Louisianne’s

I think they’ve changed their shrimp etouffe recipe as it does not seem as spicy as before. Kinda tame.

Absolutely fabulous! Service and atmosphere was impeccable. Our starter of (drawing a blank on name now…) Cajun Cheesecake was fantastic — a savory cheesecake served with a warm baguette, highly, highly recommend. For the first time ever, we both ordered the same soup and entrees so a limited review. :) But the sweet potato seafood bisque was lovely with a perfectly balance of a light spice/​heat to it. We had the red snapper special that was served with lemon blue cheese potatoes that were absolutely devine. We capped it with a dark chocolate crème brûlée and key lime pie that continued to impress. I highly, highly recommend.

We were in the area and in the mood to explore which led us to Louisianne’s.
We were quite pleased with the atmosphere (think wine cellar and New Orleans) and the outstanding service.
The meal itself was pleasing but not spectacular.
Ordered the goat cheese appetizer, and coffee roasted chicken and maple cured duck, both with a salad. The French bread that accompanied the cheese was good, credible but not to the level of noticeably great. And that describes the rest.

Love some good Cajun food! This place has it. Downtown Middleton and what’s cooler, it’s underground. Walled by stone, down some winding steps you feel like you are dining in a cave! Plus they offer live music. It’s great for couples or a date. Definitely a unique spot!

In Madison for the week for work and decided to try some take out Cajun food. I ordered the Tasso and shrimp Fettuccine and I was very satisfied. Smooth sauce and great ham. It came with a creole soup that was amazing.
I did wish I chose to dine in instead of take-​out because it looked like a beautiful place downstairs to bring a romantic date to.
Foodie scale: 4
Value scale: 4

We went for Valentine’s Day and this was our first time. When I made our reservation, a man answered the phone and seemed to be annoyed with me and had a «uncaring» type of tone to his voice when answering my questions, it was a bit off-​putting. When we got to the restaurant we were very excited about the décor and overall ambiance of the restaurant; it was very beautiful inside and we had a drink at the very beautiful copper bar before sitting down. After we were seated, a woman came to greet us, she was a bit off-​putting as well, she didn’t introduce herself and didn’t explain the specials, she just handed us each a piece of paper with the special on it and we had to sort of figure it out ourselves. It took her a very long time to see if we were ready to order and even though it was a holiday, they were by no means swamped. We ordered the muscles as an appetizer, my boyfriend ordered the catfish and I ordered the seafood special. Everything was really delicious, the food was beautifully presented and I was really satisfied with it. Again, the waitress just didn’t fit the ambiance of the restaurant, she didn’t make eye contact, didn’t smile, didn’t offer me a refill on my drink was just unpleasant. Having been a waitress, I felt like she was either in a bad mood or didn’t care to serve us well because we’re you and she probably thought we weren’t going to spend much. For desert we had was a lemon desert with raspberry sauce, it was absolutely delicious. After we paid, the hostesses said goodbye and we saw our waitress on the way out and she said goodbye without eye contact and walked past us, sort of rude. Overall the food was amazing, the restaurant is beautiful, and the ambiance is romantic, I’d give it a 10. As for the service, I wasn’t impressed and I wish we had gotten a different server.

Ooh Louisianne’s I wanted so much to love you. I’d read great reviews from others on here, in person, and had delayed my trip so the expectations were very high. My wife and I settled on the Thursday before Valentine’s Day for a visit.
The walk down to the old basement and comfortable environment was nice, definitely gives the place some charm. It has just enough size to be accommodating but also personal, and that’s the big win here in my opinion.
We ordered the Jambalaya and Maple Cured Duck, along with a sampler appetizer. Our server was nice, but she seemed to be going through the motions and the service didn’t feel very personal. No huge slight on her, our service went along fairly routinely with no mishaps, but it wasn’t the warmest experience I’ve had, especially considering we even said it was our first time there. It also just felt way too casual for a nicer dinner spot.
The sampler was good, I would get it again if I come back. The crab puffs had a nice creamy texture and buttery taste, and the stuffed mushrooms were a solid treat. The Barbeque Shrimp wasn’t anything special, but fine as the third leg.
As for the main courses, they were very underwhelming. Honestly, our home stuff felt better. Dishes didn’t have a lot of flavor to them and seemed like they were just average all around from temperature, presentation, and taste. My wife had requested the Jambalaya to be spicy (and it was supposed to be a spicy dish), but there wasn’t any of that sensation to either of our palates. I asked for hot sauce and was given Tabasco. Sigh. Isn’t this a Cajun place?
The cream sauce that the duck was sitting in was a home run, and the accompanying Cajun gumbo soup as well. Excellent flavor on both of those. Unfortunately the duck was tough and bland otherwise.
Prices are pretty outrageous, but I don’t fault them for that as we knew it coming into the experience. Unfortunately we expected better quality for that cost, and didn’t get what we hoped for. Maybe we didn’t order one of their big hitters, or maybe it was an off night, and I’m hoping for the latter.
Overall, tough sell for me in the future, but I may stroll back at some point down the road to give them a second shot

Completely disgusting! Best decision would have been to turn around and leave at the initial sight of the deplorably filthy carpeting on the stairs to the restautant! The carpet in the restaurant is equally filthy! Makes you wonder what the kitchen looks like. Totally bad exoerience, will NEVER return!

This place reminds me of a wine cellar atmosphere where the restaurant feels like it’s located in the basement. You’re pretty much wrapped by brick walls and stuccoed ceiling making the temperature nice and cool and the acoustics of the piano playing music reverberates throughout the restaurant.
Service is superb. She started with the daily specials and they have a great selection of wines. I had the gumbo for starters. I have been to New Orleans and I would say their gumbo came closed to how I remembered having it (maybe missing some okra).
For my main course, I had the maple duck over rice. The duck was cooked perfectly. You judge the skills set of a chef by how they cook lamb, scallops, duck and rabbit. The only thing I would change in my dish is replace the green peppers with more of a squash and bring the salt down a notch.

Only been here a couple of times but the food is amazing. Very good. The restaurant is a bit loud though, and quite expensive, hard to go to often due to the cost.

Awesome decoration. It’s like you came 100 years back… Loved stuff mashrooms… and Hurricane drink

What a great restaurant! Beautiful place, wonderful and attentive service, and the food. So good. We ordered the crab puffs to start. My entrée was the Jambalaya with crawfish tails– spicy and delicious. My husband ordered the Étouffée, which he commented tasted better with each bite. The dark chocolate crème brûlée dessert was perfect.

Well after hearing positive reviews, my group of coworkers and I decided to try it out. We are from Mississippi and Louisiana and I will say this was NOT southern/​cajun/​seafood/​anything. very disappointed in the 30 duck and everyone else disliked the food. Will not be back.

Well after hearing positive reviews, my group of coworkers and I decided to try it out. We are from Mississippi and Louisiana and I will say this was NOT southern/​cajun/​seafood/​anything. very disappointed in the $ 30 duck and everyone else disliked the food. Will not be back.

I love the bar at Louisianne’s. The atmosphere of the establishment is pretty neat, like having dinner or a drink in the catacombs or in a grotto. I particularly like the brass topped bar for a quiet drink.
Last time I was there for dinner I had the Tasso & Shrimp Fettuccine which was very good. In past visits I’ve had the Jambalaya and the Etoufee, both the Shrimp and Crawfish selections. One time the Etoufee was spiced a bit much for my taste (and I LIKE spicy) but the second time it was very good.
Menu selections that I have not yet tried that interest me are the Bouillabaisse and the Cordon Bleu.

Service was polite and attentive (thank you James) and the food was wonderful. Had the blackened catfish and asked for it extra spicy and they did a superb job. Added the bbq crawfish topping and it was extraordinary! Dining companions special was yummy, I would have preferred a little more balsamic reduction for the shrimp, but flavor was still spot on. Ambiance is very nice. Ceiling are very low so it gets loud in there, but I can look past that. There was some soft, live jazz in the background that was nice. Will be back and can’t wait to try the jambalaya!

Crab puffs are to die for!!! So good!!! I have only been here a few times for soup and crab puffs — mainly because alot of items on the menu are spicy!!(not a huge fan of spice) the hostess is sooo nice!!! Love this place!

Absolutely delicious. I had the chef’s special (forgot the name of the dish), but it had salmon, shrimp, and bacon bits. Does it get any better than that? So much flavor and the perfect amount of spice.
Highly recommend!

My husband & I have been coming to Louisianne’s for years. Tonight we wanted a date night with great food and relaxation. We got it!
We started with a great Cabernet Sauvignon recommended by Gwen and a favorite appetizer– the barbecued shrimp. Delicious as always! Hubby had the zucchini bisque & I had the Louisianne’s French Onion soup. My onion soup was absolutely delightful! Hubby enjoyed his bisque. I ordered the special of crawfish tails & shrimp with penne pasta & andouille sausage combined with a garlic cream sauce. It was fantastic! The crawfish tails were tender and flavorful– so good! I hope this dish gets put on the regular menu eventually. Hubby ordered the fresh fish — Hawaiian swordfish grilled with roasted potatoes and a spicy corn dish. He really enjoyed it.
We could hear the live music which added richly to the enjoyment of our evening.
Thank you to Gwen and to our excellent waitress, Maria!

Fantastic experience! Ambience even better than what I would assume a normal
night would be since it was Fat Tuesday and they had a 4 piece jazz band.
Crawfish Cheesecake appetizer and Etoufee can’t be missed! We will be back! L

Found this little gem of a place while in Madison last weekend.
The restaurant is in the basement of a building which you access through an outside stairwell on the side. A cheerful hostess greeted us as we descended the stairs into the restaurant.
We were seated in an area where we couldn’t see the piano, but we could hear it. The live music and singing were very soft and relaxing. The mood lighting is dark but warm, and along with the décor gives this place a nice, cozy, romantic feel.
We had an 8:30 pm dinner reservation, so most of the people already there were finishing up as we came in. So this made for a nice, quiet, charming evening after the day’s noise and hustle.
I ordered the Crawfish Étouffée and my date ordered the Seafood Au Gratin. The Étouffée was SUPURB. Not too spicy, but just enough. Lots of marvelous flavor, and a good sized portion served on a plate surrounded by white rice.
The Seafood Au Gratin was OUTSTANDING. The cheese sauce was very hearty and rich, served over linguini pasta.
The food took a little on the long side to come out, but it was well worth the wait. The waitress was cheerful and attentive, and the manager stopped by to check on us, which is always appreciated.
We walked out of there well-​fed and very happy. If you’re looking for a charming restaurant for a nice evening out, Louisianne’s is the place.

This little place has been on our list for awhile and we finally made it last Friday night! It was a cold windy night, so descending into a warm cozy basement space seemed to fit! We were greeted by a cheery hostess who promptly seated us at a corner table. Johnny Chimes was at the piano, which set a perfect tone for the evening. Our waitress greeted us and we ordered up some fabulous food!
The shrimp and corn chowder was perfectly creamy, spicy, and loaded with shrimp. Our entrees were the Étouffée with crawfish and the roasted shrimp. The étouffée was deliciously spiced with a generous portion of crawfish that tasted like mini lobsters! The roasted shrimp were outstandingly fresh and served over a bed of lightly wilted spinach with balsamic glazed onions and topped with parm… so fresh and delectable.
Friendly service, cozy space, outstanding cajun cuisine… we will definitely be going back!

Came here based upon Unilocal reviews. I was expecting a dive place, like all the other cajun places I’ve been to, but that’s not this place. Dark mood lighting in the basement of an old house. Small menu and very pricey. Not what I was expecting at all. I ordered the blackened catfish and a beer. The catfish and the jambalaya were the two least expensive entrees in the low $ 20’s per each.
Pleasantly surprised by the large portion of grilled vegies and handmade mashed potatoes that came with the catfish. Amazing flavor and worth the money. The menu didn’t mention the sides included. Friend ordered the jambalaya and let me try it. The blackened catfish was way better.

Stopped in for a drink on Monday night. A few observations:
Drinks: My martini and cosmopolitans were delicious. S. really enjoyed his whisky sour. Drinks were very good.
Food: For an appetizer, we ordered the crab cakes. I had the Pecan-​Encrusted Catfish and the seafood bisque, and S. had the pork entrée and the pork and sweet potato soup. We were both very impressed. I don’t even eat meat, but I tried S.‘s pork entrée and it was A M A Z I N G. And I can’t say enough good things about the catfish. I was so glad to have some left over, which I ate cold the next morning!
Service: Our server was so, so wonderful. I wish I could remember his name. Young guy, dark hair, thin. He recommended essentially all of our food to us, and we were happy with all of it. The bartender also came by and checked to make sure I liked my cosmo (I wasn’t sure I’d like it). She was quite friendly.
Will definitely go back the next time we are in Madison.

The moment you walk in you are transported into another time and place. They had live music that fit the scene, made the atmosphere, and stayed background enough to have a conversation — check it out Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Order the pecan catfish with the crawfish BBQ on top, aka «Maria’s special». It sounds wacky but the pecans really go with the blackened catfish. The tasso and shrimp fettuccine — a combination of shrimp, smoked ham, and mustard cream sauce sounds like a questionable combination but it is soothing, hot soul food at its fanciest. Everything we ate had depth, richness, and finesse. If you are a soup snob, definitely get the soup over the salad option. Presentation was lacking but I don’t think that’s the point of soul food.
Service is sassy but whole-​hearted. We walked in without reservations at 7pm on a Friday and when we asked if we could sit at the bar we were told «yeah, if you can find seats». We found a couple stools and ordered dinner at the bar. It isn’t bend over backwards service, but they are real people and sometimes that’s better. Maria, our bartender who’s worked there 13 years, gave excellent food and drink recs and was really attentive despite the rush — she basically made our night.
It’s a great place to bring guests if you want to head off to a chill and unexpected place. Even better if you’re prepared to stuff your faces with well-​executed comfort food. Try the Sazerac if you want a stiff, sweet drink and the Hurricane if you want a fruity, refreshing beverage that punches like a Long Island. The crowd here is mature and casually well-​dressed.