Frog legs were amazing, gator was even better, Cajun wings were absolutely amazing. Jambalaya was amazing, even better as a left over the next day with an egg on top for breakfast. read more

First time I have eaten here, hostess said it would be a 20-30 minute wait, went to the bar instead of waiting, waitress was friendly and attended to our needs, ordered the fried chicken sandwich & cold slaw the sandwich had no flavor had to request onions to make it edible, cold slaw was the worst no flavor I think it was out of a bag ,this place could be much better!!! Needs chefs that can cook !!! read more

Good place for some good southern food. I like the jambalaya and i ordered a side of gumbo along with it. The only thing i was dissapointed in was the gumbo could have been better.. Tasted burnt read more

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

Disaster Dinning 101 I'm being nice here tonight giving two stars. Here's the adventure that was our dinner out tonight with another couple. First it is Friday night, very busy. We were told we would be waiting thirty to forty minutes, we were ok with that. When it came time to seat us the hostess told us another party of four behind us was in a hurry and asked if we would let them go in front of us. That was an awkward situation for us, do we appear to be the jerks and not let them go in front of us after waiting a half hour, or do we give up our slot. They should never have put us in that situation. We agreed to let them go ahead because we didn't want to be the jerks and they did bring us Yam fries for our trouble, which were quite tastee. Next, appetizers. We ordered crab cakes, they were good, but maybe a three star plate, not a lot of flavor, which happens sometimes with crab, it can be bland. Next the main course. Two of us ordered fried Oyster Po boys, one ordered Gumbo and one ordered Jambalaya. This is when wheels came off the bus. My wife ordered the gumbo, she said it was unedible, she sent it back. Now Momma's not happy, and you know the saying, "When Momma's not happy, nobody is happy". As it turns out the Jambalaya wasn't much better than the Gumbo, my son, who is quite capable of cleaning his plate left most of it. Were now 0-2 on entries, the two of us that had ordered the Oyster Po boys faired better, they were good, rated three and half to four stars. This hadn't been a great experience up to this point, but here is where the bus burst into flames and everyone aboard died. One of the servers, moving a chair impaled me with the chair leg. She came zooming by me in a hurry, holding the chair at an angle, positioned properly to perform a joisting event in medievil times, jammed the metal leg into my side in an attempt to remove my kidney. Alas, my kidney is still attached to my body, after "I'm sorry" several times, we concluded our dinning experience, with no apparent notice of the management, likely never to return...which is unfortunate....as I was excited to come here tonight and I had good experiences previously. As we walked out a couple at another table asked how I was having witnessed the whole event, they were shocked the restaurant hadn't done anything for us. read more

The Sun was out and I could see how dirty the bar was....waited or ten minutes with 2 friends to get a drink at bar..was never asked...the staff was talking to them self and was having to much fun to help....so we left...we try again..... read more

Current holder of the crown for Bellingham's worst, inexplicably popular restaurant. The food is a sad, pale imitation of Cajun cooking, and the service is bad enough to stand out even by Bellingham's ridiculously low standards. Granted, they have a great location and one of the only outdoor seating areas in town that allow you to catch the late afternoon sunshine. The bar is adequate, and the sweet potato fries are pretty good. Other than that, there is nothing to recommend. It's quite sad, really - when they initially opened the food was actually decent, but within a year they started cheaping out on the ingredients and execution. On occasion you'll luck out and get something that is well-made and tasty, but it's definitely the exception rather than the rule. Service is flat-out awful - read the other reviews for many specific examples. It's a rare visit to Bayou that doesn't feature one or all of the following: - Being ignored by servers before or after you've been seated, regardless of how busy it is - Waits of 15 to 30 minutes to get your drinks and/or food orders - The infamous Bellingham "I'm way too cool to pay attention to you / do my job competently" server attitude. Their brunch menu is fairly interesting, but if you're expecting to have your order taken promptly or your coffee to get refilled more than once every 20 minutes, you're going to be disappointed. Seriously, avoid this place. Continuing to patronize it only reinforces the low service standards most locals seem to think are acceptable or even worthy of praise. Raise your standards, people! read more

I honestly don't understand why this place is so highly rated, aside from the location. People of Bellingham: raise your standards for service! I attempted to go to Bayou last night . My husband and I sat down in the bar section of the patio, and a server came over and barked, "I.D.s" at us. No hello, no greeting, nothing. I look really young, so I always have my I.D. ready, but I'm sorry; are you a bouncer? Did I do something to indicate noncompliance with Washington liquor laws? Did I offend you somehow? I work as a server, and I cannot imagine treating people I am hoping will give me money like this. How hard is it to say, "Hi guys, how's it going? Can I see your I.D.s, please?" Not hard! I do it all the time! Even when I'm busy! Even when I'm in a bad mood! Even though people in Bellingham have low standards and will tip even if I am rude to them! So anyway, I'm giving this visit one star since we just left, because I have enough self-respect not to put up with this kind of crap just because your sweet potato fries are good. read more

So glad RZ suggested this. The place was quite cute, although the music was a bit too loud for talking in a group. We ordered: 1. Crab egg benny-the best 2, Pulled pork with slaw-my order; least favourite and least interesting of all three. 3. Shrimp Grits-really, really good All were absolutely delish. My pulled pork appeared to be huge, but most of it was bun. The slaw was nice and crunchy and not creamily overdressed. The shrimp grits melted in your mouth with large enough shrimp for these parts. The crab benny tasted like an authentic "cake" with hardly any (if any) filler. The coffee was continuously filled, although I never did get the milk I'd asked for, so I had to settle with the creamers. If truth be told, I was afraid to ask, as our server, while efficient, was def. no-nonsense, esp when dealing with a Canadian, I suspect. The sp fries looked amazing too. I def. had enough to take home for the next day, and the pork didn't really dry out when re-heated, either The only thing I didn't like was the single b.r. for women which wasn't very clean when I entered. They could have someone clean it more frequently. A must go for some Southern cooking before shopping. And not far at all with Nexus, either. It's just as good as our current "5 star southern cooking" place in Van., so what does that tell you? read more

No thank you. I was so disappointed by this place. I was looking forward to trying this out; I'm a huge Cajun fan. I ordered the vegetarian rice/creole type of thing. It was the most flavorless bowl of gunk I've ever been served in a restaurant. I mean really, really bad. Also ridiculously priced for what it was, and I'm accustomed to astronomical restaurant pricing . The service was slow and strangely "casual" in nature. We waited fifteen minutes just to order drinks and another 25 for our food. I'm giving the place two stars as my date enjoyed his roast beef sumthin' sumthin' sandwich and sweet potato fries (which were tasty). It was a strange dining experience for sure. Totally bummed! Having just relocated here, I was hoping to find a yummy new place to eat...sadly, based on this visit - this is not it. read more

Whether it's breakfast, dinner, or just drinks, I love this place. Just went there for breakfast and the benedict arnold was amazingly delicious. I always get the fried okra when I'm there for dinner or happy hour with friends. I wouldn't recommend this place if you have dietary restrictions. I don't remember many vegetarian options. Great for large groups. read more

A four and a half star rating tells you a lot more about Bellingham than it does about the restaurant. This place seems to do a booming business, so, good on them. I was dragged over there several times for group office lunches (I worked nearby) and each visit was worse. If you like the smell of urine, brain dead wait staff, utterly hideous food quality and outrageous prices, this is the place for you. Outdoor seating and lots of space inside makes this place a big, big hit with the college crowd and it smells like it. I would have loved this place when I was 21 and a day, too. For the rest of us, the outdoor seating means lots of panhandling from the transients living at Maritime Heritage Park just one block away. The folks working there come and go almost as quickly as the patrons and are untrained, uninterested and incapable of assisting you in enjoying your visit. Seating consists of broken chairs, wooden benches or plastic deck chairs and all are, like the rickety tables, equally filthy, sticky and disgusting. The restrooms are frightening, unimaginable how this place passes any kind of inspection. If you drive, you will not be able to park nearby as, like the rest of the pitiful disaster that is downtown Bellingham, there is absolutely no parking. I really can't imagine why anyone would set foot in the place, let alone eat or drink there but that's probably because I am not in their target market. If you are an unwashed college kid looking for a place to drop mommy and daddy's money, a local transient looking to panhandle or interested in awful, inconsistent food sloppily served by slovenly staff, this would appear to be just the place for you. Grownups would likely be happier almost anywhere else. read more

Well, the Yelp inspired "meh" describes this place perfectly. While we experienced very good service, the food was as close to flavorless as I can imagine Cajun food can get. We started with the Scallop & Dungeness Crab cakes. Mealy and not very flavorful, with little hint of scallop (although they said "scallop mousse") and not much more crab. This was our second choice, as they were out of the Alligator dip. I also started with a cup of the Gumbo, and I really must say that is when the warning bells started to ring. Gumbo is a staple, but I have had better tasting dirt. My girlfriend had the Etouffe, and it was served lukewarm. The temperature helped this bland dish not at all. While an Etouffe should be a more delicately flavored dish than, say, a typical creole, the roux of an Etouffe is the very heart of Cajun and Creole food. I had the Jambalaya, and it was similarly bland, although copious amounts of hot sauce helped. To be honest, a much better Jambalaya can be had at the Burlington Popeye's Chicken. Most disappointing was the cold, dry, stale cornbread perched on the sides of our bowls. While I don't expect it to be as good as my momma makes, this was just...... sad. Also, as a native son of the south, I really must say that being argued with by the server that a side of mint flavored simple syrup is how "real" sweet tea is made is a bit maddening. I should turn my grandma loose on them for a few weeks; that would whip them into shape tout suite! (yes, Francophones, I know that it is tout de suite, but we are speaking Creole) Final disappointment of the evening? The beignets. Dense and not sweet at all. Sadness. read more

I had dinner here after it first opened a couple of years ago, and was really unimpressed, the Jambalaya (one of my fav. dishes) was the worst I have ever had, and the service sucked on top of that...result... I did not go back until yesterday evening. I was dining with friends and it was a birthday & we all deferred to where she wanted to go. After being seated (quite promptly) in the bar most of us mentioned (there were 8 of us) the same thing, having been there once after it just opened none of us had been back. Two people ordered appetizers (took a good 30 min for them to be able to... HELLO we are ready!!!!!), it took another 45 min for the one order of sweet potato fries and one order of hush puppies to come out. The portion size on the hush puppies was something I would of been embarrassed to send out had I been serving it. The restaurant was not packed by any means. We had ordered dinner at the same time that the apps. were ordered, and when the apps came out we were under the mistaken impression that the food was on the way... not so much...it took another 40 min at least before the dinners came out. We all thought the food was ok at best, there was NOTHING about any of our meals that made it worth the 90+ min wait to eat it. I had the pork po-boy, it came on half a (less than fresh) roll, included an undersized portion of sweet potato fries, and since I'm not a slaw fan .... I opted for the $1.00 add on of changing out the slaw for an all starch option of seasoned potato wedges (another undersized portion if there ever was one). The po-boy was ok, but not even close to a 90 min wait tasty, (If it was just about wanting the pulled pork, I would opt for Coconut Kenny's on James street EVERY time). We all had different items and we are a group that has no problem sampling with each other.. the overall consensus was... same as last time we were there, just ok food at best but not an hour and a half's wait to get it kinda ok, not by a long shot.. and none of us are planning on going back. The birthday girl had ribs, I thought she had ordered blackened ribs, came to find out they were just burned. One of us had a steak, he ate half of it, then gave up on it (describing it as bland and boring). God knows how long it would take to get food here if they were having a busy night! My vote is pass on it unless you want to wait your a** off for under-portioned less than average food. read more

I had went to Bayou on Bay previously for Happy Hour, the food was good but the service was horrible. There was approx. 5 people in the bar and it took over 30 minutes to get the appetizers. My girlfriends and I decided to give it another try, so went went again last night (Valentines Day). It was roughly 5:30, and there were plenty of seats in the bar so we decided to get a table there. Our waitress was friendly and attentive (at first). Upon ordering our food, my meal came with a complimentary wine- she never asked what I wanted and had to flag down another staff to order. The food came surprisingly fast, and was fairly average. A little pricey for the amount served. We finished quickly and patiently waited for our server to ask for our checks/boxes. NOT JOKING 40 minutes go by until she drops our checks and boxes. The waitress messed up on our checks by putting in the wrong drinks. Knowing it would take forever to see her again, I walked to the bar top and let her know right away the mistake. Upon going back to my table, my girlfriends informed me she had rolled her eyes at me and proceeded to wipe off tables. We finally get our checks right and she says nothing to us to end our night (happy Valentine's Day to us, right?). We were a simple, easy table and there was no reason to be treated like this. 2/2 bad service runs. Won't be back for a while. read more

This place just exudes "Cool". The atmosphere around dinner time is low lit and fun. Definitely a local favorite as its always lively. The food is great and every menu item is beautifully made. I loved the pesto Mac with salmon added, so delicious and plenty to take home after! But omg....the sweet potato fries ...BEST EVER. Please try this place, it's won my heart hands down. read more

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

See all

What a big mistake! These people know NOTHING about creole or Cajun food. The frog legs were greasy, my main course was bland, the sweet potato fries were far too salty, and the so-called beignets were tiny bricks instead of the light and fluffy donuts they should be. And the staff was clueless about everything New Orleans, right down to the Saints schedule! I may have high standards as I was born and raised in New Orleans. But even my Yankee friend found the food substandard. read more

Full bar! Prime location! Patio seating! Bayou is definitely a great spot to grab a drink. They have a lot of great, local microbrews on tap as well as novelty beverages like their Cajun bloody. At 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon, they were serving a menu that was a combination of brunch and lunch. I order the shrimp & grits and a biscuit side. The presentation was lovely: http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?userid=VCYtRcED5pBCZBwhEUI8Nw&select=2xwAHi9ulfiPHbXQHGtcGg Although, the grits were the same consistency as a meatloaf and flavorless. Also I think my biscuit miiiight have been Pillsbury? It was a little burnt on the bottom too. I've never ordered food here though, I might have ordered the completely wrong thing. Other peoples' eggs benedicts looked incredible. I would come back and try one of those with a Cajun bloody Mary. Where else in town are you going to order frog legs anyway? Service is very friendly-- they're happy to recommend drinks for you! read more

Bayou on Bay - Shrimp & grits with a biscuit and a pint, yo - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

delicious food and great service. our server Dan V was amazing! he really worked with me to find a dish that worked for my shellfish allergy, and was very warm, friendly and attentive. had the vegan jumbalaya and added blackened chicken and a side of mac and cheese. leftovers were delicious too. would 10/10 recommend and go again. read more

Tasty food, good service, reasonable prices, decent beer selection, and a funky atmosphere. I've been into Bayou on Bay on a few occasions over the past couple of years, and so far haven't been disappointed. Sure, the place can get busy and the service awfully slow as a result but that's to be expected at any popular restaurant. Prices here certainly aren't 'cheap', but they're not exorbitant either-- especially considering this place's location in the heart of downtown and the fact that they're the only Southern/Cajun game in town. I'm looking forward to returning here to try some more of their menu options in the future! read more

I ended up here after I read an ancient news article from 2009 about how they serve up absinthe at the bar. Although they no longer serve absinthe, I decided to stay because the drink menu still had a lot of pizazz. They have an infused vodka menu where you can choose from different varieties of infused vodka. COOL. I had a bloody mary with jalapeno vodka and it was tasty. They didn't skimp on the vodka either. Another superb vodka drink is the oyster shooter. At $1.75 a pop, it's basically vodka with an oyster in it and some cocktail sauce. The oyster was very fresh, but the cocktail sauce was definitely canned. No biggie. I had the popcorn shrimp, which was alright, but the cocktail sauce was still a bit lacking. The girlfriend got frog legs and I ended up stealing most of her remoulade for the shrimp. It improved the taste three-fold. The menu gets +10 points for creativity. Next time I'm trying the gumbo! Probably the coolest part of this dining experience was a pop-up band marching down the street while we were eating on the outside patio. Dinner and a show at no extra cost! read more

This is wonderful place. Very friendly (the servers always recognize you) and excellent food. We have been there many times and it is always great. Wonderful oysters; excellent sauces. It is a very relaxing place but at the same time, it has a lot of energy. Highly recommended!!! read more

Ooh boy. I really wanted to like this place, I did. I LOVE Cajun food. I love BBQ. The hubs and I headed down for lunch on a Friday.. they were pretty busy, so we snagged seats at the bar. Service was fast, despite how crowded they were - and bar service is never super attentive so I have no complaints about that. He was friendly and our beers and water came quickly. He took our orders promptly too, and the food came out fast once placed. We ordered Oyster shooters (I saw the oysters they used. Not fresh shucked, but instead, from the plastic bottle) I was not impressed by those. Then, crab cakes to start - and they were really, really good. I should have stopped there. My husband ordered the catfish, which was "OK", but nothing spectacular. He felt it tasted a little muddy, but the fry on it was crispy. My Brisket PoBoy, however, was seriously disappointing. First, I asked for collard greens as my side instead of fries, I'm not a fan of Sweet Potato fries to begin with, but I love collards. My plate came stacked with fries (my husband snacked on them but I was disappointed). Second, the Brisket was just... inedible. It was tough, like an overcooked steak... not tender, smoked, and flavorful that brisket should be. I couldn't bite into the sandwich without the whole piece of brisket wanting to slide out, I couldnt bite through it. I ended up having to pull the brisket out of the bun, cut it up with a knife on my plate, and then put it back into the sandwich. The bun was dry and tasted day old. The sauce was spare and forgettable. I'm sure the bartender noticed that I stopped after two frustrating bites but he made no effort to ask if anything was wrong with it, however. I am not a "send the food back" type person, and I don't think it would have made a difference in this case, so I didn't... frankly I just wanted to get the meal over with, but after an almost $50 meal for lunch, I was really disappointed and I probably wont go back unless its to grab some crab cakes at the bar. read more

Bayou on Bay - Eating a brisket PoBoy at the bar with a Wander brewing beer. Sadly, that's as far into the sandwich as I got. two bites. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Quite simply a good family place to eat. Vegetarians welcomed and the beer choices are wonderful. However some of the food is a little too bland. A little too much sauce and generic ingredients . There is not the sense of authenticity with the main courses. Many are over cooked or over fried without the main ingredient that make N'Awlings famous --- seasonings! I could not taste the sage or the large heavily laden spices that define Creole or Cajun cooking. On a good note though the appetizers were spot on, the service was exceptional and the ambiance okay. For a family this isn't bad. It's not gourmet but there is something for every one. I do recommend the sweet potato fries. read more

Didn't quite meet my expectations. The cornbread was overbaked, my dish tasted a bit like smoky feet, the server came off a little patronizing/douchy, and the meal in general was overvalued. All of this is not for lack of trying however. The atmosphere did mimic LA and the presentation was stunning. Sweet potato fries are pretty darn ok with me! read more

This is one of my favorite places to head to for dinner! Their blackened tuna steak is probably the best I've ever had! The Etoufee is creamy seafood dish that is amazing and is almost the consistency of a risotto. They have Alligator, as they refer to it "Gator on a stick" and it is pretty good but I have definitely had better. Bayou on Bay has a full bar with well made drinks. Looking for good Cajun cuisine I would definitely recommend this place. read more

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

Best of the best! BoB always has a selective variety of PacNW microbrews on tap. The beer clears the palate for the best oyster shooters in town. For a late afternoon happy hour, a local IPA and a few oyster shooters won't set you back much more than the time of day. Step in for lunch. The po' boys served with the greens or the sweet potato fries never fails to please. Come to think of it, the staff and environment are great, too. read more

Truly a Bellingham surprise. I would not think Bellingham, of all places, would have a decent Cajun/Creole place but I was pleasantly surprised. They Bayou Creole (with the added andouille sausage) was fantastic. My wife and I liked our dinner so much, we came back for Sunday brunch two days later where both the crab and scallop AND smoked salmon and avocado benedict were great. Drinks are strong and food has the right spice level. When in Bellingham and tired of the same ol', go to Bayou on Bay! read more

Cajun Corn Fritters, mmmmmmm!!!!!!!! it has this smoky tomato okra on top that is mmmm!!!!!!!!. Also had the etouffee, mmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

The food is great, the service...frankly sucks. It's too bad, this establishment would easily be worth a 4, even a 5 star if they had someone running the front of the house properly. read more

Bayou on Bay - Nobody at all in the restaurant and we didn't get asked for our order for almost 15 minutes... - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

This place has the yummiest hush puppies I have ever tried!! The remoulade was divine! They have different soups every day but if you get to go on a night that they have their Seafood Chowder you will be in for a treat. It was the best Seafood Chowder I have had in years!! Bayou on Bay has got a cool vibe, a great location and great food!! read more

Love the patio - feels like a mini vacation. Came here for a late lunch and it was a little oasis in sleepy downtown Bellingham. Cajun/Southern food - they have alligator and fried green tomatoes! Both were specials of the day, though. I thought the food was just OK. The alligator dip was like a hot spinach dip with lots of cream cheese, small alligator bits - barely discernible taste. Crab Mac 'n Cheese used penne (boo) and was too watery and bland for me. I have yet to find a creamy, tasty mac n' cheese... why is it so hard..! I liked their drink selection. They have glasses of local mead available. read more

In the summertime, sitting outside and eating fish and chips and drinking a beer... hell yes. In the wintertime, eating pretty good food and drinking a beer... might go somewhere else- this place just doesn't stand out. Pros? -Some of their food is quite tasty, in particular the specials, the wings, the sweet potato fries -Variety of beers on tap -Friendly service Cons? -Small environment in the wintertime... not a lot of comfortable seating -Service can be slow -Food is definitely a bit overpriced read more

Great food and service. Was our first time in while in area at a recommendation by a friend. Sat at bar. Great friendly service by Lindsey. Ordered the fried chicken po-boy. So good! Bread was amazing. The sweet potato fries were perfect! Well seasoned, crispy. I also ordered a sweet tea. Gave me regular tea with a shot glass of mint simple syrup to sweeten! Was perfect. I could sweeten to my taste. Only part that could have been improved was the come slaw, was a little bland. Overall, great experience and awesome food! We will be back for sure. read more