Phillips Bar & Restaurant

Nina is my favorite bartender. Such a sweetheart, super personable, and always on that drink order like white on rice!

We've only ever been for their taco Thursday special where it's $8 for all you can each tacos for students ($10 normally). You really don't get an option on what they bring you (but you can ask nicely if there is a certain one you want), but the options include grilled tortillas that can be topped with shredded pork & slaw, grilled shrimp and slaw, Spanish rice and black beans, and grilled shredded chicken. Oh! And their man n'cheese taco is actually the bomb... Whoulda thunk it?! When the weather is nice they have a super cute patio out back that you can order drinks at, or at the bar inside, and they have a couple little nooks indoors with couches and comfy chairs for more of an intimate bar experience. They've also got a pool table!

Favorite drink by far is their sangria-rita, and if you befriend the owner, Joe, he actually comes up with some pretty creative shot mixes!

**I worked here as the of head security from roughly 2012-2013**

I wanted to post this years ago, but after reading comments since I've left, I'm hoping this will resonate and give confirmation for those questioning the "racist" accusations. I haaate pulling the race card, but here we go.

Phillip's truly was a nice lounge type of place that catered to older college students 21+, young professionals and locals. I'd always invite my friends to visit while at work, take dates there etc. The bar owners are "Jason Warrington" and his husband who's name I can not remember, who at the time lived upstairs.

I quit on the spot around the time the staff began setting up for a Friday "Gappy Hour (Gay/Happy)" as they called it. Jason began to put a sign that had dress code "dont's". Stuff like - no earrings for guys, no hats with sports, no Jordans (not tennis shoes, JORDANS) etc.... I cant remember exactly and it's since been taken down.

I proceeded to ask why the sign and verbatim Jason said, "The blacks are scarring the locals."
I said, well I'm black and I work here and he responds, "Don't worry, your'e a good one."
I told him that in some cultures nice Jordan's are equivalent to a suit and tie and how my parents are well off, so what if they showed up in nice attire, nice Jordan's and in their nice car and he respond's, and this is burned in my memory, "Black people buy nice things to cover up the pain from inside."

The last thing I remember saying was that with him being a homosexual male, it's sad to see him stereotype people to this extent before even meeting them and I walked away.

Don't support this place. New Orleans has PLENTY of better places with health scores above the 70's. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

I've been out to Phillips a number of times with nary a disappointing visit. In particular, a surprise birthday party was thrown for me here, and it was fabulous.

Product: Mainly a bar, but on Thursdays there's tacos. The drinks are decent and not over-priced, but the tacos are awesome. They make them (minus the tortillas) from scratch in the back yard. (4 stars)

Service: I'd say it's been so-so to my recollection, but they *did* cater my birthday with tacos, and we were never hungry or waiting long. I find going to the drink or backyard taco bars superior to waiting on staff to bring you items, though. (3 stars)

Facilities: This is a nicely refurbished corner lot building. The inside is slick looking, and the backyard is a nice addition. Even when it's busy, you shouldn't have a problem finding a seat if you're looking to set yourself down for a spell. I do find the music inside to be insanely loud, and the one time we asked a waitress to turn it down, nothing was done. I find the inside to be chilly like a meat locker. I, obviously, prefer the back yard, assuming it isn't frigid outside or raining. (4 stars)

Overall: It's a great place. I'd've given it 5 stars if the service was a bit better. You should definitely check this place out when you have the chance. (4 stars)

I wish there was a way to give this place NEGATIVE stars. Pi** poor service and too many rules for something I'm paying for. So, my husband and I dropped into this place this past Thursday night. Our attempt was to give taco night a try. So based on the website, a lot went downhill off the bat. Cover is NOT $6 as it says on the site...it's actually $10. No one informed us we could've paid the cover on a tab we started instead of rummaging through our pockets and purse looking for scarce cash like homeless people. Bartender then tells us the drink specials (which partially didn't match their site) and the bare basics of the taco special.

When I asked about the contents of the tacos, I was met with irritation. She was annoyed that I was asking. She couldn't tell me about the slaw that apparently comes on EVERY taco. She then proceeded to ask me, "what are you trying to figure out?!?" I said excuse me??? I proceeded to tell her about food allergies and dietary restrictions (like the fact I don't eat pork and haven't for about 6 years) and OVERALL INTEREST BECAUSE I'M PAYING FOR THE DOGGONE TACOS SO I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!!! Then, she says "Well I'll try to make sure things come out according to your specifications because we premake them and just serve them." I DON'T CARE!

THEN...we finished the first batch which was a beef and a chicken. They were decent. She brings out the next (of the exact same thing despite their being 5 varieties) and my husband asks if his next round could be both chicken instead....ANOTHER employee CUTS him off and tells the bartender "nip this in the bud because we don't' even do special orders". I then said, please close us out and give me my tab please. I was told there was no need to close out and she tried to explain, I told her "honey I don't care, the manner in which this is happening is unacceptable, close me out now please".

Needless, to say I will NEVER be returning...lackluster service and overall lack of concern for us being there and below average tacos doesn't exactly make me wanna gas up my vehicle and hurry over there. I'm good. They've gotten their last $29.00 from me.

P.S. I've been telling everyone I know and don't know how terrible this place is from the moment I walked out of the door.

Did a quick trip to NOLA and stayed in the Garden District. On an afternoon run, I spotted this place - it looked interesting. It was not far from my hotel, and decided to give it a go.

Great Drinks, simple menu (pizza's good), uncomplicated and a really friendly crowd - made for a most pleasant experience. This is not "high cuisine", but solidly GOOD.

Looking for Authentic Maple St. uptown bar? I found Philllips to be a great blend of collegiate crowd and uptown folk.

My friends and I wanted to have some drinks on Saturday night. We are all black. But the security requested to see our ID, which was fine.
Then the security started to comment on the dress code. One pointed at my friend's shoes and trousers, saying he is too casual to get in the bar. We didn't see any dress code at the entrance of in Phillip's. But our dress code was similar to most of the white guests in the bar. Everyone was casual. We thought this was completely RACIST. We asked to talk to the manager. One employee agreed to call the manager, but the other was too dodgy and afraid to call the manager. He claimed he had the right to deal with ALL issues and he said we could make a complaint. We wanted info l to make some complaints. He said he didn't have any forms. There was absolutely NO COMMUNICATION beyond that. What's up Phillip's?

I usually like this place a lot, but my experience last night has changed my mind. My cocktail was clearly watered down. The bartender combined my tab with my friends as requested, but I was also charged! There was some kind of craziness going on in the kitchen as well. We had an issue with our food, was told it would be comped, and we were still charged for it. It wasn't crowded, so I don't understand how all of these things were an issue.
And don't even get me started in the ladie's room! The Toilets rock, are askew, one overflows, paper sits on top of big dispenser, missing tiles everywhere, doors don't lock.

Please get it together, Philip's!

I used to avoid Phillips and head to Bruno's on my weeknights, but Phillips has really drawn me in in the past few months. They have great specials nearly every night of the week, my favorite being Thursday for taco night (deeeelicious tacos and cheap mexican beer!). The vibe inside is upscale, with great seating. The pool tables are a great addition. Finally, my favorite part is the awesome patio in the back. It's huge, and on a mild night the atmosphere can't be beat.

I would recommend trying out Phillips whether you've been before or not. They're doing a great job!

Absolutely hated this place! Very rude and not friendly at all. My wife and I went here for all you can eat tacos and had no clue they had a cover to pay, which is cool but was told it had to be cash. Another couple came in and the same guy told them they could put it on their tab. Now on the tacos, we were told we couldn't modify any of the tacos because they "Just Make Them" and bring them out but we were never told this before paying our money. We don't eat pork and my wife has a food allergy with avocados so when we asked what was on the tacos we got hit with a rude comment and attitude.

This is from my wife's review:

I wish there was a way to give this place NEGATIVE stars. Pi** poor service and too many rules for something I'm paying for. So, my husband and I dropped into this place this past Thursday night. Our attempt was to give taco night a try. So based on the website, a lot went downhill off the bat. Cover is NOT $6 as it says on the site...it's actually $10. No one informed us we could've paid the cover on a tab we started instead of rummaging through our pockets and purse looking for scarce cash like homeless people. Bartender then tells us the drink specials (which partially didn't match their site) and the bare basics of the taco special.

When I asked about the contents of the tacos, I was met with irritation. She was annoyed that I was asking. She couldn't tell me about the slaw that apparently comes on EVERY taco. She then proceeded to ask me, "what are you trying to figure out?!?" I said excuse me??? I proceeded to tell her about food allergies and dietary restrictions (like the fact I don't eat pork and haven't for about 6 years) and OVERALL INTEREST BECAUSE I'M PAYING FOR THE DOGGONE TACOS SO I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!!! Then, she says "Well I'll try to make sure things come out according to your specifications because we premake them and just serve them." I DON'T CARE!

THEN...we finished the first batch which was a beef and a chicken. They were decent. She brings out the next (of the exact same thing despite their being 5 varieties) and my husband asks if his next round could be both chicken instead....ANOTHER employee CUTS him off and tells the bartender "nip this in the bud because we don't' even do special orders". I then said, please close us out and give me my tab please. I was told there was no need to close out and she tried to explain, I told her "honey I don't care, the manner in which this is happening is unacceptable, close me out now please".

Needless, to say I will NEVER be returning...lackluster service and overall lack of concern for us being there and below average tacos doesn't exactly make me wanna gas up my vehicle and hurry over there. I'm good. They've gotten their last $29.00 from me.

P.S. I've been telling everyone I know and don't know how terrible this place is from the moment I walked out of the door.