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Restaurants
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Willie’s (pictured) hits different because their crawfish is delivered live from Louisiana every single day — never frozen, never sitting around. They’ve been doing this for 30+ years, and you can taste it in the seasoning and the bayou-style boil. Bonus points for the new NOLA sauce (less heat, more flavor) and the cheesy new boudin balls!
Celebrating 30 years as a Houston staple, Mambo Seafood is greeting the season with its new "Mambonazo" seafood boils and festive shared plates across 13 area locations. This homegrown favorite stands out for its signature Mambo-style fusion, which marries traditional boils with Latin and Pacific flavors. Pair your mudbugs with shrimp or snow crab — all tossed Mambo-style!
Photo by Alex Montoya
It’s always a party on the patio at one of two locations of The Pit Room. For mudbug season, the BBQ masters let you keep it classic with a pound of crawfish for $9, or level up with the $13 deluxe pound that comes loaded with corn, mushrooms, and smoky Andouille sausage. If you’re sharing, the Three Pounder ($36) is perfect for the table. And if you’re really trying to live it up, the Feast is the move — three pounds of crawfish, all the fixings, plus two snow crab clusters and a full pound of shrimp for $85.
BB’s is Cajun cooking with a Lone Star twist. They serve their mudbugs in three styles: the signature Tex-Orleans blend, classic Bayou, or Citrus Garlic if you like a little zing. You can build your boil with all the extras—corn, potatoes, sausage, seafood, and sauces for dippin’.
Don’t miss their special events: Wednesdays starting 4/8 get 5 lbs for $30, National Crawfish Day (4/17) is 5 lbs for $39.99, and St. Patrick’s Day brings 5 lbs for $35 with $5 green margs.
Crawfish Cafe is basically eponymous with Houston crawfish season — Viet-Cajun and full of flavor — and they’re boiling tens of thousands of pounds a week at peak. The real magic is the sauces: The Signature (garlic butter + Kickin’ Cajun), The Mix (garlic butter + lemon pepper), The Grail (garlic butter + Thai basil), and The Hook (garlic butter + Coco Loco) — all customizable with five heat levels from mild to reaper.
You build your own boil with everything from shrimp and crab to sausage, corn, potatoes, mushrooms, eggs, pineapple sausage, or even a turkey neck. Find them across the Heights, Cypress, Pearland, Shenandoah/The Woodlands, and soon in Chinatown.
Photo by Kirsten Gilliam
Down in Galveston, there’s a sophisticated twist on the season at Pier 6 with their crawfish empanadas. What sets this spot apart is that they’ve traded the messy peeling for a flaky, golden pastry crust packed with succulent tails, the "holy trinity," and melty pepper jack cheese. Served three to an order with a creamy tomatillo salsa, it’s the perfect upscale appetizer for those who want the mudbug flavor without the stained fingers.
For those who crave the flavor without the messy hands, Treebeards offers a classic, scratch-made Crawfish Etouffee using fresh tail meat sourced directly from Church Point, Louisiana. This soul-warming staple is available every day at all locations (except Pennzoil Place), with sizes ranging from a quick lunch-sized small to a full quart for the family.
Breweries and Bars
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If you like your mudbugs with a side of sports and sunshine, then checkout Christian’s Tailgate (pictured) at their Heights, Midtown, and Highway 6 locations. Crawfish is offered on Saturdays in February and all weekend starting in March. Plus, with prices starting at $9/lb and dropping with market rates, it’s one of the most wallet-friendly ways to enjoy a game-day boil.
If you’re looking for a low-key, "come as you are" vibe in the Heights, T-Bones is your reliable neighborhood go-to for a classic mudbug fix. What sets them apart is their total availability, serving up crawfish seven days a week, all day long—no waiting for a specific weekend window or special event. It’s the perfect spot to grab a few pounds and some corn and potatoes while catching the game in a laid-back, sports-centric atmosphere.
Reset Rooftop Lounge in Midtown is hosting until the end of April Crawfish Sundays with rooftop boils, live deejay, beautiful Houston skyline views, and happy hour specials with beverages between $5 - $8 — every Sunday from 3 PM to midnight! Guests can expect classic crawfish platters – 2 pounds for $25 or 3 pounds for $35 - all served hot and fresh with sausage, corn, and potatoes. For those looking to go all-in, Reset is also offering a shareable K2G Platter for $45 featuring: 2 pounds of crawfish, half pound of snow crab, and half pound of shrimp - all served with sausage, corn, and potatoes. Reservations are encouraged.
Festivals & Other Events
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Photo by Quit Nguyen
Josephine’s Backyard Boil Series (pictured) takes over the patio of the acclaimed Gulf Coast-inspired restaurant on select Sundays from 2–6 p.m., mixing Gulf Coast tradition with big-time culinary collabs. A portion of every event benefits Southern Smoke Foundation, supporting its mission to assist food and beverage workers nationwide.
Each boil features a guest chef teaming up with Josephine’s had chef Lucas McKinney to bring their own flavors and spin — from Texas barbecue to Laotian, Vietnamese, and West African influences.
Upcoming dates include:
- March 1: Mike Pham (Trill Burgers)
- March 29: Ope Amosu (ChopnBlok)
- April 26: Jeff Chancaleune (Ma Der Lao Kitchen, OKC)
- May 17: Evan LeRoy (LeRoy and Lewis BBQ, Austin)
Expect crawfish sold by the pound (market price), rotating chef dishes, Lone Star sponsors, drink specials, Blue Plate merch moments, and even Jell-O shots. Reservations drop on Resy two weeks before each date — and trust, these go fast.
Houston Crawfish Kickoff Festival
Kick off the season at Guadalupe Plaza Park in EaDo on March 7th for Houston’s biggest crawfish event. This festival stands out for its high-energy atmosphere, featuring live bands, DJs, and over 2,000 people filling the outdoor venue for a full day of music and games. Most importantly for hungry fans, it offers "All You Can Eat" ticket options, allowing you to dive into endless buckets of mudbugs while enjoying the full bar and park vibes.
At Home
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Want to host your own backyard bash? Houston has no shortage of spots selling fresh wholesale seafood.
H-E-B
If you’re doing a crawfish boil at home, H-E-B makes it easy. You can grab live crawfish, seasoning, sides, and all the extras in one stop — plus they have recipes and tips online to help you pull it off like a pro.
Lafitte’s Crawfish
This is a go-to for people buying in bulk. Lafitte’s is a wholesale seafood supplier known for super fresh crawfish, crabs, and seafood, making it perfect when you’re feeding a crowd or hosting your own boil.
Airline Seafood
A Montrose staple for over 75 years, Airline Seafood is all about quality and consistency. They’re known for fresh catches and live crawfish, and it’s one of those places locals have trusted forever.
Blue Horizon Wholesale Seafood & Retail Market
Tucked near West U, this small-but-mighty market is where you go for Louisiana crawfish by the sack. Spot the little blue building, grab your mudbugs, and get ready for a serious backyard boil.
