Dons Seafood- Hammond

Great find for us traveling from Venice, LA back home to Memphis. It had a comfortable atmosphere with good service. Hostess and waitress all very pleasant. Had a difficult time deciding what to eat they had so many great sounding dishes. Definitely recommend the charbroiled oysters! Insane. Apparently the crawfish were good although I personally ate the grilled salmon which wasn't what I actually expected because I didn't read the menu. But it was very good. If you get a chance. Should check them out for sure.

We had Blackened Alligator for appetizer ($16) Crawfish Etouffee ($20) , and fried crawfish ($20), Fried Catfish ($14) Food: Blacken Alligator was tender (not at all rubbery) and tasted almost like chicken (no gamey taste at all). It was coated with lots of spice (Italian herbs + Cajun seasoning + a bit more pepper). Fried crawfish was so crispy and tender like freshly fried popcorn shrimp. So good. Crawfish Etouffee was devoured in seconds. The roux was definitely deep browned, not sure if it's with oil/butter. The flavor was good. Fried catfish had a hint of fishy taste and lemon. Service: our waitress was awesome! Super friendly! Price: It was pricey.

The only thing about this meal was the toast that came out before the meal. I felt as if years of tradition was put into the hands of teenage college students that couldn't care less. I had the seafood platter with a cup of gumbo. I liked nothing, zero. My spouse had shrimp and catfish and wanted to substitute the coleslaw for fries so of course, she got the coleslaw. All in all, 2 courses between us, one cheap margarita, $83. Eighty-three dollars. Pass, Don's. You just aren't worth it.

When we pulled up, there was a ton of cars in the parking lot, but surprisingly no wait time. The food was absolutely delicious. A little overpriced, but really tasty. The blackened redfish was delicious. It was not spicy at all - it just had a good flavor. The red beans and rice was delicious also. I probably wouldn’t order the macaroni and cheese again.

1 star is a restaurant so bad it actually makes me throw up. 2 stars is a restaurant with no redeeming qualities other than the fact it didn't make me sick. 3 stars I reserve for restaurants with glaring issues but some redeeming qualities but not likely to try again soon. We tried this restaurant four years ago and had a similar experience. First impressions: bad parking. I would be surprised if there haven't been at least a few injuries or fender benders here. Second: no front sidewalk so walking from the back forces you next to the foul smelling dumpsters. Third, fantastic entrance with friendly staff. Fourth, nice decor and pleasantly loud - not so loud to hurt but enough to know people are enjoying themselves talking. Very clean. Now for the food: Expensive. Particularly for the issues. The bread served at the beginning of the meal had oily butter, which might be fine sometimes, but it was excessive. Fries were stone cold in the center, not surprising for the bottom which were on a cold plate, but surprising for the top layer. Hot outside, so the fryer temperature was up too high. First serving of rice for three of the dishes was dried or undercooked , one inedibly so. The replacement was good. I liked the flavor, but it wasn't what was expected for the name of the dish (etouffe - brown gravy vs expected red tomato). The crawfish bisque was also not a flavor type expected as it was too savory and not a blended soup. While good, just isn't what is expected for a bisque. The chicken andouille tasted good even if the rice wasn't good. All that aside, my highly picky nine year old son that rarely eats more than a bite actually finished half his grilled cheese sandwich with fries. My broccoli wasn't mushy and had a fresh flavor, even if a little too on the al dente side for my tastes. What saves the restaurant from a 2 star rating truly is the service. Excellent customer service, nice, friendly, attentive without being disruptive, and swift to replace the undercooked/dried rice dish. Replacement dish was very fast. Perfectly cooked replacement. If the prices were less, I might have upgraded the restaurant to a 4, but we've had consistently lower prices (15-20% less) from other seafood restaurants in the area with better waterfront views and flavor with equally good customer service. Granted, this visit was on a Wednesday night during the holiday season so it is possible that it was just a bad night, but we had similar issues four years ago. Which is why it took four years to try again.