st. john restaurant

had a really good meal this past weekend.  i had the crab cake as an appetizer.  it was devine!  i highly recommend the crab cake.  i also ordered thestuffedcrab andstuffedpotato.  thestuffedcrab was okay; thestuffedpotato was delicious.  my husband had the grilledstuffedtilapia and sweet potato.  thestuffedtilapia was huge, but a little on the dry side; the sweet potato was baked perfectly.  staff was very attentive and friendly.  the owner walked to each table to check on the patrons.  i really like this place and will go again.  i'll just keep trying different things until i find the perfect combination for my meal.  fyi:  we went at 7:00 p.m. on a friday night and there was quite a line.  fortunately we had reservations, but even with the reservations, we were told we would have a 20 minute wait and it did not matter that we had reservations.  fortunately some people got up just then and so we did not have to wait 20 minutes.  it appears that the owners are a little overwhelmed with their success but it is clear that they want to give their diners a great experience.

we made the 30 minute drive to saint martinville to see if the things we had heard about the saint john were true.
the building is a restored pecan cracking warehouse. it scores big points on ambience. the staff was very friendly; even had the owner wandering around greeting patrons.
the rolls brought first were great , warm and just right. the house dressing, a spicy ranch was good on the dinner salad - just iceberg lettuce one tomato slice and one cucumber slice.
i had the crab cakes everyone raves about. they were good but i thought needed more seasoning. so not the best i ever had but definitely better than your average fair.
the crab dinner’s crab fingers,stuffedcrab and crabmeat augratin were very good but the etoufee missed the mark.
the shrimp pasta was very good as well with a large amount of shrimp; not like some places when you have to search for the shrimp amongst the pasta.
all in all a great evening - i recommend making the drive and go early to see the evangeline oak.

good food, good time.. crab cakes andstuffedpotato were excellent. wife loved the tilapia and grilled veggies. waitress was all smiles and good info. much appreciated. they were open for dinner at 5 and were full up by 6. reservations a good idea.
we'll be back.

new location july 2016
i love the new location. great view of the bayou teche. much bigger than the old place. i also liked the rustic feel of this nice location. today i had the crab cakes. they had plenty of crab and very little filler. if you love the flavor of crab you will love these cakes. i had thestuffedpotato with it. it was ok. i thought it was a little dry. seasoning was good but i make a better one at home. the service was as good as the old location and i definitely would go back to try another dish.


old location: aug 2013
nice but small place, make a reservation! good menu, i liked the shrimp dinner. good variety and tasty. i also had the alligator bites, they were the best i've ever had! very tender for alligator. i'd love to try something else. nice staff, fast service, you can tell the owners care about you making personal contact with every table.