Lagniappe Creole Cajun Joynt

Great place that actually serves SWEET TEA! Their pulled pork was quite nice — savory, great sauce, and a good blend of creole spices. The macaroni cheese was just the way I like it — cheesy and powdery. The cornbread was really great, and not that greasy. The coleslaw was delicious, too. The chicken wings, with their spices and such, were delicious as well. Check this place out. Service was quite slow (takes about 30 – 40 minutes to prepare the food itself), so be sure to set aside a few hours to grub. There is plenty of street parking.
+sweet tea
+mac & cheese
+cornbread
+coleslaw
+chicken wings (!!!)
+plenty of street parking

This had to be the worst food we’ve ever eaten and my hubby is not a picky eater! Where to begin, where to begin?!
So the hubs wake up and says, «I saw this restaurant on The Hungry Hound and they got pretty good reviews.» Off he goes to get some of their famous gumbo because as
everyone knows, gumbo can be a difficult dish to make well. We have not had good gumbo since our New Orleans trip a few months back so this was a must!
I put in an order of chicken and waffles and thought how can a restaurant on 79^th street mess up chicken? Well… let me tell you, they can! There was no seasoning whatsoever on the wings. Now I can understand if you are trying to be health conscious but come on, if you are ordering fried chicken and waffles I think that ship has sailed-​but I digress. As a previous reviewer noted, it’s as if they took some naked chicken and threw some flour on it before frying. Horrible. The waffles were no better than thick white Wonder bread. I don’t know where they get their recipe, but the recipe I got with my Cuisinart waffle maker is much better. It was a soggy, doughy mess! Here’s a hint-​go to C’est Si Bön for chicken and waffles.
The hubs had the red beans and rice and it was a soupy, soggy mess! He said the red beans at Popeye’s are better than these. I could go on and on about the terrible food, but why bother. We were going to give it to the dog but did not want to make him sick (true story). Don’t waste your time and we’ll continue our quest for a good Cajun restaurant in the Chi.

Okay. I’ve never been to the 79^th street location but they do have a spot on the Riverwalk. I happened upon it while trying to kill some before having to return to court. I really like the location. Let’s talk about the food first. I ordered fried green tomoatoes, jambalaya with chicken and sausage and a blackened chicken caesar salad. The food was delicious. It was very well seasoned, especially the chicken. I definitely enjoyed. I was in a bit of a funk this day (Monday) and here’s where the 5 stars come in. Mary and Antwan were sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice. I wish I had the time to just sit and talk to them. Mary even prayed with me and I promise you I felt so damn good after I left there. It was just a really amazing experience. They were just so genuine. Actually Mary came out because I ate maybe a third of my food and had the rest packed up to take with me. I assured her that the food was definitely good and believe me it was. I slammed that food when I got home that night!!! The day just wasn’t going well for me. She was so sympathetic and caring. She just kicked right in. Antwan was my waiter and he was very nice as well. Turns out we share the same alma mater, Lindblom (Swoop Swoop Swoop!) So, anyway, I really want this place to do well because I just feel like it’s a great place, the service is great, and the food is great!!! Plus dining along the Riverwalk is just damn sexy (at least to me).Oh and they have live music on Thursdays, I believe. Try them for me okay? Thanks!

1 star because the waitress was nice.
Other than that this place is fuckin garbage. I had a cup of seafood gumbo. It had tini-​tiny shrimp, you know the 75 to a pound. The gumbo was more like shreaded chicken and rice. Not like a stew or soup. I asked the waitress «is this chicken?» because it was so much chicken in it. It didn’t look like any seafood gumbo I’ve ever seen (maybe because I’m a Northerner). But here’s the thing that’s fucked up. The waitress told me that the seafood gumbo is actually chicken and sausage gumbo with seafood added in. (Basically the tini-​tiny shrimp added in). WOW! $ 0.95 extra for baby shrimp to be added in and it’s actually not even seafood gumbo. I guess adding shimp makes it seafood. Get the fuck outta here with dat shit.
On to the next. I ordered the shrimp and grits. I asked the waitress, was it the smothered shrimp and grits or is it just shrimp and grits. The reason I asked was because the last time I had shrimp and grits it was at Gladys Knight’s restaurant in Atlanta and their shrimp and grits was a plate of fried shrimp and a bowl of grits on the side. Garbage! So now I ask to make sure I’m getting the smothered dish. The waitress tells me it’s the grits with the sauce on top. Cool! So now the plate is in front of me with the grits smothered in this red sauce. Can’t see the shrimp, probably because it’s the tini-​tiny shrimp. The sauce was some tomato based sauce but too much sauce for the amount of grits. I couldn’t even taste the grits or see them for that matter. So after I picked out all the tini-​tiny shrimp I was ready to go, but wait, the waitress comes and tells me that I was supposed to get two sides with my order. Really? I had to take that to go since I was done eating. They didn’t have any dirty rice, so I ordered the red beans and rice and the baked mac and cheese. I haven’t tried them yet but I’m not expecting much.
Oh I almost forgot I had a glass of their homemade lemonade. I asked the waitress was it sweet. She said yes, but it was too sweet for her. Usually when people say that it’s perfect for me. In this case she was absoutely right. I think it was too sweet for a three year old. It actually tasted like a glass of sugar water with a spritz of lemon juice in it.
Probably won’t ever be back since this was my second time here. Even thought the first time didn’t count because I went on a Tuesday. They’re closed Monday-​Wednesday. I should have know something was wrong.
On a positive note, I had a real good dump when I got home. LOL!

The crabcakes are magnificent.
If you like gumbo you’ll be highly disappointed.

Pretty good, overall. They have a somewhat limited menu using New Orleans standbys, but the items I’ve had have all been quite good. The beignets were spectacular. Be prepared for super slow service, even if you are the only one in the place.
Last time there I also had entertainment during the 25 minute wait for my meal — 2 drug deals went down across the corner, along with a plainclothes car pulling up on the sidewalk to bust somebody (but not the drug dealer). Now that’s cajun cooking!

The hubs and I like to explore different areas when it comes to trying new restaurants. Our trek led us to a pretty average experience. I’m teetering between 2.5 to 3 stars.
Wings N Waffles – very good. The wings were crispy with a nice spice. The waffles really fluffy.
Fried Catfish – good. Not overly breaded, nice piece of fresh fish.
Jambalaya – good not great.
Dirty Rice – blech, never again. It didn’t taste good at all – dare I say it tasted like dirt.
Red Beans N Rice – good not great
Crawfish Étouffée – good. Nice flavor and pieces of crawfish in every bite.
Cornbread muffins – excellent. Great flavor and made for butter-​lovers.
I don’t know how it is during dinner hours, but for lunch, service seemed pretty slow. Our server was sweet as pie, very soft-​spoken yet friendly. But it just seemed to take too long even for just the hubs Beer to make it to our table. The space has a nice open feeling with the large windows. and enough seating for about 30 people. According to flyers at the tables, they have live jazz on Thursday nights. Oh and the bathrooms are upstairs.
To summarize, I’d say the whole meal was just «OK». It had the hubs and I reminiscing about our past trips to New Orleans and kind of amped up our craving for some good (more flavorful) Cajun food.

OKAY this was the worst place I have EVER eaten at. I went there one afternoon with my best friend and nephew and needless to say we were very excited because we found the place on Check Please.
Well I guess when Check Please came they brought their A game out. We waited almost an hour for our food and they missed 3 out of the 5 things we ordered. I told them never mind and they still tried to charge me.
When we got the food it was ok. The staff vanished for about 30mins. Seriously…
Very Very Very over priced for the food and the service was the worse.
I would never recommend this place to anyone!

I’m glad broken AC didn’t turn me away and I decided to do take out.
Friendly owner accommodated us with some ice cold water, while we waited.
And boy, was it worth the wait … most authentic jambalaya I’ve had … including one I had in new Orleans. No, this one was better then one in N.O. … Very spicy, fresh and with so many shrimps, i’ve lost count after the 10^th one (chinese fried rise it is not :)
Looking forward to going back

I tried to love you guys, but your chicken has made too many people I know sick. When they first opened I tried the chicken and waffles. The chicken is seasoned to perfection and very good lets be clear. But that waffle leaves something to be desired. It just lacks flavor.
I visit the one on the river frequently after leaving the show. I’m only comfortable ordering beignets from them and yes they are good and always made fresh…

This place is a sleeper, Y’all!
We walked in, past the fellas waiting for a fresh cut at the barber next door, and there was no one in the place… just a ton of of sweet smoke, and an empty room.
We echoed «hello…» into the back for a bit before a man came from the kitchen, and explained that he was getting food ready for their Taste of Chicago tent.
Despite the huge volume of food he was already making, he found time to chat with us, and whip up AMAZING mac and cheese, gumbo, rice and beans and shrimp and grits. He even had a few beers on ice that we gladly ordered.
Service is slow, and unlike the restaurants some of us may be used to patronizing, the service here is not overly eager to please. This place is about the food, not the service.
So relax, have a snack beforehand, and enjoy some real Cajun cooking!

This place sucks.
Went with my dad and a friend, and all of us are familiar with the ins and outs of soul food, and my friend is from Lousiana, additionally.
Placed orders for beverages; they had no cola, no fruit punch, no root beer. What kind of restaurants runs out of canned beverages? Fine. Ordered sweet tea. I have never had sweet tea like this: tasted like celery and TOO sweet. I love, for example, McDonalds sweet tea. This tea tasted awful.
Ordered fried green tomatoes — great crust, awful tomatoes, no spice at all, sooo bland
boudin — i have had boudin in Louisiana and this crap was NOT the same… stuffed with their disgusting dirty rice
pulled pork sandwich — HUGE, but frankly, White Castles’ taste better than this stuff.
candy sweets — congealed, sweet, semi-​hard. yuck.
dirty rice — how can rice be nasty? i don’t know. ask *them*
wangs n waffles — the waffles were the best thing on the table, fluffy and tasty. the wings were desperately in need of some kind of spice. salt? pepper? something? it’s like they took a naked chicken wing, coated it in flour and fried it. no flavor. left them on the plate.
sampler trio — red beans and rice? oh no. jambalaya? what the hell? catfish? edible, but induced diarrhea in my friend that night and the next day.
had already ordered dessert — peach cobbler and bread pudding. the «bread pudding» was white bread, covered with cream and some cinnamon. soupy disgusting mess. then he had the nerve to bring out more «on the house», lol. peach cobbler was just peaches and pie crust… nothing additional to add flavor.
never got the cornbread or muffin that is supposed to come with all entrees, had to endure the bickering between the cook and the waiter, service was ultra slow and the restaurant was hot, with slow moving ceiling fans and an open front door.
in the end, the waiter comp’d our drinks and desserts. we left the restaurant hungry, and wanting to inform the two young ladies who had just walked in to run for their lives.
the portion i did consume made me ill the next morning. i woke up with a lump of blah in my tummy.
I so wanted this food to be the best thing ever, but for GREAT food, head to Morrison’s around 82^nd & Ashland.

After moving from New Orleans to Chicago, I was afraid I would never again find all the delicious foods I had grown to love. Lagniappe definitely put those fears to rest.
Every item on the menu caused me to cheer: «They have (blank)???» We got Boudin sausage for an appetizer (the first thing i said was, «They have the mustard!» which was Gumbo Shop quality … and if you know about New Orleans, you know that’s good!)
For the first time, I ordered and received REAL sweet tea (which I haven’t had anywhere except McDonald’s!) Theirs was gooood and sweet.
My boyfriend ordered the Wangs & Waffles, which we had tried at Taste of Chicago last summer… Just as good as I remembered! When it comes to friend chicken in Chicago, this is top notch! It was almost as good as Big Mama’s in Dallas, which I consider the best Chicken n Waffles there are.
I had the Red Beans n’ Rice which I remember fondly from my childhood and from ordering them from the big Cajun women cooking in my school cafeteria. This dish was superb, and had the right amount of and the right kind of spice.
The cornbread muffin was sweet, moist and delicious. Dipped in the Red Beans n’Rice made it even better.
For my sides, I got mac n cheese, which was different than any Kraft or Velveeta that’s out there. This cheese sauce is obviously made from scratch, probably with whole milk or heavy cream and cheddar cheese. It’s thick, textured and delicious.
The Cajun Coleslaw, which I was assure was «normal coleslaw» was anything but. The sauce was heavy and strong on the mayo, but the flavor and texture were GOOD! I normally do not like coleslaw, but the thick chopped pieces and sauce made this great for me.
Finally, the service– Our waiter was so incredibly nice! He made lots of conversation with us, made us feel welcome, and got us everything we needed.
BEWARE: The food is made to order. That means it’s not like Chilis where they have a bunch of dishes sitting out underneath hot lamps waiting for you to order. Someone takes FRESH ingredients (what a concept!) and puts them together JUST FOR YOU! So yes, it’s not incredibly fast, but I didn’t find it to be «slow as molasses». The food was hot, delicious and just what I hoped it would be.
For a New Orleans themed restaurant, not sure why people would expect anything but people «taking it easy». These yankees obviously haven’t been to New Orleans where the bus driver would routinely stop, get out and do some shopping in the convenience store while the passengers just sat on the bus. Take it easy and if you want someone to jump at your command and magically give you food fast, GO TO A DRIVE THRU!
Thanks, Lagniappe, for giving me a taste of home.

I have to say I had really high expectations for this place only to be disappointed. I took a girlfriend here for her birthday and I have to say how embarrassed I was to bring someone here.
We ordered Gumbo and crab cakes as appetizers. The gumbo was ok however, the crab cakes tasted like the lid fell off the salt shaker. She ordered the Menage Trois Etoufee (Shrimp, Chicken, Sausage) and I ordered the Chicken Creole. For sides I ordered Red Beans and Mac n Cheese. After grilling our server about how the mac n cheese was prepared («it’s baked and really good is what he stated») and inquiring on if the red beans had meat in them (he assured me they didn’t) we waited patiently for our server to refill our water glasses and bring our food.
We were the only ones in the restaurant so I’m not sure why the service was so bad and the wait so long. To sum up my entrée experience, my chicken creole tasted like boiled chicken with tomato and pepper sauce, the red beans had pork in them and I almost gaged when I tasted them, and the mac n cheese was more like pasta with cheese sauce (not baked).
My girlfriend received a heaping pile of what looked and tasted more like goulash than etoufee. She ate two forks full and asked for a container to go. I told her she wouldn’t offend me if she left it there. As eager as I was for desert when I looked at the menu online, we decided to pass given the horrible appetizers and entrees.
I’m not sure whose definition of creole the cooks operate by but, this place definately needs major improvement.

I saw this place on the Channel 11 show Check, Please! I was so excited to try it and drove many miles. I thought this restaurant was a sure thing. My friend and I were COMPLETELY DISAPPOINTED! I am not a negative person and do not complain very often but this place deserves every word written in this review.
We waited for our appetizer for 30 minutes and the food for over an hour! Then to top it off they didn’t even put the order in for my nephew’s chicken and waffles! The girl had the nerve to tell me that no one put in my nephew’s order and didn’t even as so much try to apologize! I wanted to smack her. What do you say to a starving 9-​year old boy? My heart was broken! They also did not give us our second side with our food… they bagged it up to go! WTF were they thinking!!! The service was slower than molasses and awful!!! This place is also dirty as ever.
There were other people there waiting for their food for a really long time as well. I was not the only one extremely pissed off. I wanted to walk out without paying and that is not my style. I will never return and I don’t even care to try their downtown location. I will do everything in my power to make sure that no one I know goes there and to write as many bad reviews on this hell hole as often as I can. Lagniappe IS THE WORST RESTAURANT IN CHICAGO!

Three of us came here Friday night to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday.
When we first sat down, I appreciated the warmth of the place. I’m one of those people who are always cold, so I was digging being in a place where I did not have to put on a jacket. Once I started eating my hot and spicy food, however, this changed. I can imagine that the temperature of this restaurant would be uncomfortably hot for most people I know.
Temperature aside, this space was pretty comfortable. It was, however, silent. I was expecting some sort of music to be playing. but we got nothing.
I found the waiter and waitress to be very polite and friendly, but could have been more attentive on keeping our water glasses full. Our waitress was unsure of ingredients in various dishes, but went to go check rather than making it up, and i love her for this.
Between the three of us, one is vegetarian and one does not eat pork. We ordered: vegetarian jambalaya, shrimp jambalaya, fried green tomatoes, an order of wings & waffles, and 1lb of crawfish boil. The amount of food that arrived could have fed an entire football team. Three days later, I am still eating leftovers, which sadly are not as tasty as they were Friday night.
The highlights: we requested that the jambalaya make us sweat, and they delivered. The mac and cheese was straight-​up awesome, and the coleslaw was very good (I usually do not eat creamy coleslaw).
I enjoyed Lagniappe more than my dining companions; they each said they can find better Cajun food closer to home. I was planning my next return until I realized that the leftovers weren’t that great (and there is no way to not have leftovers, given that the portion sizes are HUGE), and after learning that two of us got sick to our stomach after eating here.
That being said, I would go back again. its just not at the top of my list.

I first came here about 1.5 years ago with a group from work; a few of them knew one of the owners.
The food is delicious and the servings quite ample. The jambalaya will last three meals! I had the crawfish étouffée with candied sweets. The crawfish etoufee is as good as any you could possibly find in the NOLA area. The candied sweets were the absolute best I have ever eaten! It is BYOB and I don’t remember a corkage fee.
The restaurant has a small dining area on the main floor, but also has a large «party room» upstairs so after our delicious meal we were able venture upstairs for a few more drinks with the owner.
I recently recommended this place to another co-​worker who went there last night. He and his wife both thought it was fantastic and will probably become regulars because it is in their neighborhood. My co-​worker also mentioned that it was featured on Check Please! the other day. It really brings me joy to see such a great restaurant getting recognized!
I can’t wait to go back!

WOOOOOOOWEEEEEEE! Are you kidding? This place is amazing!
Me and a group of my friends do this thing some weekends called SSFT (South Side Field Trip). We pack into a car or two and drive somewhere south of China Town in hopes of finding the hidden gems of fine Chicago cuisine on the South Side. This has been by far the biggest win so far.
Being that this was a group field trip, we each ordered something different and tried a bit of everything. I ordered the wangs n waffels, of course. But I also got to try some étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp and grits, blackened catfish, and a slew of their delicious sides. Everything was beyond delicious.
The jambalaya is HUGE. It can feed four people heartily. The mac n cheese is very unique — thick diamond shaped noodles in more than merely a cheese sauce, but I can’t put my finger on what made it so different. Their wings are really good and surprisingly not too greasy — delicious with the cakey waffles and maple syrup.
For dessert we had peach cobbler and a huge basket of beignets. The peach cobbler was a bit small, but very good.
Upstairs, they have a club-​like set-​up, where they sometimes have bands play. It’s really colorful with vintage orange furniture. I saw it without any people occupying the space, but it looks like a grand old time.
I might add that the service is incredibly slow, but I really didn’t mind. Everything is made fresh to order. It looks like a lot of people call ahead for pick up as well.
The long and short of this story, go here! If you have any kind of penchant for NoLo foods, I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

You get an enormous amount of delicious New Orleans-​style food for a good price. It was really incredible. My dad lived in New Orleans for 5 years, and this is authentic, delicious and worth the trip.
I had the jambalaya with sausage, with collards, cole slaw and a corn muffin and my dining partner had the blackened catfish with mac n’ cheese, red beans and rice, and a corn muffin. I tried her man n’ cheese, and it’s better than Stanley’s.
The sweet tea is too sweet, though — like they’re using maraschino cherry juice in it, and the service left a little something to be desired, but the food and the coziness more than makes up for that. Go!

There were several items on the menu, including cake in a jar, that I’d recommend not ordering, since our server had never seen or heard of them before and couldn’t tell me what they were.
I would imagine that people that didn’t eat New Orleans cuisine, Southern food, fried chicken or soul food very often might find the food here very good, but that is only because their ignorance of something much, much better is their momentary bliss. The food here’s not bad, and you’ll be just fine having it, but it’s not worth a drive and you can get better.