I will never understand the appeal of this place. My husband and I went to Pappadeaux for lunch and the greeter, hostess and waitress all asked over the noise of the restaurant ""Have you been here before?"" When we answered ""no,"" we were advised that the food is rather spicy. Okay. We love spicy. I ordered a blackened salmon special (covered with a cheese sauce, scallops and crawfish) and my husband ordered the fried catfish plate. We also ordered a shrimp cocktail appetizer. We both had iced tea. The shrimp cocktail was okay. The quality of the shrimp was excellent, but there was no spice or flavor. My salmon dish sounded so delicious that I was excited to try it. It was tastless and completely bland. My husband's catfish was gorgeous, but it also had no flavor and was WAY too greasy. Where is that spice????? Our bill totalled $60, $70 with tip. We could have eaten at Captain D's eight times for that amount and I would have enjoyed the food more. The fish is certainly less greasy and has more flavor. In my opinion, this is an overly hyped, suburbanite restaurant that appeals to people who have nothing better to do than wait in a line for an hour for mediocre and expensive food. After a couple of attempts to eat at Pappadeaux for dinner, we went at 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday and had no wait. Atlanta has so many privately owned restaurants that serve unusual and delicious food. Even Popeye's or Bojangles has much spicier food than Pappadeaux. I agree with another reviewer that the Atlanta Fish Market has much better food. The ambiance is more romantic, quiet and upscale and the food is a thousand times better. I do want to commend our waitress at Pappadeaux. She was very attentive and efficient. We'll never go back to Pappadeaux though. I think the key to Pappadeaux success is in the size of the food - BIG!
Pros: Service, quality of shrimp, good tea
Cons: No flavor, loud, greasy
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