New Orleans Cajun Cafe - Hermosa Beach - TravBuddy

New Orleans Cajun Cafe is a delightful eatery just a short walk away from the Hermosa Beach Pier. Down home cooking reigns supreme here! You can't miss this joint especially with a neon alligator flashing above it.

This quaint corner cafe has contemporary furnishings...8 tables and a diner style lunch counter with a view of the action going on in the kitchen. The walls are adorned with interesting pieces of artwork and smooth jazz music pumps through the sound system at an unintrusive volume.

My cousin Donna and I got to the New Orleans Cajun Cafe about 6:30pm on a Monday evening and the place was empty...which to some is a sign to stay away but we were craving for Cajun food so we went in anyways. Our server...Chance...told us to pick any seat we want so we picked a table right smack in front of the cafe by the window. As he gave us our menus, Chance highlighted that most things on their menu are cooked to order. Sounds good to me! Shortly after, he came back with a basket of sliced French bread and a multigrain/nut brown bread and butter. Their menu has something for everyone...pork, chicken, beef, seafood, and even frog legs and alligator...they have to serve alligator since it's their "icon" right?!

To start, we shared the boudin and soft shell crab appetizers. Boudin is a sausage made with pork liver, hearts, and other pork parts, rice, and seasonings and was served with saltine crackers. The boudin was very tasty...it almost looked like dirty rice stuffed in a sausage casing. I preferred to eat it with the bread rather than the crackers. The soft shell crab was freshly deep fried because it was steaming hot. It came with a side of honey mustard dipping sauce. The size of the crab was kinda small but it tasted great.

For our "second" course, we decided to share the ultimate seafood gumbo. The gumbo was full of shrimp, andouille and smoked sausage, and chicken. There were several pieces of crab too. The sauce was extremely flavorful. I loved the shrimp and sausages...very tasty. It had just the right amount of spice for me but my cousin kicked her's up a notch with the hot sauces on the table.

Next, we both ordered oyster po boys...with a special request to flash fry the oysters. Donna had the cajun fries while I asked Chance if I could substitute the cajun fries with sweet potato fries...it was no problem. We also ordered a side of macaroni and cheese. Our po boys were served as ordered. The oysters were crisp on the outside but moist, juicy, and tender on the inside. The bread was soft and chewy. The cajun fries were regular steak fries sprinkled with cajun spice while my sweet potato fries were drizzled with honey and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. I really liked the sweet potato fries...really yummy sweet with a slight burning tingle afterwards. The po boy was huge...after a while, I stopped eating the bread because I was on the verge of busting a button on my pants! The mac and cheese was very peppery...it was ok.

Afterwards, we were stuffed...we didn't have any room for dessert...YIKES!

The food overall was really good. The atmosphere was relaxing but very neat. The service was excellent. I would definitely eat at New Orleans Cajun Cafe again! Next time I will save room for the dessert.

Parking for the New Orleans Cajun Cafe can be difficult especially during the daytime with all the beachgoers. The nearest cross street to the cafe is Manhattan Ave. but it is a residental street. There is metered parking on Pier Ave. We found metered parking along the Hermosa Ave. a couple of blocks away. Bring lots of change!

If you are craving Southern comfort go to Hermosa Beach's New Orleans Cajun Cafe!