Restaurant des Familles

Restaurant des Familles Restaurant Review:

A 17-mile drive into the Louisiana countryside leads to a picturesque building overlooking lush-framed Bayou des Familles. As a high schooler, chef/owner Bryan Zar fell in love with the restaurant after dining there with his family, and talked his way into a busboy job. Today, he and his wife own the place. Through the wide 12-foot-tall windows you'll see alligators and small animals dozing or scurrying in their natural habitat. Even if you do not score a crisp white-tablecloth-covered window-side table, the fenestration is so all-encompassing that you’ll feel close to the nearby nature preserve. Soon you'll be partaking of zippy crawfish etouffée or more-than-decent versions of shrimp rémoulade, turtle soup, catfish almandine and pecan pie. Not cutting-edge cooking, this is tried-and-true traditional fare. Many dishes are fried, but may also be ordered grilled. The mostly California wine list is predictably limited for a restaurant of this type, but still hits some respectable high notes, such as Robert Foley Claret, which pairs nicely with the sizeable T-bone steak or a spicy Cajun rib-eye. Plan to stay a while, because the pastoral setting atmosphere is intoxicating. Restaurant des Familles closes for Mardi Gras and for ten days in July for vacation.