WOW, Wow, wow! This restaurant SCREAMS for a five-star rating, but as this was our first time here, I am reluctant to immediately give one of my precious five-stars based on only a one time shot. That said, Yard Dog is not a dog at all, but a superb little restaurant with a great menu and mouth-watering foods. Oh boy! Wife and I entered and were surprised at just how small their dining area was. Couple that with a not-so-pleasant noise level, you will have difficulty seating more than four and conversation will be tough, but not impossible. You came to eat. It is a very cozy, busy and fun place. In addition to the super menu there is a chalk board with specials. Check those out first. I spotted catch of the day, which was Red Snapper, a favorite of mine, which came with two sides ($26). When served, it was three fillets, so the whole eatable parts of the fish, topped with a Cajun spice mixture and a horseradish sauce. This is a to-die-for or last meal item. The fish was perfectly cooked and my side of collards were as mammy has done for eons: flavorful with pork and a perfect complement to my catch of the day. And the fried okra was great and I paid the $.50 for ranch dressing, as fried okra SHOULD be so complemented. Wife does not eat sea food, so she was, initially, confronted with the challenge of finding a dish without seafood in it. She did. There were a number of options, like pasta with Andouille sausage ($21) which is listed as with shrimp, but they omitted the shrimp for her. She also spied blackened meatloaf and some other items for the next visit. The place is busy and the wait staff is hustling as fast as the kitchen can get orders out. The kitchen looks so small, but they are a blur of motion cooking and plating. Kudos to the kitchen and servers. Our server was Sophie and she was excellent. There are beverages on a separate menu, mostly wine, beer and hard cider, with some non-alcohol items also available. We both had hard cider at $6 a can. Draft beer was available at $7 a glass. We will definitely return, even give lunch a try. I will most likely answer the siren call for five stars, which is certainly in the cards. See for yourselves. read more

We really enjoy this place. Just don't make it there enough. Service is always excellent. The food always has wonderful flavors. And it's decorated really nice. If you've not been here, you need to go check it out. A friend of ours does not like spicy. And he goes there. You can tell them you can't do a lot of spice if you need to. But nothing's overdone. But the staff there is excellent. They check on you a lot. read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

My husband and I absolutely love this place! Service is amazing! Beautifully decorated! Amazing food! read more

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This place has authentic Cajun food as the name implies. Many reviews mention that this place is a hidden gem but the people that live in the Arboretum area are well aware of it! I have spent some time in New Orleans and I can tell you this place serves up some great Cajun food! I'm a sucker for their Crawfish Etoufee but everything I have ever had from here is good. Some reviews mention how good the Collard Greens are here and I concur! Fantastic! The restaurant is somewhat small but that just gives it a more intimate feel. It is decorated nicely and feels very New Orleans. I have always received great service here and the waitstaff are cordial. They have craft beer on tap and a full bar. Cheers! read more

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Tried Cajun Yard Dog yesterday. I was excited expecting great things, I tried the flounder, side of gumbo and a side of mac and cheese with corn bread and sweet tea. The mac was good, some of the corn bread was good other pieces were dry and hard. The gumbo was pleasantly surprising(I don't normally eat it) and the flounder was so bland, I honestly believe it was fried with no seasoning on it at all. And I also tried the bananas foster, it wasn't good at all. I was so disappointed and it wasn't cheap. Don't think I'll be going back, the service was great. The waiter was a sweet heart had good conversation and he was very polite. The food just wasn't for me. read more

A consistently great experience and meal. The special tonight was delicious blackened trout. It was well seasoned but not too spicy hot I the creamy grits and mixed veggies were also well seasoned read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Special of the day blackened trout, creamy grits, and seasoned veggies - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Six of us recently had an early dinner at Cajun Yard Dog. We all had eaten there before so we were confident that our meal would be good. Unfortunately, four of the six of us could not eat our choices due to extreme heat from the spices. Even those who liked spicy food could not finish their meals--dishes they had eaten there previously. Even the cucumber salad was too spicy to eat. The manager (?) offered one of us a new meal, but we were already finished. He said he couldn't change the recipes (?). He did not offer to take that meal off the bill. Needless to say, we won't be heading back there. read more

A unique place for dinner! Lived in Baton Rouge for 4.5 years and LOVE good Cajun food! The Cajun Yard Dog nails it every time!

Lunch after my annual medical screening. Starving after fasting for 12 hours so CYD was the spot! Red beans and rice and smothered cabbage hit the spot. Red beans and rice, had more rice and less beans or sausage, but the smothered cabbage definitely hit the spot. One of my favorite sides to eat anywhere. The bartender took good care of me. One thing I like about this place is the menu and the decor never change Mardi Gras all year! Cheers! read more

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Great local spot for authentic Cajun food. Menu is perfectly stacked with some southern classics (the fried chicken is a must for first timers), red beans and rice and gumbo but I must say it's brown rue base, not my fav but others rave about it. Dining room is small so this time since I was solo, I sat at the bar, watched the game while chowing down on the daily special. Service is fast and personable. read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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Great food, wonderful service, and an awesome space. Highly recommend coming here if you're in the area. The menu has a lot of options and plenty to choose from. Will was our server and he was awesome. Highlights were the shrimp/crawfish ettoufee, catfish, crab cakes, smothered cabbage, and fried okra. read more

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Another dinner in Charlotte. We started with jalapeño deviled eggs. A little on the dry side. Catfish was scrumptious and the red beans and rice hit. The green beans were average. Shrimp & grits were cheesy goodness and the shrimp were luscious. The Mac and cheese was not your grandma baked Mac &cheese or maybe in CLT they do things differently. the service was good and they let us close down the restaurant . read more

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Well, it was Fat Tuesday, so naturally we were looking for some Cajun food. Having worn out Cajun Queen in the past and fearing it would be packed, we opted for this place. Solid choice! It's quaint in size but big in character. From the decidedly NOLA decor to the Cajun accent of the owner/manager(?), we knew we were in the right place. There are, of course, beads everywhere and a beautiful mural of Bourbon Street on the far wall. We started with a lovely seafood gumbo. The roux was deep and developed with some welcomed heat. Decent amount of crawfish, mussels, octopus (I do believe) and two juicy, spicy shrimp. More of those please. Our entrees consisted of the following: Fried catfish--comes piled high and perfectly golden brown in a flavorful batter that will wake you up a little. Grits--do NOT make the mistake my friend did in asking for cheese in these. The waiter was like...we know how to do grits, trust me. And they do. There was nothing missing in them, including cheese. Smothered cabbage--so this dish is hit or miss. My friend liked them. I wasn't crazy about it. Basically it's cabbage covered in a cheese sauce. Meh. Just gimme the veg. Blackened mahi mahi--this was delicious. Tender and flaky little filets with a kicky horseradish sauce that even I, someone who doesn't eat horseradish, really enjoyed. There was no mahi on my plate left to speak of. Collards--so if you want something green for the sake of eating a veg, then fine. Otherwise, I'd pass on them. They needed salt, heat, and possibly vinegar, garlic, onion....something. They held their crunch though and weren't overcooked, but ya gotta season those bad boys. Red beans and rice--nicely done. Again, I was looking for heat but it seemed to be reserved mainly for the meat/seafood. Blackberry cobbler--so the waiter suggested either this or the bread pudding. Since he said the bread pudding was sans nuts, we did the cobbler. It came out covered in whipped cream which was being to run given the warmth of the dish, so I promptly scooped that off. I'm a bit of a food purist sometimes. Get that whipped cream outta my life! Anyway the cobbler itself was very tasty, although it didn't hold its integrity. I prefer mine to stay a little solid and it was rather loose, especially once the ice cream (creamy and rich as it was) was plopped on top. Still the crust was truly delicious, and there was plenty of actual juicy fruit to be found. Sorry no pic of it! All in all, a nice find for days I'm craving NOLA-inspired dishes...even if it's not Mardi Gras. read more

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I've had two meals there. First meal was crawfish etouffee, which wasn't bad but the roux had a slightly burnt flavor; it never should have left the kitchen like that. Second meal I had catfish bites which were perfectly breaded and cooked. The green beans were bright green and flavorful. The gumbo, however, was not good; it was just roux, broth, chicken and rice. No discernible vegetables and no sausage. And it cost me an extra $4 to get gumbo as a side dish. That gumbo was just crying out for some celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and okra. The service was great, and very attentive. read more

Was looking forward to trying this establishment for the first time, but spoiler alert...unfortunately the food and service did not live up to expectations in our opinion. We are big fans of cajun food, but compared to other similar restaurants here in Charlotte, we just found Cajun Yard Dog lacking in terms of flavor, seasoning and overall taste, as the collards, fried chicken and gumbo all failed to deliver in our opinion, as the collards were bland, the gumbo had no spice and the chicken was dry. On top of that, the service was mediocre at best, completely disinterested at worst we. At the end of our meal, we tried to get the attention of our server multiple times before ultimately getting up from our table and walking over to the bar area where she was hanging out having a conversation with a co-worker, in order to let her know we needed to-go boxes and our check. Once we were able to get her attention, she seemed irritated that she had to end her conversation, but unfortunately that response is not unusual at many places these days. Based on the reviews, it seems that many enjoy this place, but it will be a one and done for us, as it was definitely not worth the amount of money we spent on the meal.. read more

Food was ok, service was great! Friendly server. Mac and cheese not great, fried chicken was ok.

Everything is always hot and fresh. The staff is very attentive and friendly. The food is exceptional. I've had shrimp, creole, chicken crawfish, shrimp étouffée, shrimp, and grits. Catfish bites for an appetizer and fried green tomatoes for an appetizer. I've loved everything. I've tried so far. read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Fried green tomatoes - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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I've never had any complaints about cajun yard dog. The specials of the day are always fresh and interesting. Food is cooked to order and fresh as it could be. It's a more personal casual setting with great Lousiana decor. They have a homemade hot sauce called dog sauce that pairs well with almost anything you can order. This visit I got the pick two with two sides which is always extremely reasonable at only 15 dollars. That came with blackened trout and fried oysters with a choice of two sides. My wife had the chicken and waffles off of the special board and loved them. It's always hard to decide what to eat because everything is so amazing. I could eat here every day and never get bored. It's not picture here but the chocolate pecan pie is my favorite desert here or anywhere. read more

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Got the 2 item combo with fried shrimp and blackened orange roughy. It was fresh and delicious! Got collard greens and red beans & rice for the sides- also delicious. Chocolate pecan pie was bangin!! Service was helpful and friendly. read more

Nice and cozy spot. Great for a date night but nothing fancy. Homey comes to mind. Great staff. The food was amazing. We started with fried oysters which were good and I got the chicken and seafood jambalaya which was amazing. My date got the catch of the day which was red snapper with Mac n cheese and smothered cabbage. Everything was well seasoned and delicious. Good for lunch, date night, or to chill and grab a couple of beers read more

5/5 stars. We had another amazing experience at Cajun Yard Dog in the Arboretum. Shrimp and Grits delicious and hearty. Fried okra absolutely perfect. The wait staff are super friendly and food comes out quickly. Highly recommend! read more

This was always a favorite of mine living in Charlotte. So I was so excited to take my husband here for Valentine's. While the food was good, it just wasn't as great as I remembered. They seem to be under new owners and with as small as the restaurant is, the food should be hot. But the fried oysters we got were good but they were warm, not hot. For the entrees my husband got the bbq shrimp and blackened salmon with collards and grits. The collards lacked flavor and the grits although cheesy and tasty, they were again cold and thick. I got the blackened salmon with smothered cabbage and fried okra. The okra were nice and crispy but cold. We finished off the dinner with a banana bread pudding. It was nice and hot but surprisingly used canned whipped cream and was a little turned off that they wouldn't use fresh. All in all it was okay. Although everyone was nice, the service was slow and we had to flag down another service to ask for condiments and refills because our server was gone for quite some time. read more

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The Shrimp and Andouille Pasta was the highlight of our dinner. It was so flavorful without being over salty, the shrimp was generous and it was a great compliment to our Chicken and Seafood Jambalaya. We had to exercise discipline to not overeat and instead save if for lunch tomorrow. I also really enjoyed their fried okra, it was crispy and not goey. It was a perfect paring with the soup. The staff was so lovely. Kim was such an amazing and attentive server. She took care of us quick. The place was busy but not so much that we had to wait too long. Food came hot and yummy. Loved the vibe of the place. Ambiance matched the food. read more

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Phenomenal Lunch ! Shrimp and Grits add sausage was out of this world excellent, if you like Cajun it's the perfect amount of flavor. Grits are wonderful and the service was also exceptional, first visit but not the last. read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Shrimp and grits, fried catfish - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

I've always had great service, great food, that keeps me coming back. The catfish always has a Cajun kick the braised cabbage is very savory the fried chicken is juicy. I do believe everything on the menu will be A-1 quality read more

Cajun Yard Dog - 1/2 Crispy Fried Chicken Dinnerchicken - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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We had lunch here while visiting Charlotte because it used to be my husband's favorite place when he was living in the area growing up. We were not disappointed. The food was delicious. It's very uniquely decorated and pleasant inside. Our waiter was pleasant and helpful. We plan to go back next time we visit! read more

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It's been a while since I've gotten to sit down and enjoy some fabulous Cajun food. Once Cajun Yard Dog came on my radar I knew I had to stop in for a visit! The restaurant is small and cozy with no short abundance of New Orleans/Mardi Gras themed decorations. We were promptly seated and our server did a great job going over all of the specials they had available. I was excited to see they had Abita Purple Haze a beer I used to enjoy a lot in college that is brewed in Louisiana. The beer menu and decorations weren't the only homages to Louisiana, the food menu had a lot of classic Cajun and Creole dishes. My girlfriend ordered the red beans and rice, while I elected for a bowl of gumbo along with an oyster po boy. All in all our food was delicious and we were very pleased. If you are looking for this type of cuisine in the Charlotte area in a no frills casual sit down environment then this is a spot you need to check out. read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Another delicious meal. This restaurant knows about Cajun cuisine and they show it off very well. Everything I ate was delicious. My friend only had four shrimp and her Poboy, but I'm chalking that up to a mistake. Hopefully we won't have that happen to us again, the restaurant was packed for Mardi Gras, so things were hectic and busy. Our server was not very friendly, and would come to the table next to ours and not even make iContact or ask us if we need anything. I think we saw him three times at our table before we ask for the checks, normally we have great service at this restaurant so again I'll chalk it up to the night and look forward to coming back soon. read more

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Cajun Yard Dog is one of the hidden gems in the Charlotte area!! We come here as often as we can. The food is always fresh and delicious, with flavor that's unmatched anywhere else. We've tried lots of things on the menu over the year, and each one is more impressive than the last! The service is always phenomenal too. Fast and friendly staff, especially John!! He is too funny. The ambiance is one of our favorite parts of CYD as well. Beautiful decor that is a perfect reflection of the just as beautiful food! Thank you! read more

Cajun Yard Dog - Blackened Meatloaf Dinner - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

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The Cajun offers an authentic Southern dining experience with bold, spicy flavors. The cozy atmosphere and friendly service are great, but some aspects of the space could be improved. Overall, I give it 4 stars. read more

Always great food and service. Had the catfish and was delicious. The greens and mac and cheese are equally good.

The food n service was very good when we visited on 5.26.25 The restaurant decor is wonderful. My crispy shrimp n crispy oysters were perfect n love their homemade potato salad n cole slaw. Their homemade blackberry cobbler w/ vanilla ice cream hit the spot. read more

This review is specifically for DoorDash because we haven't visited the restaurant yet. That being said, I definitely look forward to visiting the restaurant in person because we had a great meal via DoorDash. We ordered a variety items, definitely a pig out night and the feature item was the jambalaya and the catfish bites. The half fried chicken was good too!. Super crisp and fairly moist even though it did lose a bit of its mojo during the transport. We also enjoyed the deviled eggs and the sweet yams. Highly recommend. read more

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Great place to eat. Becoming one my go to spot. Food is fantastic. Servers are very friendly and their recommendations are off the chart

It's a small restaurant in the aboredum area (south Charlotte). It's pretty popular place. They have shared parking in the strip shopping area. Staff are nice not attentive. The food was tasty and southern! It's like New Orleans style. If you like spice this place is nice! They bring the heat and tons of seasoning. The prices are moderate. Hope you enjoy! read more

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Great first visit to Cajun Yard Dog. It's rare to get a good deal these days, but their food was fresh, delicious, AND priced fairly for such a generous size. Our server Kendal was super attentive and sweet. The chicken cordon blue was great & the green beans almondine were amazing. We'll definitely be back! read more

Last week we were in the mood for Cajun food and decided to return to Cajun Yard Dog. We visited on a Thursday night and did not have reservations. The hostess said we'd have a 10 minute wait. She also told everyone who arrived after us the same thing. After waiting about 25 minutes, we were seated. The pimento cheese appetizer and fried green tomatoes arrived very shortly after we ordered them. The pimento platter was huge, and is ideal for sharing with a larger party. The three of us couldn't finish it all, but we came close. The fried green tomatoes were also very large. They were lightly fried and on the softer side, but I still enjoyed them. My 11-year old nephew ordered the blackened salmon with collards and fries. I blinked twice and his plate was empty. Safe to say it was good. I ordered the catfish and oysters combo with mixed veggies and collards. The veggies and collards were fresh and tasty. The catfish was disappointing. I'm the person who NEVER shakes salt or adds additional seasoning of any kind. However it comes is always enough! Well, at least 95% of the time. This time falls within the dreaded 5%. The catfish wasn't seasoned well or didn't have any seasoning...one of the two. I ate 1/2 of one of the three pieces. I tried to give my dinner dates some, but they never took a second bite after the first either. The oysters, however, were an entirely different story. They were fried crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. To my surprise, they were also much larger than the standard, run-of-the-mill oyster. Eating the fried oysters was akin to finding a pearl in the sea. So good! The third entree ordered was the BBQ shrimp and fried oysters combo. The seafood on this plate did not disappoint. However, the mac & cheese did. Before sending it back, each of us tried a noodle or two to confirm we weren't crazy. Like the catfish, the three of us agreed it was humdrum. Unlike the catfish, I believe a few shakes of salt may have remedied the issue a bit. But, we sent it back and ordered the cucumber salad. It was flavorful and an excellent replacement choice. All in all, the service was great. The oysters and our other selections made up for the mac & cheese and catfish. We shall return! read more

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I love the authentic music playing in the background. There's plenty of seating at the bar or on the floor. The waiter was pleasant and attentive as well as happy to answer any questions I might have. I decided on the Catch of the Day which was red snapper, blackened, as a Po Boy which included one side. I chose the green beans almandine. These are cooked to perfection and so buttery. The Po Boy has just the right of heat with a soft roll fabulously spiced piece of red snack. Yum. I think dessert is a definite. I think I'm aiming for the blackberry cobbler. read more

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I lived in Mississippi for almost ten years where I learned and loved Cajun food. I've eaten Cajun from tucked-away fish camps that looked out on bayou waters to fancier restaurants in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Our own Cajun Yard Dog could hold their own with all of them. From the gumbos and étoufée to the Jambalaya, Red Beans and Rice or the oysters, shrimp and various Po'Boys, the food and ambiance is excellent. read more

All of the staff was nice, the place was crowded so obviously others really like it. The decor was really nice. However the food was pretty disappointing. read more