Located at 1400 Camellia Blvd. sits Chimes, a restaurant serving up hearty southern food. Their Lafayette location opened in 2023, the most recent of its four total locations including two in Baton Rouge and one in Covington. The establishment sits right on the corner of a busy intersection with Kaliste Saloom Rd. which makes it an easy-access for hungry passerbys.
Chimes offers a decent sized menu with a combination of sandwiches, poboys, soups, salads and a variety of sides. Their specialties part of the menu contains many tried-and-true southern dishes such as Crawfish Etouffee, Shrimp and Grits and Catfish Perdu alongside some more unique dishes like Seafood Lasagna.
Their options for seafood alone across the menu are vast: crawfish, oysters, crab, salmon, catfish and shrimp. Some soups options include their Crab and Brie as well as multiple types of gumbo. Their selection of sides was also eye-catching with options such as Hush Puppies and Chicken and Sausage Jumbalya.
Now, the largest food section of the menu was actually their appetizers. Some classics like Onion Rings, Buffalo Wings and Fried Mozzarella were present. But, there also sat some intriguing options: Boudin Egg Rolls, Crawfish Fries and Louisiana Alligator that could be ordered blackened or fried.
Price wise, their sandwiches, burgers, poboys, and appetizers all hover at around $15 average per dish, while their seafood and specialty options sit at around $20 each. Should you be over 21 years old, you can also order from Chimes’ extensive menu of alcoholic beverages including 62 types of draft beer. However, this review’s focus is the food.
My colleagues and I entered Chimes at around 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 2. Despite the restaurant being packed at peak dinner rush the night before Good Friday, we were seated immediately. We were seated on Chimes’ outdoor patio, a seating section as big as the indoor area. The entire restaurant has a warm, brick interior and exterior with soft lighting and even an outdoor fireplace. Even with the noise of a full restaurant, the environment felt rather charming.
As I mentioned previously, the appetizers were the star of the menu. Our server had to come back three times before we made our decision of which one to order: Char-Grilled Oysters. I had never tried oysters of any kind up until that point but my colleagues talked me into it. We ordered a half dozen in their Traditional style with an herb stock and Italian cheese; one could also order them Black Jack style with pepper jack cream sauce, bacon and pickled jalapenos.
Although I was apprehensive, I was sorely mistaken by my assumption that I’d dislike them. The oysters were tender, sitting in warm broth and melty cheese with a flavor I thought similar to shrimp.
When it came to entrees, we were able to order a bit quicker. I chose the Crispy Fried Spicy Salmon Poboy with salmon strips, sriracha mayo, lettuce, tomato, pickles and avocado. I spent an extra $2 to substitute the side of fries it came with for Mac and Cheese. One of my colleagues ordered the Pork Chops that came with a root beer glaze. My other colleague ordered the Jalapeno Bacon Burger that came with two patties, grilled onions, spicy garlic mayo, pepper jack cheese and fried jalapenos.
Our food took around 15 minutes to come out. I was unable to resist trying the Mac and Cheese first, something I should’ve waited on as it was still bubbling hot. It was delicious despite burning my tongue with shell pasta and a gooey, cheddar-heavy sauce. My poboy was also tasty; the salmon strips were crispy and the sriracha mayo definitely brought the heat. Some of the small salmon strips did fall out of the Poboy several times, but I had no problem eating them directly off my plate.
My colleague’s pork chops came out looking decadent. There were two large center-cut pork chops covered in a glaze that was not as sweet as you may think despite it being root-beer based. The mix of the subtle sweetness in the glaze and savory flavor of the pork-chop was very balanced and she was only able to eat one before filling up.
My other colleagues’ burger was stacked sky high with all its fixings. Between the fried jalapenos and spicy garlic mayo his burger had a great bite packed with flavorful spice. His french fries, many of which I stole, were well-seasoned with a slight crisp and a fluffy interior.
In summary, for $20 to $30 per person, Chimes brings filling, flavorful food and large portions. I would definitely recommend dropping by. Given that its baseball season, Chimes is also a good place to come watch a game on their many televisions throughout both the inside and patio area of the restaurant. Should you want to visit Chimes, they are open everyday of the week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.