Acadia A New Orleans Bistro

The good: Jambalaya, BBQ shrimp, and homemade cornbread. They also kept bringing us bread to the table to soak up the broth from the BBQ shrimp which was really good.
The not-​so-​good: The drinks were so-​so. I was really looking forward to a great southern-​style cocktail and was kind of disappointed.

Staff is very nice, friendly, and accomodating. Ambiance is good, sound volume is acceptable. We had the Oyster shooters (good), the cornbread (way too salty), the Brussel Sprouts (great!), the Gumbo (which was too sweet for our taste), the Blue Crab Crawford Étouffée (which was balanced but still on the sweet-​thats just the way New Orleans food is). The fresh lemonade was excellent and the key lime pie was fun.
All in all a good restaurant just not our taste.

Great food, reasonably priced and good staff. Always a favorite. When you feel like something different, gumbo, crawfish, southern pork chops, dirty rice… it’s all good

Made a Christmas eve reservation here — they only had 9 PM slots available, which was fine. What was not fine was the fact that they completely overbooked the restaurant and/​or were unable to adequately turn tables. We were not seated until 9:45 and our drinks did not arrive until 10:15. This wasn’t just us – it was every single party with a 9 PM reservation. It was freezing cold outside, so everybody just milled around inside, creating an incredibly uncomfortable atmosphere. I get that things happen and sometimes everything goes off the rails, but the right thing to do in that situation is own it, acknowledge it, and apologize. The staff just pretended like nothing was amiss. No apologies, no attempts to make it right. It was clear the servers were frazzled and freaked out — a manager needed to step in and take control.
It was a holiday, and late on a holiday at that. so it’s not like people could just bag it and go somewhere else. The food was fine, but nothing to write home about and certainly not worth the pain in the ass this experience turned out to be.

The jambalaya was delicious however I am regretting not ordering a full meal… as my taste buds were kicking me for the rest of the night for not eating more.

Let me preface this review by stating that Acadia has been my favorite restaurant in Portland for over a decade. We’ve been coming here for years because the food is top notch not because it has ever been the ‘trendy’ or ‘it’ place to be. Former chef/​owner Adam Higgs recently sold the business but the new proprietor and chef is Seamus Foran who had served as Acadia’s sous chef for the past 8 years. The man understands Acadia’s clientele and knows what he’s doing!
The menu staples at Acadia are still available: Louisiana barbecue shrimp (not what you think and THE #1 starter to try), seafood gumbo and their ‘famous’ pork chop. Recently the seafood entrees featured a cornmeal fried L.A. catfish, sea bream and soft shell Louisiana blue crab.
I recently took my wife to Acadia for her birthday. We had not been since Foran had taken over the business but were confident from our past experiences it was a place where we could not only have a great dinner but do so over nice conversation minus any distractions found at other more hip/​crowded places in town. We were not disappointed.
On this recent visit we decided to order a couple of newer items on the menu. My wife had the goat cheese gnocchi which she loved and I ordered the Creekstone Farms filet of NY strip (med rare) that was served on top of horse radish mashed potatoes! Both entrees were sublime!
Bottom line:
If you want a ‘scene’ there are plenty of other places to eat in Portland. Besides, residents of this NE Portland neighborhood who’ve supported Acadia for OVER A DECADE still consider it their little secret! However, if you want to try a place known simply for wonderful, top-​tier New Orleans-​inspired cuisine with excellent service (our server ‘Bess’ was incredible) the locals and staff will welcome you with open arms and smiling faces. All you have to do is arrive with the appetite!

Does Acadia serve some tasty New Orleans flavors in the heart of Portland, OR? Short answer: yes. Long answer: yeeeessssss. Cajun answer: Weeeh.
We started our meal with a round of cocktails from the full bar including a Showdown on the Alpine Slide and a Saumere et Fleur Cocktail. They were sweet just like their names. Round two was the daily cocktail special (forgot the name) and a Hurricane which kind of felt like tempting fate in a New Orleans-​themed restaurant. Whatever you order, the drinks are perfect for a little vay ya.
A must-​order at Acadia New Orleans Bistro is the Louisiana Barbecue Shrimp. So, we did. The jumbo shimp were a popular table choice, but I would of liked a bit more spice for the sauce.
My entrée was the Cornmeal-​fried LA Catfish while Olivia Z. went with the Unilocaltastic Fried Soft Shell Louisiana Blue Crab & Crawfish Tails Étouffée. Both lived up to the mighty hype and I’d easily get either next time. To round out the meal we split a piece of Buttermilk Cornbread with plenty of butter.
When you’re in Portland and «Ya got an ahnvee for some cajun» … well, then Acadia New Orleans Bistro with drinks, friends, and food is a casual 5-​star start to a 5-​star night.
Y’all come back now

This is a perfect place for a casual meal with friends or on a date. I came here with a few girlfriends on a weekday night and the place wasn’t packed at all, which was so nice because we got seated right away and had excellent service.
The prices here are very reasonable and the food is incredible. The BBQ Shrimp was probably my favorite dish — the sauce it came in was addicting and so good to sop up the table bread with. Their Arugula salad was also bomb, with the perfect amount of cheese and nuts to balance everything out. We ordered the Gumbo Trio and all were super tasty, with the special Chicken & Andouille Sausage Gumbo being my favorite (it was the perfect level of spice & comfort!).
But let’s talk about the dessert… The Vanilla Bean Bread Pudding is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I split it with my friend and almost fought her for the last few bites. No matter how full you are, just order this for dessert. You’ll be glad you did!

The best Cajun food in Portland.
The bbq shrimp — killer
Red beans and rice — spot on
Cocktails — on the stronger side!
Bread pudding — delightful

We had the best dinner here! Chefs choice: arugula salad, BBQ shrimp, oyster shooters, vegan oyster on the half shell (from Iron Chef Portland!), pâté, pickled watermelon rind, soft shell crab with mint purée. And dessert!!!
Seamus is an extremely talented, and this restaurant is incredible under new management! We even got a free glass of bubbly rose to start off our fun girls dinner! Really a customer service focused place.

Food was amazing, drinks divine, service was great, ambiance was a little mellow and uninteresting, but quaint! Went w/​my buddy, but seems more of a take your mom sort of place. Great authenticity in the flavor and staff.

I learned ‘attention to detail’ in 1987 at Ft. Sill Oklahoma under the booming voice of Drill Sergeant CW. Until this very day his voice rings in my ears, «Good enough is not good enough,’ «Either its right or its wrong,» «Its all or none’» etc… More on this in a second.
I finally made it to Acadia: A new Orleans Bistro and it was good. Having grown up in the south I spent a lot of time in and around Louisiana (Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Metairie), hell I even married a cutie from Lafayette, I was interested in trying their version of high end Cajun. As the prices are high I went with lunch on a Wednesday to see if it was to my liking before taking my Cajun wife there for dinner.
I started with the ‘famous’ shrimp bbq appetizer. It consisted of 4 large shrimp in a cajun/​creole sauce with french bread. The shrimp was perfectly cooked, not overdone, and the sauce was rich and tangy with a hint of pepper and citrus. My entrée for the day was the bacon wrapped oyster po-​boy which came with a side of red beans and rice. Again the oysters and bacon were perfectly cooked, the bacon was not too salty and combined they made a delicious stuffing for the very soft buns which were slathered in creole mustard and topped with tomatoes and lettuce, perfect. The red beans and rice were also done extremely well. The rice was separate yet it would hold together and the beans were tender and smokey, exactly how I like them. Most things considered this was an great lunch, fantastic.
So, why the 4 stars?
As I was finishing up my lunch, I took a bite of my po-​boy and unfortunately I found that the kitchen did not remove the stem of the tomato, or where the stem inserts into the tomato. This left a woody, pulpy portion I did not want to chew. I picked it out and didn’t eat it.
I know this seems to be a trivial incident, but when I am paying $ 27.95 for lunch even the most trivial issues are epic. This meal was good, even great, bordering on the best Cajun I have had outside of New Orleans, but attention the detail would have made it perfect. I wish I could give 4 ½ stars but I can’t and it really sucks this great meal is going down as 4 stars instead of 5 but at these prices, «Good enough is not good enough, you must pay attention to detail, all details.»
Thanks Sergeant CW.

Get the fried soft shelled crab and crawfish étouffée dinner!
Well deserved 5-​stars. Came here for my birthday dinner because I’ve been craving some Cajun food. I thought this place was going to be a casual place, but it’s a bit fancier than that. At night they dim the lights and it’s like a nice date night spot or an intimate dinner with friends kind of place.
The food was amazing. The restaurant is a little more expensive than I thought it would be but it was so darn good I’ll probably be back soon. As I’ve already mentioned, the soft shelled fried crab and crawfish étouffée dinner is the best. My friend got the gumbo and it was really good as well but it’s a bit smaller than you want your gumbo to be. We ordered more food but I can’t remember all the names. I do know that everything I tried was great.
And finally, the service was great as well. We had a female waiter with dark hair. She was attentive and when she got my order wrong she handled it professionally and was extremely customer service oriented. Great job!

Service was — on point. Food was — on point. Much rather wait a few extra minutes for a well prepared meal. Wife and I tried all things on the menu that we have never had before. Surprised at the fact that we loved all of it. When the waitress found out it was our anniversary, she brought us some champagne. It was a pleasant surprise, and a great example of customer service.

The last couple of times we have been here, although it was a couple years ago, every dish was wow. But today ranged between ok and good. Nothing special. But… they did have Air Conditioning on this 100 °F! Still worth going back but if its the same it may come off my favorites list.

I went here five or so years ago and remember it being pretty good, but unfortunately it was not great at all this time around.
* Cocktails: the mint julep was 90% ice and could barely taste the rum.
* Appetizers: the hush puppies were solid, with a pretty good dipping sauce.
* Entrees: this is where the big fails were to us. My husband’s jambalaya was nearly flavorless with exception of the sausage, and my seafood gumbo was really, really bad. It was basically a soupy mess with a few pieces of shrimp, no crawfish tails, and literally 3 bites of andouille sausage, plus a small scoop of rice that didn’t do anything to absorb the soup that was provided (gumbo should be more like a stew, not something you can drink through a straw).
* Dessert: the waitress was pushing the bacon praline ice cream so we both got a scoop of that with our desserts. Husband liked the pecan pie and I was content with the bread pudding (although a bit too sweet for my taste), but the ice cream was really bad, as the base they used sadly tasted like Baskin-​Robbins, and you could not taste the bacon, only feel the texture (i.e, «hmm what’s that chewy thing in my ice cream»). I’ve had a good ice cream with bacon in it, but unfortunately this was not it.
* Environment/​Ambiance: when it’s dark out it seems cozy, but for an early dinner it seemed rather stark/​bare/​uninviting inside. A few textbook Southern things on the wall but nothing especially inviting about the layout, and we were sat inches away from another table for two which was kind of unromantic. Plus we had to hear the staff repeatedly shouting «corner!» as we were on the side nearest the kitchen. Couldn’t hear any music playing which would have been nice in a Creole place.
* Service: Started out good. Everyone was super nice but we had 3 if not 4 people rotating around which is in our opinion a really poor way of serving customers, as the customer has no idea who’s actually responsible for them as one person brought drinks, another took our order, another brought our food, etc. And for a Monday night in a half-​full restaurant, the service got progressively slower and slower.
There is some good competition from places like Miss Delta, EAT, and others in Portland, and sadly, Acadia was just not on their game. We won’t be returning.

Where else in Portland can I get Fried Soft Shell Louisiana Blue Crab & Crawfish Tails Étouffée with jalapeño tartar sauce, white rice and
house hollandaise that is this good and not spend $ 26? Seriously help me out. It has to make the dopamine and serotonin levels go through the roof like this does.
If not I could go broke shortly.

Omg so delicious! If you love creole food this is the place for you. The BBQ shrimp starter is in a sauce that begs for bread to be dipped. It’s a brown butter sauce. Not sure why they call it BBQ. The fish special was crunchy and had ginger beets which were a nice surprise. The elderflower cocktail was delicious but small. That didn’t stop me from having 2. The dessert we ordered was chocolate cake with cherries and an almond tart with berries. They were both beautifully presented. The almond tart was delicious and the chocolate cake was just ok. I wouldn’t get that again. The ice cream flavored we got were maple bacon and chocolate with toasted sesame. They make them in house and both were very yummy. I was so pleasantly surprised by this place. The only reason it’s not 5 stars is the service is sloooooooooow. They are sweet and helpful but we were there for way too long.

Like other reviewers said, the BBQ shrimp is insane. It might be my favorite dish I’ve ever had, or it’s at least in the top 3. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the BBQ (which actually taste nothing like BBQ but more like a rich gravy) is to die for.
The cornbread and hush puppies were ok. We also ordered the gnocchi which wasn’t my fave and the étouffée which I liked. I didn’t love the blue crab that came with the étouffée– the tarter sauce and hollandaise was overwhelming.
I would go to this place regularly simply for the BBQ shrimp. Yes, they are that good.

This is the worst experience I’ve had dining out in a long time.
The BF and I decided to try Acadia for lunch on Wednesday, as they are only open for lunch during the week on a single day. We walked two and a half miles to the restaurant, upon receipt of a great recommendation from a friend (and because we were getting a little flabby from all of our beer-​drinking and cheese eating).
When we arrived, I needed to use the ladies room. Right out of the gates, things started to go wrong. The lock on the door apparently didn’t work, and the lady who was sitting at the table directly next to mine walked right in the bathroom. It’s worth mentioning that the doors on the bathrooms are see-​through, so although you can’t see what’s happening, you can clearly see that the bathroom is occupied. I was pretty upset about this, but I decided to calm down since I was on vacation. I will say that this woman must have been seriously dim-​witted.
It took an inordinate amount of time to receive a greeting. When we finally received a greeting, we ordered two cocktails and the barbecue shrimp appetizer. The BF ordered the caprese cocktail, which in my opinion was the highlight of the meal. Not good when a cocktail is the highlight of the meal. The cocktails came out after we received our appetizer, which was also not good. To me, the barbecue shrimp were just so-​so, although I will note that my bf loved the sauce. For entrees, my BF ordered the etoufee and I ordered the goat cheese gnocchi.
These entrees took incredibly long to receive. In the meantime, we finished our cocktails (obviously). No one asked if we wanted another one (and you know I did). We finally flagged someone down to order another round. I felt like we were getting the quintessential hipster attitude — like they were too cool to give us good service or something. Also, I was confused throughout the meal as to the identity of our server – it would have been to nice to know who to ask for drinks, sides etc.
Our entrees could best be described as lackluster. My goat cheese gnocchi were underwhelming, and that’s a compliment. First and most importantly, there was no goat cheese in them. They were also topped with popcorn which was so blatantly out of place on the dish — it did not work. My bf’s etoufee was similarly poor — the fried soft-​shell crab was not seasoned, and arrived at the table lukewarm. The crab did not taste fresh. The rice and beans were heavy and did not work with the dish at all. We didn’t receive any hot sauce, although we saw several other tables had received several choices. No self-​respecting Cajun restaurant should serve food without hot sauce. Also, if you can’t be bothered to season your food properly, how about putting salt and pepper on the table? I get why restaurants don’t have them out, but it seems a little presumptuous.
This is one of the only places in Portland where menu items are over $ 10. Ironically, it’s the only place I visited where I must insist that the experience is not worth those San Francisco prices.
As I said in my cold open, this is one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time, which is a shame because the place is so cute and off of the grid, I was hoping to have an original and memorable dining experience. It was memorable alright, but for all the wrong reasons. I would not go back.