Seau de Crabe is a family seafood feast

First we had the arrival of Chez Lionel in Kanata and now with both Seau de Crabe and Mandy’s launching in the same week, Quebec-based businesses are finding a welcome home in Ottawa.

Not only are they bringing a level of quality seldom seen from a chain, but with Seau de Crabe, they’re also bringing value. 

Take for example this classic salad of greens, tomatoes, cucumber and red cabbage. It’s a simple enough arrangement but they certainly have a different supplier from other chains because the salad leaves tasted fresh and distinct. The other thing? This salad, more than sufficient for two, was only $5.99. 

The dressing was their housemade tartar sauce, which worked admirably on the salad and which I had hoped they bottled. It really is that good.

That same sauce came as a dipping side for the fried calamari. It was a perfectly mixed foil for this fried dish. Appropriately salty and with a springy tang.

I’ve had both some of the best and worst fried calamari of my life in Ottawa. The worst being those rubbery rings from the deep freeze that are then saturated with bitter oil from the fryer. The best, of course, are those that have been freshly prepared to order.

Too many restaurants rely on the food service delivered in a frozen variant, and these should be rejected outright. They’re seldom edible and they’re always overpriced.

So how is it that Seau de Crabe can present me with one of the most perfectly executed deep fried calamari I’ve had? Then consider that they only charge $14 for this medium portion, which is so much less than your (very) average pub.

These wide cut rings were sweet and tender to the point of creaminess and days later I can attest that they are craveable. 

The tartar sauce was terrific, but so was the sweet(ish) creamy Cajun dipping sauce. This contained actual pieces of cooked red pepper, a flavour which stood out with absolute clarity.

This is a place for friends and family dining. It’s informal and if you don’t mind wearing a lobster bib, it’s a bit of fun. You’ll also eat with your plastic-gloved hands.

The Seau de Crabe mix for $79.99 is a shellfish feast that may well feed three. It involves one lobster tail, eight large mussels, 16 shrimp and one half pound of snow crab. You’ll also have your choice of two sides from potatoes, rice and corn. 

The entire jumble is brought to your table in a steam-filled, billowing bag and then dumped onto a large paella pan. Let the carnage begin.

You can choose from three different sauces in which your feast is tossed and I went with their signature. With its robust garlic and butter profile this was the right choice for seafood.

This brand has clearly worked out the science behind simultaneously cooking a variety of shellfish of varying sizes. All of it was sweet with tenderness and moisture intact. Nothing was overdone. 

I enjoyed the corn and the potatoes were firmly cooked but came in their skins. It’s not my thing unless the potatoes are ensured to be organic. 

Tools, such as shell crackers and picks to get at the meat, are provided but they’ll be of little help when confronted with a crawfish. 

Apart from the tails, there’s little eating to be had. I made a valiant attempt to get some of the claw and leg meat but in the end it was a fool's errand. 

With leftovers from my first seafood boil, I made an absolutely gorgeous pasta dish with that garlic butter sauce being all that was required.

With the crawfish shell leftovers I managed to extract a very nice stock to later be used in a risotto. Nothing wasted.

So not only is this seriously fresh seafood deliciously executed but if you’re in the mood for a family outing, Seau de Crabe is a very good option. Certainly the kids, but also the kid in you will enjoy the messy eating.