The Gumbo Pot

One of my favorite places in Original LA Farmers Market. This time I had the gumbo ya ya (with shrimp, chicken & andouille sausage), collard greens, corn bread and crawfish pies (limited time only). Everything was so good but the collard greens were some of the best I’ve ever had.
Normally I get the beignets & chicory coffee but I was just too full this time.

Menu is enticing, but the actual food is not. Seafood gumbo is good, not memorable. Red bean & rice is ok. Frog legs are horrible, even though they are freshly fried, the meat itself is not fresh and it had a bad smell. The young girl at register is very sweet, but mama Gumbo on the other hand is rude. I wanted to know what they serve the frog legs with… rice, salad, or nothing? Mama Gumbo glared at the girl & I for asking, mumbled something then walked away. Later, I came back to the counter to get a plastic fork, she yelled at me for not asking her first. Well then I’m very generous with 3 stars here even with bad customer service & mediocre food.

The gumbo pot is my go to at the farmers market at the grove. It’s not the best New Orleans type food I’ve had, especially when comparing to the real thing, but it’s enough to satisfy the craving. I usually get the oyster po boy or the fried catfish po boy. On first impression the sandwich is huge but it is mostly bread and could definitely use a few more pieces of seafood in it. It does taste good though and I like the slice of lemon they put in. The lemon makes it a little different and adds a nice subtle acidity to the po boy. I’ve also had the fried okra and hush puppies. They’re alright. Definitely use the sauce they provide with those sides for some added flavor. The best part of the meal is finishing it off w a beignet. I love the eggy lightness and powdery sweetness of a freshly fried beignet.

Haven’t been to the Farmer’s Market for YEARS that I’ve almost forgotten how cool this place is! So much to see with so may grub choices!
I did my walk-​around the entire area just to see what I had a taste for. I ended up here because, as I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I am a complete sucker for soft-​shelled crabs.
Ordered the poboy along with fried okra. And a bottled water. Everything came out to $ 19.35.
My first impression of the sandwich was that it was BIG. They put two pieces of crabs in there. Upon closer look, though, the crabs were a little too small for the bread. This might have been a better sandwich if the bread was commensurate to the size of the crabs. I practically threw a little bit more than a third of the bread away since it was just way too big for its contents. The crabs fell a little short with the breaded seasoning. The crunch was there, but it could have used a little bit more flavor. The aioli spread was also a little bland. I think a bit of fresh crushed garlic, dash of lemon juice, salt and pepper might make a huge difference here. The veggies were fresh, though, I’ll give them that.
The okra was also a little bland, but once dipped in its sauce, it was quite good. But nothing spectacular.
Everything was made to order and service was fast. Overall, I couldn’t give them less than 3 stars. But would I come back here? Probably after I check out other places in the immediate area.

The Gumbo Pot is another one of my favorite places at the original Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles. There is always a line in front of this restaurant, but it moves very quickly. For under $ 10, you can get a complete meal that’s delicious and satisfying. You can choose from Gumbo YaYa which is full of chicken, sausage, shrimp and okra in a tasty rich sauce, or you can get the Jambalaya which is similar but with a spicy tomato base. If you want your food to be a little spicier, they have an assortment of hot sauces to choose from. Each comes with choice of a side of sweet potato salad, potato salad, sweet potato chips or collard greens. I always get the collard greens. Your meal also comes with a jalapeño corn bread muffin. I would also suggest the homemade lemonade.
The menu also has a variety of Creole food consisting of Po’ boy sandwiches, catfish either blackened or fried in cornmeal, red beans and rice, drunken shrimp, various salads, they even have fried alligator. The only one of these items I’ve ever tried was the fried alligator, which was a little chewy but not too bad.
The best things on the menu are the beignets. These are fluffy deep fried doughy bread and you can get them filled with chocolate. They are served to you lightly covered with powdered sugar. It’s the perfect end to a delicious meal.

More like 3.8 stars, if that existed.
I had a small gumbo, and the husband had some oysters and the shrimp po boy. The gumbo came with cornbread and a side of greens and rhubarb. The greens were pretty good, though could be a lot more tender, as there were a lot of chewy/​tough pieces. The gumbo itself was pretty good with a kick, and the cornbread muffin was a little dry but good. The po boy was kind of sparse in fillings, which was a bit of a bummer, and heavy on bread.
Anyway, while generally tasty, I think some small tweaks would make the food more amazing. It’s nice to enjoy something a bit different!

Possibly one of the best Cajun places in town! The beignets are to die for and the gumbo is authentic! Average price for food. $ 9 for a small gumbo.
It’s in the farmers market, kind of behind the Starbucks a ways. It’s quite frankly the only place I go to at the market. It is loud for obvious reasons but not so much that you need to yell.

The Gumbo Pot is an OK restaurant because the portions when it comes to their sandwiches are very small. I ordered the oyster and shrimp po boy and the bread was hollowed out but there was only 3 oysters and 7 shrimp on a 10″ roll. The employees there are very rude and they over charge you just to get a refill for a drink. At least now I know to avoid this restaurant next time I’m at the Farmers Market. This is one restaurant I would not highly recommend going to if you’re hungry!

The mixed po’boy was packed and the bread was good! Didn’t end up eating the side of creole mustard potato salad (not worth the carbs…) The seafood gumbo was missing the most important part… the seafood! Must’ve gotten a bad scoop. I don’t think I had any fish! And only a few shrimp

Decent spot in Farmers Market.
Service was on the slower side, line of about 10 people took a little over 2o minutes for food.
Fried Okra: Bomb
Fried Pickles: done right
Potato Salad: average, very heavy on the mayo (or whatever sauce) not a lot of other flavor.
Corn Bread: only ok
Shrimp Po Boy: looks huge but when you bite in to it it’s mostly bread and not a lot of sandwich. The few pieces of shrimp in sandwich tasted good sadly it wasn’t enough.
If review was on sandwich alone it’d be a 2 star at best. Okra and pickles may have saved the place but at it’s best it’s only OK.

Though the concept and location are great, the flavors are far from being authentic Cajun food but that’s implied. We ordered $ 49 worth of food, which I think wasn’t worth it but keep in mind, we are at the Farmer’s Market. Anyway, onto the food!
FOOD TIME
Fried Catfish with Sweet Potato Chips and Killer Cornbread
–breading was pretty good and the catfish was ok
–chips were alright and cornbread was honestly not so killer
Soft-​shelled Crab Po’ Boy
–the crab was ok and wasn’t as droolicious as other places
–the bread was not good
–there was a thin slice of lemon in it. I’ll add lemon on my own, thanks.
–had an end piece of just full-​on bread. Yay.
Crawfish Pie
–my favorite thing there
–flavorful and slightly watery rice and crawfish
–like a crawfish empanada, nom nom
Fried Pickles
–this was alright
All the dishes came with the same dipping sauce.
I’m wondering whether we ordered the «wrong» items, save for the crawfish pie. Maybe their stewed items are the hot things to get? I don’t know but chances are, I’m not coming back again since the food didn’t leave any outstanding impression on me.

Two stars for the salad it was good. This is not creole food dont waste your money. Staff was nice but i am sitting here honestly thinking «would a dog eat this» NO
i dont like negative reviews but i really had my hopes up and mouth watering to the thought of gumbo. DONT do it to yourself.

Located in the farmers market off the third street promenade. They have a huge food court with plenty of outdoor seating.
The food here is decent. Large portions spicy jambalaya and well done blacken snapper. If you don’t want your fish over cooked would let them know in advance. I happen to like all my fish well done so was perfect for me.
Two and half stars for the food
Additional ½ star for the casual fast service
Would have liked to try the crawfish either a beer. Will save that for next time…

Got the gator gumbo. It was solid. That is all.

I love going to Farmer’s Market but this place is just disappointing. So far Ive tried their mixed PoBoy with shrimp oysters, seafood gumbo with cornbread and salad, and bread pudding. The only I recommend is the bread pudding. Gumbo didn’t have the okra or the crab and just very plain in taste. The po boy is something to just fill you up but not to enjoy. Cornbread had some good taste to it at least. You have to get the bread pudding!

I give this place one star and it’s for décor! Since its mardi gra weekend here at the farmer’s market thought it would be «the place» to eat lunch. After getting over price-​shock, I said it’s worth a try. We ordered the shrimp po boy sandwich, beignets and blacked chicken salad. The po boy had way too much lettuce, I couldn’t find the micro shrimp. No sauce, maybe mayo? The beignets were big, hollow and tasteless, not even the powdered sugar had flavor. The blackened chicken salad left a lot to be desired. Dressing was colorful and not flavorful. Should have opted out when a customer came to the counter to return her cornbread because she said it was too dry. All I could do was eat and bare it while wishing I’d went to the pizza place right across from me. Smh!

First time trying gumbo and jambalaya and was not that impressed. Not too flavorful in my opinion. I expected more. I don’t recommend the gumbo– but the jambalaya is pretty good.
The gumbo is not for the picky eaters that need to know what is in their food. It’s a brown mess that has a lot of chew, so if you can’t handle the anxieties of not knowing what’s inside, don’t get it.
The prices are fair and the food fills you up fast because it’s a lot of starch– cornbread with each dish. The cornbread I got was pretty soft, although I read other reviews that it was rock hard. Make sure to ask for a soft piece.
Probably won’t come back it was worth a try– any restaurant at the farmers market is worth trying.
— if you regret your purchase there is a bar across from their station. Grab a beer and it will taste better.

The food was not great But it wasn’t bad either.
The beignets could be a lot better. (I felt the jazz kitchen had better beignets)
I do wish you get Gumbo without shrimp or make it optional,

NOT Southern flavored food as advertised! The cooks just spiced the food hot enough to try to cover up the subpar prepared food! I’m pissed. I appreciate a well prepared meal and today, I have been thoroughly LET DOWN!
Pacific Snapper — over spiced to be hot. Awful seasoning.
Mustard Potato Salad — pitifully seasoned.
Cornbread — dry & falls apart.

I was disappointed with the po boy. Too much bread not enough oysters. Next time I’ll order anything but.

They forgot to serve me cornbread with my large order of seafood gumbo. The seafood gumbo had tiny servings of shrimp, and no other type of seafood, so they should just call it a shrimp gumbo. I did not taste the crab meat it claimed to have. It was also very watered down and flavorless.

I really want to know how this place is still in business !!! ordered the gumbo, blackened salmon, red beans and rice and greens! All to go. Why did we do that. When we got home the gumbo was nothing but rice and Pot Lick ! No meat, nothing but Juice ! Campbell ‘s gumbo soup taste better than this ! The red beans and rice had no flavor! Greens had no flavor ! Taste like hospital food! Please do not waste your money ! The salmon was I guess just what it was blacken ! If you have No taste buds then this is the place for you !

For a different twist try their Cajun Meatloaf, it kind of grows on you with every bite. Yes, its part of Farmers Market and you will have to find seating at an outdoor picnic table, but that’s what makes this older sibling of the Grove a part of classic LA.

I just don’t understand why. Really, I mean I actually don’t know.
I don’t know why they don’t make the food more flavorful here. It’s just kind of bland and always has been since I first started coming here about 10 years ago. Mind you, I only come here when I’m desperate for Cajun food because it’s close to my house
Does it cost a lot more money or take a lot more time to make gumbo that is more authentic and flavorful? The same goes for pretty much anything I’ve had here.
I’m not complaining about the quality, freshness or temperature of the food. I’m not even saying they should make it spicier. Just more flavor in general.

This was my first time even in the farmer’s market at the grove, so i didn’t know what to expect. My boyfriend and I walked around and New Orlean’s food sounded great, we’ve been enjoying it lately. Decided to try this place out. We ordered the traditional gumbo, beignets, and a side of cornbread and potato salad.
Our order didn’t take very long, maybe a little less than 10 minutes. The food looked delicious! The large order of gumbo may have seemed a bit small, but trust me. it was enough for the two of us with all the sides and beignets. My boyfriend thought it wouldn’t have been enough food, but i knew it was. (perfect!). The gumbo was surprisingly really good! I was only hoping that there would’ve been a bit more okra inside. The cornbread wasn’t that good and the potato salad had mustard mixed in, which was pretty good! The beignets were amazing as always! it was my boyfriend’s first time having it and he really enjoyed it! for the price and amount, i would say that it was a great early dinner/​late lunch.

Eat It OR Beat It?
**BEAT IT!!**
It’s located inside farmer’s market at the grove… had the Po’ Boy and I felt like they forgot to put some sort of spread. It was like I was eating bread with fried shrimp. OK, can’t judge everything off one item right? Well, I tried the gumbo, and it seemed as though everything was overcooked, mushy… everything, mushy. BEAT IT!

My hubs and I LOVE southern food and recently try as many places as possible. It’s definitely not near the best we’ve ever had but it’s not the worst. I knocked off one star because of the pricing and inconsistency in service. We usually get the seafood gumbo and jambalaya and share. As for the sides, the best is probably the corn bread, the potato salad, and sweet potato chips. The single worst is the sweet potato salad which is like undercooked or raw pieces of sweet potato slaw with sauce.
The seafood gumbo is probably better but isn’t really abundant in actual seafood, more like tomato and rice. Jambalaya is OK, not the best not the worst. Prices are what you would expect at the grove but if you’re going to dish out $ 12 for a meal, there are better choices.
It’s in the Farmers Market at the Grove and it’s almost towards the end, furthest from the grove direction. There’s obviously parking but make sure you get validation because otherwise it gets really expensive. There is also general seating with foldable tables and chairs for everyone but I hate those because usually the sun is right in your face and food while you eat and they are rickety AF.
It’s not quite an A-​OK place, it’s just meh.

Don’t come here for the service. As I stood between the two cash registers with one man behind each, there was no looking up, let alone a greeting for me. I had to ask if one of them could take my order. The one looked to the other and asked if he wanted to — he said ‘no.’ so I ended up with the first one. I ordered the SMALL Gumbo Ya Ya.
My order went something like this…
Cashier: What was that — large?
Me: No, small.
Cashier: So you want the Gumbo Ya Ya?
Me: Yes.
Cashier: What size?
Me: Small. Can I also get a diet root beer?
Cashier: Yeah. Wait, wait you said small Gumbo Ya Ya, right?
Me: YES!!!
It was crazy. I waited about 12 mins for them to scoop already made soup into a bowl. Plus, there was no one in front of me. I honestly don’t know what they were doing. I felt like going around the counter and getting my own food.
Maybe the Gumbo Pot is not the most authentic New Orleans/​Creole food, but it still tasted great to me (maybe cause I’m not from there). It was a little chilly out and the soup hit the spot. I crumbled some of the corn bread in and it made it even better. Also really really loved my collard greens — tangy and hot in temperature. My total came to $ 11.45. I thought it was fair pricing for everything I got.
Don’t go expecting the best — but it’s pretty alright if you ignore the service.
1 star for service and 4 for my food.

I can’t say I’ve really ever loved eating at the Grove. I find that it’s such a crowded atmosphere, buzzing with constant activity, that sitting down to enjoy a nice meal is antithetical to the whole experience of the place.
We ended up here as a point of compromise after I vehemently disagreed with my friends about the quality of Pampas Grill (I standby that it’s a great Brazilian joint, but on this day, they could not be convinced). The menu looked appealing at first and I was looking for an old standby and went with the Jambalaya, assuming that a place called The Gumbo Pot could deliver on a staple dish. But I just wasn’t getting much flavor from their concoction. Perhaps they tone back the heat because they’re feeding the masses, but ultimately it was a pretty bland, less than noteworthy soup.
If you’re stuck at the Grove and in need of a meal, I’m betting you can find better.

This spot was OK. Considering the other options within steps I should have chosen another option.
I only tried the soft shell crab po-​boy but there was not much crab on there, the bread was not very fresh or not crusty or just tasted like it came from a cheap bakery. The overall sandwich was bland and for the money it was not much of a value.
They may have much better items here but my single experience here will probably be my last.

A great place to grab a fish dinner while you are listening to the free summer concerts at the Farmers Market. Quick friendly service too.
A friend got the Seafood appetizer plate and I was «Whats that? I have to have that.» It was only about $ 11 — and I really enjoyed it. Shrimp, crawfish and oysters. Match that with a beer or wine from across the way, and its a great low carb dinner.
Funny how as I was walking back to my table, people were just fixated on my plate. Two people asked what it was and where did I get it. It looks that good.
Good food at a great price, with great music on the patio.

After returning from New Orleans and getting the real experience, The Gumbo Pot is not tasty at all. Food Network really let me down. Had the jambalaya and gumbo and there was no heat or spice to the stews. They were just mild in flavor. I was also surprised that there was no okra in either dish.
The side dishes weren’t very tasty either. The corn bread muffin was dry and there weren’t any sweet potato chips (Friday night at 6pm and out of a staple item off the menu??!). They substituted the chips with other sides but it was nothing special – we chose five bean salad, green salad with creamy dressing, and Creole potato salad to go with our meal.
The fried pickles were best things that The Gumbo Pot had to offer and they’re not listed on the menu (how do you go wrong with fried pickles?). If I am ever having a craving for non-​authentic, creamier, greasier, and yummier jambalaya, I would rather go to Cheesecake Factory or CPK.

We saw a television segment on the Farmer’s Market, and were interested in many of the food stalls.
It was early, around 10:17 a.m. and not crowded at all. Since we were there for breakfast and leaving soon, I had to get some gumbo! The small seafood gumbo, with mustard potato salad and cornbread is $ 8.75.The portion was large, probably larger than the amount of the gumbo… who wants to eat that much potato salad? The gumbo was good, not that spicy, but too spicy for my 7-​year-​old, the potato salad was too spicy for him too. I enjoyed it the brown rue on top of rice. Maybe I should have ordered a large bowl to help me finish off all of the potato salad. I think the gumbo cooks for over six hours!