The salmon special with a blue crab sauce.
Lauren Drewes Daniels
You can’t miss the Crab Pot in West Dallas along Fort Worth Avenue. The building looks sort of like a blue crab: wide, low to the ground and sprawling. The spot — at the “y” of two roads — used to be a law office, then a bail bonds shop and a thrift store before Raul Reyes remodeled it into The Crab Pot Boil House and Oyster Bar (its full government name) in 2023.
Reyes co-owned, along with his then-wife, Olga, the much-lauded Mesa in Oak Cliff. Beyoncé dined there after her 2013 The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in Dallas. The Veracruz-style spot along Jefferson Boulevard was perhaps ahead of its time — before other trendy high-end dining spots hit the area. It closed in 2019.
Reyes has had a couple of other restaurants in Dallas since then, including Ceviche on Davis Street. More recently, he’s been holding it down at The Crab Pot, where seafood boils are the show, but there’s so much more to it.
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We walked in on a Sunday when a DJ was playing. It was loud and energetic, but not aggressively so. We hunkered down at a table around the corner and occasionally bounced to the music a little bit.
While the dining room and bar had a party vibe, our dishes were something else entirely. I ordered off the specials, which has about 4 dishes. About 10 minutes later, a plate that looked like it came out of a fine-dining kitchen was set down in front of me.
A tenderly cooked salmon (slightly crisp on the outside, soft inside) sat over sautéed green beans. A blue crab salsa was fiery, sweet and rich, covering the entire filet and most of the plate. Barely-fried tortilla strips sat like a crown atop the fish with a small bunch of microgreens on top. This was one of the best fish dishes I’ve had in Dallas in a couple of years.
And it was just $24. That is stunning. I paid $20 for a Tito’s espresso martini in Uptown last week (they heard about it).
A guiso del chef, red snapper prepared Veracruz-style and a spicy shrimp chipotle are also on the specialties menu.
Fish tacos at The Crab Pot.
My date (repeatedly) called a pair of fish tacos the “best fish tacos I’ve ever had.” A slight char on delicate white fish is topped with a bit of slaw, sauce and avocado. Both dishes (and charred oyster) come with a nice mixed green salad.
Mostly, large bags of seafood boils came out of the kitchen. Those looked amazing, messy and even a little intimidating if you haven’t worked through one in a while. But I’m looking forward to going back and trying them. I’m actually excited about working through the whole menu.
Reyes told me on the phone he’s working on a new upscale concept nearby called Casa Lola. He wants to get back to those fine-dining roots. When he does, we’re here for it.
The Crab Pot, 601 Fort Worth Ave., Monday – Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.