Hook Reel Cajun Seafood - Durham

Been a customer for a while. Discovered Hook and Reel during my wife's last pregnancy and we fell in love with the atmosphere and more importantly the food. We took friends and family to eat there and recommend them at every opportunity. That all being said last night's meal was a disaster. Spent $350+ dollars on a belated mother's day meal to get rubbery shrimp in the boils/bakes, catfish baskets that would have been outperformed by filet-o-fish from McDonald's (both in size and taste). The absolute tiniest crab clusters I have EVER seen come out of their kitchen and the oyster baskets were lacking in quantity of oysters and quality of cooking. Everything fried tasted as if it had been cooked in old oil from the oysters to the fish to the french fries. The only shining moment of the meal was the scallops. Sadly my family and I will no longer be recommending nor returning to hook and reel and will let those we know that the prices no longer reflect the value or quality that we once enjoyed from this establishment.

So we're down here for our son's hospital visit we have to do . We came for lunch and we walked in and the place was empty . We all ordered first we got our sweet teas and they tasted like the tea pitcher had not been clean in a long time . So we switched the drinks to soda for all 3 of us . We order, I got lemon peppered chicken wings were cooked super hard and had a weird smell to them so I didn't eat them my husband got the black muscles and they were not cooked correctly and super chewy. My son ordered chicken strips and they were hard and he had ketchup with them which was on the table he said mom tasted funny and it was spoiled with a vinger taste . We went to the bathroom and when we returned to the table I looked down and saw a tiny black and brown bug crawl across my food . I showed my husband and so we paid and left Not recommended at all . I didn't talk to the manager nor did I see one .

The ambiance was great for a small seafood joint! Didn't have the chance to try their boils, which looked amazing, but their other food was great!!!! Service was fair.

First time here for my husband and I. Nice atmosphere. Everyone that worked there spoke. The waitress, Nikki, was friendly and funny. Hubby and I enjoyed joking with her. We started off with soup. Husband ordered clam chowder. I had lobster bisque. Both were served hot and delicious. For entrees, I had the shrimp basket with crab meat fries. Husband, oyster basket with crab meat fries. Nikki suggested those type of fries. The food came out fast, was hot, and tasty. The crab meat accented the fries very nicely. We were happy with our choices. The bar looked fully stocked. Several TVs that showed different programs. Nice decor. We'll definitely be going back.

The manager was very nonchalant and did not care that I was out of over $100. My order was somehow sent here through ordering from chow now and this restaurant is over an hour away!! I’m sure someone is enjoying food I paid for for free. He said he was part owner. If this is how owners conduct business and treat customers then it’s sad. He has NO people skills. Even him pretending to be empathetic or caring would have made it better.