REVIEW : Seafood Boils that are lip smackingly good

If you have ever scrolled TikTok for food inspiration, you will have undoubtedly come across the infamous ‘seafood boil’. A combination of seafood, corn and potatoes, the seafood boil is served with no cutlery required and eaten with zero decorum and the use of all ten fingers. With its roots dating back to the 1700’s in the Gulf coastal regions of North America such as New England and North and South Carolina, it’s taken some time for this food trend to travel across the ocean to our fair shores. It has taken even longer for the seafood boil to find its way to Birmingham, but finally, we have our very own seafood boil restaurant in the Arcadian, Seafood City.

The brainchild of Vietnamese Street Kitchen owner, Oliver Ngo, the restaurant opened in July to bring something different to Birmingham diners and give us an opportunity to “get down and dirty”. If you’re wondering what the correlation between Vietnam and New Orleans is, it is that the Vietnamese community have adopted the seafood boil and put their own spin on it.

The restaurant’s launch event was attended by bloggers and media personalities, eager to get their hands dirty.

A welcome reception was the perfect time to taste the tipples on offer, with guests invited to try out cocktails such as the Lychee Cooler, Raspberry Ice and Apricot Cooler. These went down a storm, with diners whetting their appetites on cocktails and also mocktails such as Sweet Sunset and The Cool Watermelon.

Inside, the space is surprisingly spacious, with furniture in bright hues of red and blue offset by retro gaming inspired artwork on the walls and a tongue in cheek neon sign proclaiming ‘Don’t be shellfish”. 

To start, we were served chicken wings, which as a gluten free diner I sadly couldn’t try but I’m assured they were crispy and meaty. However, the main attraction was well worth the wait.

Having already donned our bibs and gloves, we were served a variation on “Don’t be shellfish”, which includes lobster tail, 10 King prawns, 10 fresh mussels, red roast potatoes, 2 corn on the cob and 2 pieces of garlic bread, serves 1-2 and costs £42.90. This was my first seafood boil, and it did not disappoint. The flavours in this sauce were unlike anything I have tried before; garlic, onion and a mix of seasonings that I just could not get enough of made me want to scoop the sauce up and drink it! For those of you with more class than this, you are handily provided with garlic bread to mop up the sauce (not gluten free I’m afraid). 

For guests attending on an regular service, you will be given a choice of boiled, grilled or fried fish with platters available including different varieties of shellfish and seafood (squid or no squid?) and a choice of three sauces: garlic butter, cajun or hot and spicy. There are plenty of extras to be added such as boiled eggs, lobster tail or fried fish, as well as sides such as fries, mac and cheese or noodles. Not into seafood at all? There are Chicken Tenders and Chicken Burgers on the menu too as well as Lobster Rolls and a Crab and Prawn Burger. 

Our boil was utterly delicious; squid rings, a boiled egg, lobster tail and snow crab. This meant that we were able to truly try out a wide variety of items available. Yes, it was messy. No, I don’t recommend coming here on a first date. But was it worth it? Yes! The flavours were incredible; rich and deep and delicious. The seafood itself was fresh and filling, with the ability to pick according to your appetite and add as much as you like whether that’s sides or extras to your main. 

For anyone thinking about coming, I urge you to try this at least once. Seafood might not be to everyone’s taste, but this is seafood unlike anything you’ve seen before. 

By Alev Dervish [@glutenfree foodie]