Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen — Restaurant in Austin

Our son took us to Pappadeaux off Research Blvd in Austin on Sunday for dinner. This was our first time at Pappadeaux, although our son had been to several different locations many times. It was busy when we got there, but it is a large restaurant, and we were seated right away. There were four of us, so we asked for a booth, and we were given a corner booth with plenty of room to spread out. Our server, Bryan, was very friendly, helpful, and attentive.

Since it was mine and my wife's first time, our son went a little overboard in ordering appetizers so we could try a variety of dishes. We got the Crispy Alligator, Fried Calamari and Octopus, and a dozen Raw Oysters. Wow, we loved it all! The large pieces of alligator were tender with a crispy breading, and it came with a very good Creole dipping sauce. The calamari were just as good. We got the medium size for both, which was plenty to share around the table. The oysters were fresh and tasted great. So far, so good!

I told our server that I had wanted some shrimp and grits, but it is only on the lunch menu. He went back and talked with the kitchen and told me that they would be happy to make me shrimp and grits. So, I got the Grilled Shrimp & Grits off the lunch menu. There were eight perfectly grilled shrimp on a bed of creamy cheese grits with andouille & sweet corn. This was a great sized portion and one of the best shrimp and grits that I have ever gotten. My wife got the medium portion of Fried Shrimp with French fries. There were at least 15 or 16 nice-sized shrimp that were butterflied and lightly breaded and fried. The fries were not as hot as my wife preferred, and our server quickly got her some fresh hot fries. The manager brought the fries out and apologized. If you like fried shrimp, get this dish! My son and his girlfriend got the Fruit de Mer and a cup of "Louisiana" Seafood Gumbo to share. They loved it! Just look at the photo of the gumbo….it was as good as it looks!

We had a great meal at Pappadeaux and can’t wait to go back and try more items on their menu. If you love fresh seafood and dishes made from scratch, I highly recommend that you stop by Pappadeaux and...

My experience was a disaster from start to finish.

Tabling: Checked in online and was given a 15m wait. No problem. 3 minutes later, was updated to an 85m wait. Arrived and confirmed we were there. Got notification after 20m that our table was ready.

Service: Host was not welcoming or pleasant. We were walked to a 14 person table despite being a party of 5. We asked if one of the 2 empty circle corner booths were available. We were told they were reserved. We took the table for 14.

After about 10 minutes a waiter comes and the drink order was taken. No bread. No butter. 1 package of crackers on the table. Drinks arrived; we ordered appetizers. Crab and spinach for $20, 5 small pieces of toast for a party of 5. Our order is taken. We’re told there are no baked potatoes. I dont know how this is possible, but whatever. 15m goes by, no one checks on us, ⅗ drinks are empty. 5 minutes later, I see a manager joking with a waiter. At this point I refill the drinks myself. Embarrassed, the manager tells a waiter to get us bread and butter. Another 10 minutes and the salad arrives for 1. 3 minutes later, the entrees. We eat. Waiter inquires about dessert. I order key lime pie. They’re out of key lime pie. Asked for the check.

Food: Pretty bland. The bed of french fries were cold, and very little dipping sauce or ketchup was distributed. The limes and lemons were hard with little juice. 100% not worth what we paid (almost $200).

All in all I have 0 desire to ever return to this location. Went to the other Austin location not too long ago and walked away pleased. No idea what is going on with 183 location.

Update edit: I called the phone number the hq provided in a response to my review. It is a generic, automated response phone number, after some inputs I was directed to Satisfaction. No one answered. I left a voicemail. They never returned my call. Totally in line with that I experienced in my review. Pappas is going...

Editing my review 6/7/2025. They sat us in what appears to be the "special events" area tonight. There was a giant TV playing mixed martial arts, and the music was BLARING in the room. I took my wife out for what was supposed to be a romantic dinner, but I felt like we wound up in a sports bar. It was really disappointing.

When I mentioned to the hostess they should probably warn folks that the room was loud and the were playing blood sports on the big screen, she got kind of snippy and defensive. I wasn't at all rude, I literally just said "you should probably let folks know that that room has loud music and a TV playing MMA. It was not what I was hoping for for a romantic dinner," and she launched into an irritated explanation that "well, we're really busy tonight and we needed the seating." I get that, but I don't go to a nice seafood restaurant to watch dudes bleed on the mat while 70s music is blaring so loudly you can't have a conversation with your date.

To add insult to injury, they were out of the beans that were supposed to the bed for my wife's swordfish (the special of the night, no less). Then they were out of crème brûlée for dessert. I felt like at every turn, something was going wrong or missing.

I walked away really, really disappointed. At the very least, in the future I will not sit in the overflow room. But, to be honest, I will probably not go back. I paid well over a hundred dollars for the two of us for a romantic date night. I walked away feeling pretty cheated.

Old review from 2023: I've been to this location probably a half a dozen times. The service is always amazing. The food is fantastic. I'm so glad they opened up near here. It's excellent both at lunch and at dinner time. Will...