Captain Brad's Coastal Kitchen — Restaurant in Texas

I'm never the one to write a bad review unless it's really bad, so please hear me out. So, I have a latex allergy. Their crawfish is handled with latex gloves and I didn't even know it was until I was handed latex gloves, and after I was handed the gloves I asked if it was latex. It was confirmed that the gloves, were indeed, latex. Manager comes to talk to me and takes it off my tab. Didn't even touch the crawfish because of this, so it's very reasonable for it to be taken off my tab. Awesome. However, I had a margarita and a water I had been drinking and I was assured that those drinks were okay to consume. Well, it seems that they weren't because after taking the proper procedure with medication, my mouth, throat, everything just starts.... burning!!! I'm not completely upset with the fact that they use latex gloves because I am aware that it is a common allergen in a variety of environments. I am more upset with the fact that it's a cross-contamination issue, and that I was assured that the beverages I was drinking were okay. I have years of healthcare experience and am very rarely exposed to latex to begin with because most businesses have switched to nitrile or vinyl over the years. Thankfully I didn't have to go to the ER because I am aware of my allergy and do always have a back-up plan in case things like this happen. But I am really dissatisfied that I was assured my drinks were okay to consume and I ultimately suffered for the lack of caution on the manager's end. As someone who works in the service industry myself, I understand that there are obstacles that can make operations a little difficult. However, if I wasn't an advocate for myself when the facility should be advocating for the health of consumers, things would have gone downhill quickly, and that's where I have to draw the line. It's apparent that I now have to call ahead before I go into any restaurant moving forward, but how this was handled is completely mind blowing.

Kindly and respectfully, I will not be returning due to the negligence. And if anyone from management or higher-up is reading this... please do better. Dismissing allergens of the people consuming drinks and food at your facility can be life-threatening.

Update: I can say the positive part of my experience was my waitress, Kayla (I think her name is?), the pretty platinum blonde. She was attentive, understanding, and super kind throughout my time there. If it wasn't for the issue I had with the facility alone, I would be back due to the service she provided for us. She is an awesome waitress and communicated very...

Picked up a few pounds of crawfish for Valentine's Day along with a fried combo, a cup of the shrimp, sausage, and crab gumbo and a side of hush puppies. We've had a lot of friends from the area recommend this place and we'd tried it once before - crawfish and a shrimp poboy that time; the poboy was dry and lackluster, hardly any sauce on the thing, just shrimp, lettuce, and tomatoes, plain sums it up. The crawfish was definitely better last time from our memory. This time the crawfish was definitely spicy, but lacking in any real flavor. Hot alone isn't a flavor to me, I want more flavor out of crawfish than habanero oil, but it satisfied the wife's crawfish craving, so good enough I guess... The fried combo - I won't bother ordering again, very overpriced for what we got. We ordered it with fried shrimp and chicken tenders (you can pick any 2 of their fried options we were told). There were approx 6 butterflied shrimp and like 4 tenders. If you can even call them tenders. I've never seen chicken tenders this small in my life, not even for a kids meal. I would generously call them nuggets. The chicken was dry. The shrimp was over cooked. The fries were mushy. I don't know how that even worked honestly, how do you overcook half and undercook the other? The hush puppies were okay, but again overcooked and dry. For a seafood place serving a lot of fried food, they really need to step their game up here... Lastly, the gumbo was pretty good. The roux was not super flavorful or anything stand out (on par with roux at other restaurants like boudreaux's and the like), but it was loaded with a good balance of the three meats and veggies, and nothing was dry. The veggies were a little slimy, but I expect that with most gumbos. My only complaint was the size of the portion. We got a cup and it was one small cup. I don't know how many ounces it was supposed to be, but you certainly wouldn't boast about the portion size. Overall, the meal was satisfactory at best, sub-satisfactory if I'm being honest, but it was hot and we got full so there's that. The hostess that checked us out was very sweet, so bonus point for friendly staff (worth one of those stars in my book). We will probably give them one more try because good crawfish is hard to find in this area and theirs was marginally better than some others we've had. Hoping it was just an off day in the kitchen? If I'm being really honest, we're more likely to go across the street to District 249 in most cases, just better food overall from our experiences there,...

CB's is one of several on my local restaurant rotation. I like the staff, the building, the parking, the food, the bar, the bartenders, the owner, the story, etc... you get the gist!! If you are looking for good seafood locally, this is your place. (I said good, not great) As an avid fan of Blue Water Grill, I was happy to jump ship when I returned to Houston and heard that Brittney had moved her Dad's legacy to a new brand. I love the family story.

Everything I have had on the menu is solid. Could it be better? Yes!

This is not a restaurant known for presentation. It is food on a plate. As long as that is their goal, that is fine with me. I eat here because seafood is not something I can cook very well and depend on others to satisfy my cravings.

Between me and my large extended family, we have had many things on the menu. I honestly would tell my readers here to try whatever sounds good and you will get a solid meal.

I do especially love their chowders, gumbos, etc...

So just for the review and some thought I will list my few grievances.

Food is often not served HOT. I like hot fried food. Hot fries, hot shrimp, hot fish, etc. I will say that whenever I have brought this to the attention of my server it has always been happily rectified. The staff is precious and I sense they like their job and want the customer happy.

It seems in the last year the food has shrunk; smaller shrimp, smaller boudin balls, smaller crab legs, smaller hush puppies. This is a concern. I love CB's and truly do not want them to start phoning it in simply because they are a beloved institution.

I'm not sure if all the food is proprietary or SYSCO, but I hope CB's will pay attention to the food and make sure it is ALWAYS up to the standard we have come to know and love over the years.

In the meantime, I will continue to visit CB's with friends and families, small and large groups. I hope they don't disappoint. TakeAway: Try it out and make sure your food is hot!

UPDATE: 3 weeks later Went back for my Shrimp fix. It was served hot and tasty! So happy! We also ordered the clam chowder and passively mentioned I’d love to have it really hot… and it was! The hush puppies still could be better. Bigger, hotter, better.

Next time I’m committed to trying...