I dined at the Bayou for lunch on a recent weekday afternoon and really enjoyed it. I followed it up with a visit during Happy Hour a couple of days later. The atmosphere is French Quarter New Orleans. There's a giant statue of a Mardi Gras dancer. There's balconies around the inside reminiscent of the French Quarter. The staff were all friendly and fun and seemed to be enjoying themselves. It feels festive.
They serve a wide variety of beverages from the Abita brewery. I tried a couple of them and thoroughly enjoyed both. I'm not usually much of an IPA drinker, but the Abita IPA was very good. I also enjoyed a raspberry iced-tea. Great raspberry flavor. If you like sweet tea, you'll love this.
The food is creole inspired. We started with a dozen raw oysters. They have an oyster bar behind the regular bar where you can see them at work. The oysters were briny and delicious. Bits of shell did come off while slurping up a couple of them, but I enjoyed it all the same. The battered cheese curds were fine. I can't say I noticed much Cajun flavor, but they are cheese curds so you can't go wrong. Both the cheese curds and the oysters were served with a smattering of fresh mixed greens. For entrees we had the crawfish etouffee and jambalaya. The etouffee was just a little spicy. The roux was great. I really enjoyed this dish. I had ordered the lunch portion but I wish I had gotten the full-size. It was really good. My companion ordered the jambalaya and thought it was a little too spicy, but I thought it was delicious and would order it.
If you are looking for a taste of New Orleans, this is a great place to go.