31. SEROP’S CAFE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 767-5500
Address: 6301 Perkins Rd.
Description: This popular cafe attracts local residents with freshly cooked Lebanese cuisine, handy for brief business lunches or a casual evening meal. Among favorites are Fish and Shrimp in a creamy dill sauce served with rice pilaf and vegetables. Grilled lamb, beef, chicken and kafta kebobs are served with fluffy rice pilaf and hummus. We recommend the creamy lentils as a side dish. The Corporate Boulevard location is open daily for lunch and dinner, but the Perkins Road location is closed weekends.
32. SEROP’S EXPRESS
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 338-1211
Address: 504 Main St.
Description: This Lebanese version of a fast-food restaurant attracts locals with its cafeteria setup. Customers can select from meats, vegetables, salads, and desserts and create their own plates. The food is well seasoned and cooked with fresh ingredients. Tables are available for sit-down dining, or ask for carry-out service. Lunch and dinner are served Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Jefferson Highway location; the Main Street location closes at 2 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
33. LOS GALLOS MEXICAN GRILL AND CANTINA
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 293-6480
Address: 6606 Siegen Lane
Description: Los Gallos, a comfortable, family-style restaurant, offers a large menu of regional dishes from Mexico as well as Tex-Mex favorites. Crispy empanadas (small fried pies) filled with a lightly seasoned ground beef and served with fresh pico de gallo make a great appetizer for two. For a light touch, the chicken lime soup is a delicate chicken broth packed with diced potato, yellow squash, zucchini, and chicken. This is one of the few restaurants in Baton Rouge where you can get a chicken enchilada topped with a thick mole sauce, a blend of chile powders, ground nuts, and chocolate. Iced tea is served in large pitchers. Margaritas and other cocktails are available from the bar. Open for lunch and dinner daily.
34. MESTIZO LOUISIANA MEXICAN RESTAURANT
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 387-2699
Address: 2323 Acadian
Description: Mestizo does an excellent job of blending the flavors of Mexico’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts with the fresh seafood tastes of Louisiana. Start with the shrimp and crab queso dip served with icy margaritas. Entrees vary, but we recommend the shrimp and crab enchiladas, topped with creamy melted cheese and served with pico de gallo. For a different touch, try the Louisiana salad of fried crawfish tails in a sweet potato batter over a bed of lettuce with tomatoes, chives, and guacamole in a fried tortilla shell. Open for lunch and dinner daily.
35. SERRANOS SALSA COMPANY
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 344-2354
Address: 3347 Highland Rd.
Description: Join the collegiate crowd at Serrano’s located near LSU’s north gate. The restaurant takes an original approach to Latin American cuisine. The menu features Tex-Mex favorites as well as grilled dishes from Mexico and Central America blended with the flavors of Louisiana. Serranos has the largest selection of tequilas, rums, and Latin wines on the Gulf Coast. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday through Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Address: 5435 Government St.
37. HALF SHELL RESTAURANT AND OYSTER BAR
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 673-1951
Address: 37390 Perkins Rd.
Description: Even if you don’t eat oysters, it’s fascinating to watch oysters being shucked almost as fast as people can eat the briney mollusks. The Half Shell serves oysters up faster than you can order another dozen. You can get them raw or char-grilled, Bienville, Casso, Rockefeller, or Piccante di Formaggio. Then there’s a dish called Oysters in Heaven. It includes grilled oysters in an eggplant, shrimp, and crab casserole. Patrons also enjoy seafood cooked every way imaginable. The restaurant also grills steaks and serves a variety of veggies, including corn maque choux and sweet potato fries. Regional bands crank up at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday nights. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.
38. HEADS AND TAILS SEAFOOD
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 767-2525
Address: 2070 Silverside Dr.
Description: Heads and Tails has served Baton Rouge customers for more than 20 years. This cozy small cafe (off Perkins Road near Essen Lane) offers down-home bayou cooking. The seafood gumbo here was voted Number One by the Wall Street Journal. Try the grilled fish of the day topped with crabmeat or crawfish tails. The po’boys served on crispy fresh French bread are packed with your choice of oysters, shrimp, crawfish tails, catfish, sausage, chicken, roast beef, or ham and cheese. Then there’s the Poor Sloppy Pierre Po’Boy featuring fried crawfish tails topped with homemade étouffée. The restaurant also serves seafood platters and burgers. Place your order at the counter. Help yourself to a soft drink and wait for the delicious food. Open Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
39. MIKE ANDERSON’S
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 766-7823
Address: 1031 West Lee Dr.
Description: Mike Anderson’s, established in the 1970s by a former LSU All-American football player, started in a small cottage just outside the university’s south gate. The restaurant has grown into a landmark eatery, famed for its fresh Louisiana seafood. Signature dishes include fried or broiled fish topped with crab and crawfish in rich sauces. For a special treat, order a huge platter of crisp onion rings or artichoke, spinach, and shrimp dip with thin fried catfish “chips.” Stop at the bar for a cold beer and outstanding charbroiled oysters. Lunch and dinner served daily.
40. PARRAIN’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 381-9922
Address: 3225 Perkins Rd.
Description: Dine here for nouveau Cajun cuisine served in a pure Louisiana setting. Every day, the restaurant has two lunch specials, and one is always seafood. Try the oysters—only 25 cents each—all day Tuesday. A new outside deck is a great spot to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Parrain’s packs in crowds on weekends. Go early or late to avoid the rush. Happy hour is 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Hammerhead Bar. Lunch and dinner are served daily. Brunch is offered on Sunday.
41. RALPH & KACOO’S
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 766-2113
Address: 6110 Bluebonnet Blvd.
Description: Ralph and Kacoo’s, across from the Mall of Louisiana, features a variety of fresh seafood dishes with Cajun flavor, including daily grilled specials. Dine here when you anticipate a seafood platter piled high with fantastic fish, shrimp, oysters, stuffed crab, and more. For sheer dining pleasure, try the crabmeat au gratin. R&K’s old-fashioned deep-fried cornmeal hush puppies may be the best in the South. Lunch and dinner served daily.
42. COFFEE CALL
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 925-9493
Address: 3132 College Dr.
Description: Stay in Baton Rouge long enough and you’ll find yourself in Coffee Call. Modeled after the legendary coffee houses in the New Orleans French Quarter, this is the spot to be for hot beignets, heavily dusted with powdered sugar. Steaming coffee (black or au lait) and hot chocolate complete your experience. Locals head to Coffee Call at all hours from early in the morning until late at night. Don’t mind the slight dusting of sugar you’re likely to find on your sleeve. It’s a sign of a truly pleasurable interlude. Open 24 hours.
43. Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 761-1110
Address: 6171 Bluebonnet Blvd.
Description: While Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro is a full-scale restaurant with a comprehensive menu, we consider it one of the best places in Baton Rouge for dessert lovers. Every dessert is huge and delicious. There’s a large selection of truly decadent cheesecakes with any number of lush toppings, or choose a monster slice of chocolate or carrot cake to satisfy that sweet tooth. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Friday and Saturday hours extend until midnight. Reservations suggested.
44. PJ’S
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Restaurants
Telephone: (225) 769-2191
Address: 7329 Highland Rd.
Description: P.J’s Coffee House specializes in a variety of New Orleans–style coffees from dark roast to cafe au lait, a rich espresso mingled with steamed milk. For something special treat yourself to a white chocolate cappuccino enhanced with Ghirardelli white chocolate and topped with whipped cream. PJ’s offers a complete array of frozen and blended coffees.