Crafty Crab, a restaurant specializing in New Orleans style low country seafood boils, is on its way to the Mayfair Collection in Wauwatosa.
The restaurant, which is slated to open sometime in May, will occupy the 6200 square foot space at 11340 W. Burleigh St., which formerly housed AJ Bombers and Smoke Shack.
The Wauwatosa restaurant will be the first Wisconsin location for the Florida-based seafood restaurant, which boasts nearly 50 franchised locations, largely in Florida and along the East Coast.
According to Crafty Crab Operating Partner Hong Lin, the new full-service restaurant will feature two bars, plentiful seating and an enclosed outdoor patio. The Milwaukee location will also feature seafood-themed decor to match its menu of fresh seafood-based dishes.
On the menu, guests will find a variety of options from fried seafood and wings, raw or steamed oysters, gumbo and a variety of sides (think fries, hushpuppies, onion rings, potatoes and corn on the cob). They will also find the restaurant’s most popular offering – seafood boils featuring fresh seafood enhanced by the restaurant's signature (secret recipe) seasonings.
Customers can customize their boils with myriad seafood options (king and snow crab, lobster tails, shrimp, crawfish, clams and mussels); a choice of seasonings (Crafty Cajun, buttery garlic, lemon pepper or “The Boom,” a combination of all three), and a choice of heat level ranging from mild to fire. View the full menu online.
Lin says that, once the restaurant is open, Crafty Crab will offer both lunch and dinner service daily between noon and 10 p.m.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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