Cajun House

I celebrated my moms birthday here. My gf and I love this place for it’s gumbo and mix sauces. It’s getting cold and Cajun food here hits the soul.
Thank you to everyone here that made my sauce for take home!
Definitely recommend if you’re trying something different in downtown San Mateo

Everything was pretty fresh tasting. We had the shrimp (plump and juicy) and clams (not the biggest but ok). I like the garlic butter sauce is the best and second is the cajun sauce. The basil and lemon pepper sauces are ok. Spice-​wise, mild already has a kick so if you get medium that would be a punch. Their garlic noodles are very good and flavorful. Add some corn to your bag to make it a complete meal with vegetables.
Seating on main level and upstairs.

Ahhh! Hellla good. Came with my mom and my cousin Lisa here. Our first meal was 10% off. Ordered the gator bites, garlic noodles, clams with butter garlic sauce and Cajun shrimp with corn. It was sooo soo good. Thought it was better than boiling crab, and I don’t need to be driving all the way here. Cajun house is close to home so that’s a plus! Everything was good! Cant wait to come back and try more!

We’ve been here twice. Pretty much the same as a boiling crab/​red claw. Good fix for your seafood wants.
Sadly they were out of crawfish this last time but everything else tasted really fresh. The mussels and clams in particular were really plump and juicy.
We did two different mashups, one was just garlic and butter while the other was garlic butter and Cajun. The garlic butter was better this time. You could kill a vampire with the amount of garlic that was up in there, and that’s not a complaint!
Staff was also really nice and attentive.

Started this review a couple months ago and never finished it until now:
1 star for the garlic noodles.
1 star for 1 minute wait on a Friday night.
Sadly I don’t have anything else nice to say about Cajun House. My shrimp in garlic butter sauce was bland and mushy. I could barely even eat the crawfish we ordered because the house Cajun sauce was overpowering with rosemary and thyme; it was like I was eating a Christmas tree.
I’m glad I had a Groupon for this place, but even then I feel like I wasted my stomach space. I definitely could have eaten somewhere else and would have been happier.

I’m glad we have Cajun House near by, before I used to visit The Boiling Crab once a month.
Now I think Cajun House is a lot better as I’m visiting every other week. Their oysters and shrimps are my all time favorite.

I ordered delivery here after having my birthday lunch at Red Crawfish, since I wasn’t given my leftovers. I ordered a pound of crawfish, mild cajun sauce and garlic noodles. The price is $ 2.00 cheaper a pound and garlic noodles too.
The mild sauce is pretty spicy for mild, and the crawfish half the size as Red Crawfish. I do prefer Red Crawfish, but consistent bad service. I wish try to dine in at Cajun House to see if it is better.

I ordered 1 lb crawfish and 1 lb white shrimps. They were very fresh so you can taste the seafood flavor. Price was fair too. 13 for each. I should have ordered mild instead of medium spicy since medium was a little bit too spicy for me. Service was good too. Will go back again!

Super affordable prices, great food, and great service!
Started with the Cajun Fries — So spicy! $ 4
Garlic Noodles — Awesome! $ 7
Cajun Shrimp (head on) — Super hot &Spicy $ 13
Fried Rice– SO GOOD
Will defiantly be back again!

I used to come to the SF location a lot. Came here today because I have a groupon. Sadly, I think todays the last time I will come back.
They just recently came out with a new flavor «fresh basil» so I got that with another flavor and paid extra $ 2 but the sauce taste exactly like house cajun and only 2 basils present. Mmmm??? I didn’t taste any basil flavor in my sauce :(
The garlic noodle was dry, thought they give a big portion of it but not worth $ 7 imo.
Service was good thought they were nice and polite. And they have one TV.

I ordered lemon spice clams and cajun sauce shrimps (the orders come in a bag of sauce plus whatever seafood desured). Overall, the flavors were good. I think the latter combo works better. The portion was good for the shrimp but not for the clams. I felt that I paid a lot for the inedible claim shells in the weight.
My only complain is that the sausage addition was rather lame. +$ 2 for 6 pieces, but they were rather puny/​thin (tho I suppose that goes well with the flavors). I wouldn’t add the sausage again unless I came hungry, but then again. these six pieces wouldn’t satisfy my hunger anyways.

Cajun House, you disappoint me. Everyone will always compare you to Boiling Crab but I will not. So here is my pure, unadulterated review as to why you are horrible.
First, the sauce is watery. I guess I AM comparing you to BC because I’ve never had watery sauce before. Not only is it watery, but it’s flavorless. If it was just watery, maybe I could deal, but flavorless, no thank you.
The shrimps are hard to peel and the skins stick to the flesh which are a sign of… old dead shrimp?
I ordered the raw oysters. So. unsatisfying. First, they were SOOOO tiny. I’ve had a variety of raw oysters in my life so I know that some of the most exquisite oysters are small but these were the tiniest oysters I’ve seen in my life. None of the buttery, creamy oyster texture I longed for. It was just a slippery, slimy, mess. I ate it anyway. No stomachache thank goodness but definitely would not waste my money on these again. If you’re craving raw oysters, hit up the Fish Market for Happy Hour instead. Definitely a better deal and better quality oysters.
The dungeness crab I can’t complain because I love crab. The sauce though… Still watery and not much flavor.
Garlic noodles were dry and not that great. Thanh Long still has the best noodles.
Gumbo tasted premade, not authentic, the favors weren’t meshed together well and it was too tomato-​ey. I’ve had gumbo in New Orleans and Alabama so I know what Cajun gumbo is supposed to taste like. I’ve made better gumbo at home.
All in all, I will not be back. I’ve been here several times and the first few times were ok but after my last experience dining here, which is highlighted in this review, I’m sad to say I will not be back.

I’ve been here twice so far both with a groupon. The second time I’ve been, I enjoyed much more than my first because I thought the food tasted way better. No wait on a Friday dinner at 6.
Ordered:
2 lbs of shrimp, house cajun
1 corn (be sure to take out corn out of sauce otherwise it’ll be soggy if you don’t eat it right away)
Sweet potato fries
Be careful when you get your bags! They come to your table piping hot! Burned my fingertip!!!
The shrimp was good but had a slight frozen burn taste to it and the sauce was bursting with herbs. The first time I came here, there was just way too much rosemary but this time they toned it down a bit. I like how they’re not frugal when it comes to the sauce and it’s loaded with lots of flavor. If you’re looking for a place that tastes similar the boiling crab, this is pretty different.
I’ve also ordered before:
1 lbs craw-​fish
1 whole dungeness crab
Fried calamari
Garlic Noodles (needs more garlic)
Didn’t think these things were worth it. Definately not the crawfish since you’re paying for shells mostly and a tiny bit of meat.

Okay, so i’ll admit that i’m officially in-​love with this place. When it first opened in downtown SM, I was very skeptical and asked my friends who tried it out what their initial thoughts were.
Their answer was typically «Well…it’s not like Boiling Crab…». well, to me that’s a good thing. TELL ME WHY someone would want to try out a cajun house JUST to try and get the same exact flavor as Boiling Crab? If we lived in a world where all the restaurants had the same flavor, THAT WOULD BE BORING WOULDN’T IT?!?
So, I was super stoked to find out that Cajun House had this Groupon deal $ 15 for $ 30 dollars worth and finally got the chance to try this place out!
The wait wasn’t even that bad despite how busy they were (I believe it was something like a 5 – 10 minute wait), and our waitress (who usually serves the first floor tables) was really kind and helpful.
I ordered a pound of shrimp, and instead of just choosing ONE flavor, I requested to incorporate all flavors (House cajun, Lemon pepper, and Garlic butter) into my order and make it «explosive» (for spicy lovers).
Just moments later, I received my pound of shrimp steaming in the bag. The waitress was kind enough to unravel it just enough for me to be able to reach in the bag without my arms getting the sauce all over it. (talk about great customer service!)
The shrimp was piping hot, BUT not overcooked (where the outer shell was glued to the meat), the sauce decked out in a variety of garlic and wonderful spices. They did not cheap you out and make the sauce all watery.
Each bite was amazing. First, you taste a bit of the shrimp, then gradually each of the spices start taking over (like a creeper shot, rather)! It totally lived up to it’s spice level of «Explosive».
I also tried the alligator, which tasted a bit different than I had initially thought. It was chewy and a bit on the firmer meat scale. I wouldn’t say I’d order it over and over, but I wouldn’t also say that it tasted bad. It was just a bit different… which can also be a good thing!
I totally recommend trying this place out at least once. (Just buy the groupon deal!) It doesn’t hurt trying out various cajun restaurants until you finally come across the perfect one!

Checked this place out on Friday with 4 other friends. I was surprised we were able to get a table for five at 6:15pm, then again it was still early for dinner. No reservations are accepted for parties less than 6.
We ordered a few pounds of shrimp, clams, dungeness crab, and crayfish along with corn, sausage in the garlic butter and cajun flavors. We also tried their raw and fried oysters — both great! The food came out quickly and was great! The seasoned fries were great too!
The waitress was friendly and attentive.
The hot link slices were small but fairly priced at 12 for $ 4. They pretty much took two links and cut them up into 12 pieces. Added 10 corn on the cobs too (0.75c/each).
Cajun House is one of the better «cajun» places out there. I’ll be back!
Don’t forget to use the 10% Unilocal check-​in offer!

Came in on a Sunday around 6pm and was told the wait would be 15−20min but that ended up being an hour.
They sat a party of 10 that wasn’t complete… not the best idea.
After finally being seated it took awhile to get water and our order.
Service needs a lot of work (maybe having one guy down stairs isn’t the best idea)
Overall food was delicious
We got 3lbs of shrimp with the Cajun house sauce, came out super hot we had to let it sit to cool off.
Garlic noodles were delicious along with the Cajun fries. We will be back just for the good food.

I got a pimple the next day after eating here. The butter and fried food got me! But it’s okay, a little dab of Clearasil will fix me up real good!
While consuming the crab that was slathered with garlic butter @medium spiciness, I swear I felt the arteries on my left leg begin to clog up from the massive amount of butter! That only means its good… soooooo good! The Dungeness crab was fresh, very meaty and was cooked perfectly in the tacky clear bag. There were chunks of garlic swimming in butter that will live in your pores for a few days! The corn that was marinated in this tacky bag was bursting with flavor and I ended up double dipping the corn into the sauce to keep the garlic butter flavor going. My only regret to this corn was not ordering two instead of one.
In addition, we also ordered the following:
! — garlic noodles — this was yummiolala!
! — gumbo — okay but I’ve had better (skip-​it)
! — catfish — cooked perfectly where the fish was moist and flaky plus it was seasoned nicely
! — fresh oysters — delicious little bites of ocean
After eating, you’ll end up with a dragon’s breath that will ward away vampires! One whiff of my garlic breath would knock them into Tuesday and maybe further! The garlic butter sauce is definitely a garlic lovers must have when dining at this establishment.
Parking is ridiculous on a Wednesday night, we ended up parking 2 long blocks away. The restaurant is tiny and cozy and only fits 48 patrons max. Service was very friendly and patient! My Groupon coupon took forever to pull up on my smartie phone. Guess my smartie phone is not so smart when it thinks so slow.

Since they’ve opened, I’ve come in here numerous times. I’ve been to their original Cajun House in San Francisco before which was amazing when they first opened but have gone down hill since then. Hopefully that doesn’t happen to this place.
I usually eat only one type of seafood at Cajun places like this and that’s the Lobster in Garlic Butter sauce. Seriously, it’s one of the best things here if not THE best. It’s soft, succulent, and juicy and great to de-​shell then dipped into the garlic sauce and pack on some garlic on top! Seriously lobster heaven! Only downside is that for $ 30 it’s only a pound of lobster which is quite pricey.
Now here’s the other stuff I’ve tried.
1. Lobster: 5 stars!!!
2. Shrimp: pretty big and they give you plenty. Note that these are shrimps with heads on so take that into the weight count.
3. Clams: good sized clams with nickel sized meat.
4. Cajun fries: I’ve had way better. If you’re looking for really good cajun fries go to Red Crawfish down the block! Their cajun fries is seriously the best I’ve had.
5. Sweet potato fries: given that its the same price as the fries it’s a good deal AND they’re pretty good. Crispy and not overly sweet.
6. Fried Catfish: Crispy on the outside and flaky yummy-​ness on the inside! If you like fried fish then you gotta give this one a try.
7. Fried Calamari: one of the most disappointing items here. The bread is pretty thick and when you dip it into the sauce the bread falls off. It’s chewy but not very good. Not something ill recommend.
8. Fried alligator: This is the first time I’ve had it and I was pretty surprised. It’s chewy and juicy and I wouldn’t mind eating it again.
9. Garlic noodles: although my friends and family all like this I personally like the House noodles more. I think it’s too dry… I like to put some of my garlic butter sauce mixed in but I’ve had better garlic noodles before.
10. House Noodles: the combination of soy sauce noodles with tobiko gives gives it a slight crunch and flavor that I really like. It’s also not a noodle I see at most places so its worth a try.
11. Cajun fried rice: it’s not bad but I would order the noodles over it.
12. Cajun chicken wings: it’s alright. I probably wouldn’t get this again since there’s better food items and if you want chicken then go elsewhere.
13. French rolls/​bread: they’re good for dipping into the sauce but its not amazing bread. Looks like what you get at Safeway and reheated.
14. The sausages and corn is always good. Note that they don’t give you the entire corn. It’s just ¹⁄₃ of the corn for like $ 0.75. I like to add it sometimes.
All and all, I would recommend this place especially with a Groupon. Lobster and the garlic sauce here is definitely better than Boiling Crab which is tough and the sauce is bland and barely there. Also, rarely a line especially if you call in so if you like cajun give this place a definite try!

I’ve been here 10 times in 3 months. You know that must mean something.
Boiling crab got nunnnnthin on this, first of all you don’t have to wait (somedays you do), service is really good, and don’t bed to waste gas. I’ll tell you that if you like spicy sauce get explosive. If you like the wholeshavbang get garlic butter, yummmmmz my favorite.
My hubby loves their lemon pepper, it’s not my thing. I love garlic butter garrrrrrlicccccccc you is my BABY! Their sweet potato fries are super good, crispy, and you always have a bunch left.
Service is super good, they’re quick to get things for you, and super nice. I’ve been here so much they know me by NAME.
I recommend you try cajun house :)

The 4.5 stars fits just right. Yes, really it does. Never been to Boiling Crab, which seems to be THE bar for this style of cuisine in this current food trend. My virgin Cajun ‘bag’ experience was at their original location in SF’s Richmond District. It was good, but this experience was overall just better for reasons that will be described. A friend made a point to invite me and my choice of dining friends to try this newly opened restaurant. I used to drive to San Mateo more frequently when a) gas prices were under $ 2.00, b) my softball friends opened my eyes to places like Sushi Sam’s, 231 Ellsworth, Amici’s, and First Watch, and c) my 2^nd ‘job’ was near the airport. Soooo, I invited four other friends from the City to give this a try. Here’s what we had:
1. Fried alligator (
) — Never had alligator, but that oft mentioned phrase «tastes like chicken» definitely applies here. Crisply fried with a smooth dipping sauce.
2. Sweet potato fries (
) — Not being a yam fan, one friend chose this as his personal favorite as they were crispy, hot, and sweet.
3. Cajun fries (
) — Not overly season or salted, this was also just right, especially since I’m more a ketchup/​fries guy.
4. Gumbo (
) — Sharing two bowls between the four of us, this could easily be a meal for a light eater as we wanted to save room to enjoy the other menu choices.
5. Fried calamari (
) — Decent rendition, crispy and chewy.
Mains
6. Clams, lemon pepper sauce (
) — Probably the best flavor for the clams so one can better enjoy the natural clam juices. Happy that all clams were open and had no fishy flavor.
7. Mussels, garlic butter (
) — Well, the French do it this way, so it must be right. More of a clam person than mussels.

8. Lobster, garlic butter (
) — Using a 1.5 lb. lobster, the pieces were meaty and fresh. The garlic butter paired nicely with the fresh lobster flavor. Might not want to order the Cajun sauce as it might overpower the lobster.
9. Crawfish, Cajun mild (
) — Man, that’s a lot of work for a little bit of meat. If you’re a head sucker, you’ll enjoy this the most and make sure that it’s in season when having this.
10. Dungeness crab, Cajun mild (
) — Our Bay Area staple, how can one say ‘no’ to the mighty Dungeness. Still have my favorite preparation at other places (La Vie and R&G), but this is a nice change of pace.
11. Prawns, Cajun mild (
) — They are prawns, not shrimp. You know, that ones that are about the size of your thumb with shell intact. One SF friend touted this one his favorite.
12, Garlic noodles (
) — Man cannot live on proteins alone, so this was the tasty stomach filler that doubled as sauce soaker. It went well with everything, but probably best with the clams… perhaps because I’m a linguini with clams kinda guy.
13. Cajun fried rice (
) — Last but not least, the ingredients were tasty and, mixed with any of the above sauces, this might be overwhelmed by those flavors. Just okay for me.
*** Sausages and corn from the Cajun sauce mixed well with the savory/​spicy and sweet/​spicy contrasts, my fave among the various flavors. French bread is also provided and great for sopping every last drop of your favorite sauce if you desire.
Overall, the food ranks 4 stars for me as, for me, 5 stars are for «to die for» food. The extra star goes to this friend who generously would not let us pay and who we later learned was a partner in the business. This literally felt like a YEE ( Unilocal Elite Event) with also the perks. Will be back soon, but next time as a paying customer. Thanks for a festive and stomach stuffing meal!