The Bayou

Had the shrimp taco appetizer and shrimp was a little undercooked. Crayfish Etoufee was average a few bites of the crayfish tasted weird and kind of ruined my tastebuds. Restaurant was not to busy but it was 2pm. Services was good as she was the server bartender and cashier and hostess. I won’t rush to come back

My husband, daughter and I just had an amazing meal at The Bayou. We started with oysters, both raw and chargrilled, and both were wonderful.
I ordered the Blackened Crawfish Caeser Salad, recommended by our awesome waitress Miya, after telling her that I was going as low carb as possible. It was delicious!
My husband ordered the Crawfish Étouffée, which my daughter and I also tried, and was also delicious.
My daughter ordered the Bayou Gravy Fries from the appetizer menu for her meal. My husband and I both tried a taste of the gravy, and oh my God… Sooo yummy. If you’ve never had bacon in your gravy, you must experience this.
We ordered some beignets to share for dessert, which were served piping hot and accompanied by chocolate drizzle. Perfection!
We left with smiles on our faces and powdered sugar on our shirts.
Overall, we would say the food compares to authentic New Orlean’s fare, and felt like we were back in the Big Easy for awhile. Then we stepped back out into Wisconsin’s winter at 5 degrees, and snapped back to reality.

Went there again for restaurant week. Was the best meal that we had. The service was excellent too.

Such a cute place in Madison. Anyone who knows me knows that I love a good Cajun/​creole restaurant! I had super high hopes based on the restaurant name and amazing décor.
We came in on a Saturday for lunch at 1 and the place was empty, literally 3 other people at the bar. I ordered the crawfish etoufee (see photo), it was decent but not as good as I expected. My fiancé had the chicken and sausage jambalaya, but he said it was just ok.
I definitely plan on returning maybe for dinner on a Friday/​Saturday night, I imagine it’s a totally different scene. I do recommend this place for anyone looking to try something outside of cheese curds and burgers.

The Bayou knocked my socks off! This place is so chock-​full of culture that I almost gave it 5 stars, but the food wasn’t quite at that level. I had 3 of their amazing char grilled oysters (kinda weird that they were cheesy, but it worked and even made me and my friends feel the need to lick the shells clean, oops), the shrimp étouffée (I got the lunch version which was the perfect size, had a great texture and was a perfect heat level for those not willing to go too spicy), and two desserts. The beignets were sinfully awesome, but the dough was thick and tasted a little too yeasty. The sweet potato bread pudding was too masked by the chocolate and caramel sauces it soaked in; we won’t order that again. My friends loved their dishes… I tried a bite of the catfish po boy and it was pretty great. The service was EXCELLENT– everyone working there seemed happy to be there. Customers at the bar seemed to be treated like family. I’ll be back!

Really great, perfect sized portions. Prices are perfect. Love this place!

The atmosphere was not very great. It was a lot more like a bar that also serves food then i expected. Mostly what they offered was cajon style sandwiches. I had the fried crayfish sandwich and I thought it was good, but maybe needed a little more seasoning. The whole meal just felt like it was missing something. I also had the seafood gumbo as a side and I thought this was very good and defiantly the best this about this place. it was a little spicy, but very good and authentic. The service was not that great. the waiter seemed very rushed and acted like he didnt care very much. I probably wont go back, but if you like good gumbo its worth the stop.

Some of the best Cajun good outside of Louisiana !!! Very friendly staff, oysters were sooooo fresh and the atmosphere makes you feel like you’re eating outdoors on bourbon street!!! Overall 10 stars!!!

Some of the best Cajun food I’ve ever had. Service is wonderful and the live music is great!!! I love coming here on Thursday evenings.

Another Saturday afternoon and here I am at The Bayou again. Happily, the have one of my davorite beers on tap again… Abita’s Grapefruit IPA! This pairs so well with the grilled oysters that I specifically made the trek all the way from ‘the land beyond the beltline’ for. Unfortunately, the Grapefruit IPA is a seasonal beer, and it’s been on tap for two weeks already, so how much longer they’ll have it is anyone’s guess. I debated whether to even tell y’all about it, since that means more for me while it’s here, but being a good Unilocaler, there it is.
All the food I’ve had here has been excellent but the oysters are always my go to. Whether you get ‘em fresh on the half-​shell, grilled, or ‘dirty’ (in a shot of vodka), you will not be disappointed.
Make sure you get here for Fat Tuesday! The most fun celebration in Madison and they serve AMAZING beignets! (which are served freshly made year round!)
Do yourself a favor, take a Saturday afternoon and make the trip to New Mad-​orleans!

I just need to start off this review by stating that I worked in a Cajun /​Creole restaurant for half my life.
When I arrived it was pretty empty so I had time to chat up the bartenders. I started talking to them how I worked in a Cajun/​Creole restaurant and they warmed up to me real fast. They started recommending everything that was popular and their own favorites.
I started with the Seafood Gumbo. Fresh seafood, nice thick veggies and a great roux base. Served with a piece of french bread.
* Now they use Leidenheimer bread which is a New Orleans staple. Not my favorite because it has to be served fresh within a day or two. But this placed seemed like they had that under control*
Next I tried a side of the Red Beans and Rice. You really got the flavor of the smoked ham hocks and Abita beer. With some local smoked andouille sausage. Chalk this one up to a win!
For my main course I had the Catfish Po Boy. Now they do this right. You can get it dressed, (shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and red onion) or naked and you can choose you sauce, (mayo, tartar, remoulade or cocktail.) The hand cut fries that came with it? Just stop right now. You won’t find any better than this.
For dessert, yes I was not full, or just did not care, I had the Crème Brulee. By know means am I a dessert snob but I have tried a lot of different ones and this one was good. It had a good custard /​pudding texture and the sugar was browned, not burnt. A nice portion sizing as well.
Now the best part of the review? The beer. Sweet baby alcohol gods the beer! They have Abita, and lot’s of it. So many choices you will not know what to do. They even had a nice selection that was no longer in season so they were hard to find. 12 oz. and 22 oz. bombers. If you have never had Abita get your butts down there for the drink alone. They also had a great selection of cocktails. \
This place really blew my mind. I cannot stress how great this place is, how friendly the bartenders are, and how tasty the food is… and all of it is well presented to, because we all know you eat with your eyes first.

The immediate stench of stale beer was a bit worrisome but our overall experience was enjoyable. The indoor atmosphere of outdoor Bourbon Street is like no other! Steamboat was by far the most interesting drink I’ve tasted; vodka martini, spicy yet light and refreshing. BBQ shrimp appetizer was so flavorful and spicy, we had to take a small container home-​thanks to the staff for suggestions on how to use it!

Very on and off. They used to be the best place to get cajun food that I’ve found in Madison, but they’re very inconsistent. They also have some waitresses that are absolutely abysmal. Sometimes I’ve gone and they’ve been really delicious and spicy and everything you could ask. Other times I’ve gone and the food is bland, the sweet potato fries are half-​cooked, and the service is absolutely awful.
One visit, we ordered in a nearly empty restaurant and waited for 2 hours without getting food. The waitress had to be chased down and it took 45 minutes to even get water at our table.
We gave it a final try about a month ago to see if it had improved and it hadn’t. The sweet potato fries still had hard uncooked fries in them and they had gotten rid of all the spiciness in the breading for the po’boys and the catfish. While the remoulade does add a little bit of spiciness, the food just wasn’t up to what it used to be.

This is probably the best Cajun restaurant in Madison. My favorite thing here is the Crawfish Étouffée. It’s quite spicy.
It was prepared differently than what I’ve had in New Orleans. But I think it tastes better the Bayou way.
The ambiance is very similar to the French Quarter outside restaurants.

We showed up on Friday night at 7pm and there was no wait for a table. Sweet. What’s not so sweet is the good news ends there.
We ordered some waters, a cocktail and the Cajun Cheese curds. We didn’t get our waters and cocktail until we were half way done with the curds. Not OK. Those things are salty man! My Pimms cup was served in a hard plastic that reminded me of middle school lunches. Classy.
Our entrees were OK my girlfriend had the fish tacos. They were pretty spicy but nothing too special. I had the catfish po boy with a side of sweet potato fries which were extra $. There were 7 fries. 7. I thought it was kinda ridiculous but the catfish po boy was huge. I didn’t know how to eat it. I tried to smush it down but it was still too big to get my mouth around it. The bun was hard and maybe a little stale so that didn’t make it any easier…
Service was painfully slow. Food was average. There are too many other better places to warrant a second visit.

Good deals on drinks especially happy hour. From the quality of bread, sandwiches and po boys will be a better selection than New Orleans Favorites. To try, Bayou Gravy Fries (aka poutine), and Cajun Cheese Curds (can you go wrong with a Wisconsin favorite?).
Duck Gumbo — original. Not bad. Undercooked rice. Overwhelming chili spice.
Red Beans and Rice — the Monday freebie portion is a cup. Not bad. Same undercooked rice.
Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya — stay away. Plenty of dry chunky chicken. Only 6 slices of perfectly pan seared andouille sausage. Not much taste to it. Soggy rice and plenty of it.
Bayou Beignets — it’s a joke… whomever said that it’s better than Café Du Monde. Dough is too thick. Right on the powder sugar portion. The chocolate syrup makes the beignets soggy. A waste of $$.
Community Coffee (New Orleans Blend) — the roasters totally forgot the chicory (that makes Café Du Monde latte special).
Venue and Service — clean. The balcony is the place to be. Service is pleasant, nice and thoughtful.
What I had is not great, and already expected… however, go for Happy Hour.

Favorite Happy Hour Spot!
6 oysters & 2 drinks for $ 12! Yes please!
Oysters are delicious, both fresh and chargrilled. Catfish po’boy is my go-​to entrée. A huge catfish filet deep fried to a perfect crispiness. Top it with the remoulade, and order it ‘dressed’. Fresh cut fries are always a hit. Lots of fun cocktails to choose from, and when they have their Tabasco infused vodka available, order a Steamboat martini, woohoo! Other favorites include: crab cakes, gravy fries, and seafood artichoke dip. Encounters with the servers and bartenders have always been pleasant. I always leave with a smile on my face.

Oh, Bayou, how you toy with my heart. I lived in the south for a few years and this is the best place I’ve come across that mimics the southern taste. New Orlean’s Take Out has nothing on the flavor of The Bayou. I would be more than happy to give a five star and become a regular if the prices were lowered. Alas, this place remains over priced. My first experience here was amazing. My friends and I talked with the person who was working at the time (we were the only ones in the place) and he was incredibly friendly! He tried to convince us to come to adult trivia, which I would love to go to. The prices really just keep me away. I live super close by to this place so usually when I get food here it’s a pickup. My boyfriend is usually the one who places the calls, but he’s complained to me multiple times about some lady being rude.
As far as the beignets go, I have no idea if they’re like Café du Monde. I never managed to make it to New Orleans which is something I regret and plan to fix in the very near future. After I have Café do Monde’s I’ll try to remember to update this review. That being said, I do like The Bayou’s, but I don’t know if they’re the best thing ever.
I love the look of the place! It’s over the top, but in a way that fits New Olreans. I wish they would change the tables and seats. I understand it works perfect for the theme, I just don’t like it for an indoor restaurant.
Oh, I almost forgot! I really love their seasonal beers! I forget which I tried but it was delicious and the person working really helped me to figure out which I should get.
Edit: I’m going to have to bump this up to a five star for a fantastic staff.

Cheap happy hour spot ($ 2 glasses of wine and cheap beer), plenty of seating (the place was empty, so accommodating a large group was no problem). Appetizers ordered were ok… cheese curds and sweet potato fries were good, but the «nachos» and artichoke dip were served with fried wontons rather than tortilla chips. Strange, and the menu doesn’t mention this. Our group didn’t order any entrees, so I can’t comment on those.
Staff was very friendly and attentive. New Orleans style décor needs to be updated, everything looks a little dated and cheesy.

This would be a five-​star joint based purely on the food.
Cajun Cheese Curds? Why yes, I do in fact enjoy bursts of flavor with every bite.
Chicken Sausage Jambalaya? Why yes, I also enjoy generous amounts of tender chicken and spiced sausages laid over a creamy bed of rice casserole immersed in a rich and spicy broth.
Shrimp po-​boy? Pieces of fried goodness laid over a bed of vegetables crammed inside two giant loaves of sandwich buns? Yes please!
However, I had to deduct one star for their cocktail drinks. Having tried the voodoo juice and a few others, I can honestly say it’s just not very good.
First, everything’s a tad too sweet. And by a tad, I mean like so overwhelmingly sweet that you can’t taste any alcohol. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my cocktails to taste like 151s, but there’s a reason I didn’t order a soda. Second, the syrup just tastes very artificial, and leaves a bad aftertaste in your mouth.
Anyways, aside from that, the food was absolutely out of this world!
Though, what’s up with the DJ booth and the definitely-​not-​very-​southern music playing in the background? Just curious, as it doesn’t really match the theme.
PS: adult trivia on Wednesday nights and even more adult trivia on Tuesday nights.