Probably Lake Charles' best, if not one of the best. Also, the most expensive, but just perfect for a special occasion. The cuisine is French with Southwest Louisiana accents, the space is lovely, and the service is very professional (see if you can get Michael to wait on you.) We ate here 3-4 times in the 18 months I lived in Lake Charles and we never had a bad meal. Summer 2003
Another favorite of ours, although if given the choice, we'd go to La Truffe Sauvage over Cafe Margaux. The food here is very good and the wine list is presided over by D.C. Flint, a well-known wine expert. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner here - it was a buffet, but they did a great job with it. November 2003
Another favorite of ours. Mazen's calls itself Mediterranean. They have a great hummus dip that comes with warm pita bread to start. One of my favorite dishes is the seared rare tuna with roasted red pepper sauce. It's an appetizer, but they'll make an entree size for you upon request. Another good dish, although it was a special one night, is the veal chop, simply prepared with olive oil, garlic & rosemary. We never had a bad meal here, either, and the service is very good. May 2003, November 2005
There are almost NO Italian restaurants in Lake Charles; in fact, the Italian Villa might be the only nice Italian restaurant in town that's not a pizza joint. The space is a bit worn, but nice and romantic. The fish specials are best here. Summer 2003. Now closed.
Don't laugh. I know it's a chain, but I have said more than once that the Outback saved my life in Lake Charles. With myriad choices for fried food and still more fried food, Outback was one of the few places I found grilled - not griddled, grilled - fish. They also would steam vegetables without drowning them in butter sauce. We liked sitting & eating in the bar area; hardly ever a wait, and it was a nice, comfortable, dimly lit space. The wines by the glass list was excellent, and with a house red at $3.75 that was not bad, we came here quite frequently. September 2003
I wish I could give this place a great review, but I can't! Talk about inconsistent; while we went here often (it has one of the nicest bars in town and we knew people here), at some point, I stopped eating here because I never knew what I was going to get - even when ordering the exact same dish! Skip the food and drop in for a glass of wine or a drink. Very nice space right in Downtown Lake Charles. Summer 2003
Well, I did give it another try. The shrimp tapas appetizer, which is sort of a take on BBQ shrimp, was delicious. My mahi mahi entree was not. It came out undercooked, I sent it back, and it came out just wrong - odd texture; I didn't eat it. The saffron rice it came with was good. Tom's pork osso buco was delicious, though. Nice selection of wines here and good service. July 2005Not a great restaurant, but good, reliable and reasonably-priced. The space is sterile, at best, but it seems to draw large parties. Go for the local fish dishes here and you can't go wrong. They start you off with some nicely fried catfish nuggets. The service is spotty here and say goodbye to your server if he/she has a large party that night. Winter 2002/2003
One of the few places to get oysters on the half-shell in Lake Charles. They also do some nice broiled seafood here. It's not fancy, but good food at rock-bottom prices. Winter 2002/2003
Clearly one of my favorite places in Lake Charles. It's a pizza joint where you order up front and a server brings the food to you on a cafeteria-style tray. The pizza is very good, as are the Italian entrees, but my favorite things at Tony's were their salads: Greek salad, grilled chicken salad, crab salad, and the Sterling salad, with meatballs & cheese - not one of their healthier ones! September 2003, November 2005
My favorite po'boys in Lake Charles. There's an eat-in deli area and the bar. We used to have our lunch brought into the bar - lots of draft beer choices. September 2003
Crawfish, crawfish, crawfish - the best in town. May 2003