tried this place and the crawfish was surpassingly good. thought this was a chinese style spot so we wanted to check it out. garlic butter cajun was a thick style sauce. very good. small free snack area with canned fruit and kimchee. nice complimentary. only thing i would not recommend ordering is the chicken wings. the chicken wings are pre cook costco frozen chicken. do not get the chicken wings. not worth it. read more

First time getting the AYCE option and it was a good experience overall despite a few hiccups. First thing you'll have to know is the possible wait.. After securing a table after 20-25min (can be tough especially on a busy Saturday night), our first batch of crawfish arrived within 30min because it was the 13 spice Chinese style which I'm guessing isn't as popular.. the House Cajun (garlic butter) one was probably the most ordered and we didn't get that batch for almost like an hour in! Saw a table in front of us just got and left due to the long wait-time. Thankfully we ordered that first batch to hold us over so there were no complaints. When the food eventually arrived it was awesome. Good flavors of the crawfish (we got the medium spice which was perfect) with all the fixings in the boil.. i was a big fan of the corn/shrimps/mussels as well as sides like hushpuppies and quail eggs.. it was definitely a good value and one can easily overeat here (we definitely did) Service was great as the staff checked in on us often. Most waiters have tablets that can take orders and you get an unlimited supply of sodas/sides so those can easily fill you up. Another thing I appreciated was the music selection.. They definitely catered to their clientele in terms of picking mostly reggaeton + salsa + cumbia mixes. I loved this stuff so it was a great vibe for me personally lol I can definitely see myself come back, the AYCE option is the way to go if you can "stomach" the wait time and is okay with no crab (Personally I'm more of a fan of the crawfish/shrimp) so it was a good deal read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Absolutely disappointing customer service. We had just had dinner in the same plaza and I've heard of Gao's and I've been wanting to try their crawfish so I had a silly idea to grab just a pound to taste. At the time, they were having issues with their wifi, but I didn't think much of it besides card payment issues. We sat down and it wasn't too busy at the time. However, it took us a WHOLE HOUR to receive a pound of crawfish. I can excuse a lot of things, but what I could not excuse was people who sat 20-30 minutes after us receiving their crawfish BEFORE us. Every 20 minutes, I had to go out of my way to call the server over to check up on it, and they just kept saying "sorry, it should be coming" as they hand the next table after us their food order. I just felt like there was no urgency, no actual person checking on our order, because our order was definitely missed and we sat for so long without any food on the table. It was the most frustrating customer service experience. As for the food, the flavor was good, but it didn't even seem like it really soaked into the crawfish and it felt overcooked. Was not worth an hour wait. read more

Amazing place to get a seafood boil in Houston Chinatown! I came with my gf one night since we had a craving and ordered the snowcrab combo B. It came with snow crab legs, shrimp, and mussels, and was seasoned well! It was actually spicy, which we enjoyed. We also tried a bit of their crawfish and you can tell they cleaned it well Special thanks to Jason and the staff for being so great!! Highly recommend checking them out read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I found myself splurging a lot when it comes to seafood but I feel like it's not enjoyable when the seafood is over cooked. The service was phenomenal like they come by often and get you exactly you need, we even asked for the seafood not too be over done but still the crawfish and shrimp were stuck to their casings and shells and I found it hard to eat and joy, the flavor was delicious! And the sausage and turkey necks were the tender and sooo good. But being they for the seafood the quality of the boil fell short. read more

Gao's Crab - AYCE mussels and crawfish - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

My family and I came here awhile ago and we liked it! The vibe is chill and quiet. When we went, the service was a little "slow," but honestly it was because there was only one waitress working and she was working as best and as fast as she could. I could tell there was a language barrier because she had to repeat our order several times before getting it right, but she was really friendly. My family and I (5 adults and 2 kids) ordered two orders of the Crawfish Combo B ($60) and it was a LOT. At first, we weren't sure if it would be enough for all of us, but it was more than enough. The other foods that came with it, such as sausage and potatoes, helps to fill you up. We had to wait a little bit before the food came out, but it was WORTH IT! The food was steaming hot and fresh. We chose House Cajun for both flavors, one mild and one medium. I highly recommend the House Cajun! The flavor was so good and perfect. It wasn't too salty, either. I was dipping everything in there and soaking all the juices up. lol We also ordered a side of sweet potato fries, which were okay. The portion size was really small for $5. They also provided plastic bibs and gloves, which was nice. I haven't eaten crawfish at a restaurant in YEARS (no exaggeration) because of the price, but this was worth it. The combo price was affordable and reasonable and the taste was amazing. Even my family who have high standards for food thought this was spot on. All in all, I would definitely recommend trying this place out! read more

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Being from Louisiana, I am considered a crawfish connoisseur so when my sister in love invited me here, I happily came. At entrance I was loudly greeted by the staff and sat at a table. The smells were delightful and it was pretty packed so I just knew I was about to enjoy breaking tails and sucking heads (sorry). I ordered the Combo A and added 2 pounds of crawfish. They charge $2 extra to get headless shrimp instead of head on. I ordered a can Coke and the waitress gave us a carafe of ice water. NOW I miss the "Frozen Crawfish" memo and was very saddened by the size of the crawfish. It is indeed the season and most places are serving, no frozen, medium to baby lobster size crawfish so imagine my disappointed face when my bowl came. The taste was on point, very delicious with the right amount of spice. The sausafe had a not so delicious taste but the corn was yummy. 7/10. read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

Took a while to try this place, but I'm happy to say that everything was delish. The restaurant was clean and the staff were attentive. We ordered the Snow Crab B combo which was surprisingly enough for 2 people. The Cajun sauce was very flavorful, and we got the medium spice which would probably qualify for spicy at a lot of places so definitely be mindful of that. My only complaint was that the shrimp were a little over cooked, kinda dry and tough. Lastly, I really enjoyed the complimentary snack bar with fruits, salads and golden buns to cleanse your palate after you're done eating. read more

Gao's Crab - Snow crab B - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

I'm not very fond of writing negative reviews, but this was actually the worst experience I've had in a while. I picked here because of how reputable they are for their boils and pricing. We arrived around 8:40pm and were sat immediately at the last table available. We then waited an additional few minutes before we had to ask for someone to greet us or bring a menu. About 10 minutes later we received drinks and were ready to order. The hostess that sat us seemed to also be the server and some type of management as he was communicating with another higher up. We had to ask twice to order and eventually couldn't because the internet was down and their system was not working. Understandable, but then it didn't make sense to see someone who was sat after us ordering their food with another server. We were brought out food and drink items we didn't order while still waiting for the system to start working. After a fourth ask, the same person that sat us came over to take our order. It felt inconsiderate to our time because as soon as the ordering was available we should have gotten ours taken without multiple requests. I will commend him for apologizing about all the delays as he was the only one to acknowledge it. He also did alot of table touching with others and attempting to assist overall. Despite us ordering at the same time, my boyfriend received his food at 9:28 and I waited an additional 15 minutes before I decided to ask about mine and voice my frustration with the experience overall. The second server asked again what I ordered which was frustrating because the items were entered with the first server. I received my food at 9:54 by a third server who placed my food in front of my boyfriend then walked off without asking if we needed anything. The saving grace is that the quality of our crab boil was actually good- we could've gone up a spice level but the flavor and amount of meat was decent. I asked for lemon to another worker, and had to ask another server for it again since it was never brought. There were no table touches to check on how things were outside of us asking for things. The third server brought our check and bagged our food. He was non-engaging, didn't even close the bags, and once he received the final check there wasn't a thank you, apologies for the inconvenience or anything to acknowledge this extremely lackluster experience. For the service portion alone, I won't be returning. To not receive food for over an hour after being there was ridiculous. There was nothing provided to compensate for all the time delays and lack of quality service. Management seems to be double dipping into service roles to assist with the volume- one of them was rudely talking to the servers about how they were packaging food. To go service didn't seem to know what anyone was ordering. It just felt disorganized. I question if the system was even truly down or if it was a way to assist with volume in the kitchen since they do offer all you can eat and it was a packed Saturday evening. From the looks of other patrons there seemed to be general frustration. Maybe this was a bad day but it was a terrible experience. I've frequented multiple restaurants within the Bellaire area and have never received service (or lack thereof) how I did tonight. read more

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My teens love eating here. There's usually a wait, and their app based waiting list let us spend the time at the grocery store next door. There's very little standing room to wait at in the front of the restaurant but they offer a bench outside. I've only tried their House Cajun flavor and our entire family really enjoy it. Aside from their $45 AYCE menu, they offer a few combinations of crawfish and snow crabs that comes with fixed number of corn, potatoes, boiled eggs and sausages and other seafood like boiled shrimp, mussels and clams. Service is excellent. There's a sink of handwashing in the dining room by the restrooms. They also supply plastic gloves and plastic bibs for dine in and when they pack the leftovers for to go. Intimate seating with limited tables so it can get crammed. Sometimes later at night, the restaurant dims the lights for a color changing strobe light, which can get a bit overstimulating. read more

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The best seafood boil place i absolutely love this place. The sauce is amazing. It's so addicting i wanna go every week the manager is so sweet. read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great BBQ skewer place and vibes specially for watching games with drinks. They have great happy hour deals at $1/ lamb skewer and $2 wages daily 4-6:30pm. read more

First time here and wow, this place is worth it to get messy for. My boyfriend and I ordered the snow crab combo b (2 clusters of snow crab legs, 2 eggs, 2 smoked pork sausages, 1 pound head on shrimps, and 1 pound mussels). Got the house Cajun sauce level 5 spicy and it is spicyyy. We are sweating a little because of the spice but it's so good, can't stop eating. Super strong garlic flavor, kinda too salty but perfect to dip the shrimps to eat. We also got side of rice to go with the food. Snow crab legs are very plump, and sweet soy eh quality is good. Service is really fast and friendly, always checking on us if we need anything. Because it was our first time they explained well how we can order. You can do $45 for ayce or build your own bowl by ordering whatever you want pound, or you can do the combos. Vibe here is good, hyped music, definitely a good bar option for late night snack and drinks. read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The food is delicious the service it's amazing probably the best seafood boil I've had in Houston definitely recommend giving it a try with the cajun sauce. read more

The food is so fresh and flavorful! The crawfish were a good size, crabs were reasonably priced, and the mussels were delicious.

Super happy with the experience here. We arrived at opening time and were the only ones there at first. It's a nice, clean, and cute space. We were greeted and helped. The server notified us that it was not crawfish season and their crawfish at this time were frozen. We proceeded to order. We were thankful that he told us prior to ordering. Our crawfish were amazing!!! My mother got a turkey neck which she loved. We ordered shrimp as well, great taste, big and juicy. We ordered a few more pounds, had some sweet potato fries, and some snacks from a snack bar. Finished it off with a soda. Overall great experience and we will be back. read more

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Service is quick, you order on your phone and it's a hassle free process. Staff is super nice and the food is bomb. I came last week for the first time and i'm back again. i recommend the grilled broccoli and corn!! Super yummy. Also affordable, skewers range from $1.99-9. Other stuff is offered at different prices. The ambiance is definitely a night life vibe. read more

Gao's Crab - Atmosphere - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

This was so delish! Best crab boil in the city! The flavor profile is unmatched and my crabs were big!

came for girls night out! nice quiet spot for seafood! We were able to try the All You Can Eat (AYCE) boil & baby it was more than enough. AYCE does not include crab or crawfish but they do have options outside for you to enjoy those if you do! 2 hr limit in AYCE but trust me that's plenty of time! read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

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10/10. Great service. $45 all you can eat is honestly the best option. Sausage was so yum. Corn was piping hot. There was enough sauce and it wasn't too oily. I had level 7 and it was just hot enough. Some ppl thought it was too spicy. Friends cleared the 24 mini shots for $15. Will be back! read more

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Great place for crawfish all you can eat!! The never disappoint. You can mix crawfish with shrimp and muscles. read more

Gao's Crab - Crawfish with shrimp and black muscles. - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ok so I came here based on an instagram post. Overall it was ok. Nothing to rave about. I ordered a combo, with snow crab. It was in garlic butter, but that was it, just garlic butter but it had no real flavor, the most flavor I found was Justin he was phenomenal. If you stop by ask for him, he'll take great care of you! The service was great, I'll give them that! The servers are very attentive and on top of refills! The options are different but not that different? The restaurant was fun and had good music playing overall. I'd recommend it IF you like spicy food, the tables next to me were practically in tears from the heat! I like to taste my food so spice wasn't what I was after. read more

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Ayce was soooo good! Great service, great seafood! Best in Houston! Definitely recommend for ayce and crawfish!

Great food, ambience, and service! I've been here multiple times and never had a problem at all.

I took my kids here for their 10th birthday they were so excited...I called to make sure that the crawfish was live and not frozen... first of all they were mushy and you couldn't suck the heads they tasted rotten. There was no flavor to anything like it was just covered in the butter they made. The only thing decent was the crab legs my kids love crab thankfully. But we were forced to eat it all or else they charge extra... let me tell you that was the biggest disappointment. Not only that but their snack bar was completely empty and I let them know and they didn't fill it back up. All and all if you want good seafood this isn't the place. There's a long wait and a wait for disappointment. Don't believe the hype... wasted $170 we could have just made it ourselves at this point. THE CRAWFISH IS NOT LIVE. It's frozen an gross. read more

TikTok, you lied to me. (Sort of lol) So, I really wanted to try this place because social media made it seem like the spot. After striking out on seafood at another restaurant we called ahead before Ubering over. What they didn't mention was that the line was outside the club. But hey, no big deal we explored a bit while we waited. We arrived around 9:30 PM, got on the waitlist, and immediately noticed how tiny this place was. If they're this popular, an expansion might be a solid business move. Fast forward almost two hours we finally get a call close to 11 PM: "We ran out of snow crabs." Deep sigh. No problem, we'll just do the AYCE "all-you-can-eat". Still on the waitlist.. after No text and No table. After waiting 20 extra minutes, I went inside, only to find out my name magically disappeared from the list. Luckily, with proof of my original text they sat us right away. The server hits us with: "I wouldn't recommend all-you-can-eat because we close at 1 and kitchen closes at 12:45 so you won't get your full two hours, but it's still full price." Excuse me... HUH?! Then came the final blow: "All combos are unavailable except Combo 3 with crawfish. But no live crawfish only frozen." At this point, we asked the most logical question: "Okay... so what DO you have?" The answer? "Lobster and $65.99 King Crab." Sir, I was not prepared to drop $70 for just crab no potatoes, no corn, no love. So, after waiting over two hours, we left crabless. Which led me to a decent Crab Spot.. To be continued three times a charm I got my crabs/seafood boil and they were well worth the night and hassle I had.. just not from here! On the bright side, the place was clean, the service was okay, I might try again earlier in the day when my emotions have recovered. read more

Gao's Crab - Outside - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Good place to go sit in and eat at a conversational level. Good selection of beer, good boil and seasoning options. The atmosphere is great for a party of 2+ or to eat alone. Very complete menu read more

First time here and it definitely lives up to the TikTok hype. We all tried the Combo A with garlic butter, level 1 and level 3 (hot!!!). The staff was very hospitable and explained the menu. read more

Gao's Crab - My son enjoyed the garlic butter Combo A. - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Unfortunately this restaurant turned out to be a case of Instagram influencing that just doesn't live all the way up to the hype. So Gao's Crab is marketed for all you can eat seafood for $45. Well for starters the wait times are entirelyyy too long. Perhaps because there is an interesting caveat at play. The establishment is pretty small, only around 13 tables. Patrons have up to 2 hours, which seems fair. However, there is a fee or extra charge for not finishing your food lol. So of course even if people didn't plan to, they'll stay and just sit around trying to finish up whatever is on their table causing wait times to be so excessively long. I watched several customers just sitting there staring or on their phone not even eating until they could finish. Next, it should be known that the all you can eat does NOT include crab legs. That's a completely separate price. So do not expect that. As for my actual experience. We ordered the crab legs boil in addition to the all you can eat. We wanted mussels but they were unfortunately out for the day so had clams instead which honestly was a fair substitute and tasted good. The shrimp seemed overcooked to me and was pretty tough which I didn't care for. The crab legs did taste good which is why I decided to give this experience 2 stars instead of none. Wouldn't return but at least did check it out to see for ourselves. read more

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They have had some serious health dept issues in the past but it looks like after the last inspection 7/25 they turned things around. I will wait for the next report to decide if I want to gamble eating here. read more

Food was disgusting. First, the shrimp were filthy, not deveined. I can only imagine the filth they serve with crawfish. The "sauce" made me gag. They brought out the food in a bowl swimming in it without any plates or utensils. When I inquired we were given paper bowls and plastic forks. So, hubby liked it but we have different tastes and I think he was building it up to make me less nauseous. Second, Tejano music blasted way too loud. Finally we were given crab forks AFTER sliding around in the muck. Last, WAY overpriced. Steer clear of this dump. read more

This review is a "Before You Eat Here" review. My friend and I visited yesterday and we each ordered the "All You Can Eat" (AYCE) meal for $45. The customer service A+ Food B+ Business model F+ Ambiance: A+ small restaurant and amazing music Wait time: A+ .. 5 minutes Here's the issue: If you don't eat EVERYTHING in the AYCE bowl then the waiter weighs the remaining food and charge you $12 per pound. So my receipt says subtotal $57 which is an additional $12 to the $45. I will not be eating here again or recommend this place to people that I care about. Just wanna give my Yelp family the heads up on what to expect. read more

Gao's Crab - My receipt! Order the "All You Can Eat" entree for $45 but my final bill was $57. - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

Delicious. Small location but definitely a place to visit. The food was very good and service was great. Definitely a place I will visit again read more

Great spicy flavor. I recommend the combo. They also have a free snack bar while you wait. read more

Gao's Crab - Snow crab combo 2 - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great food!!!!!! The seafood was incredibly fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. From the appetizers to the main course, every dish was well-prepared and beautifully presented. read more

It was all you can eat The first batch was super tiny, tasted like frozen crawfish, and a bunch of them smelled kinda off... not gonna lie The second round seemed fresher and tasted better, but I was already kinda turned off by then. Also, I came here like two years ago and it was not like this at all -- it used to be pretty good. And then I woke up this morning with diarrhea... read more

Great food and service. Can't beat AYCE for that price. Nice ambience too. We come here pretty often and the quality is fairly consistent

Flavor was good, meat was a little dry. Thank goodness for flavor. Our daughter enjoyed the crawfish. We were under the impression that there was an all you can eat crab option by the description of the advertisement , but there is no all you can eat crab legs option. read more

Gao's Crab - Seafood haven with all-you-can-eat crawfish and snow crab - Seafood Near Me - Houston, Texas

this place is me & my bestie go to.. the flavor is just chef kiss and the customer service is amazing too!!!!!

They were so sweet from the moment we walked in. The food was AMAZING. Spicy, flavorful, and my eyes popped out of my head when they brought it over. It was also my friends birthday and we bought some cake to surprise them. They went above and beyond helping us present it to them and made this whole thing so special. read more