The Juicy Crab Houston Tomball Pkwy — Restaurant in Houston

Stopped by about 4:30 on Saturday afternoon date with my gal. At first though the restaurant was going to be empty. It just turned out the parking lot extended further than we thought. The inside was bright and clean. We were greeted and seated without any wait. The restaurant was actually filled with more people than we first thought. The patrons were diverse from all cultures and ages. There were large tables for 6-8 people and cozy tables for two, perfect for date night or groups / families. When you sit down they write your arrival time on the paper covered table along with our server name. They assured us there was no time limit and drew a smiley face to let our server, "Moe", know it was our first visit. Moe, knowing it was our first visit took extra time to cover the specifics on how their menu worked. She explained the heat level, sauces and combos, ensuring our ordering went off without a hitch. She even found a bottle of my favorite beer even though it wasn't on their drink menu. Now to the food. We opted for steamed oysters for an appetizer. They came out warm with several kind of sauces. Our favorite was simply the garlic butter. I'm used to grilled, raw or fried at most places. So the steamed was a nifty change on my oysters. I ordered the catfish plate with regular fries and she ordered one of the boiled combos with shrimp, crawfish, muscles and 1 each a potato and corn. We would up splitting and sharing it all between us. Before the food came out, they brought out the full complement of seafood boil accessories. Bibs, gloves and even moist towelettes. The catfish fillets were large and thick, coated in a flour based batter. Served in a paper boat on top of a generous helping of French fries. The fillets were fried to a slight golden brown and were of good quality, tasting like catfish enough with our going overboard. I left with the feeling like I had taken care of my catfish craving.The fries seemed site cut and not Frozen. Moe served our boiled combo and even opened the serving bag for us and poured it into the serving tray. .... It struck me as much as we have crawfish none of the other restaurants that bring the order to the table in a bag never ever do that. The shrimp was perfect and satisfying, not over boiled and tough. They were pink and still had the slightest sweetness you get from a good boiled shrimp. The surprise for me were the muscles. I don't usually look twice or consider muscles when they're on the menus. In the past they were too fishy or too rubbery for me to enjoy. These made me see how good they could be. Both of us were pleasantly surprised and won't dismiss muscles again. The potato and corn was just right and deliciously tender .... I wonder if they'd let me just have a meal of nothing but corn and potatoes ? .... Everything we had that day was really good and the friendly staff made us feel welcome the entire meal. We really enjoyed our visit and will definitely come back. I did back the food stars off to 4 for a couple of things . It should be a 4.5 but I don't have that option. ... The fries were a bit of a letdown. They were soggy and had a slightly old oil flavor. One of the catfish fillets on a scale of 1-100 on doneness was a 98 .... Ok, but another 60 seconds could have helped. I could mention the crawfish was less than stellar but it is OCTOBER and stupidly past the season. If you're expecting perfect crawfish this late .... I don't know what to say to you . While large and done well, they were obviously frozen. We know it's off season and will have to do a revisit in the spring to judge them on that. Really only the fries were a bit sub par and I really enjoy fries. These, not so much.

All in all it was a wonderful afternoon date with great food and a great staff. Will come back and...

Edit: September 7th 2024 Ms. MOE is everything!!

It has been a few years since I've been back and today my niece wanted Juicy Crab. We came and Moe gave us the experience of the day. I haven't received thus level of customer service in a very long time. Moe knows and enjoys her job! You can tell by the product offerings she suggested!

She will be the person I request for our next visit. Our food was good. Flavor on point!

Yesterday was my first time visiting the establishment. Expressed to my waitress that it was our first visit and didn't know much. She answered all of our questions with a smile. Her customer service skills were good. However, she forgot to mention a major house rule. I ordered a drink and didn't care for the taste. Too sweet. When I told her I was unsatisfied she then informed me about the house rule. Alcohol beverages can not be removed from your bill. No compensation or switching it out for something else.

I accepted this information. Ordered a regular margarita because they were out of patron. This drink was absolutely disgusting. It tasted like cough syrup. I did speak with the manager to let him know. He apologized, blah. He didn't offer to give us a different item for free, i.e. an appetizer, soft drink, or anything. So my suggestion is only order a drink you are positive you will enjoy otherwise you will pay for a horrible cocktail.

Our food, was warm when we received it, the wait staff is new and we understood they are still working out the kinks of running food to the correct tables. Patience will be tested, slow getting your food and it being warm versus hot. The flavor of our snow crabs and headless shrimp were on point. The potato was still a little too hard and room temperature but the flavor made up for the temperature. We also ordered a fried shrimp basket with onion rings. Again fabulous taste. Batter was light and crunchy. I will order food from them again. Fried baskets are priced reasonably. But I will never order a drink; especially a simple margarita from them again.

Edit: September 7th 2024 Ms. MOE is everything!!

It has been a few years since I've been back and today my niece wanted Juicy Crab. We came and Moe gave us the experience of the day. I haven't received thus level of customer service in a very long time. Moe knows and enjoys her job! You can tell by the product offerings...

When in the mood for seafood, everyone seems to have their favorite restaurant. We are no different in my household- we usually go for one of a select group of seafood establishments to get our seafood fix. We are always game for something new, however, and our sense of adventure led us to try a new seafood restaurant just opened in Houston. It’s called the Juicy Crab, and Atlanta based chain.

The Juicy Crab, I learned, is quite a hit in its native home state and now that I have visited this restaurant myself, I can see why people love it the way they do. They serve mostly seafood, with a small number of non- seafood options such as chicken wings, chicken strips, fried cheese, etc. Many who dine will opt to start off with an appetizer like the calamari, fried cheese, wings, popcorn shrimp, etc. I recommend kicking things off with the chicken wings. They are most excellent and make for a perfect opening to a memorable meal.

For your main meal, the Juicy Crab serves shrimp, crab, crawfish, and much more. Many will have a difficult time choosing. If you love shrimp and want a hearty meal, I suggest one of the shrimp meals like the shrimp and sausage. Most of the meals- and the appetizers for that matter- are larger than expected so you are bound to fill up and may likely end up taking food home with you, to enjoy later.

The Juicy Crab prepares and serves its tasty seafood dishes with care and most any seafood lover will enjoy what they taste. For beverages, I suggest ordering one of the specialty drinks. They serve beer and wine also, but the specialty drinks are the most fun. There are about ten from which to choose and they make an already satisfying meal that much better.

We tend to stick with a few restaurants when we go out for seafood and the Juicy Crab has likely earned a place in our rotation. I can’t wait for this chain to expand with a location closer to my west Houston home, but until then, this location near Willowbrook Mall is our new go- to places for all things seafood and I recommend that anyone in Houston who loves seafood take the time to...