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Creole Lunch House

Rice Is The Grain Of Life

Dwyer's Cafe

Family Tradition

Gary's

Neighborhood Eatery

Landry's Cafe

Sides Are As Crucial As The Main Course

Laura's II

The Race For Turkey Wings

Norbert's Restaurant

Husband & Wife Duo

T-Coon's

As Cajun As You Can Get

The Lunch Box

Plate Lunch for Dinner

Ton's Drive-In

Plate Lunch With A Smile

Things To Do

Nightlife

Attractions

Shopping

Plate Lunch Experience

Though most visitors to Lafayette, LA might sooner associate the area with our more famed Cajun and Creole culinary fare (jambalaya, crawfish, and gumbo), it is the rice and gravy-centric plate lunch that fuels the people of Louisiana’s Acadiana region. Consisting of meat, a gravy-covered starch, a pair of vegetable sides, and a simple piece of bread — and often all served on a single plate — the plate lunch emphasizes speed, affordability, and caloric heft.

A close cousin to the meat-and-three restaurants found throughout the South, the history of Lafayette, LA’s plate lunch houses is rooted in the marriage of rustic, homestyle cooking with the convenience offered by the buffet line. In the late nineteenth century, cafeteria-style lunchrooms appeared throughout America, introducing patrons to self-service, the steaming lunch counter, and the ubiquitous plastic tray.

In South Louisiana, rural meat markets were likely the first to sling portable plate lunches to a hungry working-class crowd. Instead of disposing of their scraps and other unsold cuts, butchers smothered these meats in a rich, roux-based gravy for tomorrow’s lunch. With the addition of rice — a regional commodity and staple of local tables — and a stewed vegetable or two, the plate lunch was born.

See below for a map and list of plate lunch restaurants in Lafayette Parish and beyond. Don't see one of your favorite plate lunch spots below? Click here and let us know so we can include them.

Plate Lunch Paradise

Discover the people and stories behind some of Lafayette's oldest plate lunch houses. Follow the Trail

Plate Lunch Trail

Over 50 stops throughout serving up traditional plate lunches. Download Brochure

Plate Lunch Houses in Acadiana

Abacus
530 W Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 232-5300

Acadian Superette
600 Lamar St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 237-4509

Alexander's Specialty Meats
111 Hollywood Dr, Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 504-3034

Bayou Bistro
1801 W Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 233-8120

Breaux's Mart
2600 Moss St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 232-2052

Burger Best
302 Breaux Bridge Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 235-4052

Cafe 20.3 on the Bayou
1500 General Mouton
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 408-8542

Cafe 329
329 Dulles Drive
Lafayette, LA 70506
(337) 534-4986

Cajun Commander Cafe & Catering
206 East Saint Mary Blvd.
Lafayette LA 70503
(337) 889-3846
CajunCommanderCatering.com

Champagne's Grocery & Deli
716 Souvenir Gate
Lafayette, LA 70506
(337) 235-6733

Charlie T’s Specialty Meats
1406 Rees St.
Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
(337) 332-2426

Creole Lunch House
713 12th St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 232-9929

Dax
2832 Verot School Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 233-0329

Don's Specialty Meats (Carencro)
104 Hwy 1252
Carencro, LA 70520
(337) 896-6370

Don's Specialty Meats (Scott)
730 S Frontage Rd.
Scott, LA 70583
(337) 234-2528

Dwight's Restaurant
4800 Johnston St.
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 981-1241

Dwyer's Cafe
323 Jefferson St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 235-9364

Earl's Cajun Market
510 Verot School Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 237-5501

Fezzo's
720 S Frontage Rd.
Scott, LA 70583
(337) 261-2464

Gary's
104 Lamar St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 235-2921

Glenda’s Creole Kitchen
3232 Main Hwy.
Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
(337) 332-0294

Guidroz Food Center
1301 E Simcoe St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 235-5757

Guidry's Produce on Moss
3619 Moss St.
Lafayette, LA 70507
(337) 269-4726

Hub City Diner
1412 S College Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 235-5683

Johnson's Boucaniere
1111 St John St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 269-8878

Kajun King
108 S Main St.
St. Martinville, LA 70582
(337) 342-2160

La Cuisine de Maman
300 Fisher Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 205-9899

Lebouef's Deli & Catering
3450 W. Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 837-9856

Lagneaux's
445 Ridge Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70506
(337) 984-1415

Laura's II
1904 W University Ave.
Lafayette, LA 70506
(337) 593-8006

Lunch Box
3909 Moss St.
Lafayette, LA 70507
(337) 233-8298

Mel's Diner
2956 Johnston St.
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 235-6219

Mel's Diner
1225 Evangeline Thruway
Broussard, LA 70518
(337) 367-6357

M & S Grocery
2720 Louisiana Ave.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 235-3941

Noah's Cafe
2310 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy.
Lafayette, LA 70506
(337) 406-2440

Norbert Restaurant
521 Avenue C
Broussard, LA 70518
(337) 837-6704

NuNu's
1410 St Mary St.
Scott, LA 70583
(337) 234-4592

Office Hours
2303 Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 237-4181

Pat's Downtown
107 E Main St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
(337) 289-5270

Poche's
3015 Main Hwy.
Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
(337) 332-2108

Rachael's Café
104 Republic Ave.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 504-4625

The Jambalaya Shoppe
4150 W. Congress
337-534-4140

T-Coon's Restaurant
1900 W Pinhook Rd.
Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 233-0422

Tim's Kitchen
1000 Albertson Parkway
Broussard, Louisiana 70518
(337) 330-2151

Ton's Drive Inn
101 W Main St.
Broussard, LA 70518
(337) 837-6684

Took's
3103 Johnston St.
Lafayette, LA 70503
(337) 988-6657

Veronica's Cafe
302 Hector Connoly Rd.
Carencro, LA 70520
(337) 565-2301

Getting to Lafayette

The city of Lafayette, LA is located in the center of Lafayette Parish at the intersection of I-10 and I-49 between New Orleans and Houston and only 35 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. The eight parishes that comprise the area are Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion. Acadiana is made up of 22 South Louisiana parishes that extend from south of Alexandria in the center of the state, to Lake Charles on the west, south of New Orleans on the east, and to the Gulf of Mexico in the south.

Lafayette Parish Map

Plan Your Escape

Lafayette, LA is at the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun & Creole Country, an area known as the ‘Happiest City in America’ and it’s no mystery. Whether your passion is for our rich cultural history, the bustling culinary scene or distinctive blend of Cajun and Zydeco music, you can be sure you will leave beaming from ear to ear. Plan your escape to the Happiest City in America.

Woman playing the fiddle to reclined partner at Lake Martin.

Happiest City in America

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