02/09/09

Better Service at Olive Garden

by cfk906

Absolutely terrible service. We recently held a group dinner at August and were aghast at the poor service. I would never return to this restaurant.

Put into context, we spent approximately $270 per person. Not an inexpensive meal. The food was spectacular, truly wonderful. However, I get better service at my local Olive Garden.

We had a prix fixe for the entire table, same menu. (1) The plating was horrific. For each of our dishes, it took on average 8 minutes between the first plate set down and the last plate sent down. Unacceptable. And, the food was clearly cold, had been sitting under a heat lamp. (2) The waiter was useless & unfriendly. Not once did he offer suggestions nor did he ever take the time to describe to us what we were eating. Lastly, his shirt looked like it came straight out of the laundry bin. (3) I ordered a Gin Fizz, a local New Orleans specialty, and after a 15 minute wait was told that they didn't have the ingredients to make my drink. Ridiculous. Furthermore, our waiter wasn't tactful enough to even recommend a suitable alternative. (4) When it came time for the bill, our waiter simply handed it to us with no "thanks for coming" and said that he couldn't take more than 6 credit cards. Hmm.. On a $4500 bill that seems a bit short-changed.

Stay away from this place.

• Pros: Succulent food, Nice decor
• Cons: Terrible service, Unfriendly staff

11/14/08

A wonderful experience

by amanda2011

My fiance's family were in town and wanted the "gourmet" tour. So we went to August. We were not disappointed at all. The food was inventive and amazing, just amazing. My fiance just eats meat. I am working on that!!! But just about every part of his meal was smile driven. My appetizers and the other parties ware so unusual and great. My main course could have not been better and the service was fabulous. If you can I would suggest a trip to August for any "foodie" out there.

08/17/08

Impressive, elegant

by brdave

This was a beautiful dining experience in New Orleans. We dined here on a busy Saturday night. We had a reservation, and were seated immediately. The entire restaurant is gorgeous- it's worth a trip to the upstairs restrooms just to get look at more of the building. The wait staff was perfect. Timing was perfect: we didn't feel rushed, but also didn't feel like we had to wait for each course. We both had the 5 course tasting menu. The food was above average, but not amazing. The fish wrapped in ham was tasty, but the salty ham was a little over powering. Every item we had was like that.. there was always either something missing, or just a little (and I mean, a LITTLE off). We joked that it was like we were judging on Iron Chef- it was all great, but there were minor flaws.

Overall, if you're judging a restaurant on the total dining experience, this is a great place. What a great night out! If you're going to slam it because the food wasn't the absolute best you've ever had, choose another option in New Orleans.

• Pros: Wait staff (!!!!!!!!!), beautiful setting
• Cons: Very expensive

08/04/08

Disappointment

by nycfoodluvers

As a couple from New York, we have experienced many 5 star restaurants. Our expectations were high for Chef Besh's August and they were definitely not met. The best thing about August is the beautiful space. The atmosphere is perfect for a special dinner out and the room and bar are magnificently charming. The wait staff was pleasant and helpful, and we found the service to be prompt and efficient. The food however left us wishing we had chosen a different restaurant. In short, we were "under-whelmed". For a $200 meal, there is nothing that would bring us back to this restaurant. For a starter, I had the artichoke soup, which would have been good, had it not been cold. There is little excuse in a 5-star restaurant for cold soup. An easy thing to get right! The $22 foie gras was just "ok". For dinner, I had the chicken and dumplings which my husband could have made better at home. The dumplings were simply gnocchi and although they were tasty, there were only 3 of them. Worst of all, my chicken was overcooked. Again, in a 5- star restaurant, chicken should be moist and juicy. I should not need water to wash it down! My husband's "trout served 3 ways" was simply a small piece of trout, cut into 3 sections, all prepared the same way. A big let-down for a $37 meal. The dessert menu offered nothing of interest and surprisingly, nothing chocolate other than a strange mix of "chocolate" pieces. We decided it was not worth the money!

• Pros: Good wait staff & a gorgeous room!
• Cons: the food!

05/28/08

Horrible Service

by allisonwalsh

The food at Restaurant August was good - tasty courses with interesting ingredients. The service however was HORRIBLE. Our server practically ignored us all night. We had to ask for our glassed to be filled up from the bottle of wine we ordered, twice! Both times we were told it was finished, when it clearly was not. It seemed as if our server just did not want to be there at all.

In a city like New Orleans where there are tons of wonderful restaurants, this one is not up to par. You could go to many places that have food that is just as good if not better, cost less and have much better service. It seems liek a waste to have such good food paired with bad service. John Besh should look to get new help!

• Pros: Good Food
• Cons: Horrible service

03/19/08

Best Restaurant in New Orleans!!

by mu83

Restaurant August is quite possibly the best fine dining experience in New Orleans. This is one of the few restaurants I have been to in recent years that lives up to its five-star reputation in service, food and ambiance. Requesting a table in the wine room will give you the best seat in the house, with a wonderful view of the beautiful second floor wine racks, and even with a packed restaurant, the acoustics are just right for a private dinner conversation. The wait staff is courteous and formal without being pretentious, and is eager to accommodate diners. The overall experience is that of a guest in someone?s impeccably decorated dining room, not of a paying customer. On our most recent visit, two of our party had dietary restrictions, and our waiter?s exact words were ?Describe to me what your dream meal would be, and I?m sure we can make it happen tonight.? And lo and behold, he did. They put you at ease, and even the pickiest of eaters is sure to have an excellent meal. This brings me to the absolute best part of Restaurant August?the food. We were a hard-to-please bunch, but Restaurant August succeeded and then some. In fact, they surpassed my expectations a bit this go around?during my previous dinner there, I was pleased with everything, but underwhelmed by my dessert in comparison. But not this time?The entire meal was a feast for the eyes, nose, and most importantly the mouth, from start (beet salad) to finish (?candy bar? dessert). And the highlight of the meal was still the sugar and spice duckling. If you love duck, this restaurant is a must. Actually, if you love food, this restaurant is a must. I?ve been to more than a few of the other ?fine-dining? restaurants of New Orleans: K-Pauls, Commanders, Ralph?s on the Park, Herbsaint, Arnaud?s, etc. all with their own unique offerings that make them wonderful. But on my list there is only one top spot, and it goes hands down to Restaurant August and Chef John Besh.

• Pros: Food, Ambiance, Wait Staff are all five-star
• Cons: None! Can't wait to go back.

11/19/07

Avoid this restaurant

by vimpy2

We made reservations at August for Sat. 11/17 to celebrate our 11th annniversary. We made a reservation for 9:30pm. We arrived on time and were told our table was not ready. We sat at at the tiny bar and proceeded to wait for over 25 mintes for a drink. The bartender was obviously slammed but had a horrible attitude, asking another waitress if she could "help these people." It took another 15 minutes to pay the bill because everytime she started to process the bill, she started doing something else. We sat down and once again waited for someone to come over to us. We ordered a bottle of wine and waited another 20 minutes. I went to the ladies room and returned and we still hadn't received the bottle of wine. It was now 10:30 and we still hadn't even begun our meal. At that point we were starving and frustrated and walked out. It was quite possibly the worst service I have ever experienced in a restaurant that is supposed to be of a certain caliber. The food may have been great, but we'll never know since they made it impossible to enjoy our time there. I'm so surprised that John Besh would allow such horrendous service. He may want to spend a little more time training his staff in customer service than making tv appearances. We had gone to NOLA on thursday night and the service and food were impeccable. We had 3 attentive waiters who made you feel welcome. The filet and fried chicken are some of the best. Go there instead. We felt better walking out of August than we would have if we stayed. That should tell you something.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Worst service I have ever experienced

10/26/07

Awesome!

by miss_mona

My husband and I dined there this past Saturday night with a group of 10! The food was fabulous! The atmosphere was great! Everything came from the kitchen perfectly served. The staff was great! I got to go back to the kitchen and meet everyone - great treat for me!!! I can't wait to return on my next vacation!

08/28/07

Restaurant August - Divine

by dcata25

Restaurant August for dinner. This was our first time to August and will definitely not be our last. Divine is the only word I can say about this place. Everything we tasted was speculator. They brought out a mushroom truffle risotto to start, amazing. We got the gnocchi, wonderful. I had John?s drum dish with champagne butter foam which is the dish he won with on the seafood challenge on the Food Network. His flavors are outstanding. The service was incredible and meeting John for the second time (we had met him on an earlier trip while we were eating at Riche) was quite enjoyable.

08/25/07

Best Restaurant in New Orleans

by tikivon

This is my current #1 favorite restaurant in New Orleans. The food: Beyond incredible. You can't go wrong. The service is marvelous! The place itself is gorgeous, and feels fancy and lively at the same time. Beautiful interior without a trace of stuffiness. This is everything I want in a special night out. I'm madly in love with this place. Can't wait to go back.

• Pros: Everything