Stopped in to Steamboat Bills on a recent trip to Lousiana. This place definitely has that…read moreLouisiana Cajun charm. The restaurant was decorated as you would expect a good Cajun restaurant to be decorated in. Service was nice and friendly and you order at the register and they bring your food to you. Service was great even after we got our food. A server asked us if we needed refills and if we wanted them in to-go cups, which scored bonus points with me! Here's what I had on this lunch visit: The crawfish pistollette (8/10) which was a small appetizer that was bread with some crawfish etouffee on top. Bread was nicely cooked and the etouffee on top was delicious. Solid starter! The Cajun Cooking Sampler (9/10) - this was a sampler with 3 amazing dishes. I got the shrimp and crab gumbo, which is classic Louisiana gumbo and it was outstanding! The sampler also had a bowl of crawfish etouffee which was good but felt it needed a bit more etoufee to mix with the rice. Lastly, the special of the day was fish courtbouillon which was a fish in tomato based sauce over rice. I really enjoyed this as the fish has a great texture and there was a lot of flavor in the sauce. Overall, solid lunch meal in the $ to $$ range depending on what you order. Recommend you trying it for a great Cajun experience!

1.3 k reviews and 1.2 k pictures. I can't I imagine that my little voice can make an impact on a…read moreperson's decision to choose Steamboat Bills. But here I go.... From the direction we drove in from it looks like a tiny parking lot with 10 spaces. Someone was pulling out so we got front row parking. There is a MASSIVE parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. Saturday Night 6:07- party of 2. The order and seating process is unusual. Place your order at the counter and they tell you which area to sit in. We were eating at 6:17. That's unreal. Alligator bites ($13) Shrimp tacos ($10) and Shrimp w/ crab gumbo. ($10) 2x miller lite ($7) dinner for 2- $45 Everything was absolutely amazing. I've read reviews where the people complained that the food was bland. And other people complained that the foods were too salty. I have zero complaints. We were completely satisfied. Thanks to Apple Maps and Yelp for helping us make this decision. We were only in for a wedding and wanted a unique experience that was local- not a chain.

The cutest restaurant downtown. Service is always so kind and personable. The food is always good…read more Everything is unique and so fresh. The decoration is well thought out and iconic.

Omg the beef tips are to die for here!!!!! The service was top notch, very cute and themed inside…read moreand it was easy to find! The butter beans were also delish and the cornbread. My crawfish poboy was okay. And I say that because I wasn't expecting a full potato slice so it was extremely hard and messy to eat lol. Overall I would definitely recommend if you're in the area!

Right off the interstate and not fast food. Wins for me…read more Food was flavorful. The pork steak plate was huge and tender. The jambalaya was more of a dirty rice to me but with more flavor. Liked it even though it was different. The corn I could tell they put 29 sticks of butter and seasoning. Also good. The brisket patty was great. Their bbq sauce is very similar to jack millers but it was like a good church bbq burger. Good thick burger. The boudin is where I'd say skip. Tried the smoked and I liked how it was subtle smoke flavor but the boudin is dry and just ok. It's enough to tease you till you get to lafayette to get some real boudin. Grabbed a lemon ooey gooey and the ingredients is a Stephen king novel. Oh well wanted dessert. Didn't try it but it's lemon always good. All in all not a bad place for a quick stop

Since meeting my boyfriend, I've heard nonstop about In-Laws. From day one--right after I mentioned…read moreI went to college in New Orleans--he's been hyping this place up. So after performing at New Orleans Jazz Fest this past weekend, we finally made a stop to see if it lived up to the praise. Pulling up, it honestly looks like a simple gas station pit stop--the kind of place truck drivers frequent (and judging by the steady flow of trucks, that checks out). But stepping inside was a completely different experience. It was clean, open, and surprisingly welcoming. Before even ordering, we found ourselves in the frozen section grabbing items to take home--boudin, deer sausage, gumbo... you name it, they had it stocked and ready. It already felt like one of those hidden gems you're glad someone put you on to. Then came the food. My boyfriend has been talking about their fried ribs for over a year, so of course we had to order them. He also got chicken wings, while I kept it light with Cajun boudin balls and green beans. First bite of the boudin ball? I was pleasantly surprised. Flavorful, slightly doughy, but still really good. But let's get to the star of the show... The fried ribs. As someone who's lived in Texas for over 20 years, I had never even heard of fried ribs. But baby... these were it. Perfectly seasoned all the way through, incredibly tender, and honestly--you could barely even tell they were fried. Just juicy, flavorful, and done right. This review is really just to say: fried ribs are real... and In-Laws does them right. If you're ever driving between Texas and Louisiana--somewhere around Lake Charles or Lafayette--do yourself a favor and stop here. 10/10. Highly recommend.

very good condition and very clean and the food is alway cook fresh and very good and tasty and the…read moremanager and her staff is alwys very pleasant always will gave a 10 for the food and the services.

I'd recommend mama Reta's for their fried chicken for sure!! Very flavorful and the crunch was…read moreexceptional.... Best fried chicken I've had out!! The sides were a little less flavorful and I was disappointed. I ordered green beans, cabbage, red beans and yams. Yams were good. I'd order chicken and Mae my own sides. It's a drive through so I can't speak to the ambiance. The service and staff were awesome and felt very much like family!! I love that! Will be back for the fried chicken for sure!

The beat food in Lake Charles, Marlene iis a amazing Waitress. 10/10 *****…read more The Caudles Gulfport MS

Really nice building. Sorta hard to get to or leave…read more Foods nothing special, but expensive. Nice waitress & maitre d'. Verdict: Go to the REAL Pat's at Henderson for better food, prices, & views. One hour East off IH10, take Henderson Exit, first left South of traffic circle, all the way to levee.

Our family's meeting spot when in Lake Charles. Worthy gumbo. Good boudin and boudin balls…read more Excellent service. This is one of the places where you are truly treated like family - for better, for worse. lol

This place has a casual country feel. They're definitely known for their seafood, and they didn't…read moredisappoint. I opted for the Crawfish, and was a amazed of how full of flavor and spicy they were! Some of the best Crawfish I'd had in long time. The server was friendly and attentive, the restaurant was very clean. If you're looking for good seafood, had a good price, eat here!

It was so good. The best food ever I even had to order more to take home I wish I can come all the…read moretime great place to go

Passing through town and wanted a locals favorite and this came up. It was Memorial Day so it was a…read morelittle busy but service was prompt and friendly. However, the restaurant was very dirty; food all over the floors, doors full of finger prints. Not sure if the hostess heard me but shortly after I saw someone trying to sweep up the mess. Overall, the service was good, food was good as well and not overly overpriced. The redfish was very good!

I stopped in here with a group for an early supper on a Saturday. It was busy, but there were still…read moreplenty of tables so we sat right away. I wasn't very hungry so I just ordered the Boudin Eggroll Appetizer. It included some Ranch dressing for dipping and the 4 Eggrolls it came with were the largest Boudin Eggrolls I've ever been served. They were also the best tasting. They had just enough cheese to keep them from being too dried out and were tasty. I would order this again if I was in the mood. Now I want to go back to try more things on the menu, but our server never came back to check on us after our order was delivered. I had to work really hard to flag her down to request a to-go box and a long time later to flag her down again to get our ticket and remind her about the to-go box. My advice is to try to get your ticket early if you can.

This place was packed when we arrived but the wait wasn't long. The inside was a decent size and…read morethey have patio seating as well. They had live music which was a great time! We ordered boudin balls and I think it's called the Beauxdines special. I was supposed to come with both snow and Dungeness crab but they were out of dungeness. Our waitress was nice but very very busy which was understandable given the crowd. The crab was a little dry, they shrimp very big and juicy the crawfish were ok, I was expecting a little more spice. The corn and potatoes were also not spicy. The boudin balls were very large and those were good.

I was looking for a Cajun seafood fix in Lake Charles and thoroughly searched Yelp and saw that…read morethis place was rated the highest overall. Leonard's did not disappoint! The service was to-go style ordering and you can request to eat there. You'll pick up your food at the counter and sit at an available table. Now for the food. The ambience was an old place with a dining table to sit at. It's a bit old, but you can never judge a book by its cover. I'm from Texas so I know Cajun. This place is rated the highest and I see why! The food was absolutely amazing. My only concern was that the place wasn't as packed as I thought it would be for a highly rated restaurant. That scared me and almost made me second-guess coming there. I risked it out, and the reward was lovely! I had the seafood platter and everything was nicely seasoned. To add fuel to the season fire, a season shaker was available. But you didn't need it. If anything, you'll need some condiments to your preference. One thing I didn't like was that there weren't any catfish available. That's what made me give this place a 4.5! Gotta have catfish in Louisiana! Its a requirement! Let me tell y'all about the seafood pasta! It's one of the best pastas I ever had! Overall, the food was lovely from a place that has part of the French Quarter in its name. I will ABSOLUTELY & DEFINITELY RECOMMEND Leonard's Food Quarters and WILL be back whenever I'm in the area! PS, I have pictures, but for some reason I can't find them. I will update this soon with pics.

I ordered the fried pork chop and red beans over rice and it was delicious. The pork chop was fried…read morejust right and juicy, the red beans were good too. The service was excellent and fast. Definitely worth it.

My Dad and I had to be in Lake Charles today for some appointments and needed to get some lunch. My…read morecousin had recommended Southern Spice via Facebook earlier in the week, so we thought we would give it a chance. We were NOT disappointed. We were greeted at the door by smiling faces and the sound of lively conversation at each of the tables we passed. This is clearly a local favorite. Our waitress was super sweet and attentive which always makes the experience in a new place better. We looked over the menu since we had never been there, but both our eyes went to the specials board which had two options on it...Hamburger Steak and Red Beans and Rice. We resolved to each get one of the options, as well as Mozzarella Sticks as a starter. The Mozzarella Sticks were incredible! Melty and hot on the inside and perfectly crispy outside. Probably won't ever come back without getting those! For my entree, I got the Red Beans with Buttered Corn and Green Beans for my sides. THAT is how you make Red Beans! It was perfectly seasoned and the sausage was smokey and flavorful. The sides were not lacking in salt or butter. If I had one critique it would be that the cornbread tasted great but was dry in the middle...a little pat of butter inside would fix that. My Dad got the Hamburger Steak and, while I did not taste it myself, it looked amazing, and I noticed several others eating it too, which may mean that it is known to be good. Those Mashed Potatoes looked delicious as well. He said it was all great. Side note...their Southern Spice All Purpose Seasoning is among the best I have ever tasted. I will be getting my hands on some of that. To sum it up...I will be back, and I'm bringing my whole family next time!

Food - 4 Stars Service - 4 Stars…read moreAtmosphere - 4 Stars Cute little place that we stopped and had breakfast before heading back home to Austin. Staff were friendly, food was really good, and the place was "cute". Will definitely go back if I'm in Lake Charles again. Oh, and the coffee was off the chain. I asked about the brand and they told me it was Douwe Eggberts. I found it on Amazon and bought some of it. I couldn't duplicate the aroma and flavor, though. Maybe I bought the wrong grind, or they have a version for commercial kitchens, or it's the water, or the coffee maker...who knows! Anyway, theirs was better than mine.