Cajun Connection

Reviews

• Kathy J.

  star star star star star 14 June 2026

  Please keep in mind that with the new move, not everything will be perfect. This is the case with all new places. Don't voice your comments on their first few opening days. Give them a chance to work out the details and perfect their new place. This is truly one of the BEST places in the Illinois Valley to eat!!

• Gary D.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 14 June 2026

  This rating is purely due to the rude hostess at the door. We walked out after she sat people first that came in after us. When you first walk in she tells you there's a really long wait & if you hang out for a couple of minutes she ends up giving you a number & then seats people by those numbers. However the people she sat prior to us received a number after us. After that & waiting for 25 minutes we decided it was time to leave.
  I've never seen a hostess actually dissuade people from coming into a restaurant.
  
  She told one group they were holding the door open & the AC was on.
  
  I guess based on all the other reviews that the food is good but be ready to be handled rudely by a hostess.

• Damon B.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 12 June 2026

  I first heard about this place many years ago from a co-worker. That was probably more than 15 years ago, and he recommended I try it. I was hesitant, but my wife gave me the final push I needed while we were in the area for another activity. Don't worry, she's since apologized.
  Our second home is in the middle of Bayou country. I've eaten hundreds of dishes served at a large variety of different eating establishments around the 100-mile​ radius of New Orleans, serving everything from Cajun and Creole to hotdogs and hamburgers. Most have​been mouth-watering​​ and delicious, a few much less stellar. None has ever tasted anything like what I had at Cajun Connection.
  To get a well rounded taste of what they were serving, my wife and I went for the combo platter for 2. Jambalaya, red beans and rice, shrimp creole, and crawfish etouffee​ were served, though there wasn't much to distinguish the tastes of one to the next. Here is I could throw in plenty of detail and complaints, such as the nearly inexistent​ crawfish and the tiny little cocktail shrimp. But, let me get the most disappointing​ feature of the dishes. They all tasted (almost) exactly​ like bad Chinese food. Each had this weird and awkwardly misplaced sweetness that you may expect from teriyaki chicken or sweet and sour shrimp. At one point, before either of us commented on the food, I looked up at my wife as she chews and looks oddly at her food. I knew she was thinking the exact same thing and we both erupted with laughter. I have no idea who, that has actually had true Cajun or Creole food before, could give this more than 3 stars generously. I'm about 1.5, rounding up to 2 here.
  In summary, it's obvious that a number of people like​ the food here. We didn't. But, love it or hate it, this does not taste like (or even remind me of) food from Cajun country. If this is your expectation, and you have a solid basis for comparison, you'll be disappointed.

• Ali B.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 6 June 2026

  Cajun Connection was a huge disappointment to us.  The South is our second "home", and as a rule of thumb, we avoid cajun food north of the Memphis area because it is typically a let down.  We decided to give Cajun Connection a try based on the overall Yelp rating and upon reading of the owner's Louisiana roots.  
  
  I'll start with agreeing with others about the rude hostess at the door.  She exudes no southern hospitality.  Instead, she acts as though your patronage has reminded her once again of how much she dislikes being in the service industry.  Service like this is appalling.
  
  Service was a little slow, and the waitress tried to walk away twice without getting a drink order or food order for my 19 month old.  Yes; she eats too!
  
  It probably would have been best to let the waitress walk away without taking all of our orders, because aside from the boudin balls, the food was a complete waste of money.  The gumbo was runny, and the roux tasted like flour.  My husband and I split the combo, and the jambalaya, shrimp creole, crawfish etouffee and red beans and rice all tasted essentially the same.  The taste was not cajun, but sweet, just like Chinese teriyaki. The jambalaya was just like sweet and sour Chinese dishes.  Meat was nearly absent- one 51-60 count size shrimp in the shrimp creole, and one crawfish tail in the etouffee.  That's a lot of sugary sweet rice with out meat for a $30 price tag.
  
  I don't like sweet food, I didn't want Chinese, and I found no resemblance to any of the countless cajun meals I've had in the South.  
  
  Do yourself a favor and keep driving much further south if you are looking for good cajun and creole cuisine.

• Christene J.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 17 May 2026

  So disappointed.  We've been here several times.  Always left feeling like the meal was an experience.  Tonight was the worst meal we've had in a long time and it was almost all related to service.  I think our waitress was new.  This was the first time we've been to the new location.  The waitress was rude.  I don't think she welcomed us even once or even said hello.  She walked away from our table before our order was even out of our mouths.  
  
  We ordered Catfish Arcadian with shrimp and alligator, all blackened and Catfish Piquant with crawfish and alligator, all blackened.  As you can see on our receipt, she didn't enter it in correctly.  We got Catfish Arcadian with fried catfish, crawfish and blackened alligator and Catfish Piquant with blackened catfish, shrimp and breaded alligator.  Sigh.
  
  When I told her there was a mistake, instead of taking our plates away and getting us a new meal, she brought an empty plate over and told us to put the things that were wrong on the empty plate!!!  So, on went the breaded fish covered in the sauce with crawfish and breaded alligator.  We sat with 1/2 our meals while they cooked up more and out she brought the blackened fish and blackened alligator.  Our now partially cold meal was not looking very appetizing.  I asked for additional sauce because she took the other away, she brought a tiny little dish, maybe a tablespoon of sauce with no crawfish!!!  That was part of the $19 price tag!  
  
  The food is actually good.  All except the blackened alligator.  It's tender enough but ours was so salty we didn't even eat it.  $60 down the drain.  
  
  This was an unacceptable meal.