Bayona
- Price Range: $$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
16 Reviews for Bayona
summer 08 - 18th anniversary for restaurant, lunch is 18$ all summer, good deal. I wanted to try the duck pb & j sandwich but I wasn't able to make it back a second time during my trip
it's also right around the corner from a crazy bookstore, don't know what it was called but there's so many books you have to walk sideways in the aisles and the owner has a pet cat.
Beautiful courtyard, the food was very good but nothing in particular stands out in my mind. It's worth the trip but if I only had a weekend in town, it probably wouldn't make the cut.
Take your woman here for a date and you're sure to receive some late night...cuddling.
Really though, the service was absolutely flawless -- warm and well timed.
There's something on the menu for everyone.
It's a special occasion type of place.
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With a show starting at 9pm last week, we called up Bayona at 7pm and they were nice enough to squeeze us in without a reservation at the last minute. As it turned out, there was a Mayor's Convention in town that week, and as we sat there,t he place quickly filled with politicos from all over.
We ordered first courses and wine (quail salad, caesar salad), and you started to get the feeling all these mayors hadn't had reservations either. Started to feel like they were understaffed. But I can't and won't complain about it since we just showed up almost unannounced, and it was clear that our server was a total professional dealing with something beyond her control. I liked her a lot.
Anyway, what I was really psyched about and did not at all realize about Bayona was that they serve sweatbreads as a main course (and also a first course). The only other place in town I'm aware of that serves them as an entree is La Crepe Nanou. So I had them, and they were the best I've had in the city, and I order sweatbreads every time they're on a menu. There was a choice of sauces, and I believe I had the mustard sherry; the other is a lemon caper, I think.
So in short: Sweatbreads, best in city.
Took our glasses of wine to go, and went.
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During my trip to New Orleans, I really wanted to go here because of the garlic soup. I'm really glad I did. The soup was the best part, but everything was delicious. I had the hanger steak. Very tender. And then for dessert we shared some sort of ginger raspberry cannoli. I think it was a special that night.
Okay, first I was not too impressed. Maybe I am spoiled by the fantastic dining of my hometown of San Francisco, but this place was way under par. We made a special trip here because we had some friends that suggested it. Two of the friends actually worked here at one time or another. We came for lunch on a Saturday where they offer a choice of 3 small plates for $25. Not to bad, huh? Well the portions on some of the dishes were so tiny, there wasn't enough to even share a single bite! Yikes. Some dishes like the salads, snapper and soups were substantial enough to share and quite tasty. We were all a little disappointed to pay $60 per person, honestly.
Also with all the hype surrounding it, I was truly expecting better. Perhaps my standards are too high. The service was outrageously slow and they hardly had any tables. Hmm...strange.
I suppose the highlight of the meal were the desserts. They were a good size and all were very tasty.
Ah well, you live and learn.
This place is amazing! We went here for a business dinner and it was fantastic. It's got a great atmosphere for a business dinner, also great for romantic dates. Susan Spicer is the chef and she's fantastic. The lamb was recommended as the most popular dish and it was really fantastic. I ordered it medium rare and it didn't have the lamb taste that you'd get when you order chops. The lamb taste was very subtle which made it very good. I also got to try the steak which was delicious, very juicy and tasteful. The scallop appetizer was great as well, it wasn't as juicy as usual, yet it was still very flavorful. I highly recommend this place. Make sure you make reservations!
Our last meal in New Orleans and picked purely on strength of Moon guidebook. Glad we did! Scallop starter was a standout. Flounder on a shrimp and corn risotto was fantastic. The lamb loin in zinfandel sauce is one of their standards but I only thought it so so. Service was great and it didn't feel overly 'stuffy' as some reviewers thought.
I was so happy to finally go to Bayona, I've been wanting to for years and as a local it's a shame I hadn't been before. It was very very good and very cozy and relaxing, very New Orleans. I don't know why other reviewers thought it stuffy, we wore jeans. First though, why didn't I give it five stars? Because the service was just a hair below excellent and what I would have expected. Bad night? Probably. It's not that I wouldn't go again. Just a few little glitches. Normally I don't mind sitting at the dinner table for three hours with friends, but we missed the parade for crimony sakes. I'm guessing this was unusual.
Now the good part. While Bayona does seem to be a shrine to duck fat and is very meat oriented, the best part for me was the Vegetarian Special. It's so nice to go out and not have to piecemeal a meal because you don't want to eat flesh. On this night the special was spinach gnocchi with wild mushrooms in a cheese sauce (oops, can't recall the cheese). It was more like spinach and potatoe croquettes rather than gnocchi, but that was fine. (a bit bigger than your average gnocchi and not as firm.) Also, the green salad was large and sounded tasty, but I chose soup instead, see below. The waiter reiterated the menu's statement that they are happy to make any adjustments for your dietary needs or tastes, so I bet even vegans can get a good meal here if they don't mine their neighbor enjoying offal cooked with wine. The Caesar salad was "real", no gluey dressing and I tasted bits of real anchovie. If you are like me and a "Louisiana Vegetarian" and eat shellfish, the shrimp and blackbean cake appetizer is scrumptious. Don't know the purpose of the black bean cake but I would order a double appetizer of the shrimp as an entree next time. The mushrooms in Meidera on toast was our table's favorite. The oyster gratin was good too. For the true veggies, the eggplant caviar is damn good too. I had the signature garlic soup (probably had a chicken stock base, I didn't ask, I'm not always hardcore, ) and it was my favorite part of the meal. Well, maybe the warm chocolate crepes with soft dark chocolate filling, with icy satsuma sorbet was my favorite part... As for the meat eaters at the table- my sister had the regular menu salmon and enjoyed it very very much and my brother in law had the hanger steak (which he had not had before, and the waiter very expertly explained where on the cow it came from) and he enjoyed it too. I haven't even talked about the wine! I like that they had half bottles so you can have a little tasting. My in the know wine friend suggested the Grgich fume and too bad it was only available as a half bottle, I could have had a whole bottle. So long story long, I would definitely go back, maybe to try some of the lunch specials and when it's warmer to have a drink in the courtyard.
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Upscale. White table cloths. Businessmen and Old money.
Great Service. Delicious Food.
It's not the down and dirty, real-deal, debaucherous New Orleans underbelly, but it's still damn good!
great presentation. Interesting ingredients. Great Service and tasty tasty food. I've eaten there several times and unfortunately don't remember any specifics, except that the sauteed Sweetbreads appetizer is out of this world!
It's also won a ton of awards.
Upscale, beautiful courtyard in the French Quarter. Nice place to take business clients or older out of town guests for a consistent, good meal. The service has always been very good here. A bit stuffy for my regular dining rotation but I have never had anything less than a delicious meal here.
the smoked duck sandwich with cashew butter and pepper jelly here is one of the better things i've eaten for lunch, ever.
Overfed, native New Orleans businessmen tend to predominate the crowd and extra-rich pan-Louisiana food the menu. If you want a lush, decadent meal in a lush decadent setting, you got it. Go to Herbsaint for a more contemporary and lighter take on the similar food.
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My wife Lynn had to attend a conference in New Orleans . . . the National College of DUI Attorneys (I ask you, what better city?) . . . so it offered a perfect opportunity to return to one of our favorite restaurants, owned by one of our favorite chefs, Susan Spicer's Bayona.
We arrived at the Louis Armstrong International Airport a little after 2:00 in the afternoon and, once we safely retrieved our bags, I called Bayona from the cab to confirm our dinner reservations for that evening. After checking into our hotel (the truly wonderful International House, Lynn and I walked the three blocks to the Acme Oyster House for a couple of dozen on the half shell and some Abita Amber beer on tap, a smooth, flavorful Mnchen-style amber brew that is just hoppy enough to perfectly accompany a variety of New Orleans' staple foods.
A walk around the quarter, a change of clothes, and we walked the eight blocks to Bayona. Arriving a little early, we sat in their waiting area and enjoyed a glass of
2001 Domaine de Piaugier Ctes-du-Rhne Villages "Sablet" (Rhne, France): A blend of approximately 80 percent Grenache and 20 percent Syrah, this is a medium-bodied, supple wine that is very forward and aromatic in the nose, generous without being flabby or fat on the palate and quite flavorful on the palate and moderately-long finish. A comfortable wine to "slip into" the evening that awaited us.
We began with an Amuse bouche of crawfish in a curried sauce, baked in phylo dough and served with a tomato coulee. Crispy, deliciously flavorful and gone all-too-quickly, Lynn and I both knew we had nothing to worry about when it came to this meal!
I moved on to a supremely seductive Cream of Garlic Soup, amazingly rich and flavorful, but just when it expect it to be full-bodied and almost heavy, the wine seduces you with its lightness and delicate subtlety. (If it sounds as though I'm laying it on a bit thick, all I can say is this soup is a real winner!) Meanwhile Lynn selected the Seared Scallops with Brandade Croquette, Arugula & Black Olive Vinaigrette. The scallops were cooked to perfection, among the best I've ever tasted. (Lynn let me have one bite, but only one bite.)
With the time change and everything, we decided to share the salad course, and ordered the Crispy Smoked Quail Salad with a Bourbon Molasses Vinaigrette. If a salad can ever be called "rich," this is it! The perfectly smoked quail was succulent and flavorful, rich and tasty as only quail can be, while the vinaigrette was rich and flavorful, perfectly balancing the natural sweetness of the molasses with the acidity from the vinegar. Awesome!
For our entres, Lynn opted for one of Susan Spicer's signature dishes, Veal Sweetbreads in a Sherry-Mustard Butter, while I selected one of the evenings specials, the Buttermilk Fried Rabbit Leg & Tenderloin in a Creole Mustard and Tasso Sauce with Stoneground Grits. Bayona is justifiably known for their sweetbreads, and this certainly did not disappoint. The sweetbreads were lightly crispy on the outside, moist and tender inside, with the light piquancy from the sherry and mustard balancing the natural richness of the butter and the sweetbreads themselves. Major Yums! As for "thumper," I cannot recall ever having rabbit this good -- and I love rabbit! Succulent, tender, lightly spicy (enough to bring out the flavor without hiding it under "heat") We were in heaven!
And the wine we selected from their excellent list turned out to be a perfect match . . . .
2001 Savigny-les-Beaune, Domaine Jean-Marc et Hugues Pavelot (Burgundy, France): I have to start out by saying we began with this wine with our appetizers, the garlic soup and seared scallops, and finished it some two hours later with the last of our entres. Over this time, the wine opened and changed beautifully. It began with a translucent cherry-red color, clear and brilliant to the eye; the bouquet was light and filled with delicate rose petals and cherry blossoms, with cherry fruit; on the palate, the wine was medium-light in body, satiny in texture, with lots of fruit in the mouth and with a long, lightly tart finish. Just wonderful! As it opened (not decanted), the wine took on weight, shed some of its baby "freshness" and became more "serious," with more depth, earth and spice in both the wine's aroma and flavorful palate, perfectly suited to the flavor profiles of the veal and rabbit. A great wine, with a perfectly excellent meal . . . .
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As far as things like "good for kids" is concerned, doesn't that depend on the kids? Our kids (11 and 12) would love it, but they also love places like Chez Panisse and Lalime's in Berkeley; my brother-in-law's kids, on the other hand . . . I shudder at the thought!
As far as attire is concerned, the website says "business casual," and that's about right. But every time I've been here, there is a great mix of people -- all ages, and all locations (i.e.: locals and tourists alike).
A bit of an old boys club, Bayona is a charming place to dine in the quarter. The food is decadently rich which seems to please the large, well tailored patrons. Not very suitable for vegetarians almost everything on the menu features a pork product. My companion and I were the youngest diners by decades, though happily we didn't care. The courtyard is very pretty and the lunches an excellent deal. http://www.bayona.com
Lots of pork, pork shrapnel, and pork drippins: Bayona will make you fat, and you will enjoy every artery-stuffing second of it. You can watch fat people get happy as they dine.
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