La Bayou Cajun & Creole Cafe

La Bayou seems to be closed now. It hasn’t been open for over a week, ever since our neighborhood serial shitter took a dump in their doorway. I hope everything is okay with the sweet couple who runs it. Anyone know anything?
UPDATE: Just called the number and it was disconnected. Aww. RIP, La Bayou.

Funny lil place, as others have posted, the fries are just mediocre. However, what I absolutely LOVE here is the Fried Oyster PO’boy…
Always piping hot, made to order and the couple running the place are really nice.

This place is not for high end, creole eats. It cheap and servicable. I only really like the oyster po’ boy.
The fact that the quality has dipped since they changed owners a few years back doesn’t stop the sandwich from being moist and full of oysters though.
The fries, sprinkled w/​some out of the can spice are kinda blah but I don’t come here for the fries.
overall if you weren’t a fan of creole/​cajun food this place won’t convert you but if you want something that sorta ‘fits the bill’ this place will do.

I was really excited when I saw cajun fries, so I ordered those and the alligator bites. Waited about 10 – 15 minutes for the order… a little long considering mine was the sole order and nobody else came in during the 30 minute span. The cajun fries were a real let-​down, just regular fries with some cayenne pepper tossed on it. The alligator bits were interesting and the batter wasn’t bad, didn’t leave the best aftertaste though.
There’s also a very ridiculous sign on the wall, «Let me know if you want full or self-​service. If you change your mind, we will charge double service.» Really? Makes no sense… I have to pay extra to bring out left-​overs? I guess I’ll just bring a zip-​lock bag with me next time…
I will probably come back to try the okra bites.

this place is OK.
i would have given it 2 stars but, the couple the run it are good people.
I got a 4pc snapper combo with Cajun fries, cole slaw and some hush puppies.
I was real hungry, so i ate almost everything but i was not necessarily impressed. The Fish was bland to say the least and the fries were ok.
the Hush Puppies were tasty and the cole slaw was good.
Will i go back? prolly not.
Sorry.

I was really truly surprised this food was actually pretty good and well authentic tasting. I expected black people or at least some white people from Lousiana to be selling food here but no, two nice Chinese people.
I got four schrimps (yeah I said schrimps) and 1 big juicy ocean tasting oyster, and two big hunks of deep fried snapper (don’t eat cat). And a heap of french fried potatos. And assorted dipping sauces. 10.99. Not any ambience, nothing much to report on the décor, but the food is good enough for those rainy days when you are out and tired and you know when you get home you don’t want to cook. I haven’t tried anything else there so its up to you. But didn’t mind the crisp friend seafood.

I wanted this place to be good since I live nearby. Nothing better than good cajun food.
This is not good cajun food. Ingredients aren’t fresh, the po boy was overfried and messy. The jambalaya my friend had was gross and tasted too smoky.

You know there are few times in your life where you can find an establishment that actually does good cajun food in california… let alone good cajun food and good BBQ; beyond that… good cajun food, fish, bbq, burritos and burgers!
This has got to be one of the worst eating experiences I have had in the last 3 years. I cannot rate service as the service was so absolutely dismal that it pretty much becomes a non-​factor…
I sat there with a plate of paper thin butterflied shrimp, and a carelessly tossed, meager pile of fries on a strangely large and awkward plate…
As I sat there looking at all this… I started wondering about my life, wondering why I have to subject myself to self destructive shit like this… I really got to thinking about whether or not I have a psychological problem… like maybe I need help.
If this kind of deep introspective look at your life, inspired by some of the worst food you will have in the bay area… is what you are looking for, I highly recommend eating here.

OK, so it’s a greasy spoon, but this place rocks. I wandered by with a friend while we were running late for a show, but the place was about to close for the night. We gave each other a look and found ourselves dining on deep-​fried bits of alligator and a catfish burger. Two soft drinks later, our total cost was $ 21. Not the cheapest, but when’s the last time you had the opportunity to eat alligator, anyway? We missed the show, and it was worth it.

Do yourself a favor … don’t eat here. If you need cajun food in East Bay, go to Angeline’s, but please, do not go here.
I saw the place when I was driving by, and I had been fighting a cajun craving for a few weeks (Angeline’s on Shattuck gets 5 stars from me!). I knew it was a bad idea when I walked up and in the window I saw two pictures, one labeled «Jambalaya» and one labeled «Dirty Rice.» The thing is… these were the exact picture off the Zatarain’s box! (You know, the cajun version of Rice-​a-​Roni.) I knew it was a bad idea, but I proceeded. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt… maybe they were just cheap about promotional stuff, I wanted to think.
As a starving undergrad, I don’t eat at restaurants very often these days. Because this was a special occasion (and because I love leftovers), I ordered a small Jambalaya ($ 4.79 — ouch), a small Red Beans and Rice with Sausage ($ 4.79 again, damn), and a 3piece Catfish meal with «cajun fries.» I normally would not order catfish — just not my thing — but I asked a woman if she could recommend something to me. Without hesitation, she answered, «The catfish,» and smiled just thinking about it.
So, confident that I was in a tasty establishment, I waited patiently for my two-​to-​three days worth of food.
Back at my house: I eagerly begin with the catfish. Good, but definitely from a package/​frozen. Uh oh, me thinks. That woman has led me astray! So, if what she recommends is no bueno, what about the other dishes I ordered? Well, my «cajun fries» are just plain ol’ frozen crinkle cuts — not even some seasoning salt. The jambalaya isn’t Zatarain’s, surprisingly, but it’s a 2 on a scale of 5. Red beans and rice — I took two bites and into the trash it went.
So, I wasted my precious restaurant money, I hated the food, and I don’t even have edible leftovers to show for it. Boo. Also, to add insult to injury, I now reek like old frying grease. So, please, listen to me on this one. This food really isn’t good. In fact, it’s outright BAD.

If you long for some seriously southern cajun food… this lil asian cajun spot is the Joint!
I highly recommend the Snapper and the Cajun Fries! Absolutely Fabulous! the fried Okra is the bomb too!

My friend who was born on the bayou took me here. It’s a dirty little restaurant but who cares? I had the fried shrimp po boy and fried okra.
More notable was the old man working the counter. Although I couldn’t tell what he was saying half the time, he was obscenely friendly and nice. He was just happy to be alive and to see you in his restaurant. It made my day.

Shrimp Po Boy is awesome. Freshly fried, good spice, and hot and fresh! Price is good too. The old couple that runs that place are super nice too.
Definitely a place to hit up!
Fried okra is really good too!

Definitely nothing to write home about. I have been here on two occasions and neither time has really wowed me.
The first time, I walked in because experience had taught me that the really dingy hole-​in-​the-​wall places that desperately need a new floor but have newspaper articles about them everywhere, have good food. Meh. I had the Jambalaya ($ 7.99) and it was ok. It was spicy but just didn’t have enough meat or veggies to really make me happy. Not saying that it was bad. It was actually better than decent. I just expected better.
The second time, I went in because I thought I needed to give them another chance. I really didn’t know what I wanted so I let the little old Asian man who runs the place tell me what to order. He said the that the Fish and Chips with Catfish ($ 7.99) was «delicious.» Fine, I though, sounds good.” Once again, meh. I have to say that the cajun fries that it came with were very good. But the fish was kind of chewy. Not really crispy, as I would expect Fish and Chips to be…
I don’t know. I think that this might be my first hole-​in-​the-​wall that didn’t wow me. It wasn’t bad, per se… it just wasn’t very good. What a disappointment.

TAKE OUT is the key!
Do not bother to try and take a date, or get in from out of the rain. Get in, get out and git yo grubb on in the comfort of your own home!
The snapper is killa, moist /​hand breaded goodness. The fries are like whateva– crinkle cuts from Safeway deep fried. The catfish is fresh and never smelly or «funky» tasting as it can be if the filets are too thin or old. The fried oysters are on point, and never runny or wet, I can’t stand undercooked food– yeck!
The wait is going to be like 20 — 35 min if you don’t call ahead, that being said «CALL AHEAD». The little old couple are a trip, just nice nice nice, but piss off the elder working the register and you will be asked to leave! lol
It’s a shame that a raggedy hole in the wall is putting out better quality food than some of the establishment’s that look nice.

I went to the restaurant with one of my client’s for a take-​out lunch. The restaurant is a tiny, narrow place run by a Korean couple (more on them later). The service was nice. It was a bit slow, but I suppose it just takes a little longer to fry the foods just right.
I got the hush puppies, as I’d never had it before (I probably could only eat 3 items on the menu anyway.), and my client got the fried snapper and Cajun fries at the owner’s recommendation.
The hush puppies I got were so-​so. I don’t have any previous experience with the dish, but I definitely think they were over-​fried. They were a dark brown color and extra hard and crunchy. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to eat it – dip in some tartar sauce? I ended up dabbing some ketchup with it to make it less dry and boring. My client insisted his snapper and fries were delicious. I can’t speak for most of the menu, but the alligator did peak my interest, and if I ate meat, I’d be a little daring and try some gator. Alas, I’m not so I was left with few menu options.
For the price, I don’t think you get a whole lot of food at this place. My client paid $ 10 for a small tray, probably the size of a hand, of food and a soda. My 9 hush puppies were $ 3.
I suspect there are better Southern restaurants to be found. Although the couple running the store was very gracious, I’m sorry, but don’t think this place is a local «gem». In regard to a previous comment about the couple, before we left, I just had to ask the man how he came to own the restaurant. There is a newspaper clipping on the wall that the man pointed to. He said that that person is his business partner and relative. Apparently, the original owner of the restaurant is hapa — half black half Asian — and is currently looking for a new location for the restaurant.

I stopped by here one day when I happened to mention to my brother that I had never had gator.
Well now I have. And it was good.
I got the gator bites (fried popcorn chicken like things), that come with fries, the gumbo (a little too spicy for me) and the dirty rice (tastes like my mom made it), all of which were delicious if not small for the amount paid.
But the wait time was awful. 20 minutes or more for take out. They only have two people working there so I suspect this is why. The store is a bit shabby too, but not unkempt.
My brother laughs because they have a random picture of Tom Selleck in the window.

Not the Cajun treasure I was hoping for… but then, I’m wasn’t dining in the South either.
A buddy and I tried this place out after seeing it several times when driving by. The store front is colorfully painted but the vinyl sign hanging out front and the cheesy famous people pictures, including a 70’s Tom Sellick, in the window, says a lot about this place. It is run by a little old Asian couple, which is not a bad thing, but after spending over $ 30 to sample more that two guys usually would eat the old man wanted to charge 70 cents for an extra little container of tarter sauce.
We ordered catfish, shrimp and oyster combination, alligator bits (35 – 40 pcs), gumbo, fried okra (30 – 40 pcs) and hush puppies. After ordering the first thing we noticed was large ziplock bag (s) being pulled out of the fridge/​freezer. One of the items we ordered was freshly battered but we couldn’t tell what it was (I suspect the okra). It was also sort of distracting seeing the cook eating the fries while cooking up our meal.
The food was disappointing though it could satisfy or put off a cajun food craving. Yep, alligator bits… they were a lot of little pieces, about the size of your smallest fingertip, battered and fried to a crisp that the only way to tell it was more than crispy batter was the dry and chewy center. The fried okra was soggy with grease; the fried shrimp was butterflied thin for the maximum presentation surface area which also was dry and chewy; and I decided not to try the oysters.
On the good side the catfish had a good cornmeal batter. It was so consistent I would bet it was mass prepared frozen foods. The chicken and sausage gumbo (no seafood) tasted nice and how often do you find hush puppies, even if they were also frozen products.
I can’t say I would plan on going back but if I did it would be because I was craving greasy fried processed catfish or maybe the gumbo.

This restaurant is actually the worst that I have ever been to, and I have been to many bad ones. First of all, the chef looked really scary. The outside of the restaurant look cute tho, very Luisiana-​ish, probably why I got suckered to go here.
The food was terrible. I ordered a crab gumbo. The one crab leg I got was small and absolutely not fresh, the gumbo was soupy and tasted like CRAP! And it was small. The garlic bread my bf got was basically your average white bread which was put into a toaster, then butter spread on it, and then garlic salt sprinkled all over. Who could not make that? He also got popcorn shrimp. All of this ended up costing $ 17 dollars! Damn expensive! its really sad when this restaurant could offer good food that isn’t easy to find in this area.

Ever since this place changed hands a few years ago, the quality of food has dropped dramatically. Don’t be fooled by the name and all the reviews etc. you see inside. The family currently running the place had nothing to do with the restaurant when all the accolades came in years ago for La Bayou. You used to be able to get huge succulent chunks of deep fried catfish and cajun fries, and now you get thin, poorly breaded, tasteless fish with barely seasoned fries. The Po’Boys used to be to die for and now the best I can say is they are edible.
I was really nervous when the restaurant changed hands and when I saw the banner suddenly hanging over the door advertising burgers and fries as well now, I knew it was over for this place. I gave it a chance anyway and could not have been more disappointed with the food I received. If you never had food from the original La Bayou owners, you might think it’s acceptable, but it’s completely worlds apart in quality and you may as well just go to Popeyes or Long John Silvers and save a few bucks these days.