You know from the minute that you walk into Louisiana Café that you’re walking into a friendly and welcoming space.
With it’s eclectically colored walls and comfortable seating, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell that this is a Cajun food joint, or the story about the Mobasheri family – the owners of Louisiana Café.
It’s a family business
The family immigrated to the United States and lived in Louisiana for 17 years, opening their first iteration of the restaurant in Baton Rouge in 2004.
“My dad was an engineer. So when we moved to the United States, he was working on A/Cs and mechanical things, and then he just all of a sudden decided to start making seasonings and different Cajun dishes, and he’s always been cooking with my mom,” said Hoda Mobasheri, who runs the café with her mother and father. Her father decided to take the plunge, and opened the original Louisiana Café.
Opening a business in Louisiana following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina posed its share of challenges.
“Most of the people moved out [after the hurricane]. But we were in an area with mostly commercial business, it didn’t directly impact us as much. We could still feel it. Most of the houses got flooded, and they moved out,” said Mobasheri.
Mobasheri shared that some of the customers are her new location in Woodbridge were originally from Louisiana, and moved up to Virginia following the hurricane.
“I’m glad we chose this community, because we have a lot of people from Louisiana that are living in this area. And they’re coming in saying, ‘We finally found a good place to eat Cajun food’,” said Mobasheri.
They’ve been in the location for three months, after moving to Virginia for family reasons.
A relaxed vibe, with Cajun cuisine and other fare
If you’ve ever been to Okra’s Cajun Creole in Manassas, then you’re probably already familiar with Louisiana Café’s traditional fare, but maybe not the relaxed vibe.
“We make the food fresh as we get the orders. We don’t have anything pre-made, we don’t have anything that is already pre-cooked. For example, if they order the seafood box, we batter it fresh, and we just cook it right away,” said Mobasheri.
In terms of traditional Cajun cuisine, the restaurant offers crawfish etouffe, jambalaya, gumbo, fried okra, hush puppies, and several varieties of seafood. According to Mobasheri, their seafood boxes are some of the most popular items on the menu.
For many Prince William residents, the menu offers a pleasant alternative to traditional pizza and Chinese takeout meals.
“Customers come in and they say, ‘Oh finally, we find a place that has a different variety of food’. They get tired of eating pizza, they get tired of eating Subway,” said Mobasheri.
And while their specialty is Cajun cuisine, they have more standard American food as well, so there’s something for everyone: hamburgers, subs, chicken fingers, and grilled cheese are among the choices.
Location and hours
Louisiana Café is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. at their location at 6316 Hoadly Road on the Manassas-Woodbridge line.
They currently offer dine-in and carry-out, and take phone orders. Mobasheri says eventually they plan to offer delivery service.
They also do catering for special events.
To read their menu, click here.
This promoted post was done in partnership between What’s Up Prince William and Louisiana Café.
