Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen — Restaurant in Houston

We haven't visited this restaurant in years, but we were in the area and starving. It's Valentine's Day, decided to beat the dinner rush and stopped by for lunch. Place wasn't too busy. We were seated right under an ac vent and I asked to be moved because nobody wants cold food. Once moved and comfortable, we had to figure out who our server was. Here I'm thinking, great, this is going to be a sh*tty experience. 2 servers later, Aisha arrived. 3rd time was the charm. Her warm presence and smile made me feel welcomed. She immediately took our drink order and brought out warm bread and butter. Although I enjoyed the ambience of this restaurant, I can't say the same for their food...or their overpriced menu. First to the stage...Tito's Vodka Bloody Mary....dammmmnnnnn, it hit all the right spots. The pungency was exactly what I craved. He had Cat 30 Hurricane. Get it? Category 30 Hurricane?? Lol, never mind. Not your typical Hurricane color, this baby was golden yellow. Took a drink and immediately fell in love with this concoction. Made with Flor de Cana 7 Rum, house made Fassionola syrup, fresh lime juice, soda and Hennessy. Smooth flavor, not too sweet but dodges being too strong as well. Definitely a creeper drink. Next to the stage were our half dozen Gulf Coast Oysters. Size was great, taste even better. Although I would have preferred the shells cleaned a bit better, it didn't stop is from slurping these down. Yes I said slurping because come on, there's no right or wrong way to eat them as long as it's from the wide end. If you've never tried oysters, just know when you muster up the courage to eat these less than appealing creatures, you don't bite! Let it slide down your throat.... urban legend. Now for the main dish. He had a sampler lunch plate which was fried shrimp, tilapia, oysters and ff's. The breading had a good flavor, but wasn't the best. I had the pan grilled Tilapia, toasted hazelnuts, brown butter with spaghetti squash and a side of dirty rice. The size of the fish was huge, but it lacked major flavor. Hazelnuts? Have no idea what purpose they served on the dish and the spaghetti squash wasn't cooked all the way thru so I had crunchy parts. The dirty rice reminded me of the Popeye's version. Wait no, that's an insult to Popeye's. Needless to say I wasn't impressed and put the dish to the side. Aisha however was attentive and apologetic for the food, but it wasn't her fault. The drinks are really the reason I'm not giving them a...

I’ve been a loyal Pappadeaux customer for years, consistently giving 5-star reviews for their unique and delicious menu. Unfortunately, my recent experience has dropped my rating to 1 star due to relentless menu changes that feel like a slap in the face to longtime fans. These aren’t changes driven by lack of sales—they’re baffling decisions that strip away what made Pappadeaux special.

I was already disappointed when they removed the crabcakes, replacing them with “crab fingers” that just didn’t compare. I let it slide, hoping it was a one-off. But now, they’ve gone too far by axing the creme brulee and the iconic fried alligator, swapping the latter for the “HoT hOnEy Gator Bites.” Let’s be real: these bites are sloppy, soggy, and overly spicy, with a completely different sauce and breading that’s nothing like the original. Attempting to get someone to try this new underwhelming menu item because it is "still alligator” is a weak attempt to upsell a bad decision—it’s not the same, and it’s not the upscale experience Pappadeaux is known for. Even the name “HoT hOnEy Gator Bites” feels cheap and out of place for a restaurant of this caliber.

I had planned to celebrate my birthday dinner here, as I have in years past, but learning about these changes killed that plan. I won’t be returning until the original fried alligator and creme brulee are back on the menu. Without these standout dishes, Pappadeaux isn’t offering anything unique enough to choose over other restaurants. It’s frustrating to see a place I loved take such a wrong turn, and I’m worried they’re heading down the same path as Red Lobster. Even AI recaps on Google reflect this letdown, mirroring my experience.

I hope this feedback climbs the corporate ladder because these changes are alienating loyal customers. I’d like to speak with a district or regional manager to discuss this directly—please provide contact information to make that happen. Until the menu returns to its former glory, Pappadeaux has lost...

We were so disappointed for last night's service at the restaurant!! We were told we could sit together....18 people. After waiting for over 20mins to be seated, they took us to 2 round table. The hostess initially said, Please bare with me. We will have to put you at 2 tables first so we can get y'all seated already. Then we'll transfer all of y'all to the larger table. There was a large room with several empty tables and they're telling us they couldn't sit us all together. Very disappointing! We had 2 servers for 2 tables for a family birthday. We all ordered at the same time, yet our food took 45mins longer than the other table (6 and a child). By the time we got our food the other part of the family had finished, so we began singing happy birthday with a cake at the other table where the bday girl was. We had requested small plates for the cake but nvr got there so we asked the man who seemed to be the manager....kind of walking around confused. At our table (8 and 2 kids), we literally had 3 salads and simple kids meals, and we were the last ones served. We saw how others who sat down within 30mins after us, got served before us. These were over 5 people. One of our ppl who has to eat small amts of food has always ordered kid's meals and was rudely told Oh you can't do that, you have to order as the adult that you are. Really?? Also, the bday girl requested lemon and after waiting over 15mins and food getting cold, she got up to go to the servers area and got them herself. When our server saw that, he rudely said You can't do that! I was getting them but you're not giving me enough time!....Seriously?!?!? I always treated them nicely and respectfully even though I kept asking for the calamata olives that should have been in my Greek salad, which by the way, the jumbo shrimp were med size. 🤦‍♀️ Extremely disappointed in these ppl and their service. Regardless, we still tipped them good....because...