Fiery Crab Seafood Restaurant And Bar - Gonzales — Restaurant in Gonzales

My bf & I sat at the bar while we waiting for the rest of our party and at 1st glance it seemed really bare, but then we found out that the bar had just opened that day so it made sense to us. The bartender was nice and promptly accommodated us when we asked for a cocktail menu (2/3's of the cocktails weren't available yet) & a bucket of ice to put our beers in (they came out of the fridge very warm), but she definitely wasn't outing or making any efforts to engage in any small talk (there were 6 or 7 people seated around the bar). What she lacked in personality she made up for in pours, as I actually felt a slight buzz after 2 Captain & Cokes and that never happens for me at chain restaurants.

When the rest of our party arrived we were seated promptly and had a super friendly server named Shay. As we were asking questions about the menu she suggested taking advantage of one the specials. She rattled off 3 or 4 different seafood platters and everything they included, but it was do much stuff for us to take in so quickly that she then offered to take a picture of the specials board for us. We ended up ordering 2 of the largest specials platter they offered which each included a sliced lobster tail, 4 or 5 snow crab legs, 2 blue crabs, headless shrimp, (2) 1/2 corn on the cobs and a good portion of sausage. My sis-in-law and I shared a butter garlic platter with a very mild hint of heat that didn't hit til near platters end and our guys shared the same platter "Louisiana Style" which had their noses running close the immediately. The platters were delicious and at $41.99 a piece they left us full happily satisfied & looking forward to our next dinner night there. We were all very happy with our meal and the night and were still talking about it the next night. So, the hostess and busses were very friendly and personable just like Shay which we all, as outgoing extroverts, appreciate. 🙂... ps- I forgot to take a picture, so I'll be sure to do...

The family went to this location after a long day of running around. We were hungry and tired and just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner.

There was a short wait because it was 11 of us. Restaurant was the closest to where we were, so we dropped in.

There was a short wait, and we were seated. There were a lot of workers running around, so the staff wasn't short.

The server was nice but a little dry. She didn't really smile, and she checked on us periodically. A few people got water refills, but I didn't. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I drink water with no ice, but the ice water kept coming. Not from her but a guy that was refilling drinks and water.

We placed our orders with a few appetizers. We sat there an hour before the appetizers came out and then another 20 minutes before the food arrived.

I had the charboiled oysters...I get this just about everywhere I go if it's on the menu. I was disappointed with the oysters. There were a few little ones, but the problem is they had it drowned with minced garlic. Don't get me wrong, I love garlic. I cook with garlic on a regular, but I've never had the oysters this way, and I hope I never have to again.

My husband had one of the specials, so it's filled with the shrimp, blue crab, snow crab, etc. There were no hand wipes. There was nothing to crack the crabs, there was no bib...

We've been to similar places like this, and those things were automatically given once you ordered that bag from the menu. Oh, and there were no oyster fork...🙄

The hushpuppies were delicious, small but delicious, I must say that. I was so hungry after waiting so long that I forgot to take a...

I ordered the grilled shrimp and flounder combo

The good,

The fried rice was delicious, the shrimp was OK, The server was pleasant The atmosphere was nice

The bad,

I waited 45 minutes for the food to come, I was a solo diner and the restaraunt was not very busy, The server came in at 30 min mark and said it will be ready shortly, when it did arrive she apologized and remarked that she wasn't sure why it took so long to cook. Actually tho' the food was not hot, It was somewhere between cold and warm, but definitely wasn't fresh off the grill so I'm a little suspicious as to why I waited 45 minutes.

The cutlery was the cheapest form of plastic you can buy, I felt like I was 5 trying to scoop the rice in the little spoon with the short handle that was as sturdy as a wet noodle. I had to eat the broccoli with my fingers because the fork would bend when I tried to stab one. A to go order, fine, but dining in at least splurge a bit on better plastic if you don't want to wash metal forks.

The flounder was mooshy and lacked flavor. I had to use ketchup.. Fish is supposed to be cooked hot and fast, the flounder, although edible wasn't cooked right in my opinion.

The takeaway,

I will go back at least 2 more times to get a broader view of this place, hoping this was a unique experience, but as it stands this place is...