The Claw Club: I went to try a new seafood boil restaurant where you’re meant to get dirty

With a new Yorkshire restaurant, The Claw Club, dedicated to seafood boils, our reporter Sophie Mei Lan went to try it out.

The thought of crawfish, mussels, lobster, crab, corn, and potatoes blended with spices - traditionally Cajun - doesn’t float my boat.

Seeing TikTok videos and Instagram reels of this colourful cuisine being poured at your table, as an experience in its own right, however, did take my fancy.

The Claw Club is the brainchild of Yorkshire chef Liam Duffy, who owns Iris Restaurant and Buffalo Bobs in Wakefield.

The Claw Club is located above his Iris Restaurant on the Bull Ring in the city centre. You access via the Iris Restaurant and are led upstairs.

It’s only been open three months, and demand is booming. I was surprised when booking our table that they weren’t phased by the fact that in our party we had a vegan, a vegetarian, as well as two meat and seafood eaters. Instead, they reassured us they could cater to us all.

The Claw Club evokes a high-end coastal venue ambiance, with the elegance of modern interiors featuring leather booths. While this club overlooks some bars and an alleyway, rather than the ocean, it still feels ‘special’ yet informal.

It's pretty compact, considering the size of the dishes being served. This adds to the atmosphere, however, making the whole place look like a carnival for food.

There are neighbourhood platters that include lobster with a range of other seafood, starting from £60.

There are smaller boils too with fewer ingredients, as well as a range of other dishes such as surf and turf, pork belly, chicken strips, and burgers.

For the vegetarians, there’s a Beyond Meat burger, sides, and to my surprise, the staff offered a vegan prawn boil.

I was thrilled to be able to join in the fun rather than just be a spectator.

We wanted to start small, being first-timers, so we ordered the shrimp and mussels boil for £22 between two for mains, and my daughter and I both had the vegetarian boil with plant-based ‘prawns.’ We each chose our butter flavouring, such as Cajun, lemon, garlic, Old Bay, or Nashville hot.

We also ordered crawfish croquettes and mozzarella sticks for starters, as well as garlic and parmesan fries.

Everything comes when it’s ready. You’re given a bib and gloves each and reassured that they will talk you through how to consume the boil.

The mozzarella sticks arrived, which were huge. The croquettes were giant balls beautifully displayed with grated parmesan on top, they were almost as large as scotch eggs

For £8 per starter, the portions were incredible.

We tried the now obligatory cheese pull with the mozzarella sticks, which were incredibly cheesy, oozing with mozzarella, and crispy on the outside. The meat eaters of our party tried the croquettes, and they said it was the best starter they’d ever had.

Meanwhile, we were tasting the starters, and the boils arrived. There was hardly any space left due to the size of each dish. The waitress demonstrated how we twist the plastic bags in front of ourselves, shake it, and then, holding the corners, tip the bag upside down into the bowl. You also get a bucket for your waste.

I had the vegetarian boil, which, with sides, would easily feed two people at £22. It was full of vegan ‘shrimp,’ corn on the cobs, and new potatoes. The flavours were popping in my mouth. I had chosen the hot butter or broth, which was nice and peppery. My daughter had a mini version for £6.99 with Cajun spice, which was incredible value for money. I’ve never really had shrimp, but the vegan ones were lovely, soft and juicy.

Trying to eat it with a toddler in a confined space proved messy but fun. It was top notch hearty food.

Our dinner guests devoured theirs, which was made up of king prawns and mussels with a Cajun spice. They said the prawns were the best they’d had, ‘very meaty’ and plenty of them.

They were on the fence about mussels as they’d never tried them before. They also loved the Parmesan fries side and said they would have had them and the crawfish alone as a feast in itself. The sides were £5.

There was a range of desserts on offer as well as a fitting cocktail and mocktail menu, but we were ‘pogged,’ full and very dirty already.

What an experience and so much more to the menu than we could have ever imagined. The flavours here match the vibrant colours and all are incredibly prepared fresh by two chefs, one is the owner Liam, in the kitchen serving up food for Iris restaurant downstairs and the boils upstairs.

With the range of food on offer, it’s a place everyone needs to dine in at least once, and I never thought I’d say it of a seafood restaurant, but I can’t wait to return. It’s the perfect conversation starter, blending communal eating with fine food and a fully Instagrammable experience. Warning: wear the bibs and gloves they give you because it does get messy, and while it's a great place for friends, comfortable couples to visit, you may not feel awkward on a first date here when you’re dripping butter down yourself..

If you’ve any specific dietary requirements, contact the restaurant in advance.