I'm not usually much of a seafood person but when its drenched in butter and spices, y'all can count me in. Captain's Boil has been our go-to spot as of late for some seafood craving fixes as they provide those aforementioned things for a reasonable price (for Ottawa standards, anyway).
From my understanding, the Elgin Street branch is the first franchise (?) in Ottawa and is smaller than the one on Hunt Club. Still, the restaurant carries the same pirate theme as its sister branch.
Not much to say about the food except you can never go wrong with butter and spices. We usually go for the "Captain's Boil" flavour with medium heat and it's delicious. Somehow the snow crab legs seemed more flavorful here compared to its sister branch but perhaps, it's just a different batch. Either way, we really enjoyed it.
Yes, the food comes in a bag but I feel like it helps keep the food warm and I really don't mind it much. Not sure it's super environmentally friendly but they say it's bio-degradable, etc. Not a huge concern for me; I'm just here for the food.
Service was a bit on the slow side but to be fair, it was one person serving a good 20+ people. He was doing his best - coming to check on us once in a while and getting what we needed quickly - and I appreciated it.
Elgin Street's currently a mess due to construction but if you don't mind a little bit of trekking, I would recommend trying this place out.
My boyfriend had come with his family and for weeks after was raving to me how good the food was. So when he brought me I had very high expectations, all of which were met. We ordered a lobster and Cajun seafood fried rice. The server was super helpful and provided us with all the gloves, bibs, napkins, etc that we needed. The food arrived in a reasonable amount of time and it was so good. I don't think it's lobster season right now, so our lobster was quite small, but it tasted amazing. And it was actually really fun to pick apart and eat. The fried rice was delicious as well, but a bit too oily in my opinion. Our total was 60 bucks before tip which isn't cheap but is reasonable since we did order the lobster (which was 40 bucks ish). Overall I'm definitely coming back to try more items off their menu and definitely recommend it.
This was an experience for sure. First things you are told is your meal will be served in a bag, no plates and you eat with your hands. We weren't scared off so we ordered , food was impressive . I highly recommend the captain's boil sauce it was wonderful and if you like spice the fire heat level is not too spicy it was perfect. We had crawfish , shrimp, mussels and found the mussels overcooked but the shrimp were amazing I will be dreaming of the shrimp till the next time 🤗. We will be back for sure. If needing to use bibs and gloves to fish your dinner out of a bag intrigues you then check this place out.
So thankful that this Toronto based-venue has finally come to Ottawa! It's a sit down, eat-with-your bare hands (they supply plastic gloves so not exactly bare hands) experience. Pick a pound of seafood, pick the sauce that you want (I recommend cajun or the captain's boil sauce for those who are big on flavour - be forewarned that the garlic in the captain's boil sauce and the regular garlic sauce is VERY garlicy and you will have the taste in your mouth for hours afterwards if you don't have access to copious amounts of listerine), and then pick your spice level (Don't be afraid to go for the triple chili spice level - it's not as bad as they say! Faint of heart - try a mild first and work your way up). My only qualm is that the staff are a little bit disorganized (our table didn't have a full set of gloves or napkins - napkins are ESSENTIAL if you eat here) but they are otherwise very friendly. MUST try for seafood lovers in Ottawa.
DELICIOUS!
If you love seafood and southern flavours, this place is a must. Just opened a few weeks ago and it's great. Fills up pretty fast though so get there early. Also, they only take resos for parties of 6 and up so keep that in mind. The concept is awesome and very traditional to the southern states. Seafood boiled in Cajun seasoning, served in a plastic bag, you eat right out of the bag with plastic gloves on, you toss the scraps on the paper table clothe, it is by no means classy or fancy, you eat like a messy king, it's great. Go check it out for an awesome messy tasty taste of the south!
Apart from the mix up of starting time, because i believe it may have been their second opening night it was great! It reminded me greatly of what I had @theCaptainboil location in Montreal. I took my friend there for her birthday dinner treat. The ambiance was amazing with great music playing and the staff were so friendly, it was really intimate I loved it! (Make sure to possibly call ahead of time just in case to reserve a spot).Â
The food is really hand ons, they give you bibs and clear gloves for you to munch your heart away with. One added bonus I tried here was the crawfish with Cajun which was a  "blended mélange of Cajun spices, including cayenne pepper, paprika, and more" (because it is in season this time around compared to when i went there last november in Montreal) along with the mussels Captain's Boil mix which was a "perfectly balanced combination of their three sauces". I must say it was extremely delicious especially because we both love spicy food; we got the spiciest one, it truly satisfied our pallet! We also had Cajun Seafood Fried Rice, Fried Shrimp Basket, Fried Chicken Wings! We literally had to take the rest home because well we loved it. A great experience I would highly recommend!
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