I had the king crab legs with garlic butter. OMG! So delicious! It came with a small potato and corn on the cob. Our server, Nick, was excellent. He was the only server working that afternoon (it was early afternoon) and he was right on top of everything. The restaurant wasn't busy. It was a Wednesday. I really liked the nautical theming. I would gladly go again and again read more

Um why is my meat blue? I've ordered from there alot and this is the first time I've never seen blue meat. This doesn't look safe to eat. read more

Laughing Crab - Blue meat - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Laughing Crab of WDM has a lively fun crew of young wait staffers ready to take your tasty seafood order. The large dining area is very good for any social gathering. I ordered the fried shrimp and fried oysters which were mildly seasoned. Chin-- My Energetic and New to the process -- Wait Staffer -- eagerly took my order. He actually knew the menu and recommended the Fried Oyster and Fried Shrimp Platter which was served within a reasonable time. The floors, tables, paper coverings for each table were clean. All the wait staffers were scampering around getting ready for the evening crowd. The Pop and R & B music that was softly playing in the background was full of melody that made you want to slow your eating, relax and reflect on your delicious dish. read more

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We tried Laughing Crab during our trip and loved the experience. There's plenty of seating, a big menu, and reasonably priced drinks. Two of us went for the crab boil, and my husband ordered the crab and lobster. Everything was delicious and not over cooked. We also had fried shrimp with hush puppies; the shrimp was great, though the hush puppies were a little doughy. Our server, Kassi, was AMAZING! Highly recommend Laughing Crab if you're craving seafood. read more

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It is with a heart full of genuine satisfaction and a palate profoundly moved that I sit down to compose this chronicle of a recent dining excursion. In an era where many establishments promise much but deliver little, it is nothing short of a civic duty to laud a house that achieves absolute perfection in its culinary and social endeavors. I speak of an evening spent in the consumption of a crustacean of such peerless quality that it must be recorded as a monumental event in my personal history. read more

Great food- especially the snow crab. Decently priced. Quick service. Easy going place.

This place was yummy! We had the create your own combo and chose the lobster tails, clams and shrimp with the house special hot level. It was all finger licking good. We went a Saturday morning as soon as they opened and it was not busy at all. Our server and the rest of the staff was friendly. Edamame was good but we ended up leaving it mostly because it came at the same time as our food. Definitely recommend for seafood lovers to come and enjoy. read more

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Awesome place and seafood always fresh. Leah S was very attentive and service was prompt . Always a nice meal read more

Laughing Crab - C platter yummy - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Returned after a bad experience the first time as I wanted to give them a second chance. Unfortunately, this was no better. Boyfriend and I decided we wanted some seafood and ultimately decided to give Laughing Crab another try. I paid under $100 for the both of us including tip. We each ordered a build your own boil bag and we paid for additional "sides" like corn and potatoes. I asked for no sausage in my bag, which I guess to them meant no sausage at all, so my boyfriend did not end up getting any either. We paid for 1 lb of seafood (for each seafood item we chose) and got home, it did not look like 1 lb, so we decided to weight it and it was about 1/2 lb-- I won't even get started on their house seasoning (there was none, it tastes like simple butter).Decided to call the restaurant and we were told the kitchen was closed--which understandable, we were not going to have them fire everything back up to please us. We were told next time we came in we would be given "credit" for whatever we didn't receive. My question is how will they know as they didn't even ask for a name...Needless to say, we will not be back for our "credit." read more

Laughing Crab - Create Your Own Seafood Combo - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Laughing Crab never disappoints. My husband and I always split the lobster option -- make it spicy and take it to go -- and it's consistently amazing. Saucy, flavorful, and absolutely chef's kiss. A go‑to spot when you want southern style seafood boil that hits every single time. read more

I DONT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE. I went to Laughing Crab at West Des Moines with my friends to celebrate my friend's birthday and our experience was very disappointing. Our server treated us in a way that felt rude and disrespectful. My brother ordered crab legs because he is allergic to shrimp. I asked the server if they cook the shrimp together with the crab because of my brother's allergy. Instead of trying to understand, the server responded by saying he did not understand what I was saying. This was frustrating and concerning since food allergies are serious.We were there to celebrate a birthday and expected to feel welcomed, but instead we felt uncomfortable and disrespected. I hope management takes this seriously and improves customer service so others do not have a similar experience. read more

Love that you can combine flavors! The garlic and lemon pepper is amazing on the seafood boil. Service is always great!! Sausage is so good - didn't care for the crawfish. read more

Came here on Valentine's Day and sat at the bar. The male bartender was visibly drunk, rude to customers, and loudly swearing and complaining the whole time we were there. It really spoiled the experience for me and my date and we will not be returning. read more

Reserved a table for 12 to come in an hour and got seated right away with a busy short staffed Friday night. The server was attentive, professional yet relatable and knew his craft. He even handled 3 large parties that I could see with more waiting to come in. The room we were seated in was very cold and you could see frosted over ice around the window frame - indicating poor insulation & need for upkeep. The lady's bathroom was even colder. The seafood was cooked to perfection but a bit on the salty side, so if you like salty foods, perfect place for you. Also had fried dungeness crab and mango margaritas which were super yummy. So good, woofed those down, so no pics. Been here several times-everything from food, service and ambience are inconsistent. read more

Laughing Crab - Combo C with extra garlic but you can't tell - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Laughing Crab is a chain restaurant found in multiple states. Thankfully in Iowa we have at least one of these restaurants. I've tried these types of seafood boils but mostly in California where seafood is abundant. I don't normally eat seafood in the Midwest because I'm not sure where it's sourced or if it tastes good. But today I was in the mood for seafood and while checking out their online menu, I saw that they had some lunch specials that were affordable (especially since seafood can be so expensive these days). I decided to place an order online. Normally they sell their platters at 1 pound each but with the lunch specials it's less (I think maybe a quarter pound or half a pound?). But the lunch specials do include the potato, sausage cuts and corn so it's like a sampler of the full sized stuff. I ordered the shrimp lunch special and the green mussel lunch special. There were about 14 shrimp and 6 mussels. The lunch portion was definitely very filling for me, especially since the shrimp and the mussels were good in size. I tried the house sauce and the creamy house sauce and between the two, I think I prefer the creamy house sauce. The service here is very fast. I placed my online order and got a text 10 minutes later that my order was ready for pick up. The food comes in the usual oversized plastic bags. read more

Laughing Crab - green mussel and shrimp - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Great food, friendly service and easy to find. We've eaten there several times and always run into our friends as it is popular with the locals. The food is delicious, fresh and very reasonably priced. read more

Over 1/2 the tables were empty when we walked in and was told 5-10 minutes wait time. Service was slow

3.5* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 4* Value: 3* Service: 3* 03/06/2023 We stopped here shortly after moving into the area 2 years ago and had the opportunity to go back tonight while celebrating Birthdays of our son and daughter-in-law. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the smell when you walk in and thought the food was above average, the value and service only rate average to me. We started with a round of drinks - and since the Tequila Sunrise (see picture) was the special for the night, we each ordered one. We decided to order Crab Rangoon (see picture) as an appetizer and thought they tasted quite good. For our main meal, we ordered the Family Platter (see picture) and added 1/2 pound of sausage. While the butter and seasoning flavors were great, I felt that the seafood and sweetcorn were over-cooked and a little tough / rubbery as a result. While it can be tough to rate the quality of the food for a place like this, I landed on a 4 based on the taste being good but the cooking time being a bit too long. Given how messy it is to eat, this likely isn't a place where you take a first date nor wear your Sunday best clothes. Relative to this type of food, this is a reasonable place to enjoy some good Cajun seafood and seasoning. If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com read more

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I was looking for a good place to take my dad and brother out for their birthday and this was a great pick! Ambiance is nautical theme. We were greeted right away and tabled. The waitress we had was top tier. She didn't even need no notepad to take our order. Super friendly and quick. She brought out complimentary cheesecake for their birthdays as well. We have ordered the family platter which insisted of: 2 lobster tails, 1lb of crab legs, 1lb crawfish, 1lb shrimp, 2lb black mussels ( added an extra lb), and of course potatoes, corn, and boiled eggs. Creamy House Special Sauce Extra Creamy - Medium Spice. Delicious especially for Midwest and price. 10/10. Fed 4 of us. We also ordered: Steamed Garlic Oysters - 8/10 Fried Oysters - 6/10 Hush puppies - 8/10 Lemon pepper wings - 9/10 Fried Shrimp - 6/10 French Fries - 3/10 Would recommend when in Des Moines/Clive area. You can write your name on the wall after you sail off with a full stomach! read more

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Service staff were really great! Rich helped my mother understand the boil combos and then helped her untie the bag and wrap the plate. She was over the moon. As for food, it was pretty good too! Being land locked for much of the year good seafood is hard to come by, let alone a good boil! IYKYK Prices are reasonable and blue crab was quite a deal. Crawfish are in season, so they are good add. Go with the house spice- mixes of everything and spectacular! The lobster tail flaked off the shell- wasn't rubbery or chewy. Hit the spot!! read more

Laughing Crab - Boil lobster tail, crab legs, shrimp, corn, egg, potatoes - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Food was good not great. Definitely did not seem like I got a pound of shrimp. I ordered garlic butter, extra hot. It didn't have a ton of flavor. Service was good. The waitress made sure we were taken care of. The atmosphere was very peaceful. There was a decent number of people there but it wasn't packed. read more

I wasn't blown away or really impressed. Upon saying we had never been there before and aren't sure what to do - our server delivered our food & was off....we figured it out, I think? We also had to remind them of our fries we ordered for an appetizer after our entrees came out. It was a slow Sunday with only one other table there when we entered. The host was incredible & super sweet. The food was delicious, our fries were cold - if they were warm I think they would have been amazing as well. As for our main course, we got the dungeness snow crabs 1 lb and it was delicious. The pricing was a bit high for quantity (not a lot of meat), however, with availability of produce I can understand. read more

Laughing Crab - Dungeness Snow Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

After coming here during their grand opening we decided to give it a try again. And we were not disappointed. This time around we got the family platter with extra spicy creamy house special sauce and it was worth it. Super flavorful, it was creamy, spicy, had great Cajun and garlic flavored notes to it. Well worth the money and taste! The seafood was buttery, flaky, tender, and juicy! It was so fresh and surprising as we are land locked. Even the corn was delicious! It's not that cheap frozen corn, it was fresh, tender, and crisp. It wasn't overly cooked where the corn becomes dry and mushy! It was perfectly cooked. The other platter was our first time trying it and it wasn't as flavorful as this time around. I'm assuming there was modifications done and it is well worth coming. Because with the new flavors and best cost for around here it was perfect timing. Highly recommend, it may not be a first date place lol but it's definitely worth coming with family and friends. read more

Laughing Crab - Family Platter Combo with regular house sauce - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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My favorite place for seafood boil. I love the cajun sauce and extra spicy! The service is great and the wait staff are very attentive and friendly. This is by favorite place of all time. It's pricey but it's seafood so it's well worth. Delicious! 100% recommend! If you can't handle spicy I still recommend getting about level 3 it will make everything taste better I promise! read more

Laughing Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Good service and great food. We like it. Not too loud and everyone seems to have a great time. We had the wonderful waitress. We may go back there again if we are in that neighborhood. read more

Laughing Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Hands down !! The best seafood restaurant in Iowa!!! It takes me back to my roots of down south , awesome customer service!! Very clean !! And on time to !!! read more

One of the few places in DSM area to get seafood boil. We came during late night around 7PM and restaurant was slightly full. Ordered garlic mussels and fries. read more

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Great outside seating. Enforced social distancing. Food was prepared quickly and brought out to us while pipping hot. Servers were tentative to us and refilled our drinks promptly without having to be asked. Fried catfish had good flavor and had several pieces. Could have used the lunch size. Oysters were fresh and good flavor. Served with butter, lemon and two sauces. Kids fish sticks were good and our kid really liked them. read more

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In short, we order two days in a row. It was delicious, folks! Pros: Their clams were my absolute favorite. We usually order from Seafood Trap and about 50-80% of the clams would be shell only. Laughing Crab had the clam meat intact for about 80-95% of them (huge plus). We really liked that they pre-cut the lobster tail shell. This made it easier to get to the meat. They also cut down the shrimp's abdomen allowing more of the broth to soak in -- very tasty! Similar deal with the sausages they sliced it into small pieces. Seafood trap leaves the entire kielbasa, I didn't realize I would like it sliced until now. The online ordering system is convenient. It could use some refinement, though. Con: They don't give enough sauce; I'm used to the boils being drenched in broth. Both times, they kept my orders separate. I wanted to include a comment in the online ordering system that they combine our food in one bag but that option was not available. The first time, we ordered an extra 1/2 lb of clams, they packaged it separately from our combo order. The second time we ordered extra corn, that was also packaged in a separate container without any sauce. I would have loved for the corn to soak up the boil juices. Sidebar: If you like your boils spicy, I would recommend going higher than usual. For example, we order medium at Seafood trap but we found medium and hot at Laughing crab was a bit mild. We're going to try extremely hot next time. I think their prices might be cheaper than Seafood Trap too (still TBD). read more

Laughing Crab - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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Delivery excellent. Laughing Crab not so good. Asked for utensils and seafood sauce did not get. The crayfish and snow crab shells were not split and was not able to eat I was in a motel. Shrimp done very nice. Certainly would not eat again as Delivery. Traveling therefore way to expensive. read more

Laughing Crab was everything we expected and more. As you walk in it looks like a typical seafood restaurant with the nets on the wall. You can ask for a market if you don't have one to sign the walls. We ordered one of the Deluxe platters. And it fed our family of 4 and then some! The house seasoning was delicious! Our waitress was so sweet and was a pro at helping us put our leftovers in the bag. read more

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When i open the king crab leg half of the meat was missing. Luckily i save the best for last or I would be very devastated for a missing peace of king crab meat. Over all i love it. read more

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This place is a gem in Des Moines. Great Cajun ambiance, good quality seafood, and the service is very prompt. Crawfish has both frozen and live options, depending on season which is rare for a Midwest restaurant. The bad, but can easily be improved, is the seasoning and flavor. The seasoning tastes great, but doesn't soak through the tough shells of the crawfish and shrimps very well making the actual seafood tastes bland. The trick to a good boiled seafood that soaks the flavor all the way through is let it cook off in the seasoning broth for 15min. So they need a boil pot to get the seafood cooked, and a cool down a pot to allow the flavor to soak all the way through the shells without overcooking the seafood. Yes, this will increase wait time but it's worth it. Cheers. read more

Laughing Crab - 3 lb. Crawfish Platter - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Our go to restaurant we usually get the family platter and a pound of clams and it's more then enough for two meals so we eat twice!

We had fun and the food and service were wonderful. Great place! Highly recommend. I need 85 characters so there.

Great experience! Food was good and our server was fantastic! Not overly expensive. We had 6 adults and 5 kids and our bill was $450. Not too bad for a seafood experience for young kids. read more

Loved the experience. Clam chowder was rich and amazing! Enjoyed the plain garlic butter, crab legs, shrimp, etc read more

Laughing Crab - Clam chowder- rich! - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

Tried the choose two with fish and shrimp. Both were good. The tartar sauce was really good. Service and ambience are good as well.

For seafood in the middle of the Midwest, the food wasn't bad. I got the crab. I can't recall which one but I asked which crab meal the server recommended and why and went with what she said, which wasn't the cheapest or the most expensive so I didn't feel she just suggested the more expensive option. I have to admit that it's been so long since I've had seafood that they would have all tasted the same to me. They have a lot of options on the menu and various price points. The space is the old Macaroni Grill so it has a chain feel to it (not sure if it's a chain or local) but with a deep sea theme. The servers were all friendly and we went on a week night, around 7 so it was pretty slow. It was my first time but my friends had been there before and really like the drink menu. I had a beer but next time I might try a more creative concoction. Overall, it was good, a lot of work to get the crab meat out but it was expected and I left with a full belly. No leftovers but that was OK because I am not a fan of re-heated crustaceans. Not a place I'll frequent but definitely a nice treat every once in a while. read more

Laughing Crab - crab meal - Cajun/Creole Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

We went here for lunch, I would say overall the restaurant could do a lot better. We order combo b which came with crab, crawfish and shrimp. The crawfish was overdone and there was way too much seasoning on all of it which didn't make it taste better just salter. The crab was cooked perfect and was amazing(this is why I gave it 3 stars) not sure what the boiled egg was about. They do not have any seltzer's like White Claw or Truly, which was very weird and the server didn't know anything about the alcohol they did have. My kids order the chicken tenders and they loved them and for $6.99 this was a great price and it came with a drink. read more

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