I can’t count the number of times I’ve driven past the New Orleans Cajun restaurant in Winter Park and thought about stopping in. The restaurant occupies the old Cheddar’s Burger location, which was originally Boston’s Fish House before they moved across the street. My daughter and I butchered supper, so we were on the hunt for fast, hot food. We both love New Orleans cuisine, so we figured we’d give it a try. It’s near the house, too. We were stealth in sneaking out of the house and back again before any one in the house noticed. I felt just a tiny bit bad for leaving my husband and son in-law with the butchered meal to eat but not bad enough to keep me from going out.
New Orleans Cajun Seafood Restaurant Review
I haven’t been in this building since it was Boston’s Fish House. Although the restaurant is tiny, the seating area is one big open space with a small server station and a small counter in one corner. New Orleans Cajun Seafood restaurant operates like a fast food joint. Order at the counter, then find a table. They will bring the food to your table when it’s ready. The decor is simple. There are numerous photos of New Orleans seafood along with a number of signs about eating crawfish (crayfish). The floor is all tile, which makes for really bad acoustics. I felt like there was an echo in the room, and at times it became unnerving.
New Orleans Cajun Seafood Restaurant also offers outdoors seating, which we tried first because of the noise. We were swarmed by mosquitoes almost immediately. Despite the sound problems, there was adequate seating inside. There were also a few other patrons in the restaurant dining, and some at the counter picking up takeout—a good sign for such a small place. The server was warm and friendly, and the service was prompt. The food was nice and hot when it arrived.
An Eclectic Menu
The overhead counter menu shows many photos of the restaurant’s offerings. I was surprised to see that not only did New Orleans Cajun Seafood restaurant offer Cajun and creole dishes, but it also offered Vietnamese food. The sever told me that the owner is Vietnamese but was originally from New Orleans, and that both of the restaurant locations in Orlando offered New Orleans and Vietnamese food. I love Vietnamese food, and I was so tempted to order Bún Riêu (special crab noodle soup), but I ordered a shrimp po’ boy instead with a small bowl of gumbo. Amanda ordered the fried catfish plate. We shared an order of beignets. You can view the full New Orleans Seafood Restaurant menu online (and order online, too). It’s a PDF file, so you can download it and spend some time figuring out what you would love to try.
I was tempted to order the oyster or the soft shell crab po’ boy, but I settled on shrimp. The po’ boy was loaded with lightly breaded fried shrimp and served on crisp French bread (fresh, too), lettuce, tomatoes, and mayonnaise. It was tasty, but it was a bit too large for me.
The gumbo was not what I expected (this is something that I make all of the time). It was nice and hot, but it was filled with more chicken than shrimp or sausage. It didn’t have that thick roux consistency or flavor. The chicken dominated the dish. If any okra was in the soup, then it was very little. I don’t remember finding any.
I might try the jambalaya next time.
Maybe I’ll try the fried oysters.
Amanda ordered the fried catfish platter. It was served with a side of cole slaw, french fries, and a roll. It look good.It was perfectly fried and it wasn’t greasy. She didn’t care for the dressing on the slaw, and I was too full to try it. (Had to save room for beignets.)
Amanda and I shared an order of beignets. I asked the server if they made them fresh on the premises, and she told me that they used the Cafe Du Monde beignet mix. (The menu states that the beignets are French dough made fresh and sprinkled with powdered sugar.) I’ve also used the mix, and the beignets are good. I just expected that the restaurant made their own, as simple as they are to make. Still, the beignets were good.
The restaurant also offers lcleaned blue shell and snow crab, shrimp, and hot boiled crawfish by the dozen. One of the patrons in the restaurant had an a dozen or so of the crawfish. They were very tempting and looked delicious. I didn’t dare order anything that was peel and eat for fear that too much time would pass and I could not stealthy return to my house.
Overall, it was a fairly decent meal. I will definitely go again. Next time, I’ll make sure I have the time to try a platter of the boiled crawfish or the blue shell crabs.
Price $$$$
Prices are more than reasonable especially considering the amount of food you receive per serving. Large quantities of blue shell and snow crab, shrimp, and crawfish can be a little high. Some of these seafood items are also based on market prices.
Cuisine
New Orleans Cajun Seafood Restaurant serves New Orleans style Cajun and creole dishes and Vietnamese food. They cater, too.
Hours
New Orleans Cajun Seafood Restaurant is open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
New Orleans Cajun Seafood Location
New Orleans Cajun Seafood restaurant is in a tiny building. If you’re unfamiliar with the area, plug the address in your GPS to help you find it. It’s located here:
New Orleans Cajun Seafood Restaurant 7325 Aloma Avenue Winter Park, FL (407) 678-5700The New Orleans Cajun Seafood restaurant can be contacted by email at NewOrleansCajunSeafood@gmail.com. Visit the New Orleans Cajun Seafood restaurant website and place an order online. Like them on Facebook and keep up with the latest news.
Interesting but I agree with you that they should make their own beignets. 🙂