Low expectations but was one of the best crab cakes I've ever eaten. We also got gumbo/etouffe that was phenomenal and a cheesecake that was not just ordinary. Maybe it was but it was amazing. Service was great and loved sitting on the porch to eat. read more

The French fries were good, but do NOT get the crab cake! I was under the erroneous assumption that seafood sold near the water/or the coast would be good or better than than sold inland, so I was looking forward to having a crabcake. At $10 a crab cake, I was expecting something half-way decent. It was very small. That was okay, as long as it was decent. I took a small bite. Well, it wasn't even that. It was a sloppy fried cake of seasoned flour paste with MAYBE a teaspoon of crab dispersed within the entire cake. The line was 20-people deep, so I couldn't return it right away. I just wanted to get a refund on the cake, and order something else, like French fries instead (that would be safe). The girl told me she couldn't give me a refund since I "ate on it". I told her, how would I know it was bad if I couldn't taste it? (AND it tasted like cheese, and had the texture of melted cheese). Well, the girl at the counter took it to the manager, who gave me fries instead lieu of a credit. I'm so sorry I didn't take a picture, I forgot all about Yelp, and wasn't thinking. I'm so glad there is this venue to vent to. Oh, by the way, we ordered two taps waters, and was told they only sold bottled water. My bf said, okay, give us that. When we sat down, he handed me a drink cup. I said, where's my water? He said, this is what she gave me. I looked at the receipt, and it had 1 bottle water ($2.50) and one fountain drink ($4.00). So be prepared to be "uncharged", and look at your receipt before you walk away. I let that slide because it wasn't worth the trouble to return the cup and get a water instead, but I really wanted to return the crab cake because it was that much of a disappointment. If you want a decent breaded crab cake, go to Prejeans in Carrot (I know I didn't spell that right) Cove. If you want a crab cake made of crab, try Truluck's in Houston. read more

Great lunch for under $40 for two! Portions were regular size ( Special of the Day) , I ended up sharing half my dish with my husband. The staff are polite, and my husband got a veterans discount, which we appreciated . I think the Tabasco family values those who serve in the military after all, John Avery McIlhenny served in the Spanish‑American War. Tips & Ideas: * If I do it again, I'll go early in the morning when it's fresh and not so humid, drive around the gardens, and walk to take pictures. * Keep in mind: the store, museum, and restaurant close around 4p.m., but the gardens stay open, so you can always come back and relax in one of the many safe seating areas. * Coffee is free until 12p.m. * Bonus idea: download the Tabasco app for a guided voice tour you're welcome Highly recommend for a casual lunch and a taste of Tabasco history! (If you liked my review, give it a "like" just kidding , but hope it helps!) read more

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After spending much of the morning enjoying the self-guided tour of the Tabasco Bottling Plant and Grounds we decided to grab a bite to eat and a refreshment at this cute little restaurant on the grounds of the Tabasco property next to the gift shop before going to tour the Jungle Gardens. This restaurant is a lot bigger than I thought prior to going inside and is filled with Tabasco memorabilia and very nice seating. The staff here was wonderful and even gave us a free sample of their "Tabasco Margarita" it was delicious and priced right - we ordered a crab cake and boudin egg rolls both were fried and came with a dipping sauce and there are plenty of Tabasco sauces on the tables to enjoy and kick things up as well. The food was just okay in my opinion but after eating lots of Cajun dishes over the past week my palette was probably a little over-whelmed so like most dishes they are subjective according to your taste. All in all and considering the remote locate this is probably the only option if you want a meal or snack without leaving the property. Over-all a good choice... read more

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While we had a great time on our tour, the restaurant experience was lackluster. I had the nachos. Everything felt like cheap cafeteria food rather than a Tabasco experience; the cheese was definitely canned cheese, precooked chicken, etc.. I normally can get through meals that I don't enjoy -- and usually it's just preference but this was simply bad. My mom similarly was quite disappointed in her crab cake and felt like it was likely premade. The cheesecake and pecan pie were good but not enough to bump up the rating. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Nachos with chicken, pecan pie, cheesecake - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

This restaurant was really a pleasant surprise since this is at a tourist attraction, the Tabasco factory and museum. I didn't have high expectations, but we came in for lunch because of the Bloody Mary bar. I had their red beans and rice with sausage and a Bloody Mary. My husband had the chili dog and a Bloody Mary. Everything was fantastic! The bread of the hotdog was fresh po boy bread. Eating here was well worth it and the prices were fairly reasonable. read more

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Been here my whole life practically and never came to Tabasco. Surprisingly I think the food at this cafe is good. Their shrimp poboy is actually well done with perfect bread and flavorful fried shrimp. As good as old time grocery. Here's a tip put sweet and spicy Tabasco on it. So good! Had the crab cake and ettouffe and that was good almost like some home cooking. Happy they did food some justice. Next time I'll see if they can do a good bread pudding. The corn and crab bread bowl too small and not that good. read more

Everything on the menu is a must. My favorite was fried fish, and their roles. If you are visiting a must

Ambiance was good. Outdoor sitting was good. No bugs no heat Food. Wow. Crawfish étouffée was perfect topped with fried crawfish. Best ever. Red beans on rice was fantastic. Chicken and sausage gumbo was perfect. It's very rare all these dishes are perfect in one restaurant. Need Cajun food, this is the place to go Their serving plates were a hard stiff paper. Worked well read more

A restaurant that's keeping it spicy with just that much more tabasco to add to everything you soo know I'm there! So coming here was on my list todo for the day as it's basically part of the tour that is at the Tabasco factory and it's pretty much the only option in the area as this facility is in the middle of nowhere! So once inside I checked in and I got a coupon for 10% off my order so don't forget to check in and save yourself a bit off of lunch! For starters I ordered the Bloody Mary they basically dumped a bunch of booze into a cup and let me have at it at the Bloody Mary station that had two different types of mix as well as all the fixings for one yummy drink! For an appetizer I ordered the egg rolls and let's just say that these were incredibly good they were filled with some kinda sausage and came with some pepper jelly to dip them in making for just a totally yummy combo from start to finish. For my lunch I ordered the chicken and sausage gumbo that came with some rice it was yummy not the best I've ever had but it became just that much better when I added some of the different tabasco sauce that was on the table to kick it up a notch. Overall it was a yummy lunch and definitely added just that much more to my experience of visiting here so definitely put coming here on my list as it was good and just another fun part of my day on tour here! read more

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A huge surprise! Anyone that has traveled a lot know restaurants at or in tourist attractions are expense and rarely have good food. This spot proves that theory wrong on both accounts. The order at the counter staff was very friendly, very knowledgeable about the menu and their suggestions were spot on! The crawfish cake over etoufee was smashing. The fired fish was perfectly fried for my tastes! read more

Restaurant 1868 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

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If you're at the Tabasco Factory, you have to eat at this iconic restaurant. It's a long-standing eatery that's been around since 1868 (as the name might suggest haha). Located right next to the main attraction, you can't miss it! Just one thing to note, they're only open until 2:30pm, so make sure you make it for lunch! A lot of restaurants located at a tourist destination are purely just tourist traps, but not this place! This place is reasonably priced for a touristy destination, yummy, and they serve you generous portions. Having some food at the 1868 restaurant is actually a really enjoyable experience! Bonus: Of course, at each table there's a variety of Tabasco sauces to try on your food! Our favorites were the Smoky Chipotle Tabasco sauce and the Sweet and Spicy Tabasco sauce. I had never tried those before, and they were DELICIOUS. I could down a whole bottle of each! We tried the: *Nachos with all the dressings ($8) and with grilled shrimp (+$6) - the nachos were pretty good! The only complaint was that the shrimp were overcooked and a little too salty, but it was tasty anyway and trying all of the different Tabasco sauces was a hoot! *Fried Seafood Combo ($16.50) - this comes with a huge slab of fried fish, fried shrimp and some potato fries. They do not skimp! You'll have to share this with someone if you order anything else with it! Crispy and well-seasoned, we enjoyed it all! *Sampler ($13.50) - this comes with servings of crawfish étouffée, red beans and rice, and chicken and sausage gumbo. The portions for each items are fair; you might get full eating the Sampler alone! For me, the crawfish étouffée was the show stopper. It was fantastic! My boyfriend loved the red beans and rice. It had pickled pork and pork sausage in it. We both thought the gumbo was a bit watery, but the flavor and smoke was there and it was yummy anyway. *Pecan pie ($5) - the pie was the only thing I didn't love. The piece wasn't very big, and it tasted just okay. I probably won't get it again for $5. (But take this with a grain of salt because I can be picky about my pecan pies!) read more

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We had lunch here today during our Tabasco factory tour. It's a causal restaurant where u can get menu by yourself when you walk in, and order at the counter, get a table sign, find a table, then the food will send to your table. It pretty quick probably few minutes later the waitress brought our food to our table. I had their Cesar salad with chicken tender, and crawfish étouffée, husband get their red bean & rice. All food is great! Not too salty, excellent flavors. read more

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This little restaurant at the Tabasco Museum is wonderful! I had the shrimp po'boy and it was fantastic! The shrimp were cooked to perfection! I also loved the Bloody Mary bar! It was simple, but everything that you need for a Bloody Mary! You choose and put in the Tabasco Bloody Mary mix that you want , so you can make it as hot or mild as you want! The gals that served were so nice too! It was such a fun day! I highly recommend visiting this factory and stopping for a great meal either before or after you explore! read more

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The food was mediocre but it's part of the experience. The service was friendly. There are plenty of seats inside and out. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Fried pickles, nachos and sampler. Red beans and rice were good along the the étouffée. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

SO SO glad I drove 4 hours to see this. The food was a nice. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Trio and boudin egg rolls were delicious - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

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Like I was going to make the pilgrimage to Avery Island and NOT eat here? Not a frill to be seen. Straightforward presentation, solidly delicious food. Boudin the size of a baby's leg with a dish of Tabasco pepper jelly for $3.50. Sausage and Tabasco Spicy and Sweet sauce for $3.50. Cup of Crawfish and Corn Maque Choux for $3.50. $3 apiece for fountain drinks. Lunch: $21. Eating Tabasco a hundred yards from where it was born: Priceless. read more

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I'm a local and so is my guy-we have done Avery Island a few times but it was our first stop at the resturant. I was pleasantly surprised. The food wasn't bad but didn't blow me away either. I think it was the location coupled with the sweet southern hospitality and the very handsome guy sitting next to me which made this a five star experience. There's something about being in love that makes everything seem better. Holding hands, gazing into his eyes. Could it get any better? Actually it can. Enter a three dish Cajun experience. I'm talking shrimp etoufee, red beans and rice and chicken and sausage gumbo. All the hot sauce on the table? Hello heaven. Go here and check it off your bucket list. I'll be marrying that handsome guy one day. read more

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I came here after touring the Tabasco Factory, and it was quite lovely. It was clean inside. Walk in, order at the counter. I got the sampler which had a cup of red beans and rice, a cup of jambalaya, and a cup of crawfish ettouffee. All of it was flavorful and all quite nice. I would highly suggest eating here when doing the tour. read more

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We expected more. We're HUGE Tabasco fans and made a point to visit the Avery Island tour on our way to NOLA. The tour was interesting, but the food was not. I get that without easily predictable tourism, it would be hard to have a restaurant on the premise, I question why this restaurant exists. It's not BAD at all... but it is also not good. Period. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

Wow! I was really surprised with the quality of food here! Although cafeteria style, the food was restaurant quality! The place can get pretty pack quick! I would recommend doing the tour first, then eat after.. After all, you do want to try all the Tabasco sauce they have.. and ahem, it would suck if your stomach was aching during the tour.. We had the following: - Pepper Jelly Boudin - boudin served with Tabasco Spicy Pepper Jelly - never really ate boudin with pepper jelly before.. because c'mon, it's boudin, it's already good on its own.. but that pepper jelly though.. made it way better! I did not know! - Cajun Crawfish Nachos - tortilla chips topped with Pepper Barrel Crawfish Étouffée, garnished with nacho cheese, shredded cheese, jalapeños and sour cream - very flavorful and deliciously cheesy! Only wish they had put on the side so that the chips don't get so soggy. Probably will request that next time - Cajun Pirogue Sampler - trio sample of red beans and sausage, crawfish étouffée, and sausage gumbo - all three of them was good and flavorful! - Messy Mac - BBQ smoked pulled pork sandwich infused with Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce served with coleslaw - delicious and tender pulled pork! Everything was really delicious and the staff was really awesome! Make sure to try all the hot sauces and stuff! My favorite was the scorpion! read more

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Food was great and convenient while touring Avery Island. My only issue was the amount of staring, me and my boyfriend sat in the back of the larger seating area and this white family kids and all were staring at me like they've never seen a black person before. Very uncomfortable read more

Enjoyed the tour. Food was ok. Special of crab cake and etoufee was reasonably tasty. Wife had nachos with chicken -- adequate. Price was fair. read more

Food is ok at best. My biggest complaint is the staff. They don't do a very good job with cleaning the restaurant. And the young woman that talked to me was rude. I will not be back. This is not a good representation of Tabasco and if they got new management in here and I'm sure they could turn this place around. read more

After experiencing amazing food in Louisiana, this restaurant does not compare at all. It's very casual and the food is mediocre. I got the gumbo and my husband got the boudin po-boy. Nothing special about the two dishes. The chicken in the gumbo was very dry. It did taste better after adding the Tabasco Sriracha sauce, though. The restaurant itself is a nice touch to end the entire tour, though. read more

Very flavorful without being spicy. There's a selection of Tabasco Sauces to choose from so if you get heartburn easily you should probably stay away from those, but the meal is delicious and highly enjoyable even without the heat. It's casual cafeteria style dining with a Bloody Mary bar and a few tables on the front porch for outdoor dining. There's also a large patio for big groups but when we went there was a sign saying the patio was reserved. I'm not sure if the patio is normally available for dining overflow (the dining room is actually pretty small) or if you have to call ahead so you may want to check on that if you have a big group. We had a sampler platter and the Cajun crawfish nachos and everything was really rich and delicious. The crawfish nachos were $9 and when I saw the cheese-food product being slopped over the top I was worried, but there's enough crawfish and other stuff on top that it doesn't taste like cheap gas station fare. I'd gladly order this again. The sampler platter had chicken & sausage gumbo, crawfish etouffe and something else I can't remember because the crawfish etouffe stopped me dead in my tracks- it was so mouth-wateringly good! Prices are ok and there's no major gouging so you don't have to worry about paying $20 for a sad hot dog or something like that. The food is good, the prices are fairly reasonable, and you get to eat surrounded by the beauty of Avery Island. I will definitely make the drive back here to enjoy some of that crawfish etouffe and crawfish nachos. read more

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Cafeteria style, family style, amazing food, never seem varieties of Tabasco in my life. Super clean. Strongly recommended this place. read more

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Best red beans and rice out there. The southern hospitality when you walk in the building is what makes rhe experience a whole lot better. Love this place and these girls read more

This restaurant is adjacent to the gift shop and serves up a variety of Cajun fare buffet style. Prices are reasonable for the island and will fill you up. Compared with some local fare I have had though, this doesn't stack up very well. It is OK...but not great. Honestly I expected more from a restaurant on the island (other than a bottle of every sauce they make on the table). The red beans and sausage was OK, the shrimp etouffee was OK, and the chicken and sausage gumbo was dry. They have a lot of other items on the menu but with such a large cross section that I had, I expect nothing else served is lights out good. OK but could be better. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Red beans and rice, chicken and sausage gumbo, shrimp etouffee. - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

Long story short, I loved that they had all kinds of tabasco sauces on each table so it is your own taste sampling right there WITH the food you order! I had shrimp Etouffee and my companion had breakfast biscuit and the sampler. All of them were amazing. The staff members were nice and overall, everybody should eat at this place when you visit Tabasco Museum. Took one star off because all the credit card machine was down the day I visited... Was a disaster for everybody that day... read more

Restaurant 1868 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

My family ate here right after a charter bus dumped a bus load of people at restaurant. I was expecting the worse but was surprise at how fast everyone got there food and sat down. Guess you call it deli-style food prep. Grab a tray walk down food table and pick what you want to eat. Server would give generous portions. Definitely recommend eating here if you do the Tabasco tour. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Menu - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

I have been coming to the Tabasco factory to bring friends and family about 15 times in the last 10 years. This was my first trip into the 1868 restaurant. My expectations where that it would be expensive and everything would be too hot and since I have reflux, I really need to watch what I eat. To my surprise, I was wrong not only once but twice! The prices are very reasonable with Nachos loaded with chili (Tabasco chili) and cheese were only $5.50. Chili dogs with chips were $7.00 and there are dozens of other items with the most expensive being a crawfish etoufee at $10.50. The food was flavorful bot not too spicy. My chili dog was great and the pulled pork sandwich was even better. The kids had nachos and finished every bite. What a nice additional to the Tabasco plantation! Enjoy! read more

Restaurant 1868 - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

After doing the tour, we stopped in here for lunch. It's cafeteria style and the service was meh, but the food was decent. We got the sampler with the gumbo, etouffe, and beans and sausage. I've had better renditions of all of them, but it was still decent enough. What we really ended up liking was using it as an opportunity to try all of their sauces with our bread roll. Of course, then we found out they had samples in the shop too. read more

OK do not get me wrong I LOVE Tabasco and all that they do. But I expected better from them if they are gonna go thru all the trouble of opening a full restaurant. Especially when n they are such a huge ambassador of LA food and culture. I found the food to be really pricey for the portions and on top of that very "run of the mill" I mean I guess if you are not from here then it may fly as cajun food but to a real local who knows cajun and creole cuisine this does not fill the bill. It was edible sure, and will do in a pinch if you happen to get hungry while you are there taking the tour. Not off putting or anything like that just no THERE , there if you get my meaning LOL. So I say do not go here just for the reason of eating. Go for the tour and country store and maybe get a snack if you have to. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Corn Machoux and nachos - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

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This is the restaurant for the tourists at the Tabasco factory tour on Avery Island. The ordering here is cafeteria style and you just go through a line with your tray like at a school lunch room and pay at the end of the line after putting your order in. They start the day out with breakfast and if you find yourself here early in the morning you should probably, at a minimum, get the crawfish etouffee with a biscuit and then add on things from there. They have a concise menu selection but it should be varied enough to satisfy most people. As an added bonus you also get a selection of nearly every Tabasco sauce option you could desire that is currently available to try out on your food. The folks working in the restaurant all were very friendly and nice folks that gave honest suggestions about what they liked on the menu and that is pretty much the entire menu. They seem to make the food a bit on the blander side for the Yankee tourist folks but that is perfectly fine as you have a great selection of spicy Tabasco sauce options to kick the flavor options up to where you want them. For a tourist joint this place definitely makes some good food. read more

Restaurant 1868 - Crawfish Etouffee over a Biscuit - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

Was visiting Avery Island. Had to check out the Tabasco facilities. This restuarant was a must visit. The staff was not friendly as I would of liked. I dined in a d had the trio of gumbo, shrimp etouffe and red beans & rice. The portion size were great. My favorite was the red beans and rice. They have a big selection of hot sauces to spice up your meal. Afterwards I visit the Tabasco Country store next doors. Highly recommend this experience read more

Restaurant 1868 - Trio. Red Beans and Rice was delicious - Cajun/Creole Near Me - Avery Island, Louisiana

Was disappointed in the food. It seems the dishes rely on you adding some of the variety Tabascos available. Not very flavorful. But the price is right read more

So here's my main problem: They advertised that they had vegetarian/vegan options and its basically cooked noodles that supposedly take 25 minutes to make. I'm not waiting 25 minutes at 2pm for boiled noodles with garlic. That's crazy. I left with a side of coleslaw because it was the only other option. It was okay coleslaw..I added some hot sauce to it so that it tasted like something. The boyfriend got the Mac (not sure why it's called a mac, i was disappointed that it wasn't mac n cheese to be honest). He really liked it. I added one star because the lady behind the counter was really sweet and I could tell that she felt bad that I couldn't eat anything. Super disappointing because the rest of the Tabasco experience was great. read more

After touring the factory, this was a nice place for a bite at the end. Though served cafeteria style, they still take great pride in their plating. Baker had the Boudin with red pepper jelly and it was sensational. Moist, full of flavor, and the jelly added just the right sweet and heat to it. Biker went for the Messy Mac - which was an amazing pulled pork sandwich full of flavor and perfectly sauced - and the Bloody Mary bar (I mean, how do you pass that up?!?!) One of the biggest surprises was the cole slaw. Unassuming and generally an afterthought, this was truly some of the best slaw either of us have ever had! Light, crunchy, with just a hint of sweet. The Verdict: Factory tour or not, make this a destination for a memorable meal. Enjoy the Ride! Baker & Biker read more

We drove to Avery Island just to try this restaurant. We are from South Louisiana so we are very familiar with the cuisine. This place is definitely on point with what Louisiana has to offer. The food is very good and the service was great. The trio sampler is a good choice along with boudin egg rolls. The fried Shrimp and Catfish platter was also very good. We will return. Thanks to everyone read more