[photo courtesy of flickr user swhwartzray]

A Saturday night is probably not the best night to try a new restaurant but our party of three decided to give the new Croaker’s Spot in Manchester a try and boy was the joint hopping! We bellied up to the bar for our 30 minute wait and goggled at just how slammed the servers and bartenders were. Every staff member we came into contact with was extremely friendly and they really rallied to help each other but could scarcely keep up with the crowd. We watched glass after glass of home made lemonade and limeade being laboriously hand-squeezed which probably slowed down service considerably but I’d kill to have one of those on a hot day.

And then the glorious plates of food went by. Large slabs of corn bread that I knew would be rich and delicious. Servings of grits creamy enough to make you want to slap grandma. And, of course, the fried seafood! Despite the overwhelmed servers the food was coming out quickly.

We finally got a table and our very personable server, Marlon, stopped by to let us know he’d be right with us. We could tell he had a far crabbier table to deal with, but as promised he soon returned to take our order. As you might have seen coming, the glorious plates of food arrived long before silver ware or beverages. The kind gentleman who helped bring our food scored one of our beverages but it did take a reminder to our server to get the rest of  our drinks. And here, to prove how gracious the service was, he gave us our mixed drinks gratis. That is the classy way to handle an unmanageable situation.

My two companions had the fried shrimp platters that came with the aforementioned grits and cornbread plus cabbage so buttery and peppery you’ll forget you’re eating one of your least-liked veggies. I have nothing against cabbage but cooked cabbage makes me think of sauerkraut and that is NOT a positive. The cabbage at Croaker’s Spot is seriously divine. The shrimp were crisp on the outside and moist and tasty on the inside.

There are a lot dishes to choose from, po-boys and pasta dishes share space with the largest seafood platters you’ve ever laid eyes on. I was trying to eat a smaller meal so went with the crabcake sandwich. The crabcake was full of nice lump crab but wasn’t sufficiently seasoned although it came perfectly cooked on a lovely roll with lettuce, tomato and mayo. The fries were fresh cut and nicely seasoned and perfectly crisp.

I’m willing to bet with a little more experience in this location and the service issues will be worked out. Perhaps they’d been short a server. Perhaps all the recent publicity had upped the attendance. Regardless, if you have a hankering for fantastic seafood served with the most wonderful southern sides you’ve ever had. In your LIFE! Then make your way to either of the croaker spot locations.