Well we stopped by to meet a friend for drinks, we met her at the bar and she had ordered food and is a regular there. (she rates the food very highly if you like Cajun) My review is for the bar and service. It was a snowy Thursday night so there were only a few people in the place, most seemed like regulars. The bartender was very friendly and was sure to make sure we were taken care of. He was quick to honor all of our requests including bringing us a bottle of Valentine Vodka (distilled right around the corner in Ferndale) to look at. Before leaving the bartender overheard us discussing it was my GF birthday and he offered up a birthday shot for the lady. ;-) What a nice little bonus. Seems like a cool place for a drink or a bite to eat, we will definitely put this place on the list of places I will be checking out again, looking forward to eating the food and having another drink or two as Ferndale is a regular stop to wet my whistle. 5 stars for a local pub to grab a quite drink, I'll report back on the weekend scene as the weather turns read more

Howe's Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

To be fair.... I literally have only ordered one thing ever here (Blackened Chicken over Warm Green Salad) AM-AZING... pictures below. Signature dish for sure. But I have gone there so many times (dozens) with others who have loved everything else they ordered. Sit at the bar during happy hour, bartenders are lovely and pour a solid drink. Cliffnotes: blackened chicken, cornbread, red beans and rice, cocktails. #NOLA read more

Howe's Bayou - I've been here over 2 dozen times and have ordered this every time. ITS THAT GOOD! Voodoo Chicken over Warm Greens. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

Friendly staff and here it the rundown on what I love and you should order, and also a few you should pass on and never ever order LoL ******************* Overall a great menu, these are top picks : ) Smoked Salmon - Served with capers, red onion and horseradish sauce Smoked Peppered Mackerel - from Maine Great Lakes Smoked Whitefish Dip Calamari - Flash fried, with peperoncini relish Voodoo BBQ Shrimp - Marinated and grilled Sautéed Alligator Sausage - served with peppers, onions and white wine Side of Macaroni & Cheese ******************** Skip these, for your own sake please skip these LoL (trust me, they are nothing special and not very tasty) Red Beans and Rice Jambalaya - tomato scented rice with chicken and Andouille sausage Popcorn Crawdads - mild Cajun spiced and fried Garlic Smashed Potatoes Two Thumbs Up !!!!! read more

The bartender is really nice and fits the vibe perfectly . Just getting back from New Orleans, I was not ready to say goodbye to the best food I ever tried ! So I stopped into Howe's and was very satisfied. The gumbo was rich and flavorful. I'm not a fish fan but the catfish étouffée was soooo good, not fishy at all and the layers were amazing. The pickle martini was honestly , something I didn't know was a need but now is. read more

We had the Catfish, sesame chicken, gumbo, jambalaya and the bread pudding. The jambalaya rice was very overcooked, the dish was very mushy. It tasted like jambalaya but was nothing to call home about and the serving was small especially to be considered a stand alone entree. The gumbo had the appearance of traditional gumbo but lacked the flavor I was looking for from a place with "bayou" in the name. Catfish was good. Bread pudding possibly the best thing we had and it arrived cold. I may give it another try but not anytime soon. Our server was very kind and the restaurant was practicing social distancing, constantly cleaning, wearing masks and making sure patrons did too, that made me very comfortable. Bathroom was very clean as well. Extra star just for those things! read more

I came here unplanned and was pleasantly surprised. The bartender helped me pick out a delicious glass of wine, yes I had two glasses worth so I know it was good! I had their warm veggies salad which was amazing! I never would have thought a warm salad would be good but it worked perfectly! I paired the salad with a cup of their gumbo and finished it off with bread pudding ala mode! All the food I had was amazing and my boyfriend really liked his shrimp po-boy. We will be back read more

Howe's Bayou - Warm vegetable green salad - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

Went here last night with Hubs for my birthday. My husband knows how much I love New Orleans. It's my second home. I used to travel there for personal and work at least 3x a year. With that said, if you are claiming to be a Creole restaurant then you might can fool some people but for a want to be Nola girl, you're going to have to come hard to pull the wool over my eyes. I played it safe and started with only appetizers and trust me that is where I stayed. I ordered the fried oysters which lost me at one bite. It was awful! I ordered the fried shrimp and the barbecue shrimp which were both appetizers. It was horrendous. Tasted sooooo bad. My husband ordered the crab cakes and from the looks of it They used the same batter for the oysters, shrimp and crab cakes. He kept saying it was good. And he was waiting to see my reaction and I didn't want to hurt his feelings so I just nodded my head. This place is NOT your New Orleans food. And if you have ever been to NO then you know exactly what I mean. Sorry Howe, you may can fool some but not this WANNA BE NOLA GIRL. read more

During my first time here, I got the gumbo as a side and the fried catfish as an entree. Catfish was fried nicely and not overly dry. The gumbo was good. Unfortunately, nothing about my dining experience completely stands out so it ends up being just average. Being from LA, theres a lot of better options back home. The flavors are alright, but for me it was leaning more towards the bland side. When I think of Cajun-Creole food, I am expecting a punch of flavors and spices in which I did not get. I think if I do ever get a craving for gumbo, I wouldn't mind coming back. I also ordered the bread pudding with ice cream to share with the table and that was enjoyable at best, but again it was nothing special. Service was ok. The cocktails were not amazing and I probably will not be ordering alcohol from here in the future. The restaurant decor, tables and seats are a little dark and dingy to me. read more

Great food and really nice bar atmosphere. When ordering to go or delivery over covid the food always came correct and traveled well too.

I love this bar. I agree. It's more of a bar atmosphere than restaurant. However, their food is fantastic and the absolute best thing about Howe's is the staff--super friendly and they always make you feel right at home! My favorites are the Crawfish Etouffee, Baton Rouge Crawfish Cakes, Pearl River Pasta and of course, the mac n cheese! Try the Abita Turbo Dog on draft--all the way from NOLA, but make sure you save some for me! read more

I adore Howe's Bayou. I am remiss in waiting this long to post a review for this place - it's one of the hidden, delicious gems in Ferndale. Here's the breakdown: The good: Howe's has an old fashioned, dark, small interior that would fit in well in New Orleans proper. A large, gleaming wooden bar fills much of the small dining room space. Howe's has a pretty solid drink menu, but the real star is the food. Last night I had a cup of the gumbo (my favorite). It was delicious and rich as always, and is served with cornbread that wasn't overly sweet or dry - in other words, it was perfect. For dinner I had the jambalaya - I know most jambalaya has shrimp and is made with shrimp stock; I don't eat shrimp so I am always happy that Howe's has chicken and smoked sausage in it - soooo good! I also had a Howe's martini that was made with Baileys and bourbon, which was the perfect ending to my meal. I'll definitely be back, again and again! read more

Great food. Every item was had was incredible. We started with the smoked white fish dip served with onions, crackers, capers and lemon. The crawfish crab cakes which were DELICIOUS. Served with a honey mustard sauce. I ordered the voodoo chicken and started with a bowl of crab bisque. I don't even have words to describe the crab bisque it was INCREDIBLE. read more

Howe's Bayou - Crawfish Crawfish Bisque - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

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WHAT HAPPENED?!?! I always recommend this place to my friends. It's not just like, i tell them about it. I bring them here with me. This is the first time Howe's let me down. Everythings changed. the crawfish wasn't as fresh as before, also wasn't spicy like it once was. my friend's chicken creole, which he thought was a safe order, turned out to be a ravioli hot mess. the only edible thing was the chicken. my dish was supposed to be filled with rice with a side of corn, but it was filled with all corn and a tiny bit of rice. and everything tasted every watery the creole salad lacked flavor as well. the bread pudding also changed for worse. it wasn't just us. the lady sitting next to our table also complained about everything being not the same as before. we asked the waitress if they got a new chef. she tried to give us some bullshit reason about mardi gras celebration and the batch is different since then. what?! i don't even understand it. she gave us a 15% off and the pudding was on the house. but still. i really just want the good food to come back. read more

Absolutely AMAZING! Been coming here for years. Great food, great atmosphere and Aaron is always doing a great job behind the bar serving up the best drinks. Love you guys! read more

I've always liked this place. The food is excellent and vibe is simply relaxing and home-like.

I feel so ripped off! Read the reviews and was excited to try this place. Ordered my food. Picked up my meals and immediately felt like I had been had. I tried the jambalaya, chicken voodoo, and gumbo. Chicken voodoo was tasty, but TINY. 4 little pieces of breast meat. Couldn't even give me the full breast. Jambalaya was ok. Nothing to write home or yelp about. But edible. Gumbo was ok too. I thought a bit tastier than the jambalaya, but I am coming from the south so maybe I have higher expectations. But for those little items, the $37 price tag was outrageous. WAY OVERPRICED for the size & quality. read more

I'm not from the south. I've always loved Howe's Bayou a lot, it seems like an adventure every time I go, since I'm not familiar with many things on the menu. So I put them to the Ultimate Test- when my friend from Louisiana came to visit, I took him there. He was prepared to be disappointed. Not only did he love it, he said it was surprisingly authentic! Everyone loved their entrees. I've always experienced delicious food, friendly service, and fantastic drinks at Howe's. A real Ferndale staple. read more

Amazing crab bisque, a must have! It comes with really good corn bread on the side. The mussels in white wine sauce is also very good. Service was good but awkwardly unprofessional. Never the less, great experience. read more

Mustey smell permeates the restaurant. Food was ok. Service was so-so! 31 years I've lived in Ferndale. Don't think I would come back. read more

Date night was at this lovely place. The collard greens were amazing. The mac 'n' cheese was just okay. The beer selection is pretty good. I enjoy their wines though. The food is great though. I had the chicken pasta. It had the right amount of spice to it. read more

Howe's Bayou - Great - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

This is $19 worth of food from grubhub that just got delivered to my house. White rice, 2 fatty pieces of meat which doesn't taste like chicken, couple scoops of old Mac n cheese and dried up corn bread. Maybe this is a place you shouldn't order delivery from. All but the mac n cheese is going in the garbage. read more

Howe's Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

Delicious, friendly and a great atmosphere. The server was excellent and not pushy. Their jambalaya was just spiced enough to make my to tongue say oh no ... oh yes! Their crawfish cakes were crunchy and scrumptious. What a little gem on the east side of Woodward in Ferndale. read more

This place is good - good food, good drinks, friendly staff. The food is low country - good collard greens, Mac and cheese, cornbread... they've got paintings of jazz musicians on the walls. It's cute. If you're looking for some low country fare with good service in a casual (almost dive bar - but in an endearing and not dirty way) environment, you've found it. You won't find the latest and greatest here - there's no line to get in, no loud music, no kitschy atmosphere- just good food at a good price with good people. Try their spiked hot chocolate - they have several varieties (one with baileys and Jameson's, one with Rumchada, etc). read more

Great food, came for lunch with my wife for lunch. My wife said Dirty Bombay Gin Martini was one of the best she's had and the bartender / waitress made our day. She was funny, cool & nice. The food was outstanding!! It was fresh and tasted like it came straight from Nawlns. The fried catfish topped with shrimp étouffée was banging. read more

Howe's Bayou - The bar... - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

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As someone who's a huge fan of Cajun/Creole food, Howe's Bayou is very disappointing. The food here is not made with love. First of all, the place itself is dingy and has a weird, moldy smell. I thought it was an off day but I've been here twice and the smell was still there. Sometimes I can excuse a dingy interior as a quaint little hole-in-the-wall quirk but only when the food is phenomenal. The cornbread is dry and has no flavor. We took one bite and left the rest. The crawfish bisque tastes like canned "cream of (frozen) crawfish" soup. Shrimp po boy is mehhh. The gumbo, a quintessential New Orleanian dish, was slimy and not good. I've had gumbo in a lot of different eateries in NOLA and no matter how bad the restaurant was, the gumbo was the one thing that was always on point. Not the case here. The mussels were pretty meaty and plentiful but it tasted like they didn't bother with the broth, they just doused it in garlic. I'm giving Howe's 2 stars because of the service, which was friendly and accommodating both times I've been here. read more

Food was okay. Order was messed up though and we didn't get half the food we ordered for our daughter. I also had to pay to park to pick up our carry out order. Not necessarily the restaurants fault, but annoying. The key lime pie was really good. I'd recommend that, but for the amount we paid, the rest wasn't worth it. read more

We tried this place tonight for diner & it was great! Place was tiny but had a great ambiance. Staff was very friendly & accommodating. Nice place to meet up for dinner or drinks. My daughter is a teenager so for my family this place is okay but I wouldn't say that it is kid friendly if you have little ones. I couldn't decide between the steak tips & voodoo sauce over rice or the grilled shrimp in voodoo sauce over rice so the waiter suggested I get both in a combo bowl - it was delicious. Great flavor! Not heat hot, but had a little kick to it. Just how I like it My daughter (14) went with a bowl of gumbo. She loved everything but the color lol idk what she was expecting it to look like but she enjoyed it anyway. PS I tried it & it was really good. My boyfriend went with the creole chicken & jumbo shrimp. ( I had a tiny bite of the chicken, it was good as well) We all agreed the cornbread was too dry for our liking but not all cornbread created equally lol For dessert my bf went with the key lime pie ( his favorite not mine) but my daughter & I shared the hot fudge brownie sundaes= on the $$$ . It was huge & super yummy ! We will definitely be back here to try more of the menu. read more

This place is consistently good and is our fall-back Ferndale restaurant and Grub Hub delivery. The Voodoo Chicken is fab as well as all the sides and their Jambalaya is YUM read more

Seasonless food gumbo like mud cost to much for what we got have been there before pandemic food was very good now they can hang it up

I had high expectations for Howe's since it had been recommended by multiple people. I was very disappointed. First I will say even though it was busy and there was quite a wait to even order our food, the server was very apologetic and even gave us a complimentary dessert. My disappointment was not with the service. The food itself was underwhelming. I ordered the voodoo shrimp over green hot salad. The shrimp had good flavor but it definitely wasn't the best shrimp I have had. The green salad was interesting. It was more like a stir fry vegetable mix with some arugula type lettuce mixed in. My boyfriend ordered the creole shrimp and we were told to order it because it was spicy and had good flavor. There was zero spiciness to this dish. It still tasted ok but just not what we were hoping for. We had a side of Mac and cheese and also collard greens. Both were good but not great. The cornbread that came with the meal was also underwhelming- dry and crumbly. I will say that the bartender made some drinks for us and they were great. I don't think we will be back since there are so many other great restaurants in the area. read more

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I had to give this 5 stars just based on the catfish alone. Seriously. SERIOUSLY the best piece of fish I've eaten in years. I had it with the cornmeal breading- it was lightly breaded, cooked perfectly. The crust was just right. Definitely will be back for more!!! If you're in the mood for a great fish you will not be disappointed read more

I would give ten stars if i could! We stumbled upon Howe's while searching for a new place to try and let me just say, Thank you, Lord! The crawfish cakes are to die for, and the blacken catfish po'boy is phenomenal as well! If you're a Mac & cheese fanatic you gotta stop in and try some. Love that they give you cornbread and their house made hot sauces are so good they make me want to cry. 10/10 would recommend over and over again! Love Howe's! read more

This place is just ok. It took over 45 minutes to get our food and when I got it it was barely warm, which is odd because the other two people I was with just got appetizers. I order the perch and was confused when I got it. The menu says pan seared but it is breaded and probably friended or baked. Drinks were ok, nothing worth coming back for. The only nice thing for me was the outdoor seating. read more

Really really really great food! Joseph is an amazing waiter AND bar tender! Great drinks - great food! Must give it a try! read more

Howe's Bayou - Family night out. Great dinner at Howe's Bayou! - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

Great neighborhood restaurant, good food and fast friendly service.I have dined here for many years. Always great Lunch and Dinner Specials. Today I tried the Crab Bisque, very good! Always a good Ribeye with the Voodoo Sauce. Patti and Mike, the owners, are so hospitable! read more

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I visited the bayou a few weeks ago while waking down Woodard. The place is very intimate with a easily missed entrance if just driving by looking for a place to eat. The food is authentic as far as I know ( I'm from MI) and tastes great. Full bar, great place to go for a drink and there's outdoor seating. read more

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This is one of the best places to eat in Ferndale. I normally order the Voodoo Chicken, which is amazing, but decided to try something else and ordered the Voodoo Shrimp on rice and it was just as good. The Voodoo sauce is so tasty I would pour that on everything if I could. The collard greens and garlic mashed potatoes taste homemade and are just delicious. This place is a feel good food type restaurant and the staff are always very nice and hardworking! Thank you for being awesome! read more

Howe's Bayou - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ferndale, Michigan

Oh my, the food is filling and tasty perfect serving size and very clean. Service was fast and efficient, Scott was attentive and Patient as well read more

We visited for midday lunch and truly enjoyed ourselves. The patio seating was great given the weather and the staff was very accommodating. The Chef, Rafael, even came out to see how we enjoyed our meals. I could not have been more pleased. We will definitely be returning. read more

The staff is amazing, the food was so-so. I ordered the Mac and cheese for my son which was a decent portion and actually taste good. The crawfish cakes were average. I was disappointed with the gumbo ya-ya. The portion was very good but the taste was super off and bland. I had been driving past this place for close to a year and decided to pop in here with my grandfather since our family is from the south. Let down. read more