Ragin’ Shrimp

I have been coming here for 20 years (well not here for that long as they use to be a block north). But I have been dining with Ragin Shrimp for a long time.
I can honestly say this has consistently been in my top three restaurants for decades.
The intimate restaurant is perfect for socializing with friends and family and the friendly servers always make sure you are well taken care of. The food is consistently on point and you can always guarantee a fantastic meal.
I have had several special occasions, parties and celebrated countless birthdays here. And I am looking forward to many more birthday dinner celebrated here.
My favorite for years has been the curry shrimp over rice. I will sometimes venture off and try a special rice or chicken or salmon but always come back to my old standard.
If you have not tried the spicy ranch on your salad you are missing out. Another favorite we have recently discovered are the hush puppies.
The only thing I can say that may not be a positive is that because the sauces are made fresh to order each and every time sometimes the spicy level of the dish can be a bit off. When you order you have option to order your sauce mild, medium, hot or extra hot. And for years I ordered my meal hot or extra hot and I got burned a few times. (Pun intended). I think the chef that day must have in an angry mood. But not I learned to order my meal medium and ask for the shakers on the side and I can make my dish the perfect spice level each time. I love it.
The owner is a delight to interact with and takes pride in his restaurant and his staff all carry that same pride in their job. The community artwork on the walls adds to atmosphere and are great conversation pieces each time you come in.
If you have not tried Ragin Shrimp I suggest you get down this gem of a restaurant. Thanks for being my go to place for years.
One piece of advise… Because of the endless combinations of sauces, meats, sides and temps it can be overwhelming. Many times it takes a second trip to figure out the combination that suites you. Try the sauce sampler with three different sauces, you can see what you like and don’t before you order a whole plate of it.

Decided to go to Raggin Shrimp for lunch and didn’t check-​out Unilocal reviews first… big mistake! I will say the owner was extremely nice and helpful. Wait staff were not very attentive. For lunch time I shouldn’t have to wait 45 minutes for food. Plus when my food came it was cold. Had to ask 3 times for bread and a refill.
The chicken with peanut sauce over noodles had some flavor. The shrimp with Cajun sauce over rice would have been good if it wasn’t ice cold. Will definitely try somewhere else in the future.

So upset with the service. Stood up at the front for 5 minutes without being acknowledged whatsoever. Two tables in the restaurant, therefore they were not busy. Apparently Tuesday night is not the night for hospitality. I will NOT return.

I love this place! My husband and I have been going here for several years. I understand people can have bad experiences, but, I can only imagine it’s a process serving seafood in the desert. During our most recent trips the food and flavors seem to be executed very well, and the wait staff is always friendly and pleasant.

Waited 2 hours for BLAND SEAFOOD the only good thing was the bread… BARELY and the salad had barely any dressing. staf

We have been here several times, hit and miss on the flavors. I prefer the Jamaican sauce, which used to be outstanding, but the last few times it was rather bland. This time I tried the jambalaya, a bowl of it with chicken and sausage. The flavor was OK, not outstanding, but not unpleasant. The rice was crunchy here and there which was a bit annoying, but not so bad it had to be sent back. My husband had shrimp and angel hair pasta with the Cajun sauce. He was pleased.
The issue was, a gentleman arrived with a nicely groomed, well behaved husky who was wearing a clearly marked ‘Service Dog’ vest. When the patron wanted to sit inside the restaurant the server told him he had to sit on the patio with his dog. When the patron attempted to explain the dog was a service dog, the server insisted it was due to health code that he and the dog sit outside.
So…if you want to give this joint a try, I would, but if you have a service animal… be prepared. Hopefully management will train the staff on this.

The new updates look awesome. Have been here a dozen times and it has always been pretty consistent. I have never been to New Orleans but I can say that the seafood is fresh and many of the dishes pack a real punch of heat if you order it hot. The service is hit or miss, always friendly but sometimes slowwwwww.

Went for an appetizer and beer. Ordered the shrimp cocktail (5 shrimp) and a half order of coconut shrimp. I’m used to Mexican shrimp cocktail (avocado, shrimp, celery, etc.) So I didn’t like this one. It’s 5 shrimp around a bowl of cocktail sauce (the sauce was good) and the plate had tomato and cucumber around it with some ritz crackers. Not my favorite presentation. The coconut shrimp though was really good! I only had a couple because I was drinking a beer and sweet is not something I like to have with my beer, but I really liked them. Sat on the covered patio, very nice. Waiter was really nice, and honest about his likes and dislikes in regards to the menu.

I don’t recommend, eat anywhere else but here. Fake cajun. If you’ve been to NOLA, you’ll prefer Popeyes… Much closer to the mark. the seasoning and flavor is all off, way over priced, and the staff is incompetent. How is this place even open? It was dead on a Friday at 1245. This was by far the worst meal ever consumed in ABQ.

Great food and a cool location. I always get the crawfish with the Cajun sauce and others members of my family tend to get the Jamaican with shrimp. Never disappointed. We love the fact that you can choose the spice level too. Service can be a little slow sometimes but the food is worth the wait. Definitely recommend.

I’m not quite sure if there’s a different chef, but these past two visits, my Jamaican sauce was lacking that great flavor I am used to. The heat was still there, but sauce was blander than bland. My friend ordered the Cajun sauce and said the same thing. Well I really hope they get their act together soon! I think I’m going to take a break from this place for a while.

My husband and I had dinner with friends on a busy Friday evening. We got there somewhat early so didn’t have a problem getting a table. After a while more and more people were coming in until there was a line. And I understand why. I hadn’t eaten at Ragin Shrimp for quite a while. Their food, while good, wasn’t great and didn’t entice me to return. However all that has changed. The food was excellent, well-​prepared and delicious. One friend had gator and loved it. My husband had catfish and it was excellent. I had the seafood delight with shrimp, clams and mussels on the shell with the creamy green chile sauce over angel hair pasta. It was spicy and wonderful, the shrimp and mussels were perfectly cooked, not overcooked like often happens. The clams must have been tiny because I had a hard time identifying them in the pasta and sauce. But it was all delicious and i’m glad I only got the ½ portion because if I had gotten the full size I’m sure I would have eaten it all. our friends got the cocnut shrimp appetizer and we got the shrimp cocktail appetizer and in both cases, again, the shrimp was cooked just right and not overdone. Our waiter was attentive and very friendly without being obtrusive. So — things have definitely changed here and we will definitely be back.

This place wasn’t for me. They salad was past the point of saturation, alligator was overcooked, and the rice was drenched in sauce. I wouldn’t recommend.

The Cajun pasta and shrimp I ordered was so bland and tasteless. I’ve had Cajun food and seafood before but never was the word flavorless used. It was just like eating plain cooked pasta. I was not impressed with the meal nor the fried gators. It tasted like chicken strips with a different sauce.
A co worker told me that I must have been there on their off day. Off meaning the main chef was off and that night was covered by his substitute. By no mean should substitute equal subpar and not serve good food. I didn’t enjoy the food and can’t recommend this place.

I was looking forward to trying out this place since it was highly recommended by a friend who tried it in Louisiana. Although courteous, service was slow on a slow night. The food was pricey for the portions and the Cajun sauce was WAY too uncomfortably spicy to enjoy. The place was clean and had great jazz but that won’t bring me back. Parking was also very limited. I was disappointed.

This was my first time visiting. I love Cajun food and seafood, and moving to the desert has left me craving a good place to go. This is not it. I was really looking forward to the gator. It was very tough to chew and the batter was super dry. The batter also overpowered any flavor the alligator may have had.
The salad with the roasted almond vinaigrette was well dressed and tasty.
The service was excellent. The staff was attentive and friendly.
The Po’Boy didn’t even live up to its name. It may as well be called a dry panini — barely any meat at all on a very thin carving of French bread.
The étouffée was flavorful, but the roux was very loose and liquidity. If it weren’t for the undercooked rice, it probably wouldn’t have been able to stay on the fork long enough to make it to my mouth.
All in all, the experience was less than Cajun. It is a very boring attempt at high end variations of classic Cajun food. Perhaps the chef and owner could use a trip to the bayou for some inspiration.

Super cool atmosphere, and excellent food. Small dining area but New Orleans theme throughout. Fried alligator appetizer was delicious but very small, and dinner portions were good size but lacking in seafood amount. Creamy green chile sauce was delicious!

I have been going to Ragin Shrimp for over a decade. Yes, there are some ups and downs. The «mild sauce» may be spicy as hell one day and actually mild the next. The rice may be a bit over done on rare occasion. But seriously, after a decade it is still one of my favorite restaurants. It is UNIQUE. I’ve been addicted to the Cajun, Jamaican, and the peanut sauces at one point or another. So. Freaking. Good! I’ve since moved to Arizona and ever few months I visit Abq and it is on my Must-​Go-​To list.
Please go. Just order «the chicken and rice, Jamaican medium, half portion, with house dressing on the salad». Yum!

We used to go when you were at the old place. Great staff, great food, great atmosphere. I went through more punch cards than I could count. I tried not to stuff myself too much because I lusted after your bourbon bread pudding… not so much now.
I saw you in the kitchen more often than not at the old place. Huge smile on your face. All those amazing smells coming out of that closet of a kitchen. Now, you walk around with a scared look on your face pretending to ignore all the customers complaining. You weren’t even open for lunch on Christmas Eve… we were all working, most of us leaving at noon, and wanted lunch at Ragin’ Shrimp.
I don’t want to sound like Gordon Ramsey but all is not lost. You can get back that spirit of the old place. The flavor, the spices, how relaxed we felt on that small patio with a cold Abita waiting for the appetizers to come out. But don’t delay… take the reviews on here seriously.

My husband and I decided to try this place for the first time last night. We ordered the «Pan Fried Gator» app. The «full» order was ten bucks and we got about 6 TINY little pieces which were deep fried and all you could taste was breading.
For dinner I had ordered the pasta with Cajun sauce, shrimp and chicken. I had asked for it very spicy. YUCK! This was the most tasteless dish I have ever gotten in my life. Not only was there no heat, there was NO taste, not even salt. I don’t even think they salted the pasta water, much less anything else. My husbands Jamaican sauce was not much better.
What made it worse was the non-​reactive staff. They were friendly enough but didn’t seem to care. I had taken one bite of my dish and pushed it off to the side. When the waitress came back to see how everything was, she didn’t even look at the plates or make eye contact. Her attention seemed to be somewhere else. She asked «hows the food guys» in the standard robotic cheerleader voice. My husband said nothing and I shrugged my shoulders, pushed my plate further and said «eh». She replied, once again in cheerleader tone, «Great, Ill check on you in a bit». She didn’t even acknowledge anything. Then the buss person came by and noticed my full plate and asked if I wanted a box. I said «Don’t bother, I don’t think I could even fix this at home». He said «OK then» and left.
So, have servers been conditioned that they should only respond to a problem if someone is pitching a fit and demanding something free? Anyway, I have to agree with one of the previous posts and say I wish I could go lower than one star.