Ambe C.
Yelp
I visited The Cajun Table on Valentine's Day, looking forward to some crawfish and my favorite appetizer, Fish Out of Water. As expected, there was about a two-hour wait, but knowing that was likely the case across the city, I decided to stick it out. The restaurant provided outdoor seating with two heaters for those waiting, which was a nice touch.
While waiting, I grabbed a drink at the bar--the Royalty, which included Crown Royal, sweet tea, lemonade, and another mixer. I opted to sub the sweet tea for unsweetened tea, and while I could tell it took away from the overall experience of the drink, I was watching my calories.
Once my table was ready, seating was smooth, and the host provided menus. However, this is where the service took a turn. Our table was positioned near the kitchen door next to a pillar. At one point, a server was speaking to the table next to us, and I assumed she would greet us afterward. Instead, she suggested dessert options to the other table, put in their order, brought out the dessert, and still never acknowledged us. After waiting about 15 minutes with no greeting, we had to flag down another server, who assured us someone would take care of us shortly.
Eventually, Gabrielle came to our table but made it seem as though she was doing us a favor. She mentioned that she volunteered to take care of us after someone told her we had been waiting. What was frustrating was that she had been standing right next to our table earlier but never once turned to acknowledge us. At this point, we were ready to order immediately.
We got five pounds of crawfish with corn, potatoes, and sausage, plus the Fish Out of Water and gumbo. The food arrived extremely fast, which was great, but it still took a while for Gabrielle to check on us after we had received it. Meanwhile, she constantly checked in on the table next to us. I overheard her mentioning that her boyfriend or friends were there, and it was clear she was prioritizing them. I don't expect a server to be overly chatty, but basic attentiveness is key. Towards the end of the meal, she did stop by a bit more, but by then, I was already over it.
As for the food:
Fish Out of Water was delicious as usual.
Crawfish seemed to be prepared quickly to meet high demand. While I don't love spicy food, I was glad we ordered the spicy crawfish, as the mild ones seemed under-seasoned. The ones at the bottom of the tray had more flavor, which helped.
Despite the disappointing service, The Cajun Table remains one of my favorite restaurants in Lafayette. The food was still solid, and I know the service experience can vary. However, I hope management reinforces the importance of treating all tables with the same level of care.