The Bayou Cafe

Goodness gracious. Great service, and a fun atmosphere.
Started with the Crab Boudin Balls, which were fabulous, followed by Shrimp and Grits. The entrée comes with a small salad and a very generous portion of spicy seasoned grits topped with 8 grilled shrimp and a sprinkle of cheese. I worried a bit about seasoning due to a few reviews, but nothing was needed at all!
When traveling through again, I will definitely look it up.

Was coming through — out of towners and decided to try it based on the reviews… First of all it is a dive kinda place — which usually has the best food… And this did! Had the grilled Shrimp tacos and they were as good as described … My Honey had the fish, shrimp and crab cake platter… But they were out of crab cakes so her got extra shrimp … The fish was cooked too long so it was extra cunchy and was not good … But the fried shrimp was very good.

I’m not a seafood fan, but my boyfriend is so I will go to places like this to appease him. We have eaten here twice and both have been disappointed. First, they are way overpriced. It was more than $ 20 with two fried meals and two drinks. Both times I have ordered the chicken tender sandwich and both times I was completely turned off. I can’t remember what my boyfriend had the first time since it was more than a year ago, but he didn’t like it. We gave it another shot a few weeks ago and he had the fried fish and it was mostly breading with little fish nor flavor. The people who work there are very friendly, which is why I gave them another shot and two stars. However, we won’t be back.

Wow this was bad. Last time I ate here it was like they dumped a whole bowl of salt in my gumbo. You could seriously see the salt. We ordered to go tonight to give it another try and It was BAD! First off, they overcharged us significantly which we didn’t notice until we were back home because she didn’t give us a receipt. Then both of our grilled fish pontchartrains had one tiny sliver of fish in the corner (it was supposed to have 3), and the rest of the plate was plain rice and veggies. Plus, there was supposed to be crab meat on top when in fact there was not even a trace on it either. Bad. Won’t be giving it a third try for sure.

Man Bayou Café food is simply amazing. 4 meat gumbo is so good. I’ve never had gumbo so good from a restaurant. I also recommend the Mardi Gras po boy is one of my favorites. A must try if you like seafood

LOVE LOVE LOVE. We eat here at least once a week. It’s always great! Great food & great prices!!!

Shrimp po-​boy is exquisite! Magnificent! Tasty toasted roll with jumbo shrimp and a secret sauce that wonderfully blends the aroma and flavor! 5Stars!

We met the others in our group here last saturday for supper, there were eleven of us in all. We got there almost right behind the rest of them. There was one more couple that were in line to place their order before us. While we were in line waiting we discovered that the drink dispenser was out of almost everything that it dispensed, although only two of the eight or ten taps were identified as OUT.
I notified the kitchen staff of this and got a «Que?» No, we out” response. Because of this people were putting their glass up for coke or something else and getting nothing but water. They would then dump it out and settle for tea. The drain tray was full and running all over the floor.
After we ordered we sat down and waited and watched as the others at our table were served, (There were eleven of us altogether) and we waited some more.
Others suggested that we check, but I told them that they were serving lots of take-​out orders a no one that had come in behind us was being served yet.
When that happened I went to the counter to check on our dinners. After the cashier finished her take out call she asked me if something was wrong. I asked if there was a reason for the delay and replied «OK, I’ll check on it after I take this next call.
She finished the next call and asked the kitchen staff about my order and found my ticket on the board.
The cook pointed to a stack of take-​out trays that were in a bag on the counter. Now I had been looking at this bag on the counter for at least twenty minutes. Do you know what happens to an order of hot steamy fried food when you put it in a closed clamshell for twenty minutes. It turns from crispy to mushy.
The Cashier said «Here». I told her that it was cold by now and she said if it was that they would re cook it for us.
Waiting some more was not what we wanted to do at that time, especially my autistic son who was near meltdown by then. They went about arguing over who’s fault it was and I took the food to our table.
The cashier came by and asked if everything was OK and I told her that the french fries were mush. She gave me part of an order that she must have siphoned of others orders that she was serving at the time and my son and I shared them.
Not once did I receive an apology for the mistake.
What ever happened to «How about complimentary deserts for your party?» or «How about a complimentary meal next time that you come in?.» to make up for the confusion.
While we were eating they called out another couples name and told them that their to go order was ready. They too informed them that the order was to eat in.

I love the food at this place. Shrimp tacos are great and the fried fish and shrimp platter is a diet buster. Caveat; the dining room is not separated from the kitchen so take out is recommended.

Great place to eat seafood of all kinds. Loved the fried shrimp. the shrimp gumbo is very good.

Stopped in here for lunch today while on a business trip to Beaumont. We saw a parking lot jammed with cars and thought this must be a good place to eat. We were correct! My associate and I each had the shrimp poorboy, which was hot and delicious: large crispy shrimp served on a toasted French bread roll, dressed just right. Very tasty!
I also ordered a cup of gumbo, the gold standard of Cajun cooking (this New Orleans girl knows). Despite the fact that the order taker claimed I never ordered it (hmm, did she forget asking me which kind I wanted??), I finally received my bowl of seafood gumbo, swimming in a dark mud-​brown gravy. WHAT? Listen, folks, seafood gumbo is made with LIGHT roux, not dark brown roux, which obliterates the delicate flavor of shrimp, crayfish, crab, oysters, etc. Dark roux is for chicken, sausage, duck, alligator, etc. etc. to enhance their strong flavors. That dark gravy from dark roux at Bayou Café completely ruins the seafood gumbo! so disappointing.
Will I return? Yes, because the poorboy is so good. Do not order the seafood gumbo, though.

Giving it another try from almost 2 years ago!
I haven’t (didn’t) check health report today… last time as noted below was 2014.
so let’s see how it is from a consumers eyes
April 28, 2016
One dude… small white dude who wears a chauffeur type black hat… front counter. On his cell until food was ready to be packaged to go — no gloves used
(by anyone preparing food) but, he was super sweet – the other 3 employed were too.
Too warm inside restaurant today–
Not comfortable to sit and eat– hence my reason to get it to go. (that is just me tho – hot natured)
Food tastes great — as usual. True Cajun flavor and seasonings. One of the BEST gumbo roux’s anywhere within 100 miles.
I just wish the OWNER took pride in his small business because he’s got great food. Consistently. Perception… and bad health inspections say a lot.
(Somebody go look and tell me their inspection has improved?!!)
Brighten up the place with a fresh paint job… get new (used) fountain cabinetry… yours is tore up. Keep it simple and clean. Less is more.
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UPDATE — BAD REPORT FROM BMT HEALTH INSPECTOR. dated. AUGUST 22, 2014
sooo disppointed — improper cooler temps, dirty floors under equipment, bags of food stored on floor, leaking pump under soda machine, and improper kitchen temp
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WOW!
what a nice surprise to find some tasty food in this quaint locally owned place
i had the following:
seafood gumbo-​shrimp & crawfish cup $ 7 — -the roux was fantastic… loved it
boudain balls 2 for $ 3 ~~crawfish & cheese [when available pork]
shrimp poboy $ 9
really good tarter sauce.
cocktail sauce – sweet not spicy which is the one thing i would suggest they make — use horseradish with ketchup!
very friendly staff

I found this café to be underwhelming. The grilled shrimp was okay – not bad, but just not exceptional. I was really disappointed in the Mardis Gras po-​boy: it had such potential, but was just drowned in mayonnaise or sauce. The fries seemed to be the standard industrial-​grade food service fries that come from Sysco. Perhaps the cole slaw is just a different-​style recipe than what we are accustomed to, but nobody at my table cared for the taste. I think we paid about $ 12 – 14 per person, so not terribly expensive, but not a cheap lunch by any means.
There is room for improvement with the customer service: I actually had to go to the counter to retrieve our order. Although one waitress was busy with a customer at the cash register, the other waitress was literally sitting there playing on her phone. With only a couple of patrons in the place, there really was no excuse for the floor or the drink station to be as messy as they were either.
Overall, I was not impressed. This was my second visit; I doubt if I will give them another chance.

Lunch. Clean environment. You can see the people preparing and cooking food. I liked that. Ordered Fried Oyster PO Boy with Fries. Bread was fabulous, fresh and soft — like I like it. I think there were four large oysters on the Sandwich. Batter not my favorite. But the sandwich was not greasy. I like they way they supply extra tartar sauce on side. Fries were crispy but from frozen. It came with Cole Slaw but I did not care to eat it. All in all a good $ 9.00 value. Will return.

Shrimp Ibiza Taco is absolutely delicious! The tartar sauce was a perfect match with the Boudin Balls.
I’d return to try more from the menu!

Very good food. Excellent gumbo. Our personal favorites are the shrimp po boy, Mardi Gras po boy and the bayou seafood platter. Always great whether you dine in or take out. Usually the shrimp are very large and they are generous with them, but recently I have noticed that they are significantly smaller and fewer.
Every time I order the platter I have been able to sub the stuffed crab with oysters. Tonight when we ordered to go (typical Friday night) I was told that I couldn’t sub the crab for oysters. I explained to the man on the phone that I had always done this. His response was that he couldn’t do it because there was no button on the register for that. Normally this answer would have made since except that the kitchen is right behind the counter, open where it would have been easy to amend my order (as I had previously done on multiple occasions). I told him that I was very disappointed. He responded with «Well I can sell you some oysters.» When I inquired about the cost it was $ 10 for 6 oysters!!! That would have brought the total cost of my platter to $ 27! I said no thank you and ordered something else.
With the customer service declining, and the portions changing, I don’t think we will be spending our average of $ 40-​$ 50 for food there anymore.
It is really frustrating when you find a great local place to eat, and they can’t offer continuity.

Delicious gumbo but the fried seafood lacked adequate seasoning. We enjoyed the laid back atmosphere but on our last visit it was so hot inside we could barely eat our food.

Just simply good food. The fried fish and shrimp were good and were seasoned. The fries were ok (typical frozen crinkle cut fries) but were still hot and tasty. The gumbo was really good, thick, and flavored. They definitely were not shy on shrimp. There was a good amount in the bowl.
The only thing I didn’t care for was the cole slaw. It was horrid and tasteless and tasted nothing of cole slaw. I did see they had a nice looking pan of banana pudding that I wanted to try for about $ 3 and some change but it’ll have to wait until next time.
The inside was ok. Not your go-​to place for a nice romantic date but its not bad. The young lady behind the counter was nice and attentive. Prices are decent as well. I would have never known of this place had it not been for Unilocal.It’s definitely worth a try. I know I’ll be going back!

Nothing great about the food chicken fried in the same grease as the fish and fries! Not impressed first and last visit. Overpriced for the quality of the food.

The shrimp tacos are awesome makes my eyes roll back in my head. Friendly staff.
Love the décor many conversation pieces.