Cajun Connection

Excellent. Fun atmosphere, quick service, and outstanding food start to finish.
The portions for the shrimp were a bit tiny, but that is kind of to be expected and did not tarnish our experience one bit. If you are out at Matthieson or Starved Rock state park, this would make a great early dinner option.
Gets crowded and a wait later on.

Good Cajun food in Utica. We stopped after hiking Starved Rock for my moms birthday. We were lucky we stopped on a Wednesday and had the entire place to ourselves. Even had Chef Ron come out and sit with us for a while. Definitely get a combination plate of some variety as there are lots of great options. The etoufee and the jambalaya were great as well as the blackened catfish and alligator.

I love Cajun food & this is the closest thing I have to being in Louisiana! We decided to stop by over here after a long morning of hiking at Starve rock. There was a line at the door, and they do not take names, you pretty much have to wait in line u til you can be seated.
We had amazing service, the portions were large & it was all for a fairly decent price. I got the choose 4 dinner plate with jambalaya, oysters, alligator & spicy boudin link. You get to have your choice of certain items scampi, blackened or fried. I got them fried of course. The plate also comes with a side of fries. They don’t give you enough sauce though, it feels like. We had to ask for a few more because they come in little half or 1 Oz plastic sauce containers. The food was very delicious. But the boudin link was way too salty for me so I couldn’t even really eat it. To end off this great meal, my friends and I shared the most amazing pecan pie with vanilla ice cream on top. The dessert was so worth it even though we were all so full.
Overall, I really enjoyed Cajun Connection. I would definitely come back again. They also serve Louisiana craft brew here, a bit on the expensive side though.

Absolutely amazing food, great service, awesome owner… Try everything. It’s incredible!

This place is casual and the food is delish. Portions are not big enough to share, but they are satisfying for one person. I enjoyed the gumbo, blackened catfish and keylime pie. I also tried their hurricane (nice). The staff is very pleasant and attentive. The owner came by to check how we were doing and was personable and genuinely interested. Don’t bother trying to make reservations; get there before they open to avoid a long wait. This is an incredibly popular spot among locals. As tourists, we felt like we had stumbled upon a hidden gem. Definitely worth a visit.

Cajun Connection was the worst restaurant that I have ever experienced! The owner is loud, obnoxious and rude! The place is a dump and the food is horrible!

First of all I love Cajun food. This is about as authentic as your gonna get — without going to New Orleans for dinner. The atmosphere is so so … but you not gonna eat the atmosphere. Service is always pretty good, have been there about 4 times now. Have tried everything from the fried turtle to alligator etc. The catfish is excellent! Just about everything on the menu is fried, but if you ask, they’ll make it blackened fro you. There is usually a pretty good wait 30 – 45 minutes, but you can go in side and get a beer and get back in line while you wait. The gumbo and Jambalya are authentic and delish. They usually have a pretty good selection of New Orleans beers too.

Absolutely awful service and a frankly unjustifiable wait for overpriced food. The waitresses are rude and slow. Saw cooks without hairnets and couldn’t get that image out of my head. Save your time, wallet, and health (let’s be real, this stuff is fried and awful for you). IGNORE THE HYPE. AVOID THIS PLACE.

Friends recommended this place first time there went about 6:15 a line was waiting outside. We waited 45−1hr for a table they do not take reservations or names you just have to stand in line and wait your turn. Although they do have a picnic table and a few chairs. Once inside this place is very small but got seated right away nothing fancy. Waitress was very pleasant and brought our food quickly. Reviews are spot on everything is very good. Ron is a crack up he was giving his little pep talks to everyone and ask if you are done to get out and don’t come back tonight. Well worth the 45 minute drive to get there. I would highly recommend this place to eat at if you are in the area.

First time here. Waited for a table for a half hour (got there when they opened at 4). Next time we’ll have to get there earlier. The gumbo was very good. My husband and I liked all that we ate… he said it was the best fried alligator he ever had. Sad we didn’t have room for dessert.

Wow, this place is awesome. Shrimp was terrific, gumbo was terrific, the jambalaya was awesome and the appetizer which was sausage balls (boudins maybe) was maybe the best thing I ate. My daughter had fried crayfish and my son had fried gator bites and they both loved it too. We finished with a piece of pecan pie which they make and it was maybe the best piece I have ever had. One tip is it opens at 4 and people are lining up at 330 to get in. Definitely go again!

I am a huge Cajun fan and this restaurant will please serious and casual fans of Cajun. I had the gumbo, red beans & rice and the jambalaya. The meal was as good as many of the better meals I have had in New Orleans. My only regret is that I didn’t save enough room for dessert, they looked great as I peered at the table next to me.
In addition, the owner seems like a great guy and a born salesman. Highly recommended after a day at Starved Rock.

My wife and I just ate there and we both thought it was very good and the service was excellent to. She had catfish, shrimp and red beans and rice, I had the surf and turf and everything was delicious the gumbo was good, more sausage would of made it better but it was still very good. Altogether it was a friendly atmosphere with tasty food, could of been spicier but there’s seasonings and sauces you can add I’m just used to Creole food being spicy but I liked it enough that I’ll be back.

What a gem of a place! You don’t expect it when you first drive in but what a great experience you’ll get. Unique and one of a kind décor with a very authentic Cajun menu. Fantastic live music too! We were looking for something light, so I had a salad with fried chicken which was fresh and great! The chef gave us a hard time for not trying the alligator so had some and will definitely have that next time. Like chicken but somewhat richer and a slightly different texture. It’s battered and seasoned perfectly using a homemade recipe. Also enjoyed local almond wine and pecan bread pudding. Will definitely be back! Don’t miss this place!

So this is a farmhouse converted to a restaurant. Popular with locals, and bikers, there are often wait times to get a table. Don’t let that dissuade you. It’s worth the wait.
The atmosphere is casual, and the menu is extensive and features alot of fried food. Crawfish are available seasonally (starting in the spring)
The gumbo is an excellent way to start. Don’t order the salad :(
Gator, catfish, shrimp and homemade boudin are featured in a lot of the dishes.
The heat level on the dishes is very mild and should only be too hot for the most sensitive of palettes. For those that like to live on the wild sauce, on the table there are a variety of hot sauces, peppers, powders and rubs that can be added to any dish. Many of these garnishes are also made by Cajun Connection.
If you manage to save room, the pecan pie, and the key lime pie are both incredible.
Sadly, I’m often so full, I can’t enjoy either.
Highly Recommended.

We stopped at Cajun Connection after reading all the rave reviews. I must preface with saying that we are from Chicago. But even knowing that we have amazing restaurants in the city, I thought this shouldn’t be too bad
I didn’t hate the food or atmosphere but certainly wouldn’t go back
The décor is corny-​southern-​bayou-​esque. Almost like they are trying too hard
The prices are very high for the quality. Most of the items are fried and all look the same. They do have alligator and turtle. I’m not that adventurous. I ordered salad with blackened chicken. It was good but not $ 12 good. More like $ 7
The others in my group got the gumbo. It looked like dirty rice and not really gumbo. One got a shrimp po’ boy. He wasn’t impressed.
I’d say save your money and go somewhere a bit cheaper unless you’re hankerin’ for some gator

Had the shrimp creole, jambalaya, and red beans & rice… All very good! The atmosphere was definitely authentic Cajun.

Seemingly in the middle of no where, but worth the ride (especially on a motorcycle).
Very authentic and quality food. No frills, just good food.

If I had to use only one word for the Cajun Connection Restaurant I’d say «FANTASTIC»!! Luckily for YOU i can never say JUST one word! Lol
We went on a Wednesday at 5pm and didn’t have to wait, apparently there are days & times you do have to wait and it says right on the front door that they DO NOT TAKE DOWN NAMES… you need to stand in line and wait your turn.
That being said, if you get there and you needed to wait… i would. It was that GOOD!
We wanted to try things we never had before and liked all of it!
We had a cup of Gumbo, which was amazing. i had never had it before and loved it.
We started with the combo appetizer, we had fried Alligator, Shrimp, hot Boudin and Crawfish. They also threw in some french fries with it. It was all very tasty. The Hot Boudin (sausage) was very Spicy and we loved it. The Alligator, we had never had before and were excited to try it, was great! I wasn’t crazy for the Crawfish (not a crawfish person) but my hubby liked them… but wouldn’t get them again,
For dinner i had the Combo of three: Frog Legs, Shrimp and Alligator… all Blackened. Let me tell you… they were all out of this world! The way they blackened their food was the best i have EVER had at any restaurant and i order blackened at a lot of places we go.
My hubby had the Fried Alligator, the Jambalaya, the fried Oysters and the Crawfish, scampi style. He liked it all.
The owner, Ron, came around and talked to every single person in the place to see how everything was, which i love and you don’t see that very often… he even sat down at a couple tables with people and chatted. When i told him how phenomenal everything was and told him i was gonna put it on Unilocal he was like «oh great», like now MORE people are gonna come here! He is Totally down to earth and friendly! I Loved it!
If you are in Utica, IL or anywhere near there you REALLY should go to Cajun Connection.

There’s not a whole lot of Cajun restaurants in the Chicago suburbs. There’s Chuck’s Southern Comforts Café in Burbank and Darien, which I haven’t tried yet; MoJo’s in Plainfield, which is a combination of Cajun and Caribbean; plus Papadeaux in Westmont and Heaven on Seven in Naperville, which are both Americanized Cajun, not the real thing.
You can add Ron’s Cajun Connection to the list, and it IS the real thing. If you don’t believe me, you can take the word of my husband’s former boss, who is an actual Cajun from Louisiana so he knows what he’s talking about. It’s in an old converted farmhouse out in the middle of a corn desert on Route 6 in Utica, of all places. But it has a deservedly famous reputation.
When we first pulled in, the gravel parking lot in front was completely filled and a line was snaking out the door and down the ramp into the outdoor patio. We were a little apprehensive about how long the wait would be, but it actually wasn’t all that bad. We parked on a side road near a corn field, got an Abita from the bar to tide us over, and joined the end of the line.
When we got inside about a half-​hour later, we found out why the line had moved so fast. The waitresses (many of whom are family members) were really hustling, clearing off tables as fast as they emptied and getting them ready for the next diners.
The kitchen was not as fast as the wait staff, but our waitress was great and the owner Ron McFarlain came out to apologize for the wait and shoot the shit. («Have you ever had boudin?» «Yes.» «No you haven’t. Try mine. Have you ever had gumbo?» «Yes.» «No you haven’t.» You get the gist.)
We started out with the boudin balls (deep-​fried battered Cajun sausage balls) to satisfy Ron, then moved on to the entrées — a blackened rib-​eye steak with crawfish étouffée for the hubby, and shrimp Creole over a blackened catfish fillet with fries and gator bites for me. All entrées come with gumbo or salad, but get the gumbo — or Ron will be offended. Plus it’s delish.