Kraken Wing & Seafood — Restaurant in Sugar Land

This establishment is what replaced what was previously a Frenchy's, which I missed dearly when it closed down. Fortunately, I ended up really liking the new place! I originally found out about it through a menu placed on my door that was distributed to the surrounding neighborhoods. Decided to give it a try since I love fried chicken and I was not disappointed.

My first experience was placing an order over the phone for pick up (I tried to order using the website, but I had some issues so I just bit the bullet and ended up calling. Human interaction makes me very nervous/anxious but I'm not going to lower my rating because of the online ordering system). The woman over the phone was very nice, and kept the same energy when I went in to pick up my food. We chatted for a bit and I was on my way. Like I said earlier, I don't do well with talking to people so it was stressful for me but it would be ridiculous to lower my rating because of friendliness. In addition to that, the super nice lady actually remembered my name on my next visit and that was really nice despite my anxiety. ANYWAY there was a discount running for their grand opening - 10% off, plus a free can of soda. Not sure if it's still going on, but worth noting. TL;DR for paragraph above: SUPER SUPER NICE FRIENDLY SERVICE, online ordering needs a little work

Now on to the actual food! On both of my visits I got the number 8 special - 8 wings, 2 flavors, a side, and 1 dip. The price is really good for what you get. Again, I love fried chicken so I know how expensive it can get per wing at other places. AND this includes a side? Really good value. On my second visit I brought my mom with me to try it out. She made a comment about the shrimp she was interested in getting, predicting that they must be tiny for the low price she'd be paying. One of the cooks overheard it and assured her they would be a good size - and he was right! My mom was pleasantly surprised at not only the size but the taste. TL;DR for paragraph above: Lotsa bang for your buck.

Still talking about the food here: The three wing flavors I've tried so far have all been dry (as opposed to saucy), so if you absolutely must have a liquid lemon pepper you're out of luck. I prefer a saucy lemon pepper, but dry is also fine by me. The skin on the chicken is also pretty crispy. I have theorized a fried chicken skin spectrum (FCSS) - on one end is very crispy/crunchy but not as seasoned (think more like Popeye's or Church's) and the other end is very seasoned but not crispy (think original KFC, or Frenchy's for an extreme on that end). I would say BlueTree is in a good spot in the middle of the FCSS since the chicken is crispy but not overly crunchy and they toss the wings in a dry seasoning on the outside (judging by the 3 flavors I've tried). BlueTree also has a few unique wing flavors that may provide more product differentiation for them, though I haven't tried them yet: Korean, Mango Chili, and Cajun (depending on where...

This is a 2.5 star review so I rounded up.

It is a small mom and pop seafood spot. Everything was just okay. I drove 25 minutes to have food that was just meh.

I was underwhelmed with the flavor of the crawfish and many appeared to be mushy and over cooked. I shared an order of 4 lbs of crawfish with sausage, potatoes, and corn served in special sauce, extra spicy for $5.99 lb. The taste was not spicy but it was flavorful. The potatoes taste as if they were not boiled with the rest of the food as they lacked all flavor. However, the sausage was great, I must say. Whatever brand they choose is alright with me. The crawfish were mostly medium to small with a few large ones sparingly. They were brought out in about 20 mins and they were served in a bowl. After about 10-12 mins many of the crawfish become cold. Other tables had their crawfish served in a bag so I was bothered by that inconsistency. My guest and I were not offered bibs nor gloves and had to eat carefully to avoid ruining our clothes.

I also ordered a 6 piece fried shrimp with fried rice and a canned drink for $5.95 and it was just sad. It was of piss poor presentation and taste. The shrimp were fried well but barely seasoned and the fried rice was despicable. It was a poor rendition of a fried rice that was unseasoned with a few pieces of egg and green onion here and there.

I was extremely disappointed all around. The restrooms are not kept up and the restaurant did not appear to be kept to high standards of hygiene.

The 2.5 stars are for customer service, the flavor of the crawfish, the sausage, and the crispiness of the shrimp. The manager did stop by and inform us that it was a soft opening with a grand opening scheduled in a few weeks. Hopefully then the quality of food is improved.

I would not recommend and I...

The chicken wings here are amazing. Crispy but not greasy. There are 6 different flavors to choose from. The lemon pepper is nice and bright tasting. The garlic parmesan is an addictive umami bomb! The grilled shrimp are perfectly done and never overcooked. The fish and chips are very good. The cornmeal coating is a nice change from the typical heavy batter and the fries are not greasy. The gumbo is rich and full of flavor with a deep rich roux and packed with nicely cooked shrimp (not overcooked). Those perfectly cooked shrimp also appear with a cornmeal coating in the po-boys with a nice, slightly chewy bun. The fried rice is great as others have commented. It is refreshing that they offer steamed broccoli as an alternative side for those wanting to reduce their carb intake. When the crawfish were in season, their price was better than many places and always fresh (never frozen) and perfectly cooked.

The service is warm and friendly since the owners are always there. There has never been an "old oil" taste to any of the deep fried foods. The food is always made to order and well...