3 Delicious Cajun and Creole Restaurants to Visit in Lafayette

If you’ve never sampled the unique flavors that make up Cajun and Creole dishes, you are definitely missing out. Here in Lafayette and the surrounding area, you can find a variety of restaurants that serve delicious options.

Bon Temps Grille

Situated on Verot School Road, Bon Temps Grille is a favorite among locals. The dinner menu includes items like a sausage and boudin board served with charred red onion aioli, French bread, and creole mustard, and NOLA shrimp and grits, which includes jumbo shrimp tossed in New Orleans-style BBQ sauce on a bed of jalapeno-cheese grits.

Try a cup of the house specialty, smoked bird and andouille gumbo, and pair the hearty stew with a seafood Creole cobb salad. Blackened chicken is another uniquely Creole offering, served with penne pasta, roasted tomato cream, and veggies. This restaurant also has a full bar offering cocktails, beer, and wine.

Prejean’s

Prejean’s is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so you can get your Cajun fill at any time of the day. The breakfast menu showcases the classic options like pancakes, hash browns, and eggs Benedict, but it also includes some local flavor with entrees such as the Cajun Sunrise, which has two eggs, grits, and choice of breakfast meat, and Prejean’s Napoleon, which includes a stack of a fried crisp potato cake, a crab cake, and a poached egg, finished with a hollandaise drizzle, smoked tasso, and fresh shrimp.

For dinner, start with something extra special like the Croq de Jacques, which are alligator filets that come breaded and seasoned, or the crawfish nachos, piled high with smooth crawfish cream, cheddar cheese, jalapeno peppers, and fresh herb aioli. You can choose from four types of gumbo and two types of bisque, along with a variety of pasta dishes and traditional Cajun entrees. But Prejean’s has a few unique items, such as the crawfish enchiladas, that combine flavors from multiple cultures.

Blue Dog Café

At Blue Dog Café, you can sample world-famous Cajun entrees along with Louisiana fusion food. As you walk in the front doors, you’ll immediately notice the collection of artwork that adorns the walls, giving the impression that you’re dining in an art gallery. The food is also a work of art, with a head chef who brings the local flavors into every entrée. Some of the top appetizers include the smoked duck quesadilla, crab cakes au gratin, and seafood wontons topped with plum ginger sauce. You can also try the corn & crab bisque or Treasures of the Bayou, a hearty stew with a variety of seafood.

The Blue Dog Café also hosts Sunday brunch from 10:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Be sure to make a reservation if you plan to attend, since it sells out quickly. Dine on prime rib, smoked salmon and bagels, crab cakes Benedict, oyster cornbread dressing, and other tasty dishes while you listen to live tunes from local musicians.

It’s easy to see why Cajun and Creole restaurants are so popular, so when you’re in the Lafayette area, be sure to visit at least one to experience the local flavors.

Image “Mmm… gumbo” via Flickr by jeffreyw used under CC BY 2.0 / cropped from original

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