Abby's Crab Shack - Cedar Park — Restaurant in Cedar Park

Y'all, in every sense of the word, this place EXCEEDS expectations!

I was promoted to visit based on the reviews given for Andrew, who ironically answered the phone when I called to inquire about the price for their crawfish. I was pleasantly surprised that his phone conversation embodied every review left regarding his professionalism, friendliness, vibrant personality, and helpfulness. I later found out that today was his birthday (4/27), the Man LITERALLY hasn't aged since 30.

When I arrived, the environment screamed family orientation. My favorite part was seeing the children's drawings covering the walls. I'm a sap for the babies and that definitely made me smile. Also, they have an area dedicated to keeping your little ones (or yourself) occupied with games in a non-invasive location.

Diana was my server and BABY when I tell you this Woman is TOP TIER. Beautiful aura, perfect hospitality, and gave fantastic recommendations. The experience didn't stop with Her because Jeb was SOOOOO complementary to their trio. Perfectly balanced, extremely charismatic, and overall a COMPLETE VIBE!

I came on a Sunday around 3:30 p.m., which unbeknownst to me they have a happy hour from 2-6 which includes drinks AND 1/2 off appetizers. I dine out every day, approximately 3-5 times a day, and in Austin, happy hour is definitely a rarity to have on the weekend. $3 draft Jellyfish? Yea. . . You catch my drift.

I literally had to ask who was in the kitchen because the food (Cocktail Shrimp, Henry's Gumbo, and Abby's Cajun Crawfish) was JUST THAT EFFIN' good. I was told it's an "Auntie" back there y'all, and you KNOW how most of them throw down. This one will BLOW YOUR MIND. Literally about to see if she can adopt me at this point!

Shout out to Abby because the way Andrew spoke of Her makes me want to come back every single day. I always appreciate when employees rave about management. I think we all can agree that this is VERY RARE!

If you have read my reviews, you know I don't EVER play about my food or experiences. If it's not it, it's just that; however, I have not been this satisfied with a restaurant visit in a while.

Grateful for the experience and will...

I don't write a ton of reviews, unless either the place is really good, or really bad. This is definitely the former.

We were originally going to go to Lousiana Crab Shack, but I heard from buddies at work that they were always packed, so I looked around Google and found this place. Called them, and she said they were packed. I decided to try it anyway, especially since my girl takes approximately four days to get ready to go anywhere. So we show up at a little after 8pm, and they were busy but there was a table. I hate waiting for a table anywhere, so this was a plus. I ordered a XX on tap, she ordered a water, they came out quickly. I don't remember the waitress's name, but she was attentive, answering questions about the different boils.

We ordered hushpuppies to start off while we decided. They tasted like fast food hushpuppies, would not order again. Ended up ordering two snowcrab combos, and four king crab legs to add on, and a half pound of mud bugs. It looks like a ton of food, probably more than really needed for two people, but in all honesty there wasn't much left. Neither one of us are overweight, it's just the boils were really good. We got the triple seasoning, whatever it was called. Really tasty.

While it did take longer than I typically sit waiting for food before I start giving dirty looks, when it did come out, I'd say it was worth it. A last point--plan on taking a second mortgage out if you like crab. Two of us with one beer, and the aforementioned food, $152 after tip.

I give it four stars because the hushpuppies sucked. The meal...

Apparently we got lucky to not get “Dianne” for service. Service was a little bit disjointed, but definitely not horrible. A little timing issue getting our appetizers about 2 minutes before our boil came (and a full 5 minutes later getting a catfish basket), but nothing worth writing home about.

Food: as noted elsewhere, this is certainly not Cajun, but is what I imagine someone that likes Cajun food might think is Cajun. Perhaps Creole is much more accurate.

We sampled the gumbo, boudin balls, catfish basket and Cajun Capitan boil, hot spice with a combo butter/garlic and Cajun sauce.

The gumbo was pretty good for Austin. The boudin balls were very good, possibly too spicy for some. The remoulade sauce tasted really like ranch with some cayenne. The catfish was odd and quite bland. Very much not Cajun. The breading was not at all what I’m used to in Louisiana. The boil was very tasty, but very definitely not Cajun, much more sweet than I’d expect. The crawfish were exceptionally small, although the restaurant serves what they get, so I can’t fault them. The sausage was excellent.

There was a definite lack in cleanup materials. I’d expect a roll of paper towels and a couple packets of wet wipes with a crawfish boil. Neither was there, just one of those little napkin dispensers.

Overall, it’s certainly better than other “Cajun” restaurants that have come and gone, but definitely has room to grow...