938 Crawfish

Our visit here started as a discussion about "garlic noodles". We ordered garlic noodles, fried oysters, shrimp po-boy sandwiches, and garlic fries. The po-boy sandwiches were the big surprise. If you described it to me, I would have thought, "What's the big deal?" The bread's soft texture and the crunch of shrimp are a nice compliment. My favorite was the garlic fries. Its a big serving of fried with LOTS of fresh garlic sprinkled everywhere. This is not some lame "french fries + garlic salt" that some places try to pass off as garlic fries. Folks, this is the real deal. I was vampire proof.😉 For sure we'll be back. Want to try their seafood boil in the restaurant next time.

Food is great, I went in because of someone's suggestion and was not disappointed. I got the garlic noodles with chicken and they're the best I had in a long time. Chicken was nice and crispy too...will be back for sure. I would advise calling in or dining inside because it was a bit of a wait but worth it.

Finally got a chance to dine in this place and I was blown away. Got toy wings and garlic Fries and it was delicious 😋🤤Traveled all the way from San Jose. Can't wait to get back to this place. Service was good as well.

This place is local and the staff hustles. I loved my food and had a great drink with my friends. I’m sure with a little more support it would be banging! It was busy and delicious.

GREAT value for money, we came for my husband's birthday & got the Players' Plates, which are $35/each & are equivalent to the $80 plates at Chef Smelly's & bigger than what they used to do at Trap Kitchen. The food is super flavorful, the presentation is great, the staff are friendly & the service is fast! They have beer pong & a bar too, a great spot to have fun!

We came here with a few friends for a birthday and absolutely loved it! The seafood boil was fresh and delicious, the spicy level of sauce was perfectly hot and not too over the top to melt your face off. The catfish was crispy the crab was amazing! We also had garlic noodles and garlic fries, which were both great.

Mmmmmm delicious. This place always beats out the other bag boil places. The flavors are so much stronger than everywhere else. The food makes for excellent left overs too. Damn. Definitely add the garlic noodles to whatever you order. And the mixed sauce for the best of both worlds. Delicious. Clean bathrooms, cool pants, awesome music. I was singing along to that early 2000s hip hop vibe. Also the service was really nice. I think her name was Michelle with the green hair. She was suuuuper friendly and fun and we felt right at home..which is why we keep coming back to this place. P.s. they have fried Oreos dessert. Pro tip. if parking is tricky, go around the block to the street in the back you can cut through the parking lot next door on foot.

This was my first time here I came with my hubby we were able to pick our own seats we sat at the bar we drank the special Long Island🍹 it HIT HARD!! 👊🏽The owner is very nice he made our drinks took our order promptly and threw in extra oysters at NO CHARGE!!!😁we ordered 2 shrimp garlic noodles and a side of fried oysters to share!! It’s a clean well ventilated lively restaurant! They also have a kids portion on their menu so it’s cool to bring your bratz! We will be back👍🏽

Love this restaurant!! It has so many great tasting options for food & drinks . The service is amazing and I can’t wait to come back especially since they have fun events as well !!!! 111/10 I’d definitely recommend

Had a wonderful time here with my fam for granny's 96th bday. The food was delish and came in a timely manner but the drinks (peach cobbler) was the best. Prices here are fair and its worth it. The crew that was on was friendly, fun, and super helpful. We will be going again soon.

I got the panko battered shrimp with garlic noodles. It came with a large lemon wedge, hot sauce packets, parm, and that white sauce that comes with seafood that I can't remember the name of 😅 the food hit the spot !! garlic noodles tasted great on their own, and it was fun mixing/matching with the hot sauce and parm. the shrimp dipped in the seafood sauce was nommy. customer service was super nice :)

Great seafood! Love the king crab and shrimp! Very fresh and flavorful. Service is great!

C W

GREAT value for money, we came for my husband's birthday & got the Players' Plates, which are $35/each & are equivalent to the $80 plates at Chef Smelly's & bigger than what they used to do at Trap Kitchen. The food is super flavorful, the presentation is great, the staff are friendly & the service is fast! They have beer pong & a bar too, a great spot to have fun!

Robert Maybie

We came here with a few friends for a birthday and absolutely loved it! The seafood boil was fresh and delicious, the spicy level of sauce was perfectly hot and not too over the top to melt your face off. The catfish was crispy the crab was amazing! We also had garlic noodles and garlic fries, which were both great.

Cee Rose Photography

Mmmmmm delicious. This place always beats out the other bag boil places. The flavors are so much stronger than everywhere else. The food makes for excellent left overs too. Damn. Definitely add the garlic noodles to whatever you order. And the mixed sauce for the best of both worlds. Delicious. Clean bathrooms, cool pants, awesome music. I was singing along to that early 2000s hip hop vibe. Also the service was really nice. I think her name was Michelle with the green hair. She was suuuuper friendly and fun and we felt right at home..which is why we keep coming back to this place. P.s. they have fried Oreos dessert. Pro tip. if parking is tricky, go around the block to the street in the back you can cut through the parking lot next door on foot.

ms noproblem

This was my first time here I came with my hubby we were able to pick our own seats we sat at the bar we drank the special Long Island🍹 it HIT HARD!! 👊🏽The owner is very nice he made our drinks took our order promptly and threw in extra oysters at NO CHARGE!!!😁we ordered 2 shrimp garlic noodles and a side of fried oysters to share!! It’s a clean well ventilated lively restaurant! They also have a kids portion on their menu so it’s cool to bring your bratz! We will be back👍🏽

Lei G

Love this restaurant!! It has so many great tasting options for food & drinks . The service is amazing and I can’t wait to come back especially since they have fun events as well !!!! 111/10 I’d definitely recommend

Ada. L.D.

Had a wonderful time here with my fam for granny's 96th bday. The food was delish and came in a timely manner but the drinks (peach cobbler) was the best. Prices here are fair and its worth it. The crew that was on was friendly, fun, and super helpful. We will be going again soon.

M

I got the panko battered shrimp with garlic noodles. It came with a large lemon wedge, hot sauce packets, parm, and that white sauce that comes with seafood that I can't remember the name of 😅 the food hit the spot !! garlic noodles tasted great on their own, and it was fun mixing/matching with the hot sauce and parm. the shrimp dipped in the seafood sauce was nommy. customer service was super nice :)

M Z

Great seafood! Love the king crab and shrimp! Very fresh and flavorful. Service is great!

Crab legs with spicy Cajun combo sauce, garlic fries, strawberry lemonade, and cocktails are my go-to. Everything else is good as well. Super laid back and friendly environment. Love this place. 👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

We had the most fun here! We had a birthday party for 16 people and it was SO MUCH FUN. There was one lady, Michelle, running the entire show, running the bar, taking orders and keeping the energy positive. She was incredible. The vibes were light and fun, the food was great, and the drinks were strong. I highly recommend this spot! It’s family owned and loved. They also have a pop up to-go restaurant connected to it. Check out this long standing Albany spot!

Loved it. Coming back with friends. This is slow food at it's best. Don't come if you are in hurry, or hangey. But worth the wait if you love seafood and plan a leasurly meal. We went Friday night after 7. There were only 7 table, some pushed together to accomodate bigger parties. Was greeted and told when large party left, 7 people party plus our party of 2 would be seated at those table. When seated, we got menus, water, and then waited to order. We had already observed this timeline while waiting, and saw those seated earlier oprdering, and just receiving food. So it was as expected. Food was excellent! Salad so crspy fresh, calamaries crispy, tender, not heavy batter or rubbery. Sauces and dressing creamy and fresh tssting. Fish same crispy light coating. Lots of fries, neither tried. Next time may ask if can uptier with garlic fries. My shrip boil was more like prawns, 1 lb 19.95, headless plus $1. A bargain, garlic butter mild. I like that you can pick how spicy, and various flavoring. We were too full to try dessert. Will try some variety next time with a bigger crowd.

The crawfish and shrimp boil was better than New Orleans. And good prices as well. It was 10/10 for us! My new go-to

love this place. great food, strong drinks, upbeat atmosphere. its a popular place so sometimes it gets busy but its worth the wait. the owners are amazing and very hands on. Its really easy to become a "regular" at this place. i always order the shrimp, heads on, a lbs of mussels with the combo sauce. Medium is just enough spice for me. check them out!!

The ambience was completely absent, and it almost looks like it's closed when viewed from outside. That said, the food was outstanding. The calamari was perfectly cooked and enormous, the mussels were delicious, the crab was firm and tasty, and the shrimp were great. The only thing that wasn't great was the corn on the cob, kinda soggy and overcooked... but... Whatever, everything else was so good!

The Calamari $13.95 was probably the best I've ever had. Maybe a smidge too much salt. The fish and chips were probably the worst I've ever had. Dry overcooked 3 portions about 4"x4"x3/4"thick. The fries were limp, possibly undercooked and at least were not salted to death. There were a lot of fries( about 3 large McDonald's portions). I spent 10 minutes wolfing down the calamari & am 10 minutes away, so the fries should have been crispy. Steve

Alright, let me start by saying — I might be a little biased, considering I’ve known the owners and staff for about three months now. But bias or not, here’s the truth: The first time I walked into this place, it was completely empty. I literally said out loud, “Where everybody at?!” — and yes, I yelled it. The beautiful and welcoming bartender came right over, sat me down at the bar, and poured me a shot to start. Within minutes she made me feel right at home — friendly, confident, and knew that menu like the back of her hand. She told me exactly what to order, and let me tell you, she did not miss. Chef Michelle? She puts her whole heart and soul into that kitchen. You can taste it in every bite. When I say this is one of my top three spots to eat at when I’m in the Bay, I mean it. The catfish stays crispy, the wings are juicy, the garlic noodles — man, those noodles will make you wanna slap your mama and someone else’s too, so proceed with caution. The seafood? Fresh, flavorful, with that perfect kick of spice. And then there’s Jinny — this woman’s energy is unmatched. She greets you like family, makes you feel right at home, and somehow always knows how to make you feel good about your order. I know this review is late, but better late than never — because The 938 deserves a solid 10/10. Good food. Good people. Good vibes. It’s the kind of spot that keeps you coming back for more. If you ever find yourself in the Bay, stop by. Have a shot (or three), kick back, and enjoy some seriously delicious food. #BESTBOILINTHEBAY

Nicolaus Rodriguez

Alright, let me start by saying — I might be a little biased, considering I’ve known the owners and staff for about three months now. But bias or not, here’s the truth: The first time I walked into this place, it was completely empty. I literally said out loud, “Where everybody at?!” — and yes, I yelled it. The beautiful and welcoming bartender came right over, sat me down at the bar, and poured me a shot to start. Within minutes she made me feel right at home — friendly, confident, and knew that menu like the back of her hand. She told me exactly what to order, and let me tell you, she did not miss. Chef Michelle? She puts her whole heart and soul into that kitchen. You can taste it in every bite. When I say this is one of my top three spots to eat at when I’m in the Bay, I mean it. The catfish stays crispy, the wings are juicy, the garlic noodles — man, those noodles will make you wanna slap your mama and someone else’s too, so proceed with caution. The seafood? Fresh, flavorful, with that perfect kick of spice. And then there’s Jinny — this woman’s energy is unmatched. She greets you like family, makes you feel right at home, and somehow always knows how to make you feel good about your order. I know this review is late, but better late than never — because The 938 deserves a solid 10/10. Good food. Good people. Good vibes. It’s the kind of spot that keeps you coming back for more. If you ever find yourself in the Bay, stop by. Have a shot (or three), kick back, and enjoy some seriously delicious food. #BESTBOILINTHEBAY

Hina Guezmir

The crawfish and shrimp boil was better than New Orleans. And good prices as well. It was 10/10 for us! My new go-to

Bong Doblas

Very good food and friendly staff, all dishes are top notch

Nan Andino

Loved it. Coming back with friends. This is slow food at it's best. Don't come if you are in hurry, or hangey. But worth the wait if you love seafood and plan a leasurly meal. We went Friday night after 7. There were only 7 table, some pushed together to accomodate bigger parties. Was greeted and told when large party left, 7 people party plus our party of 2 would be seated at those table. When seated, we got menus, water, and then waited to order. We had already observed this timeline while waiting, and saw those seated earlier oprdering, and just receiving food. So it was as expected. Food was excellent! Salad so crspy fresh, calamaries crispy, tender, not heavy batter or rubbery. Sauces and dressing creamy and fresh tssting. Fish same crispy light coating. Lots of fries, neither tried. Next time may ask if can uptier with garlic fries. My shrip boil was more like prawns, 1 lb 19.95, headless plus $1. A bargain, garlic butter mild. I like that you can pick how spicy, and various flavoring. We were too full to try dessert. Will try some variety next time with a bigger crowd.

Alycia Tumlin

We had the most fun here! We had a birthday party for 16 people and it was SO MUCH FUN. There was one lady, Michelle, running the entire show, running the bar, taking orders and keeping the energy positive. She was incredible. The vibes were light and fun, the food was great, and the drinks were strong. I highly recommend this spot! It’s family owned and loved. They also have a pop up to-go restaurant connected to it. Check out this long standing Albany spot!

John Schwartz

The ambience was completely absent, and it almost looks like it's closed when viewed from outside. That said, the food was outstanding. The calamari was perfectly cooked and enormous, the mussels were delicious, the crab was firm and tasty, and the shrimp were great. The only thing that wasn't great was the corn on the cob, kinda soggy and overcooked... but... Whatever, everything else was so good!

Nash Johnson

love this place. great food, strong drinks, upbeat atmosphere. its a popular place so sometimes it gets busy but its worth the wait. the owners are amazing and very hands on. Its really easy to become a "regular" at this place. i always order the shrimp, heads on, a lbs of mussels with the combo sauce. Medium is just enough spice for me. check them out!!

Food is delicious, but it is very loud when a game is on. I wasn't aware that this is a sports bar type of environment. The yelling terrified my two-year-old daughter to the point where my husband had to take her outside to calm her down.

Smackin kinda hole in the wall spot in Albany, they got that crazy spicy garlic butter, their bartenders pour heavy, and the one Server/Manager young woman is great. Accommodated a large group no reso with grace (I would've been pissed) so yeah, super great!

Drinks smackin, had the players platter! they have Tony's Style wings from Berkeley so u can't go wrong. Garlic noodles and shrimp were good as well. Bartender was very attentive.

I'm not the best person to ask. My voice is very feint, and it's hard for me to talk in a noisy restaurant. It's got a good vibe, and the crab was great, even if it was pricey. I'm an old guy so there was too much salt and garlic, but the rest of my party (younger) thought it very nice

We couldn't help ourselves and got here right at 4pm open. Immediate service, the food was excellent. Not 5 stars because the paper towel roll that was on our table was stained/dirty on top, and the music is BLASTING in the restrooms. Seems like a first time restaurant owner situation so will definitely support them again. Ps. Happy Hour oysters are on POINT!

You need to have more servers, it's not a good look when your customers come in and see tables that are have not been cleared out, and they have to wait for one person to do everything. please get a second or maybe a third server. thank you. other then that, you got good food.

B Brown

You need to have more servers, it's not a good look when your customers come in and see tables that are have not been cleared out, and they have to wait for one person to do everything. please get a second or maybe a third server. thank you. other then that, you got good food.

Jhomo Dawdu

Smackin kinda hole in the wall spot in Albany, they got that crazy spicy garlic butter, their bartenders pour heavy, and the one Server/Manager young woman is great. Accommodated a large group no reso with grace (I would've been pissed) so yeah, super great!

The food is pretty good here, the server's however are lacking in experience and training. They also need to take notes on cleanliness it looks like they need to wipe down a lot of things. The prices and proportions are great!

Happy hour margarita was pretty good. The calamari was bland due to too much breading. Garlic noodles were good. Mussel boil was a little too oily. Overall food is good but not great. Service was totally outstanding.

Food is good but man its slow. I have been here for maybe about 5 times now and every time it gets worse and worse. They changes their open time daily so don’t depend on the google/yelp. They will post on their Instagram stories if any changes happen last minute. This place used to be good.

The food was ok. Way too much garlic and butter. I know it has to have those 2 ingredients, but there's literally no broth lole at other places. The shrimp is super big, hence the 3 stars.

James K

Food is good but man its slow. I have been here for maybe about 5 times now and every time it gets worse and worse. They changes their open time daily so don’t depend on the google/yelp. They will post on their Instagram stories if any changes happen last minute. This place used to be good.

Georgina Corona

The food was ok. Way too much garlic and butter. I know it has to have those 2 ingredients, but there's literally no broth lole at other places. The shrimp is super big, hence the 3 stars.

The food was good but the service was horrible! It was 5 of us and we spent almost $600.

Really not impressed. The food was ok but I wouldn't ever go back. The server was great, she had a great attitude. But the outside looks great but the inside is old school Chinese restaurant

True Boil lovers don't go there. We loved the owner. He was welcoming and friendly. The decor did not add to the experience, haphazard and no thought put into it. The old school music was upbeat. We chose the Shrimp and Mussels boil with noodles. The shrimp were the best thing on the plate. Everything was cooked in butter, which had a heavy greasy taste of it's own. The Mussels were rubbery, hard to chew. Noodles were mushy, but you needed them to dampen the greasy taste of everything else. Having just had a great experience at Hog's on Pier 1, I was greatly disappointed. I was also disappointed when the owner asked our opinion and we made suggestions his demeanor and attitude changed. Certainly won't go back.

It’s a shame. I really enjoy seafood boils. However, felt really neglected on our first visit at 938 Crawfish. Maybe, it was just bad timing. Requested to speak to the manager, and was told the manager was too busy to speak to me. Offered dessert at no charge. I guess. I would rather have had decent service. Was not expecting exceptional service, just decent service. Our server never came back after dropping off our food. Had to ask another server for assistance. Had to request for the bill several times. So unfortunate. At the least, the food was “decent.” -Had a Merry Margarita which was good. However, the lack of service killed my buzz. Seriously-So-disappointed

I love the food here, but just showed up at 6:30 to see a sign on the door "No open tables" and the doors locked. Open sign off and people eating inside. I saw at least 2 unoccupied tables and the wait staff wouldn't even look at us. Absolutely absurd, I've never seen anything like this ever. Terribly managed. Not a happy customer.

They had one cook no glasses for my family. So they gave us plastic cups.They seated us in a area with no lighting. Then they told us our food wait time was an hour because of the one cook. I will never ever go there again 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾 Never got a chance to taste the food.

Horrible service I will never come here again. The wait was outrageous. They let a family skip us in line. The food wasn’t even all of that for all this trouble. We had to wait 30 mins for menus. They tried to give us a little gift of waffle fries to make up for the horrible service worth the effort but still this isn’t a place I would bring my family here again or give them my money ever again. If you do make that choice to step foot in this place be prepared for chaos and mediocre food. One of my family members order catfish they gave her a small little piece for 13 dollars don’t have your prices so high for your services to be so poor. As I write this review I’m wait for my check over 35 mins. You would think as a business you would want to get your money. As you read this save your time and turn around and get some better seafood guys. It’s not worth it at all! 938 crawfish YOU CAN DO MUCH BETTER THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!

I ordered garlic noodles and prawns,and the prawns had poop in them...very upset never returning here..That was so lazy of the cook to not clean properly

I’m only giving this restaurant 1 star based on the horrible customer service! The food is good but who wants to dine somewhere where the serves are rude? The service was slow and there wasn’t that many parties in the restaurant. The server that was helping us was I believe from the pacific island and she was RUDE! We couldn’t even finish our sentences without her cutting us off. She rushed our orders and brought us the wrong food. When we told her we didn’t want spicy she swore we did order that. The person in our party has health issues why would we intentionally order spicy chicken wings. After trying to talk and explain to her that she was rushing our order and cutting us off she still wouldn’t budge to take the wings back. Saying it was miscommunication no ma’am you wouldn’t hush to let us finish our sentences. She didn’t offer to do anything about it as well. Oh she offered a shot of tequila lol what the hell is that? I have never been to restaurant that didn’t accommodate its patrons especially if it’s health related. The thing is we weren’t even trying to say we didn’t want the wings take them off the check we literally just wanted a different flavor that my aunt could eat. Next I asked for A cup of ice several times and waited 45mins just for that. My cousin order a drink from the bar that took another 30mins. I mean HORRIBLE SERVICE! We spent $600.00 $556.00 to be exact to have horrible customer service and rude waitresses. They will not get another penny from me. Also I ordered the players platter the menu says prawns baby let me tell you them was baby shrimp doo dooo doo do! Disappointed is an understatement and they were overcooked 😒 ugh just skip this place y’all! Save your money and make your own boil!

Inedible. Expensive. Worst service. $24 and change for a to-go plate of boiled spaghetti with little shreds crab. There was a half-cup of red peppers mixed in. We waited over half an hour for our plate even though the place was empty. I think they added a tip without waiting or asking... or telling us --We left a $3 tip anyway bringing the total to $27 and change. It's crab season. My girlfriend got dirty looks from staff and service was gruff with us. We're both blond, I felt racism was a factor.

Logan Byrne

Inedible. Expensive. Worst service. $24 and change for a to-go plate of boiled spaghetti with little shreds crab. There was a half-cup of red peppers mixed in. We waited over half an hour for our plate even though the place was empty. I think they added a tip without waiting or asking... or telling us --We left a $3 tip anyway bringing the total to $27 and change. It's crab season. My girlfriend got dirty looks from staff and service was gruff with us. We're both blond, I felt racism was a factor.