What's Up! Magazine

Bayou on Bay serves up Cajun and Creole food at 1300 Bay Street in Bellingham. The restaurant strives to use local products, and offers lunch, dinner, drinks, dessert and weekend brunch. Photo by Stephanie Ashton

Not unlike many downtown storefronts, the corner of Holly and Bay Streets has seen its share of comings and goings. When Bayou on Bay arrived to fill the space, the prospect of a Cajun restaurant surviving past the initial attraction of novelty after two well-loved coffeehouses could not seemed grim. But having just celebrated its third birthday, and proving to be ever-popular, Bayou on Bay has shown exuberant staying power.

Perhaps it’s no surprise at all. Visiting for dinner this past month for the first time in a year or more though having fully enjoyed many brunches, and a few oyster shooters on a very wild and necklace-strewn Tuesday last February this writer can say, without a doubt, Bayou on Bay serves some of the very best food in Bellingham. And it’s not just quirky or funky: Bayou serves the sort of food you make at home but will enthusiastically pay for. The recent addition of a bar, and a very cozy one at that, adds quite a bit to the restaurant’s night-out draw, but it’s the food menu that demands focused attention.

Mixing comfortable well-knowns (mac and cheese, pasta dishes of all sorts, Caesar salads) with straight-from-New-Orleans fare (gumbo, jambalaya, and perfect cornbread that’s cornbread laced with solid kernels of corn) the servings are dangerously filling, the service is great, and the wine comes poured in mason jars. Culinary adventurers will find frogs’ legs and a remoulade featuring alligator, but the main points of Bayou on Bay seems to be the plethora of spicy sausages, shellfish, that delicious corn bread and steaming hot, sweet beignets. What may go unnoticed is Bayou’s commitment to sourcing local ingredients; seasonal produce comes from DeVine Gardens, the seafood from Barlean’s and Taylor Shellfish Farm, and bison from Twisted S Ranch, among other local treats.

And then, oozing jazz, is Bayou’s atmosphere. This, partly due to the lively stereo music and colorful murals, is compounded by the low lighting, worn-in wood floors and iron barrier around the lofted dining area. Le Chat Noir in Fairhaven may have an edge on candle-lit mystery, but Bayou on Bay has ambiance and Tuesday Steak Night: for a mere $16 you can expect a 7 oz. flat iron steak, two side dishes and a pint of beer.

Believe it and throw on some beads. Mardi Gras, apparently, isn’t limited to just one Tuesday a year.