Drusilla Seafood Restaurant

I recently moved to Baton Rouge and I was eager to try some of the local restaurants. This place in particular received high praise from several friends. They would rave about how they used to love certain dishes and it used to be their favorite place to eat."Used to" being the crucial phrase here. The establishment I visited with my friends failed to meet even our reserved expectations. The circumstances for our outing had already soured things; without going into too much detail, my friend was forced to accept restaurant credit in lieu of a refund on his deposit when he had to cancel an event months in advance. So we were dining to use up that credit balance. Good luck trying to explain that to the staff.We were seated and received hush puppies and packets of butter. The butter is packaged in a way that ensures it will survive an atomic bomb. Lucky, the hush puppies were wonderful on their own. Freshly fried and delicious.This is a deception. This is an attempt to set the tone for your dining experience. These little fried balls of lies will make you think that everything else offered at this restaurant is of comparable quality. Our server, to be fair, did her best. I truly believe that. But there was some confusion with the ordering when appetizers were ordered. We were given (and charged for) an additional order of "charbroiled" oysters and I'm not sure how the miscommunication happened. But it was sorted out easily enough.Why is charbroiled in quotes? Well, that didn't really seem to be the case here. These oysters were simply put into recycled shells and covered in butter sauce. "Butter covers all sins." ~ Probably Paula DeenNext came the Sensation salad, which was a plate of dressing and Parmesan cheese complimented by a few sad, dying lettuce leaves. In her youth, this salad was likely as vibrant and enchanting as her name implies. But now she is well past her prime and trying desperately to cling to her former glory. Much like this restaurant.It's worth noting that there is an option to get a fresh tossed salad, for a perfectly reasonable and not at all insane $4 fee.This was on a Friday night, by the way. The dining room was rather sparsely populated and nearly empty by the end of our meal. I guess we got the news about this place a little late.For my entree, I ordered On the Bayou. A lot of things on the menu appealed to me, so I figured a sampler was the way to go. Right off the bat, I'll give credit where credit is due. The seafood casserole was excellent and worth the hype. Definitely the highlight of my meal. The rest, however....left a lot to be desired. The seafood gumbo did have a good flavor, but was served cold enough to have an icky soup skin form on the surface. The shrimp gratin was ok, but also suffered because it was cold. Halfway into it, I noticed the telltale "vein" in one of the shrimp....not a lot care taken in washing them. Rounding out the platter was fried fish and shrimp. All were cold and tough and overly salty. Apart from the casserole, this should have stayed in the bayou.At this point, one of my friends was concerned that this whole experience was going to make me regret moving to Baton Rouge in the first place. The rest of our dining party had issues with their meals, too. One person was given only half of a baked potato with her order, with a solidified chunk of fossilized cinnamon to put on it. Another friend tried repeatedly (and failed) to get a water refill. We finished up the meals with a slice of lemon blueberry cake to share. They dug it out of the back of the fridge from someone's birthday a couple of months ago, as far as we could tell.This was a depressing experience. I know in its heyday, Drusilla Seafood was fantastic. Now, the restaurant seems to be coasting on its former glory while the quality of the food and service have taken a nosedive. I've been told that a change in management is to blame. Such a shame.

What can I say? Did I just walk into the twilight zone? Where do I even begin to describe the unbelievable experience that just unfolded. First of all, if you're expecting top notch service, don't set yourself up for failure. The restaurant is dead, and it's obvious why. Some of the staff don't even know the first thing about customer service. One of my guests was told "are you gonna need that knife?" as the employee yanked the knife from her plate. Guess she won't be needing that knife. WOW. Let's talk about the sensation salad. If by sensation you mean the sensation of dying of thirst from consuming an entire bottle of salty dressing drenched over the soggy lettuce, then it certainly lives up to its name. If you put a deposit down for a party, make sure that you get it in writing that it's non-refundable. They do not disclose this information, and let's just say things get a bit weird when you try to get your money back, even after cancelling your party almost a month ahead of time. I can only laugh because as this was likely the last time I ever set foot in this restaurant, my guests and I were cracking ourselves up during the bizarre experience we had. Baked potatoes that were likely cooked in a microwave oven, lemon blueberry cake that was in a fridge for a week, and my poor guest had a baked sweet potato that looked like it had already been halved with a knife. Guess we know what happened with that knife that was picked up LOLI never came to Drusilla Seafood back in the 2000s and before when apparently it was an amazing restaurant. It is sad to hear that a place that was once the place to go is now known as a place to avoid at all costs. What happened?!?

OMG....do better!!!! Druscilla used to be the place to go. What happened? I hate writing negative reviews but we have been here the past few years. It has been disappointing every single time within the last few years. Service....slow and horrible...but the restaurant was empty every time we go. They have wait staff standing around and not waiting on anybody. Food.... OMG....charboiled oysters. Shells were not even hot. There were two oysters on some shells, so I think they used already shucked oysters for these. The garlic butter sauces seem like it was melted in a sauce pan and dumped over it because there was a lot of garlic buyyer sauce but nothing was hot. Sensation salad....not so sensation..... Seems like the mixed in a huge bowl for their catering service the day and serve it all day cause it was all wilted and a lot of cheese and soaked in dressing....super soggy and salty. Baked potatoes don't come loaded. Everything is the side so potato came out room temperature and all the toppings were in separate containers. Thus butter and cheese don't melt on potatoes. Everything was very salty. Fried shrimp was super salty. Grilled fish were salty too. Blueberry lemon cake..... No lemon taste. Cake tasted dried and OLD. Like has been sitting there all day. Dried out and poured a bunch of blueberries sauce. Please do better. Sad to see this place like this. And yeah....over price what this

To go to Drusilla Seafood Restaurant is to take a trip back in time. I love this place most for it's ambiance. It's a Baton Rouge classic. The way the main seating area is designed makes you feel like you're sitting outside on a patio at night. What decade is it? Doesn't matter, because the hush puppies are still delicious and the food very good. My husband ordered a seafood platter and I had the Fish Louisiana. *chefs kiss!*

4/9/24 lunch with customers.Not my first visit here, kinda our go to for lunch when I'm in Baton Rouge. This place is a staple, a must visit. I enjoyed the Redfish entree and I gotta say, it was amazing. Cooked perfectly with a bit of crab meat on top. The potatoes were just enough to fill me up. Highly recommend this spot with small or large groups.

Tasty, beautiful interior, excellent server! MAN, I wish those hush puppies weren't so good because I almost filled up on those before my meal arrived! Didn't catch name of server, but we were very well attended. Catching up with a friend and forgot pics, but the chargrilled oysters and coconut shrimp were tastier than pics I checked out here before my lunch! Very nice cabbage salad accompanied the coconut shrimp. Excellent overall experience!

I recently dined at Drusilla Seafood, and the experience exceeded all expectations. The seafood was incredibly fresh and expertly prepared, with each dish showcasing the quality of the ingredients. The fried catfish was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, while the gumbo had the perfect balance of rich flavors and spice. The sides, particularly the hush puppies and coleslaw, complemented the meal beautifully. The portions were generous, and the service was attentive without being overbearing. For anyone craving authentic Louisiana seafood, Drusilla is a must-visit!

Had my birthday dinner here with my friends. Food and service were really good! Our server was so sweet and inviting. Drinks were so good. It is an older atmosphere so not like a modern ambience. Still great!

Pretty good seafood. I would've expected better seafood choices considering how nice the tables looked. But definitely a good spot to get some quick seafood. Service was prompt and very personable. I wouldn't consider the food nice enough to be a date night spot. I ordered the seafood fest which comes with fish, shrimp, & crab claws. Was told even though menu shows crab claws come with the meal, that they in fact don't come with that meal.

I'm giving Drusilla Seafood a three because our server, Stephanie, struggled to remain professional. It was apparent that she was not happy to be scheduled for our private dining party. I requested the manager's assistance, but he never showed up. I was blown away but refused to let it ruin our experience, as it was my birthday dinner. It's a very affordable private dining option, but not at the expense of poor service. I have never been to a private dining party where they yell the drink orders across the room like popcorn and hot dogs are being sold at a baseball game. It was so tacky. The server normally memorizes the order. At some point, Stephanie adjusted her attitude, most likely because she saw me ask Martha to speak with the manager. If I were to choose this restaurant in the future, I would request that Stephanie not serve my table. She did not earn the required gratuity. Despite her poor service, we had a great time. The food, drinks, and dining room were superb!