Razzoo's Cajun Cafe - is it worth the wait?

**UPDATE:  Tried Razzoo's out again the other day.  The spectacular catfish we had on our first visit is no more.  The catfish we had was fishy, muddy and just awful.  There were some pieces that were simply inedible.  My wife ended up throwing up afterwards.  The fried pickles and green beans also weren't as good.  I had a redfish special which was overcooked and not fresh.  Overall, the food quality and attention to detail were abysmal.  Additionally, maybe I didn't notice last time, but there were several waitresses that were wearing shorts that were so tiny, they would make a Hooters girl blush.  I may be overly harsh, but we won't be returning.  That said, the place was still packed on a Sunday afternoon.

Razzoo's Cajun Cafe



Razzoo's is a new place just off 69/Broadway south of Grande, just south of the Walmart in the building that Carretta's used to be in (Carretta's closing wasn't a surprise - see my previous review).  They put a lot of time, money and effort turning this place into a unique, bright, vibrant, visually appealing space.

The spread:  They are Cajun themed as the name implies with a menu to reflect.  The appetizers range from gumbo, fried pickles, popcorn shrimp, stuffed jalepenos, boudain, etc.  The entrees range from poor boys (shrimp, catfish, chicken), red beans and rice, etoufee, shrimp creole, various combinations of fried fish/shrimp/crawfish, shrimp creole, pasta, ribs, etc.  The have a full bar with a decent selection of draft beer as well as some desserts to choose from.

The verdict:  Well, my first impression of the place was that there was a lot of flash/marketing and not a whole lot of substance.  The outside decor is very eye catching and if you have tried to eat here, you have more than likely had a long wait.  We fortunately were able to be seated right away.  The service was friendly, if a bit young and inexperienced.  The food had some high points and low points.  We tried the fried pickles, seafood gumbo, catfish platter, shrimp poboy and crawfish etoufee.  The crawfish etoufee was nearly inedible, there was some background plastic flavor that was simply disgusting.  Next worst was the seafood gumbo, as the roux base was watery and bland - no depth of flavor from a genuine gumbo.  The shrimp poboy was fairly good with nicely cooked shrimp and great bread (key to any good poboy).  The fried pickles were also very good and were well seasoned.   The jalepeno hush puppies were also very good.  In the end the Cajun food reminded me of Joe's Crabshack - commercialized, bland, dumbed down with the caveat of outstanding catfish.

Edible Tyler Roses:  0 out of 5, skip the "Cajun" food, real problems with consistency.