Crawdad's River Cantina Inc

A group of us boated in to Crawdad's River Catina this past Saturday. Everyone, except me ordered some kind of fish entree. I ordered a RIVER BURGER and a glass of water (since I don't drink).By the time we finished our late lunch and I got on my boat I started having stomach cramps. I ended having to pull over to the shore of the American River to vomit. I had a case of food poisoning. I was sick all night and all day Sunday. \r Luckily, I ate only half of my hamburger, otherwise I may have ended up in the emergency room at the local hospital.\r No one else in my group got sick, so I would say stick to the fish!\r more

My boyfriend took me for dinner and drinks and we both really enjoyed our meals and although my guy doesn't drink, I do. I ordered a few Cosmo's and along with the carismatic and great server, my drinks were great too. For dinner I had their shrimp scampee with rice pilaf and steamed veggies. My boyfriend had their sword fish with a pineapple glaze that was exquisite and delightfully tasteful. Our overall experience was great and I'm sure we will go again during the summer months when it's warm and we can enjoy the outdoor dinning area. more

I had been wanting to eat here since we moved to Sacramento 6 monthes ago and my boyfriend took me this weekend for my birthday. BIG MISTAKE. I would give this place negative stars if I could but the minimum is 1.\r \r The food was HORRIBLE. I ordered the crawfish etoufee (a personal fave of mine at other restaurants). The rice was hard like they had reheated it and the overall taste was not good. But the worst part was what happened a couple hours later (still on my birthday). I ended up with a raging case of food poisoning. \r \r I won't go into graphic details, but it was bad. I had nonstop vomitting and diarreha until there was NOTHING left in my system and I proceeded to dry heave for hours. Its been 3 days and I am still unable to eat solid foods. \r \r It may have a cool vibe in warmer weather, but i'd stick with bottled beer and DO NOT EAT ANY FOOD. Seriously. more

I've wanted to go here for months and months. Boyfriend and I wanted some spicy creole or cajun food and this place said they served that style of food. What they do serve is SH!T. I had a chocolate martini, except it wasn't a chocolate martini, it was an old fashioned, minus the bubbles and plus the chocolate, translation: disgusting!\r \r We were starving but I wasn't feeling the place, it stunk like a public bathroom, and once I got my awful drink it was all about, choke this down and lets go! We ordered some coconut shrimp with our drinks, it was foul and so gross! Worst coconut shrimp ever! It was almost black, overcooked, had a watery marmalade sauce over it that was gross.\r \r EWW! AND did I mention my cherry tasted like fish? Yeah, sick! \r \r The inside of the place is actually cool, it is right off the river, and supposedly LIVE LIVE LIVE in the summer, you can dock a boat about 5 feet from the outdoor seating area. If they hired good bartenders, wait-staff, and cooks this place wouldn't be such a disappointment! Pros: Right off the river Cons: Disgusting drinks, bad food, bad service, parking is difficult more

Crawdad's has good food and it can be a fun dining experience. The location is interesting. It is nice that it is on the river but if you are eating on the outdoor patio, it can get a little annoying. People often dock their boats on the pier and sit there playing really loud music and reving their engines while everyone is trying to enjoy their meal. This place gets really good bands to play but 20-somethings beware. This tends to be a late-30s to 50s bar. If you are 21-29 and plan on going for music and drinks, bring a large group of people or a date. Pros: Good food, good music, lots of parking, interesting location Cons: Loud boats and an older crowd more

Go to Crawdad's for a hopping bar with live music on summer nights, or for lunch outdoors along the river if it isn't completely scorching outside (that is, if you don't mind listening to small water craft cruise by). The lunch salads are actually not too bad. As alluded to by other posters here, dinner is a total bust. The food is overpriced, not authentic at all and quite bland. Really disappointing, and I've been there on several occasions with lots of different folks who all came away with the same impression. Pros: As close to the water as you can get without getting wet, live music on summer nights Cons: Dinner is just not good more

Dissappointment abounds at this establishment, as Crawdad's River Cantina doesn't live up to it's name. Perhaps it should drop the Crawdads and simply call itself The River Cantina That Sometimes Serves Crawdads and Sometimes Doesn't. \r \r My girlfriend and I went tthere not once but TWICE on a mission to chow down on some of the tasty critters and came up empty handed! The second time we even called ahead to confirm that they had some in stock, but none were available when we arrived.\r \r Aside from that, this is some of the most soulless cajun soul food I've ever had, and i wouldnt be surprised if the guy who wrote the last comment about their food being authentic works there. Pros: too hungry to leave after informed there were no crawdads and not desparate enough to go to Chevys Cons: NO CRAWDADS??? crappy cajun food more

As a Cajun Chef, from Southern Louisiana, I was quite impressed with the quality, taste and appearance of the food. The service was superb and my waitress was the bomb with a warm smile and cheerfull attitude. I had the Seafood Pasta, with shrimp, scallops and andouille sausage , in a wonderfull tomato bisque sauce, and cheese filled spinch raveolle, the dish was very good. If it were me I would drop the scallops, and use crawfish tails, rename the dish Creole Pasta, with Seafood and Andouille, This would give the dish a real cajun flair. The menu is limited with some good entree's. I would suggest they expand the menu, I would suggest adding Red Beans and Sausage servced over rice, and one more fish dish, Red Snapper Au Gratin. Over all I rate this restaurant the best cajun restaurant on the west coast.. Gator as I am known. Pros: Great Atmosphere, On the Water Patio, Moderate Price Cons: Need more Cajun Flair more

Bouncer greeted me by telling me that I needed to remove my baseball cap. Fine... but the place was full of shirtless frat guys with baseball caps. Food was way too expensive as well. What a waste for such a great location. Disregard the reviews from 2003... there may be new (and incompetent) management since then. more

Food is pretty pricey - $7 for a quesadilla? Sandwiches average in the mid-teens and weren't anything special. The chicken breast is dry and rather flavorless, and the burgers are nothing to write home about. This place is nothing but a tourist trap! Pros: river view Cons: expensive more

Crawdad's is right on the water. What a great place to sip excellent Cadillac Margaritas and watch folks go by on the river. Great music, outstanding service (Lauren Rocks) and the food is excellent. Don't even go by the Chevy's that is located in the same strip mall...head here first. The staff is great, the drinks are frosty and the patio is a great place to spend an afternoon! Pros: Location, Service, Atmosphere more

This is an amazing place. If you get the chance to go, go! I have never seen anything quite like it before. The atmostphere and the food is great. The view you have of the water is beautiful. Next time I am in the area I am going to eat there for sure. I would highly recommend Crawdad's River Cantina. more

This is one of the best places to go and enjoy yourself and lock the world away. The GUMBO, is really GREAT. more