Ate lunch there today. It was delicious! I had the sweet bourbon glaze grilled chicken. It was very tasty, side of perfectly prepared green beans and wonderful sweet potato waffle fries. Everything was great! Fair prices too. Topped it off with a delicious white Chocolate bread pudding. Will definitely go again.
Oh and btw as far as it being just up the river from Cajun country...yeah, only 700 miles.
If you're looking for fresh seafood with authentic Cajun flair, you've come to the WRONG place!
My coworkers and I found this place on Yelp and thought we'd give it a try. Â After all, it's just up the Mississippi from Cajun country. Â I decided to order a dozen raw oysters and the crawfish etouffee. Â
The oysters were a big mistake. Â Seriously...what was I thinking? Â This is a landlocked state. Â It shouldn't have surprised me that they weren't fresh (they had a very fishy smell...fresh oysters should just smell salty like the ocean, and nothing more) and weren't shucked correctly (they should slide freely from the shell...instead I had to scrape them off with a fork, which led to some less than savory butchering of said oysters). Â I'm surprised I didn't get sick, honestly.
Crawfish etouffee is usually very flavorful, spicy, and rich. Â It's a tomato-onion-pepper-based stew (usually with crawfish or shrimp) served over rice. Â This was stew-esque, for sure, but it lacked flavor. Â It just tasted like tomato sauce. Â And the crawfish itself was really tough. Â And if I'm being picky, and I am, it was served with a small portion of rice mixed in...really just not enough. Â I couldn't finish it because it just didn't taste good.
If you're just looking for a good beer selection (maybe a couple you've never heard of before), then this is your place. Â But eat before you get there...or just snack on appetizers. Â Seriously...terrible food. Â Chez Marilyn across the street is head and shoulders above Ragin Cajun...go there instead!
Quite a while ago my girlfriend an I tried this place for dinner. Â The service was slow, but we just thought they were understaffed. Â
A couple of months later we tried again, with three friends. Â Once again, they failed to impress. We asked a waitress about a table to be told there was a wait, then she walked away. Â The manager was seating others a few minutes later, and we had to ask him to be put on the list (waitress dissapeared). Â We went upstairs for drinks, and were seated at a table outside. Â Waitress showed up, took drink orders, then took 10 minutes and three trips to bring drinks. Â Upon finishing our drinks, another waitress approached, appologized for the delay, the other waitress is really busy, tells us specials, takes our order. Â We waited most of an hour for our food. The table next to us was also upset about the wait, asked to speak to a manager, and were treated very rudely. Â At this point we were ready to leave, as salads hasn't even come out yet. Both waitresses continued to walk past our empty drinks, and when we asked another one for more she said "just a minute", then took the orders for two tables near us and went inside. When our first waitress returns to take drink orders., one in our party ordered a "special" drink the other waitress expained, but this one had no idea. Â They tried to justify the terrible service by explaining there are only 3 waitresses working (the same 3 from the first visit).
Food is good, and the one waitress is really on top of things, just overloaded. This appears to be an everyday occurrence, not a one time thing.
Great for drinks and they have a good thing going, but terrible execution.
Probably my last time having dinner there...but, we got a deal from Groupon and thought that $15 for $30 was worth one more shot.
Third visit... Saturday night, about 10pm, there were 2-3 people at the small bar, and about 6-8 seated at 3 separate tables. Â We arrived just behind a group of 10. Â No live music. Â Apparently one server working. Â The sign says "Please wait to be seated" but we had to stop someone and ask, then were told we could just sit wherever. Â
We had the same waitress as a previous visit, after talking with her, she's been there since the beginning and they always seem to be understaffed. Â She also said there is no live music on Saturdays because the guy has another gig on Saturdays. Â How does that work?!
My salad was half wilted, some of the lettuce had broken down to slimy. Â I sent it back and told them I did not want another one. Â Again the entree was good. Â I had a draft beer (seasonal) and it came in a plastic cup and was warm. Â
I want to like this place. Â I really want to, but they just can't get it right. Â They have a great location, theme, and the place has a great feel (outdoor tables, small bar up and downstairs, upstairs balcony, all in the entertainment area on 3rd St.), but they absolutely fail at the execution.
Hubby and I ate here for the second time, and you know a restaurant has good desserts when you intentionally don't eat all of your dinner just so you can order their white chocolate bread pudding. Â Or maybe that's just because I'm pregnant, not really sure. Â
Anyways, it was a fabulous night to sit outside and we had another chance to chat with the chef for a bit when we got there (we had a rather lengthy conversation with him the last time we were there as well) and he told me that he JUST pulled the freshest batch of bread pudding out of the oven. Â ::drool::
Service was great, drinks were cold, fresh and frequently refilled and food was fantastic. Â Hubby ordered a bourbon burger that he said was to die for -- he wanted to take a whole gallon of the sauce home with him. Â I ordered the seafood penne, which was loaded with shrimp, oysters (still in the shell) and crawfish tails. Â Before you say "yuck" to the crawfish tails, I had never eaten crawfish in my life and the thought of it was a bit nauseating (remember, I'm 5.5 months pregnant??). Â But, I stuck one on my fork, drenched it in the to die for lobster cream sauce and grabbed a couple pieces of pasta and took the leap. Â And it was GOOD. Â I expected it to taste fishy, or dirty, or whatever it is that you think crawfish tastes like, but it was good. Â Really finished the meal off. Â
Yep, one of our new favorites to eat at downtown Alton on a nice evening.
So many things to say about this place, so many things that I love.
1. This place is HUGE. You have a large seating area out in the front then you walk into a dinning area to your left and a bar to your right. If you continue straight you will hit a water fountain and see steps going upstairs. Upstairs has it's own bar and you can look downstairs.
2. On the weekends they have dueling pianos.
3. They are always come up with new drink creations and have almost any beer or alcohol you could ever want to try. Trust me, being from St. Louis you cherish a place that has everything.
4. The food is Cajun but they have a variety of different items. I really love their sweet potato fries with honey mustard mmmm. And if I'm not mistaken I think they serve food until 4-5am.
5. They are open for every block party and are always full staffed with two bars inside and usually a beer stand outside.
6. There is always something going on there...bingo, themed parties, pool parties in the winter,etc.
7. I love the feel of the place. It's a combination of all used, unique, antique, and southern decor. They even have a piece of an airplane in there!! I'm always finding something else that I notice each time I visit.
8. The employees. I don't know what it is there but the employees love their job, everyone is so nice, the management is fantastic. And if you pay attention you will even see regulars helping out and clearing tables. It's like every ones a family, and that's hard to find.
I love you Ragin Cajun. Best Piano bar in the St. Louis Area, and definitely what Alton needed.
We made a late night stop here to meet up with some friends who live in Illinois. It's a big place with a fun atmosphere. There are two floors and a patio. The front of the bar is cool; there are different types of seats, including a set of airplane seats; there is a big chandelier over the pianos; there are drunk women on the second floor dancing to the songs and flashing the crowds (intentionally or unintentionally); there was the homeless guy without teeth walking around holding a beer and trying to strike up a conversation with his garbled talk; there is a pool table on the second floor that's sloped to one side and not really useable but it's there if you don't care about keeping scores.
When I'm at a bar, the one thing that really irks me is the lack of seating. I don't want to stand around all night or dart for the first stool available. You won't have that problem here. It's got a ton of comfy seat options.
I did not have food this time but next time I'll have to try some of these cajun favorites that others have raved about. Overall, this is a great spot to stop by and get a few drinks if you find yourself on the east side of the river.
Went to Alton looking to eat at Fast Eddies since it was an extremely nice day out and as expected it was beyond packed. So we went to 3rd st. Alton (downtown) expecting there to be outdoor seating everywhere and Ragin was the only one to have it set up. This place has super fun architecture, pictures, art, and is open with a balcony all the way around the top to a deck off the front. Â The menu was packed with delicious, New Orleans styles of food. Salmon sandwich, sweet potato fries, and voodoo wings were all beyond delicious and splitting it filled up two, so the portions are more than considerate. I'm honestly looking forward to trying out the menu. Also partaking in the nightlife that looks like it would be more than fun on the inside; considering we ate outside and had to walk inside to give ourselves a tour. Nice place, honestly awesome food, and fun employees.
Review Source:This place holds a soft place in my heart for keeping me entertained on a random early evening as well as feeding me some very tasty food after a night of drinking. During the day it's yummy Cajun-esque food and late night/early morning it's diner style food. Â It's open til 5am and a VERY popular place for those who stay out til the bars close and need some grub. Â This place beats any Steak n Shake or Denny's with its atmosphere AND better food! Â Not to mention the regulars and employees are pretty entertaining. Â OH, and they almost always have live piano music when I go (which is often).
Recently I helped throw a charity event there with a friend and the help of the owner. Â We rented out the top floor and they had drink prices that were more than reasonable and were very accommodating. Â Not to mention the place has tons of cool architecture and little niches for photo ops. Â Great place for a party.
My sister-in-law was having her bachelorette party here this Saturday evening so I was basically persona non grata - I only stopped in long enough to gulp down a Coca-Cola and lose my cellphone near the entrance. Â I am giving this place 5 starts based on the ambiance and the fizzy coke they serve but mostly because they found my cell-phone... thanks so much. Â The drinks looked pretty standard but the menu had stuff on it that I definitely want to try - I'll hit you guys up next time I'm in town - ok? Â Oh - and thanks for finding my cellphone!!
Review Source:I first came out here with friends from work for a 4am breakfast alcohol soak up. Turned out to be an amazing spot right on 3rd st. They have a great selection of eats. And the Voodoo Wings are a must try!! They also have a small massage area, great before or after your meal. Chris and Aaron the owners and every employee there are extremely nice and really do appreciate your bussiness. Live full pianos and a cut out section of a plane with outdoor and bar seating in the heart of downtown. You just can't go wrong with this place. Whether your out for just food or out on the town a bit late and need a relaxer and some wonderful food this is a prime time spot to go!
Review Source:I have given this place two stars because of the great atmosphere. Â This place has great potential, but they need to improve their customer service skills.
VERY long story short, we waited 45 minutes after sitting down to be offered a drink, then another 30 minutes to order our food, a further 50 minutes to receive our food. Â Now, being July 4th and this restaurant is close to the water and the local fireworks display, they were overwhelmed with business, which they obviously did not expect.
I can understand that they did not expect so many people and that they had only employed one wait staff for the entire restaurant, so she was overwhelmed with work. Â However, if she has apologized even once for the delay instead of becoming belligerent when we asked where our food was, this review would have been 4 stars. Â We understood that they were understaffed. Â It happens. Â It wasn't her fault, but her attitude was most definitely her fault.
The food was tasty, but cold by the time it was served to us.
The restaurant had an amazing atmosphere, with a pianist who was very entertaining.
The wine is currently half price - great value.
The staff - incredibly rude.
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