Alfred’s New Orleans Cafe

We had fish and chips and the oxtail and rice. The fries were crunchy on the outside, the fish very flavorful. The oxtail was tastier than I’ve ever made, and I ordered a side of hush puppies that were yummy too. Coming back to try the gumbo. Very reasonably priced! Husband’s comment was, «You can taste the love!»

Great and authentic New Orleans food in a family run diner close to 301 /​Progress Blvd in Riverview/​Bloomingdale area.
The gumbo with snow crab and andouille sausage is by far the best I’ve had locally (although I can only compare with Ricky P’s in St Pete). Their snow crab platter is an authentic Cajun interpretation, it’s all boiled together with corn, potatoes, even an egg, with hush puppies on the side.
For those not into New Orleans food, they do have great wings (I tried the southern breaded w/​buffalo sauce) along with a fried fish sandwich (actually tilapia, not grouper).
This is a very comfortable family run place (the husband is from New Orleans, similar to me) with around 10 tables and a jazz/​live music area by the front window (not sure how often they have live entertainment). I’m giving them 5 stars for the quality, authenticity, location, and their representation of New Orleans cuisine. Laissez les bon temps rouler! Btw my gf posted all our pics from here so I’m going text only.

The food here is awesome!
The location is definitely off the beaten path. However, it’s worth the trip. This is a bit of a boundary crossing closer to the Brandon side if you happen to be coming from or towards Tampa. This is the only restaurant in the plaza which houses it.
When you first walk in the good smells of New Orleans home cooking just sings to you. The environment inside this mom and pop establishment is very modest, but don’t let the appearances fool you.
The staff is very friendly and willing to guide you through the menu. You may have to wait approximately 20 minutes for the crab legs. Everything comes out very flavorful as if it’s coming from a New Orleans family kitchen. It’s the same as how you would have it in a typical New Orleans neighborhood for the locals.
The prices here are not bad here considering what you’re getting. For example, you can get to clusters of crab legs for $ 10 and an extra cluster for an additional four dollars. The hot wings are of high quality and very tasty. I would also recommend the crab gumbo.
If you happen to be on this side of town I would definitely recommend making a lunch/​dinner stop to this place.

Alfred’s New Orleans Café is located in a Progress Village neighborhood plaza off of 78^th Ave. Very easy to pass by it unless you have your eyes peeled for their small sign where you turn.
Decided on a whim to stop in to see what they’re all about since they didn’t have a Unilocal listing. The friendly owner, Yvonne, handed me a menu and we talked about her specialty, the Creole gumbo — which includes snow crab, shrimp and sausage. Although I’m not a seafood eater, I decided to give it a shot. I got a «cup» of it which is more like a small bowl (the picture I took of it must not have gone through because I can’t find it now).
Having never had gumbo before, I can honestly say it was the best gumbo I’ve ever had! Yvonne said this is very authentic New Orleans-​style gumbo. It was flavorful, little bit of spice in the broth. Fun to crack open the crab and pull out the meat using the crab cracker and meat puller-​outer utensil. The sausage was very good too. Would’ve liked a little more rice and a piece of bread to dip into the broth. FYI: The «cup» is more like an appetizer. For a full meal you’ll want to order the bowl.
The menu offers other dishes which include tilapia, snow crabs, catfish nuggets, shrimp and Southern fries chicken wings. No gator or jambalaya though but possibly they’ll add poboys soon. Oh, and they have Sabrett hot dogs which are famous in NY.
In addition, Yvonne’s son Alfred, who the restaurant is named after, is a very talented jazz pianist who plays on certain nights here and popular restaurants around the Tampa area. (also gives piano lessons which I may sign up for!). Call or check their Facebook to see when he will play.
Small hole in the wall-​type place but give them a try if you’re seeking out gumbo/​seafood/​Creole cuisine.