Had a great experience at Backyard Bayou! The food was delicious, especially the lobster fries, but what really stood out was the amazing service. Jenalyn and Jeneyah were both fantastic--friendly, attentive, and made us feel so welcome. They were great servers and definitely made our visit even better. We'll be back! read more

Cheers to good business, effective communication & great food ultimately. I initially gave this place a one star review based on my first introduction to them which was accurate based on the food I got, but they more than made up for it with my in house visit at the actual location. The Owner/Manager Han reached out almost immediately, apologized for the experience then offered a refund or the opportunity for me to come in person for a Do-over. I really wanted to try the food at its best, appreciated the invite so I decided I would go to the establishment and give it another chance. I'm glad I decided to give them another chance as it was a great experience with customer service & the food was delicious! Good seafood isn't always easy to find, but they have it here. I came a week after I'd first had the food here & was told to reach out to the Manager (Pan) when I arrived. Everyone was really nice/personable here and I was seated immediately. I ordered everything I got the first time (2 shrimp baskets, Fried Okra, The red beans/rice with Turkey, but not the cornbread), and also ordered two more items. In addition to my original order I ordered the chicken strip meal and crab fried fries. The shrimp was fried/seasoned to perfection, The crab fries were hella good, the Okra was fried perfectly, and the Chicken strips were well made. The only item I wasn't a fan of was the Red beans/Rice W/Turkey...there was a strong taste of liquid smoke or some overpowering flavor where I couldn't taste the food well. I ordered an IPA, House Margarita and 2 Expresso martinis. I don't believe the martinis were on the menu, but they made them for me anyways. The Martinis were made with good will, but weren't winners...overall this was a great experience with good food and I would return in person, especially for their bottomless Mimosa brunch. My original order was comped, but I insisted on paying for the additional items/drinks one way or another and did so. I appreciate the offer to let me try any & all things at no additional cost, but the service/effort to make things right was so great here I couldn't let it go unnoticed. Cheers all around for my in person experience here. I will be back for sure. read more

Backyard Bayou - Old/Stale Okra that was sent to me. Disgusting - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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I was looking forward to trying Backyard Bayou, but unfortunately my experience never made it past the waiting area. My party arrived around 6:38 PM and added our name to the waitlist for dinner. While waiting, it became increasingly clear that more than half of the dining room had already finished their meals. Many tables appeared to be staying simply to watch the soccer match on the TVs. I completely understand wanting to enjoy the game, but at the same time there were 4-5 parties waiting for tables, with groups of various sizes. This raises an important question: at what point does management step in to balance hospitality with serving waiting guests? While no one should be rushed through their meal, when tables have clearly finished dining and a long wait is building, there should be some effort to manage table turnover during peak dinner hours. After waiting about 45 minutes with no indication that seating would happen anytime soon, we decided to leave and eat elsewhere. Ironically, we didn't receive the text that our table was ready until 8:07 PM--nearly an hour and a half after we first checked in. The food may be great, but based on this experience, the waitlist management left a lot to be desired. I hope Backyard Bayou reviews how they handle busy nights and finds a better balance between accommodating guests who want to linger and serving the many customers waiting to dine. read more

Backyard Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

This place is such a great addition to the Union City plaza! I dropped by on a random Thursday night, and the restaurant was already decently packed. The vibe is awesome, they have a great bar area with a couple of TVs playing sports, and the music was definitely bumping. The staff was incredibly nice and super attentive to our table the entire night. Food-wise, this spot doesn't miss a beat. One of the best surprises was that they offer fresh crawfish, which is pretty rare to find at most seafood boil places. Everything we ordered was packed with flavor, and the garlic fries were amazingly good. Honestly, this boil spot isn't lacking a single thing. Whatever they are doing, they need to keep it up! This has easily jumped to the top of my list as one of my absolute favorite seafood boil spots. read more

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I happened to be in the area and decided to try Backyard Bayou. I've seen some great videos online so I was excited! It wasn't too busy during the lunch hour so we were seated right away and our food came out pretty quickly. After a few minutes of going over the menu we decided on the crab fries. They had a lunch special for $25 that also sounded good but we took Ethan's suggestion and he was right! You get a nice portion with seasoned fries and plenty of crab, sauce, and cheese. It was filling and flavorful. Although it was good, I would like to try other items on the menu next time. read more

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It's always a joy to eat here. Messy I the best way possible. Can highly recommend if you're down to get messy with seafood read more

Cool seafood boil restaurant in Union City! Great quality seafood and flavorful sauces. If you're not into seafood boil they a have large menu with other options. I've tried the selfie bucket and bayou bucket with the lobster and side of garlic butter (highly recommend). Cajun garlic fries were good. Garlic noodles were nice but salty for me. Cool sports bar vibes. Staff was nice both times I went and the food came out fast, just have to get their attention sometimes, and one person forgot to give us a claw cracker when we asked on a non-busy day. I'm still coming back for the food though! read more

Backyard Bayou - Garlic Noodles - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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We had a very mixed experience here recently. We specifically called ahead to confirm their $25 special (1lb shrimp, garlic noodles, and a drink) was available from 4-6pm. The Pricing Confusion: We placed our order at 5:05 PM, and the server initially took it. However, a few minutes later, they came back to explain it wasn't actually a happy hour deal, but a lunch special. This was frustrating since we had called to confirm and had already ordered. While our other food arrived earlier, we waited over an hour for the shrimp. We watched five separate tables who arrived after us get served their shrimp first. Even though we told the staff a couple of times that our shrimp hadn't arrived yet, we were still left waiting. The shrimp didn't finally arrive until 6-6:10pm. They eventually explained they thought we had already been served and suspected our order had accidentally been packed into a to-go order. The food itself was actually delicious, the shrimp and garlic noodles were very flavorful. I don't even have a photo of the shrimp because by the time it finally arrived, we were so hungry we just started eating! To their credit, once they realized the error, they slashed the price of the 1lb shrimp and gave us free rice to make it right The food is great, but the kitchen organization was a mess during our visit. Management was honest and tried to fix the mistake, but waiting an hour for the main part of your meal while watching five other tables eat is a major headache. read more

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I was actually intending to go to Pacific Pourhouse to watch a Thursday night football game, but they were packed and noticed there's a lot of TVs inside Backyard Bayou and decided to give them a try, as they also have happy hour drinks on Thursdays. I do admit after going to Louisiana for Cajun seafood it did give me a different take for Cajun seafood in California, as I noticed most Cajun restaurants outside of Louisiana have an Asian influence in taste. I ordered their Crawfish and Shrimp in Backyard Style, which blends the Cajun and Asian flavors together into a sauce. I also got their Garlic Noodles and they actually use cloves of garlic for the natural garlic flavor. The crawfish and shrimp were fresh, particularly crawfish appeared to be still in season at the moment. There's many seafood packages on the back wall that's definitely worth trying if you have more people and there's a lunch special worth looking into if you're there solo. At the moment, the market price for crawfish and shrimp is between $19-20 per pound as of September 2026. The right side of the restaurant is a full bar, so they serve everything from cocktails, beer, and wine. Think it's more of a sports bar vibe, but they are family friendly as a full service restaurant. As for the service, they are very attentive in checking up on the tables and the staff will make sure your meal is going well and will answer any questions you have on the menu. Overall a good place for Cajun seafood, especially when it leans more towards a Louisiana style with the flavored broth, as garlic butter is very common in states like California and Texas. read more

My sons took me out for my bday (month long celebration). We love boils and this was suggested to us. Chill vibe, pretty attentive staff, busy but not noisy. Bucket shouldn't be in the description as there's no bucket. You get a bag of food that you eat out of the bag or pour on the table. We used napkins as barriers to keep the sauce on the table. Martini 2outta5 Good flavor but the rotten lychee was unacceptable. Why serve that?! Fries 4outta5 Nice Cajun flavor Chowder 4.5outta5 good savory flavor, thick, just needed more clams Oysters 3outta5 The ocean water flavor wasn't explosive as expected...Basic presentation. Hot sauce, cocktail sauce aren't included and horseradish wasn't available. Seafood Boil 2.5outta5 I got the hot seasoning. The spice level isn't overpowering, no tears or runny nose. It was just right w/a good flavor profile. The cook on the seafood was over. The shrimp were mushy. The crawfish were a nice size but were dry inside. If they're prepared correctly, you should be able to suck juice from the head. The corn was over and mushy, no pop in the kernels. The potatoes and sausages were ok. The cook is not worth the price by any stretch. #GoTaste&See for yourself read more

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I've heard good things about this place online. It's inside Union Landing plaza so lots of parking. We were a party of 4 and were seated immediately on a Tuesday night at 6pm. The server got us water and explained the specials to us. We ended up doing the special of 2lbs of any meat with garlic noodles. We split 1 special for 2 ppl so got 2 specials for our table of 4. My friend and I split 2lbs of head on shrimp and crawfish with the combo seasoning and mild. The sauce was so flavorful and garlicky (which is so good). You do have to pay extra for lime so we didn't do it but even then the sauce was so good. The shrimp were good size and crawfish as well. The garlic noodles were really good and big portion. The garlic noodles were better than other seafood boil places I've been to. Service was quick and they got us our food quickly and kept refilling our water. The inside was clean. I will definitely be back! read more

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I found this place nearby the hotel we are staying out, thanks to Yelp! It's located in a market place surrounded by several restaurants and shopping centers.The menu is quite large and they offer many seafood and boil options. I noticed their happy hour which came with a seafood option 1/2 lb (shrimp)and included potato, corn and sausage slices for $$20. I chose the garlic butter (mild) and ordered a side of garlic noodles. The boil was pretty good. The noodles were so good and very flavorful. I'm not a fan of overly generous garlic foods but the noodles were delicious! Staff was helpful and attentive. Good happy hour deal and I had enough to take home. read more

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This is a solid seafood boil place in Union Landing! It's also Asian-owned and shows it in the menu! Service was friendly and fast! Inside is a little dark.....but spacious not too loud. They got our part of 10 a table within like 20 mins on a Sat night. The regular sauce was so yummy and flavorful. I shared 2lbs (crawfish & clams) with steamed veggies and corn with my husband and we barely finished (and we can EAT). Total came out to be ~$70+. I will be back to try the other dishes!! read more

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Fast service clean restaurant and good quality seafood. Got a catfish sandwhich it was huge!

Location has a lot of parking and lots of seating, the staffs are great. Menu is very vast and has alot of options. The garlic noodles were extremely soggy and drenched with butter. I love my garlic noodles but there's a limit when the brown paper box shows sign of moisture. read more

Just tried this spot over the weekend. Pretty standard Cajun restaurant ambiance. Clean and well lit Service was very friendly. Everyone had a smile ! Food was excellent and the sauce on the seafood boil was nice and thick with good flavor. We ordered quite a few things off the menu and everything was good. read more

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Very very poor management skills for the manager on duty last Sunday. We were on wait list for 30 mins and yet despite of multiple tables were done and have paid the tab, they ended up staying to finish the game and had all wait listed parties wait for another 30 mins. We ended up going to a different place and felt so sorry for the owner of this establishment... not only that they lost a lot of money that day but they will definitely loose more in the future if they don't change their management team. read more

went here around 7 pm on a tuesday. wasn't really packed at all, it started to fill up though. the parking was plentiful and its around other shops so it's helpful. the place is kind of small but there are booths to sit in and huge tables as well. for the most part you the hostess just tells you to sit where you want and then a server will be there to help you shortly. for food: deep fried oysters - not a huge fan, most of the oysters were huge and clumped up together and had more of a slimy texture, i like oysters but i think the problem was they were too bunched up in one serving. soft shell crab po boy - great sandwich, honestly really shareable and it comes with fries of your choice, i love sweet potato fries so i ate those. overall super good restaurant, i would usually get seafood boil or something but my girlfriend and i thought to switch things up. read more

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Another amazing experience here tonight 01.18.26! The customer service was top tier starting with the hostess Kayla. Even though it was a wait (per usual) getting on the waitlist for sure saved us. Ivan was attentive, personable, and had great recommendations for the menu. We were celebrating my mother's birthdays she really enjoyed herself. Ryan was also very friendly and was walking around checking on people. Wow! You don't see that in a lot of restaurants. The bartender Alex made tasty drinks. Th food was hot and delicious. Will always come back for amazing customer service and good food. read more

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The food was great. This was my first time here I wanna say our server Randy our server was amazing. Paid attention to the party to the table helped us with all our extra goods, sauces, ketchup boxes, bags to go, loving the ambience love the music, I mean l they're playing good aZz music fa sure ... especially the vibe is chill and my shrimp Poboy was on point , great with the coleslaw on the side, Cajun fries and that backyard sauce oh yes, I might need a whole bottle of that ish i again I need extra peppermints I will definitely be back soon for the boil, medium heat with rice shrimp almost forgot I'll be bring a group read more

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Ngl, very disappointed with the owner here. The food itself was good, and I do want to mention that our server was very attentive and polite, so this review is not about the service on the floor. Unfortunately, the issue came when I got home and checked the bill. The bill was calculated incorrectly, with extra fees that didn't add up properly (attached picture). This is not 20% service fee, and it's not even correct if you add 20% after tax. 20% after tax: $431 + $58.72 = $489.72 20% of that = $97.94 (still not $115.40). The total still doesn't come out to $115.40, so I'm not sure how they calculated it. It's frustrating because basic billing should be accurate. Very disappointed in how this was handled by the owner. I will not be coming back. read more

Backyard Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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I had the fried oyster sandwich, and it was definitely rotten. Along with this I had soft shell crab, since eating this I have been horribly sick. The drunken incident also occurred Saturday the 22nd at 3:00 pm. read more

I really appreciate that the sauce here isn't extremely greasy like other seafood boil restaurants do. There's no layer of orange oil in the bag. Thank god! I also feel like I don't get as bloated. 1 lb of head on shrimp, 1 lb of clams, 1 corn, with sides of garlic fries and cornbread was just over enough for two people. Fries were ok. The cornbread was a little dry and chalky but not bad. Service was awesome. All the staff were nice and it looked like they all loved each other. I would come back here just for the lower greasiness. read more

As a seafood boil fan, I'd have to place this one at the bottom of my list. For the price, I honestly didn't think it was worth it. We ordered the Bayou Bucket with Dungeness crab, crawfish, and mussels, paired with the Backyard Style sauce at Hot spice level--but it wasn't spicy at all. (You have to pay an extra $2 to make it spicier) The portion was decent, but the flavor just didn't deliver. The mussels tasted off, almost like they weren't fresh, we didn't even finish it. The crawfish were a good size and had a nice amount of meat. The crab was meaty, but it lacked flavor and wasn't as juicy as I'd hoped. We went on a Wednesday, so the $1.50 oysters were honestly the best part--they were super fresh and enjoyable. Service was solid--our server, Ryan, was warm and attentive. The restaurant itself was clean and well-maintained. Overall: I don't think I'll be coming back or recommending this place. For the price we paid, the quality just didn't match up. read more

Backyard Bayou - Bayou Bucket - Dungeness Crab Whole, Crawfish, Mussels - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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Came to get drink and met Han for the first time ever in my life . Amazing owner who cares about his guest. Above ownership , let's dive into food and what more can we say just amazing . Definitely will be back and thank you Han for showing me your concept . Jazz read more

Went last week with friends and they seated 10 of us in 45 minutes. The place was packed, it was also raining hard- saw a table umbrella get picked up and blown away by the wind and rain like it was nothing. Felt bad the workers had to run and get it outside- luckily nothing was damaged and no one got hurt but they were drenched! Anyway, my first time here at Backyard Bayou- we did the Seafood in a bag- ordered 3 pounds of shrimp and 1 pound of Mussels- we did 2 garlic noodles and 4 rice- each rice order is 2 cups of rice. Once it arrived, we went to town! We were so hungry! They give you black gloves, and bibs to get messy with. Paper trays for plates and lots of towlettes. Overall, food tasted great, I'm a shrimp person so I loved it- I will be back! read more

A delicious sea food boil restaurant! This place is unique in my opinion because they have an Asian inspired sauce that fuses soy based Asian flavors with the classic Cajun seafood boil. If you ask, you can combine the sauces to have a mixture that is extra garlicky, savory, and delicious. The service was quick and the waitress was so kind. She allowed us to try the Asian inspired sauce before ordering. Their restaurant had a great ambiance. Although busy and bustling, the restaurant had ample seating and we were seated as soon as we walked in! read more

Backyard Bayou - 1lb Mussels + 1lb headless Shrimp / backyard bayou + garlic butter sauce - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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This has to be my favorite seafood boil restaurant!! I've tried so many but none compare to backyard bayou. This place was recommended to me and I've never had seafood boil prior, the day my family and I came in- the staff was so kind and understanding. They were willing to explain the menu and offer us recommendations on what's most popular! The prices of the different buckets and combo meals they offer are so good too! They always give great portion sizes and offer a lot of extras like corn, sausage and potato's. A lot of seafood houses make you pay extra but not here! The food is delicious and the seasoning is perfect! There's never been a time where we had gotten sick or smelled something fishy with the food. It's always great and we always have a fun time coming here! The ambiance is so much fun, there's always games playing on the big screens, great music selection and just good vibes all around. It's been a year since I found this place and after trying different seafood boil places, no one tops them!! 10/10 read more

Back again for my crawfish fix. Service and vibe was great as usually (love the mix of R&b/pop playing). If I haven't said it before. This is THE BEST seafood boil in the bay. I love the way they seasoned/cooked the crab this time. It doesn't even need any sauce from the bag because how well it's flavored. read more

Backyard Bayou - Family Bucket - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

Service is good. It was packed but you can still hear your conversations. Came Friday night at 630. Told it was about a 30-40min wait and would text us. 10 min later our table was available. Got seated and served quickly. Ordered 2 lbs of shrimp backyard style medium, head on. It seemed more mild to me but the flavor was there. More on the Asian flavor than your normal Cajun but still good. A good fix if you're in the area. read more

Backyard Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

Service was so slow and lackluster...she didn't really know what she was doing or familiar with the menu. We ordered a bottle of wine that was not available...which led to us finding out that 5 other bottles weren't available as well. We ordered the selfie bucket and after our order was placed and wine was opened we found out that they had to mussels (it was Thursday and 2pm...that's crazy) read more

Backyard Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

This is my go to seafood boil spot! If you're looking for amazing food, flavors, and vibes this is the place to go. They also have an extensive drink selection. Lali makes the best drinks! The owner is also very accomodating! Will be back again!!! read more

Backyard Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

Passed by here all the time and their recent weekday lunch special got me interested. I like a seafood boil but my family doesn't. This lunch box special worked in my favor, you get a pound of shrimp, mussels, or crawfish and an order of garlic noodles. There were two lunch specials and my server suggested the Bayou box over the other. After ordering a pound of shrimp in mild backyard style, I was so excited with digging in. The mild flavor worked just right for me. The garlic noodles were firm and tasty, not too overpowering. I had a whole booth to myself. There were televisions on the opposite wall but not too loud. My order didn't take long. Since the garlic noodles came in their own container, I wrapped up the leftover shrimp with the noodles. It definitely hit the spot and enough to satisfy my seafood boil cravings. Will definitely come back. read more

Backyard Bayou - Lunch specials - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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This place was great! We had 7 people including 2 kids and they were very accommodating. The service was great! We had a few bags of shrimp, delicious souce and a good amount for $20. A few friends got the crab rolls and love it! Definitely give it a try! read more

2.5 round up to 3 I went here for my friend's birthday dinner and I would say it was an alright experience. My friend attempted to make a reservation ahead of time, but I don't think this place takes reservations at all? This is located in a big plaza with many businesses so parking isn't too hard. There was plenty of seating inside but very little space to go in and out of your seat. As for the food, I think the po boys, and crab fries were amazing. The seafood boil, was a little disappointing as it isn't as flavorful and I would have to super dip my seafood to get the flavor. I believe the shrimp was lil over cooked. The garlic noodles is a 100% miss, it tasted like maggi sauce. Overall, I will not be back again but if I were to be back, 100% recommend the soft crab po boy and crab fries!! read more

Been going to this damn spot for about a decade. The Food SMACKS, EVERYTIME. My lazy ass should of wrote this in 2016, but since its a trend now, Here ya go. Starter Pack Newbie order: 1 lb of Shrimp with head on. Backyard Style. Medium or Hot. Add a corn. Add a potato and/or Hot links. Order 1 rice and/or the Garlic Noodles. Thank me later. Lobster Mac and Cheese: SMACKS Salmon Rice Bowl with Backyard Creamy Sauce: SMACKS Lobster and/or Crab Fries: SMACKS Any of the mac and cheese: SMACKS And this year, i just realized they had a Happy Hour special early in the day. Ask about it. I've tried the other sauces for the seafood, but BACKYARD STYLE IS THE BOMB. read more

Came here with my friend on a Saturday afternoon based on a TikTok recommendation. There were tons of parking which was nice. There was also little to no wait. We got the crab Cajun fries, garlic noodles and a lb of shrimp and mussels with their signature sauce mild. I would say the Cajun crab fries were delicious but got cold fast. The garlic noodles were also decent. The shrimp and mussels were good too but the sauce was nothing mind blowing. I didn't see how much different it was from boiling crab. I don't think I would drive up from South Bay to eat here, but I would come if I was in the area. read more

Backyard Bayou - Garlic Noodles - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Union City, California

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If you are looking for Cajun Seafood in Union City, I highly recommend that you go to this place. They have so many different types of food to choose from. Can't miss their Cajun fries and fried cat fish. I love the ambience and they provide excellent customer service. Sometimes you will find the owner HAN in the restaurant also and he is far the best restaurant owner I've met. He always makes sure that all his customers leave satisfied. He sometimes even will pour you a drink for free. This is a must go place for seafood boil. All employees are very friendly & they treat everyone like family. read more

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Well worth the trip, it was pricey but it was definitely good! We ordered the King Crab Fries, one of the boils with King Crab Legs and the Lobster Mac n Cheese. It was delicious and the customer service was really nice. Everyone covered for each other, which was really cool. I especially liked the monitors on the wall showing what all the dishes looked like. read more

Amazing service by Lolly. She's very professional and so efficient. Top notch all the way!!!!!