Thank you, Trevor, for asking my sister and me to give Dodie's a second chance. We had a bad experience on our first visit June 13, 2026. We tried Dodie's again on July 2, 2026. The experience could not have been more pleasant. Our server was Natalia V. She was what you would expect from a server - attentive, friendly and made you feel appreciated. Please ask for her as your server. Trevor gave us a sample of Chicken and Sausage, and Seafood Gumbo. My sister chose a bowl of Chicken and Sausage Gumbo which was the better of the samples. It was full of chicken and sausage, flavorful with a nice spice, and a meal by itself. I had Pasta Monica dinner, which Trevor indicated was one of the best-selling dinners. It was excellent. It had a good amount of Shrimp and Crawfish tails in a Parmesan cheese sauce that had the right thickness and amount of spice. The Cesar salad was one of the best I have had. The romaine lettuce was fresh and crispy, crunchy croutons, and the right amount of fresh Parmesan cheese and flavorful dressing. We split the Key Lime pie and asked that the strawberry drizzle not be added. We are not sure why strawberry drizzle is added since it does not complement or enhance the pie. The Key Lime was better this time without the drizzle. We sat out on the patio during our first visit and had issues with flies and crows. It was too hot to sit out on the patio this time. However, we noted Dodie's has made an attempt to eliminate the flies with table fans. Overall, Dodie's is a good Cajun restaurant, and we consider our June 13, 2026, visit an aberration. I highly recommend giving them a try. read more

I waited three months in the hopes that I would look back on this more favorably. Nope!! The ambience was good. The gumbo was brown and burnt. There was nothing gumbo about the flavor. The catfish was a little salty but good. My friend had oysters. The oysters were okay. read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

Food was delicious! Will gave excellent customer service. Highly recommend, keep up the great work Dodie's!

Sigh . . . I waited to write this one to make sure I wasn't writing a review based on my feelings however even thinking back on it, it was just a sub par meal that I won't be returning for anytime soon. We started the meal with gumbo and it was HORRIBLE!!! Even the server mentioned that she wasn't a fan after the fact but what got me was her asking if we wanted her to take it. Umm, as we are telling you what we don't like about it, yes please. Got the chargrilled oysters. They were okay but I've had better. And the catfish which actually was the best part of the meal so the exception that the hush puppies were under cooked. Everything felt rushed. It would be one thing if it was a packed place however it was a slow night and by slow I mean two people at the bar, another family behind us and maybe (and I do mean maybe) one other table. I had high hopes as a friend told me how good the food was but for me, this was not worth it. read more

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Me and my Wife dined in Saturday afternoon , the wait time was good . We sat pretty quickly , the server was persistent I would say . Our only issue was that the oysters were bad . Now we've had raw oysters before and never had this problem. But after eating the first 2 oysters. I just could not continue, there was something foul in the oysters. But now me and my wife are in the RR with food poisoning. Beware the oysters.. the only thing that was good was the island drink . I returned the oysters and paid just the drinks read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Island drink - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

The food was excellent. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. The atmosphere was great, love the feel and energy.

Had lunch here today. The food and service were great. I had fried shrimp and oysters and it was excellent. Fair prices. Attentive service. Would def eat here again. read more

$14 crab cakes is pretty insane especially for mediocre ones that came frozen. other than that the food was good.

I ate here a couple of months ago and had great service and excellent food. I came here for dinner in hopes of eating and catching the sunset nearby by the lake. I was actually given this spot as a recommendation from a friend. My server, Davion, was excellent from start to finish. He was very attentive and informative when I asked questions. The manager even checked in with us, which I appreciated. Davion also ensured everything flowed so that I was able to catch the sunset. The food was good much better than the fries let on. I'm assuming things are better and I can tell on this day they working hard to earn my business I ordered the chargrilled oysters Dodie and the Dodie Pasta Monica. The oysters were well-cooked and decent-sized. I enjoyed the flavor and the seasoning was perfect. The Dodie Pasta Monica has Shrimp, crawfish, parmesan cheese sauce, rotini in it. Mine was very tasty. The shrimp was delicious and the parts was cooked perfectly. I definitely recommend trying both of these. For drinks I had the flavored frozen margarita, these were decent, but enjoyable. I can definitely see myself coming back here to dine and enjoy the sunset. read more

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It was a beautiful evening and I wanted to sit out on a patio during my only night in Rockwall. I surveyed the open restaurants and chose Dodie's. I got the New Orleans sampler and grits with Gouda. Their take on three Cajun Staples was comparable to an American Chinese restaurants take on Mandarin dining or a Tex-Mex concept for Jalisco. The jambalaya was dry, the étouffée was cold, and the red beans and rice just lacked flavor. The service was excellent, and the poor waiter was having to do triple duty, waiting tables, cleaning up, and seating people too. The view was extraordinary, looking out over the harbor, which made the experience worth it. Go for the atmosphere, the drinks, and the view. Just don't count on getting the best Cajun meal. read more

Taylor and Chloe were super sweet and attentive and can make a mean michelada. 10/10 recommend coming in to sit at the bar with her. Food was great as well! Will definitely be back. read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

Had a late lunch here today. The food was very good. The service was amazing and the view from the patio of the harbor was perfect. I will definitely be returning. read more

Just spent over $100 on a to go order. Both Cajun fries missing completely. The absolute WORST po boys and gumbo we have ever had in our entire lives. The bread was SO hard it was inedible. The catfish plate was soggy. It's a sad day when the only good things are grits and hush puppies. What a disappointment for our family. Check your bread - could break your teeth on it. Shame. read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - To go receipt - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

We also ordered charbroiled oysters and calamari for appetizers. Everything was great read more

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Dodies has amazing crawfish! Ask for the garlic butter! Taylor was the best! The service was quick and fun! You won't be disappointed!!

This place is a nice establishment with a great ambiance; exactly what you would expect to find in a restaurant specializing is Creole dishes. However.... The food was not great. Everything was lacking flavor. Even basics like salt and pepper were sorely missing in every dish that we ordered. There was no spice at all! Everything was bland. There was not one thing on the menu that we tasted that would make me want to come back. But the staff was very friendly, and our party of 8 was seating instantly on a Saturday night with zero wait time. Overall... 3 out of 5 starts. But there is nothing exceptional to report. read more

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My husband, my brother and I ate at Dodie's for dinner. I had the blackened chicken and my husband has crawfish ettoufee, shrimp and veggies. The food was all very good but my juband's ettoufee was too spicy. Now, we love a lot of spice but this was just too much. The salads were fresh and I had an adult beverage and the bar tender did a great job of making it! The real talking point is the service, the waitress and kitchen staff were so friendly and attentive. The ambiance was great and we were able to choose between indoor or outdoor dining( we chose indoor because it was a little chilly). I will definitely return to Dodie'! read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Blackened chicken pasta - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

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Beautiful day , restaurant and view to the lake at this Location ...The food was just ok... Calamari (5),Grill dozen oysters (5),Order Redfish (6), Jambalaya (6),grilled shrimp (4) mac and cheese (1) I know we are not in N.O. But experienceing the food in the Big Easy many times it's just not up to par. Anyway if your not picky about quality but they do some justice to Cajun and it's also and fun place ... read more

I had a much better experience than most Yelpers have had recently. The first part of this review is my own personal impressions. The second part is the information from the other reviews. * * * Me talking as Me. First rate Creole cooking. I can't speak for the seafood ... But not all Louisiana cookin' comes from the gulf or the swamp. Red beans and rice are a thing. They have a red beans and rice here to beat the band. Although "in theory" they only offer that as a side dish, A request to the waiter can get you a whole plate of their red beans and rice plus two grilled andouille sausages to go with that. And there was Crystal Hot Sauce right there on the table - whose destiny is to put the finishing touches on red beans and rice. Eating doesn't get better than that. They also make the only decent Bloody Mary I have had in at least 15 years. The trick? (Which the waitress brags about openly.) They use a special mild mixer which packs a ton of flavor but no bulls*** hot for the sake of just being hot. The result is an actually tasty beverage you wouldn't mind having two or four of. (I was staying within walking distance at the nearby Hilton. Knocking off a string of these would have been a wholly legal and attractive idea - but I was with non-drinking company.) My wife gave a big thumbs up to her salmon. Now, yeah yeah yeah ... you can't really do a compleat review of a Cajun place without reviewing the seafood. I get it I get it. (Though red beans and rice ought to count for at least part credit.) I really like the lakefront complex at Rockwall ... So I just may have to come back. ***** The news from the other reviews. All signs are there was a management change mid 2024. After the management change, service seems to have hit the skids in the early going. Both bartending and table-waiting was weak While things were slow to come out of the kitchen. The regulars complained. I believe they are telling the truth. The good news is that the new management team has finally gotten these problems under control. May and June 2024 reviews are filled with tales of woe. I went there in November 2024. We got fast and completely attentive service, great bartending, and food that came out promptly. I would believe the two and three star reviews - But I recommend giving Dodie's on the Lake another shot. I think they have gotten themselves to where they need to be. read more

Whew! This place was a amazing! We had the seafood platter and a hurricane! I'll give everything a 10! Service was awesome from the bartenders to the waiters and waitresses. read more

Just ate lunch here and was very disappointed. The atmosphere is very dark and cold. The wait staff was subpar and the food was terrible. My Husband, who is Cajun by the way, said his dirty rice had way too much "file' spice" in it. I guess it was the same stuff that was in my seafood gumbo. It was horrible. I didn't eat any of it. And I had catfish that was thin as a piece of paper and tough as leather. To be fair, the manager took the gumbo and the catfish off of our bill. But it was truly disappointing because we used to like Dodie's in Allen. Won't go back. read more

The food here was an 8/10. We had chicken gumbo, the Cajun plate, stuffed mushrooms, and red beans and rice. I also had the frozen hurricane that was delicious. I was surprised when the food came out fresh and hot because there was a bit of a wait between ordering and receiving our food. Some of the rice was a bit hard and the lady next to us had jambalaya and noted that it was very soupy, and my red beans and rice were mushy. The back of the house seems to do a pretty good job but the front of the house seems very unorganized and flustered. There was no wait but the hostess was not stationed at the door on a Saturday night so it meant standing and waiting at the door until she arrived. The space is fairly small but they offer both indoor and outdoor seating. It was a nice day out so we started off outside. Several people outside were waiting to have their order taken so the hostess who was very attentive and aware ending up taking my entire order. The traffic increased and I asked to be moved inside and the hostess very quickly found us new seating with no issue. Once inside I noticed the table beside hadn't been helped for quite some time. It was mentioned to a different server from another table who informed the hostess. Instead of taking at least the drink order, the alternate server looked for I'm assuming who was assigned that table which took another 4-5 minutes. All in all I can say food is delicious and affordable and the people were nice. It just seems there's no structure which causes unnecessary wait times and aggravated customers. read more

This place is cute and if you sit outside you get a good view of the lake. We stopped here while walking the lakefront only based on this restaurant having mac and cheese which was requested by one of the boys. The winds were high and we had a lot of issues with birds coming by snatching goldfish from the boys and more. This is not the fault of the restaurant as you are the person who decides inside or outside. I opted for the cup of gumbo It was BLAH I wouldn't go back and order it again as I was extremely underwhelmed. My hubby had fried crawfish and shrimp which was OK The boys had mac and cheese and it was super basic maybe Kraft. It was a experience maybe next time I'll go for drinks to see how they do in that department . read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Outside - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

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Would not recommend this Dodie's location. We came on a Sunday around 6:30 PM. We were seated immediately, but our server did not arrive until about 15 minutes later. Our party of 4 each order a drink, we also placed an order for a dozen charbroiled oysters at the same time. Our drinks arrived and they were incredibly sweet and watered down. One person ordered frozen drink that was halfway melted when brought to the table. We had to flag another server down to get in contact with ours. She was able to take the drinks off the bill. About another 30 minutes go by, and still no oysters. We ask the server about the oysters and she assured they were coming out right now. We opted to just get them to go and asked for the check. We paid and waiting for the oysters to come out. Another 15 minutes go by, and finally the oysters come out. Some of the worst looking charbroiled oysters I've ever seen. Thrown together, barely any cheese, and the bread was not toasted. Save your money and your time and go to the Dodie's in Dallas. read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Charbroiled Oysters - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

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I had such a great time I took zero pictures. We had a party of 18 and they were amazing!!

Very lovely atmosphere and if you sit on the patio outside, you can overlook the beautiful lake and it's so amazing at sunset. The drinks were good and we ordered fried calamari to share. Neither one of us was fond of it as it wasn't well seasoned and it was rubbery. Granted having tried this dish several many places it's always hit or miss when it has that rubbery texture. The service was ok, they want busy at all maybe 4 tables when we was there but she was slow to come check on us. read more

Wasn't as flavorful as I was hoping. Had the gumbo and shrimp pasta . Price was ok. I might give it another try eventually

Food is so good we got the catfish with shrimp and husband got the snow crab I will definitely visit again!

Sat down. 11:45 ordered a Bloody Mary was told no zing zang. I should have left then. That's a managerial error. Bad management usually bad all the way down. As it was today. Crawfish, fried fish , burger 2 kids menus and oysters Dodie. An hour later we asked what the wait was about. And why my wife didn't get her salad. Here is the food no salad. Could I get a vodka lemonade. 20 minutes later I witnessed her order the drink at the bar. Bartender immediately made it. By that time we were ready to go. This is the second time in a row. Just horrible service. Witnessed people come in and stand at the door for week over 3 minutes with no greeting or recognition. Won't be surprised if this location goes away. Won't ever be back. read more

Came here for dinner with my family. Haven't dined at Dodie in years! It was also the last outdoors concert series by the lake for the summer so that was a plus! The dining experience was ok -- the waiter wasn't knowledgeable on the cocktails, however, he was good with everything else. The seafood nachos, fried pickles and oysters were good. I would dine here again -- I love this area. read more

Dodie's Cajun Diner at The Harbor - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Rockwall, Texas

amazing environment, Great food, and hands down best service! Sean was out server and took amazing care of us! Have to STOP HERE! read more

Our last visit to Dodie's was not great but we decided to give it one more try. The experience tonight was horrible. We ordered appetizers well before our meal but our meal came out first. We had to ask twice for our appetizers. Then we ordered a to go order and after waiting 30 minutes and asking twice, we were told it had been ready but was cold so they had to remake it. Another 30 minutes and we asked again and then asked the manager. Finally she brought out our food and basically was like sorry it took so long. I reminded her it was over an hour we sat and waited for them to make and remake a simple to go order. Poor service and management. read more

Just not good food or service. Went there for happy hour and the garlic bread was so greasy and just thrown on the plate.

Absolutely the best experience in years! I had crawfish. Cooked perfectly and seasoned perfectly! I couldn't have asked for anything better. Wait Staff was good and management came over (Lisa) and she is an excellent representative for this establishment. Don't compare this location to the Addison location. Rockwall Dodie's is the place to go!!! read more

2-3 star for food and 4 star for service. Food is so so, tasted average. Oysters are big, No shrimp and grits unless it's weekend brunch. The crawfish half and half doesn't feel seasonally fresh, just half fried and half in etouffee but the etouffee isn't much flavorful. Cocktail shrimp is the most disappointing as the small shrimps are soaked in a cocktail cup of sauce, not the big shrimps that we used to see. Service is great. We got the recommendations and courteous check ins. He also helped us pack up the left over. read more

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Our go-to place when we stay at the Hilton Dallas-Rockwall Lakefront. A nice laid-back place by the lake for Cajun-style food. Whether it's for dinner with the fam, date night or catch a game with friends over a drink, they've got you covered. Waitstaff and managers are very cordial and make it a point that your food is exactly how you want it. I'll continue to come back when I'm in the area. Check 'em out the next time you are. read more

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We were in the area for a staycation and Dodie's was just next door to our hotel. We walked over and sat on the patio since the weather was nice that evening. Great views of the lake and good for people watching. We ordered nachos & oysters to start, and then we had poboys, pasta, and jambalaya. The food was good. We'd been to a Dodie's in another location, so we were familiar with this restaurant. read more

It's nice to find tasty Cajun food. We had both seafood gumbo and sausage and chicken gumbo. Both were good, the seafood excellent. The taste of New Orleans highlights the meal with a combination of etouffee, jambalaya and red beans and rice! All three items were delicious! The French Quarter atmosphere is fun and location overlooking the lake is nice, especially during the sunset. I will return! read more

Went to Dodie's before our movie and Hannah gave us wonderful service! Made sure our drinks and food were out at a good time and was very personable. Will be back!! read more

Friday night and wasn't greeted by any server for 10 minutes. Host had to come and ask if I had been served. Ordered the Taste of New Orleans. The E'touffete was bland and the crawfish in it was rubbery and fishy. The rice on top was old and either hard from being microwaved or sitting underneath a heat lamp. The rest of the dish was okay but the only taste profile I could get was heaps of pepper and Tabasco. I don't know if that's all NOLA cuisine is about. The spicy-ish dish was cause for more water. Which I never got because my server seldom came around to give me more. Times like that made me wish I carried cash, cause I just wanted to drop the money on the table and leave. Instead I had to wait another 15 minutes foe another server to get my check foe me. Area outside was okay, but the ground was littered and had liquids spilled everywhere. read more