Seafood restaurants in Breaux Bridge, in southern Louisiana’s Cajun country, capitalize on the abundance of shellfish in nearby bayous and the Gulf of Mexico. Diners at many of them enjoy Zydeco music and take a turn on the dance floor before tucking into fried shrimp and boiled crawfish.
Mulate’s, a Cajun dance hall with cypress beams hewn at the Henderson Swamp, is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Both French and English are spoken and Cajun bands perform free nightly in front of a packed dance floor. The restaurant seats 280 for meals featuring fresh seafood that’s delivered daily. Catfish Mulate’s, the eatery’s special, includes a catfish filet topped with etouffee served with jambalaya on the side. The restaurant welcomes tour groups and provides group menus and special pricing. Mulate also has a location in New Orleans that serves the same menu.
Crawfish etouffee is on the menu every day at Poche's Market and Restaurant. Sunday brunch, the dinner menu and Friday’s plate lunch add fried catfish and fried shrimp to the choices. Poche's Market, operated by descendents of Cajuns who settled in the area in 1859, specializes in house-made boudin, andouille, tasso and smoked meats, sells its own line of hot sauces and Cajun seasonings and ships etouffee to customers around the world. Poche's also has a nearby RV park with five stocked ponds for anglers who want to catch their own supper.
Crawfish Town USA, located in an old barn, opened in 1986. As the name suggests, the restaurant specializes in spiced boiled crawfish, but also serves a selection of steaks and Cajun dishes. Live bands perform outside when the weather is nice and the restaurant schedules Fais do-dos, or Cajun dance parties, for the second Saturday of each month. The restaurant hosts Monday is all-you-can-eat boiled seafood day on Mondays and all-you-can-eat fried catfish on Tuesdays. Crawfish Town’s market sells fresh seafood daily.
Landry’s Seafood, a chain with more than 20 locations across the U.S., originated in the Breaux Bridge area in 1947. Seafood platters come boiled or fried, and pasta dishes include shrimp and scallops. The chain hosts occasional wine pourings and pairings, and members of the chain’s Select Club receive discounts and earn points for hotel room upgrades and event admission. Landry’s happy hour menu features stuffed shrimp, calamari and mussels. Abita, a local beer from a small town near New Orleans, is on tap.
