Bayou Jack's Cajun Grill - Roanoke — Restaurant in Roanoke

Our party of 5 visited on a Saturday around 4 PM. They were busy but not packed. However, it was soon obvious that they were significantly understaffed. After being seated, we received water, but then waited about 20 minutes without any further service. Attempts to get someone’s attention were difficult, as the staff seemed disorganized and overwhelmed. No one seemed to know who our server was, and we strongly considered leaving. Eventually, someone took our drink order, but two of our drinks (lemonades) didn’t arrive until we asked a second time, about 45 minutes after being seated.

We ordered 3 appetizers (dirty balls, stuffed jalapenos, and fried pickle spears), which arrived after about 15 minutes. They were all delicious. However, getting drink refills was a challenge, as our server was too busy to stop at our table with any regularity. We placed our entree orders at some point and received them sporadically, one or two at a time, after another 15-minute wait. The shrimp and grits were amazing. Po-boys were good but a bit uninspired as you can see in the pic. But my red beans and rice was a major disappointment. The portion was incredibly small, with no sausage or bread included. It appeared to be the size of a “cup” serving but spread thinly in a large bowl. Charging $10 for such a skimpy portion is pretty bold, especially for a dish that is so inexpensive to prepare.

The atmosphere was extremely loud, making it difficult to have a conversation without raising our voices. Tables are way too close together. We were constantly being whacked by staff rearranging chairs, etc. By the end of the meal, we were all exhausted and eager to leave. We’ve visited Bayou Jack's many times in the past, and the food has always been good. But I doubt we'll be back after this experience. Management seriously needs to address the staffing issues, as the service struggles...

We came here for happy hour/early dinner, around 4 p.m. on a weekday. Loved our experience! We got appetizers, drinks, and mains.

We got the dirty balls and fried okra as appetizers. I would order both of those again, as both were out of this world! The dirty balls are large balls of deep fried dirty rice with queso and a spicy red sauce coating them. The fried okra was super fresh, and the breading had Cajun spice in it. The okra was served with some kind of herbed aioli that was also amazing.

My friend got the Po Boy as her main dish, and she substituted fried gator for fried shrimp. They were more than happy to accommodate that request and it was amazing. Highly recommend.

I got the Oysters on the Half Shell (raw) and the Ménage a Trois for my main course. Oysters were fresh and HUGE, and they came with plenty of lemons, cocktail sauce, horseradish, and saltines. A couple of the oysters still had some grit in them, but you always run that risk when ordering gulf oysters, so it’s not a huge complaint.

The Ménage a Trois was a great way to sample all of the Cajun staples on the menu. The crawfish etoufee could have used more acid, but was pretty decent once I squeezed some lemon in it. The red beans and rice aren’t something I’d necessarily have again. They were fine, but they looked and tasted like pinto beans, not traditional red beans. I LOVED the gumbo, however. If coming back, I would order the large gumbo over getting the Ménage a Trois again.

For drinks, we got Abita Amber on draft, the house margarita on the rocks, the swamp juice, and the blueberry lemonade. All were amazing.

We definitely plan to return in the near future. We are very intrigued by the brunch menu, and plan to make that our next...

Revised Review (Mar 2020):

A year later, Bayou Jack's continues to disappoint. Misquoted wait times, poorly staffed, awfully mixed drinks, and extremely slow and inadequate service were the memorable themes of our latest visit. Signature drink items did not follow conventional recipes (the Roanoke Mule tasting like cheap vodka and florescent sweet and sour mix), server missed multiple requests and failed to recover given many opportunities. We were sorely disappointed after giving this spot another chance.

Original Review (2019):

Good, but over-seasoned and too spicy for many.

Living in Roanoke, it's great to have an alternative to a flight to New Orleans to enjoy some classic creole dishes. I've had quite a few things from the menu and have enjoyed most of my visits. If you're looking for a cold beer and 3 pounds of crawfish, go no further (I'd recommend the seasoning on the side).

Like the Crawfish, I should caution diners that some of their Cajun dishes are prepared with too much heat and seasoning for more pedestrian palettes. While I love adding a dash of hot sauce in my gumbo, it's frustrating when the dish is prepared with too much heat to allow the diner to control to their tastes.

While I enjoy spicy things, I know many others do not share the same tolerance. Trips with visiting family quickly became awkward as mom's and dads and aunts and uncles struggled to stomach the heat or salt.

If I could improve this restaurant by doing two things it would be to 1) improve the quality and consistency of food (maybe a few fresh healthy options?), 2) let the guests choose their heat level...