New to Cincinnati: Pappadeaux

Another chain restaurant has chosen to grace Cincinnati with it's presence here, probably opening in the next few months
[url='http://www.pappadeaux.com']Pappadeaux[/url]

I fully understand that this (at least in my mind) does not constitute roadfood, but since it is a chain, I thought a few of you out there may have tried one in your local community and have an opinion on the place.

(For those of you in or near Cincinnati, this is opening right at the Springdale/Fairfield exit off I-275, just west of where I-275 and I-75 meet in Ohio)

I think it will be filled to capacity weekend after weekend and will be tremendously popular. Many people in Cincinnati will see this as a sign of "progress", that Cincy has finally made it.
I forget the name of the Mexican place that usually accompanies this restaurant. Don't they usually go side by side?

carl reitz

I ate at one in the Chicago area. The food (cajan seafood) was good but too expensive, too cutesy and too crowded for me.

Pappadeaux is part of a large very successful operator of restaurants in the south.

http://www.pappas.com/ ... IF I was anyplace they are and can't find any decent roadfood near the hotel THEN I would patronize a Papa-anything before the more prevalent chains.

I find Pappadeaux's good but a bit pricey, at least the ones in Atlanta, but a better choice for me than many other chain restaurants.

The Sundancer has done Pappadeaux in Dallas and it is OK but if I had some place other to go, I would have. Our Motel which is the Marriott at Arlington was so close, we went there. It was OK but I was not excited.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I am a fan of the Pappa-XXX chains. Though I am not partial to Mexican food, in general, the one to which you refer is Pappasitos. They also have a steak house, BBQ joint, and perhaps an Italian place. I find the food at Pappadeux to be quite good, though, as others have stated, pricey. The difference is, you will not leave hungry. Most folks would be able to split a meal sized portion and feel satisfied. During my last visit, I chatted with the bartender, who told me that they do not spend money on any advertising, and put all that money to food quantity and quality and rely on word of mouth to spread their word. I have seen the Pappas Bros. steakhouse chain advertised, so I don't know how reliable the word is.

Steve

I love Pappadueaux. They're aren't any in the Washington, DC area (where I live), but there is one in Albuquerque, which I travel to often for my job. I usually have one meal at Pappadeaux on each trip (along with visits to the Frontier, the 66 Diner, the Bobcat Bite on the outskirts of Santa Fe, and other roadfood places). The place is pricey (for a three-course meal with taxes and tip, one person can easily spend 40-50 bucks), but the portions are huge and the seafood is flown in fresh daily. Because the portions are so large (and to save a few bucks), instead of ordering an appetizer and a main course, I will generally order two appetizers, usually the Oysters Pappadeaux and the crabcakes. The Oysters Pappadeaux are steamed oysters served on the half-shell and covered by spinach, crabmeat and hollandaise sauce, and they are fabulous. The crabcakes are also delicious, and I know crabcakes, being from the Chesapeake Bay area. If you go, try to save room for dessert, too. My favorite is the sweet potato pecan pie a-la-mode, which is every bit as rich and decadent as it sounds.

You'll get varying opinions on Pappadeaux on this website, especially since it is a chain.
Some have said that they have been disapointed with their meals there. http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3563 .Nevertheless, it's one of my favorite places to eat. Maybe part of that is because there are none in my area, so that when I go I consider it a treat, but part of it is also because they have some great food.

Wow. Sounds like it is at least worth a check-em-out visit.

Anyone ever been there for lunch? It's no more than a 30 second walk from where I work wo where their front door will be when they open.

I think all of the Pappas restaurants are very good to great. Yes, they are pricy, but very reasonable when compared to many frou-frou clip joints. The food at the restaurants is nearly always fresh, hot and plentiful. I still contend that Pappasito's has the best fajitas ever served.

Pappadeaux is no exception, but I quit going there simply because I found a little hole-in-the-wall Cajun seafood place that has better food at a fraction of the cost. Plus, a neighborhood newspaper has a coupon for $5 off every other week (we steal the neighbors' for extras). And it's just right down the street!

We used to frequent the Papppas chains of restaurants frequently when we lived in Houston and the food was always good, plentiful (and I mean PLENTIFUL) and the service was very good. Pappadeaux and an italian restaurant called Papamias were my favorites. My oldest daughter worked for a Pappadeaux for a summer and she said the food is indeed very fresh, everything is prepared from scratch and the kitchens are super clean. Only downside is it is very pricey but when you consider what you get the prices aren't that bad. And as stevekoe said, 2 adults can easily split a plate and probably still take home leftovers. My favorite there was the catch of the day with this etoufee sauce that had crawfish in it. I wish we had a Pappadeaux out here in SoCal.

I've been to the Pappadeaux in ATL plenty of times and I enjoy it each time. I love seafood and I definitely appreaciate the freshness of their seafood. The place is always crowded and it's pricy but you get LOTS OF FOOD!!! I like to eat and I can eat quite a bit but that is a huge platter of food when you get it... so bring your appetite or just stick with entry and dessert without getting appetitizer. Matter of fact, I am going there tonight.

I ate at Pappadeaux in Houston during a business trip in January. It was actually very good, better than I had expected for a chain, although not as good as the Landry Seafood House we ate at the day before.

Probably not up to real Louisiana cajun food, but not bad for a chain in the midwest.

Pappadeaux is pretty good for a chain. Do save room for dessert. My favorite is the bread pudding. Truth be told...it's all about the SAUCE on the bread pudding. One time, they sold me a container of it to take home with me. Love the stuff!

Quite oddly, construction on the Pappadeux in Cincinnati is still underway, over a year later. I don't think a typical restaurant takes more than 2-3 months to construct......very strange

We lived in Houston for 3 years and were regular fans of Pappadeaux. We hope the Cincinnati location will be as terrific. We experienced excellent food, excellent service and excellent atmosphere. The decor is beautiful inside and out. There are no other cajun restaurants in Cincinnati. We hope this one will be constantly packed and we'll be there often. Our guess is if Pappadeaux here falls on the pricey side, it will be well worth it. We've found several restaurants in Cincinnati to be disappointing and not worth the extra $$ -- Buca de Beppo, for example. We are THRILLED to welcome Pappadeaux to our neighborhood.

Check out Jozo's in Crescent Springs, KY.......definitely a cajun place.

Redfish and Copeland's also are somewhat cajun-ish

I think you should also check out Dee Felice
http://www.deefelice.com/restaurant.htm

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Check out Jozo's in Crescent Springs, KY.......definitely a cajun place.

They're back? Last time we went looking for them the place was empty. Did they relocate? Where did you find them?

Hmm, last I was there was about a year ago, hadn't heard they had gone out of business.

Ah well...Redfish, Copelands, and Dee Felice remain :-)

I stand corrected! We've never been to Dee Felice. We will definitely give them a try. Thanks for mentioning them!

quote:

Originally posted by TJ Jackson

Hmm, last I was there was about a year ago, hadn't heard they had gone out of business.

Ah well...Redfish, Copelands, and Dee Felice remain :-)

It's been longer than that for us. When we went they were in the shopping center off of Buttermilk Pike. Boston Market was there for a while, but it's a Skyline now. Is this the same location you visited?

Yes, thats it, so my info was/is waaaay out of date on that one.

Sorry Wally et al :-)

I've ate at Pappadeaux's in Chicago and Beaumont TX. A lot of food and pretty good...I'm spoiled for seafood being from Mobile and regularly get awesome roadfood seafood, not chains....after six years Copeland's folded their tent in Mobile this spring and that horrible chain Joe's Crab Shack pulled out two or three years ago.....Morrison's Restaurants tried an upscale seafood chain back in the late 80's L&N Seafood.....was Kaputt in two years and converted to a Mozzarello's (which didn't even have spaghetti), then morphed into Mozezerella's American Grill, which serves I guess hamburgers with marinera sauce poured over them or something......I've never ventured in the establishment

Pappadeaux opens TODAY! 10/25/05. They open at 5pm tonight. Limited hours 5-10 except for Fri-Sun 5-11. Sounds like they are closed Monday. They will start serving lunch in a few weeks. but right now its dinner only.

welcome to the forums, fellow Cincinnatian!

hmm... I think I'll wait a few months before I go to Pappadeaux even though I am really really eager to go right now. I just get sick of being used to my home, southern restaurants coming here to Cincy, and the cooks not knowing how to cook! I swear it took the cooks at Sonic out in Maineville/Deerfield Township like 2 years to learn how to cook food correctly!

Pretty decent oysters, but the food is HEAVY, as are the thick sauces, and a fair amount of it is fried. They have a good caesar salad, however.

Pappadeaux's first Cincinnati review:
http://www.cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/a1/20051116/ENT01/511160350/1026

(the local paper - of which Cin Weekly is a subsidiary - loves to review chains. last week, they reviewed Applebee's, after reviewing IHOP and Perkins a few weeks earlier)

I don't understand. If Pappadeaux's is a chain, what's it doing here?

Yeah, you're right

It isn't fast food, but it is certainly a chain.

It's here because the FFF forum did not exist when I started it, and the admins have not moved it at the time I wrote this post.