08/25/09

Great Service

by JCM7

We had the gumbo of the day - braised pork, sausage with black eyed peas - and for dinner, the shrimp and grits. These dishes were by far the best I have ever tasted! The gumbo was unusual, but awesome. We also ordered fried oysters, and they were great as well; fried perfectly so you could still taste them.

Service was excellent. I noticed the reviews stated bad service, but my water was refilled without ever having to ask, our plates came out hot and even @ the same time, and the waiter was knowledgeable and helpful to a tourist like us!

Only con was the seating was a bit cramped in the section we were in. We could overhear the tables next to us perfectly, and the couple next to us even started talking to us. The restaurant is large, so just ask to sit at a good spot if other are available to avoid this...

• Pros: Extremely flavorful food
• Cons: nothing major

07/17/09

Favorite restaurant in New Orleans

by spotf15

Went for lunch on a Friday. Contrary to many reviews, the atmosphere to include the lack of excessive noise was perfect. Well attended to by three staffers. Stuffed deboned chicken wings to start were great. Jalapeno corn bread moist and nicely flavored. Wife had the boneless fried chicken and it was awesome. Breading crisp while chicken still moist. She didn't want the side dishes that accompanied her dish and they gladly brought her other sides to include the house "mac and cheese" and honey baked white beans both of which are must haves. I had the "shrimp and grits" and it was spectacular. 1/2 dozen large shrimp with a great flavor and the perfect level of doneness. Creamy grits with a nice texture and a delicious butter sauce. We lived in New Orleans for 8 years and have been to all the Brennan's family restaurants and the other Emeril's restaurants as well as the renowned Bayona and Brightsen's. This was the most enjoyable meal I've had at any of them. Comfortable atmosphere, great service, wonderful food and for a cheapskate I felt the meal was well worth every penny.

• Pros: Shrimp and grits rocks
• Cons: None

07/12/09

So, So

by soadnirvana

So we were looking for somewhere cheap to dine at for lunch today. After spending at least $100.00 everywhere else we went. We chose NOLA, because well.. Its Emeril's restaurant. We were seated by the manager. It took a while for a real waiter to come serve us. We ordered our drinks, and after 20 minutes or longer we were served a choice of bread. I ordered the brisket at lunch and my mom ordered the pulled pork sandwich. My meat was good, albeit the sauce on the barbecue was a bit sweet. I liked how the servers were synchronized at putting things down on your table at the same time. I thought the gumbo and crab cake were delicious. Our servers would disappear for long periods of time and we would be trying to flag them down. When NOLA went South was when we received our desserts. I had the banana pudding cake, which was great. And my mom had the ooey gooey cake. I tasted some of hers and immediately noticed I could not swallow the bite I took. I discovered a medium sized dark hair in the cake. After that my mom refused to eat it and when we told the server he didn't talk long enough when he asked if he could replace it, so she said no. She was angry b/c she felt he could have given her another cake instead of assuming she wanted it comped. I'd expect better from Emeril's.

• Pros: Read below
• Cons: Read below

02/25/09

Major Disappointment

by supportlocalfoods

Ate at Nola expecting bold flavors and cajun kick. My food was bland and under seasoned. My friend's was salted to the point she could not taste the meat. It was probably the worst meal I ate in New Orleans.

Much more disappointing, however, was the service. There was a HAIR in my friend's drink and, though it was taken off the bill, she was not apologized to nor given a replacement.

I will never dine there again and recommend you do not either.

• Pros: Gumbo was actually decent
• Cons: Service was terrible and most of the meal lacked flavor.

08/06/08

BAMM BAMM BAMMMMM

by djdiva

this was our first rest for dinner on our first eve in good ol' NAWLINS!

The best thing was that this was open till 10:00 pm GOOD GOD every one closes at 9:00 pm on a Fri!!

The ambiance was very nice and the service was great! I had the special crab cake that was to die for and my B-F had the salad with feta cheese that was nice as well. I ordered the fish of the day (ehhh it was OK) he ordered the steak and potatoes with was AMAZING!! Wine list was great as well they had a great list for the food that was being served. It was cozy and lively as well. We didnt get to try a dessert due to the fact that we had a OVER SWEET BREAD PUDDING AT ANOTHER PLACE>>>

But all in all yep this one was a great great experiance!!

The Price Point was great as well for the amount of food you got.

• Pros: open late!!
• Cons: none that i can think of

06/04/08

Terrible Food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by moorzic10

My boyfriend and I went to NOLA as a friend of mine recommended it.. We absolutely did not like the food..

Instead of ordering appetizer and an entry, we decided to just get few appetizers and share... that we can try few different things.. So, first of, I asked the waiter how many we would need to fill up and he said at least 6. We ordered 5. We ordered chicken wings that were stuffed and some people rave about them, they were not good at all...first of all, they were all burned on the outsde and the inside which consisted of shrimp and pork was tasteless.. then we got oysters and crabs that were baked..this dish was ok..and then came the crab cake and the foe gras..wow..I could not believe it was that bas.. Crab cake had a hard shell which it should not.. on top it had an eggplant puree which was mostly made of garlick.. it took me houuuuuuuurs to get the traste out of my mouth and then comes the best part.. it was so over salted that even I could not eat...and I put salt on everything.. The foe grass was deep fried with very salty onions and spinach on the side which were also very oily...The duck confilt pizza which supposedly had truffle oil on it...was also baaaaaaaad. Piece of bread with some duck on it.. no cheese or sause or truffle oil for that matter.

It was the worst meal I ever had.. Save your money, to to Peristyle...great restaurant with unbelievable food and impecable service....

• Pros: No Pros
• Cons: Everything.......

02/28/08

I love You Emeril!!!!! Great place

by veronicawrig62

I love you Emeril! We came into town for the NBA All-Star week end. The streets were blocked off and the police were nice enough to let me through to get to this great spot. I had the Shrimp and Grits and all I can say is WOW! I started off with the Smoke Salmon salad /w Caviar and a glass of Emeril?s Chardonnay. The dessert was a nice slice of Banana pudding Cake. The service was a perfect 10. Places like this make New Orleans memorable. I will be back!!!!

• Pros: Everything

02/21/08

One of the Best....

by evajefferies

I'm just back from New Orleans with 6 girlfriends from the Bay Area. We went down there to celebrate a 40th birhtday and I picked Nola's as the 'special' birthday night dining destination for Saturday evening. We were not disappointed. In fact, it was so good, we came back again the next night (sans reservations) and were accommodated and so well taken care of.

Everything about this place is professional, service oriented and most of all, friendly. When we arrived we were promptly seated at a lovely table by the window. Our waitress for the evening was one of the nicest I've ever had and was very helpful with recommendations off the menu. They have a very extensive wine menu and their Sommelier is amazing, very down-to-earth and gave us a fantasic recommendation on a VERY resonabely priced bottle of wine - so well priced we drank 7-8 bottles ooops.... so nice to go to a high end restaurant and not feel pressured into expensive wine. This was $26 a bottle and it ROCKED and i'm a total snob when it comes to wine.

The Food was out of this world. The first night i had the filet mignon, total melt in your mouth with blue cheese stuff portobellow mushroom and mashed potatoes YUM. But everything was good, from the shrimps and grits to the spare ribs to the Texas redfish (best fish I've ever tasted). Service was outstanding both nights and they really were so lovely to us giving us big complimentry dish of desserts both evenings. This place is AMAZING. Very New Orleans and such a great experience. I can't wait to go back!

• Pros: Everything - Food, Service, Ambience
• Cons: None

11/28/07

Great food!!!! Service, good also....

by lawman_88

I took my fiance to NOLA the Friday after Thanksgiving for our anniversary. The restaurant, inside, is sooo cool! It has a nice "old school" feel to it...a lot of exposed brick....we got there 30 minutes early and sat at the bar....bar selection was ok, not great, not bad....we were seated by our really nice hostess and the wait staff was awesome....I had the Fried Chicken (which I HIGHLY recommend) and my fiance had the Filet Mignon....both were awesome. I also suggest you NOT miss out on the GUMBO...was stock full of meat and nice on such a cold night....for desert I had the white choclate bread pudding, which was to DIE for and my fiance' had the pecan pie. My only "gripe" was that I had contacted the restaurant, via OpenTable, to have a special desert made for my fiance' and no one acknowledged that I had even made the request....oh well, our night wasn't as special as that would have made it, but it was a great experience....we will go back when in New Orleans!!!

• Pros: Menu, food, amibance
• Cons: Waiter could not cash out my check....had to pass to someone else....

11/19/07

Absolutely fabulous from start to finish

by vimpy2

We dined at NOLA on thursday 11/15. From start to finish everything was fantastic. The host was extremely nice and seated us at a nice table over-looking the second dloor. We have 3 very attentive waiters who made sure we were always well taken care of. I had the baked oyster and crabmeat and my boyfriend had the duck confit pizza. Both were outstanding. For our entrees, I had the filet mignon and my boyfriend had the fried chicken. The filet was exceptional and the portolbello mushroom filled with blue cheese was a fantastic addition. The fried chicked was delicious. We spilt the banana pudding cake, which was layered with fresh bananas and cream. A perfect ending to a great dinner. We eat out quite a lot in NYC and NOLA was outstanding. Definitely eat there if you can. And skip restuarnt August. We ended up walking out because of the atrocious service.

• Pros: Delicious food, excellent service, nice wine list
• Cons: none