10/29/09

Low key good food

by violetta1976

This tiny restaurant is about as basic as it gets. You stand around and hope a table will open up, and peruse the menu on the chalkboard while you wait. By the time you sit down you probably know what you're going to get. Service is sketchy - while our waitress was extremely nice, she was also extremely busy, and we had to wait a while before placing our drink order. Drinks were stiff, and food came quickly. The jambalaya took my breath away, and my friend's seafood gumbo was just as good. Fried chicken and red beans 'n rice also got raves. Definitely a place worth experiencing, but those who prefer fine dining of the white tablecloth and tuxedo'd wait staff variety will likely hate it.

• Pros: Food is to die for
• Cons: Long wait for table and service

08/05/09

A great, unassuming eating place

by oldrip57

Some places are just restaurants/bars -- not "five-star" restaurants, not "haute cuisine" restaurants, but just "good food" restaurants. Coop's Place is one of these. The door hangs askew. The cobwebs hang plenty. Stella, the cat, hangs around. The food? Well, it "hangs ten"!

Creole or Cajun, you can sample it here, tampered with just enough to make it unique and exceptional. The fried chicken and red beans/rice is awesome. The sampler platter is exceptional. The drinks are authentic and ample in alcohol.

Don't come here for the repuatation, come here for the food. The dinginess will ameliorate the former, but nothing can diminish the latter.

• Pros: Varied menu, well prepared
• Cons: It's a dirty bar! So?!

03/01/09

Dirtier means better food in LA

by vosher

It's what the locals say and they mean it. It wasn't the cleanest place but the food was simmering with flavor. Make sure to ask what food is best what day of the week. Yes, New Orleans has a general menu they follow in all restaurants. This place was packed and for goood reason I went back three times that week. Red Beans and Rice, Gumbo and the Cajun Seafood Pasta were great. Cheap too. Definetly a do if your not a "clean snob".

• Pros: food quality and taste, prices, local favorite spot
• Cons: cleanliness, always packed

01/22/09

Good foundation and great atmosphere, poor execution

by travelaj

I visited Coop's tonight along with a couple of friends while here in New Orleans for work. I'm on a nationwide (and New Orleans) quest for the best jambalaya/ Coop's was recommended by another coworker who was a New Orleans local, so I was excited to try it. We even received great feedback from a another group who visited Coops earlier that same evening. Unfortunately, our experience at Coops wasn't as memorable.

The atmostphere was fantastastic: hole in the wall, with two bar workers who look like they just got back from their own versions of "into the Wild". They were courteous enough. We sat at the bar and ordered jambalaya, jambalaya surpreme, and fried chicken. Both orders of jambalaya, though flavorful, were a bit dry and--here's the kicker--both had ice-cold spots, which is a sure sign they had been microwaved. My friend and I were very disappointed. I expect more authenticity from a place with such a good reputation. I'm afraid that Coops has fallen into the "exploit our reputation" trap that too many restuarants succumb to. Too bad. I really wanted to love this place and to recommend it to my visiting friends. Therefore, I give it a 3 star rating (though it probably deserves less) because the poor experience pulls down the flavor of the food.

• Pros: Atmosphere
• Cons: Food was not fresh--especially for the price.

10/29/08

Absolutely delicious!

by CRH77

Do yourself a favor and check this place out. We stumbled upon it by accident and I couldn't have been happier with the meal. Try the two piece fried chicken with rabbit & sausage jamabalaya and coleslaw. I will definitely be back.

• Pros: Real southern cooking, friendly service, delicious food, fair prices
• Cons: A bit grungy and dark

10/26/08

AVOID AT ALL COST

by gourmeteater5

I seated myself which is fine. The reluctant waiter came and gave me the menu. I was sitting at the bar, and since somebody left at a closeby table I wanted to be reseated. The cleaning of the table consisted of wiping with an unclean piece of cloth and throwing the trash on the floor.

I ordered the Coop's sampler. The gumbo had some odd cold stuff in it, the rabbit jambalay was burnt had NO rabbit meat at all. The Shrimp creole was some tomatoes out of a can and two pcs of shrimp. THe fried chicken was soaked in salt before frying.

One of the most horrible meals I have ever eaten and the rudest of waiter. I visited on 26th of October, 2008 around 8pm

09/25/08

I truly hate this place. Nastiest place ever.

by MichelBourgeois

OK Cajun fare. Trying really, really hard to be gritty and crappy. Weird odors, dirty. Website states they are open til 2am, but they close by midnight. Service went beyond rude. I would classify it as angry, even vicious. I hate this place more than anyplace I have ever dined. Dumb, obesse, greasy waiter was borderline criminal. No idea why this place is still in business. I mean, by the standards of other cities its food is OK, but there are 50 places better than this in the Quarter alone.

• Pros: edible
• Cons: worst service ever

09/14/08

Best in the FQ for the money

by Kellhashc

There is nothing to say about this place that hasn't already been said. It's the best food you'll find in the quarter for the price. Prices are very reasonable. I live in the quarter and frequent this place at least every other week and have yet to be disappointed once. It's just a hole in the wall restaurant, but everything I've ever had on the menu is excellent.

One of the French Quarter's best bets for late-night food, serving down-home NOLA fare in style.

by Gerrish Lopez

In Short
A standout on one of the French Quarter's best bar blocks, Coop's caters to the everyman crowd. Equal parts watering hole and eating place, the main room features several tables, wraparound bar and the requisite New Orleans food and festival posters on the walls. There's a pool table, an overhead TV set and a surprisingly diverse jukebox. The usual crowd is mostly locals and out-of-towners with French Quarter friends. Coop's kitchen cooks delicious Creole seafood dishes with a twist. Good bets include spicy pastas, rabbit and sausage jambalaya and fresh-caught redfish entrees. The smoked duck quesadilla is an all-time favorite.

06/03/08

culinary genuis!!!!!

by kingvoorhees

Dear viewer's , as an ex employee of COOP'S I still know all the secretes to these absolute masterpieces of culinary genius work of art plates! let me tell ya, its not hard! With the right teacher ( JEFF COOP ) anything is possible. He made my taste buds come alive. The food here is extraordinary! Duck quesadilla's, taste plate, fett alfedo, any of the apps. RED FISH MENUIRE & don't forget the friday night specials (PLEASE DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE) . A local favorite hang out because of atmosphere, workers, & food. These 3 combined & you have the best experience of a life time, enough to keep you comming back everytime you visit!!! Voted Best Bartender 2001 in the French quarter FAYE SANCHEZ ask for her. She'll make you the best bloodymary you've ever had, BLIND FOLDED & with one hand tied behind her back . I was on food tv back when they did a special about eating local in New Orleans. I was making Gumbo, & they wanted to record it, Back when David Roe was tending bar . Fresh ingredients make this wonderful place what it is & stands for today! I wish there was a hole in the wall like COOP'S in AUSTIN , TX . Who knows maybe i'll open one someday......... & call It........ RICK'S . I miss you all at COOP'S.... even you regulars!!!:)