Bayou on Bay Review

We found this place with the help of Google. All 4 of us loved what we had for dinner. I'd give it 5 stars if they had a better craft beer selection. 3 of us like Good beer. 1 of us didn't have beer because the taster she had didn't impress her and the other 2 of us thought our beer was very average.

Easily the best brunch I have ever had. The eggs Benedict is perfect, the Cajun potatoes are a must for any meal, and the bloody Mary's have the best amount of spice and garnish. This is a must visit place for every time I'm in Bellingham.

My favorite restaurant in Bellingham. It's cozy and has the best and most authentic southern food in all of Bellingham

The shrimp and grits, add alligator, was literally one of the best entrees I've ever had. No B.S. Drop the spoon good!

lovely food, it's my first time trying this genre of food and the gumbo is delicious.

The fried gator is chewy but good. I really liked the frog legs. I'm not a fan of beignets - they are dense

A lack of consistency is constant for this venue... When it's on, it's really on though!! Worth a shot if you're nearby.

Incredibly delicious and authentic southern cuisine. I spent 30+ years in the South, take my word for it, you should try Bayou on Bay!

Absolutely delicious gumbo! It was my first time there so I can't speak to the other dishes they have. Service was friendly and attentive, it was a bit busy so be ready for a possible wait.

The food is good. I had the bbq ribs. But as I sit her, with an empty tea glass wishing for a refill, wanting to try the peach bourbon cheese cake, alas, nobody and I mean NOBODY has said a word to me as they scurry by..

Stopped in for happy hour. Great cocktails and awesome applies. Great creole style food

I visited for happy hour and was impressed. Great staff, great product. Can't wait to come back and explore the menu more.

Tried their $10 Bayou bowl during happy hour (reg price $11) & $15 fried chicken sandwich (comes with yam fries).

Great portion and enjoyed their dishes.

Best cajun food in the area. They do an amazing job with oysters.

Just got back and it was really one of the worst restaurant experiences in my life. I went with someone, so shared two dishes, and both were worse than I could cook myself. The jambalaya was really overcooked and just a mashup of not so great ingredients. The skewer was pretty awful, hard shrimp and not so great sausage over beans that could have been from a can. I realize this place serves a lot of college students, but it doesn't have to come from a college dorm.

The coctail I ordered was definitely watered down.

The waitress was just as awful, being unhelpful and with attitude. It looked like all the help was university students not wanting to be there and not having anyone who cared guiding them.

It was one of my worst experiences in Bellingham in the last few years.

My family and I are relatively new to the area and happened across this restaurant. We were looking forward to a taste of home but instead we were left with nothing but disappointment. The jambalaya was gummy and over seasoned and the catfish was a mushy mess. The best part of the meal were the drinks and they were mediocre at best.

Super tasty and slightly naughty food. The wings were an even mix of delicious and decadent. The jambalaya was hearty and the cornbread with the sweet butter was amazing.

Excellent jambalaya. Good service and atmosphere for family and friends.

Ate here for brunch and had the seafood benedict. Amazing!

Great food, wonderful service. Nice full service, in a nice location.

I've brought several friends here and they all say this is great Cajun food and very reasonably priced as such. Their main disappointment was that there were no crayfish on the menu. If you go on Sunday be sure to check out the Bloody Mary bar. They provide the ingredients, you create the drink.

The Jambalaya was sub par especially for a Cajun restaraunt. Otherwise ok food. But had the shrimp n grits before and was awesome

Great food. Outdoor seating is the best in the Ham.

The food was not as good as we thought it was going to be. Went for breakfast and the French toast was raw in the middle and was all around a bit disappointing.

Great food, nice combo of sit down restaurant and local friendly bar with full menu access.

Wonderful assortment of traditional cajun cuisine. Superb wait staff, location, and amenities. (Try the gator!)

Although it was a fun place to go visit on a beautiful nigh-summertime night, the purpose of visiting was to go for the gator skewers. And there were no skewers, no gator. Signs all over drove home the point, "Ask about our gator." (or some such).

They were turning out the lights as we were packaging up our own food, which was as cool as Arizona in August for them to do. Like welcoming the 49ers to Spring camp in Kirkland, equally hospitable a tone.

On the bright side, our waitress seemed pleasant and warm. There's a potentially romantic upstairs section for lovers amidst a few dying plants by the windows. And the frog legs + seafood linguine were delectable; the waffle chips weren't completely done, though. (It would have rated 4+ stars, btw, if the food had been consistent. Beautiful service to the end would have bumped it higher, too.)

Walking around afterwards, from the towering architecture of the old courthouse to eclectic Mtn. Goat Pizza Co. (where we acquired tomorrow's lunch), passing the classic Seifert & Jones (legendary wine proprietors) locale, et al. -- we had a fun evening. Bellingham waterfront is funky, fairly quiet, and a mixture of everything that doesn't quite match. However, mind you, that's what makes it Bellingham!

All in all, having enjoyed better dining experiences at Bayou before, I'll undoubtedly return for a business lunch or dinner. If consistent with the inconsistency (next time... again), they might wait some time before we bump their rating up to 3 stars. If it's all it can be, no joke, they might knock it outta the park with all 5 shimmering stars.

Hint: remember you're advertising gator?

We were denied service because my friends have an Illinois I.D. from two different years so they look different. We are all 25 and old enough to drink but we understood why she was skeptical and we explained that the state of Illinois just reissued new I.D.s. The worst part is she was not even open to reason, it was really unprofessional but in the end it's their loss, I won't be coming back. We just walked down the street to a better restaurant that served us.

Nice view outdoor, especially at sunset, suitable portion

Amazing food and service! Beautifully spiced and a great Cajun variety. Ate too much, so I'll have to go back for the begniets.

I am from New Orleans so I am a hard critic-that being said, this place is not authentic at all but it was cute. It was just okay food wise, decent happy hour, cute bar, but I have a certain expectation for New Orleans/Creole/Cajun cuisine and it wasn't up to snuff. It didn't taste bad at all, but not what I was hoping for and needed a kick in the spice pants. So if you've never been to New Orleans, you will probably enjoy it!

Very good service and food. The Friday special was a burger and a beer for $13 which is excellent as it included the very nice list of local beers with Boundary Bay and Kulshan micro brews.

I'd say Bayou on Bay is pretty good, especially if you sit in the bar area. Sometimes, the bar area can be a little too loud while trying to have a conversation, but it is an area where I find, you are served a lot faster. Some nights, the wait time to be seated is so awful that I just go somewhere else. I love their food options here and I find their frog legs and fried okra to be a novelty in Bellingham. I love their southwest dipping sauce for everything fried they have, and there are vegan and vegetarian options alongside meat-oriented entrees. The burger I ordered there was the most delicious, filling burger I ever had. Staff are generally nice, but on busy nights I feel like it's difficult to get a hold of them.

Great atmosphere, good comfort food, the best Bloody Mary bar in town!

Pros: cool environment. Good music. Good selection of food. Bread pudding was delicious. Shrimp and grits!!!

Cons: most of the food was under seasoned (except the shrimp and grits, that was incredible) the drinks were too sweet and did not have much alcohol in them.

Food was good, but portion sizes weren't all that great.

Happy hour specials were excellent . Big portions.

Food was decent. Service was only okay, nothing above and beyond. The prices were also a bit much for the quality of food; I ordered catfish and chips and wasn't a huge fan. It could be that catfish is just not a great pairing for the batter, but it wasn't super palatable and the fries were a bit cold.

Get you some alligator but the breakfast menu is the best at this place. Also happy hour is really reasonable.

Wow. What a delight. Big thank you to all of the staff.

Love the catfish po boy, popcorn shrimp, and sweet potato fries. Great place for a lively night with friends in the bar, or a romantic date in the restaurant.

Frog legs, gator, okra,etc fantastic oh and prawn, and catfish. Will go back.

Been there a few times and really enjoyed it. Service has always been top notch.

Great service. Makes a solid Cajun Burger. Good option for watching a football game or catching a trivia night!

Absolutely outstanding food! Sub-service, was told my takeout would be ready in 5 minutes and got to me in 20. I will give them the benefit of the doubt as it was a busy Saturday night, but would have liked a "sorry for the wait."

Great food, great value, and great view of the mural across the street. Who are those handsome people?

You're going to leave here full. Try the frog legs or alegator. I love the shrimp n grits and half vegan half meat jambalaya! A fun festive meal.

No air conditioning makes ut extremely hot in summer. The vegan Jambalaya must be made by hippies couldnt finish it last tine I tried. Its over priced, I went there years ago before it became pretentious.

Delicious comfort food and a cozy but lively atmosphere

Delicious food, savory options was not disappointed at all! Recommend to anyone worth the price.

Excellent atmosphere and delicious food! I cant wait to visit again.

I have eaten at most of the restaurants in whatcom county and i have to say this place is by far the best. I have come here about 5 times now trying a different item on the menu and not once has the food been bad. The waitresses awesome and beyond friendly. they have no AC and the girls are stomping up and down stairs with hot plates i dont know how they do it. I bring every one i know here and they are all impressed. I hope they can expand the kitchen and get some AC for the summer months. if you eat here order an appetizer because it will take forever for your food to come but thats how you know it is fresh and good!

Great food and service we had a party of 8 and they were quick and hot damn the shrimp and grits was so good

Great place for a late breakfast. The small feeling inside reminds me of New Orleans. Exelent food, better than expected. The quality and presentation was like that of fine dining. Great job on the various sauces used to compliment the dishes. My wife had shrimp and grits, this was a bit liquidity which took away from the texture grits are known for, but it had great flavor. I had gator oscar; gator scrambled eggs on potatoes topped with crab. Great dish and the sauce was perfect. Also on Sunday the bloody mary bar is just right with brunch, great choices for garnishment.

The shrimp poboy, fish and drinks were really good.

Bayou on the bay was delicious! I definitely recommend.

Cozy spot in downtown Bellingham. Great menu (Cajun themed), half a dozen beers on tap. Nice outdoor seating during the summer

I liked the atmosphere but the food wasn't very good. To be fair I am from Louisiana and this wasn't good ol' soul food. Disappointed.

Great food but a little higher prices. Staff was lovely in all my expecriences. Great for some soul foods in Bellingham. Hard to find stuff like that. Atmosphere upstairs is very romantic. I have had the vegan jumbilia and Fried okria and hush puppies. My friend had the rib eye stake.

Food is consistent and delicious. Best brunch in town! Place could be a lot cleaner overall-bathrooms and floors but let's face it, we come for the awesome food and so far-great service!

Impossible to find something on the menu you won't like

Food was really good, one of our friends favorite places.

Poor seating management. Open tables available. Upon seating, immediate service (beverages) was lacking.
Food is good. Prices are moderate for Bellingham.

Good food. But they kept telling us we needed to be done eating and an hour and a half and that was kinda lame.

Food was great. Service excellent. Restaurant atmosphere okay.

The food was good. Not too expensive, but if you are looking for authentic Cajun food this isn't the place to go. Don't get me wrong the food was good just not authentic. Service was great. Has outdoor seating which is nice for a warm sunny day, but if you go here bring change for parking since it is downtown.

Terrible service the two times I've been. My girlfriend got a water glass with a lot of lipstick on the rim and the waitress didn't even seem to care. I ordered an Olympia and got a root beer! Not impressed.

Excellent. Love the smokey flavors and zip to the food. The place was busy which told me the food must be good and even so the service was timely and staff really friendly.

One of my favorite restaurants in Bellingham! The food is always great, the staff is always friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere is always fun!

My personal favorites: the hush puppies for appetizers, the jambalaya, the bbq pulled pork po boy, the gumbo (with extra cornbread), and the prawn etouffee are my favs!