Ragin Cajun

The food was good..not great. Definitely expected better. The ambiance was the inside of a very old house.The service was good however I don't think we will be returning.

Food is ok but if you planning to sit outside you will be basically right on route 35, which wasn't very appealing to me.

Went to the Ragin Cajun with a very dear friend of mine and we had a stupendous meal. We ended up here because the original restaurant we wanted to go to that night was no longer accepting reservations (to be fair, we were trying to make a reservation VERY last minute which basically undermines the purpose of restaurant reservations in the first place). I don't live super close to the shore (~35 minutes away) and Ragin Cajun was well worth the trek.

The little pre-meal thingy they do is bread rolls with butter and roasted (?) garlic. My friend had the genius idea to make a little sandwich out of these three ingredients plus the clams we ordered as our appetizer -- so yummy. The jambalaya was awesome and the portion was MASSIVE. The blackened catfish was awe-inspiring, easily the star of the meal. The sauce (tartar, I think) they paired with the fish was perfect.

The service was excellent -- warm, friendly, and charismatic. The ambiance was cozy and unassuming, really reminded you that this restaurant is inside of a gutted home.

Returned back a year later and still extremely satisfied. The food is absolutely delicious and the portions are so big, you'll have left overs for days.

The garlic and bread to start is one of my favorite things. We followed that with our favorite appetizer, the lobster mac and cheese. By far the best thing on the menu in my opinion.

Ordered the garlic dish with bow ties and chicken this time around and loved it.

This place is an absolute must when in town!
Don't forget it's BYOB - pack some wine

Wanted to really like this place but was disappointed from the start as they told us indoor seating was available - but it wasn't. Our waitstaff did a great job of setting up two gas heaters that made things better on the patio.

Our party of 6 thoroughly enjoyed the appetizers - Blackened Swordfish Bites, Alligator Sausage and Blackened Tuna Bites. No leftovers here! Two members of our group also had the Creole Onion Soup and enjoyed it very much. We could have ordered a few more appetizers and gone on to dessert - but ...

Entrees consisted of Tomato Basil Shrimp and Scallops (2), Spanish Paella, Baton Rouge Mahi Mahi, Chicken Jambalaya and Shrimp Jambalaya. Large portions and everyone took some food home.

Overall, an okay meal and we will give them another chance to really shine.

Last evening, we dined here early about 530 to 630 pm. It was around 70° so we ate outside, which was a great place to enjoy the sun setting over the Belmar marina.
We brought our own wine. Can't beat BYOBs - you save so much money.
We skipped the appetizers, though by the descriptions, the selections seemed inviting.
Anyway, it was probably better not to fill up on an appetizer because I had the huge Spanish Paella, which was not simply quantity but quality - all seafood, chicken, etc. very fresh and deliciously prepared. My dining companion had Blackened Catfish, which was also scrumptious.
Service was prompt and friendly.
We will be back soon.

I'm really torn between 2 or 3 stars for this review... my friends and I came on a Friday evening and asked to be seated on the porch (I sat right next to the entrance of the restaurant). They have a screen door that slams shut every time it's opened (unless you're very careful). Even the wait staff were careless.. If you sit inside next to the doors, or on the porch - keep this in mind.

I'm regards to the actual meal, we got mac and cheese w/ lobster, coconut shrimp, and asparagus for appetizers. For mains, we got the jambalaya (seafood), Etouffee (steak and shrimp), blackened shrimp and pasta. This is where I'm torn - everything was okay. Nothing amazed us but there were some highlights. The scallops and shrimps on the blackened shrimp and pasta were really good, the pasta was eh though. The Etoufee was unique but nothing to brag about & the beef was way over done. The jambalaya had a kick to it and mussels were pretty good.

Why I'm doing a 2 star review and not a 3 is that my friends and I have a strong intuition there's a lot of imitation seafood used & not specified. For example, the lobster on the Mac & cheese w/ lobster had lots of lobster pieces that are most likely imitation meat. For a seafood restaurant to serve low quality seafood or even imitation meat, we were pretty disappointed and felt cheated by the end of the meal.

Authentic and Delicious with a rustic homey feel. They have nice intimate seating inside and cozy outside seating. We are fans of how well the food is prepared and platted. Will be back.

Love the efficient service, the delicious food & the intimacy of the small venue. We had the alligator bites, the romaine lettuce salad with shrimp, blackened tuna & blackened salmon. Prices are reasonable & portions are large. More than enough to take home for another meal. BYOB

First: you need to park on the street by 7-11, they do not have parking. It's BYOB and make a reservation.

Date night with hubby, is always try a new place, and and we've been wanting to come here for years. Made reservations and we were in!!!

We arrived and the delicious aromas that met us at the door were so tantalizing, we couldn't wait to order, but 1st things 1st, we were given a bucket of ice for our beer,very important to not have warm beer and handed our menus. We wanted everything, but self control is vital, lol, so we ordered what we love most.

We ordered the lobster bisque, which was absolutely fantastic! The alligator bites and shrimp- all a must have. I order as my main course the paella. Let me tell you, as a Hispanic, I've eaten my weight in paella over the years. I've had from horrendous to mediocre to passable ok, to this, this amazing, perfectly seasoned, paella fish, that was laid before me. Rice was cooked and flavorful to perfection. Packed with huge shrimp, delicate scallops, sausage, mussels and clams, this was absolutely hands-down the best paella, (besides my grandmother's) that I have ever had the pleasure to eat. My hubby had the Swamp Daddy Pasta it was ALSO packed with jumbo Shrimp, Alligator Sausage, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms in a cream sauce tossed with bow tie pasta, I had a bite, it was deeeelicious. We ate and talked and really enjoyed our dinner..

We obviously HAD to save room for dessert and coffee. Hubby had the peanut butter explosion, it was like a giant peanut butter cup but a 1000x better. I ordered the bananas foster, it was the perfect dessert after this incredible meal.

We were, are so happy we finally went. Service was impeccable, attention to everything, and in the times right now, this is so hard to find!

I wish this sweet restaurant and it's hard working employees who obviously love their jobs, many, many more years of prosperity and happy customers.