I had the absolute pleasure of exploring the local street food scene in Ruston today, and I stumbled upon a venue that is quite simply one of the best in the area. It possesses such an authentic, genuine street food charm. From the outside, the facade evokes a beautifully nostalgic, turn-of-the-century 1900s aesthetic that immediately caught my eye. Upon stepping inside, I was greeted by an incredibly warm and inviting atmosphere. The decor is wonderfully unique the ceiling is completely adorned with banknotes, which makes one wonder if it's a clever nod to local tradition! It adds such a marvelous sense of character to the space. The service was prompt and thoroughly lovely. To drink, I sampled the Ponchatoulas Peach Tea, which was nothing short of spectacular perfectly sweet and refreshing. For my meal, I spoke with the waiter and settled on the crawfish stuffing. It was prepared beautifully and tasted absolutely divine. I am completely charmed by this establishment. A perfect, five-star experience through and through I will most certainly be returning read more

Ponchatoulas - My lunch crawfish stuffing +Ponchatoulas Peach Tea - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

The service was great and fast which we appreciated. They came by often enough to be pleasant and not overbearing. During one of the early visits we had to tell the waitress that the seafood gumbo needed to be heated up because it was at room temperature. I'm hopeful that they read these comments because another Yelper called it tepid temperature which I agree. This shouldn't happen at all! The flavor of the gumbo was fine but wished it was slightly thicker with more ingredients. The seafood fried sampler was fantastic! Perfectly fried and clean oil. The shrimp was plump and delicious. Overall a good restaurant that needs some attention to food temperature. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I wanted to watch a NFL game on Fox and the poor waitress tried to change the channel but wasn't able to. They have TV's all over the restaurant but only ESPN?! It's a pseudo sports bar with no other sports channels[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]. read more

Ponchatoulas - Excellent seafood platter - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

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This place came highly recommended by the hotel I was staying at and what a feast. Absolutely generous portions and I let my eyes overtake my tummy. I ordered a platter with a handful of different proteins with a green tomato starter. Being from Idaho, we don't really tomato but this made my potato booty very happy. I will 100% be back in February and enjoying another plate of perfection! Fat boy approved! read more

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We ordered the Jambalaya, it was awful... dry, super dry and the meat was harder than jerky. My wife ordered Gumbo... which had an extreme of salt to the point that could not be eaten. The service was good because she understood that the food was unfit to serve to a human. You need a dog stomach to digest that food. read more

So we are in Ruston Louisiana playing baseball this weekend. I asked a friend who used to live there where we should go eat. He said hands-down you have to try this restaurant. So after a hot day of baseball, we decided to head on over to try this restaurant. The wait was not too long, and after about 30 minutes we were seated. We ordered the boneless chicken wings for the boys to dive into because they were starving, and the Boudin balls. Boneless chicken wings were as expected. So really no need to review those. The Boudin balls arrived, and I was shocked at the number of balls, we were served! The order came with a lot of boudin balls. They had some great spice to them. Just enough heat to let you know you aren't in Kansas anymore! Entrees ordered. Apparently, my son had not ever eaten crawfish étouffée, so he ordered a big plate of it. I think he enjoyed it because there was only a few bites left. Luckily my kids like to try new things all the time. Brax gave this two thumbs up! I ordered the stuffed catfish, and let me tell you that was one of the best dishes I've eaten in a while. The catfish was fried perfectly, the crawfish étouffée they put on top and all over the catfish was like a flavor bomb going off in my mouth. We all enjoyed our meals and would gladly come back and eat it again and again. The biggest surprise of the night was Piper our server! She was amazing. Our drinks were never empty and she always was stopping by to make sure we were taken care of. Best service I have experienced in a while. read more

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This was my fourth visit in a 2 month span. First three visits food was awesome. This visit a waste of my money, everything was fried so hard, i had to trash the entire tray. Other than the salad that came with it, the fish, shrimp and hush puppies was not eatable. Very disappointing read more

Ponchatoulas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Ruston, La. If you here or traveling through, and enjoy Cajun style dishes, then this is a must visit place. read more

My wife requested no seasoning on her grilled chicken but they still put seasoning on it. The mgt stated it was the grill. Then clean the dam grill. Mgt never came over and apologized for the chicken for being spicy. The menu states grilled chicken under heathy menu but is not to healthy with the seasoning. I was just the food business for over 30 years and this is the worst mgt. If you like spicy, the food is good management not so good. In addition, the waitresses are not taught how to clean tables properly. read more

This place came highly recommended by the hotel staff. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because our waitress didn't eat anything on the menu and couldn't give good recommendations. I always look to the people who work there for their suggestions. I had the chicken, shrimp and sausage gumbolaya. It was so good and flavorful. I really wanted to eat it all but couldn't. It was enough meat in the dish too unlike other places where you have nothing but rice. As my side, I had the pasta salad. It was pretty dry. I expected it to have Italian dressing in it but it didn't. It came with a side of ranch which I thought was odd. When I'm back in town, this would definitely be a place I would come back to. read more

Ponchatoulas - File jambalaya - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

Very good food and great service! Nice stop at a local place on our way to Texas. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The feel was casual and relaxed.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Great place for muffaletta and hurricanes. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Friendly servers in a cheerful dive bar atmosphere.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Loved the combo fried appetizer plate, too. Good bar. read more

This happens to be one of my go to spot! Love this place. Ponchatoulas is New Orleans food place, everything they have is fantastic!! The staff is always knowledgeable and helpful and very attentive to their guests. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The place is always neat and clean.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]T.V.s on the walks and an open bar.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I highly recommend this place , you wont regret it!!! read more

Ponchatoulas - Roast beef Po-boy! With onion rings - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]If you like Chili's, Olive Garden, or Texas Roadhouse, this is the place for you.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] My appetizer and main dish were both tepid room temperature. The gumbo tasted like it was out of a can, over salted, and just "meh". I expected to walk out front and see a Sysco truck parked waiting to make a delivery. The fried catfish plate was little strips of trimmings. The only reason we went here was because nanas was unexpectedly closed for the day, so they met the minimum requirement of being open. read more

Ordered the combo fried oysters and shrimp plate and added cheese to the fries. So good! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Great place with lots of character.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Why haven't I ever stopped here on my way through Ruston before? read more

Ponchatoulas - Combo shrimp & oysters with cheese added to fries - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

Delicious! We had a great time here. The food was fresh and delicious. Sweet tea was great and the service was top tier! read more

Ponchatoulas - Stuffed Catfish - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

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Horrible on their gumbo...Got some last night seafood gumbo what it was suppose to be...Brown gravy with maybe 3 or 4 baby shrimp.. nothing else....No rice at all..Not my kind of gumbo.... read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Food was great with nice atmosphere.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Server was very attentive. Will definitely be going back for this Cajun style dining. read more

We were sat immediately and brought waters which was very nice. Another waitress came over to the table and tried to take our drink orders and when we explained another person did she seemed frustrated because this was "her section." We didn't see her again after that. The other waitress was very bubbly and kind and gave recommendations. A lot of the food had a good breading but lacked seasoning with the food itself. The fried food items I received the crab cake and tomatoes came with the same dipping sauce. Also the crab cake only comes fried. The vibes reminded me of a dive bar and they also had karaoke starting at 9:30pm. Overall it was an okay place but not somewhere I'd rush to get back to. read more

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Crawfish étouffée was delicious! Service was good and quick. The lunch plates were very reasonable.

Their rice and beans are delicious as well as their boudin balls. I also like the fried shrimp

Downtown Ruston. Was seated quickly and the service was pretty good all the way around. Food came out quick. We started with some Bouidin Balls. Not bad. Have had better, have had worse. I ordered the grilled shrimp plate and my buddy ordered the red beans and rice. His was a little better flavoring than mine. Shrimp was below ave. I would say this place probably be better with the fried food. Overall a good experience, with average food. read more

The food here is usually good but [[HIGHLIGHT]]the mood atmosphere and service is poor at best.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The mood (which is a 1/5) trumps the food, (which is unfortunately is a solid 4/5).[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] If the staff were friendlier this would be Ruston's hottest restaurant hands down. read more

Excellent food, have been multiple times when in town. Always fresh quality food and great service !

Best food in town. Customer service was great and the food and drinks were outstanding. read more

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If I show this plate yall would be enraged. There was bacon bits literally ONLY in the center. Babes I don't care abt how beautiful this plate looks, if i ask for bacon bits spread them over my cheese fries. They had one freaking job, make cheese fries with bacon bits. These were disgusting and tasted like period blood. And let's not forget the last time i came i got food poisoning. I didn't have seafood and neither did my amazing father yet we for some reason both got food poisoning.. THE DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Also this group of children and overly grown adults were extremely loud and every waitress' butt was sticking out.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Maybe that's why my food was nasty. This sincerely ruined my sunday. read more

Ponchatoulas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

Having a severe gluten allergy, I'm always apprehensive with small towns and their accommodations. (I'm a tech alumna and didn't have this allergy until after graduating. I frequented Ponchatoula's back in my undergrad and grad school days.) The menu marks items that are gluten free, and they offer grilled seafood and chicken options that come with vegetables and rice. Make sure you ask for no croutons on the side salad and no bread in case the server forgets to note it on the order. My parents, my husband, and I are in town for a wedding and stopped in for lunch. They have never been here, and the place became PACKED while we ate. The food has always been good, and the service was wonderful. The main item I wouldn't order is the jambalaya. My husband had it and said the rice needed to cook a bit longer, and it was closer to Mexican rice in how it was prepared. We will definitely be back! read more

On a college tour to Grambling decided to visit the the tour of Rustin. I read about this place for Cajun food. So why not try it. When we got there it wasn't really crowded. I'm not going to lie felt a little uncomfortable, when we walked in everyone just stared at us. I'm not sure if not to many of "us" go there. You have your seating and tables in the front and a bar area in they back. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. The File gumbo was nicely seasoned and filling. The 1/2 of Muffuletta was good. The half was just enough, the onion were good not a lot of breading, the seasoning of the batter was a little spicy but good flavor. The boo fries was ok, it was as like a gravy fries with cheese an ranch on the side, not my favorite. The food was pleasing. read more

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Just wow! If ever in Ruston LA driving through like me you MUST try this place out. I ordered a conservative cup of seafood gumbo but the serving size is huge for what a person from VA is use to; down to earth great customer service... 12 0n a 10 point scale! read more

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Only reason for 2 stars was the very personable you lady that waited on us. She was very pleasant and attentive. On the other hand, the food was very mediocre. Got a seafood platter. Everything was overcooked and dried out. Have eaten at Ponchatoulas before and food was excellent, but this time was not. The iced tea was good. read more

Stopped by here while passing through town. Surprised at the good reviews because our experience was lacking. First off, the hostess did not greet us and barely looked at us when we walked in. The food was terrible. I ordered Chicken and Sausage jambalaya. It came out dry and unrecognizable with little taste. The rice was dirty rice instead of the customary steamed rice. My wife ordered Gumbolaya which was not eatable. The garden salad was the best part of the meal. We will not return. read more

Always a great place to eat!! This is our third time here as we stop by while in the area each year. Have not had one bad dish and we try something different each time. Service is always very friendly and top notch! read more

We frequently stop in for lunch when traveling through Louisiana. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The festive atmosphere and tasty poboys please the whole family.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

We ordered Ruston Strong Mules, the Italian chef salad, and the fried shrimp and oysters combo. Everything was excellent! Would order again. The homemade house vinaigrette dressing is so yummy. Our server brought everything in a timely manner and checked on us often enough. The restaurant itself was super casual with wooden booths and tables. Not the most comfortable, but everything else makes up for it. read more

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Service was friendly and prompt, even though the dining room was full. The lunch size portion of crawfish etouffee was too much to finish, but i tried. Fluffy white rice topped with a delicious roux filled with crawfish. So good. The lunch plate came with a salad that was unremarkable except for the house made blue cheese dressing, which was fantastic. read more

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The food had a good taste. We got the sampler plate appetizer, which was good. Plenty for two people and each item was tasty. My wife and I got poboys, which were disappointing. Perhaps having had really good boys in the actual Ponchatoula has spoiled us. Again, the flavor was good, but no self-proclaimed "sloppy roast beef poboy" should be able to be eaten with only one napkin. The bread was something one could get from Walmart, not bad but in no way worthy of the name Ponchatoula. The fries might have been good when they came out of the fryer, but by the time they reached our table, they were, once again, disappointing. Our server was very nice and did a good job. It's worth giving it a second chance, but only one more read more

Food is great, service is great, [[HIGHLIGHT]]atmosphere is out of sight if you like good down home feeling[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]! A must place for go!!! read more

Stopped here with a group on a college tour. They were able to accommodate the group without a reservation. Seafood gumbo was good. However, the fried seafood combo - shrimp and oysters and the catfish and shrimp combo were so salty that I did something I have never done before. I asked the waitress to take it back. She said that the saltiness is from the batter so there was nothing she could do. We opted for a second cup of gumbo instead. So disappointing. read more

While visiting Ruston this week on business, my husband and I decided to bend our dietary restrictions just a tad (okay a lot), and splurge on some good old fried seafood. We were a little surprised by the 30 minute wait on a Sunday evening, but we figured "what the heck?" - if it's this busy on a Sunday, it must be good food. To start, we had an order of fried mozzarella sticks and a cup of file' gumbo. The cheese sticks were delicious, and the gumbo was perfect. The cup portion of gumbo was pretty large in my opinion. For my main meal I had the shrimp po-boy with onion rings, and the husband ordered a seafood platter with onion rings. I was extremely pleased with my meal, but my husband said his seafood platter left much to be desired. The fried crawfish were under-seasoned; and they were out of oysters. Also-the server forgot to bring out his side salad, but we let it go because it was getting late. I would've given it a solid 4 stars if it wouldn't have been for such the long wait to receive our food (after sitting down and ordering). I didn't taste my husband's food, so I cannot agree or disagree with him. Overall-I'd say if you're wanting some fried seafood, head on over there when they're not too busy. read more

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Stopped here for lunch on my way back to Youngsville. Not to sound any kind of way but I don't usually trust any gumbos that don't come from south of I-10 between Crowley and Morgan City but I took a chance and boy did I luck up. The gumbo at this place is really good. The fried shrimp and onion rings were good too but the cup of gumbo is so big I thought they accidentally brought me a bowl but they didn't, so I was too full to finish the whole shrimp plate. I could have gotten just a bowl of gumbo. I will next time. read more

Ponchatoulas - Seafood Gumbo. Really good. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

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Crawfish Shirley is my go to when in town, but the fried fish is a close second. White chocolate bread pudding is yummy!! Drinks are good. Service is quick ad friendly. read more