The food is good, but skip the gumbo. Â It's to watery, and thats surprising at a place with this atmosphere. Â The music is nice, but often too loud for a comfortable dinner conversation.
The differentiator is the service. Â Not great, can be slow and poor. Â It is just hit and miss.
On any given night a place can be good or it can be bad. Â What I look for is something like consistency. Â I have been to Boutins a number of times, most recently three times in the last month. Â They have never failed to give good quality service and excellent food. Â In season, the crawfish are as good as you can get anywhere else. Â The chicken and sausage gumbo is great. Â I have had several different waiters and they have all been good.
The fried sea food is not too heavily battered and it is clear that they use fresh oil. Â Even though they were very busy, we were seated pretty quickly. Â The order was taken quickly and the food arrived quickly. Â Between the crawfish and the rest of the meal the waiter brought a couple small samples of things from the menu that we had not ordered so that my family from Wyoming could taste them. Â That was very thoughtful and kind.
I can see from some of the other reviews that some people did not have the same quality experience that we had. Â But again, on any given night things can go well and things can go wrong. Â I have never had bad service or bad food at Boutins.
We had a great time!!!
Boutin's is a walking contradiction and suffice to say, a difficult one to figure out. Â
On the one hand, the atmosphere, music and overall ambiance is just wonderful. Â I walked into the restaurant and immediately wanted to love it. It felt like I had entered what must be a "true" Cajun restaurant. A place where the locals would come. Â I was enamored with the fact you get to listen to live music while you eat. Â How cool! Â On top of this, they have a mini cajun market attached. Â My mother and I (both from out of state) loved what this mart had to offer. Â What could possibly go wrong?
Sadly on the other hand, Boutin's food falls unfortunately short. Â I would say the food here ranges from poor to mediocre (what we tried anyway). The presentation, atmosphere and service are all very important but ultimately a restaurant will be defined by its food. It shocked me that a place so "Cajun" would feel comfortable serving some of the things they did. Mind-boggling.....that is what this place is. Â I would have to say the worst menu item I tried was the etoufee. Â It was simply bad...maybe some of the worst I have ever had. Â Perhaps the best item I had was a Poboy.
As you can tell, I have conflicting feelings for this restaurant. My personal recommendation would be that if you are from Louisiana, this restaurant's food may be a turnoff because you have experienced how much better it can be (I certainly hope so!). For an out of towner, the atmosphere and experience in itself may be worth a trip.
I can only hope that the food improves because this restaurant really has a chance to be something special.
Really 2 and a half stars.
I went there twice last month. Food was OK, not great but didn't blow either. Â Service was slow both times but we did not mind as there was music and we had nothing better to do anyway.
Although I did not try it, a friend I went with tells me that they have the best sea food gumbo and he had the gumbo as his main course. The music was good and watching a couple of older folk dancing was fun to watch. I liked the sign that mentioned the 2% (or whatever it was) music surcharge added to the food bill.
We stopped here for lunch on our road trip through Louisiana (1/5/12) for some authentic Cajun food. It was O.K. I'm sure it wasn't representative of what the area has to offer. I ordered the crab & corn bisque on the reviews of other Yelpers. It wasn't bad but wasn't great either. The crawfish enchiladas would have been good if they weren't DROWNING in thick cheese sauce. My husband had the Bayou Boutin. He liked the fish with the étouffée. Our sides were not good. The best part of the meal was the appetizer - Poche Boutin balls - pork and rice deep fried in cornmeal/crackers. Those were delicious.
The service was great and it seemed like it would be a cool atmosphere when there's live music. If we could go back, I'd try someplace else.
One of the only places to step back in time into a Louisiana dance hall with zydeco and creole music. Â Eat a Cajun meal and watch, or join in. Â The cajun food is mediocre. Â But you go for the ambiance. Â My grandfather, now passed, danced here every weekend for decades. Â The bands are real Southern Louisiana style bands. Â It's like walking into a time capsule of the old South Louisiana --- lots of fun loving, good music, generations of dancing (picture toddlers dancing with grandpas), good beer, etc. Â You don't go for the food, but it's good enough. Â You go for the event, and it's awesome for family groups, friends, etc. wanting to have a spicy, different kind of fun night -- suitable for all ages.
Review Source:I got the seafood gumbo - it had shrimp, oysters and crawfish, but I felt like I was fishing for my seafood. The consistency was a little too soupy and I wish there was more substance other than the seafood. The seasoning was ok and had a little kick to it.
Then I had the bread pudding for dessert. It was too firm for bread pudding. Also, the praline sauce was too sweet.
The service was ok and they have a cute little shop in the restaurant that sells souvenirs and cajun food items.
Not sure if I'd come back here.
I think we caught this place on a bad day. Either the wait staff is just horrible or a lot of people called out the night we were there. Took forever to get seated even though the entire back area was empty... The crawfish were some of the smallest I've ever seen and the food was just descent. Too many great choices in Baton Rouge to ever try again...
Review Source:Just moved here from Atlanta and quite frankly I am sick and tired of hearing people say how good the damn food is here, as I have YET to taste any! Starting with this joint! I don't know what the big deal is about all this Cajun crap, but if the point is to make it so you can't taste your damn food then they qualify! Gross at best!
Review Source:I had dinner here last nite. Dessert first of course. It was the Mud Cake. Just ok on that. Main dish was the grilled alligator. The small/medium size nuggets were seasoned nice and spicy. A slice of stuffed potato, rice mix, and corn were aboard. I stirred it all together, combined with some garlic sauce, which is really good, and sold here. I would return. Service was just right. Other goodies I viewed at other tables are worth a test here. A nice selection of specialty food and condiment items for here at counter also. I plan to search out older downtown places today. This place is near my hotel and I was late getting into the area.
Review Source:Hush puppies dense but tasty.  I guess they stay on the hook longer that way to catch the old catfish. The corn & crab bisque almost scrumptous, but a little too much sugar  The bayou boutin catfish tasted like they overspiced it to make up for the fish. Order something else.  I'll try them again though.
Review Source:I'm a Louisiana native who's spent the past five years in the Midwest. When I came back down for my best friend's bridal shower, I had only one demand: one good Cajun meal.
The first night, we tried Walk-On's. They said they didn't take reservations, but when we showed up they told us we'd have to wait over an hour. Irritating. The next night, we called a couple of other Cajun places, but none of them took reservations, and we had a group of 10. Finally, we settled on Boutin's, who said at first they wouldn't be able to take us, put me on hold for a while, then changed their minds.
We were seated right away, but it took half an hour to order. The wait staff was clearly way overworked and given too many tables for such a busy night. After we ordered, the appetizers came right away, and then we had to wait an hour for our food. Our poor waitress clearly felt bad about it, and brought us a plate of free hushpuppies. By the way, don't get the hushpuppies: they're the blandest I've ever had.
We finally got our food, and most of it was good. I got the Half and Half, which was pretty good. The etouffée had gone a little cold, but was otherwise really great. My friend's mom had a full bowl of it and loved it - plenty spicy. The fried crawfish were a bit bland. Another friend's dad got the fried alligator. He's a spice fiend, so he ordered it blackened, extra spicy. It came out hardly spicy at all.
If you take away one thing from this review, make it this: DO NOT get the boiled crawfish. A guy at our table got the full bucket of it and it was the worst he'd ever had. They had barely any spice on them at all. He could barely eat it, and this is a guy who doesn't turn down crawfish, ever.
The atmosphere was fine, a little loud, and with lots of little kids, but I liked the turtle-feeding deck outside because it drew most of the rambunctious kids out of the restaurant. Overall, if you want the Louisiana food experience, try somewhere else.
I am a fan of Boutin's for it's Cajun atmosphere and live music. The food is also good, but is overpriced. I'm also not a huge fan of fried food, which is everywhere in southern cuisine. But the blackened grilled alligator is very yummy!!!
Definitely a must if you want a true Louisiana experience outside of New Orleans.
Wow. Â If Boutin's "amazing" Cajun and Creole food, I'm concerned for the genre as a whole. Â I came here for a private work event, which normally predisposes me to high ratings since I'm not personally paying for anything. Â We had a private room, shared appetizers, a limited beer and wine list, and the option to choose one of eight entrees.
The appetizer platters that came out were pretty impressive looking - a couple of kinds of sausage, a wide variety of fried foods (crawfish, shrimp, catfish, etc) and some large crab and mushroom fritters. Â Everything tasted ok, but basically the same; it didn't really matter what you ate, if tasted like slightly spicy fried food. Â I could have gotten the same thing (minus the sausage and the remoulade) at Long John Silvers. Â Still, whatever - it was fine and decently tasty.
After appetizers we had the best part of the meal: the crab and corn bisque. Â It was delightful - flavourful, thick, and with a decent amount of spice. It was, by far, the only standout part of the meal. Â Alas, the salad served with the soup was just awful; it's pretty hard to ruin salad, but the lettuce was limp and wilted and the croutons were stale.
For my main course I chose the Surf and Turf, which boasted a 14oz ribeye topped with shrimp and sides of a stuffed potato, jambalaya, and maque choux. Â What came out was the driest, most under-seasoned steak I've ever eaten, four sad little (not fresh) shrimp, a pile of rice with flavourless brown goo mixed in, and a scoop of canned corn. Â I seriously think the corn was poured directly out of a can onto the plate with a couple of wilty red-peppers thrown at it. Â The potato was the best part of the plate, in spite of having a completely burnt skin. Â The innards were cheesy and well seasoned. Â
Oh, I almost forgot the hush-puppy! I didn't think it was possible to make bad hush puppies. Â They're kind of simple - dough, season, fry, eat. The hush puppy that came with my meal was truly awful though; when I took a bite of it, it was like it sucked the moisture out of my mouth. It was akin to eating chalky cardboard. Â With a fried crust.
Ok, ok, I'm done ranting. Â TL;DR: Don't eat here. Â There are better ways to spend your money and fill your tummy.
Horrible. Â Absolutely horrible. Â The idiot hostess seated a table of SEVEN screaming kids next to us and ignored that people were getting up and going across the restaurant to get away from these trailer park brats and their clueless sperm/egg donors. Â It made a poor dining experience go from poor to horrible. Â The waiter, Steven (Stephen?) was knowledgeable and prompt but that didn't make up for the cold side dishes, the flavorless Etoufee and the fries that sat under a heat lamp for at least 30 minutes before we got them. Â The crawfish tails were OK, but they were definitely frozen, not fresh. Â I felt sorry for the waiter, he should work in a better restaurant because he is MUCH better server than this crappy place deserves. Â The hostess is steeped in dumbass for seating all those screaming kids next to eating and drinking and spending money diners who all promptly left. Â The place was empty, the trailer trash could have been seated across the room and the place wouldn't have emptied out like a crack house when the SWAT team arrives. Â This hostess cost the restaurant a lot of money in dessert and after-dinner drink sales because she was too lazy to walk this party across the room or too stupid to know why she should have. Â One more slam--they add a charge to your check to pay for the band if you don't make your escape within 15 minutes of when they are supposed to start playing--so run fast and run far--and don't stop to eat here.
Review Source:FOOD WAS DELICIOUS!! had the stuffed crab and crawfish with cajun rice and corn. big portion filled me totally. nice atmosphere tons of seating server was new but really sweet and made sure to ask about anything she wasnt sure about so we werent misled. food was fast to come out and there was a live band but the only thing is they didnt tell us they would be charging us $1.15 for the live band. hmm but okay
overall great experience!
Apparently we got there after all the food had been eaten. But to be fair, it was the start of Mardi Gras.
If you love seafood, this is the place (although trust me when I tell you to order a big water). I'm allergic to such killing food so I opted for the cajun chicken dishes, which we awesome. (I also had a few hush puppies and some alligator. Do that).
The service was a little...odd. Our food came out at odd intervals. But when it's good, you just go with it.
After the meal, we wandered to the deck out back where the turtles gathered at the base waiting for food. (There are also cats that hang around the deck too). If it's a nice night, plan on spending some time there as well.
Any time someone from out of town, particularly a Yankee asks me where to eat in Baton Rouge I always tell them they need to try Boutin's. I consider this a perfect example of what someone from not around here would be looking for cause lets face it. When you come to Louisiana the first thing everyone wants to do is eat and Boutin's represents the food and culture as well as anyone. The food quality is consistently good and the live music and dancing adds to the cultural experience.
Review Source:Whenever I had out of town company to BTR this is where I'd take them. They have live music all the time and the place has a very cajun (albeit forced) feel to it. The place is built like a Bayou home and they actually have patios in the front and back. The food is quite good. I especially like their crawfish, fried catfish and corn mach choux. Sometimes there's a long wait but the overall experience makes up for it. Especially if you can get a table on or close to the dance floor.
Review Source:This is the Cajun TGI Fridays. If you like your Cajunish food with a lot of crap on the walls, including a huge representative of a painting from the Southern Louisiana genre I call "Mike the Tiger on the Bayou for Some Reason," you'll love this place.
My friend and I arrived here after a typical foiled attempt at one last new Baton Rouge dining experience-- we were hoping for a good one, but what was got was yet another frustrating one. One popular place we tried didn't have one open spot in its rather small lot, on a weekend mid-afternoon. Days before we would both depart town for good, my friend was barely containing her rage with Baton Rouge after two years living there for grad school. I, after three years, was maintaining a more zen state of relief: just this one last try at a good new experience. After witnessing an enormous vulture feeding on roadkill nearly get hit by a car, we finally made it to Boutin's. By this time, we had lowered our hopes.
While seating us, the hostess gave us a rude attitude, which just went to show, my friend pointed out, that frigging ATTITUDE you get from some people in BR. I had to agree, we had seen many instances of this in our times out together. My crawfish wontons were not bad, but of course deep fried. My friend's app (something wrapped in bacon, I forget what) was also deep fried, and she agreed, not bad. Good hot sauce & garlic sauce, which we (very maturely, we thought) didn't steal.
...And we'll never go there again. The end.
Years ago I came here with a group of friend while attending a conference in Baton Rouge. It was approximately one year after hurricane Katrina and I was in town. My recollection was the liveliness, turtle pond in the back and live music.
Well, flash forward to 2009 and I was on vacation with my significant other in the SE and spent two nights in NOLA. Being that this place made such a memorable impression upond me many years ago, I told her that I wanted to make the one hour drive and have dinner with her here. When we got there at 6:30pm, the place was dead, maybe 4 other two tops in the whole place. we ordered the friend alligator, steak and a pasta dish. The pasta was overcooked and the waitress brought out blackened gator instead of fried. She apologized for the mistake and we didn't request to change the dish. Overall the food was ok but the atmosphere was definitely different from when I was here many years ago. Still a good experience though especially for folks like us from the NW corner of the country.
I had the crawfish enchiladas. You get a whole plate of fries and yucky corn stuff. the main dish comes in a shallow gravy dish. if you have ever had a banquet enchilada tv dinner then you know the size of my food. TINY! and only two of them. The taste of them was very good. But i was starving when i left!!!
$15 bucks for two enchiladas that were smaller then twinkies? Rip Off Alert
I love this place! I take out of state guests bc it is the best way to indulge in the Cajun culture and food, pricing is reasonable, the dancing is entertaining, music is great.. And my friend is the manager so I get to try things I normally wouldn't purchase. The food is amazing and the staff are super friendly not to mention good looking. Also the parking is ample and weeknights are busy!
Review Source:Read the reviews and came with high expectations. Â Unfortunately, Boutin's didn't deliver.
The tagline on the sign says "A Cajun Music & Dining Experience". Â They failed on both counts. Â Could be that I went there for dinner on a Sunday night, but I figured 7pm should be prime dining time.
The place wasn't busy at all, yet I waited several minutes for the hostess to arrive at the entrance station, after which  I was seated immediately (again... not busy).  The wait staff was friendly and efficient, although my waiter forgot my drink, and only remembered after bringing out my appetizer.
I ordered the fried alligator to start. Â I can only describe it as so-so. Â The breading was flavorless, and many of the pieces were overcooked and dry. Â The only salvation was the dipping sauce which was nicely seasoned.
For dinner, I ordered the Pepper Jack Shrimp, which were a bland, fried mess. Â Again, they had a flavorless breading, and the cheese and bacon stuffing did nothing to complement the shrimp, which were rather minuscule in size for the price of the entree. Â The rest of the dish, including Cajun Rice, Corn Maque Choux, and stuffed potato were all unremarkable. Â The dipping sauces for the shrimp were the only thing that made it palatable, although their Cocktail Sauce tasted more like ketchup with a hint of horseradish, rather than true Cocktail Sauce.
Finally, I expected that there would be live Cajun music. Â Maybe that's an unreal expectation on a Sunday evening, or maybe it's the economy, but I also didn't see any postings to the contrary. Â In fact, the only sign I did see was one that indicated that there was live music at 7pm, which, of course, there wasn't. Â No "Cajun Music & Dining Experience" to be had here.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed. Â I won't be going back while I'm here in BR. Â Sorry to all you fans of Boutin's.
Coming here the expectations were high, as I had heard great things about this place and knew that the caliber of Cajun food would be exceptional. Â I finally had the chance to come here and I was probably more excited than any local could ever be.
What is noticeable is the spacious interior, the simple decor, and the potentially festive atmosphere. Â I noticed there was a stage here for musical acts, I can only imagine how rowdy this place might get on the weekend. Â For folks who are looking for a good time, dinner time might be worth checking out. Â I instead, came here for lunch.
Like cross town competition The Chimes, the Blackened Alligator Tails appetizer is great. Â The meat is tender and just juicy enough to be succulent with every bite. Â I love the tangy sauce that it comes with and it brings an extra kick to each flavor packed bite. Â There is no exaggeration to say the Corn & Crab Bisque was one of the best I've ever had. Â I knew it from my first spoonful and subsequently many other spoonfuls. Â The Pepper Jack Shrimp, while a tad pricey was delicious. Â It was super fatty as it was fried and stuffed with tasso and pepperjack cheese, but to describe it anything less than delicious would have been an injustice to the entree.
Its hard for me not to give this place my full blessing in the form of 5 stars. Â The service was great, parking is good, and with such a great lunch, I could only imagine how great dinner is here. Â I already have a list of things to try (Chicken Bayou Teche, Crawfish Enchiladas, Catfish Rouge, Cajun Boudin, etc.) and it certainly won't be my last time here.
Went on a recent Saturday night after reading the previous reviews.
We had the crawfish enchilidas, the fried alligator appetizer, the fried catfish and the grilled shrimp. I'd skip the shrimp on my next visit as it was over cooked and dried out.
Everything else was quite good, especially the catfish and the corn maque chou. Lyndsay was a very pleasant waiter.
Fabulous local music too.
4.5 ****
Fabulous Cajun place. Â Coming from out of State and out of region, this place knocked my socks off. Â We ate here on two consecutive midweek nights of business travel. Â The place was half empty, as it appears the weekend crowds must help fill it up. Â I had the blackened alligator the first night and the Zydeco salad the second night. Â Both are melt-in-your mouth scrumptious. Â The Zydeco salad was the better of the two, as it features healthy portions of Andouille sausage, blackened catfish, blackened chicken, bbq shrimp, and a fabulous house dressing on a bed of iceberg lettuce, Roma tomatoes, and cucumbers. Â A great menu selection if you want a sampler of blackened entrees.
The catfish was the best I've ever had. Â Stick with the grilled and blackened selections and you will not go wrong. Â The place also features live Cajun/Zydeco instrumental music every night. Â Great place and great atmosphere.
This is the ONLY place in Baton Rouge for authentic Cajun cuisine. Â Mr. Lynn Boutin (originally from Saint Martin Parish, the heart of Cajun Country) runs the facility which provides top notch food, music and atmosphere. Â This food is so good, even my MawMaw would approve! Â I love the grilled shrimp and corn maque chou. Â Lots of carbs on your plate, but that's the Cajun way!
Review Source:This is an awesome spot for some authentic Louisiana flavor! Â Try the grilled alligator, its fantastic and not creepy at all! Â I love the fact that they have a dance floor in this restaurant and while you're eating families and couples will bust out in some sort of country line dance. Â It definitely embodies the flavor of the south and everything about this place is great!
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