Cafe Atchafalaya

06/14/2008 Posted by timmer1

I live right down the street from the restaurant and had the opportunity to purchase the business and the building in late 2004. Little did I know as to how difficult things would turn out to be. 2 weeks after I purchased the property it was ran into by a stolen Tahoe that was involved in a high speed police chase! The truck ran straight into the side of the building and knocked it off of its foundation. The ceiling fell in, 4 rafters were cracked and you could see daylight through the roof. They were caught and I was in shock! This event changed the whole course of my turn key operation plan. The insurance would only cover putting the foundation back into place, replacing the cracked rafters and the sheetrock immediately surrounding the hole in the wall. I suddenly found myself in the first of numerous challenges that would follow. It became apparent that the best thing and only thing to do would be to gut the property and start again, as everyone else had only added layer after layer of plaster, paneling and sheetrock. Of course I did not have the money for this totally unexpected turn of events, and worked with 3 people that helped me strip the 90 plus year old building straight to the studs. We pulled 13 construction dumpsters of debris from the well worn building. It was really a huge job but we did it. It also really needed it. It took 9 months because of the lack of funds. I did not expect myself to find myself in the renovation business but worked every day at it until I accomplished it.

06/14/2008 Posted by TimHoward01

Cafe Atchafalaya owners story I recovered after a month to find that one manager and one waitress voided out, and stole every cash ticket. Charges have been filed and one of them is going to jail. This has been the most difficult 3 years of my life and I still don't intend to quit. I am aware of the problems that we have had here at Cafe Atchafalaya, and am writing this to let everyone know that we continue to make improvements on a daily basis. I have obviously been through a lot, and not all of the issues have been listed here. I could not be any more proud off what I have accomplished and can honestly say that we will always continue to improve. We are going to start serving breakfast on Saturdays soon. For those of you that have had bad experiences here, and have chosen to post them on the internet, I hope this has given you some insight into the troubles that this wonderful neighborhood restaurant has been through. I believe all good things take time and hard work. I love New Orleans and am proud of the improvements and money I chose to keep in this wonderful city.. We look forward to seeing you again and appreciate your support. Sincerely, Tim Howard

06/13/2008 Posted by nolalawstudent

There are not enough places like this in town. Scrumptious, wholesome and filling food at a good price, great drink specials, live music most days. I discovered the Honey Island Swamp Band there one Sunday and they rock. It's also a lot cleaner than alot of restaurants around town, or it feels that way at least. I have been here a few times now and I really think it is the perfect place to unwind after work or have Sunday brunch. It has a neighborhood feel, but more upscale than say, Liuzza's. I have never had a problem with the service. I have never been on a busy Friday night though. Or during Jazz Fest, but I say you give a new restaurant in town some slack on the service end. Tonight I had the herb roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. It was just the way I like it. Juicy with real mashed potatoes with the skins left on. And a huge chicken breast. The caesar salad was nice also and the gumbo looked so good when I saw it at the next table. I know chicken is boring but I was just in the mood for something simple and classic and these guys really did it right. I am sorry the other diners had a bad time. This place deserves to make it. If you enjoy good food and feel for the business owners in town who are having a hard time finding good help, give this place a shot. I would recommend this to friends dining out, college students who don't get too obnoxious, and families.

Pros: food, wine, atmosphere

06/12/2008 Posted by joeconway

Then came another surprise for everyone. We had the entire building stripped down to bare framework, and foundation. Then Katrina occured! 2 months later we started to build it back together. At this point we had been closed for a year, while making the bank note every month with no income. Still I stuck with it. 9 months later we were able to open in a brand new building. Reflecting back on these difficult times I am proud to have gotten through it. More difficult times were still in the future. Anyone that knows the restaurant business is aware that it is a very tough business to start anyway and I was already totally overwhelmed by the time we did open. The next set of problems came immediately. The labor force was almost non existent. Waitstaff was almost impossible to find, let alone keep. Everyone was transient at that time. I have gone through 3 chefs and 4 managers in the 26 months that we have been open. All 4 managers were caught stealing. No less than 60 waitstaff members have come and gone. Training somebody for a position was nearly impossible. Tough times but I still believed in the restaurant. After all that I had been through I knew I would not quit. I thought that things would start to get better but I was dead wrong. On October 19th, 2007 I was nearly akilled at 4 oclock in the afternoon. I was walking my dog on Annuciation street when I was assulted from behind with a baseball bat or perhaps a pipe. I was not robbed, but left in the middle of the street having seizures. I woke up 5 hours later with 3 staples in my head and a permanently seperated shoulder. I have always been proud of my Irish Channel neighborhood and took it upon myself to board up and paint an abandoned crackdealer house at 3327 Annunciation. I have a rental property in that block and all the neighbors were complaining about the problem. The police did nothing, so I did. 8 days later I was nailed from behind and left for dead1, I later learned how close to death I was...

05/12/2008 Posted by nolarose

This was the worst service I have experienced in any restaurant. Today was mother's day and cafe atchafalaya disappointed a local mother with a big mouth! The owner/manager is obviously missing a screw. he repeatedly told us after we sat at our table for an hour that our food would be out next. we watched people come in sit down eat and leave and OUR FOOD NEVER CAME. our waitress disappeared...no bread was given.... our 2 year old was not given a high chair... no drinks were offered. It was like a crazy movie. We laughed but had to just get the hell outta there and we won't be returning. funny note...i was a waitress at this restaurant about 15 years ago when it was under different ownership. this place needs to change the name (or, better yet, just close down) as it is giving the classic cafe atchafalya a bad name it does not deserve. It is an embarrassment to our city.

Cons: terrible terrible service--run by inexperienced fools

05/03/2008 Posted by texasbillie

I understand a long wait to get seated on a Friday night (Jazz Fest), even a longer than estimated wait, but the remainder of our experience at Cafe Atchafalaya was inexcusable. Once we were seated, we waited 25 minutes before even meeting our waitress, despite having asked several servers and someone who seemed to be a manager/owner type and being promised prompt service, bread, water, etc. (none of which came). When a waitress finally arrived, it was apparent that she had been assigned to our table only seconds before and that no server was ever originally assigned to our table. She did her best to get our orders, but when the kitchen takes 25 minutes to get an appetizer out and 40 to get a pasta out, there's not much a girl can do. Worse yet was this owner/manager man who greeted us when we came in but then appeared to be helpless and/or intoxicated and simply walked around the restaurant -- seemingly checking on things -- but not actually doing anything at all. All of the tables around us (and even people in the bathroom) were talking about the bad service. The food was good when it came, but not good enough to overcome the rest of the experience. We won't be going back.

10/19/2007 Posted by chocolatk

This was my first time at this cafe, and I must say I was extremely disappointed. Everything about this place was average. The food was just ok, the main courses tasted like something was missing from the recipe. Our waitress was running around like crazy, but there were only 3 tables of customers. She kept forgetting about us; we had to flag her down several times because she kept forgetting parts of our order. The only time she was on top of things was when we gave her our credit card to pay. There are some places that are worth the extra $$ (the Upperline, for example) but this place was not worth it at all.

Pros: the appetizer was good

Cons: the appetizer was the only thing that was good

10/05/2007 Posted by romagosa

The food was okay but not not great. The waitress was not knowledgeable at all. Service was okay but not great. Martini was one of the best and very reasonably priced. Wine was also good and reasonably priced. Not a place I would necessarily go to again.

Pros: Most of the employees were very pleasant

Cons: An animal in a restaurant just doesn't fly for me

03/16/2007 Posted by atticusparley

INCREDIBLE! The food was incredible and the service was prompt. We had the trout almondine and the pork roulade...wonderful. Seafood gumbo and the shrimp remoulade salad were also outstanding...the price is just right, the food is filling and tasty, and the place is cozy. We went back for brunch and it blew us away. The Eggs Jean Lafitte were unreal! A real southern restaurant with creative flair.

11/09/2006 Posted by thd

The food was good, but I think the price was a bit much for the quality and the small portions. I also felt that the staff was unknowlegdable about the entrees. I had to ask a few different people (the hostess and 2 waiters) for information on certian dishes and they either gave me and incorrect answer or just did not know the answer, but did not offer to go and ask the chef. Overall, the experience was average, but for the money I was expecting more.

Pros: Good, quality food

Cons: pricey, small portions, unknowledgable staff