! The corn/​potatoes were delicious, as are their french fries and hush puppies which are super crispy and cajun spiced.
Overall this might be my favorite crawfish place in Houston so far… I am a huge fan of the Asian/​Cajun spice mix and this place really does it well!

I have passed by this place many times never thought to look it up by the looks of it. Well I’ve been wrong this is the real deal and my go to seafood place now. This used to be some fast food place that was converted into a seafood shack. It’s a bit crammed inside with limited seating but also tables also with covers.
I have read from reviewers that the 88sauce special was the best. Well I can finally vouch for that. LA Crawfish needs to learn and thing or 2 from this place.
OH I ordered a pound of shrimp spicy 88special sauce. Cup of gumbo. Which I didn’t really care for, had a funky herbal taste to it. I’ll stick with the boiled stuff. Oh and if your wanting corn and potatoes those are separate. 1 corn for. 75 cents which I think is pretty steep for half a corn.. 50cents for potatoes pretty normal pricing. As for pricing compared to all its pretty much the same reason to come here is for the seasoning, sauce concoction!
Each table has its set of condiments, bottle of melted butter, seafood seasoning, and paprika I believe.