Cajun Bowl San Mateo

I was here yesterday and did the buffet for $39 each. We liked all the food that we ordered. Service was great. The garlic noodles and cajun noodles were really good. I will come back. The restaurant size is good too. Bathroom is clean.

We went here for the first time excited to give it a try.It was a busy Friday night with over 30 customers and only 1 server.We were very patient but the service was horrible, we had the all you can eat for 8 adults and we had to asked for everything from water, utensils, napkins, water, etc.I would say they need more help/server.I would not recommend.

Saw Cajun Bowl all over my Instagram feed and was super excited to try it. Unfortunately, the experience didn't live up to the hype.When we arrived, the restaurant was nearly empty, yet we still waited 20 minutes to be seated. After finally getting a table, it took another 18 minutes just to place our order. The service was far from great--slow and inattentive.As for the food, it was mediocre at best. The fried items were lukewarm, the mac and cheese was overly salty, so was the fries. For the price, I expected way better quality and flavor. Definitely not worth it. Wouldn't go back.

This isnt my first time coming here. I came here since they first opened, NOW they serve ALL YOU CAN EAT ! Super good ! Great service. We always get great service when we come. No matter the time or day. All staff is nice.Staff was so nice and attentive, made sure we had refills and kept asking if we needed anything else . Food was piping hot and everything tasted fresh. Every round was made quickly! We waited about 15-20 mins for the next batch to be brought out. All side dishes were hot and crispy as well. I always order the ultimate sauce with medium spice. Definitely will be coming back often .18% tip added automatically to all you can eatFee charged for wasted food. No take outs for AYCE

On a Thursday night was very challenging finding parking after so many arounds and around finally find one. They have a private parking but very small for the capacity of the restaurant. But the good thing was the waiting to be seated it wasn't that long but at the table it was more than 15 minutes waiting before someone came to take the order. Food it was good we order one combo and it was fine for 3 people. Also we ordered a pasta and that was very tasty. We also order some Mango soyu and strawberry soyu and it wasn't the best. My only complaint it's that they only provided you with 1 paper napkins per person and that's not really accurate with the type of food that is kinda very messy to eat. ( even with the glove they provide) We been trying to called the attention to the workers to see if they can give us more. And they just keep saying one moment please and nobody came. Other than that probably I can return another time.

Visited on a Tuesday, and the place was empty, which was great! We still made a reservation just to be safe.We were seated quickly, and the servers were very friendly. They reminded us about the 18% gratuity and that they are strict with leftovers.The food was okay, (my favorite was the snow crab and the mac and cheese) but I had an issue with the sauce. It was obvious they used a slurry to thicken it, which wasn't great. I ordered the spiciest level, but it had no kick at all.Loved the place, loved the food, loved the ambiance--but please, please, please fix the sauce! It defeats the whole Cajun experience.

I really wanted to like this place but I think there are better places out there. It's mediocre at best. Service was great and the establishment was very clean. However, I wish the food tasted a bit better. Sauce was too thick for my liking and lacked spices. You can tell that they used less expensive corn and crab which was quite disappointing. Parking is super convenient though since they have their own lot so that is a plus. Hope they start utilizing better ingredients in their boils!!

After some thoughtful consideration, I'd be lying if I said Cajun Bowl was okay. I have been waiting for a seafood boil to come in the area, since the next closest one is basically their location in San Bruno. I don't count Supreme Crab anymore because it's just a Chinese buffet now, and I don't count Lobster Chef because the price makes my wallet disappear. RIP C Food Crush!First of all, they advertised the launch of an AYCE menu ($39.99/pp with automatic 18% gratuity) at the turn of the new year. Great, I love stuffing myself with shrimp and Cajun! It's currently offered Monday to Friday between 11-4pm. What they did not state is that you can LITERALLY only order all you can eat PRECISELY between 11-4pm! If you get seated close to 4, they tell you that you can't do it - we were about to leave until they said they can do it only if we order everything we will eat in one go, and it needs to be done before the clock strikes 4pm. We came in 15 minutes before 4pm by the way, AND there was only one other table seated. I guess that's a fair compromise, but it was certainly one of the strangest things I've ever been told when eating out. They said "their all you can eat cooks go away at 4pm" - HUH?! They're open during this time for regular dining, which is all the same food. In fact, the all you can eat menu is more limited with basic items, so why not just give me all the food that I can eat, if I pay the all you can eat price? Their side items were literally Sysco reheated food anyways, so it's not that hard. You also have to pay an extra $3 EACH for the commoner sides like potato, corn, etc. which is hilarious to make you pay on an all you can eat menu. Crab is also an additional charge, but that one is understandable. The actual menu shown in-store was different than their initial post on social media. Dang, prices raised and offerings were reduced before the AYCE was even available...I'll organize this AYCE review into the good and bad, since my thoughts would otherwise be too scattered.Good* They have their own parking lot, which makes for the best quality of life when driving and dining out in downtown San Mateo.* Seafood was pleasantly fresh. Shrimp was actually jumbo and tasted very fresh (head on); head off shrimp tasted like Waterfront Bistro EZ peel shrimp. I don't order crawfish much but this was one of the best I've had due to freshness, size, and ease of peeling.* Fries (which you can request regular or Cajun) were really good - piping hot, perfectly crunchy, and well seasoned.* Mac & cheese was surprisingly delicious because of its creamy Cajun flavor, but you shouldn't let it get cold or the cheese coagulates.* Portions were very economical and tame - each "order" of something was basically a small single serving size.* Bib is nice because you just slide it on instead of tying it, and gloves are provided.* Spacious and updated interior with private party room and outside patio space.* Daily happy hour menu.Bad* The fact that if you pay for all you can eat, you can't eat anymore once the clock strikes 4 unless you pay for their regular menu which features - surprise - the exact same food. This makes ZERO sense and is just a consequence of money-mongering.* Random appetizers and sides were Sysco quality reheated food. No other comment on the fried stuff. The garlic noodles were bland slippery spaghetti noodles. The Cajun fried rice tasted like microwave Chinese shrimp fried rice with green peppers.* The sauce, which is very important, was disappointing. We got the super ultimate sauce (Cajun, garlic butter & lemon pepper) on medium spicy level. It tasted like some thick gravy. I like my seafood boil sauce to be like sauce, not thick gravy. The spice wasn't there at all. I also didn't get any Cajun essence other than garlic. If I were to imagine how they made this, I think I'd get the exact same experience by combining Heinz turkey gravy, chopped garlic, and Old Bay seasoning.* We had to order everything in the same sauce.* The waitresses stared at us while we were eating and gave us attitude when we asked for the bill. I guess the auto gratuity means they can do whatever they want.Logistically, we had 4 orders of shrimp (2 head off, 2 head on), and 1 order of everything else which equated to 27 middleneck clams, 23 black mussels, and 7 crawfish. They said each order was about half a pound. I didn't count the shrimp but it made up less than half of our bowl despite being 4 orders of shrimp vs 3 orders of other things, though it was a suitable amount to make us full.We actually enjoy regularly getting seafood boils, but I'd go to any other place due to the issues described above. It was kind of a yeesh. This would be a one star if not for the fact that their seafood did taste fresh. I rather go to Supreme Crab, where they have $20 AYCE weekday lunch that has more selection for the same quality food, and dinner/holiday prices cheaper than here which includes crab for free.

The food was great, it had good portions on the all you can eat. Their fried calamari was very good. Highly recommend to try the lemon pepper shrimps. Overall very clean and friendly staff.

This is in response to the owner's reply.Not only did he address people by random names or maybe intentionally address them as "Karen"...AGAIN, there is no accountability for their lack of at all. We can see why your business is the way it is and why your staffs are the way they are. THANK YOU for taking the time to prove my point and showing any potential customers the type of service you offer.