Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

It’s that time again. Crawfish season. So off to Pappadeaux for some spicy crawfish broil!
This year, it’s $ 9.99/lb unless you come in on Tuesday or Wednesday from 5 pm on; then it’s $ 7.99/lb. Served with corn and potatoes, of course. For a two pound order, we got one or two small corn cobs and one potato. The rest was crawfish, crawfish and more crawfish. And all the fresh baked pillowy french bread and whipped butter you want. Fantastic!
I cannot give them five stars due to the horrible parking situation. Their lot is always full. There is no side street parking anywhere. We parked in the hotel lot next door and hoped we didn’t get towed. We mentioned this to the hostess and was told, «the hotel lot is our overflow parking lot». Lovely to know. Is it a big secret? Do you think you could please put up signs telling your customers that? So that cars are not endlessly circling the lot like some absurd version of musical chairs?

Our work group came in for an evening meal while at a conference. Seated quickly but next to a big set of pipes with valves. It made for pretty crunched seating. Waiter took our drink orders and I asked for the oyster special listed on the Unilocal app. He returned with the drinks and said the special ended last Friday. I had the red fish. It was tasty but expensive. Less than efficient attention to drink refills. I’ve had better experiences at other locations.

I hate to start with a negative, but it is so negative that I must. I have to say, this is by far the worst parking for any restaurant I have ever experienced in Austin! It’s easier to find parking for Z Tejas on West 6^th than here!
Pappadeux is still a favorite spot of mine for business lunches. I arrived just after noon on a Tuesday, and there was not a single parking space to be found. After circling the parking lot several times, I ended up waiting for 10 minutes to chase down a patron exiting the restaurant in my desperate struggle to park.
Walking in with a party of four, we noticed it was packed. After checking in at the host stand, we waited about 5 minutes before we were seated. From that point on, service was quick and attentive. Pappadeux has the business lunch down to a science, from the wait staff to the quickness of their kitchen. I ordered my favorite lunch, a Shrimp Po’boy with a cup of Lobster Bisque. I’m in love with this Po’boy. It is the bread that makes it — the wonderful crunch of the crust, with such a soft interior. It takes every ounce of willpower for me not to finish off at least two loaves before lunch arrives. Aside from the bread, the Po’boy has just the right amount of shrimp and toppings to make it near perfection. To top it off, the Lobster Bisque is rich, creamy, and I never complain about the amount of lobster meat that’s added to it.
As mentioned before, service at lunch is always quick. Even with a packed house, we are able to get in, order, eat, and leave well within an hour, if not 45 minutes — great for a day packed with meetings.
Wonderful food with terrible parking, but worth the hassle!

I always have a pleasurable experience here. Seafood is always a plus ! This place can get packed since it is popular. I went at 4pm on a Sunday and most of their tables were full.
The waitress we had today was really nice. Refilled our drinks before we got low and I had a $ 15 off coupon for two adult entrees since it was my anniversary of being on the Pappadeux email list. Score! The manager has to see and verify the coupon before it can be used. The wait staff accepted it (she took our word for it and saw it) since the manager was busy! Now that’s excellent customer service!
Food: I typically always order the same things. I love the crawfish platter (crawfish etoufee and fried crawfish) or the mixed seafood grill. I have had the fried alligator from the appetizers menu and it is very good. The raw oysters are really good here too. Check these guy out if you love seafood.

So this place is conveniently located across the street from Double Tree. That’s mainly through reason my group went there.
They were pretty busy for a Wednesday night but able to easily accommodate our group of 10. Now if you come on the weekend or during SXSW expect a wait.
Inside the lighting is a little low but it’s a nice mood setting. The staff was very nice and helpful. I ended up getting the medium Alaskan King Crab. It was very large and came with all kinds of tools. They even had warm butter over a tea candle.
My dish also came with a pasta side. It was delicious and very fresh. They even have that pasta as a main dish. I also added butternut squash Risotto. It was ok. A little too creamy and I think they added cheese. Good thing it was only a side.
The crab legs were tasty and the meat was a little easier to get out than I thought. The meat came out in nice whole chunks. Definitely a little messy and hands on but worth it. Didn’t have room for dessert but saw the dessert tray.
Would come again for a special occasion or feeling the need for some seafood with soul.

I always have to stop by when there is one nearby and it does not disappoint! The ambiance was superb, service was fabulous, and food exquisite. I had their Cruda appetizer which seemed to be made for me. It had mango, tomato, avocado, tuna I think, red onions, jalapenos (beware), and mint… OMG!

We are celebrate my birthday here. There have pleasant dining environment, great service and delicious foods.
Since the seasonal reason, crawfish didn’t been served. But we also got amazing sea foods.
I’ll be back to taste crawfish and desserts.

Seafood fans? Yes, sir! Cajun fans? Not so much. Either way, my wife and I dropped by for an early dinner one Wednesday since we’ve heard so much about this place. The Cajun flavor profile can be quite a toss up for Asian taste buds but Pappadeaux was a home run for us!
Fried Alligator — Must try if you’ve never had alligator meat before. The cook was just nice with the right amount of crisp and spice, unlike those over-​fried junk at some cheapo restaurants. The thinly sliced potato sticks were addictive as well.
Shrimp & Scallop Orecchiette Pasta — The crab meat was fresh (and huge) and the shrimps had just the right amount of grill. The creamy parmesan vodka sauce was delicious. Couldn’t really figure out what’s special about the orecchiette pasta but that’s ok.
Pasta Mardi Gras — My personal favorite! The creamy sauce contained so much flavor that it way exceeded my expectations. The dish might look like a mess with all the heavy ingredients but everything just worked so well together. As an extra plus, they were very generous with their meat portions. 8 jumbo shrimps!!!
All 3 dishes were exceptional and I would highly recommend them to everyone. The dishes here are more expensive in general but I would say they are well worth the quality, especially with the large portions they are serving. To cap off a great dining experience, the service was good throughout. Bravo!
Tip: Come early! We came at 6pm on a Wednesday night and it was only about ¹⁄₅ full. But by the time we finished about an hour and half later, the place was completely PACKED!

You really cant go wrong with Pappadeaux. I’ve tried everything on the menu and have never been disappointed. The wait is usually never more than 15 mins. They do have seating in the bar area, I’ve sat at the bar but never at the tables around the bar, it seems like service is steady in that area. Service all around is great here. My go to is the mahi alexander, always amazing. My favorite app is the fondue mmmmmm!!! Great selection of desserts, I usually go with the bread pudding in the mason jar! Try a three wheel motion if you got a DD for the night.

I went here with my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, which I know sounds like a suicide mission… But the wait was no where near as long as they said it would be! Our waiter, David, was very knowledgeable and so helpful! We had oysters for an appetizer which were AWESOME, highly recommend trying them here. For out main course I had the lobster tail (in the picture) and my boyfriend had the seafood platter. Both were so delicious. If our experience was that great on Valentine’s Day, I can’t imagine it being any different on a normal weekend.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE !! Food was great and being with family is AWESOME! The only thing if I had to pick on was the bread was a little dry but it was okay…
They had split my plate which was okay but it made me look I order 2 plates … Just took the other home … I should have took a picture of it but I guess was to embarrass already…
ANYWAY
KEEP AUSTIN BEAUTIFUL
Let’s make it Awesome/​Weird!

Amazing. We decided to try the crawfish and it was sooooooo good. We’ve been here numerous times and it never seems to disappoint.
Michael and his koala friend was our waiter tonight and he was amazing and tentative even with it being Fat Tuesday and super busy. He made the experience great.
As always, we will be back!

Everything started great, the food, the service, waiter was nice and attentive… until they started getting busy, then the service became a crawl to place an order, then I was ‘cut off’ from ordering another drink, so they could have the table for the next round of customers having dinner. Awful. Will not be dining here again.

We went at dinner time with a group of over 20 people. They reserved a large table for us and had it ready on time. Impressive for a place which is consistently busy every night. A few of us got there early to take advantage of happy hour in the bar. The orange shrimp was incredible. I sampled several other apps, which also were good. Even the fries here were hot and tasty. I was stuffed before I made it to the dinner table, so I didn’t get a meal for myself, but many dishes I sampled made me want to go back.

Wow! I had the stuffed crab and it was phenomenal! They must have known I was coming as the order was at the table in 5 minutes! I have never been served that fast. Great food, great service, great restaurant.

8:00 on a Saturday night is definitly not the time to come here. This place packed! Initially we were told it would be 45 mins to be seated but it ended up only being around 20. Just enough time for us to grab a couple of drinks at the bar. Overall we had a good experience. Our waitress was very attentive, prompt, polite and accommodating. We had tasty coconut shrimp with some sweet dipping sauce as an appetizer and the wife had a cup of seafood gumbo that had lots of oysters, so she was very happy. My wife ordered the Texas Redfish Pontchartrain– Pan-​grilled redfish with jumbo lump crabmeat & shrimp in a brown-​butter wine sauce, with risotto. She shared a bite with me and it was all delicious. Next time we come back, that’s what I’m ordering! I ordered the Fried Catfish filets that were also very good. We will definitely be back but probably not on a Saturday night.

I have been to this location a few times and it’s always been just so so and parking is an absolute nightmare.
Crawfish Bisque: Skip it. It has a weird tomato flavor mixed with overpowering crawfish that tasted frozen.
Wedge Salad: This is my favorite item that I have ever had here. The dressing is awesome and the toppings are plentiful.
Pasta Mardi Gras: This dish is way over priced in my opinion. The shrimp and crawfish were good but, the sauce was very strange. The flavor of the sauce didn’t jive with the rest of the dish and really shouldn’t be on pasta.
For me I feel like this place is over priced for the quality and I just can’t get on board with it.

12/​13/​2015
Good food, below average service.
Their oysters are large and fresh and their entrees are worth the price. I ordered the Chilean sea bass which came with jumbo shrimp, scallops, and dirty rice. Their portions were so generous that it was enough for two meals. I wanted to finish the entire plate because it was so delicious, but I unfortunately didn’t have the stomach capacity.
I would have given this restaurant four or five stars if it weren’t for the service. My boyfriend and I came in over an hour before closing and there was one other table that our waitress was also taking care of. I was surprised to find that she paid significantly more attention to her other table than ours. Our visit here was much longer than expected because our food took over 30 minutes to arrive and our waiter never checked in on us afterwards. I finished my drink at the beginning of my meal and did not get a refill until after both of us finished eating, only because we flagged her down while she was at the other table. We also had to use the same method to ask for our checks because she never voluntarily visited our table.
I would visit Pappadeaux again because their food is amazing, but I would definitely choose a different location where their service is known to be more attentive.

Came in on New Years Day! Had a reservation was seated promptly.
Started off with a Grand Hennessy absolutely amazing ! If you’ve never had it before definitely this is the place to try it.
As an appetizer I had the sausage andouille & seafood gumbo. Every flavor popped and blended perfectly.
For my main course I went with the
Filet mignon and rock lobster sided with red mashed potatoes and asparagus!
My filet mignon was cooked perfectly medium well just as I ordered. Lobster was succulent and plump.
My sides were cooked wonderfully as well
Best steak and lobster I have had. Mind you that is one of my favorite selections when going out.
If you have yet to try pappadeaux i highly recommend it if you enjoy amazing friendly service, quality food, and all around great atmosphere.

Great food .
Everything came out in a timely manner.
Server seemed to be distracted by other tables, staff, and the aloha computer.
Otherwise great.
I will be back. But i will make sure this is not my server.

OMG I am so full. I travel all over the south and always try to find a pappedeaux. Food is always good
In my changing world I can always count on a good meal and good drinks. Everything on the menu is good
Ask for Simon he will take good care of you

First time at this location. Was seated promptly and waiter was pleasant and attentive. Food arrived quickly and tasted delicious. It’s a little expensive but good for nice evening out or a treat.

I was born in Baton Rouge and so I love all things cajun. Pappadeaux is the best cajun chain I’ve come across. They don’t get everything right, but they do a pretty good job.
First off you have to have their bread and whipped butter. This bread alone would stop me from being gluten free even if I believed in it.
The fried alligator is lightly spiced and has a good flavor and chewiness. I prefer a simple cocktail sauce over the aioli and they will bring it out with the right sauce ;)
The shrimp po’boys are just like mama used to make them, but my heart really lies with the Crawfish platter.
Fried Crawfish, Crawfish Etoufee, and Crawfish creole with dirty rice. Mmmmmmmmm good.

i have been quoted as saying the Pappadeaux’s is one of my favorite places when someone else is paying the bill (typically work stuff). I had a meeting nearby so i popped in for a quick lunch. The bar was a great place for a single diner to grab a blackened catfish po-​boy. The sandwich is really a individual loaf of french bread with fish and fillings. It is more than anyone should eat for lunch — but when its tasty — I don’t complain too much about having more. :)
Anyways, this particular visit, the bartender was great about keeping my ice tea filled up — possibly the best job at that I have seen all year. I also subbed a healthy veggie instead of fries and there was no upcharge — yippee. Unfortunately the sammy was a bit overwhelmed by the condiments. I ended up scraping off a bunch of cocktail and tartare sauce — which is unusual for me. They usually do a very nice balance and portion.
So if it was not my money — probably 3.5 stars and maybe 4 with the service. But since its $ 16 for a lunch sammy, I think my feet will walk be down to Quality fish market the next time.

Ate here last night and as usual food and service are up to a great standard. Simon are server was excellent, not to bothering and not inattentive, food was very good as usual. It’s kinda pricey at $ 130 for two but it is well worth it. Wish we could eat here every day.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen belongs to a huge restaurant chain company called Pappas Inc. When my boyfriend was in Texas for a business trip, he went to one of their steakhouses and fell in love. Fast forward, and we found ourselves in Austin for F1 weekend and he decided that he wanted to check out another restaurant owned by them and because the steakhouses weren’t in Austin, we decided to check out Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. They were relatively busy when we went but we had a reservation so we didn’t have to wait more than 10 minutes or so but I don’t think you necessarily have to make a reservation.
They’re a seafood restaurant so expect higher end prices. We started with their Fried Calamari which came with a spicy marinara sauce and a lemon aioli. For the most part this dish was fine but it was more breading than I would have liked. I also found it a bit too salty and the portion size was small for the price. Good marinara sauce though! For our entrees, we ordered the Shrimp étouffée (with white rice) and the Mississippi Catfish Opelousas (blackened catfish with oysters, shrimp & crabmeat in a lemon garlic butter sauce, with dirty rice). This was our first time trying étouffée so we have nothing to base the taste on but we liked it! It was rich and delicious. A tad too rich so we switched our plates halfway through but it was good. The portion size once again was so small though. We expected much more for the price. My dish on the other hand was the only entrée where the portion: price ration was satisfactory. The catfish was cooked properly but we found two fish bones in our filet (not good). The shrimp was also salty and overcooked. But the oysters and crabmeat tasted great in their sauce along with their dirty rice.
I do believe that they need to ease up on the salt in ALL of their dishes. I drank a lot of wine and water throughout the night to combat some of that saltiness. If I was just rating Pappadeaux on the food, my rating would be closer to a ³⁄₅ but the service was excellent which really made our dinner here enjoyable and my boyfriend was very happy to dine at another Pappas Inc restaurant. ⁴⁄₅

10/​27/​2015 The appetizer trio is wonderful. First time to order this for the table. Plenty food for everyone to share. The ultimate seafood platter was great. I had enough food left over for two more meals. The grits are not just for breakfast anymore. The grits are very spicy. The crawfish tails are extremely spicy.
The caramel praline cheesecake is excellent. The Mardi Gras pasta has spicy sausage, crawfish, shrimp, in it. Very flavorful and very meaty. The seafood feast has tons of everything, fried fish, stuffed shrimp, crab cake, the crab cakes are the best in town.

My perfect lunch at Pappadeaux’s begins with a very rich and creamy lobster bisque followed by a magnificent Grilled Ginger Salmon topped with ginger butter and slivers of ginger along side with almond green beans. My digestive, Broadbent Vinho Verde white, pairs very well with this fabulous lunch.

Come here fairly regularly with the BF to get seafood. Or in my case to order fried alligator with extra gator sauce – my current weakness.
This place is right off the expressway, and is usually busy unless its lunchtime. Be prepared on Friday or Saturday nights the wait time to be seated can top an hour. That said, you can always sit outside and relax or find space at the bar to grab a drink and watch tv while you wait.
Staff is always friendly and quick to make recommendations. Nice assortment of lemonades, gator is a must have, havent had anything that wasnt great (with the exception of a lone onion ring order – breading a bit soggy). I consistently order the praline cheesecake which is a winner and very generously portioned.
If it’s a high traffic time you can always call in an order to go. Love this place and go at least once a month.

I didnt realize how much I love food until today! OMG! I think they serve this food in heaven! The crab and spinach fondue appetizer was the BEST​.COM! Amazing stuff!!! Its expensive but this was worth it!!! I been here many times before but I dont ever recall the food being this damn good! Time to tip the cook! I need to shake his/​her hand! Best day ever! Awesomeness! Btw first time I never had to wait! We were seated immediately and a parking spot in the front. My lucky day :)

Fried fish.
Fried shrimp.
Fried crab.
Fried lobster.
Fried cheese.
Fried potatoes.
Fried EVERYTHING!
Don’t get me wrong, this place still has some amazing Cajun and Nawlins inspired dishes like étouffée and gumbo, but I come here for one thing, fried seafood. On a Sunday when Quality Seafood Market is closed, I head up the highway to Papadeaux’s! Service has always been excellent here and yes you better believe I want my server to bring around the plasticized dessert selection. I always get dessert! There can be a bit of a wait on holidays, but I’ve never had a bad experience.

OMG the halibut. Get the halibut. Sure the large calamari was rockin. The large shrimp was stellar. The chicken tenders would stop any bratty nine year old from complaining. But the halibut was so ridiculously good that I won’t ever again waste an inch of stomach space on any of those worthy but incomparable menu items.
Staff was really great. Service was amazing. The wait on a Friday night at 8:00 was less than thirty minutes without a reservation.
All in, including one alcoholic drink and all of the aforementioned foods, the bill came in at just under one bill.

What Can I say the Papas family rocks my world and back again.
In Austin and decided to change up my normal Pappadeaux meal and of course they did me right.
Food
Wedge Salad-​Super cold and crispy with high quality blue cheese, fresh tomatoes, cracked pepper and a rich Roquefort dressing.
King crab legs– I got the large which was only supposed to come with 4 legs but it came with 5. Insanely huge, sweet, and meaty. Fresh drawn butter continuously melting over a candle. It came with a side of Papardelle pasta with fresh mushrooms, Spinach, tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese.
Great service and food as always, this place is home to me.