- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Atchafalaya
Categories: Restaurants Cajun/Creole Restaurants Breakfast & Brunch Cajun/Creole, Breakfast & Brunch [Edit]
901 Louisiana AveNew Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 891-9626
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 5:30 pm - 10 pm
Tue-Sat 11 am - 2:30 pm
Sun 10 am - 2:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic, Casual, Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Jackie A. said: "The Slow Roasted Duck is out of control good... I had it with the peach sauce and it is truly amazing. I like this place's set up, really good for a date or to bring parents here. $40 per person is reasonable for the tasty 3 courses…" read more »
221 reviews for Atchafalaya
Review Highlights
-
"The fried Green Tomatoes are the best I've ever had." In 39 reviews -
"The bloody mary bar is incredible as well." In 23 reviews -
"You will lick your plate if you get the shrimp & grits." In 28 reviews
Loading...
221 reviews in English
-
Review from Dana M.
Seattle, WA
4/14/2012 Seated via OpenTable
One of the better brunches, ever. Live jazz. Fantastic service. Delicious, high quality, festive food. Even excellent coffee, which is hard to find on vacation (and...in general) when you're from Seattle. I'm just sad that I'll only be able to visit Atchafalaya once every year or so--what a winner.
Added bonus--they are situated right near St. Charles and also Magazine St., which are great for sightseeing and shopping (and parade watching!) -
Review from Sea P.
New Orleans, LA
5/24/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Yummm. Waitress seemed to be having a bad day, but was pleasant enough. She refilled our drinks frequently and checked up on us sufficiently. Food great. Atmosphere great.
Ch-ch-ch- check it out!
-1 star? No live music. Although I did go on a monday night, so that may have had something to do with it. -
Review from Niki M.
New Orleans, LA
5/22/2012
I recently took some out of town guests to Atchafalaya Restaurant (previously Atchafalaya Cafe).
Atmosphere: A
I really love the atmosphere of this little place. Small...warm lighting and the character that comes with old houses. It reminds me of the houses in my neighborhood (Algiers Point). I would've liked the tables to be a little more spaced though.
Service: A -
We could tell that our server was new and he was nervous...and could've used a little more polish. But all in all he still did a really good job.
Food:
Fried Green Tomatoes Topped with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat: $12 B-
The tomatoes were really good and fried perfectly. They were not stingy AT ALL with the crab...The lumps were big and plentiful. What threw this dish off a little was the remoulade sauce...as it was entirely too strong. It just had an overwhelming taste of strong creole mustard...which was just too much when dealing with a taste as delicate as crab.
Sweet and Spicy Shrimp: $10
One of our guests got this appetizer with a house salad to eat together as an entree. She raved about the shrimp.
Pear and Blue Cheese Salad: $10 B+
This salad was really good. It would've gotten an A...but I felt it was stingy on the blue cheese.
Crawfish Atchafalaya (fettucine): $18 B+
This was a really nice sized serving for the price. The pasta was cooked perfectly. I found the crawfish to be very slightly overcooked...but not enough so to ruin the dish for me. One of our guests got this and gave it an A+. I am a little bit of a harsh critic on this dish because I cook crawfish fettucine that is out of this world. Second to mine, I LOVE the Crawfish Diablo at Maximo's...and didn't feel that this dish was as good....but still really good none the less.
Shrimp and Grits: $23 A++
I'm a big shrimp and grits eater. When I have seen it in other restaurants, it's usually a cream type sauce...or rarely...like BBQ shrimp. The menu described theirs as a smoked tomato and andouille broth. I'm not big on tomato broth based dishes...so I passed. I'm VERY thankful that my SO didn't pass. This dish was the winner of the night. The grits were so creamy and delicious! The sauce was an incredible compliment and the shrimp were cooked perfectly! Since he was going through it so quickly, I didn't get a chance to see how many shrimp were included...so I can't really say if it was a good value or not.
Other notes....
The bread: A+
Jalapeno cornbread muffins! They were fantastic...and they kept it coming. At first they were stingy on the amount of butter we got...but we just asked for more and they brought plenty.
Overall, I'd give Atchafalaya Restaurant a B+ and I'd definitely go again. I'm big on going out to brunch, so I definitely want to go back for that.
Additional NOTE: Since writing this review, I'd gone to brunch at Atchafalaya a few times and it's HANDS DOWN my favorite brunch place in New Orleans! Build your own bloody mary bar...great food...live music...great value. What more could you ask for.
Just one more thing? Can you please carry my favorite vodka, Sobieski, that is reasonably priced and delicious. Oh you already do? Well there ya go! -
Review from DeathandFood b.
San Francisco, CA
5/11/2012
I've been hearing about this place for years and wanted to come. While it's not the lower priced neighborhood joint it used to be, the food was really an excellent presentation of Cajun and creole food for a non-local.
We came early and without a reservation and we actually wanted to sit outside since we aren't used to just how cold the air-conditioning is everywhere in New Orleans.
The hostess didn't start us off with a good impression. She said we could sit outside and someone would bring menus. Well 15 minutes go by and no one comes out with menu or to take drinks, meanwhile I can see her drinking and just hanging out doing nothing through the window. The French Spouse was really to leave but I thought maybe there was miscommunication so I go inside. As soon as she see me, it's clear from her look she had forgotten about us!
The great thing is that everything after that was wonderful. Our server was super sweet and helpful and seem to know the menu really well.
We ended getting 4 of the smaller plates. They subsitituted crawfish tails for the crab on the fried green tomatoes.
We had:
1. crab cake-really excellent full of crab and spice
2. fried green tomatoes with crawfish tails and remoulade.
3. crisy pork belly with butter beans, you can find pork belly at most fine linen and trendy restaurants in most major cities but here it was prepared with an ease you don't find at those places and it was the perfect mix of pork and beans.
4. pear and blue cheese salad-this was really disappointing, I'm used to super fresh greens and ingredients in my salad and this was pretty wilted and the dressing was non-existent.
It ended up being one of the better meals we had in a week of fine dining. -
Review from Teri Y.
Mililani, HI
Cute restaurant in the middle of a nice neighborhood. Incredible wine list! Large group of us and they would not seat un unless all of us were there so we verbally bet down the one person whose slight was late since we were hungry (really they couldn't let us in despite 1 persons late flight int the city). Ordered a bunch of appetizers (can't remember them all) but every one was excellent. especially the Fried green tomatoes. Got to taste everyones enters but my shrimp and grits were spicy, buttery an smooth - they won for best dish. Alans cocoon dish came in second. Desserts were ok.
-
Review from Cici T.
New Orleans, LA
We came here for lunch the other day and we ordered the crab cake, shrimp and grits, and steak sandwich. I really enjoyed the crab cake and shrimp and grits. The sauce was so amazing. I would definitely come back for more. On the other hand, my date thought the sandwich was okay and he didn't like the chips (which i notice since he didn't even touch it) cause it tasted burnt.
Here is my -1 star for the service. My date and I drinks was not refilled. We actually sat there and waited for somebody to refill it for 15 minutes but they never came so we just drank the water instead.. bummed cause i wanted something with caffeine to help me digest my food. (maybe I'm just being picky IDK!)
Overall, for me the food is great! On the other hand, my date would have gave this place a 3 star since it was not a great experience for him. lol -
Review from Elizabeth L.
Seattle, WA
4/26/2012 Seated via OpenTable 1 Check-in Here
Tucked away in a quiet area of Uptown, Atchafalaya offers a delightful respite from Nola festivities on Bourbon. Has a fantastic jazz trio during Sat. brunch, playing in the foyer bar area.
Duck Hash was creative, with fresh mango and blackberry balancing out a rich duck confit, topped with poached eggs & hollandaise. An indulgent treat, would recommend splitting with a friend.
Cajun-influenced menu features jumbo lump crab, fried green tomatoes, alligator sausage and crawfish.
Service was pleasant, recommend a meal here if you're in the neighborhood. -
Review from Ivana J.
4/30/2012 Seated via OpenTable
We came here for a nice early dinner and got the crab cake, free form ravioli, charcuterie plate, pasta achafalaya, and stuffed quail. All of the food was delicious, though the ravioli was truly a stand-out dish.
I wish we hadn't gotten the charcuterie plate, though, not because it wasn't good but because there were more interesting/ unique items on the menu and we definitely ran out of room for dessert. -
Review from Sherry W.
New Orleans, LA
5/8/2012
It was ok, ambiance was very nice, but it was very loud and the service was TERRIBLE. the Mat re d' or whatever you want to call him carried on a personal conversation with someone for at least 10 minutes before we were even acknowledged. Our server was absolutely worthless and sloppy, he was incredibly distracted by who knows what!!!!! We had to ask for bread and butter....the tuna was very tasty and the bread pudding was nice. Very over priced for what we received. There are entirely to many options in New Orleans for me to return to this restaurant.
-
Review from Tal C.
Chicago, IL
5/21/2012
Came here for brunch and was not disappointed. There was a live 3-piece jazz band playing, which was a little loud but still really enjoyable. There's a bloody mary bar that many people in my group really enjoyed, and the waitress even made them for those that didn't feel like getting up to make them. We all shared the Strawberry french toast to start (delicious vanilla and rum sauce) and there was enough to go around the 8 of us. Then I had the yogurt parafait, and got breakfast potatoes and jalapeno cornbread on the side. The yogurt parafait was pretty standard, nothing to special about the granola or the yogurt. The potatoes were also pretty standard. I was disappointed by the cornbread- it was pretty mild and flavorless and also didn't taste like it had jalapenos in it. The others at my table had the Bordeaux, Duck Hash, and Duck Po' Boy and there was a lot of raving at the table. Definitely a cute place with good brunch.
-
Review from Sean R.
New Orleans, LA
5/10/2012 3 Check-ins Here
So good for every occasion. Creative chef, pricey, but worth it. Good brunch too with a build-your-own bloody mary bar.
-
Review from Ricardo N.
Ocean Springs, MS
4/30/2012 Seated via OpenTable 1 Check-in Here
while i do enjoy atchafalaya's weekend brunch - which is very inventive and unique - i have to give their dinner experience this lowly review. the ambiance in the restaurant is pretty energetic and loud. the service was there but wasn't just the best. i ordered the gnocchi dish and was very disappointed. the biggest downer was how much oil was in the dish. there were literally about 4 or 5 pieces of gnocchi itself, mixed with a ton of cheap filler vegetables. the dish should not have been considered a gnocchi dish when the feature is far outweighed by the supporting ingredients.
my girlfriend got the pasta dish and it was nothing worth talking about. it was very weak in flavor and, like my dish, was very oily. for some reason, it seems like the kitchen was overwhelmed because all the dished seemed thrown together in desperation. although it was a sort of busy night, i didn't see any need for there to be such a lack of detail to the dishes.
i'll return for the brunch but i'm just not really thinking i'll return for dinner unless i hear better news from others. -
Review from Justin B.
New Orleans, LA
3/10/2012
Atmosphere is lovely, an old home conversion. Service prompt an attentative though moving fast. Stopped in for brunch on a Saturday. Reservations are recomended but they were very accomodating for the pop up.
Food was quite delicious and the grits are the best I,ve ever had(sorry SURREY'S). One of the owners was on hand and was her smooth machine run. I made comment that my only complaint was the overcooked yolks of the poached eggs and she seemed genuinely interested in making sure it was a one time thing.
Looking forward to dinner sometime soon. -
Review from Julio L.
2/15/2012
In the "NOLA" one thing you learn appreciate is when you find hidden gems that are not packed with tourists. Atchafalaya is one of those places. With its high ceilings and very nice natural light, this place makes for a great place to bring your one and only.
Then you get to the food, decently priced and delicious. The fried green tomatoes with crab meat were wonderful and the white bean soup (that was not white) was a great way to start the meal.
If you find it (and I hope you don't haha) you will leave full and happy.
Enjoy!
Ps. Go during the week in lunch hours, you will not have to wait for a seat. -
Review from G L.
San Francisco, CA
3/18/2012
Excellent food and service.
Recommend the potato crusted sole and fried green tomatoes.
I visit New Orleans frequently and have tried many restaurants. This is definitely one of my best experiences in terms of food quality and service.
Would definitely go back.
I don't give many 5 stars, but would highly recommend this restaurant. -
Review from Donnatella R.
Northampton, MA
4/12/2012
Superb in every way: service, atmosphere, culinary greatness in taste and presentation, generous portions, seating comfort. It's a restaurant worthy of being a favorite for both city dwellers and visitors.
-
Review from Steve B.
New Orleans, LA
4/13/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Read about it on Yelp. As a native had never been there, but superb food and service. I would describe as typical New Orleans food, but really excellent with a great ambiance. Anxious to go back
-
Review from Shannon S.
Houston, TX
Great brunch experience with the parents.
Live jazz music downstairs. Was great music but made it too loud to sit in the front room, so be sure to ask to be seated in the upstairs room.
Eggs Atchafalaya and Eggs Louisianne are both great. Grits and Grillades qerw great too, with surprisingly large chunks of meat (just a bit too much black pepper added at the end to the meat though).
Great service. Excellent bloody mary bar. (but the bm mix seemed a bit thin).
I will definitely be back! -
Review from Felicia V.
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
5/12/2012
What a great meal. The Chicken with goat cheese polenta was to die for & the gnocchi was to die for as well. Best part of all was the bread pudding for desert. The evening was perfect.
-
Review from Toni M.
3/19/2012
This was the recommendation of Lola, our co-innkeeper. Alan and Ron made the arrangements and I had misgivings after reading the menu, being the spice wimp I am. I worried I would be like a vegetarian at a steakhouse. We took a taxi over and when we walked in for our 7:00 reservation a musician was setting up a keyboard at the bar in the front of the restaurant. The bar is divided from the dining room by a collage of window frames, black on the bar side, white on the dining room side. A totem pole stands at the edge of the collection of window frames. It makes a handsome and unique room divider.
We were seated at a 4 top by a window. The light was dim nonetheless. We had some difficulty reading the menu and grumbled at the current trend of restaurants too dimly lit to read menus. We chuckled when the people seated at the table next to us pulled out a collection of flashlights to read their menus, obviously better prepared than we. There was art on the walls that looked interesting, but was poorly illuminated, so we couldn't really appreciate it.
We ordered fried green tomatoes for Alan, Sherri and me to share. They came w/ a crab remoulade, so Ron ordered fried oysters. The fried green tomatoes were sliced thicker than the ones at Eat and seemed a bit less tart and tasty, but the crab was sweet, fresh and wonderful. The oysters were amazingly good. I don't eat raw oysters, but like them barbecued or fried and these were among the best I've tasted. Alan and I shared a pear and blue cheese salad and it was very good.
Alan ordered potato crusted flounder which came w/ crawfish, cauliflower, baby leeks and truffle buerre blanc. Ron ordered ahi w/ asparagus tabouleh, lemon vinaigrette, carrot and coriander jus. Sherri ordered Pasta Atchafalaya, which was fettuccini surrounded by Louisiana crawfish, duck, shrimp and tasso and I ordered pan roasted chicken w/ goat cheese polenta, rapini, fra diavolo and natural jus. I requested the fra diavolo on the side. The chicken was moist and tender, the rapini delicious and the goat cheese polents was the taste and texture I love. The taste I had of Alan's flounder was very, very good. Sherri and Ron were both happy w/ their dishes. Sherri and I were tempted into bread pudding w/ white chocolate sauce and strawberries and it was probably the best bread pudding I have ever had, warm, moist and so tasty, w/ nary a hint of raisins. We had coffee and tea to go w/ it.
Even if the food and service hadn't been wonderful our evening would have been stellar due to the piano player, who is there every Monday. We didn't get his name. He played fabulous solo rockin' piano pretty much the entire time we were there except for a few brief breaks. What a joy. I'm not sure who's there the rest of the week, but if you're in New Orleans on a Monday night and want a great dinner w/ incredible music, you can't go wrong here.Listed in: NOLA
-
Review from Ellen J.
1/4/2012 9 photos
What a way to start 2012: a fully-stocked Bloody Mary bar, fantastic company and two perfectly poached eggs with lump crabmeat on top of tasty slices of fried green tomatoes. I asked for the Hollaindaise sauce on the side. The coffee was so tasty, it didn't need sugar or cream.
If you don't have reservations, be prepared to wait to be seated (30-45 minutes on New Year's Day for brunch is not so bad) and get your food. The service was fantastic--never ran low on water or coffee while we waited. I've posted some pictures as well. -
Review from Lucius O.
New Orleans, LA
4/16/2012
Love the name but not a fan.
No vegetarian options at all on the dinner menu and only one on the brunch menu (and who really wants granola with their bloody mary at brunch?!)
Service is slow - took a long time for waiter to take drink orders and an even longer time to take food orders and get food.
Overpriced for what you get (at brunch at least) - my friend ordered one of the egg dishes - it was almost $20 and the portion was definitely not that big (and most of the plate seem covered in bechemel sauce - last time I checked, cream and butter weren't all that expensive).
They have live music but it is *really* loud - like too loud to talk to the person next to you who looks like they are going to die from their hangover loud. There is outside seating - I recommend it - you can still hear the music through the walls. -
Review from Chi M.
Brooklyn, NY
5/3/2012
We returned from New Orleans 3 weeks ago, and Atchafalaya was definitely one of the culinary highlights of our most recent trip. It was absolutely spectacular-great location, nice space, great service, and, most importantly great food. I could have eaten several servings of the ravioli, it was that amazing. My husband had the quail and absolutely loved his meal, too. We will definitely be back there-I definitely want to try the brunch next time.
-
Review from John H.
New York, NY
4/14/2012
Great brunch! One of the few places in the neighborhood that serves a great breakfast past noon. Food is good, and priced accordingly, and the service is on par as well. I have a horror story about the owner being absolutely out of line and embarrassing herself while trying to belittle a bartender at The Delachaise. This is the only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars. I've never met the woman, but was floored by her rudeness... Anywho, the food and service are fantastic. The live band in the middle of the bar on Saturday brunch is a but much, but enough Bloody Mary's and you don't even mind.
-
Review from Krista B.
Jacksonville, FL
4/8/2012
Excellent! I ordered a special - red fish topped with fresh crab meat...so delish! Awesome staff too!!!
-
Review from Eugenie B.
Oceanside, CA
1/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
The only reason I don't give them a fifth srar is because they are not going to open the day after Mardi Gras! Ugh!
Shrimp n grits would make you "Slap yo mama" A term of endearment for somthing so tasty to the palate. I'm a crab connoiseur, these rank very high on my fav list. The deserts are, well, just have "all oc the above" -
Review from Rachel K.
New Orleans, LA
12/5/2011
Last Sunday was my first time here in 3 years. My very first visit culminated in food poisoning and I hadn't been back since. So many of my friends love it and I figured I had to give it another go.
We went with a group of 9 for brunch. They have jazz at brunch. It's almost deafening (FYI). If you have anyone in your group who may be hard of hearing or if you want to have a conversation avoid the hours with the music.
One thing I will say about the menu is that it's not very imaginative. Poached Eggs and Hollandaise sauce is basically every single egg dish. They just change what's underneath. Two breakfast things I do not eat: Hollandaise (blasphemy, I know) and runny yolk. The kitchen was very accommodating to me and allowed me to go with scrambled egg whites vs. poached eggs which I really appreciated. I went with the Eggs Florentine and the creamed spinach absolutely made the dish. The diced potatoes served on the side were mediocre and relatively unseasoned.
A few of my girlfriends went with the famous Bloody Mary bar which looked like a blast. Should I return, that might be worth a shot.
One thing to mention, they charge $3 for their fountain sodas (highway robbery).
I honestly think there are much better places for brunch in NOLA, where you can hear yourself think, have much more imaginative dishes, and are better.
I would return but not of my own volition. -
Review from Jessica F.
Newport Beach, CA
12/24/2011
Incredible food and service at this place! We had a party of 20+ for dinner, and had a prix fixe menu which included...
Appetizers/starters:
Fried green tomatoes, fried oysters, ravioli stuffed with crab (my favorite!), soup du jour, chicken gumbo, and salad. The chicken gumbo was pretty decent, but paled in comparison to the fried tomatoes and the ravioli. After eating all these items, I was pretty full. But then we moved on to...
Entree:
Bacon-wrapped pork tenderloins, shrimp & grits, stuffed quail. I ordered the pork, which was pretty tasty. Then I tried some of the quail and I immediately wished I had ordered that instead.
Dessert: bread pudding with white chocolate sauce. I am normally not too partial to bread pudding.. but this was definitely the exception.
I was extremely pleased (and stuffed) with all the food here.. too bad they dont have places like this in California! -
Review from maria r.
Cold Spring, NY
12/30/2011
Ate here the other night for dinner. They kept us waiting for our table, and then our food took way too long to come (the waitress apologized and explained that they had a big party in the upstairs room). Those were the downers of what ended up being a delicious meal. The bread basket contained little cornbread muffins with jalapeno that reminded us of what was served at a previous incarnation of this place. It's much more of a done-up restaurant now, with a cute decor and (other than our loooonnng wait, which may have been just that night) good service.
I had more crabmeat at dinner there, than I have at any one meal before. I ordered fried green tomatoes that were strewn with lump crabmeat. My dad had a good seafood gumbo. The crabmeat salad I had was so tasty, with a green curry vinaigrette and a squiggle of Sriracha sauce on the side. There were tons of chunks of crabmeat all over it. My mom had a pork roulade that was tender and tasty. My dad had some fish that I didn't taste, but he said it was good. He also liked the bread pudding for dessert.
I'd definitely go back. There is a very cute gigantic black iron skillet on the outside of the building that would make a good photo op. -
Review from Melissa R.
New Orleans, LA
11/14/2011
Hmm... So considering all the other amazing reviews, maybe my experience here this past Sunday was a fluke. But still, its worth writing about...
We arrived on time for our 11:30 brunch reservations. The place was packed and the food looked amazing! Even though we had reservations, we ended up waiting over half an hour and were seated a bit after noon. When we were seated the host apologized for the wait and said that 11:30 means 12. Hmm... okay? Some members of our party had to catch a plane that afternoon and all the waiting that we did at this restaurant really messed up their plans. Thankfully there was that awesome DIY Bloody Mary bar to hold us over.
Once we ordered we had to wait exceptionally long for our food. I over heard the table next to us mention they had been waiting forever, too. Our waiter was not competent and brought out the wrong order. We requested ketchup and hot sauce and he brought them over 10 minutes later, after we were almost done eating anyway. The food was lukewarm at best and just so-so. The eggs benedict did seem pretty good, but the crab omelette that I got was boring. The potatoes were cold. Cold potatoes on a Sunday morning are sad!!
Overall it was a disappointment and suchhhh a waste of time!! Surreys would have been a far better choice... and yummier, too. Again, all the amazing reviews make me want to try again sometime...just not during another Sunday Brunch. -
Review from Jinyoung P.
New Orleans, LA
12/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
I *absolutely* loved Atchafalaya. I was there with 5 other people and we ordered a bunch of items and did it family style. I don't remember what all we got exactly and they don't have a current menu online for me to look back and remind myself, but that day, I tweeted "just today, i managed to eat chicken, rabbit, drum, flounder, beef, pork, quail, duck, crawfish, and shrimp." Atchafalaya is not responsible for all of this, but for the majority of it. Everything we ordered was delicious. I think the quail was my favorite main dish and the pork belly appetizer was fantastic.
Lastly, our server was amazing. So accommodating and friendly. He gets five stars as well! -
Review from Jennifer L.
Los Gatos, CA
3/30/2012 10 photos
We ate at Atchafalaya on a Friday night. We had 9pm reservations and we were promptly seated when we arrived. Stephanie was our server and she was excellent. The restaurant has a nice ambiance. There are two levels. We sat in the main floor area and I preferred it to upstairs. The lighting is dim so if anyone in your party has trouble seeing bring a little light or phone flash light app along:-)
We had a wonderful meal and would definitely come back again! More details below:
Chicken and Andouille Gumbo - Mole style gumbo. Lots of flavor, no spice
Cornbread - sweet, with butter not so sweet.
Mango and cilantro shooter amuse Boucher - excellent
Fried green tomatoes - Piled high with fresh crab. Very good. Light aioli sauce on top pulls the dish together.
Violeta cocktail - substituted vodka for gin. Good drink
Shrimp and grits- shrimp came whole with head and tail still on, which it should:-) most of my shrimp were perfectly cooked. A couple were a little too soft for me. I mentioned this to Stephanie and she immediately went to have the chef make me a few new ones. I was so full by that time i told her not to wory about it as my dish was absolutely delicious and i was very full and satisfied. The sauce on the dish has a deep smoke flavor. Perfection!
Atchafalaya pasta - light smoke flavor with a mild/medium spice. My husband ate every last bite. He liked it so much he was busy trying to figure out how to make the sauce so he could prepare it at home:-)
Red velvet cake - not too sweet. Actually a very light yummy dessert! I loved that it was not super coated with frosting so you could really taste tge cake!
View: No view. However, the night we were there it was raining and the front doors were open and it exposed the rain and the beautiful warm night air.
Ambiance: 4 stars
Food: 4 stars
Service: 4stars
Noise: Very low
Drinks: Full bar. Small cocktail menu
Wine List: NA
Parking: Street parking only. We took a cab and it was a bit of a wait for our pick up due to the rainy night demand.
Tips and tricks: Make a reservation! -
Review from Maura L.
Boston, MA
5/3/2012
So we went here for dinner after Jazzfest last weekend and had a memorable evening, but for all the wrong reasons. They were slammed with other fest attendees when we got there so the lone bartender would have had a hard time even if she was sober...which she wasn't. We waited forever for a round of drinks, which were terrible when we finally got them, flat soda, not what we ordered, etc. (She seemed to make a real effort with her friend's and the hostess' chilled tequila shots, though. It's OK, we'll wait.) The clapping/dancing hostess, the accordion player, and the friend/singer were very entertaining. When we were seated, Alex our waiter was efficient and pleasant and couldn't do much about the 1 hour wait for food. When we did get it, it was delicious. (Fried green tomatoes, redfish and quail) Just made us wonder if the chef knows what's really going on out front. Any night that ends with a picture of us in the big frying pan can't be all that bad, though, right?
-
Review from Melissa B.
Philadelphia, PA
3/22/2012
My husband and I live in Philadelphia, but we spent our 2nd wedding anniversary dinner at Achafalaya in 2011. It was so fantastic that we returned in 2012 to celebrate our 3rd anniversary with my best friend that lives in New Orleans. The atmosphere was perfect. The service and the food were outstanding once again. This restaurant is a breath of fresh air in a quiet neighborhood in the garden district. There is a part of me that wishes that the tourist that just see the French Quarter could experience this place, but the other part of me says no way, keep it classy and amazing for locals and travelers that enjoy walking off the beaten path. We will return.
-
Review from Steffi P.
San Francisco, CA
3/27/2012
I was in New Orleans for a conference, and this was probably the best dinner I had, both in terms of food and service/atmosphere. The food was amazing. The Fried Green Tomatoes were piled high with crab and were so freaking good. I had the soft shell crab special, which was also out of control in the best possible way. The desserts were perfect as well, especially the Red Velvet.
What made our experience even better was the owner. The crowd had thinned out because the place was closing, and the owner came over to see how things were. We told him we were visting and asked if he had any recommendations for things to do or eat. He ended up sitting down with us (after politely asking :), and writing out a whole list of things to check out. Thanks to him, we went to a locals music venue that same night and had a fantastic time.
Amazing food, amazing service. It was great to get out of the touristy area. Definitely check this place out! -
Review from Kathryn V.
Ventura, CA
3/5/2012 1 Check-in Here
Excellent food and service! I'm always for finding the local places to eat. This is defintely one to hit!
-
Review from caleb g.
1/30/2012
I bought a house a few blocks away from this little neighborhood spot 6 years ago and have been an occasional customer ever since, usually for brunch. While never blown away, the good music, warm service and decent food kept me coming back.
In the last year, however, a change in the kitchen has elevated the cuisine far beyond what it has ever acheived in its multiple decade history. There has not been a philosophical change-this is still a South Lousisiana comfort food bistro-rather, the execution and freshness of ingredients have leapt up tremendously.
My gal and I still go mostly for brunch, which is often banal at restaurants all over this great land of ours, but not at Atchafalya. First, the bloody Mary bar is a a 3' X 4' table of enchantment and delight: pickled okra & green beans, tomatoes, celery, horseradich, celery and any number of other tasty bits including bacon and all manner of seasonings. The overall vibe of the front room/bar area is spacious, friendly and if a band is playing (every brunch), a tad loud but they book reliably good acts, so just chill and enjoy the wait for your table (if you are like my girl and me and don't always make reservations).
One product with which the kitchen displays magical abilities is crab. Yes, we are blessed with great crabs in Louisiana (some would say superior to the stone of florida or the big blues of Maryland or even the rich dungeness of the Pacific) and the folks at Atchafalya are smart enough to get out of the way and let the sweet, shell free meat do the talking. The Louisiana Crab Salad, with mixed greens, hearts of palm, cilantro, peanuts, green curry vinaigrette is a study in setting a perfect platform for your star ingredient and not burying it with overwrought trickery. Even more amazing is the crab cake that normally accompanies the Eggs Louisiana, which I sampled sans eggs and I will say it-I have been living three blocks away from the best crab cake I have ever tasted and had no idea until yesterday!
My sweetheart trembles in anticipation for the Treme, which features boudin cake, poached eggs, hollandaise, popcorn crawfish tails...way too much and just enough at the same time. The grits are also among the better available in town (nobody touches Patois on that count).
I have had oddball servers, but never anything but good, friendly service in a homey atmosphere (the semi-upstairs dining room is a tad cramped, but this is also the kind of place you might make friends with your neighboring diners).
I haven't eaten dinner here enough to give a full appraisal, but the menu gets more ambitious while hewing close to the Southern comfort paradigm. -
Review from Lan D.
11/8/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This is a pretty small restaurant, but the food is delicious and the service is great. Less important, but a great bonus is that the servers are pretty cute!
I ordered the fried green tomatoes topped with crab and the special that night - flounder. The crab cakes were very good, served atop a bed of greens. The flounder was hands down probably the best flounder I've ever had.
This was my first meal in New Orleans after moving here and the servers were very nice and took the time to chat with me about spots that I needed to hit up.
My only "complaint" - if you can call it that - is that the food here is somewhat pricey compared to the portions given, but if you're a fan good food, it certainly is worth the experience. -
Review from Alex L.
9/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I can undoubtedly say that this unpronounceable abode served me the best damn meal and cocktail combination I had during my entire time in New Orleans - and that wasn't an easy feat.
We came for breakfast. I ordered and savored an eggs benedict combo (the boirdeaux?) that consisted of jalapeno biscuits, thick-sliced gator sausage, poached eggs and a spicy hollandaise sauce. I'm clenching my jaw as I write this to keep from drooling uncontrollably. Each bite was a multi-layered explosion of taste that left me nodding my head in approval. How could something so simple taste so good?
But wait. It gets better. They have a make-your-own bloody mary bar that would have me attending AA meetings in a hurry if it existed in my hometown. You know it's a good bloody when you can add obscure ingredients like pickled peppers and bacon bits. They also have a delicious gin fizz. Creamy, eggy goodness.
Top it all off with great decor and a personable staff and you've got yourself a restaurant that will be successful for years to come! -
Review from Yi C.
Los Angeles, CA
3/20/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Like the cocktails and the fried green tomato!
