Laughing Crab - Cajun Seafood — Restaurant in Milwaukee

I wanted to give this restaurant the benefit of the doubt from the beginning but. I should have went with my first instinct. So, I arrive and I am greeted by a cashier whom let's me know right away that my only option is take out, no option to dine In. When I inquire why??...he states that the franchise has attempted to open to the public one atleast three prior occasions but because of slow business and lack of sales the owner chose to close its doors. I appreciated the gentleman's transparency and proceeded to order as I wanted to form my own opinion of the establishment and why their revenue lacked. I ordered two soft shell crabs without the fries. I paid 15$ for my meal. I waited 15 minutes for my food to be prepared, inspected my food before leaving, it looked decent so i proceeded to leave. I decided I wanted to "dig right in" while in my car and we'll let's just say......it was HORRIBLE. I could tell that the crab had not been properly cleaned nor prepped for deep frying as the after taste left an extremely fishy taste lingering in my mouth. I then decided to dissect portions I had not eaten and discovered that the area within the crab located under the shell called "the mustard" had not been removed /cleaned from the crab and I imagines that's where the pungent bitter fish taste was coming from. I then spit my food out to pick through it to see what the deep fried coating was hiding just to discover what looked like a very limp, underseasoned, crab carcass, not appealing at all to the taste or eye. I rate this restaurant a .5 a little less than half of a one star rating. It looked like it's should have been closed down and was merely operating out of desperation to say there are employee or an employee there....I can definitely see why their revenue is little next to none and I would NEVER recommend dining at this location. A complete waste of 15$ and the nerve of them to have signs posted about NO refunds, no exceptions when you walk out with your food....I just donated to charity so I will chalk this experience up...

Laughing Crab serves seafood boil in bags. I ordered 4 pounds of clams homemade juicy and extra spicy. I was excited to try Laughing Crab because the restaurant has phenomenal Google reviews and I am new to Milwaukee.

I eat seafood boil all the time. I eat seafood boil at least once a week. I have tried seafood boil in Orlando, Cleveland, Columbus, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, Syracuse, Akron, Kent, Charlotte, and Atlanta. Depending on your location, the seafood boil will taste different. In Orlando, the seafood boil is savory and sweet. In Los Angeles, the seafood boil has a strong garlic flavor. Regardless of the different flavors, my experience is great!

The average price for seafood boil varies depending on the location. In Cleveland, the price of clams ranges from $10.00-$11.00 a pound. In Los Angeles, the price of clams ranges from $10.00-$11.00 a pound. At Laughing Crab the clams are $12.00 a pound. This price is extremely inflated. The size of the seafood boil bag (pounds) and the price do not correlate.

The customer service was below par. The restaurant did not have proper social distancing guidelines and rules. I watched several customers come in close contact with each other. Also, several customers entered the restaurant without face masks. This could expose and spread COVID to vulnerable populations.

Still, I had hope. I thought that the food must be excellent since it cost so much and the reviews on Google are excellent. Instead of pure satisfaction, I was overwhelmed with disappointment. The sauce tasted like pure butterfat. I ordered extra spicy and my order was not spicy at all. I did not taste a mix of flavors. After forcing myself to eat it because of the price, my hands were coated in butter. The next morning, I had a stomach ache and I could still taste the excessive butter.

Overall, I would not recommend the Laughing Crab because the food is below par and the price...

I just tried to place a pick up order and I couldn’t get through the phone line. So I used my other device to call and place an order. The phone line rang with no problems. So I called back from my original number and it’s blocked. Mind you I placed an order a few months prior. My order wasn’t fully cooked. I called to speak with a manager and he said to bring the receipt in which I did the next day. I brought the receipt in like he asked. The “active” manager proceeds ask for the food in which I didn’t have. I referred back to the phone call and I stated that should have been spoken upon during the phone conversation because I was told to bring the receipt. Mind you I order a shrimp combo. The food was no more than $14. The shrimp weren’t cleaned and my eggs still had the shell on them. So I called to see what the issue was and the worker stated the manger doesn't want serve me in top of that the establishment had the workers constantly hanging up on me and put me back on the block list. Now I'm frustrated because that’s tacky and very unprofessional. So another worker goes to say WE CANT SERVE HER DUE TO HER RECEIVING A FEFUND. If that’s the reason a lot of establishments would be in jeopardy due to lack of service and food service. I will make sure every news stations, radio stations and more sees this post because that is very distasteful. I will be filling a LAW SUIT. A REFUND ISNT A LEGITIMATE REASON NOT TO SERVE A...