I had a great experience at The Bayou tonight! There were 4 of us and nobody had any complaints. Buttermilk fried chicken was perfectly crispy, perfectly spicy and not dry at all. We all LOVED the collard greens and hush puppies. Other dinners were shrimp and grits and pulled pork sandwich. We will be back! Thanks for a great dinner. read more

This place is amazing! As soon as you walk in the door the staff treats you like family. Our waitress had no problem going over the menu with us it was our first time there and definitely not our last. The food was amazing and the atmosphere is very relaxing. Great place for dates. Thank you for the great experience! read more

Delicious food. Great server. Too noisy for us oldies. If your hearing is good, would be a great place to meet up with friends. Fun, lively atmosphere. Not great acoustics, though. read more

Great food. I heard nothing, but great things about this place from friends and I definitely wasn't disappointment. Food was great and service was good too. read more

OMG OMG OMG - first time here and it will not be our last. We are often on I-78 in PA going east or west and now we know where to stop for lunch or dinner. It was hard to narrow down our choices on the menu, even with the great suggestions of our server Simon. Btw, he was THE BEST from beginning to end. As we were waiting, my husband saw an order of cornbread go by so he asked for one - three hot wedges of cornbread, crisped up on the grill arrived with large dabs of melting butter. Oh, we were in heaven! Then our main orders arrived. I had one of their house specialties, the Mac&Cheese with aged cheddar and Tasso ham. It arrived bubbly hot in a cast iron pan and was fabulous! I also order the brussel sprouts - I forget the description, but they are among the top two I have ever had. My husband had the Catfish Po' Boy and he thought it was OUTSTANDING. Our lunch, and the service, could not have been any better. FIVE WELL-EARNED STARS!!! read more

The Bayou - Mac & Cheese, Brussel Sprouts, Catfish Po' Boy. - New American Near Me - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Service was excellent and much of our food was wonderful. Loved the collard greens and the mashed sweet potatoes but... the chicken was in the fryer way too long. It was really brown and didn't even look appetizing. The actual chicken was good but forget about eating the coating. Ugh. I would have sent it back but hate when everyone else is eating and you're waiting for your food. Will not eat here again. Have been here many times and was anxious to finally try the fried chicken - what a disappointment. read more

I love everything about this place. Have eaten here twice. First time was in the summer and we got a table on the patio. Beautiful setting. Service was friendly and very prompt. Asked server for recommendations and was not disappointed. The shrimp and grits are perfection. The portions are very generous. Will be a top choice. read more

I'm hard pressed to recall a better first time dining experience than my first trip to The Bayou on Friday night before Kevin James at the Sands. My best friend and I started off with their house made cocktails; she had the jalapeno margarita and I had the new fashioned. We both enjoyed them immensely! Then we got the bayou mac & cheese to share and my friend got the johnny cakes as her meal and I got the fried chicken. First off, our waitress (who's name I sadly forget, but she was fabulous) warned us before ordering that the portion sizes here are NOT small so to either make your meal up of either a few snacks, a small plate or an entree as to not overdo it and she was NOT lying. The mac n cheese was not only DELECTABLE but a massive portion as were my friend's johnny cakes. The fried chicken portion was also big and INSANELY delicious. That breading is next level and the cook on it was perfection. We then each got an espresso and shared the peanut butter mousse which was out of this world. The brittle kind of got stuck in our teeth but it was so good it didn't really bother us. All in all we had a tremendous experience and I can't stop telling people to come here. We drove an hour and fifteen minutes to go to Sands and I would drive that far just to come here again! Excellent place, beautiful inside, awesome menu, great staff. If you are considering it PLEASE GO! read more

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Maybe not "authentic," but mostly valid and delicious variations on the classics. And the staff and vibe are nice. Parking in a big lot right across the street. read more

The fried chicken is outstanding. Sweet potatoes was definitely done right. Also had the Mac and cheese and I was blown away. Their greens are also tasty. This place is a winner. Environment is chill and very comfortable. Two exceptional thumbs up. read more

The food was wonderful, I had the brisket po-boy and it was excellent, the wait staff was great and the atmosphere was the same overall a great experience. read more

I love the menu here. Super fun and different for the area. I highly recommend the hush puppies & the fried chicken! Also a great place for drinks read more

Just driving through and looking for some lunch. Fried chicken is some of the we ever had. And one plate is plenty for two especially if you add a side of Broccoli Gratin, which you should. Nice atmosphere and loved the jazz playing in the background. read more

What? What? So, it was so loud in there it was hard yo focus on the meal. Which in large seemed well enough. I ended up taking it to go, since I could not do the level of noise and enjoy my meal. read more

First time eating here. We sat at the bar. Food was awesome and the bartenders were just as great. They were busy but very attentive and friendly. I will definitely be back. read more

Excellent service with all the necessary covid guideline. Everything our party ordered was delicious - shrimp and grits, ribs cooked to perfection, shrimp po'boy and the catfish dinner! The cast iron pierogies made a great start and the beignets a nice finish. We will definitely be back! read more

This Restaurant gets my five stars strictly because of the bartender Simon. He is the best! He makes the best drinks and truly does his best to tend to every costumer like they are the only costumer at the bar. I will definitely go back again. read more

Southern food , the Hanger steak dusted with coffee delicious perfectly cooked The Brisket Po boy is lean & juicy served with homemade potatoes The Oyster Po boy fried on a Brioche roll with pickled onions Service is wonderful, very cozy & attentive Love this Bethlehem Bayou! Mo & Christian are very attentive to their customers read more

When I want a well made drink this is my go to place. Usually get the grits or the Brussels sprouts. Was only disappointed with food once and the management not only noticed, but comped my meal. Definitely recommend read more

Went here on a first date (and yes we are still seeing some another). I don't eat fried chicken, but had it here and OMG! You need to have it. The mashed sweet potatoes and the Mac n Cheese...um...yeah straight food porn! When I'm really cheating on my mostly healthy way of eating, I'll dive in for more of this awesome comfort food. read more

Yummy! You must eat the Po Boys! Especially the Oyster Po Boy. I'm sure the Shrimp Po Boy is great too. My first real adventure with New Orleans cuisine. Wonderful! Generous "Snacks" and Starters. Awesome sauces with the everything. Huge chunks of cornbread. The owner came out and chatted with us. Told us how their chef had cooked with Emeril. Interesting cocktail offering. The Apple barrel includes Apple pie moonshine, cider beer, and more. Really tasty food. Great service. Clean. We plan to return for more. read more

What can i say?? Loved this place. I had the blackened catfish with a side of mac and cheese. Wow.. Food melted in your mouth. Great atmosphere. Staff is very pleasant. We went there without any reservations. Host explained that there were no openings, but after conversating for a little, she found a table that we could use for an hour or so. It was a Friday night and the place was jam-packed. She did not have to do that, but great customer service creates new and loyal customers!!!! Our friends knew the owner and introduced us. Nice guy. Very down to earth and welcoming. We go back again. read more

Cozy casual atmosphere. Food was great, fresh and tasty. Gumbo was excellent and everyone enjoyed their meals. Catfish was very good and the Mac and cheese was superb. Grits were creamy and crab cake didn't disappoint. Greens were a little salty for me but were great with the corn side. Service was excellent. read more

If you only try one thing on the menu, pick the Mac and cheese. The Bayou has more going for it than most restaurants. Friendly & attentive service, the owner is on site, prices more than reasonable and really good food. We did small shared plates-smoked fried oysters (awesome remoulade), cornbread (the scallion butter was on point), flash fried BEP (would be awesome with a beer on game day), fried green tomatoes (ok, I'm a snob about FGT but only because I make my own) and the mac and cheese-I could return daily for this if they were closer! All in all, I will return for the fried chicken and the catfish! read more

Have been to this restaurant several times and tried several different entrees, all of which were delightful: updated, delicately prepared versions of "comfort food". Just be prepared for it to be packed---reservations are a must, and it can get a bit noisy on the weekends. read more

Great food and drinks! Both locations have outside seating and well-spaced out options indoors. Some of the best sweet mashed potatoes ever. Very friendly and attentive staff. Highly recommend! read more

My family and I decided to check out the bayou for my birthday and we are so glad we did! Being in Bethlehem, we were a little concerned because some parts are pretty sketchy. The Bayou is in one of the nicer parts of Bethlehem, so don't worry! Not to mention they have a huge parking lot right across the street from them, so you don't have to walk very far. When entering the restaurant, you can already smell that delicious home cooked Louisiana style food! We made reservations (this is a MUST) and we were seated fairly quickly. The only complaint that my family had was that it was incredibly loud, but the food definitely makes up for that. We had the fried chicken with jalapeño hush puppies for an appetizer. One word: amazing! Everything we ate was delicious! The staff are also very friendly and the owner was very nice and down to earth. We will definitely be going back in the near future and we so look forward to our return! read more

Best hush puppies EVER. I'd lather a spoon with the dipping sauce and eat it straight it is so flavorful. We get it every time we go. Everything has been fantastic. Haven't had something on the menu I didn't like. read more

My first time here was on the first weekend of outdoor seating while in yellow phase of the pandemic, that being said, it was wonderful. Cocktails were delicious and the fried chicken did not disappoint! I live close enough to walk, and we will be back for sure. read more

I was so excited to get a reservation for my sister's birthday but the excitement quickly turned into disappointment. We had to wait an hour for our food to come and no explanation was given. The waitress did not even check back with us during that whole hour. We never got the cornbread we ordered. Something as simple as asking for a bottle of ketchup didn't happen. My Bayou salad was full of the hard white chunks of lettuce that you would normally throw out. On the positive side I loved my cocktail and my sister loved her hangar steak and dessert. It's unfortunate but my family left feeling disappointed:( read more

Very nice place with quality southern flair. Homemade breads, some unique dishes and good atmosphere. Brisket po boy was tasty, if a bit greasy. Good service. We would do this again. read more

I'm not even going to say much. Except be there, or be square. A table of 10 people everybody was satisfied with all different types of choices. It is overwhelmingly delicious. The only thing one person wasn't too thrilled about was the rice pudding. But to each his own read more

I went to the Bayou for dinner on March 19th - their 9th day in business. And you would never know they had just opened their doors as the place was packed. The Bayou is located in a very heavy residential area just off the east end of Broad Street in Bethlehem. The inside walls are brick with wooden floors and has a neighborhood feel to it. We arrived around 7:30 on a Thursday evening and the place was packed. The bar offers an extensive selection of beers on tap as well as a nice cocktail selection - and not just the same old flavored martinis. The cocktail list reminded me of something you would see in a speakeasy but with a modern twist. I had the Maple Peach Sour which was a mix of maple whiskey, peach schnapps, sour mix, OJ, brown sugar and peaches served in a Mason Jar. If you like maple, you will love this drink. I had two of them. I especially enjoyed the crunchy bits of brown sugar on the bottom of the glass before they dissolved. We ordered the Mac N Cheese as an appetizer to share. There was no béchamel sauce in it (thank God) just macaroni, cheese, bacon, peas and a splash of tabasco to give it a touch of heat. It was gone in under five minutes. I had the fried chicken for my entree. The fried chicken was served in four pieces - leg, thigh, breast and pulley. The breast an pulley were boneless - the thigh and leg were not. It was among the most juicy fried chicken I had ever had and very tasty - although I would have enjoyed a bit more seasoning - it was still very good nonetheless. The fried chicken was served with mashed sweet potatoes and bread and butter pickles. I never would have through to put the three together but they worked very well. We finished off with the Peanut Butter Mousse which was Dark Chocolate Soil, House Whipped Cream, Peanut Brittle all served in a Mason Jar. Perfect to share and very tasty. The Bayou is a very welcome addition to the Lehigh Valley restaurant scene offering southern comfort food which is hard to find in this area. As I mentioned the place was buzzing on a Thursday evening which goes to show if you offer something unique and well done, people will come. You will not be disappointed. read more

We went to this restaurant based on recommendations and on first visit I was a little disappointed. We ordered cornbread to share, then I ordered the broccoli and the sweet mash, and we shared beignets for dessert. First off, my husband ordered the spare ribs and said they were amazing and they looked it. Our cornbread was very good and we both enjoyed it. Both my dishes were very disappointing - the broccoli au gratin was INCREDIBLY watery - as in I can't believe it even made it to the table. I saw another similar order on the table next to ours that did not have as much soup-y-ness to it (unless they had the Mac and cheese and it was a completely different dish). The sweet mash was NOT that sweet - it had marshmallow on top that was sweet but the rest was really rather savory and a little spicy. If I order "sweet mash" I just expect a sweetness. The beignets were fine but not light and fluffy like the ones in Nola. And the butter or dipping it came with was almost flavorless. The server was also nice but a little aloof. Despite a disappointing first go around, we look forward to trying again and I'll order differently next time. read more

We had a reservation, yet got sat 3 people at a 2 person table. Good thing we like each other and had a lot to catch up on! We asked to be re-sat at one of the empty tables but got told no. The drink getting process took probably half and hour, and the food getting process another hour. Crazy considering people sat after us had food before we were even prompted to order. I was really hoping the food would be worth the wait, but unfortunately not. Waitress was non-existant most of the the time and it just left a sour taste in my mouth. I won't be rushing back anytime soon. read more

Sorry bayou. Just giving honest feedback on my experience. I was so excited to try this place. We sat down at 1:10pm and did not get are food till 2:05 ,.The fried chicken was very juicy and fresh but no flavor. Po boy sandwiches are made on a 6inch roll , for 13 bucks .. That's a little steep. Also the roll was great and fresh but over powered the sandwich because there wasn't much meat on it. The hush puppies sat in the fryer way to long. Tasted like oil and was burnt. Finally the gumbo had no taste. It tasted more like a pea soup. The waitress who was actually very friendly did notice that we didn't finish any of our plates but never offered to get a manager or ask if we were pleased. Also no management came out to see how the food was or apologize for the long wait. It is crucial for a new business to interact with the locals. So overall it was not a good experience. I really hope it was just are experience and doesn't happen often. I try to support local business but I don't think we will return. I think the place does have great potential but needs to cook with more spices and seasonings. Very bland rite now Sorry Just a FYI. There is no hot sauce , or salt and pepper on the tables. No kids menu either. read more

This place had some high expectations to meet given that my previous town of residence has one of the best New Orleans-styled restaurants outside of New Orleans (in my opinion), and The Bayou (pretty much almost) delivered. The service was above par. Everyone that we interacted with at the restaurant was incredibly friendly and always with a smile. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming (although the tables felt a little small). The one thing I could have done without were the TVs. It's pretty much torture to see the Food Network on the wall while hungry and waiting for your food. My boyfriend and I played it safe with our orders by giving the macaroni, the buttermilk chicken, and the beignets a try. The macaroni was fantastic: creamy, cheesy, and a nice smoky-ish flavor from the ham. The only thing that I think could have made it better would have been a bread crumb crust on top to add some additional texture to the dish. The buttermilk chicken was juicy and tender, but the breading at some points was a little dry and too crispy (but that was easy enough to pick off). Also, I really felt it could have used a sauce or gravy. Funny enough, the gentleman next to us had the exact same thought about his own order and had asked the waitress about it. The sweet mashed potatoes that came with the dish was smooth and had great nutmeg flavor, and the pickles were a nice crunchy and cool reprieve for my palette. The beignets were a little of a letdown for me. The outside was a little overdone but the inside was not cooked enough. Overall, I would come back because this restaurant does a lot of things right. There's just a few extra things I think they could do that would make it even that much better. read more

I was really excited to try this new place! It is only 5 miles away and I LOVE southern style dishes! We went on a Friday the first week they were open. It was very packed as we expected. We were not in a rush so my boyfriend and I decided to put our name on the table list & stand by the bar & have a drink. Our drinks were pretty good! I ordered off their special cocktail list.. ( Apple Moonshine drink & the bayou cocktail) We noticed that the music was WAY to loud. We are young adults and enjoy loud music but it was so loud you couldn't even talk to the person next to you without screaming in their ear. We were told the wait would be about 45 minutes to an hour. Which we were OK with since we knew it was the first week. After about 30 - 40 minutes of waiting we kept noticing that tables of 4 people were getting seated right away and there also empty tables of 4. The tables for 2 were not turning over very fast. While we were having our drinks we noticed another couple starting to get sick of standing around and waiting for their table as well. We ended up asking the hostess if we could have the open table for 4, we asked the other couple to join us. They were happy to since they were also sick of waiting for a table. We got to meet new people & it was fun! Next comes the food... my boyfriend ordered the gumbo. There was no rice, no chicken & 1 piece of shrimp. It may have been at the bottom of the pot because it was like pure oil & had no flavor. We actually sent it back & asked for another bowl (which he normally would never do) The 2nd bowl was not much better. We also ordered the MAC & Cheese. It was simple elbow noodles with peas and bacon. This was close to the worst mac and cheese I've ever had. I can honestly say the picture of the mac and cheese on their website looks NOTHING like what you actually get. I ordered the chicken po boy which was good except that it was the smallest po boy I've ever seen. Po boys are known for being large delish sandwiches. This, was not. The flavor was OK but the bread was dry & was not very good. My boyfriend got the brisket po boy which he said was OK & pretty good & also same size very small. We WILL go back to The Bayou ( maybe even tonight) because we do want to give it another try. We know that the first week may have been rough & I would like to try something else on the menu. I am ONLY giving this 3 stars because the food was not good at all. The drinks were good & service was friendly. They need to work on the food ALOT and also the way they handle seating. read more

The Bayou is always fabulous!!! Starters, Entrees, Drinks and service are wonderful and delicious. Very Cool!

We had a great experience at the Bayou in Bethlehem. It was crowded and hard to hear since we were near the bar. The fried green tomatoes were great and I tried the chicken and waffles for the first time. Very flavorful and very filling- it really be for three people. Definitely coming back but may try the one in Easton to see if its less crowded. read more