Nawlins Seafood Company opens on Freeport’s Nautical Mile

The Crescent City has come to the Nautical Mile in the form of Nawlins Seafood Company, a new restaurant serving Creole and Cajun cuisine. The imposing building takes over the site formerly occupied by Bonito Hibachi and Sushi.

With its wrought-iron balcony and colorful wooden doors indicating old-timey businesses, the facade is made to look like a block in New Orleans’ French quarter. None of the wooden doors open, however; to enter, you have to swing around the south end of the structure, whose wide double-decker porch is ready for warm-weather revelers to descend.

The menu is a high-spirited blend of New Orleans classics (gumbo, $8; muffuletta, $15, po’boys, $14; crawfish étouffée, $22 and blackened redfish, $24) along with some Long Island favorites (lobster sliders, $26; blackened or grilled chicken Caesar, $16, fried seafood buckets, $21 to $29). The mood is festive, with live music and Mardi Gras beads.

The team behind Nawlins comprises Ivan Sayles and Rich Venticinque, who own and operate the restaurant next door, Rachel’s Waterside Grill, and Sal Bisulca.

Nawlins Seafood Company is at 301 Woodcleft Ave., 516-206-8100, Freeport, nawlinsseafood.com