The Captain's Boil
The Captain's Boil
Foods from The Captain's Boil

Comments

2019 Jun 21
I'm not usually much of a seafood person but when its drenched in butter and spices, y'all can count me in. Captain's Boil has been our go-to spot as of late for some seafood craving fixes as they provide those aforementioned things for a reasonable price (for Ottawa standards, anyway).

From my understanding, the Elgin Street branch is the first franchise (?) in Ottawa and is smaller than the one on Hunt Club. Still, the restaurant carries the same pirate theme as its sister branch.

Not much to say about the food except you can never go wrong with butter and spices. We usually go for the "Captain's Boil" flavour with medium heat and it's delicious. Somehow the snow crab legs seemed more flavorful here compared to its sister branch but perhaps, it's just a different batch. Either way, we really enjoyed it.

Yes, the food comes in a bag but I feel like it helps keep the food warm and I really don't mind it much. Not sure it's super environmentally friendly but they say it's bio-degradable, etc. Not a huge concern for me; I'm just here for the food.

Service was a bit on the slow side but to be fair, it was one person serving a good 20+ people. He was doing his best - coming to check on us once in a while and getting what we needed quickly - and I appreciated it.

Elgin Street's currently a mess due to construction but if you don't mind a little bit of trekking, I would recommend trying this place out.

2018 Mar 27
I’ve tried it. The bagged food over cooked and the plastic gloves weirded me out. I have never not finished a plate of seafood before.

2018 Mar 26
Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

2018 Mar 26
I'm all over this (and then it's all over me!).

Messy, hand to face, seafood, that's actually tasty? Sign me up, dip me in, and let me go.

2018 Mar 25
I've walked past the Elgin location a few times and have seen the diners eating food out of a bag with plastic gloves on. It seems like the absolute worst possible idea and I don't understand why they are successful. I'll never eat there, regardless of how people say the food tastes.

2018 Mar 24
I attended a media event at the new Hunt Club location of The Captain's Boil earlier this week. It was a well orchestrated event during which we were able to taste many of the offerings. I especially loved the calamari, shrimp, lobster, snow crab, and clams. Dungeness and King crabs were not available for tasting that day but I'd imagine they're good too!

The way it works is you order the seafoods of your choice separately, each with a choice of sauce. They boil it for you and then place it in a bag with the sauce and shake it up. Donning a plastic bib and gloves, you roll down the sides of the bag and dig in. The table is covered with paper so you can just build up a pile of shells as you go and then stuff them back in the bag when it's empty. Also available are a number of side dishes to fill up the big eaters without breaking the bank.

I don't love the plastic bag presentation but you can ask for a plate and make it feel less like a picnic. This is definitely the place to go when you want to feast on pure seafood and I plan to return.