Best Cajun Restaurants in Lafayette, Louisiana: 4 Local Favorites

(Lafayette, LA) - Ask anybody in Acadiana where to get the best Cajun food and you better have some time, because that conversation is going to take a while. We take it personal around here. Everybody's got their spot, their grandma's gumbo to measure everything against, and a strong opinion about who does crawfish etouffee the right way (no tomatoes in Cajun country, leave that for creole gumbo).

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I've eaten my way around this town for years, and a few names keep coming up no matter who you ask. So I pulled together the big four Cajun restaurants in the Lafayette area, the ones locals send their out-of-town family to and the ones we keep going back to ourselves. I started with three spots just about everybody agrees on, then dug through the reviews to land on a fourth that earns its place at the table.

Four Lafayette Restaurants Serving Authentic Cajun Food

1. Prejean's

If you've driven I-49 north of town, you've seen Big Al, the 14-foot gator standing guard out front in the lobby. Prejean's has been a local institution since 1980, and it's the kind of place you bring people when you want them to get the whole Cajun experience in one sitting. Even under new ownership, the quality and reputation haven't changed. Live Cajun music most nights, gumbo that holds up against anybody's, and a menu big enough that picking just one thing is the hardest part of the meal. The last time my wife and I went, we nearly loaded our selves up with appetizers accidentally. The seafood platters are generous, so come hungry or plan on a to-go box.

Address: 3480 NE Evangeline Thruway, Lafayette, LA 70507
Website: prejeans.com

2. Don's Seafood

Don's got its start right here in Lafayette back in 1934, which makes it one of the oldest Cajun seafood names in the state. That kind of staying power tells you something. The grilled catfish gets a lot of love, the etouffee is the real deal, and the fried alligator is worth ordering even if you've had it a hundred times. It's a comfortable, family-friendly room where the food shows up fresh and the prices don't scare you off. Plus, the building is deceptively large. Even with the parking lot full, there's usually a room that has space for you and your group.

Address: 4309 Johnston St, Lafayette, LA 70503
Website: donsseafood.com

3. Lagneaux's

Lagneaux's is where you go when you want to eat until you can't anymore. The Cajun seafood buffet is the main event, and yes, that includes all the boiled blue crab you can handle. The vibe is pure old-school maw-maw and paw-paw, the kind of spot where the staff treats you like they've known you for years. Just be familiar with their hours of operation. They're closed Sunday and Monday, and they run lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Go on your birthday and ask about the discount.

Address: 445 Ridge Rd, Lafayette, LA 70506
Website: lagneauxsseafood.com

4. The Cajun Table

For the fourth spot I went straight to the Yelp reviews, and The Cajun Table kept rising to the top of the Yelp lists right alongside the heavy hitters. Don't let the strip-mall storefront fool you. This is scratch-made Cajun cooking from a family that runs their own crawfish farm, so the boiled crawfish is about as fresh as it gets in Lafayette. The crawfish nachos have a cult following, the gumbo gets rave reviews, and the whole place feels like Sunday dinner at somebody's grandma's. A genuine local favorite that's earned the company it keeps.

Address: 4510 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy, Suite C & D, Lafayette, LA 70508
Website: thecajuntablellc.com

More Lafayette Cajun Restaurants Worth Trying

Narrowing it to four is the hard part, because Lafayette's got Cajun food on just about every corner. Bon Temps Grill over on Pinhook pulls in big numbers and great reviews if you're in the mood for something a touch more elevated. Another newbie to the area is Hook & Boil on Kaliste Saloom (in the former Viva La Waffle) that provides Cajun comfort food to go in their drive thru. And there are dozens of little seafood shacks and lunch spots around Acadiana doing it right every day.

Got a spot you think belongs on this list? That's the fun of it. Everybody in Acadiana's got an opinion, and around here, that's a good thing.

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Gallery Credit: Dave Steel