Crawfish Boil at Plaquemine Lock
Louisiana’s great communal feast, served in the heart of Islington.
At Plaquemine Lock, we occasionally serve wild British crawfish, boiled in our signature Cajun seasoning and tipped onto the table with shrimp, andouille sausage, corn and potatoes. Roll up your sleeves and get stuck in.
Our crawfish boil is now available exclusively as an occasional blackboard special, subject to availability. It is no longer a weekly event and cannot be booked in advance online.
Check the blackboard when you visit to see what’s cooking.
What’s a seafood boil, then?
A seafood boil is the great communal feast of the Louisiana South. Crawfish, shrimp, andouille sausage, corn and potatoes, all boiled in a pot bright orange with Cajun and Creole seasoning, then tipped straight onto the table in front of you. No plates, no cutlery to fuss with, just you, your hands, and a mound of steaming food.
You roll your sleeves up, you get your hands dirty, and you eat until you cannot.
If needs be, we can teach you how to.
The details
Our Louisiana-style crawfish boil is available as an occasional blackboard special, subject to availability. Ask our team what’s cooking when you visit.
There’s no need to book a special event. Simply join us for lunch or dinner and check the blackboard for the day’s specials.
Our regular à la carte menu is also available, alongside our full selection of cocktails, beers and wines.
Born in the Bayou, Boiled in London
Before they hit a pot in Islington, crawfish culture was born in the bayous of Louisiana. Tangled, steaming wetlands where ancient oaks drip with Spanish moss and the water barely moves. In the South, a crawfish boil isn’t just dinner. It’s how people come together.
Across Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, crawfish season runs from Winter into early Summer. Families and friends gather around newspaper-covered tables, elbows deep in red shells, corn, spice, and conversation. These boils are part ritual, part street party, part primal feast.
It’s a tradition that fuses French, African, and Indigenous roots. A uniquely Southern thing. Crawfish boils mark birthdays, graduations, Mardi Gras hangovers, or just plain old Saturdays. Everyone’s welcome, as long as you know how to peel (see a guide below).
It’s not just a crawfish boil, London makes it a party, and Islington makes it feel like home.
At Plaquemine Lock, we bring that tradition to Islington. No cutlery (unless you ask). No polite portions. Just spice, steam, music, mess, and a pile of fresh British crawfish straight from the boil. If you’re looking for a real crawfish boil in London, you’ve found it.
Whether you’ve been to New Orleans or not, you’ll recognise the feeling. The joy of too much, of elbows on the table, juice on your chin, and the sound of jazz in the air. It’s not just a dish. It’s a mood.
Meet Carl, Our Crawfish Man
We don’t deal with middlemen. We deal with Carl.
Carl’s a licensed wild crayfish trapper working on one of the UK’s most protected waterways: the River Wey, a chalk stream that winds through the Hampshire countryside. These rare, spring-fed rivers are some of the cleanest in the world – crystal-clear, nutrient-rich, and officially recognised by Natural England as habitats of special ecological interest.
But they’ve also been overrun by invasive American signal crayfish, a species introduced in the 1970s that’s outcompeted native wildlife and damaged fragile riverbeds. That’s where Carl comes in. He’s been trapping signal crayfish longer than some of our chefs have been alive – and he does it the right way. By hand. With a license. In line with conservation laws. His work actually helps protect our waterways, restoring balance to an ecosystem under pressure.
The crawfish he delivers aren’t farmed. They’re wild. They live in fast-flowing currents, feed on natural plants and bugs, and grow slower, tougher, tastier. Real river crayfish, with big claws and clean muscle. They get boiled in our secret Cajun spice mix straight of the river in Hampshire and then come direct to our kitchen door – no middlemen, just one very well-timed van.
We build our whole crawfish season around Carl’s catch. Every batch is different. Rain changes things. So does sunlight, temperature, even local river politics. When you eat a boil at Plaquemine Lock, you’re not just getting a dish – you’re tasting a moment in time. A living, local, wild-caught story.
See Carl’s website for King’s Crayfish here.
How to Eat Crawfish
9 Easy Steps to Master the Boil – Tail, Claws, and All
1. Remove the claws
A gentle twist should do it. Keep them – the big ones are worth the work.
2. Use claw crackers
Or your teeth, if you’re feeling brave. You’re amongst friends (we hope).
3. Pull out claw meat
Satisfyingly sweet. If it slides out whole, you’re officially doing it right.
4. Twist the tail
Grip the body and the tail, then twist with confidence. It’ll pop off clean.
5. Be careful of juices!
That’s hot Cajun spices and much else besides in there. Aim away from your neighbour’s shirt.
6. Peel the first segment
Start from the open end and work your way up. It’s like unwrapping a very spicy sweet.
7. Squeeze the tail
Pinch at the bottom and the meat will push forward – ready to grab.
8. Pull out the meat
One smooth motion. If it resists, blame the moon phase, not the chef.
9. Optional: suck the head
Not for the faint-hearted, but full of rich, buttery flavour. The true mark of a seasoned pro.
