10/13/08

Best Food Ever

by NoLaDenver

I don't give five stars to a restaurant unless i really really love it. The chef can take something simple like grilled shrimp and black beans to an entirely different level that I didn't know existed for that dish. It comes as just a simple black bean 'cake' and a few shrimps on the side. When you take a small measure of each, every single flavor, the saltiness of the beans, the sweet sea taste of the shrimp, jumps out and is easy to identify, but also works in concert to create a palate-expanding symphony. The waiter was attentive, which was good, but food took a very very long time, which was bad. Normally, such a long wait would earn a restaurant a bad review, but Bayona had such good food that I would wait a full month to eat there (which, alas, I must do. I no longer live in NOLA, its sad I know). Take care Bayona, and keep the shrimp on the menu!

• Pros: Food, Food, Food
• Cons: time

09/21/08

Good food. Intrusive service

by CharlieCrist

The food was good. The service was intrusive. The idea seems to be to impress with the number of people they can have come to the table. I don't need to be interrupted every five minutes. Having a real room captain might work. I also don't need to hear the wait staff repeat the same memorized lines all night long. A long wait between appetizer and main course was a meal killer too.

• Pros: Good food
• Cons: Bad service

08/11/08

Perfect Romantic Interlude

by BethAnoyab

Bayona's is the perfect place for intimate dining, quiet conversation, and exquisite food. It is sophisticated but not pretentious, engaging but still subdued. The people were very warm--I felt as though I was among family. It was easy to become lost in the moment. I have never enjoyed a meal quite so much. Gracias.

07/11/07

A bit disappointing...

by gks

We had high hopes for this restaurant, and were really looking forward to our dinner. Though the atmosphere is great, the main problem was that it took a LONG time to get our starters, and even longer to get our main dish. Once our food arrived, we were hoping it would be so wonderful we'd forget all about the long wait....but the food was really just okay. I had the lamb, which was actually very good, but my husband had the hangar steak which was just okay, and the veggies etc which accompanied our dishes were also just average. Oh, and I'd requested no squash, which of course was on the plate when it arrived. All in all, a nice location, but the food and service was lacking.

04/23/07

MOUSE...poor, poor service

by ckbolest

I've been to this eatery twice. I'm a college kid who rarely gets a good meal, so when parents come in to town and offer to take me I'm all for it. The first time I went to Bayona I was stoked, the menu made my mouth water. I was somewhat dissapointed. Besides the excellent service chef Susan Spicer's dishes were not impressive. To put it this way I didn't even get a to go box for my half eaten tuna steak. Well, recently I decided to give Bayona another go. One cocktail into our meal my table saw two rodents scurry right in front of our table. We told the manager in a very discreet way, avoiding a scene. He brushed us off and told us that they kept a cat in there at night to scare away rodents. GROSS!!! Besides the unapologetic mamager our food was cold or covercooked and our service miserable. Don't waste your 60 bucks a head.

03/01/07

Simply fabulous

by paule123

Very romantic dining room. We started with the garlic soup and seared scallops. The scallops were excellent, but I would have liked the soup to be a bit more garlicky. For the main course, I had a rabbit dish that was out of this world. Perfectly cooked, spiced, and sauced with a beautiful presentation. My friend had the striped sea bass that was also delicious, but said my rabbit took top honors in the taste dept. For dessert, a frangelico infused cake with chocolate mousse that was also delicious. All around excellent food, excellent service. Highly recommended for a romantic dinner or to impress a client in an intimate setting.

• Pros: Great ambience, great food, great service
• Cons: None

10/14/06

where is Susan

by jnatale

Okay Susan I am from Nashville and I always eat at your restarants, my boyfriend and I had dinner on a Friday night, there was no wait, we had reservations. Dinner was okay, the service was good but not fun. I ordered the pork chop, my boyfriend had the tripletail fish dish. The tripletail was very good very mild white fish and hearty portion, I had the pork chop, big portion, cooked great, and we both had a salad.... very good we both had a dessert mine was not that great something with a rootbeer shaved ice, ykes! My b-friend had homemade bananna and chocolate ice cream... very good. service was good, no crowd...

06/03/06

so many choices, don't waste your time

by jeverett_81

the service was mediocre and hasty at best! the thing that started the evening off bad was the fact that they don't do corkage! I mean if you're not going to allow people to bring their own selections you should have a MUCH better wine list. Which brings me to their perverse wine service...before my champagne was even half-way finished the daft girl had poured both diners a full glass. I mean LORD, we hadn't even received our appatizers yet.

Since the begining we were mostly ignored. The food was NOT much better than outback steakhouse(over-cooked, or over-spiced) or other such establishments! I DO NOT reccommend wasting your time or money at this place.

• Cons: expensive, bad wine list, bad service

03/30/06

Susan Spicer's restaurant redefines world cuisine one dish at a time.

by Contributor

The Scene
Celebrated Chef Spicer set up shop in this impeccably renovated French Quarter cottage in 1990 and has been making culinary news ever since. Filled with bright colors and minimal flower arrangements, the main room is refined and upscale without being stuffy or overly trendy. Attentive waitstaff is quick with menu guidance and clarification. From first greeting to post-dessert coffee, these experienced players don't miss a beat.

The Food
Spicer is an expert in combining bold flavors, surprising textures and techniques from around the globe in her eclectic dishes. She turns to the Mediterranean for appetizers like flavorful "eggplant caviar" puree and salty olive tapenade, then does a twist on northern European traditions with an outstanding salmon with sauerkraut and a beautifully balanced German wine sauce. Whether she's riffing on Indian flavors or Creole standbys, Spicer never fails to impress.

• Pros: smart, friendly service

05/25/05

Great Food, Great service

by dmyer

My best meal in New Orleans, the sweetbreads were wonderful.

The atmosphere was laid back and friendly.

I would not hesitate to go back.