The Cajun Experience

Went to dinner with my wife and son on our first night in DC. We had an 8:15 res but arrived early (around 7:45). They accomodated us without hesitation.
Food: We started off with the Hushpuppies. They are very good but not your traditional flavor. They have a sweeter aftertaste with less of a corn flavor. This actually worked really well when combined with the spicy ramoulade sauce.
For entrees my wife had the Muffaletta which she didn’t care for. The olive mix is more if a tapenade & was distinctly sweeter than what she was expecting. However, the chips served with it were very good. My son had the fried crawfish. He was very happy. I had the chicken & sausage gumbo. It was spot on. Just the right amount of spice. The meat was flavorful but not dominant. For dessert we had the beignets. Very good!
Service: Our server was very pleasant but you could tell she was flustered. Her tables seemed to be spread all around the restaurant as opposed to a defined compact section. Having been a server before, I know this can be disasterous. Despite that, she was as attentive as she could be.
Overall, not bad… not great…

Went there with family for dinner and this place had the hugest portions I’ve ever seen. I had the shrimp and grits which could’ve fed four people. I also had the collard greens which were good, but I had no idea they would have so much pork in them. Everyone else had the étouffée and gumbo. The beignets were very good.
The hurricanes are good and only $ 5.50 during happy hour from 5p-​7p.
*** I also went there for brunch once and the bottomless mimosas tasted like orange juice. You’re better off avoiding those…

Frustrating.
The food at The Cajun Experience is very good, but you shouldn’t waste an evening out to go there. This was our second visit — the first time the server spent the whole evening apologizing for the slowness of the kitchen. There were a total of three tables and we had a 45 minute wait for fried oysters. Then another 30 for beignets for dessert. It was good but they are allowing their incompetent kitchen staff to ruin the entire experience.
We gave it another chance and the moment we walked in the manager (?) said he wanted to warn us that the food was unusually slow tonight. We mentioned our prior experience and he said it would probably take the same amount of time. It was excruciatingly hot in the dining room — they hadn’t bothered to turn on the A/​C on this 90 degree day. So after our 15 minute hunt for parking and walking through a freak rainstorm to get there, we left, exasperated.
Don’t waste your time. They need to call Gordon Ramsey and get straightened out. Otherwise they’ll be out of business in a few months, unless the owner is just anxious to blow every dime he has.

I went to New Orleans in January for my boyfriend’s birthday. We LOVED the food there! Absolutely loved it! So I was pumped about KGB deal offering brunch at a NOLA-​style restaurant in DC. «Yasssssssssssssssssss!» was my initial reaction. I got 2 brunch deals.
I made the reservations for Mother’s day. I was taking my aunt out and figured that the Cajun Experience was going to be a good place to go, bonus that I had a deal to it.
This place is situated next to Lauriol Plaza, which is always packed. The Cajun Experience. .. . pretty empty. As in 4 other tables seated in the whole place. That should have been a red flag, but we pressed on, in pursuit of unlimited mimosas.
We were a bit early for our 1:30 reservations. The hostess looked around, kind of confused. I explained that our reservation was in all of 11 minutes. She sat us.
The décor: This COULD be a cute space. Lots of exposed brick and an outdoor space — most DC restaurants would be SUPER jealous of this space. And since its a NOLA style place, I expected to see more than some cheap beads and Mardi Gras masks dangling sadly in a corner. NOLA is so much more than Mardi Gras anyway. For Mother’s Day, most restaurants put some flowers on the table. Not this place. Hell, even Chick Fil A puts flowers on their tables on a normal day. How hard would it have been to go to Ikea, get some bud vases and put a carnation or two in them? Not my fave flower at all, but it would have jazzed up the place.
Service: The service was phenomenal! Our server was the sweetest. As the kitchen kept effing up (more on that in a minute), you could tell she was so embarrassed. I wish I got her name. She was a petite young lady with short hair. Anyway, she should leave this place and go to a place where the cook doesn’t send her out with sub-​par food. At the end of the meal, she gave my aunt a chocolate and a hug. That was very sweet of her. She’s too good for this BS place.
The Food: What in the ENTIRE hell is going on here?!? We started out with mimosas. They were warm. And weak. My aunt asked what sort of champagne was used. The server came back with the answer — Andre. That’s right, folks. Some $ 4.99 champagne and they were being stingy with it. But yet, unlimited mimosas were $ 20 per person. That alone made me want to curse someone out. But I pressed on.
I ordered the Café du Monde pancakes. They come alone. I wanted bacon to go along with them. It’s not listed on the menu, so you’ll have NO idea how much it is. Didn’t matter. I wanted it anyway. My aunt ordered the Bourbon Street Omelette, which came with home fries.
It took FOREVER for the food to come out. For the place to have been that empty, this really made zero sense to me. The food finally made it to the table. My pancakes were 3 very different sizes, scattered on the plate with what appeared to be Hershey’s chocolate drizzled over them. Ummm, ok. My bacon came on a separate side plate. You could see it was cold.
The most insulting was my aunt’s food. Here I am taking her out for Mother’s day and they deigned to serve her THIS. Her omelette came out in like 3 different pieces. It was without the sausage and cheese that it was supposed to have. Then, it had black stuff all over it from the pan it was cooked in. In addition to that, the home fries looked like the kind you get from the frozen food section and just dump into a pan. These were hard and sat in a pool of grease. Absolutely disgusting. The server came back to check on us shortly. She apologized about the omelette and promised my aunt a new one. She came back with a REALLY nice looking omelette that was worlds away from what that first one looked like. Why didn’t this one come out in the FIRST place?
We were overall pretty unhappy with the dining experience. We asked to speak to a manager. The server told us that one wasn’t there. WHAT?!? On a major holiday in the restaurant business, you’re not there? After that, we pretty much concluded that someone must not want this place to succeed. In total, I paid $ 60 for the worst brunch ever. It’s not the money that bothers me, necessarily. But it’s the fact that it was MOTHER’S DAY and it sucked so bad.
I called on Monday morning to talk to a manager about my experience. It took all day, but someone finally got back to me. The guy I talked to was nice, but he made a lot of excuses for the screwed-​up everything. I held off on writing my review, because I thought I might go back and give it a chance to improve. But, it’s pretty plain to see that The Cajun Experience doesn’t give a damn about what they put out and that it wasn’t likely to get any better.
Avoid, avoid, AVOID!

Went here for Mother’s Day brunch. BIG MISTAKE! Everything about this place was slow, slow, slow. You’d think that on one of the biggest restaurant days of the year, they’d be prepared, but they were not. No live music, no doorknob on the front door, no air conditioning (the ceiling fans are for decoration only, folks!). I’ve had better food off a food truck. There was one large party in the room and I saw their meals come out over the span of about 30 minutes. Half the table was eating, while the other half was watching.
I’m gonna have to make this Mother’s Day disaster up to my wife next year. These guys need a visit from one of those restaurant make over shows to save them from disaster.

This place was overall a disappointment for me. I almost turned around and left when I arrived because the place had a very unpleasant aroma. Also, I went to the restroom to wash my hands and it didn’t look very clean… which I think is a bad sign.
But I was hungry and didnt feel like walking around to find another option, so I stayed. I ordered a glass of sauvginon blanc, and it was really bad so that was another strike against this place.
I decided to order a shrimp po boy with a side of crawfish mac & cheese. The po boy was nothing to write home about but was not bad. But the mac & cheese saved the day. It was seriously tasty.
Still, the overall experience was not up to par for my expectations. I seriously doubt that I would go back because there are too many other really good restaurants in DC.

I came here for lunch on a Saturday with a groupon in hand for $ 20. We got two poboy sandwiches which were tasty, but lacked shrimp. I counted 6 small shrimps. Six. Pretty disappointed. I think the food is tasty, but definitely not worth the price. I would rather go to Luke’s Lobster and get a tummy lobster roll for a couple dollars more.
I probably wont’ be returning.

Since I was born and raised in the Deep South, I have been craving Cajun food. When I came across a living social deal for the Cajun Experience, I looked at menu and HAD to eat there. The place is really tiny on the inside, but it has a «down– home» feel. I feel transported back to the South. The background music was from the Rebirth Brass Band, which was a major plus for me.
I gave it 3 stars for several reasons. First, when we sat down, the waitress gave us a long list of what they did not have on the menu. Unfortunately, my sister came for the alligator and crawfish etoufee, and neither was available. She settled for the red beans and rice, which she thought was good. Next, my water glass and my sister’s margarita glass had lipstick still on it. Neither of us were wearing lipstick. I still want to know what type of lipstick that was. It was able to withstand dish-​washing and still stay perfectly on the glass. Last, when we got the check, the waitress had added 20% gratuity to it. The menu specifically said that a 20% gratuity would be added with parties of 8 or more. It was just my sister and I.
On the plus side, I had the fried okra (the best I have ever had), fried green tomato po boy (next time I am just getting the fried green tomatoes), and hush puppies (they were huge and tasty).
All and all, I will give it another shot. Maybe I will try it during the week since the manager said that most of the items were sold out because of the Friday/​Saturday rush.

This is easily the best straight-​up Cajun food I’ve found in DC. There might be better places to get a unique twist on traditional Cajun dishes, but I’ve yet to find anything in the District that tops their traditional offerings. Service always comes with a smile here, and most of the staff from the cooks to the servers are actually from Louisiana, if not New Orleans itself.
The main reason I continue to come back to Cajun Experience is their crawfish étouffée. It was recommended to me on my first visit when I was torn between a few dishes, and it has never disappointed since. It is completely loaded (
) with crawfish, which are cooked to the perfect tenderness, and the dark roux is just outstanding, packed with spices. The rice is always cooked well here and I’ve never had it undercooked like other places (Bayou Bakery should be ashamed).
Nothing pairs better with their étouffée than the jalapeño cornbread that comes on the side. I’m so picky about this stuff that I generally just don’t even eat it, but the version that Cajun Experience does is exactly how I like it when I do find a good one. It’s firm but also flaky, without that crumbly sandy texture that poorly made cornbread develops. It’s also clear that it’s freshly made and never dried out. This is the ultimate dipping vessel.
As for sides, the boudin balls are nice, some of the better that I’ve had, but not really enough to make you say wow. The fried okra, while good, is served a bit weird, coming out as an appetizer instead of something on the side, and I don’t really understand dipping it in ranch dressing. Is this really something they do in New Orleans? Other sides are good, but I’m still looking for one that will be my go-​to to pair with the crawfish.
I’m always a bit surprised to see how empty Cajun Experience is almost every time I visit. Even during several brunch/​lunch trips or normal dinner hours it has been relatively quiet. I’ve yet to come for one of their live music nights, so perhaps it gets a little busier then. I’m wondering if part of this is due to the somewhat weak drinks I receive here. They always taste great, but they use entirely too much of the sweet mixers, even after requesting it be toned down. If they could get that part fixed this would undoubtedly jump up to a 5 star place for me.

Ordered food for carry out using a Groupon. Even though the terms of the coupon indicated it was valid for carry out, the woman who answered said it wasn’t. Strike one. I argued a bit and she backed down. Ball.
I ordered from the menu they had on-​line. She said the items I wanted weren’t available. I asked how both could be unavailable and she said the menu was out-​of-​date. Strike two. She read the new menu to me and I ordered. Ball.
Arrived a couple of minutes early and the food was waiting and hot. Paid and asked for plates and plastic silverware. They gave me the silverware but said they don’t have carry out plates. Strike three.

Hurricane was good and our waitress was awesome. Everything else was terrible… even the hushpuppies! It’s fried dough people and you messed this up??? Come On.
Definitely wouldnt go back, which is sad bc I generally love New Orleans style food!

An experience indeed! Aside from the slow service, everything was phenomenal. It was a little taste of New Orleans smack in between U Street and Dupont.
The spicy hushpuppies with a cajun aioli dipping sauce were the perfect beginning. And the po’ boys… so delicious they rivaled many I’ve tasted in LA. The blackened shrimp and the fried crawfish were to die for. The former nicely seasoned, well cooked, and covered with the right amount of spicy sauce. The latter lightly fried and extra flavorful, with the lettuce and tomato for an added crunch it was a complete sandwich.
This place is casual, inviting, and inexpensive. Plus the food is really good… enough said.

I miss New Orleans every day and I regularly have to remind myself why I left the music, the food and the people behind. I would like to that Cajun Experience for giving me just a li’l taste of home.
The boudin wasn’t really boudin as I know it but it was tasty but the shrimp and grits were well executed and very flavorful. The highlight of my meal was the beer. For any NOLA natives out there it is worth noting that this place serves AndyGator. Yep. A rare beer you can barely find in the Marigny let alone outside of the state of Louisiana.
I look forward to returning to watch a Saints game where I won’t be the only other person wearing a black and gold feather boa.

This is a place that doesn’t know what it wants to be. On the one hand, it’s a lovely space with hardwood floors, big windows, a charming exposed brick wall, and an intimate outside patio — on the other hand, the walls of the restaurant are lined with flat screen TVs which gives it a slight psuedo-​sports bar feel. The menu is equally schizophrenic — there’s a definite 20 something happy hour scene featuring cheap beers and cheap appetizers (even frogs’ legs are cheap between 4p-​7p) and yet a lot of the food is highly overpriced (entrees in the high teens and lower 20s). The waiters ask if you have reservations, and then they ignore you for most of the evening. It’s that kind of place that seems like it wants to be fancy but doesn’t have the substance to pull it off.
As for the food, the best thing is to order simple (perhaps the very best thing is just to come for drinks — the customers who were drinking heavily seemed to enjoy the food more) — the po boy with blackened shrimp was very basic: spicy shrimp, one piece of lettuce, and one tomato, served on mediocre bread with a side of perfectly salty chips. The chips saved the po boy from disaster. Far worse was the gumbo which tasted like a big bowl of Tabasco — it was just spice hiding flavorlessness. The worst part of it is that ordinarily gumbo is one of those dishes where every bite is different; this gumbo, however, looked and tasted like a bowl of red mush.
I’ve long been suspicious of 18^th Street (see my review of Las Canteras — a restaurant which proved to me that there’s at least one something-​good on the block). Nothing here was exciting enough to warrant a return, despite the promise of the space and the lure of cheap drinks.

Maybe this is a five-​star place and I have a no-​star palette when it comes to Cajun food? Last time my people ate Cajun was 1710 before the King kicked the acadians out of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and PEI so I’ve got no credibility as a judge of Cajun cuisine. Nevertheless…
Great location — main floor of a townhouse. It’s bigger than it looks from the outside. Patio out back is just excellent.
Purple haze beer — sublime (Louisiana’s Abita brewery with a little raspberry kick).
Fried oysters — wonderful. I would walk from Canada to DC just for another plate of them.
Sampler plate of crawfish etoufee, chicken and sausage gumbo, red beans and sausage gumbo, and jambalaya was only so-​so. Etoufee and gumbo flavours were kinda ho-​hum until I added a big kick of tabasco. The jambalaya was okay but didn’t knock my socks off.
Beignets — nice flavour and texture with a great hit of chocolate sauce on top.
Next time, I’d work my way down the appetizer menu — fried oysters, boudin balls, crawfish pie gator bites and skip the entrees — and more beer please.

I came on the living social 1 dollar deal day and I was really impressed. I’m giving them 5 stars for now based on the cajun sampler and fried okra appetizer. The flavors and textures were spot on, or in the case of the red beans and rice better, from how i remembered my recent trip to NOLA. Bardia’s up the street really can’t compete though I do like those folks personally.
I’m really sort of excited to go back from a po’boy and some etoufee

Definitely a fan of this place as a cajun/​creole option in DC, but no doubt in «the boot» it would be just OK.
*Fried oyster appetizer + remoulade: A+
*Half-​and-​Half Crawfish (fried/​etoufee): B+
–The etoufee was HEAVENLY and I really wish I would have just ordered all etoufee as the fried half was underwhelming. I thought they could have given more white rice with this dish. The jalapeño hushpuppy was yummy. The potato salad did nothing for me.
*Seafood Gumbo: B–
–Main criticism is that it was not «thick» enough. Saw this as soon as it arrived to the table. Also no okra. The flavor was spot on… it just needed more body.
*Beignets: C
–Meh. I’ve only had these babies once prior in New Orleans at Dumonde. The beignets here lacked a big something. I ate 1 out of 3.
Abita Beer Offerings: A+
Overall, this spot was cool. Intimate if not a *little* cramped in spaces. Friendly. Simple. My only service criticism would be that they really need to offer some sort of bread basket as a meal-​starter. Space between ordering and arrival of appetizer felt like forever.
I really love southern Louisiana cooking and there’s not an abundance of that to be found in these parts. So I’ll definitely be back to this place to try out more of the menu and I will DEF be giving their brunch a whirl soon.

Fried oysters, yummy!
Po’ boy and gumbo? So-​so
Don’t expect N’awlins

I wish I remembered what was in the Grenade that I ordered. It reminded me a bit of an Ecto Cooler inspired Jungle Juice. Basically, a few Grenades from here could make a few «Grenades» look pretty good at the end of an evening.
Just about everything I tasted here was pretty spot on, but the fried oysters really stood out. They were lightly breaded, perfectly crispy and yet still so succulent.
I also ordered the newest addition to the dessert menu, Smushcake (although on the bill it says Smashcake.) This sweet treat was not even listed on the menu yet, but our awesome waiter Greg sold me on it without realizing it. Basically, it’s a chocolate fudge-​like, brownie-​esque piece of glory with little pieces of rice krispies «smushed» into it, topped with ice cream and drizzled with a fresh, raspberry purée. It was good, but I definitely preferred the Café Du Monde beignets.
The space is of modest size, but there is a warmth to the restaurant that makes the size feel perfectly intimate. It’s also rather versatile in my opinion — it would be suitable for a date or even just a casual walk in off the street. The staff is incredibly friendly and interestingly enough, all but 2 or 3 employees moved here from New Orleans in recent months to work here.
Greg (the most awesome waiter ever) also informed us that over the summer, they plan on hosting all you can eat and drink crawfish boils on the back patio.
I will definitely be back to get my hands on one of those PoBoys. In fact, the $ 13 PoBoy lunch special would be mid-​day dream — it comes with beignets!

I just came to this restaurant at the request of a friend and I LOVE it!
I had the crawfish etouffe. It comes with potato salad & a piece of the Poboy bread. It was delish! Very spicy, buttery, good. I’m from the south, so I definitely appreciate good home cooking that’s authentic.
They have all traditional New Orleans drinks. And the bar is packed on a snow day. I had the hurricane, which is now sneaking up on me, so pardon any typos.
Finishing my meal with some beignets, which I would eat as a last meal if I were on death row. It’s already packed after 4 days open, so get there while you can. They also have a love cajun band on the weekends. :-)