Cafe Pontalba
New Orleans, LA 70116-3321
Phone: (504) 522-1180
User Reviews for Cafe Pontalba
10/26/2007 Posted by miss_mona
I always went to Cafe Pontalba when I vistied New Orleans. My favorite place to sip a Bloody Mary (which is the best I've ever had anywhere traveling), people watch as they roam on the Square, the church bells ringing, etc. Its "the place" to be on the square for me! I've always had great food there. Great bartender named Aaron ( hope the spelling is right)! Its not a vaction in the French Quarter without stopping by there.
01/02/2007 Posted by brett0479
I was in New Orleans this past weekend with some friends and ended up at this place, right on Jackson Square, which should have been my first warning. We got the blackened alligator appetizer which was pretty good. I had the jambalaya entree, which was disgusting. The rice was luke-warm and mushy, and I got the feeling that it had been sitting in a chafing dish for hours before being scooped onto my plate with an ice cream scoop. Also, it had little pieces of unidentifiable meat in it. Was it chicken? Was it sausage? Good God, was it some sort of seafood? It did come with two sausage links on the side, and they were pretty good, actually. They tasted as if they had been made on a grill, so at least I was able to eat part of my meal. One of my friends had a chicken sandwich, which was described as "ok" but "boring." Another had a shrimp and fettuccini alfredo dish which she also said was good, but not great. Only one person truly enjoyed his meal, and he had the catfish with pecans. I didn't try it, but he really liked it. All in all, I would not recommend this place. With so many other great restaurants in the city (some only blocks away), there is no need to suffer mediocre food. Try Ralph and Kacoo's (even if it is a chain) or The Gumbo Shop for better Creole/Cajun food.
Pros: Location
Cons: Food
