Dat Cajun Place Cafe — Restaurant in Upper Grand Lagoon

My husband and I have relocated to Panama City for more than six weeks due to a job detail. We are originally from New Orleans, La. (Born and raised). We have tried different restaurants in and around Panama City and Panama City Beach. Food has been excellent but we started to crave our Nola Seafood. We couldn’t wait to indulge into some good seafood in Panama City.

We looked online through a few Nola Seafood inspired restaurants but Dat Cajun Place Cafe kept popping up on Google’s search engine. So we gave it a try. I found Dat’s Cajun Place website but when I clicked the main menu, it directed us to place a call for to go orders. There was no main menu on the website. I then saw a menu on Dat Cajun Place Cafe Google Profile and was able to make a decision based off the menu on Google.

On 10-28-2025, at 5:57 PM. I called Dat Cajun Place Cafe to place a pickup order. The hostess answered the phone, put me on hold twice. When she finally answered my call, I mentioned I was calling to place a to go order. I ordered two Blackened Redfish Fillet, with Shrimp Creole over rice. It also came with one side. The price on Google says $15.99 each. I chose Gumbo as my side. And my husband chose Red Beans and Rice as his side. The hostess stated I would have to pay $3.99 as an up charge for the Gumbo. (On the menu it says $3.00) I agreed because I wanted to try the Gumbo. The prices that are listed on Google Dat Cajun Place menu are not the prices we were charged. Our order came to $69.51 tax included. In my opinion a little over priced. My husband picked up the order and he came back with an invoice that only show the complete total. If there is no breakdown of updated menu and prices on the website, nor did we get a receipt showing a list of our purchases and prices then I feel like we was robbed. Tip: you should update your menu and prices that are listed on Google or anywhere else. Transparency is key.

The Blackened Redfish was so delicious It was cooked just right. The Shrimp Creole was so good over the Redfish on rice. It was cooked perfect for me. I do admit you will need to add salt and pepper to taste but overall it was a 10 out of 10.

I also ordered the Fried appetizer sampler which was $14.99. I asked if we can choose what goes into the sampler? The hostess yelled nothing can’t be changed. The sampler comes with fried pickles, fried jalapeños chips, fried pepper jack cheese, fried Gator bites, and Who Dat Rangoons. There was more fried pickles and jalapeño chips than anything else that was included. We ordered the sampler to try the Gator bites and Wontons, but it was cold. Let me tell you, we were not a fan. I don’t eat fried pickles cause I only eat pickles by itself. Not on or mixed in any other food. I don’t eat jalapeños unless it’s on Nachos and cheese. It just wasn’t the right time to eat it I guess. My husband loved the Red Beans. He said the Red Beans were soft and creamy, very good but it didn’t have any meat in it. We cook Red Beans once a week in my home, and it’s not red beans if it doesn’t contain some type of smoke sausage, hot sausage or pickle meat for flavor. It has to get cooked in them red beans. My husband enjoyed it though.

Now let’s talk about this Gumbo. Bayyyybae……the Gumbo is a disaster. It taste just like the Campbells Gumbo Soup in a can. No Gumbo flavor whatsoever so ever. The flavor is what make the Gumbo. Which means you have to add fresh seasoning and spices. There is no taste of Gumbo File. The okra was cooked right but the Gumbo roux is not good and the roux is the heart of your Gumbo. Word of advice; the best way to serve authentic Nola Gumbo is to cook it from scratch. Nothing from the can unless it’s crab meat.

If you cook Chicken Gumbo, it still needs filet and seafood flavor cooked in it. Try seafood stock. Anything seafood but NO Campbells soup Please. If you need instructions or the recipe. I can provide the authentic recipe. We cook Gumbo all year round. Next time we are visiting Panama City we will come to dine in at Dat...

first of all, I really hate how Google Reviews won't let my photos show up in the order I add them

So, Dat Cajun Place is awesome!! We went there for Father's Day Jazz brunch. We arrived early at 9:50 am, and there was already a long line snaking from the front door around the side of the building. The doors opened at 10, and we were able to get inside pretty quickly. We were given a wait time of 15 minutes once we were on the list. We were able to sit on a bench inside the door to wait, because pretty much everyone else on the wait list went ahead and sat at the bar and started boozing it up while they waited (a little odd since it was only 10 am on a Sunday, but hey whatever).

We were very pleased with our seat when we were put in a corner booth, not far from the live Jazz musicians that were playing. They were very talented, and we really enjoyed the chilled out entertainment while we were there. It was one of the reasons we chose to go to Dat Cajun Place for Father's Day. The decor was New Orleans/Mardi Gras/Cajun themed...very cute and clean and not too over the top.

A couple of things we didn't like... There are WAY WAY too many HUGE televisions all over the place, all on different channels. I don't understand why people want to be bombarded with all that while they eat and can't just do without TV during that short amount of time of eating out. Thankfully the sound was not on, because if it had been, it would've been way too overstimulating and likely changed our experience. Also, there seem to be advertisements all over the place. The tabletops were covered in ads for local businesses, as were the menus. If it helps keep menu item prices down to do this, then I guess I understand, but this just seems like a nicer type of restaurant that wouldn't have these ads so prominently covering the table surfaces. I'm sure most people don't even notice this, but it made the table feel a little cluttered or something.

The excellent parts about this restaurant and the food far outweigh any nitpicky small gripes I could have for sure! The food was amazing, and the portions were huge...all at very reasonable prices. My daughter and I had leftovers, but my husband cleaned his plates and loved every bite! We tried a variety of items. I have added the photos of each thing we had. I also had a side salad, which was very fresh and good. My husband was happy they had Abita Root Beer, because it's his favorite. We had to get our bread pudding to go, because we were just too stuffed to have it there. The portion they gave us was ENORMOUS! It almost filled a large carryout box. We had enough for the three of us to have a bowl of it when we got home, and even had what I would consider 2 extra servings for later. Very much worth the price to definitely not bypass that dessert! The Who Dat Rangoon appetizer with strawberry preserves is also very unique and tasty! Be sure and ask for a side of the Voodoo Sauce and Remoulade if you get a sandwich...the best ever!!

Our server, Dylan, was very pleasant and helpful. He never stopped smiling, and we liked his quirkiness. He did an excellent job even though the place was packed and super busy. The restaurant also has a small shop where they sell cute shirts, kids' books, and glassware. I got a t-shirt, and it's super soft and high quality.

We are definitely adding Dat Cajun Place to our list of restaurants we can't pass up each year on vacation! We highly recommend it for any fan of Cajun cuisine, but get there early or be prepared to wait a little while...it...

I was in on Valentine's Day for a late lunch. I had a craving for the Roast Beef Debris PoBoy aka the Mardi Gras. When we entered I originally asked for Angie, completely forgetting she doesn't work Wednesdays. I literally couldn't remember, nor see, anyone else I knew working there. So we were sat at a table in the main portion of the dining room. A Tall, Skinny, man named Chris S. was our server to be. He made his way to our table for our drink order and that would be the last time of 'decent' service from him. After he brought out our drinks, my brother went on to order an appetizer of the Rangoon, at this time with no hesitation, Chris was off and running. He hadn't once asked, nor looked my direction, even when I said "I'd like to order ..." Poof gone!! He came back out to take care of his other tables and each time he passed by, pretending not to see me with my hand up, nor hear me call his name as he passed by. This happened 4 times before I was finally able to flag him down while he was walking by AGAIN. He said "what do you want?" Like I was a child. I said I'd like an order of Boudin Balls, and off he went again with no acknowledgement. My brothers Rangoon came out, and Chris was well aware and paying attention for he was right back at the table asking how everything came out fine. I said I was was still awaiting my appetizer. He started to make an excuse and blamed the kitchen for being slow, when my balls did come out a minute later. We then ordered and when I asked to add Provelone to my sandwich, he acted like I asked for his bank account info. Made a face, sighed loudly, and said "Ok what side?" Fries, please. Once our food was out, we never got another chance to get a refill on drinks, nor a moment to have him at our table. My brother kinda caught him, as he was picking up the check from the other table and asked for a to go box, I quickly piped up... "Two please", which I got a nice eye roll. He brought the boxes and the check at the same time. We sat there for about another 15 minutes before my brother could basically hand him the guest checkbook, and ask to run his card. Chris is lucky that my brother paid, he did leave a tip; I absolutely wouldn't have. Never a refill, acted like I wasn't even there, and then acted like I was an annoying child. My Sandwich was cold (which isn't how it comes out). All in all, the WORST server, I've experienced in 25 years of service industry work on this beach. As I was telling my friends about it, turns out they've had him too and had some HORRIBLE stories of him serving. Honestly, I don't know how people like Chris S. stay employed in Service Industry, when it's very clear, they don't like their job one bit. I would've tried to clear this up at the moment, but I didn't have the time that day to wait. It will be awhile before I come back. Please let him go... He clearly doesn't want to wait on folks, especially women. Absolutely...