Cajun Mikes Pub & Grub — Restaurant in New Orleans

not really sure why this place has such amazing reviews. these other reviewers need their taste buds checked or their food reviwer license revoked.

the signs on the wall are funny though.

it is a grungy dive bar serving oily bar food. my group got gumbo (no veggies, just rice and sausage, & highly over salted), chicken wings (dry), jumbalaya, fried oysters (way more fries than oysters), cuban sandwich (crazy oily), and other things. everything was either average or below average. nothing really fantastic about it. every single person in our group if 7 said the food was mediocre. the friend who got the gumbo was so disappointed by it that when we went back to our home state he made his own gumbo. they were out of alligator sausage when we went, which was part of the draw.

we were there after 8PM to just get take out back to our airbnb. it was pouring rain (tornado and gale force winds alert). the bartender made one of our friends (2 months from turning 21) go outside because they had one poker machine in the way back. he wouldnt even let her stay 5 minutes to place her food order with us. she had to run back into the rain to the car to text us her order. but on our way out there were two guys who were definitely not 21 yet and the bartender didnt even bother checking their IDs.

the cook in the back looked like he was angry at the world when he brought out our orders. we wanted to like this place but there wasn't anything...

Mixed feelings on this spot, I was on a hunt for jambalaya which led me here today. The bar smells, there's something funky going on and if this wasn't the third attempt at getting dinner already I likely would have moved on. The dive bar vibe oddly is accentuated by the smell as well as the loud drunk locals 🤣(post saints loss I believe)

Decent beer selection - all your domestics and a handful of local craft options.

Wings were fairly portioned and cooked excellent with a hooters-like crunchy breading (that's a compliment I promise). Buffalo sauce was pretty meh. No kick and slightly sweet? Blue cheese dressing tastes bought, not made.

Jambalaya has an interesting earthy spice flavor to it. Perhaps a touch of anise and a hint of cinnamon??? Compared to how I typically doctor up zatarans this is not as 'bon'... assuming zatarans is 5/5 this is a 3/5 on flavor but gets a little bonus since I never cook with sausage AND chicken! Unfortunately crystals was the only hot sauce to doctor this up and.. yeah 🤷‍♂️ The jambalaya was inexplicably served with three pieces of garlic bread which I suppose were closer to the lightest crouton you could imagine. Very little flavor aside from butter and such a weird texture of firm/crunchy but so light it solves into crumbs!

I hear the po boys are great and I'd wager with wings this good anything fried is gonna be enjoyable. Also the smell definitely gets less offensive with more...

We recently visited this establishment during Mardi Gras with friends from California, and overall, it was a memorable experience. The drink prices were fantastic, and the food was bursting with flavor, truly leaving a lasting impression on our taste buds.

However, we did encounter a few hiccups during our visit. There was a female staff member off the clock who made her presence felt in a less-than-pleasant way. She was quite vocal about her frustrations regarding other customers not cleaning up after themselves, which left us questioning the tipping system. After all, if patrons are expected to handle everything, what role does the staff play? It wasn't even overly-busy.

Additionally, her loud comments about the music choices created an uncomfortable atmosphere. Even if the selections were mainstream, her judgmental remarks echoed throughout the bar, making it hard to enjoy our time. While we understand that the festive spirit of Mardi Gras can lead to some indulgence, her behavior dampened our experience and made our party of six consider leaving sooner than we would have liked.

In summary, the amazing food and unbeatable prices are definitely highlights of this place, and it’s a shame that we couldn’t stay longer to truly savor our time there without distractions. A little more attention to the atmosphere could make this place an even greater gem in the heart of...