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Mon. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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What Alligator Soul lacks in ambience, it totally makes up for with its food. My friends and I arrived at around 5:15 pm this past Saturday evening and the place was packed. PACKED. It was a 40-minute wait for a table, but Fate smiled on us and we scored four bar stools next to each other. Our positioning in the Mardi Gras-bead adorned bar allowed us to a) Take advantage of the Happy Hour specials; and b) Watch the Oregon vs. Arizona game that was in progress. I don't know that anyone else in our party cared about b), but it was a huge plus for me.
Our servers at the bar were very warm, with service running a touch on the slow side perhaps due to how busy things were. I spied some amazingly hearty plates of food being served to patrons around us, but my group opted for a bevvy of small plates (many from the happy hour menu). The fried chicken Soul Sliders topped with gravy won rave reviews, and three mini 'wiches ($5) could easily make a meal. But why stop there? Though I'm not always a fan of sweet potato fries, Alligator Soul does them right...not over-fried, and graced with some sugar and cinnamon. Fried Green Tomatos were possibly a little bland, but perked right up when dipped in the AMAZING sauce that comes with the BBQ Shrimp and Grits.
Alligator Soul knows how to do salads, too, and the Spinach Apple Salad's spicy pecans and Gorgonzola are the perfect toppings (I'd hold the red onion next time, though). The only thing ordered that didn't seem to impress were the Hush Puppies, which I didn't try because I'm just not a fan of the pups.
The grand finale of our meal was the Bananas Foster Beignets, which were basically out of this world. Fried morsels of dough topped with caramelish-sauce, sliced bananas, and creme fraiche. The serving was gigantic, and easily shared by four of us.
Amazingly, even with drinks, our Cajun feast (10-11 dishes!) came to only $22 per person for four of us, and that included tax. Thanks, happy hour!
This was on my list of Need-To-Try-Before-I-Die places. I had been teasing myself by reading Yelp reviews and their online menu for almost a year now and finally got up the drive (and extra cash) to go. I met 3 other friends there tonight around 6:30 on a somewhat busy Wednesday night.
My heart's desire was the turtle soup, but we all needed a good amount of time with the menus to order a few things to share to get a good sampling of what they had. I wanted a drink, but at $8-10 apiece for the specialty cocktails, i begrudgingly ordered a boring $4.50 well drink instead to save money for food. I only wish I wasn't a broke-ass student with a part-time job that could afford to pick off more than I did from Alligator Soul's menu.
The service was a little slow because of the dinner rush, which I was grateful for...it took the pressure off of us having to decide. And our server (a polite, kind of shy guy in his 30's) was a good host anyway.
We ordered a bunch of stuff: 2 turtle soups (one for me), crawfish sweet corn & sausage grits to share, alligator bites and yam fries (we subbed the reg. for the yam ones upon request) to share, a deep fried pork po' boy, and a pulled pork sandwich.
While we waited for our food to come out, I tried to plan out in my mind which hot sauces I would use. They have a nice little assortment of their own on the table (and you can purchase them at the front of the restaurant).
The turtle soup tastes kind of like sherry-infused dark brown gravy. It's really good. I wish it had been hotter temp wise, though. Nice chunks of turtle float around in it. Why didn't I get any crackers or bread, though? Nothing to mop up my turtle goop? I should have asked, but I was too overstimulated by other things (such as the brown hot sauce on the table...it's great on EVERYTHING!). For $4.95, it's a decent sized cup, too.
Good thing there were only 4 of us...because that's the number of gator bites that came out. For $12.95! Yikes. I got stuck with the dinky one :( Oh, well! They were way juicier than the alligator bites I've had other places. And they were amazing in that brown hot sauce. The fries were too, and we got a more sharable amount of those.
Those grits were probably the best grits I have ever had. It was like a warm, buttery corn pudding. Between four of us there wasn't much, but it's so rich that it's best used as kind of a dip anyway. I'm glad I experienced grits this way.
I tried a bite of my friend's deep-fried po boy. Good GOD, that thing was ridiculous. At first, I didn't know what he'd ordered...I thought it was a ham hock or the roasted leg of of some kind of beast. It was delicious, to be sure, but more like a novelty. If you can slam that thing down, you better not complain to me later about it.
My other friends split that pulled pork sandwich, but I didn't try it. They loved it. It came with a bunch of sides, though, from which I made my own little lettuce wrap (they let me use their GIANT super-crispy-and-thick lettuce garnish as a taco shell to make one) from their leftovers. I made a whole extra meal out of it!
Our server offered to split our checks up before we even mentioned it, and split them up even further when we needed the apps dissected. He didn't get pissy at all. The chef even came out at the end and made us feel good for getting all excited to try this place out after so long. It's a nice, low-pressure atmosphere.
Thank god, because my pants feel completely the opposite.
*joy
My husband and I have a particular love for New Orleans, it stems with the people, having some of our best friends from there and spending ample time exploring their city in their company. Thus we may have been a "leetle" spoiled. Meaning we have been subject to the best music and food N'Awlins has to offer. This is why after reading about Alligator Soul on Yelp, we made a special trip to Everett in hopes of finding half the heart we did in our beloved city.
We arrived to a brightly colored, Mardigras style restaurant complete with a fresco ceiling spin off of Michelangelo's, The creation of Adam. However in this version the people were Alligators! There was a blues band, Star Drums and Lady Keys, playing in the back that infiltrated the whole restaurant and set a scene that began to transport me to N.O. and I could hardly contain myself for the much anticipated food!
That's where things started to go South, and not New Orleans South. I loved that they had beer in a bucket on the menu but it was a late dinner and momma needed a cocktail, so I went with the watermelon lemon drop, this was very delicious, Not too sweet lemon base with a slight melon tang. I ended up ordering 2 so you'd think that my have only increased my reception of the food. Sadly I don't think 4 would have done the trick.
Unfortunately the Hush Puppies didn't have the moist light texture I'm used to, instead were dense, hard, dry and grainy. The baby back ribs I ordered were overdone and extremely salty. However the Dr. Pepper/Mustard BBQ sauce was tasty. So much so that my husband kept dipping his Tour De Pork in it because the tomato sauce for that was lacking. The best part of the meal was the salad trio, potato, corn/black bean and cole slaw. These were excellent and the flavors complimented each other well. The beans were just okay. However throughout the meal, all we could think about was that we were missing some buttered Wonderbread. That would have almost remedied this meal!
Lastly, because since we first looked at the menu, I noticed peach bread pudding with Bourbon sauce and thought surely this would make things end on a good note! They were also serving a special peach and pecan cobbler. We were having a hard time deciding and as I tried to ask our server for more details on each she pointed to a table displaying a bowl topped with a huge scoop of ice cream. This was the owner having himself some cobbler. To me, I hate having that much ice cream on my desert, if I want a sundae, I'll get it!
That was when a very generous offer was made by the owner and he treated us to some bread pudding if we would try the cobbler on his word. I have to say the bread pudding is all it should be, dappled with peaches, raisins and nuts while swimming in a delectable spiked sauce. However the cobbler, although the fruit center was tart and delicious, the phyllo crust turned me off. Phyllo is NOT a cobbler pastry! I'm a truist and wanted that dense doughy yummy crust that indicates a true cobbler and this was sacriledge to such a pastry.
Alligator Soul surrounds you with the New Orleans likeness via music, warm service and an owner's touch however the food for the most part to me lacked the heart found in it's inspiration. Maybe it was a result of arriving later in the dinner service or not ordering the right dishes. Whatever the case, the food was a 2 for me but the service and atmosphere a 4 thus the 3 stars.
Don't ever get take out here....Your food will be cold, you don't get what you order and the prices on their menu supposedly went up but they have not bothered to change it on line. I was told that it had changed 3 weeks ago but my husband and I had just actually eaten there for the first time 2 weeks ago and we ordered the same thing as this evening.
The food was not at all good this evening either. Not impressed. So my husband and I will not be returning. We shall be eating at the Prohibition Grille in Everett instead!
My only regret is not going there sooner. Holy cow! Just darn good food and lots of it!! The folks there are great, it's clean, and the food will make you think you are in N'arlins.
Well for starters, Petosa's was an everett landmark and these people bought them out and painted that building yellow and green. As if everett wasn't ugly enough you had to take an adorable diner and turn it into some bayou themed eye sore?! I BEGGED my friends not to go there. But they'd been to the first location and loved it. Full bar and amazing food. OK. I set aside my morals and step in side. For starters the lighting is horrible. It's really dark. But they probably do that so those of us with less then 20/20 vision focus more on trying to read the menu items then the menu prices. Not only was soup room temp. it was overly seasoned. and not in a good way, in a "there's so much dry oregono in this soup, it's actually BITTER" way. Then you get the bill and soup+spliting an appetizer 3 ways+1 beer= $28!! you've got to be kidding me. this meal was horrible and for just under $30 i could have had some swank meal with a good glass of wine at anthony's about a mile away and been looking out onto the puget sound while i ate instead of the crack heads just getting out of jail on a monday afternoon...(yes, the jail is just around the corner)..Plus one star because the schmoozy waitress who was earning her tips the only way she knew how told me i reminded her of Sharon Stone.
I've never had a bad experience here but the service and quality seems to have seems to have suffered somewhat since the big move from whatever and a half on Hewitt. They probably make most of their cash in the bar so the focus is on serving drunk people. Too bad because there is lots of potential in the dining room.
The portions are usually more than a fat guy can pack comfortably and the food is decent.
For all you haters that "been there" just remember.....This is Everett.....Washington.....it rains here and the typical cuisine is a blend. This ain't the south Gomer. If ya don't like it just pack up and head south. Don't come back now y'all. Hear??
Oh, how I miss the Green Lake branch of Alligator Soul. That was kind of a shabby-chic white linen tablecloth version of what the Everett place is. So let me just say that I could be favorably predisposed to AS, or disappointed by the differences. But I think I am pretty right on.
AS is essentially a gigantic pub with a kitchen that completely embraces Louisiana cooking traditions. That doesn't mean they do them all, that doesn't mean they necessarily rock the house every time--it just means that that's what they do all the time, and you notice it in virtually every dish they serve. They proudly point out, at least in conversation, that they themselves invented some of the dishes, and "they" aren't all LA natives. Most of the staff in back and in front is from here. But they still seemed to me to keep the spirit of the dishes alive.
I was there for lunch on a weekday. First one in the door. Cooks were still getting set up. Wait staff was awesomely friendly, cooks eventually finished setting up and even they came out and were awesomely friendly. I ordered a bunch of different things (beignets, turtle soup, po' boy), and was completely stuffed.
All the presentation felt pubby--lots of crockery, heavy utensils, ingredients that were fairly simple for the most part. But it's all made enthusiastically and to a nice level of power and balance in the flavors. It's pretty much poor people food with history behind it.
I have to say I walked around and the way the place is set up hardly screams that high-quality food would be served there. Lots of pre-fab touches in the railings, bars, etc.--nothing wrong with it, and I totally get that it costs six figures, minimum, to make a place look truly unique, warm, and inviting. Add to that the fact that there's a souvenir stand by the host station and you might start feeling tourist trap vibes. But once you talk to the staff and get your hands on the food, there's a better than even chance that those vibes will stop. They certainly did for me.
What really leapt out at me was the insanely well-selected beer list. TONS of good stuff. I have talked to distributors who laugh about how often the owner of the place calls around looking for kegs--he really gets some goodies in his cooler, especially for Everett. And as a result, he has built a reputation as a man possessed to serve good beer.
Whichever season it ends up being that I finally buy a pack of Silvertips tickets, I am sure this will turn into a home away from home for me.
Had breakfast here again & man oh man we love this place!
My man had never had grits before a venture here & now would prefer to live on them. The Louis Armstrong is the shizznit. Hash & poached eggs & green onion oh my! And both ringing in at $8.95 makes it a superb deal. And the service is also impeccable. Sweet girls who are right on the ball with every course.
The only thing we would skip is the coffee. Not the highlight of the morning. But then what are we doing ordering coffee, I think a bloody mary would be much more in style.
Whoever wrote this menu is a genius, not just a food genius, but an Albert Einstein worthy GENIUS! I… Read more »
Well I love this place - I've been here before and even before when they were over on Hewitt. Love to bring friends here to get their feedback.
I usually always get Hilbo's Crunchy Chicken Gumbo. My friend got the Jambalaya and I think he was thinking of something else. It wasn't quite what he was expecting so I think that is why he appeared disappointed. However, we both took leftovers home and he told me the next day it was better the next day. Service was good and while the place wasn't booming with business - we actually got there after the lunch rush the place was clean. I didn't have it this time but I would definitely recommend a dessert of Sweet Potato Pecan Pie - yum and double yum.
Note if you have eight or more in your group you can't have separate checks only a single bill and they include a gratuity of 18%. If you get your food to go they add on 25 cents per item. There is a kid's menu for children under 10.
Some history for you - Alligator Soul was started by Chef Hillary "Hilbo" Craig. It was his dream to bring a New Orleans type of restaurant to the NW. In February of 2005, Alligator Soul was purchased by Hilbo's brother-in-law, Rob Siegel and his managing partner, Chef Ryan Sturm.
From what I could tell the lunch menu is about a $1.00 or so cheaper than the dinner menu. My gumbo was 11.95. Yikes - a little more than I like to spend on lunch but I thought it was good.
Try it out as long as you are prepared to spend a little I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Happy Hour is 3 - 6 p.m.All draft beer, well drinks and house wines are $1.00 off.
Hands down, the bourbon-soaked bread pudding and chicory coffee are my favorite things to order here. It is the most delicious way to end a meal. Be sure to bring someone to share it with (the serving is huge!). And stay for the music, since the bourbon will leave you warm & toasty inside. It's that good!
Came here for lunch today after being away way too long. (This was our first time eating in the new location, in fact.) We were not disappointed.
We'd had some weekend plans get rearranged. But, our original plans were going to take us to Everett and I had had the idea that we could lunch at Alligator Soul while there. I was having a hankerin' for their almost-too-good-to-be-true crunchy chicken gumbo. Even though our reason for going to Everett was no longer happening, Mr. H. obliged my desire to come here for lunch. (He's like that. :--) He had the blackened shrimp cobb salad (tossed with a brown butter vinaigrette!) and he was not unhappy. To start, we noshed on fried green tomatoes and corn fried pickles and our tummies thanked us.
Service was fabulous! One server was working every table in the room -- including a family with three small kids and a party of ten -- and doing an excellent job. She was friendly and helpful and completely genuine in wanting to make sure that every customer was having an excellent experience. I asked for a splash more iced tea as she brought us the check, and she asked if I'd rather just get a full glass to go (at no additional charge). How often do things like that happen?
Great food and great service in a comfortable environment? We're just going to have to find more excuses to go to Everett...
We took a friend here last night for her first experience of experience southern cooking. Alligator Soul never disappoints and it is always an extra bonus when the head chef comes to greet your table.
We decided to make a night of it, ordering small amounts at a time to ensure that we wouldn't fill up too fast... but after sharing the crawfish beignets, the alligator bites 'n frites and a cup of turtle soup we couldn't think of eating anything else.
What we had was delicious and my only suggestion to the chef is, to give us more alligator bites less frites, and some more turtle in the soup!
Oh, and if you want a refreshing drink...have the hard watermelon lemonade. We left there with three huge glasses of the watermelon lemonade to make our own hard drinks at home.
The service as always was great!
I love this place! If you are looking for amazing southern food then this is the place to go.
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We felt like we had been magically transported back to the mid-west. We walked in and there it was... an oily formica-topped paradise in every direction. From the back bar area that yearned to be smoky to the clientele that proved that tatoos were completely acceptable replacements for teeth, we were home. Also the high average girth of the crowd and the guy at the next table with Cards team wear from head to toe helped.
Anyhow, the food! For the prices, I'd just as soon go to Kingfish Cafe or the newish place in Leschi/Madrona, but it was really really good. Really! Great service and warm, yummy, cajin goodness goes a long ways.
Also, the alligator mural is what Devinci really MEANT to do. He just didn't know it.
It isn't worth the drive to Everett with it being so close to Canada and all, but since I was lost anyways... Totally worth stopping. Also, being next to Cowgirls Coffee was a delightful bonus.
Good food but my biggest problem with this place is the inconsistency of the food. One week the ribs are falling off the bones and 3 weeks later, its sticks to the bones. Worse is that the sauces for the ribs keep changing flavors everytime. Everytime i come here, its the same menu item but taste differently. When they use to be in their old location, their bread pudding with Bourbon sauce was fantastic, but now.....its so-so.
Good place but just don't expect consistency.
You had me at hush puppies and watermelon lemonade...worth the trip north.
When I moved to the Seattle area, I tried every Cajun/Creole place I could find and not one was even decent...then I got up to Everett to try Alligator Soul. Ooooooooeeeeeeee! That's what I've been looking for.
The menu's too big to cover but I'm a classic romantic. Beignet (both crawfish pre-meal and banana's foster post), fried green tomato with remoulade, po'boys, etouffee...all are solid. If there for dinner I sometimes get a little more adventurous and haven't been disappointed yet. Recently they've started doing Sunday brunch and their morning offerings are equally delectable.
Check their calendar, they have live music several nights each week and other events worth checking out.
Chef Ryan is doing good things and goes out of his way to make guests welcome. Having worked in New Orleans kitchens he was able to provide some new recommendations to this regular New Orleans visitor that made my last visit to one of my favorite cities even better than usual.
I can't believe I just ate a deep fried sandwich for dinner. Yep, you heard me right, the Good Ol' Boy Brisket Deep Fried Po' Boy is exactly as it sounds. It's a sourdough roll stuffed with thin sliced brisket and then deep fried and topped with a delicious gravy and served with some awesome pickles. It was the first thing I read on the menu and despite knowing better and maybe wanting something a little more traditional, it stuck in my brain and I had to order it. And it was awesome - kind of like a brisket donut with gravy - though at $15.95, it was perhaps a little bit steep. But the novelty factor is so off the charts, it's definitely something to have once.
The wife had catfish and hush puppies that were quite good and the salad trio served with them was tasty. The sweet potato fries are very good, almost desert-y - they are coated with cinnamon and sugar. Not as good were the fried green tomatoes. They were too thick and too firm and the remoulade was way too sweet. The breading was good though. Perhaps it's just a bad time for tomatoes? And we both drank lots and lots of sweet tea. God I love sweet tea. How has sweet tea not caught on in more restaurants?
Plus, we were treated to some good, old fashioned Southern music by Slim Pickens, which our one year old girl absolutely loved. I've never seen her dance so much in her seat as she did tonight. And anything that helps keep her happy while we enjoy a meal is very welcome and the music + sweet potato fries + catfish + potato salad really did the job.
Though the prices are a little bit prohibitive, I'm looking forward to my next visit to Alligator Soul so I can try some other, more traditional dishes. It won't be for a while though, that deep fried brisket sandwich might stay with me for a few months.
Oh my goodness. I hadn't been here in years, and did not recall having all that great of an impression at the old location. But I was curious, and meeting an Everett friend for dinner, so we decided to give it a go. And boy am I glad we did!
We split the crawfish beignets to start, which were unlike much anything I've had before. A bit like the fanciest biscuits and gravy ever, and very tasty. The apple and pecan spinach salad was quite nice. And for our main course we split the pork and bourbon poor boy. Not my usual thing, but I'm glad to have tried it.
But what really won my heart over? HOMEMADE PICKLES. So damned tasty, I wanted to take a jar home with me. Had to get a side of those just to chow on. YUM YUM YUM!
Will I be back? Hell yes! Lots of things I'm dying to try on that menu...
I will not be coming back. I was raised in New Orleans, so when I finally moved to Seattle, of course, I missed some good cajun/creole cookin'. I was hoping Alligator Soul would have what I was looking for looking at the Chef's bio, but unfortunately, I was left disappointed and hungry. We dared order the jambalaya, and it was a HUGE mistake. They basically saute their rice in tomato sauce and it even tasted like rice covered in tomato sauce topped with sausage. I can assure you, jambalaya is not supposed to taste like that. It was extremely wet and heavy. I only ate a few bites. Needless to say, I took it home so I could try to salvage it.
But to give them credit, the hush puppies were ok and the po-boys were ok, but they are definitely overpriced.
I can't think of a better way to have recovered from a wild night of pub crawling with the amazing Alli D, awesome yelpers and Alli's tres' cool entourage than having brunch here at Alligator Soul.
Don and I missed Nina or any other yelper who may have shown for this event somehow, but it is definitely their loss.
I had the Deep Fried Bread Pudding French Toast and it was just as good and decadent as it sounds. Served with fresh whip cream, syrup and what was the best raspberry jam I've had this side of my grandma's kitchen all on the side, it was an overload for the senses.
Don ordered the Louis Armstrong pork and potato hash cakes with poached egg..thing. I'm sure the name is a bit more classy than how I'm remembering it, but it was fabulous too.
From the decor, to the staff, the layout, this place really says "The South" and I can see returning here again and again to fully enjoy all the offerings. We perused the regular dinner menu as well to get a feel for the offerings here, and I think we discussed it would take a dozen trips just to cover the 'must trys' on the expansive menu.
They have the most fabulous ceiling mural a la' the "Southern Sistine Chapel' (check Don's local pics as he updates, he got some good shots of it) that is just awesome.
I've been trying to get him up here to try this place for months, it was so worth the wait. Waiting months for a return visit however, isn't an option for him.
Thanks Nina for posting up the Brunch event idea, sorry we missed seeing you!
Why o why did I wait so long to get up here?! My partner in Yelp, Riss, has prompted me to get my cajun-loving butt up here for months...so thanks to Nina for organizing a leisurely Sunday brunch here! Sadly, we passed like ships in the night (or alligators in a swamp?) but the food was incredible!
This is coming from a guy who LOVES cajun food, has travelled extensively through Louisiana, partied in the streets of New Orleans many times, and danced (or tried to) to zydeco music. I will stop-drop-and-roll for jambalaya, and there was a time when I was sure that a good gumbo was better than sex. Seriously. LOVE CAJUN FOOD. And I love Alligator Soul! The atmosphere in there is definitely cajun, from the menu items to the mix of small paintings and mirrors adorning the walls, to the decorative voodoo-ish small casket for trinkets on display in the bar...it's not over-the-top themed, but just enough for you to remember your last trip south (if you've been).
I tried the pulled-pork cakes: think crabcakes, but with BBQ pulled pork mixed with shredded potato instead of crab. Covered with a poached egg, like an eggs benedict, and drizzled with a cheesy hollandaise sauce, this is OMG-delicious. I was expecting it to be more salty due to the pork, but instead found it to be a perfect balance when you apply a splash of their specially bottled hot sauce.
Karissa had the bread-pudding-french-toast, which was slabs of bread pudding fried up like french toast, served with jam and syrup on the side, and a healthy-sized dollop of fresh whipped cream. I tried it sans extra to get the flavor, and it is exactly as billed - you'll taste the bread pudding while enjoying the slight crunchiness from the pan-toasting!
Apparently the breakfast menu is new, but everything on the menu - breakfast and the dinner one that we looked over - looks amazing. They have live music there in the evenings, so I'm definitely thinking another visit is in the works to enjoy more down-south cookin'!
Be sure to check out my pics...there's a VERY famous painting on the ceiling, redone for Alligator Soul. 1,000 points if you can tell me the name of the original fresco (a hint is in the picture caption) and another 1,000 points if you can tell me WHERE the original is located.
This is pretty standard "N'Awlins" fare. Which means it's good -- VERY good.
I heard a quote today: "If you have a gator, make gatorade". I thought it was cute, and it inspired me to write a review of this place.
I've been here a few times. The seafood gumbo was very good -- the spice level is perfect for New Orleans, but a bit hot by northwest standards -- but I like the spice. The dish features 5 huge deep-fried prawns that are great. The other seafood in it is good, but not as identifiable as the shrimp. I was very satisfied, but at $18 for a lunch dish, well, that's definitely a bit pricey by New Orleans standards, but then, we aren't in New Orleans.
The Jambalaya lunch special is $10, and all you can eat. Now there's a deal! Only I'm not a huge fan of the Jambalaya because it's a bit too wet, and there's some mystery meat in it that I wasn't a fan of. BUT... if you like this dish, there's free seconds, and you will definitely fill up big time on this dish with the generous portion, and if you dare the free seconds.
The most amazing, 6-out-of-five-star dish I had was the Oyster po-boy. Oh my gosh, the remoulade sauce (AMAZING!) slathered generously on a perfect bun with huge specimens of fried, juicy oysters) -- now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about. It's even better than most places you'd get a po-boy in the quarter. It's really good -- and at $11, for this quality, it really is a terrific deal. If you want to know what a good po-boy sandwich in New Orleans tastes like, get this sandwich. Yum YUM!
The service is great, and the servers make an effort to actually have a conversation with you, which is New Orleans style, albeit maybe a bit awkward here in the PacNW. Even the cook came out to say "Hi", and he took pride in my endorsement of the oyster po-boy -- as he should -- very nice. I really do appreciate that.
The employees here look like a big family -- always busy, working hard, and they seem to be enjoying their work. Lovely to see in and out of the kitchen.
The menu is extensive, and interesting. It's also a great place to bring groups, because this place is HUGE. And they have a unique tap beer selection, including a variety of southern and northwest beers. Plus the several southern-style hot sauces, and the spice mix they make themselves -- delicious.
I would give it five stars, but there were some dishes that aren't a complete hit, so I'm sticking to the four stars -- which is still a great endorsement.
I do highly recommend this place. especially if you want authentic New Orleans food here in the Pac NW, which is somewhat hard to find.
PROS: Good, authentic New Orleans food. Friendly staff. Awesome po-boys that are New Orleans perfection.
CONS: A bit pricey by New Orleans standards. Jambalaya not my favorite.
Just had my first visit to this place and I will be going back. The atmosphere is great, just like the food.
Sampled some alligator (I liked, girfriend didn't) while jammin' to blues and talking to the chef. Very busy on a weekend, show up early if you want a table. Stay all night, you won't regret it. Be sure to check out the "gatorized" sistine chapel ceiling ;)
Finding good Cajun in the Northwest is challenging, at best. But I had the biggest craving around Mardis Gras, and this place left me feeling satisfied (if not blown away). The chef has Commander's Palace cred, and an epic menu. The seafood bouillabaisse was great - spicy, tomato-y and chock full of crawfish, mussels, shrimp, and (maybe too much) andouille sausage. It was easily enough for two people to share. The beignets were lovely with crawfish sauce. The turtle soup hit the spot, but in New Orleans it would've been so-so. The bananas foster beignets made me long for actual bananas foster. The drinks were really yummy. The worst part was driving the half hour back to Seattle in way-too-tight jeans.
Prices were totally reasonable for the quality, though understandably more than you'd pay for the same thing in Louisiana.
I will certainly be back next time I have a craving, but I'd love to see maybe some crab/crawfish/bacon stuffed catfish in tasso sauce?!?! Softshell crab? Chargrilled oysters? Pretty please?
I have an intense affinity for anything New Orleans-related. I'm not sure why... I am completely unrelated to the area, culture, history... but love is blind and I LOVE New Orleans and I love Cajun food! I was so excited to try this place that I was willing to journey all the way to Everett. That's dedication.
My friend and I went there kinda early on a Wednesday, it was great because there was no wait and quick service. I started out with a mint julep (obvious choice!) and it was perfect, plus secretly strong (I was buzzed by the end of it, thanks Alligator Soul!). We decided if we were getting down with some good ol' southern cooking, there was no reason to be modest, we might as well just throw shame out the window and Paula Deen-style it... it was fat kid paradise. We shared:
- fried alligator chunks
- andouille gumbo
- jambalaya (BEST EVER. also the hugest portion you could imagine.)
- deep-fried catfish
- hush puppies
- salad trio (potato salad, corn salad, coleslaw)
Oh my god. It was out of control. The gumbo was fantastic, the only time I've had better was actually in Louisiana. Everything was worth the millions of calories I ingested, that's for sure. I also drank a huuuge watermelon lemon drop, I've decided that's going to be my official summertime beverage for 2009.
Oh and to top it off, there was a LIVE JAZZ BAND!!
As we departed, I pondered whether or not I would get some sweet Mardi Gras beads if I flashed the cute chef.... luckily (or unluckily, for him. ha!) I decided it probably was a bad idea. Next time, Alligator Soul, next time....
Laissez les bon temps roulez!
Boooooo.
I'll start by pointing out that I am from the South. I lived in Alabama for 23 years, and I moved here to Seattle from New Orleans when Katrina hit. I know and love both Southern and Cajun/Creole foods. I was *really* excited about our adventure to Everett just to eat here.
When we walked in I loved the restaurant. Cheesy in a fun way, big stuffed alligator hanging from the ceiling, really nice waitress. But then the food happened.
We ordered crawfish beignets (cause wtf?) to start. My sweetie picked jambalaya for his entree, but I wanted something different. I wanted a traditional southern vegetable plate, or a "meat and three" as we call it down there. You pick your meat, then three veggies, or for the same price, you pick four or five veggies and no meat.
This wasn't an option here (why?), but they did have a lot of the traditional veggies as sides, as well as a "side" of catfish (why?). So I ordered a bunch of sides: catfish, black-eyed peas, collard greens, fried green tomatoes, and fried okra. We planned to share the veggies and take any leftovers home. I would have liked a hushpuppy or two, but the only option is to order a bowl of 8 (why?). I declined.
The drinks came first. The watermelon lemonade is really good; in fact, it was the only good thing we had. The "Chef's frozen" (what?) Manny's is a big weird bowl-goblet (why?) that's chilled and filled with beer; more than a pint but not enough to justify the $8 price. Wtf? I've never heard of a bar charging for a frozen glass before. (And I've been working in bars and restaurants for over a decade.)
Then came the crawfish beignets. At $8 for a "small" order, these were total bullshit. Deep fried balls of flour dough (that manage to not resemble a beignet at all), with a small dish of flour based sauce flavored with crawfish stock to dip them in. Not a single actual crawfish in the entire dish--just a big greasy plate of flour and fat. Gross. And not reminiscent of New Orleans or the south at all.
Next, entrees: The waitress informs me that since the kitchen is busy they can't put my vegetables all on one plate. Now, this place is *huge*, like, the biggest restaurant I've been in since that unfortunate lunch at Todai (ugh). And it was about 10% full. So, really, the kitchen's too busy? To put my food all on one plate, instead of on 5 separate tiny ones? That doesn't make any sense, but whatever, I just want the food.
Or at least I think I do.
The catfish wasn't bad, but it wasn't exciting either. Just a tiny little piece of frozen fried fish. Lame. The blackeyed peas were chalky and didn't taste like much of anything but salt. The greens were gross and sweet (?). The green tomatoes had zero flavor (they should be tart and green tasting), but the breading tasted like old fryer grease and way too much seasoning. They were sliced too thickly, so as to be over-done on the edges but uncooked in the middle. The remoulade sucked and in no way resembled remoulade: it reeked of vinegar and not much else. The okra was overcooked and shrunken away from the breading, which, again, tasted like old fryer grease and way too much seasoning.
I hardly ate any of my food. It was truly awful.
The jambalaya was just okay. It clearly contained tomato paste, which was too sweet and took over the other flavors. Tomatoes don't even belong in jambalaya in the first place. The andouille seemed alright. The rest was totally unremarkable.
The worst part? My crappy food added up to $20, and the jambalya was about the same. We ended up spending $70 after the tip, for one lemonade, 2 beers (one "frozen"), some greasy fried flour, crappy vegetables, a piddly piece of catfish, and a mediocre tomato-paste and rice dish. 70 bucks. Imagine all the places we could have gone to for that money. Without venturing all the way to Everett.
We had no interest in our leftovers. Everything sucked. What a scam. We won't be going back.
Conclusion: If you have no taste but lots of money, and enjoy the prospect of obesity and adult-onset diabetes, eat here.
(BTW, No one in or from New Orleans says "Nu'Awlins". That's a tourist trick. Southerners say "New Or-lee-anns". Now stop that.)
What's not to like about this place? They have: a superb menu of great Cajun food. I've had their Jambalaya, gumbo, seafood boil, catfish... all top notch. It's really difficult deciding what to order here. I love the fried crawdads and fried green tomatoes as starters. Bread pudding is made with a wonderful bourbon sauce, it's our favourite. All the items are reasonably priced.
They have a nice selection of beers on tap. There's live entertainment on Saturday nights. (which can be a bit loud if you are seated too close)Service is always friendly and good and there's parking. The new location suits them well, the old place was funky cool but the new one offers more seating and is better for the entertainment. It's well worth my drive from Seattle to eat here!
Cheaper than plane tickets to New Orleans! Not my words- I'm stealing this line from the gregarious chef who is down-to-earth enough to come out of the kitchen to serve their creations and chat with the crowd.
Our table did a number of sides and apps along side only 2 entrees (ribs, pecan crusted fish with a kick-ass spinach and celery root saute). You can even get a small portion of gumbo. Fried green tomatoes, cornmeal crusted fried oysters (perfect!), collard greens, black eyed peas, you name it our table had it. We did not have any of their namesake meat as my in-laws told us that the alligator bites were not all that. The turtle soup sounded appealing to hubby, though I'm glad that he didn't order it.
The atmosphere was just right for baby- lots of lights and color to distract her, music to entertain the rest.
We returned to Alligator Soul and enjoyed a mediocre meal. All I know is that when I got home I was incredibly sick. I WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO EAT. Eek! Methinks not- is precisely how I feel about this place. A little too scared to return. Too bad.
If the service would have been better I would have given Alligator Soul five stars. We waited a… Read more »
I came here for brunch and got the blackened benedict while the bf got the gumbo. The blackened benedict was good and I loved my bf's gumbo although I wished more rice came with it. Service was friendly. I also had it with sangria while my bf got the bloody mary. The bloody mary tasted too vinegary, there didn't seem to be a lot of tomato juice in it. The sangria was ok. Would love to come here again so we can order something off the complete lunch/dinner menu.
Damn we had a lot of fun last night. Brother's birthday dinner - we had 14 people in attendance. They sat us near the band and with a 4-year old who doesn't like things loud we thought, "oh hell, we're in trouble".
Not so much.
The service was just excellent - from the waitress to the sous chef to the exec chef who both came out several times to make sure things were a-ok, it felt like we were part of the family. When one of the entrees for one of our party ran behind the other 13, the chef brought out a little bowl of soup until the gumbo was ready - that is just smart, excellent service.
I had a beautiful Sazerac drink to start followed by a great IPA (their beer menu is awesome and varied). A puff-pastry crawfish dish was literally something I'd kill for. My Shrimp Creole was very good, if not excellent - nice prawns and a spicy tomato broth is hard to beat. The hush puppies were just awesome. My biggest issue was wanting to try more stuff (deep-fried poboy, anyone?) than I could in a single sitting.
The live music was just awesome with the players working the room, giving my daughter and niece tamborines so they could jam with the band up on stage, and just generally making the place feel like places I remember in n'awlins from a couple of years back. My daughter, who I mentioned doesn't like loud stuff, was clapping and dancing in the back area most of the night.
Everyone left full and happy - and I can attest that the creole hotpot was a hit with people in the party. Don't let the drive to Everett scare you - from Magnolia it only took us 39 minutes door-to-door. We'll definitely come back - the food and drink, the entertainment, and the staff make it too much fun not to.
What a fun atmosphere... Food was pretty good, little too bland for me. I had the Jambalaya... Presentation was nice, and the deep fried appetizer sampler was overkill. I love the southern sweet tea.
After driving by this place to get to work so many times my husband and I just had to stop. Finding parking was a pain but we managed. The wait was about a half an hour so they gave us menus to look over. I was thrilled to see some familiar and not so familiar fare on the list.
We go seated near the live band, something I'll do my best not to have happen again. The music was good, but you couldn't even hear yourself think let alone talk to your partner. The service was prompt. The staff was courteous and even fun. The food was spectacular though the prices a bit high, $8 being the average for every drink.
All in all it was a fun experience and we'll go back again for sure. If you're in the area I recommend to check it out.
This place just recently opened for brunch on a regular basis and I couldn't be happier. I did have the chance to try out their menu (dinner and brunch) at their old location a quite few times and I have to say they have not lost any of their mojo in their new digs.
My husband had the crab and gruyere french toast and I had the fried green tomato and eggs over pan fried sourdough bread with creole hollandaise sauce and pancetta (I think). Both were to die for! Their drinks are sturdy, and their starters are fresh and gooooood.
Do yourself a favor and invite the in-laws, the good friends, the work mates and th school mates, relax and have a great meal.
GREAT Cajun Food. GREAT bartender. I don't even know what else to say. I am continually surprised at just how many Beers you guys have up here. I had the Agate Pass Amber and was again delighted with the choice.
I never knew that I would find wicked tasty Cajun right off of the highway in Everett, WA! But boy howdy did I ever find it!
Great, authentic gumbo and some of the best tasting Garlic Pepper Shrimp that I have ever had.... I have to say, this food and restaurant ranks up there with the best restaurants that I have been to on my journey across this country. Love this place! I could go on for a long time, heralding the reasons why Cajun is great and so is this place, but I will just let you find out for your own self.
Soul Food Week, just can't get enough!
After a massive meal yesterday on Capital Hill, I cant' get enough the soul out of my mind!
Service = Good
Ambiance = decent setup, interesting paint on ceiling, live music at night could spice things up
Food = Jambalaya is best I've tried, hands down! Fried Chicken is insane, pretty close to the best and that a tough accomplishment!
Price = $$
Crowd = light Monday afternoon,
Favorite = Fried chicken is awesome!
Worst = far drive for me!
Final Say = WATCH OUT FOR MAD FLAVOR!
I know I know I am bucking the trend, but I expected so much more out of Alligator soul from all of the great reviews. I took my mom here for her 58th birthday with my family, we all have driven passed this place and wanted to try it. The first thing was seating, I have 3 kids and with 3 adults we take up alot of space. There is 2 sections to this place, a main dining area and another right in front of the kitchen that looks like an old diner. Noticing that all of the booths were taken (not really wanting to sit in the middle of the room so everybody looks at you when your kids are a bit loud) I asked to have a booth on the other side that was a little quieter and had many booths. The hostess told me no that it was closed- but there were people eating at the bar and in a booth. No big deal I decided it was OK to sit at the table in the middle of the room. Then I got the menu.....man this place is pretty expensive, especially for the kids menus. It was cheaper to order their foods as sides then from the kids menu with more food.
I have been to the south, and I have had creole food before, and this is by far the most expensive southern food I have eaten.
$8 for a tiny bloody mary...........get the beer (which they have a great assortment of micros). Now being named alligator soul I had to try the gator bites. I have had gator many times when going to Florida. These were not very good at all, the first time gator has been really fishy tasting and super dark. My wife had to spit some out on two of the nuggets because it seamed it was only fat or cartilage. The rest of the food was pretty good. I really enjoyed my jambalaya-super flavorful and just the right amount of kick. I sampled the rest of the food too and everything was pretty good---but not stand out in my mind like I had expected. I will say high five to the ham hock greens, these and my jambalaya were the best dishes my far.
Maybe this was an off day, who knows. I think I might try it again, but without the rest of the family to keep the bill under $130. We shall see..............
Love it! It lost a bit of the rustic ambience when they moved, but the food hasn't changed. try the gumbo with fried catfish. Yummm.
THE Place to get your Cajun On!!! A friend took me to this place and I fell in love with it. I don't know what is best, sushi or cajun. This place hops, the music on a friday night, the food choices...what do you want to try?? what do you want to eat?? I love the beignet sauce made with crawdads, etc. What could you not want to eat. The portions are gluttenous, the margaritas were fantastic, the service was perfect and a great place for good times and good friends and making great mems with your partner.
Very, very good food. I love their appetizers. The bands are always great. I went on my birthday and the band sang to me and let my husband's (then) 13 year old cousin come up and play drums. It's laid back, not too expensive (but not cheap either) and I've never been disappointed in the food or service!
Everett, WA
Category: Grocery
Everett, WA
Category: Pizza
Everett, WA
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Everett, WA
Category: Breakfast & Brunch
Everett, WA
Category: Coffee & Tea
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