Their shrimp and grits are amazing, drinks are solid. Definitely worth a visit, you'll be coming back for sure.

Food is great. Space and ambiance inviting. Outdoor patio is dog friendly. Menu is a little limited. No raw bar was available during our visit other than oysters, which was a little disappointing. We are staying at the hotel. Impressed enough to try again. read more

Really great food! This restaurant has become a favorite spot for me and my friends. I live 25 mins away from this place and It's definitely worth the drive. read more

Menu is pretty targeted towards the Bayou theme. Food was good and the price points are ok. Ambiance is dark and little loud but is still a great option for a date night or dinner before a night downtown. read more

Bayou on Bay - Happy Hour Menu - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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I throughly enjoyed my evening here. I had the roast beef po'boy and it was quite delicious. The dressing on the cole slaw was pretty darn goodalong with the cajun sweet potato fries and creamy remoulade for dipping them in. My husband had the bourbon chicken and it was melt in your mouth amazing. We enjoyed Hurricanes while we waited and they were as good as any we had in New Orleans. To top off our evening we had a lime cheesecake and a very warm gooey brownie with vanilla bean ice cream. Both were excellent. Our server was that perfectly attentive type. Stops by just enough not to be annoying and able to answer all our questions.We walked out of there fat and happy. read more

Bayou on Bay - Hurricane while waitin' for my Po'Boy. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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Biscuits and Gravy at the Bayou on Bay (Part of the Biscuits and Gravy in Bellingham project! http://www.yelp.com/list/biscuits-and-gravy-in-bellingham-bellingham ) The biscuits and gravy at Bayou on Bay are everything you would expect from a creole/cajun restaurant. Spicy and delicious! The biscuits are made-from scratch crumbly biscuits (very tasty!), and the gravy is a spicy brownish gravy that has nice big chucks of spicy sausage in it. Presentation is excellent, served in a bowl and garnished with parsley and green onion shavings. Portion size is on the smaller side, but the price is all right: $6.99 for two split biscuits with gravy. read more

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This place is awesome. Tried for brunch for the first time on Saturday. Out server, Rosy, was perfect. We started with some fried okra-so tasty! Then my partner in crime had crab eggs Benedict, while I had red beans and rice with an over easy egg on top. Both were excellent. Red beans and Rice was a huge portion, I took most of it home, and both of us were stuffed. Truly authentic New Orleans food. We liked it so much that we came back today, got some Beignets to go and took them to Acme Ice cream to have with affogato. Stupidly amazing and so worth the million calories. read more

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Listen....I wanted to love this place. The service was so amazing. On a busy Friday night we had to wait a bit but that's to be expected, and the host kept us in the loop continuously. Our server was very sweet and just the right amount of attentive. The vibes inside were nice as well. The food was a different story. To start I got a sweet tea, and it was just regular iced tea with i think one pump of sugar at the bottom, not even mixed. I ordered the gumbo and it was honestly the worst gumbo I've ever had. Maybe I'm just more picky because I'm from the south, but the gumbo was very bitter and just not pleasant to eat at all. I could tell they burned the roux straight away :(. The shrimp in the gumbo was also small popcorn shrimp? It gave the vibe that it was frozen. Lastly the cornbread was very gummy and dense. I do still want to go back, but I'll definitely be trying something different! read more

I used to love this place! Unfortunately, they're segregating people with a certain medical condition now and they won't let me eat indoors there any more. I sure hope these folks can wake up to the lies they've been brainwashed with some day, so I can eat here again! I will have to decide if it's forgivable or not before ever returning. I think the quicker they stop, the more likely I am to forgive. read more

We sat at the bar and the bar staff was so attentive! We had gumbo and blacken chicken pasta! The GUMBO was to die for!!! Such Rich flavor and added prawns made it perfect!! The pasta was amazing too exactly what I wanted to eat and the perfect amount of heat!! This is our new place to come up to Bellingham for!! Congrats on the 10 year birthday! Your a winner in our book!! read more

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The worst service I have ever received. The bar tender seemed upset that my friend and I wanted to dine, we received the cold shoulder the entire time from the wait staff. The food was by far the worst part. The outdoor seating area is probably the only saving grace for this place. My friends and I now refer to this place as "A Cajun Applebees". read more

Having come from down south, I was excited to find a cajun restaurant on my visit to Bellingham. I ordered the Bayou iced tea and the crawfish etouffee. The iced tea was served with a lemon slice and a shot glass of mint syrup; I found it strange that it was not premixed or maybe I don't understand the concept. The crawfish etouffee was beautifully presented but seemed a little bland, so I ended up dousing it in hot sauce. Online menu specifies that this is prepared with a classic brown roux; I do not believe this is true unless this is the thinnest roux I have ever seen. Service was a bit slow, despite it not being busy early sat evening. Metered street parking was plentiful, but most of the downtown shops seemed closed. read more

Decent parking after driving around the corner. Check out their daily specials. I decided upon the Wednesday ribs and it came with a glass of beer! Checked out the Kulshan Brewing Company's Bastard Kat IPA. Ambience: the booths are too far from the table and the light, though shaded, is too bright; then I discovered it can be turned off with a switch beside the table. But they are private, even if you are near the kitchen. Food: ribs were good but seemed a but fatty and my partner's gumbo was the right spiciness at two out of four stars, but was too thick. The green salad was nice with nice with candied pecans. Service: friendly but they could have brought the salad out sooner. Actually it came with the entree. Overall, it's on my list of places to try again...hope they can do a great shrimp po'boy! read more

Wow, not sure how this place does not have a 5 star rating. We got wings, hush puppies, oyster shooters, an oyster poboy, Mac and cheese, and shrimp and grits. Everything was amazing. Service was also really great. Definitely will be back. read more

We ate here last evening after a long absence. I'm sorry that we waited so long. As former Southerners who know good Southern food, we found this to be very GOOD Southern food! Our party ordered: gumbo, fried okra, collard greens, wings, Mac and cheese, and chicken tenders. All delicious! Madeline, our server, was the perfect combination of efficiency, friendliness,and knowledge. We will be back soon because I hear the rockfish Po'boy is a must! read more

Normally a favorite of mine, I was disappointed with a recent rockfish entrée. It was prepared blackened, but the only detectable seasoning was salt. Lots of salt. And it was tiny. I'm never sure what motivates a chef to send out a tiny sliver as a portion for an entrée. Is it to be fashionable? Is it to save money? Or is it just to be mean? It's not fashionable. Thankfully, we got over the tiny food fad years ago. How much money could you be saving by serving 4 ounces of fish instead of 9 or 10? Is it really worth losing customers? My remaining faith in humanity prevents me from believing you're just being mean. The rest of my meal was excellent. read more

I always try to avoid the woke joke that is the Bayou because the staff is rude. Me and my homey who is a brotha also (that means black). Walk in, we are immediately treated rude by this tall blonde host, nbd maybe she's having a bad day. We eat, drink and on the way out I see another patron that I know from childhood. It's not packed there's tons of room. The same angry looking blonde comes over and asks if we could "clear the walkway". I say walkway, there's 8 feet and we're standing at the bar. I say to myself you know I already don't like this place so I go outside. On my way out I take a pic of the chick for this yelp review. I go outside and then manager (very sweet) and another chick come outside and tell me it's illegal to take a picture of someone which is not true. I say that. She asks why I took the pic. I say for my yelp review. Then they say they just want it over and I say it is and was over, I'm outside and now you've confronted me. The other chick says I have to leave the area because they own it. I say this is the sidewalk and whatever you think happened was over and now you're escalating it. Then she calls the police on 2 young black men standing on the sidewalk. I say well now we have to stay, the nice manager says no you guys can go. I say are you nuts. So the police can catch us up the street like we're running, I don't think so. We ended up walking away (for the 2nd time) as to not escalate. You would think a place called Bayou would be more receptive to people of color, but they do have a black lives matter sign so I guess they're covered. If you want to be subjugated at a place with 100 percent white staff and the police called on you as you stand on the sidewalk I 10 out of 10 recommend. Black people, I don't recommend going unless you want the police called on you. read more

Bayou on the Bay was like being in New Orleans without the heat and humidity! Great food, great service, and from our outdoor table overlooking Bellingham Bay, one of the best views in America! What could be better? If they served Red Stripe and Blackened Voodoo, they'd be able to capture the entire gastonomical experience... Add beignets to Bellingham's great coffee selections, and there'd be no need to leave Whatcom County! read more

I love this place. Especially the happy hours! Food is great and the drinks are amazing. However, the front ladies and stuffs of the restaurant side are not friendly. If you are not minor, GO TO THE BAR SIDE! And you would love it! You can order the same things as restaurant side so I only go to the bar side!!!! read more

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Came in yesterday for Happy Hour. Loved the Bloody Mary, asked for a beer sidecar that was optional but never got it. Ordered the oyster shooters, they weren't very good. Also had the Shrimp Cocktail, also nothing special, would have liked bigger shrimp. The Hush Puppies were also meh, too dry. The Cajun Buffalo wings were really good. Would like to come back and try some more items just because I loved the cocktail so would like to give them another try. Also enjoyed the atmosphere. Side note, happy hour is only $1 the regular menu which is pretty expensive as it is. Would like to see better priced and enticing happy hour prices. read more

I wanted to try the Oyster Poe boy but apparently they ran out of oysters that day... Must be a sign. So I ended up getting the fried Catfish and I wasn't disappointed! I highly recommend it! Well worth it. read more

Bayou on Bay - Catfish! - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Great food! Always amazing food and a great happy hour menu. Service was a little slow but it was a weekend. read more

Bayou on Bay - Ginger mule....amazing! - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Great food and drinks. Nice little old restaurant. Can be pricey and the wait can be long. The outdoor seatings are amazing in the summer read more

This place has amazing food unlike anywhere in town. The happy hour is affordable and all day on Tuesday! They have brunch on the weekends and they have televisions so you won't miss the game. The Mac and cheese is the best in town. If you want to feel like you are in Louisiana this is the place for you! read more

Peter Murphy and Living Colour on the stereo plus an amazing Cajun Bloody Mary and jambalaya: What's not to love about Bayou on Bay? read more

Bayou on Bay - Cajun-spiced Bloody Mary at Bayou on Bay. © 2018 Karen Johanson. All Rights Reserved. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Bomb!! Amazing!! Great Flavors!! Portion size great!! Wide Menu Items make it hard to choose from. I went with a group and we shared a few things we ordered. This place is huge for starters and a total dive restaurant. Picnic style tables outside make it perfect for a nice sunny day. Wish they had umbrellas outside buts it's B-Ham!! We came during the time when they were having issues getting their frog legs and gator. So we didn't get to try those this time. There brunch menu is perfect in between menu and has such great selections it's hard to choose what your going to order. Portions were good on some dishes but not so great on others. Kind of in between but nothing is going to be perfect you know. From the things that were issue they fixed them right away. Service was great and the servers were great as well. I will be back to again and hope that have gator and frog legs back in stock so I can try them. read more

Wow. What a delight. Big thank you to all of the staff. Delicious etouffee. Amazing sweet potato fries. Excellent house salads. read more

Sadly, I forgot about Bayou on the Bay. Bellingham has so many good restaurants that it's been at least five years since my last visit. SHAME on me. The food was great-try the blackened chicken. Make sure to have some kind of palate cleanser, a salad or beer, or both! You're going to sweat this one out. Follow-up the spicy food with a quick walk to Pure Bliss on Cornwall Ave. A sweet treat is great after a spicy meal. read more

**Addendum changing review from a one star to four star after positive follow up by management.** I private messaged management and was told they are very sorry about my experience, are working on their customer service and would work with the individual employee about their behavior. I went to the restaurant again a few days later and the same employee (who was working as a food runner) was acting much friendlier, and our whole experience was 100% better, and the food delicious. I have been a customer of Bayou on Bay for decades and love their food so much. Tonight, I went with three others, looking forward to it as we haven't eaten there in a while. We stepped inside and were happy to see empty clean tables and figured we'd get seated right away. The young tall brown haired bearded man who greeted us said it would be a little wait as he had to attend to some customers in the bar. He went and spoke to the bartender and came back and said it would be 10-15 minutes before we were seated as the bar is full (even though there were empty seats and tables, which was confusing). We thought okay, we'll wait, no big deal...even though it seemed odd with there being plenty of open clean tables in both restaurant and bar... (maybe a short staffing issue?). Then, the short brown-haired waitress traveling through from the bar to the restaurant said "EXCUSE ME" several times in an impatient rude way to us even though she could easily walk around us, as though implying we shouldn't be standing in the entry way. When there was nowhere else to stand on a chilly evening. She proceeded to head to the kitchen and looked back at us a couple of times glaring. After the third glare in a span of 5 minutes, we decided we didn't want such a "charming" person to wait on us and decided to leave. On our way out, we explained to the young man host that we weren't getting a good vibe so far and were leaving. The waitress said "AWESOME" in response. I have never been treated so poorly by anyone in a restaurant ever. If there was a short staffing issue, they should've said so instead of leaving that miserable angry person to lash out to us. I wish Bayou on Bay well, but they need to re-evaluate who they are having work in their restaurant. We went to a neighboring restaurant and were treated so respectfully by friendly staff. We were seated right away and had a pleasant dinner. read more

This is a great local place for both drinks and food! There is plenty of areas for seating and different areas inside with a casual but sophisticated atmosphere. it has outdoor seating so great for warmer weather and the best place in town to watch the amazing Bellingham Sunsets! It is located central downtown so it's a good place to meet up. The food is really great here, have never had a bad experience- the crab cakes are delicious as is the mac and cheese! read more

This was hands down the best Creole/Cajun place in Washington. Me and my friends drove up from Seattle for some good food and found this Gem. The food was full of flavor and the service was amazing. read more

A little slice of the south right here in the Northwest. I close my eyes and swear I'm in N'Orleans. The gumbo, the cajun burger, the jambalaya. I've only lived here a few months and we've already been 5 times. It's attitude adjusting. It's comfort. And we love sitting in the bar - at the common table. In what we now think is 'our spot'. The food is fantastic and the service in the bar is top notch. read more

Impossibly great food, fast service, and cozy bustling environment. I am a huge fan. They're closed on Mondays, so be sure to plan ahead and make sure you can go to this flavorful gem when you are in town! read more

Fantastic. Started with popcorn shrimp, lots for $9. Wife had the best shrimp and grits she's ever had. I had an awesome Jambalaya, lots of big chunks of chicken, shrimp and andouille sausage. Two more repeat customers here!! read more

Had the gumbo, and it was better than we ever had in New Orleans! Great food and service!

The service is spotty. The food is below average. Ribs were not tasty and were dry.

Over-rated Hipster Cash Grab. A pretentious menu with equally pretentious food that isn't that good. Big crusty flavor-less biscuits smothered with grotesque gray gravy with way too many grease pools sitting in it. Eggs Benedict is so rich with so much lemon, it almost has a Seafood flavor to it? On top of that, they accommodate you via identity politics and who they think will tip highest. VERY EXPENSIVE for the quality. If you say you don't like the food, they get defensive and let you know that YOU are wrong, and they are right. Whereas if you go to say Denny's, they will happily re-cook a meal cooked in error. Really typical example of traditionally bad quality downtown food in the guise of "Hip-Ness" read more

Jambalaya was delicious, the shrimp was perfectly cooked, not rubbery as or so often can be. The house ham was melt in your mouth tender. The Bloody Mary was a perfect accompaniment! I wish I had saved room for the bread pudding. read more

Bayou on Bay - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

There is always a wait for a table, but they have a text alert system that makes it super convenient to stroll around (Waypoint Park) or grab a cocktail (Jack's) while you wait. The vegan jambalaya is my absolute favorite. Soooo yummy (and large enough for leftovers for a nice treat later). I only wish they had vegetarian collard greens. Come on people, give me some collards!!! (Please) read more

Was there with my family tonight and celebrated my birthday. It was our first time there and let me tell you it was awesome!!!! The service was great! The music was great! The food was AMAZING!!! We enjoyed all the different flavors of the dishes we ordered. Great prices with plenty food! Back home in Hawaii would call this place "onolicious"!!! read more

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