The service was fast. I took a bite from my boudin balls and the salad and food arrived. Overall, the food was decent. read more

Ponchatoulas - Boudin balls - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

Yummy seafood and cold beer - the only thing better is to chase it down with bread pudding and praline sauce!

Took a coworker out for her birthday last night. I got the étouffée and she got the fried oyster platter. The étouffée was cold and tasted like it came from a can. The oyster platter was just fried oysters sitting on top of some onion rings that looked like they came from the Sonic down the street. What burns me, is the waitress heard me say my food was cold and she just kept on walking and didn't even attempt to fix the situation. I'm certain. It was prepared in the microwave anyway, but they could have hit it for another 90 seconds and called it fresh. I apologized to my coworker as we left. What a disaster. The last time I was here, the food was decent. After this trip, I will go down the street to the pizza joint and give them my money. So very disappointed. read more

I'm not sure why there are so many poor reviews. Maybe poor ordering choices? We stayed simple and got poboy's. My only complaint was the top 1/2 of the bread was cool. The bottom was warm but it's like they forgot about the top. Amounts of shrimp on sandwiches were a bit stingy. 8 total on each one. The crawfish sandwich had a generous amount. Kids chicken had a good flavor. Everything came out hot. Service was efficient and very nice. Got what you would expect from a college town restaurant that specializes in fried seafood. By far a better choice than most places in Ruston. read more

The reason I cant give this place more than 3 stars has to do with more than the food. Upon arrival, I stood at the door with no employee in sight for about 5 minutes, yet there were hardly any customers to be tending. When the server finally arrived, she did seem friendly and on her game.The appetizer of cheese fries was mc d's style fries with tons of cheese and a small bit of bacon. They were ok for what they were. I ordered a cheeseburger with bacon. If it weren't for the bacon, the burger would have been bland and tasteless. I had a side of onion rings which were cooked to perfection, which was one of the good things along with their sweet tea. The reason im torn between giving 2 and 3 stars, is that my friends meal consisting of fried crawfish tails,fried shrimp, and fried oysters was very well done ( I had to try it). The 2 star rating is based upon my personal experience. There was a long wait at the door, and to leave after paying for no apparent reason as there was hardly anyone in the place other than staff at the time. Also, for my meal, it wasn't a good burger. And at the bottom line, 15 dollars for a burger with 6 onion rings and a drink-the burger should be the best thing on the plate and it was far from it. Maybe for future visits, I will try their poboys or seafood and hope for the best. read more

Never had better fried shrimp before. Absolutely amazing. The gumbo was good and so was the sweet tea. Just a great place to eat if you're craving some Cajun food. Wasn't very expensive for the portions so I would highly recommend this place! read more

It was okay! I was hoping for more authentic Louisiana cooking. Fried pickles were too salty, gumbo was bland and the fried crawfish were greasy. read more

The food is great! The pasta salad with fried or grilled chicken is my favorite. They have the best ranch dressing in town.

When we first visited this place , they had really good food and customer service, we started going more often and the service started to get worse and so was the food. We've had burnt burgers , nasty shrimp and chicken! This place food , and customer service is terrible ! read more

Don't order Cajun dishes. As a lunch place it's okay. The Sundown Tavern next door has a great patio for cocktails.

The food is pretty good and the staff is friendly. Definitely not near the top of the best Cajun food I've had, but I'd go here again.

Food is good not great. Service is poor. Place really needs a good cleaning. Considering it's Ruston it's about what you would expect. The competition for food service is very low. Growing up near New Orleans and spending half my life in Houston and then visiting Ruston it's a major adjustment in expectations. What I mean is be glad if you actually get silverware much less plates for your appitizer. read more

My local connections tell me this place is an institution in Ruston, and the name is adorable, but I wouldn't come here for the food. The rice was slightly crunchy, the beans hadn't spent enough time with the seasonings between the can and the plate, the meats tasted odd, and the etouffee tasted more like thickener than crawfish or anything else. The peach tea was strangely funky. The salad was sad and dry. The flavors aren't entirely off--they're in the ballpark--just as long as you don't pay too much attention. read more

Found this little gem on a road trip. The meat pies are great, and I highly recommend the stuffed catfish!

I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The food was good with oversized portions. I would definitely eat here again.

It's been 8 years since I have eaten here. The food was just as amazing as it was then. I recommend stopping by the staff are attentive and very nice. read more

Not bad for Ruston... Mostly fried food... The Eatouffe not that good. Shrimp is good.. good drink specials

Although menu weighs heavily (hahaha) towards deep fried food, glad I went with the broiled catfish. Outstanding as was the seafood gumbo. Great food and prices in a laid back, bar-type atmosphere. read more

Ponchatoulas - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Ruston, Louisiana

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Great food great price! Had the catfish....outstanding. Good food! great atmosphere.

Deliciously fried catfish. The house dressing for salads is the best.

Fun place with excellent service and local food. But don't order catfish poboy it is 1/2 a loaf of french bread with two little pieces of catfish, some lettuce and a slice of tomato. Other portions seem generous. read more

Best place in Ruston to eat! Always fresh food and great service! Their Fried fish and oyster Po boy are two of my favorites!

ponchatoulas is the place to go if you visit ruston. quality food with amazing flavor!!!!!

We were looking forward to this late lunch all day. We hate to report, but our experience was anything but great. We froze the entire time, our waitress was too friendly, and our food was way over priced for the quality we received. The stuffed catfish was not worth the 16.99, nor were the cheese fries, all around , very disappointed :( read more

I enjoyed the food atmosphere and service! I had a salad with crawfish and shrimp that was amazing

I came here for my birthday was really was not impressed.... I was hoping for really good Cajun food, but it was mediocre.... Let's start off! I came with a party of four, including myself. I got sweet tea which was really nice. We all got an appetizer of mini meat pies and fries that were really good and the best thing we got!! I ordered Shrimp Creole. It was very tomatoey and not really good. It was the tomato sauce and shrimp all over a bed of rice. I really did not like it at all. My mother got a crawfish shirley, I think, and it was really great! I wish I had gotten than. Our waitress was really nice, but I noticed the other waitresses were just sitting around and texting on their phones which bothered me. It was OK read more

I've been to Ponchatoulas many times and prefer the lunch specials. My favorite used to be fried shrimp with the best French fries.

I can only say that the food is consistently good, and I have always liked the atmosphere. Last night's stuffed catfish was excellent, and so was the seafood platter. The service is fast and friendly. read more

I think the place and atmosphere are really nice. The prices are too much though and the quality is not always the best. Hit or miss why I only gave 3 stars. read more

I also wanted to give this place 5 stars. I ordered the crawfish pate with onion rings. Many of the burnt pieces of batter had nothing in them. Onion rings where okay. Salad mediocre. Ice tea was hot. To disgusted to write clever review. This place will not get a second chance to gouge me on a poor excuse for a meal, and I always give a place a second chance. read more

Omg, yum! Here for one night we were looking for po-boys and wow. Our group sampled the roast beef po-boy, shrimp, red beans and rice, fries, and onion rings. Everything was amazing! This is definitely on our stop list when we're headed to New Orleans next time. Definitely highly recommended read more

Had the seafood gumbo & grilled vege plate and they were both excellent! Kinda spicy but excellent! I'm Cajun and I was very impressed with their gumbo! A bit noisy though on a Saturday night. read more

I hardly ever post reviews but eating at this restaurant was a great choice. We ordered beans and rice, chicken tenders with fries and catfish with onion rings. Everything was fresh and had a great flavor. The chicken tenders were by far the best I've had anywhere. I would definitely recommend Ponchatoulas to anyone seeking good food. read more

One word... EXCELLENT! The food is delicious and the staff is friendly. If you like authentic Louisiana flavors, this is the place to go. I have tried almost everything on the menu and have never been disappointed. read more

Friendly service and authentic cajun food. Portion size is pretty good for price.

Disappointing. I was hoping for some of that cooking the south is known for and got a pale imitation. Small portions to add insult. Won't be going back. read more

Enjoyed our meal here on Saturday night. Good service and good food. Very crowded but food came out quickly and exactly as we ordered.. Waitress was named Annabelle and was very attentive and checked on us several times during the meal. Good value and nice dining experience. Will definitely eat here again. read more

Excellent food and service. We looked at Yelp and found this restaurant while traveling through town. We ordered the seafood gumbo, fried crawfish tails, oyster and shrimp poyboy, and the seafood platter. Everything was excellent. read more

"Ponch", as the locals call it, is usually hit or miss. It's owned by the same people that own Log Cabin and Cheeburger Cheeburger. The food can vary on how it's cooked. It's very small and not in a great location. The owners put it in downtown Ruston across a street from the railroad tracks. So it's very loud. Don't go here often due to that. read more

I have eaten here three times and have had 15 different people eat with me here. This is kind of the consensus of me and those who have eaten here with me. I live in Lafayette Louisiana and can have Cajun food most anytime. They advertise Cajun food here. This is NOT Cajun food. At best the food kinda looks and kinda tastes like it but it misses the mark by a lot. Portions are very small for what you get and prices are high. Cajun does not mean so hot you cannot eat it. Cajun food is different than creole food. What is served here also does not qualify as creole either. Tell the cook to learn the differences. Nice service and nice people. I do not like them putting 20% tip on the check which they do for some larger groups. read more