The thought of chowing down Cajun food on a famously haunted property soon after Hurricane Katrina wrecked southern Louisiana seemed like a perverse idea.

Our destination was the New Orleans Creole Café, situated in the garden of Old Town’s Whaley House, which was described in a Discovery Channel documentary as “the most haunted house in America.” It’s a place where gangster thefts, fatal illnesses and a child’s accidental strangulation befell the namesake family who lived there in the late 1800s. Add to the sorry equation those images of flood and despair from New Orleans that I had just watched on television before heading out the door, and one could barely speak the words, “I’m in the mood for jambalaya tonight.”

The café is owned by domestic partners Mark W. Bihm and Humberto Villegas, a handsome duo who greeted us with affable conversation and infectious recipes straight out of the Big Easy. Despite an eerily slow night at the restaurant, the couple instilled cheer and comfort into our dining experience – and without any ghosts hurling alligator sausages across the homey dining room.

Bihm is a native of New Orleans, where his family tree dates back to 1750. He brings to the table genetically sound classics like the meat, cheese and olive Muffaletta, served after applying weight to the sandwich for 24 hours so that the bread soaks up the intense flavor of the chopped olives infused with a touch of anchovy. So thick and filling, they’re sold in quarters.

An outstanding Crawfish Etouffee made with freshly trawled crawfish originates from “Mama Barker,” a longtime family friend who taught Bihm how to regulate the butter, roux and cayenne for creating a flavor-balanced rice meal loaded with the peeled fish meats.

From the two-item starter list, a bowl of Chicken and Sausage Gumbo was also excellent – and, like everything else served here, a novel find in San Diego. It’s kicked up with spicy Savoie’s sausage flown in from Louisiana, which sneaks onto your spoon against the dark, gravy-like broth when you least expect it. My companion’s Shrimp Remoulade Salad was memorable, too, considering these guys don’t skimp on the shrimp. They were boiled to a lush texture in salt water and bathed (perhaps a little too heavily) in a Creole mustard dressing.

While Bihm tends mainly to the kitchen, Villegas works the small dining room and outdoor patio, all set back from the street and looking over a manicured lawn framed by a side of the Whaley House. A monstrous California pepper tree encroaches on the small raised porch of the café, which is actually an old swamp shack moved onto the Whaley grounds from downtown in the 1960s.

Yet if you’re looking for the kind of chic design elements you’d expect from a gay couple in the restaurant business – and knowing that Villegas worked previously in the fabric design industry – you’ll need to dash back to Hillcrest. From the red-and-white plastic tablecloths to the period bric-a-brac lining the dining room’s back shelves, every appointment must pass approval by the Save Our Heritage Organisation. This is after all a haunted, historic property where docents, gardeners and now the café’s owners claim they occasionally pick up whiffs of the jasmine perfume worn by Anna Whaley, or glimpse whitish orbs and child images lurking in the landscaped courtyard.

“We had a psychic customer tell us that our dining room is a vortex for spirits,” said Villegas as he brought another chilled bottle of Abita beer to our table.

Apparitions aside, our meal progressed peacefully with a very good Dark Jambalaya made with a sturdy base of “holy trinity” – the Louisiana term for bell peppers, onions and celery. Tender chicken and more glorious shrimp plumped out the dish. Another entrée, the Hot Beef Sausage Sandwich, was lean, lightly blackened and tucked into a wonderful chewy French roll.

“This is the kind of food you’d get when visiting someone who lives in New Orleans,” the couple told us without dwelling on the bleak aftermath of Katrina.

Other dishes on the abnormally inexpensive menu include Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp Creole, Spicy Alligator Sausage and a delicious whiskey-spiked bread pudding that we couldn’t finish.

A quirky property with homespun food, the spirit of New Orleans is alive and well at this little café in a not-so-spooky garden.