I found the Cypress Knee Café to be very nice. The decor and the location are definitely cajun oriented, located in the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit. It is fast food rather than fine dining, but the red beans and rice were very authentic. There is plenty seating inside and out and some authentic cajun memorabilia to look at. A fun place to eat.
Vegetarian options: Most dishes contain some meat
Dietary restrictions: Prepared food, ask before ordering
Parking: Free parking at the zoo
Kid-friendliness: Very child friendly
Wheelchair accessibility: Fully accessible
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Beans & Rice
Billie Gibson
Boudin balls 10/10 rice and beans was good just needed a little more heat to it, it was lukewarm at best but tasted good! Very very clean. Great place to eat compared to the other options. Can actually get a good meal that’s not chicken and fries
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amanda Sim
The Good: I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. My shrimp Po-Boy was very tasty.The Bad: We spent over $100 for three adults and two kids. A bottled water was $5. No free refills on our $4 soda. I get they have animals to feed and workers to pay, but that’s outrageous.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Danielle Pelican
They didn’t remove the skin before frying my catfish “nuggets” therefore I wasted $20. Worst food I’ve ever had in my city. Y’all should be embarrassed to serve such utter trash
Jeff Whittaker
Nothing is good… overpriced garbage. Avoid at all costs.
Karen Gonzalez
Food was horrible.poboy saturated with like vinegar and I had to wipe shrimp in napkins to get off and ate a few .but I lost my appetite .threw bread away all saturated and disgusting .I usually take pics to share and recommend to friends but was totally grossing me out.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
Greg Blake
The best food I've ever eaten inside of a zoo, between Smithsonian, Oakland, San Antonio, and here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michelle Amber
Explicitly explained to staff that we are Muslim and do not eat meat. Was told that they had a batch of red beans and rice made without meat. Halfway through the meal discovered they had simply removed the meat from the top of the dish and the bottom was full of some kind of mystery meat. They’re lack of honesty and respect is frankly unforgivable.
Nael
When I asked if the red beans and rice had meat as our son does not eat meat, they informed us it does, however they “have some in the back without meat”. They gave us the same dish after scooping out the meat. We only realized this after our son found meat in the dish while eating it.
Kandis Aucoin
The vibe was great, it was very NOLA... BUT... The bathrooms were so gross that I could smell the urine in the hallway as soon as I walked up! The tables inside were ALL sticky and it was raining outside so we had to sit at a gross, sticky table. We wiped it off with napkins the best we could. The chili/cheese fries were basic, gas station fries. The jambalaya was bland, but the bread pudding with caramel sauce was SO GOOD!!!!
GREAT FOOD! More authentic than the other cafe in the zoo which has typical stuff like burgers, chicken tenders, which isnt bad either.
Chelsea
If I could give zero stars, I would. The staff is UNPROFESSIONAL, unsanitary, and for the food to be basically reheated frozen French fries/frozen hamburgers, it was extremely below par. The young man taking our order handled our fries without gloves, and his “coworker” told him to do something incorrectly because “it’s faster.” I would never visit here again, even if we were offered the same food at low or no cost. Such a poor pathetic excuse for a “cafe.”
Joshua Richardson
Best spot to eat in zoo. May seem pricey but you get plenty of food. You can easily share with a family member. They also have local Cajun options. My favoritr is the fried alligator
Bess Thorne
Solid zoo food. The Cajun options make it a nice change of pace from the hamburger, cheeseburger, hotdog options at most of these places. The service is literally the absolute worst of any place on the planet. They will openly hate you. Just be emotionally prepared for that. We eat here every zoo trip (we are members) and not once has anyone smiled. To anyone. Not even their coworkers. It's baffling honestly.
I found the Cypress Knee Café to be very nice. The decor and the location are definitely cajun oriented, located in the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit. It is fast food rather than fine dining, but the red beans and rice were very authentic. There is plenty seating inside and out and some authentic cajun memorabilia to look at. A fun place to eat.
Vegetarian options: Most dishes contain some meat
Dietary restrictions: Prepared food, ask before ordering
Parking: Free parking at the zoo
Kid-friendliness: Very child friendly
Wheelchair accessibility: Fully accessible
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Beans & Rice
Boudin balls 10/10 rice and beans was good just needed a little more heat to it, it was lukewarm at best but tasted good! Very very clean. Great place to eat compared to the other options. Can actually get a good meal that’s not chicken and fries
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The Good: I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. My shrimp Po-Boy was very tasty.The Bad: We spent over $100 for three adults and two kids. A bottled water was $5. No free refills on our $4 soda. I get they have animals to feed and workers to pay, but that’s outrageous.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
They didn’t remove the skin before frying my catfish “nuggets” therefore I wasted $20. Worst food I’ve ever had in my city. Y’all should be embarrassed to serve such utter trash
Nothing is good… overpriced garbage. Avoid at all costs.
Food was horrible.poboy saturated with like vinegar and I had to wipe shrimp in napkins to get off and ate a few .but I lost my appetite .threw bread away all saturated and disgusting .I usually take pics to share and recommend to friends but was totally grossing me out.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 4
The best food I've ever eaten inside of a zoo, between Smithsonian, Oakland, San Antonio, and here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Explicitly explained to staff that we are Muslim and do not eat meat. Was told that they had a batch of red beans and rice made without meat. Halfway through the meal discovered they had simply removed the meat from the top of the dish and the bottom was full of some kind of mystery meat. They’re lack of honesty and respect is frankly unforgivable.
When I asked if the red beans and rice had meat as our son does not eat meat, they informed us it does, however they “have some in the back without meat”. They gave us the same dish after scooping out the meat. We only realized this after our son found meat in the dish while eating it.
The vibe was great, it was very NOLA... BUT... The bathrooms were so gross that I could smell the urine in the hallway as soon as I walked up! The tables inside were ALL sticky and it was raining outside so we had to sit at a gross, sticky table. We wiped it off with napkins the best we could. The chili/cheese fries were basic, gas station fries. The jambalaya was bland, but the bread pudding with caramel sauce was SO GOOD!!!!
Restaurantji Recommends
GREAT FOOD! More authentic than the other cafe in the zoo which has typical stuff like burgers, chicken tenders, which isnt bad either.
If I could give zero stars, I would. The staff is UNPROFESSIONAL, unsanitary, and for the food to be basically reheated frozen French fries/frozen hamburgers, it was extremely below par. The young man taking our order handled our fries without gloves, and his “coworker” told him to do something incorrectly because “it’s faster.” I would never visit here again, even if we were offered the same food at low or no cost. Such a poor pathetic excuse for a “cafe.”
Best spot to eat in zoo. May seem pricey but you get plenty of food. You can easily share with a family member. They also have local Cajun options. My favoritr is the fried alligator
Solid zoo food. The Cajun options make it a nice change of pace from the hamburger, cheeseburger, hotdog options at most of these places. The service is literally the absolute worst of any place on the planet. They will openly hate you. Just be emotionally prepared for that. We eat here every zoo trip (we are members) and not once has anyone smiled. To anyone. Not even their coworkers. It's baffling honestly.
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