Very expensive for lunch but no one forced us to eat there so my bad!! Food was ok. Service was good. read more

Food was delicious! Took a while to get seated but once we were seated, our waitress was excellent and fast!

Great food, fitting for such a stunning environment. We came for lunch and thoroughly enjoyed our visit here. After lunch we enjoyed a walk on the mostly shaded grounds. Highly recommend anytime you're in the area. read more

Food was VERY tasty. I got the seafood cream bisque. It was perfect. Views were perfect under the shaded mossy trees. I would definitely go back read more

What a beautiful spot for lunch! Hydrangeas in full bloom, peacocks strutting around showing their plumage, attentive staff and great seafood gumbo. Hard to beat. Tour the gardens ($12 extra even if you dine, but worth it - the place is just beautiful). read more

What a great place to eat. the food was good and the view is breathtaking. Glad we came out of the way to get here. read more

Cafe Jefferson - Cajun/Creole Near Me - New Iberia, Louisiana

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A great lunch on a beautiful day looking across lake peigner. Chicken sauce piquant was delicious medium spice level rich tomato sauce and tender leg quarter. Was a great meal with family. read more

This place was unexpectedly amazing. Great views and traditional Louisiana food. The Jean Lafitte salad could feed a family of 4 and is a nice break from heavy Cajun food. Don't break too long though - you'd be crazy to miss their Crab Au Gratin. If is definitely on my top 5 list. read more

I had the smoked turkey pesto sandwich. That was the first time I ever tasted pesto and it's a great pairing on the sandwich. I love the friendly staff and the environment is pretty close to a "formal" dining experience. I feel like it's a little expensive BUT it's delicious and the sandwich I had is worth the try. read more

Best seafood gumbo since my Mama's. Roux the way you wish you could make. Not too salty. Nice amount of seafood and no seasonings to disquise the seafood. Seafood Heaven was as titled...heaven. again nailed the seasoning. Chocolate Mousse so delicious. We highly recommend you adding this stop to your trip. And so close to our home in Lafayette, we will be back. read more

Cafe Jefferson - Chocolate Mousse with a Kick - Cajun/Creole Near Me - New Iberia, Louisiana

I absolutely love this place. I live in Tennessee, and every time I visit my grandmother in Lafayette, we take a day to go here. My favorite thing to get is the Seafood Heaven and the Caesar salad. which I must say is to die for. The seafood heaven is incredible. It's this moist angel hair pasta with a creamy sauce. It has impeccable seafood. The shrimp, crab, and crawfish are so good. I practically begged for the recipe, but, of course, it's a secret. My mouth is watering now just thinking about it. The scenery is incredible, and I love seeing the peacocks, all of the statues, the well, the plants, and small buildings. The only reason this place gets 4 stars as opposed to 5 stars is that the food is not very seasoned, which is most likely due to tourist without a spicy taste. I love this place and can't wait to return! read more

Cafe Jefferson - The Lovely "Seafood Heaven" - Cajun/Creole Near Me - New Iberia, Louisiana

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Love bring visitors from out of town to have lunch here. Simple menu with unbelievable views of Lake Peigneur. I love the Eggplant casserole with seafood. Service can be challenged when the restaurant is full but overall a good effort by the staff. And the view of the lake and garden make for a great lunch experience. read more

I've been coming to Rip van Winkle Gardens every summer ever since I was a little girl. The view is gorgeous. I've had just about everything on the menu and have never been disappointed. The seafood gumbo and crawfish étouffée have always been my favorite things to eat here for dinner but the TBM sandwich in ciabatta for lunch is a great choice. If I had to give any suggestions about going to the gardens and the café, I would say to make a day of it! The gardens are a beautiful outing for the whole family and I want people to enjoy them as much as I have over the past few decades. read more

Fantastic food! Beautiful view of the water. Exceptional service, surrounded by gardens what more could you ask for. Located at Rip Van Winkle Gardens. But you do not have to take a tour of the garden to go to the restaurant. Will definitely go back when we are in the area... read more

Cafe Jefferson - View while dining - Cajun/Creole Near Me - New Iberia, Louisiana

One of my favorite places to eat at the Cafe Jefferson. The seafood heaven is to die for. I always enjoy going to Rip Van Winkle. I have been to a couple gorgeous weddings there also. If you go for the historical tour, you will not be disappointed. The house is amazing and all the guides are well informed. If you have a chance to make reservations for a romantic Valentine's dinner here you should definitely do it! Very romantic! read more

If you are within 50 miles of New Iberia LA at lunch time drive here. It is worth the trip. Open 11 a. m. to 2:30 M-F, 3:00 on weekends. Lunch only. Classic Creole executed perfectly. And they keep it simple. Portions are more than generous. I had the bisque, crawfish étouffée and bread pudding. My partner had heavenly seafood and chocolate lava cake. One of the best culinary experiences I've had in Louisiana. Dining room is LOUD. Don't plan to have intimate conversation here. You will be busy eatin'. read more

Seafood Pasta is great! Enjoyed it very much. Nice atmosphere for a date. read more

Loved this hidden gem in the middle of nowhere!! We visited the Tabasco Factory in Avery Island and were looking for a quaint little place to have lunch. Cafe Jefferson came up on Yelp and decided to drive a little out of our way to get there!!! Boy were we so glad!!! What a beautiful place overlooking Lake Peugnier!! Food was great. My husband had a cup of gumbo and we shared a turkey pesto panini. Food was great and the view was even better!! read more

We are here on vacation and were told by a local to try this restaurant for lunch. My husband had the Shrimp Remoulade and I had the Jean Lafitte Salad with shrimp. They were generous portions and the shrimp was delicious. The service was excellent and everyone was friendly. The setting is so peaceful and after lunch we toured the Rip Van Winkle Gardens and the Jefferson Mansion. We enjoyed our entire experience and would strongly recommend visiting if you are in the area. read more

Beautiful views and delicious food! This little slice of creole heaven has a very small indoor dining area but has very nice out door seating as well. We were inside the sunroom dining area so we enjoyed the beautiful lake and garden views while staying cool in the ac. The cafe gets busy very quick! The food is very rich in flavor and the service is great! Our waitress seemed a little overwhelmed and in a hurry, but over all it was well worth it! read more

As a local Cajun, food lover, and nature lover; I selected Cafe Jefferson for a lunch with friends visiting from Illinois. They (as did I) loved each and every bite. The housemade lemonade was very refreshing.The view of the lake is outstanding, and the chimeny from the sunken home stands in silouhette, as if saluting the cafe. The relaxing and awe-inspiring walk through the gardens was a splendid way to "burn the calories" of lunch and viewing all of the peacocks was a sight to enjoy! read more

While the food is delicious, I experienced terrible service here today. Carmen, my waitress for my table of 12 was incredibly abrupt and was downright rude at times. We had a reservation, so our number was not a surprise. When we arrived, there were paper menus on the table and a few pens scattered about. We were told to circle what we wanted and pass them down to her. She was taking drink orders 3 at a time. She did not have a pen or pad to write our orders down. When she came to me, I was looking down tending to my 6-month-old and she literally jabbed my arm three times and said, "what do you want to drink". I was appalled! I wanted to say something to her about it, but tried to be understanding that we were a large group and she felt rushed. They have this adorable antique high chair available, but the tray doesn't lock in place and there is nothing to keep the child from sliding out the bottom of the chair. So, we went to the car to get our Bumpo. I asked for an additional chair to sit the Bumpo on and was told their was none. So, I went over to a table of two who had an extra chair and asked if I could use it. Of course they were happy to let me take the chair - but I felt that the restaurant could have easily done the same thing. When the salads came out, she stood at one end of the table and announced that we needed to pass the salads down to the people who ordered them. There were two special orders that had been written clearly on the menus that she asked us to use instead of actually taking our orders. When we were all given standard ceasar salads, she told us that we had not marked our papers for a special order. Since one of those was mine, I knew I had. I didn't argue, but told her that we needed to change our salads. My salad showed up AFTER she brought the entrees. Also, she brought out two orders of a dish, when our table had only ordered one. She then said, "Someone ordered this. I know they did" and stood there as if she were going to force someone to eat it. No one claimed it - because no one ordered it - and she took it off in a huff. She also brought out the wrong entree for one person in our party. When he told her that he had ordered something else, she told him that he must not have clearly marked his menu. I think he finally decided to just eat what she brought. I had circled a cup of bisque on my menu as well as the Heaven dish. I had to ask several times for my bisque, as she told me I didn't order it, and she eventually brought a cup of gumbo. I was so fed up that I didn't even correct her. Any time she came to the table, she was rude and rushed and was not courteous to us at all. We were there as part of a family reunion, so we were all laughing and talking and having a grand time. We were not rude and actually took all of her rudeness without so much as a word. When the check came, I told her that I needed to see our circled menus so that we could calculate who owed what (they don't do separate tickets, so one card was used and we divvied it out amongst ourselves), she was hesitant and told me to just make everyone pay 1/12th. I declined and told her I needed the menu to calculate. She wasn't happy, but did bring them out. Of course we verified what we all had ordered and she was wrong each time she told us we had not circled clearly. Once she brought us the ticket, we didn't see her again. I finally flagged down a different waitress to take the card and process the check. Several other waitresses helped us with go boxes and bags. The food was phenomenal and the other people we had contact with were wonderful. The grounds were beautiful and the place was very clean. The gift shop was fun to browse in. But Carmen was having a REALLY bad day or, perhaps, should not be in charge of large groups. read more

Great food, friendly service, amazing view. Seafood Heaven entree was delicious. Muffelata is also a sure bet. We eat here often and are always pleased. The cafe was busier than usual, but the host greeted and seated everyone quickly. He was even bussing tables and checking on customers, allowing the waitresses to focus on providing friendly, excellent service. The new host is a retired marine veteran. Much respect to Cafe Jefferson for hiring military veterans. read more

This place gets one big star for the view. It is breathtaking. The other star is for the Bloody Mary I ordered. However, that's where the quality ends. The salad is no more than bagged shredded lettuce. The seafood gumbo was good, though it's not the first time I've had a good Seafood gumbo. Many restaurants in the area are able to provide a good gumbo. So, there's nothing that stands out about this one. My husband ordered the Crab Au Gratin. Nothing more than a shallow dish of way over buttered crab and cheese. I was really excited to order the Eggplant Michelle after reading its good reviews. Again nothing to write home about. Basically a roux-based shrimp stew over sautéed eggplant. When asked how their food was, others at our table simply replied...FAIR. Overall, just really disappointed. Such a beautiful view with mediocre food. They could, at the very least serve fresh greens grown on location. Nothing appeared fresh/never frozen. Not even the seafood. And this is a seafood town. This place could be EPIC with a little more effort. read more