Laughing Crab - Cajun Seafood

I go there quite often and it’s always a good time for family and friends, everyone’s kind in the service is excellent. I would rate it a 200 if I could.😉

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

House edamame is always good... Everything I've had here has always been yummie!

Great place to eat!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Best seafood place in DSM

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I finally made it to Laughing Crab for the first time and tried their seafood boil—absolutely perfect! Everything tasted amazing. I especially loved the crab legs, lobster tail, corn, sausage, boiled egg, and potatoes. The house seasoning is full of excellent flavor and really ties it all together. The restaurant itself is beautiful inside and out, with warm lighting and a great design that makes it feel so inviting. The staff was also very friendly and welcoming. I can’t wait to come back for another one!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We love this place, and the food. We’ve Been here multiple times. But today 7-11-2025, we showed up at 9:10pm and were excused out the door because the front greeter stated to us that they stopped dinning at 9pm. The waitress in-front of him looked like she felt bad and was wanting to sit us down, but the male greeter gave her a grin. The Hours for this place is 11am-10pm. What a way to loose business right at your door! Very disappointed with this !

Great food great music. Had the most amazing server Kalani . I got the create your own with blue crab and black muscles. Food is great everytime, I look forward to every time I come here!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: The Seafood, Sausage

Nice seafood boil place

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had the best time with my family at Laughing Crab! This was the first time we had tried a Seafood boil and it did not disappoint! We got the deluxe platter with garlic butter sauce and the house seasoning-best combo ever. They also brought my dad a flaming shot for his birthday. Would definitely be back! This platter fed 4 of us with leftovers too.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

My husband and I come here once a month at least. It's our absolute favorite and look forward to coming back each time. The seafood boils are flavorful and the staff is always attentive and friendly. We are actually planning on spending our anniversary dinner here at Laughing Crab tonight! We'd recommend to anyone.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food was very bland and the calamari was like chewing rubber bands

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 4

I’ve never left a bad review before, it’s not something I care to do normally after a poor experience somewhere, but the evening I had at laughing crab I thought I should share in hopes no would have to experience the same. I was particularly excited to eat here I have been wanting to try it for a long time, on Tuesday December 3rd it was my birthday and my best friend took me to dinner. When we went in I took note that they weren’t very busy I think we were one of 3 tables. Our server greeted us and got us waters, she was pleasant at first, when she came to take our order I ordered on behalf of my best friend because they struggle with social anxiety, as soon as I started to order for them our servers demeanor changed, she rolled her eyes and asked what I wanted. She then said ok took our menus and walked away. She came by our table and dropped our food off without saying anything and walked away, I looked over at the other tables and saw that they had silverware, crab leg crackers, and gloves we were not given anything to eat with. After a few minutes of picking at or food with our hands and scanning the area for our sever I had to get up and find and ask her for silverware to be delivered. She came by and dropped off 2 rolls of silverware. And then a few minutes after brought us gloves and crackers. She had been talking to another male server at the bar in between our interactions, this male server then started to walk back and forth past our table and hover, it felt listening to our conversation or something. When we were finished my friend had the rest of their unfinished meal set aside to take home, mind you this is a very expensive place to eat and I can’t imagine people leave crabs legs and such to go in the trash. Our sever then came and scooped up our plates without asking if we were finished or needed to go boxes. So my friend was unable to take home their leftovers. My friend and I were both offended by her attitude towards us and it was disappointing having such a bad experience on my birthday. 0/10

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

Delicious crab and shrimp boils - I think this is the only place in Des Moines that has it. I usually get one of their combos with the house special seasoning, but they have daily specials (on their website). Pricey but portion sizes are reasonable. Consistent quality of food every time I have been there. Service is
hit or miss even during non-busy hours.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 3

Let me just start off my saying, I rarely leave reviews and if I do there is absolutely a good reason as to why I am. My family and I were recently here for my daughter’s birthday. There were 9 of us. The service was HORRIBLE!!! We weren’t greeted for an extended amount of time and multiple times throughout dinner we had to seek someone out. The food was okay, definitely not worth what was paid. Parties over 7 are charged an 18% gratuity automatically which I was okay with when I had made the reservation but once we received the worst service I was mind blown we had to tip such a large amount with no say. All in all, my daughter was happy because she loves seafood but nonetheless I wish the experience had been a much better one. There are other places in the Des Moines area with seafood boils and we will be going there before ever returning here.

Atmosphere: 1

Service: 1

Good food! Chaos on the walls but gives character.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5