BeClaws

Came here for dinner with my baby bro and friend! First time here even though we live in the area. We ordered the snowcrab, clam, crawfish, and shrimp combo. Caju-​asian sauce and medium for the spice. The over all meal was pretty good. And service was on point. I recommend coming if you’re spontaneously craving seafood. The clams were a bit sandy but hey, it’s a clam. The rest soaked up that sauce nicely and it was a delicious dinner. So bon apetite everyone~

I’ve always pass by here on my way home from work, but never actually came in until today. The food here is yummy and the customer service is amazing! We had a party of 3 on a Wednesday evening and we got seated right away.
We ordered the combo 2 which includes snow crabs, crawfish, clam, shrimp, 2 corns, 2 potatoes, and 2 sausage pieces. I like how you can customize the sauce you want and level of spicy. We decided to do caj-​sian sauce with medium spicy. The caj-​sian sauce was yummy, but next time we will probably go spicy level, because medium spicy was not spicy enough for us.
Get the Cajun crab fries! They are oh so good, but skip the Cajun coleslaw.
Gloves and bibs are provided which I thought was nice.
There is also a sink near the eating area with automatic everything which I thought was very convenient and much needed!
The interior is really cute with chalk art everywhere! There is parking right in front of the restaurant, but only a few spaces.

I stumbled upon this place from a community email and I have been back at least once a week since my first visit. Me and my friend love it and are trying to put more people on to Be Claws. The food is amazing! It is seasons well and the food is always pipping hot. The drinks are very delicious and like the foot is very plentiful. If you don’t mind riding to Wheaton you should really try this New Orleans, Creole, Cajun Haven trust me you won’t be disappointed. If you like Hot N Juicy Crawfish you will love this place. The wait staff is very friendly and so is the owner a very sweet lady!

Before BeClaws even opened a friend and I started planning a trip to try it. We finally said «This week!» and went. Parking is a bit of a pain. We gave up on the nearby street parking and went for the lot like Alex O. suggested.
I was on crutches and had some challenges with the narrow doorway. Many of the tables when you first enter are high top tables (so not so great for those with a disability to sit at — I didn’t want to try and hop up to the stool. There was one lower table we saw in that area, but we were seated in the dining area, which had steps. Again I was on crutches so I was able to hop up the three steps, but what if I couldn’t. The only bathrooms I believe are up these three steps, so if you use wheelchair, I am not sure you can get there. I am not deducting points/​stars for any of this — it is just an observation from a temporarily disabled person.
My friends had the fried shrimp and fried scallops. Both really liked the breading which was clearly home made. The scallops were large and firm (I stole one ;)). They came with fries and looked to be pretty satisfying. One ordered a side of coleslaw which she said was good — not too mayo-​y or too vinegary.
I had the 1 lb clam pot. There were 15 large clams in the pot, which is a lot. It also came with corn and a potato. If you order the 2lb pot you also get sausage in the pot — for the 1lb pot you can add 6 pieces for $ 2. I added the sausage and it was alright. The clams were good, but I could have used a knife to break them free from the shell a little easier. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find our waitress by the time I realized I needed one. I went with the mild sauce, but it was rather bland (although garlicly) — would recommend at least medium.
We each had an order of the beignets. I can’t put my finger on what was in them but it was definitely a unique take on the well know Café du Monde variety. I believe it was all-​spice. We asked the waitress who said she had no clue what was in the food (which makes me a little concern if someone had some allergy).
Overall, not bad. I will be back because it is hard to find decent seafood at a reasonable price.

Ok so here’s the deal, I don’t give 5 stars unless I have visited a place repeatedly and the service and product are consistently great. I’m not willing to break that rule, but if I were to, I would do it here.
I was visiting my daughter, SIL, and grandkids and they live nearby. They also know me well, so off we went to a new restaurant as that is one of the best things ever.
As soon as we entered there were nice Louisiana style decorations and cool New Orleans style Jazz music playing. The restaurant was super clean and well organized.
Fast service at the table left me stumbling over my order so I got a cocktail to buy some time. That cocktail was so good I could sit there and buy more time till I passed out!
Food! Oh my goodness that was by far the best out-​of-​a-​bucket seafood I have ever had! There was a sauce poured over it that was loaded with garlic and kisses from the Angels on high. I was hearing that laaaaaa and I knew I was coming to the promised land. I mean good! I live in Cali and I’m considering braving the Maryland winters just to live down the street from this place.
I
AM
NOT
KIDDING!
You have to try this place. It was Cajun/​southern style seafood at its very best. The big corporate seafood places like Joe’s Crab Shack and Red Lobster need to go to this place and get schooled. Little guys FTW again!

Food is awesome. Mac and cheese is so good. They were were pretty nice and friendly. But parking might be a problem.

If you do choose to go, there’s a metered lot and a garage down the block (near Nava Thai and the American Legion) and those are your best bets for parking. We started with a round of oysters and they were alright, but nothing special. They tasted a bit bland, but smelled alright. I was a bit concerned when we asked where they were from and I was simply told they were fresh. Maybe living near Pearl Dive for a few years turned me into an unintended oyster snob, but I do like knowing where my raw oysters are coming from, otherwise, I’m not too inclined to trust your oysters. I wouldn’t order them from here again. Our pots of seafood were tasty enough and when you factor in the corn, potatoes, and sausage, quite sizable. The crawfish were surprisingly large as were the shrimp, though the former were a bit tough and the latter were a bit overcooked and rubbery. The caj-​sian sauce is somewhat odd. Basically, it’s chili oil with a fist-​sized amount of raw, roughly chopped garlic. If you like garlic, you probably won’t hate it, but at the same time, it’s somewhat one-​dimensional, and I can’t overstate enough how much garlic there is — I literally smelled like garlic for most of the next day and could taste it for at least that long as well. Given the sheer amount of food, as well as the size of the shrimp and crawfish, I can see why they charge what they do, but I still didn’t feel it was worth it. Corn and potatoes are cheap, so is sausage (and this sausage was nothing special) and the shellfish were obviously frozen. For seven or eight bucks more I could have had a great entrée in DC rather than a meal more akin to a Cajun-​themed Red Lobster
The drink menu looks odd. Some of it looks like a nightmare from the ‘80s and ‘90s with drinks featuring Malibu and Midori, and some seems promising, such as an aged Vieux Carre. In the end, my buddy’s Sazerac suggested they have no idea how to make a decent cocktail. The drink was shaken with lemon juice, served on the rocks, and topped with soda water. So, your best bet for alcohol is to stick with beer, though even that is a hum-​drum affair given the mediocre beer list.
So, mediocre food, bad cocktails, unremarkable beer list, and surprisingly high prices. Best I can say is that the servings are large, the space is surprisingly nice (though some tables are very close together) and the staff were very friendly. The food on the other hand… meh… Wheaton has so many other great options at much lower prices.

We had been meaning to try BeClaws when our friend, KD, suggested we meet there for an early dinner. KD is a big guy and can eat and my husband, RS, is no slouch in the food department either, so It was a perfect way to try a restaurant new to us. The guys kept ordering different items on the menu so I was able to take a taste here and there without totally blowing my diet.
They started off with a catfish Bao. It looked like 2 pancakes propped into a taco holder and filled with a small catfish cake and some toppings. Our waitress warned us that the dish contained peanuts. Their consensus was the Bao was good but not a top priority to order again. Next came a mixed basket with fried scallops, shrimp, catfish, calamari and oyster. Also included was a choice of fries. They got garlic fries and I tasted one. The fries themselves are good, not outstanding, but the garlic sauce made them delicious. I loved the fried shrimp and the catfish looked very, very tempting, but I resisted, at least that time. Next came a soft shell basket and a gator basket. I’m not a big fan of soft shell but I tasted the gator just to say that I did. For me, once was enough, but RS and KD dove in and enjoyed both very much. And finally (I told you they can eat!) they ordered a shrimp and crawfish Combination. The Big Catch and the Combinations (we refer to them as «hot pots») include corn, potato, and sausage, plus your choice of one more side, in addition to which ever seafood you choose. I think the menu is a little confusing but the wait staff will happily answer any questions. When you order a hot pot your server brings bibs and disposable gloves. The guys were amused and didn’t use them, but I saw two ladies at another table digging into the hot pots happily wearing their gloves and bibs. Trying to keep things a little healthy I ordered a cup of clam chowder, which was rich and thick and creamy, and a salad. The salad was surprisingly fresh and good, much nicer than I expected at a restaurant not geared toward greens. In addition to the food, I had a Bloody Mary, very spicy and tasty, just delicious. RS had a beer and KD had a Mule. Needless to say we declined dessert.
Since our first visit RS and I have been back twice for lunch. He goes straight to The Big Catch and Combinations section of the menu, usually choosing shrimp and crawfish. I can’t resist the fried shrimp basket, which he helps me with after he finishes his hot pot. As his extra side he’s discovered if he orders French bread he can use it to sop up the juice left in the bottom of the pot. At KD’s suggestion he’s stuck to Caj-​sian mild sauce so far. Since we have gone at off hours, so far parking has not been a problem. And as for the staff, whatever problems they had when they first opened have definitely been resolved. The 3 different servers we’ve had have all been attentive, friendly, and efficient. The restaurant itself is attractive and much larger than I expected. You enter through a bar area and can be seated there or up a few stairs in the main dining room. There is also a small private room that, by my quick count, can probably seat up to 30 people. If one is unable to do any steps, you might want to check to make sure you can enter into the main dining room directly and also check handicapped status of the bathrooms. I’m not sure the ladies room could accommodate a wheel chair. Anyways, love the restaurant. Think of it more of a «seafood» place than either Asian or Cajun, which is just fine with me!

Really?
I mean seriously?
How could it be?
How could it be that perhaps one of the best seafood spots in the DMV is this hidden treasure in a nondescript shopping center off of University and Georgia Ave?
My husband had a hankering for oysters for a few days. He even claimed to have woken up a few mornings with them on his mind lol. So, we started looking around for a spot to satisfy his oyster desire. We just happened to have been driving back from an Ikea trip and drove through Wheaton when this place popped up on Unilocal.
Man-​were we pleasantly surprised!
We ate across the menu, from shrimp to crawfish to chicken wings and cornbread, plus dessert. Everything was delicious and was fresh. The plates offered ample serving sizes and did not leave us hungry (which is difficult to do when my husband is involved lol).
The crawfish and shrimp combo platter was huge, seasoned perfectly and hot! My husband devoured it. The oysters were fresh and tasted as if they were just pulled from the ocean somewhere. The cornbread was moist and fluffy, which is very impressive being that cornbread is typically an afterthought at many places.
We also sampled the desserts. The bananas foster was yummy but could have been a little warmer. The banana pudding was worth the drive and the beignets were fluffy and had just the right amount of powdered sugar topping them.
Overall, this place was a huge hit. In the words of the «Terminator” — I’ll be back!

I loved this atmosphere and it reminded me of New Orleans due to the décor. It is a very new place and opened September 2015 so I’m not trying to really bash the place. The service was good and the server was a nice guy who checked up on us throughout the meal.
For food I got 2lbs of crawfish (~$ 12/​lb) with the mixed seasoning and medium spiciness. The meal came with corn bread as well. At first sight of my dish it looked AMAZING. The crawfish were really big and red and the meal just looked absolutely delicious. But I’m sorry to say that it lacked in flavor and the medium spiciness was more mild, but I also like spicy foods. So it may be considered spicy for those who do not like spicy. My friend got the hot and I tried his and it was better. Also, I think the crawfish was frozen, so it was not fresh. But! there is sausages and corn mixed in that was good. Honestly I’d give the food a 2.5, but that’s probably because I’ve been to New Orleans too.
The corn bread came with the meal and to me it was a little too soft for my taste, but my other friend liked it moist like that. I like my corn bread to be a bit stiff and less fluffy. It reminded me a bit more like cake than bread. But all in all this place did satisfy my crawfish craving. I can normally eat 2lbs easily, but I was struggling towards the end haha.
Oh and just to note that parking is horrible because the location of this place is in such a busy area, but the parking lot is shared with a few other stores that there’s maybe 4 parking spots for this place.

I’ve been getting prompts when I log on to review this place, but today was my first chance to sample its food. I generally eat my main meal at lunchtime, and on weekdays this restaurant opens at 3 pm. (Why at 3? This puzzles me. Most dinner-​only restaurants open around 5!) On weekends they open at noon, which is still generally a bit late for me, but I got down to the Wheaton area somewhat late, and by the time I was ready for lunch, it was past 12, so I came in here.
Like all seafood restaurants, the place has some items on the menu that are so expensive that I could never see myself ordering them. But they have a number of «baskets» that are much more reasonable. I was worried that they might be small because they are so much cheaper than the entrees, but my worries were unfounded. The one I ordered was definitely enough food.
Unfortunately, breaded shrimp are done with the tails on, and so it’s hard to eat the breading in that area; on the other hand, the breading does not stick well to the calamari, so you have to eat the meat and the breading separately; these are minor problems, though. The food tasted good enough to recommend this restaurant.
Obviously, the biggest difficulty I have, the one that will mean I come back only rarely, is the crazy hours. Other than that, I’d eat here frequently.

I recently discovered this restaurant after browsing on Unilocal.My husband and I love seafood so we decided to give this place a try. We went for the usual pound of shrimp each and got the crab fries for our appetizer. The crab fries were delicious! It came with some kind of chipotle mayo and lots of crab meat scattered through out. As a previous Unilocaler has stated, the fries were still crispy despite the toppings.
Pros:
— When you order seafood by the pound, you get to choose a side of rice, noodles, or bread with your seafood of choice (included)
— a corn and potato are included
— great customer service and friendly staff; we were greeted upon entrance to departure and well taken care of by our waitress (forgot to get her name)
— very spacious on the inside w/​plenty of seating
Cons:
— I got the Caj-​sian (?) flavor in spicy and hubz got lemon pepper in spicy. I thought the Caj-​sian flavor lacked flavor. However, I really enjoyed the lemon pepper flavor
— Parking can be horrific. Luckily for us, we got a spot right upon arriving in front of the building
Overall if I’m craving seafood it’s a closer alternative to chasin tails and hot n juicy. We plan to return to try one of the combos and some of the other entrees.

Such a great addition to this area.
The décor of this restaurant is superior! I love the bar area, the multiple door concept, sink in the dining area.
The drinks are delicious! Warning: they are NOT watered down like most of the bars lol.
We had a bunch of appetizers. We love them all! We ordered Seafood Bao, Japanese-​style raw oysters, Fish Tacos, Crab Dip, and more. They are very delicious and flavorful. Have to come back and try them all again.
For the main course, we ordered combination of lobster, crawfish, shrimp and clam with caj-​sian sauce (just love this creative name) which is a mix of Cajun and Asian flavors. The combo comes with corns, potatoes and sausages, as well as rice, bread or egg noodles. If you are a noodle person, you have to try the egg noodles. Dip them into the sauce! It’s the best! The food is fresh and tasty!
We ended up so full but can’t give anything up… and the drinks are delish, so need to finish them all!

My husband and I have eaten here several times, and it’s delicious. Admittedly, it’s not quite the same as getting a po’boy or crawfish in New Orleans — but for Maryland, it’s pretty good.
Our favorites (in this order): Jambalaya, étouffée, pepper squid, fried catfish, and cajun fries!
The crawfish mac-​n-​cheese is delicious as well.

Some highlights and less than stellar moments. First, the crab fries, raw oysters, and fried oyster sliders are awesome! These dishes make me want to def come back and try out some of the other dishes. The oyster happy hour deal is stellar ($ 7 for half a dozen!).
However, there were also some big misses. The mac n cheese was terrible. The cheese sauce was lumpy, it took the kitchen almost a half hour to bring it out, and it basically looked like they just threw cheese on top and microwaved it. While it wasn’t inedible (because, let’s be honest, cheese is edible in almost any form), just not worth it.
Second, the beignets are filled with lava hot air (with no warning). Basically, when you bite it, even if the beignet feels only warm, you are hit with hottttt air which will burn your whole mouth. On top of this, they have a strange yeasty taste. I had no idea it was possible to have bad fried dough.
The cocktails are alright, however, the dark and stormy was made with ginger beer that was very weak on the ginger taste.
Lastly, the waitress and bus service was really nice, but things were pretty slow and a lot of things were forgotten.
I think these are likely all growing pains from being new and will hopefully be able to update this review reflecting a better experience in the future!
5 stars for the oysters and crab fries but some big adjustments need to be made!

Came here for HH with a group of folks. I was new to this place and in looking at the regular menu, I had no idea what to get… so much, maybe too much stuff to choose from. Some of the affordable combos, I did not like everything in the combo, but outside of that, if you want to pick and choose your seafood is where the prices go up. I ended up settling on something simple — Soft Shell Crab Basket. It came with a side of fries (Sweet Potato fries is $ 1 extra from what I remember).
When I got the sandwich and fries, they tasted okay (no Wow factor) and there was not a lot of meat in between the bread, so not very filling. If you get it, it is best to get something else with it… the fries won’t be enough. My friend got Seafood Jambalaya. It is a bit spicy, but in tasting it, I really liked it — my friend loved it. I just could not eat too much as I don’t like spicy, but it is worth trying. To add, their HH Hurricane was very strong.

I was not able to partake in anything but the fries & wine, however, my Gal Pal was craving seafood after our 1^st Happy Hour stop, so we ended up here.
She said it was a new place in the Wheaton area, offering seafood with a cajun flare. We lucked up on a parking space right in front of the establishment.
There was a Hostess waiting on us when we were walking in. She greeted us & asked where we wanted to sit. We opted to sit in the bar area against the wall.
We were still in the HH range, that they offered from 4−7pm, so that was a good look. Courtney our Server & I dissected the menu to see what I could consume, & ended up with the house wine that was similar to a Shiraz/Malbec…pretty good. I also got a basket of garlic fries to munch on, so I was content for the moment.
The only fish they offer is Catfish, & I would expect more of a variety for a Fresh Seafood/​Cajun Cuisine offering.
My Gal Pal got the Fried Oysters Basket, with Cornbread, Coleslaw, a Heineken & shot of Hennessy… she was soooooo good to go.
From inspecting her food, they were ok portions that she had no issue consuming, along with a «tastes pretty good» comment.
Courtney really provided good customer service, made sure to check on us every few minutes & had no problem with our additional requests.
There’s a nice size bar, a window peeking through to where the kitchen is & a dining room that takes up the other side of the restaurant. There’s a sink at the end of the dining area…
I will only come back here on a full stomach to partake in their Happy Hour with my crew, until their menu has evolved.
Again, great serving service & my Gal Pal was satisfied with her seafood craving, nuff said.

Update review:
Parking still sucks and the servers are friendly and attentive.
Went there on a friday night, the place was not that busy, so we got seated right away.
Whoever is working in the kitchen needs to get their ish together…
The shrimp pot was not steaming hot, after 3 – 5 min. The shrimps were luke-​warm.
One of the chicken tenders was raw! BEWARE and cut it first!!!
They brought us more tenders and comp’d the entrée.

I really enjoyed BeClaws… beclawss, well, it was a really fun dining experience with excellent food (hehe see what I did there). I will agree with the other reviews concerning parking, it is kind of annoying, but, not really their fault. Great HH, a huge beer for 7 bucks. Fun to drink while digging into dinner. We had a Groupon for a steamed pot so we opted for the king crab combo pot with the caj-​sian sauce. The sauce was excellent. I also had my heart set on the wings with sriracha mayo… but they were out of wings (wah). Our server had them whip up some tenders with the sriracha mayo and they were reallllly good, still wish I could try the wings though.
Great service, great food, and a lot of fun! Will definitely be back!

Man, when I read the other Unilocal reviews of this place… it reminded me of what it’s like to put so much power in the hands of nit picky people. Tough crowd this Wheaton crowd has but alas…
Dining partner and I had a great experience here! I’ve been eyeing this place for a while and regardless of the «tricky parking», I had to ask «since when could a restuarant bulldoze the front lot and allow for ample parking?» It’s all a part of the adventure, people! We found parking within a short 1 minute walk and I almost wish we parked further away because we ate wayyyyy too much and walking helped with digestion!
Started off with a sazerac for him and the hurricane for myself; Lia/​Leah was great and warned us the hurricane could be a bit strong but offered to adjust accordingly, which was super nice.
She explained the menu and difference between the combos (because honestly… are you NOT going to order the seafood broil?! I’m sure everything else is good but really?! Come on now). She also went over the sauces and accompaniments; which was great because we thought we had to order corn/​potatoes/​sausage separately.
Got the king crab/​crawfish/​shrimp/​clams caj-​asian sauce in mild which was perfect with the real garlic cloves in the oily/​saucey broth. We finished in record time and ordered another crawfish/​shrimp in lemon pepper sauce. Don’t get me wrong, it was good but was no match for the caj-​asian sauce.
It’s nice because the customization of sauce is varied and you can denote how spicy you like.
We finished our meal with some fluffy beignets and almost ordered more food but opted to wait until the next time.
It’s an expansive place and yes, parking could be better but with the service and calibur of food coming outta that kitchen– it’s a-​ok by me to carpool :)
Welcome to the neighborhood, BeClaws!