Atchafalaya Restaurant

Service: As fate would have it we were assigned ""Renee"" as our waiter. Unfortunately he was inattentive and borderline rude most of the night.. On the other hand the waitress at the next table seemed very pleasant. Food: Fried Oysters: Very nice, large and sweet. Recommend! Free form Ravioli: Get this! Yummy rich sauce. Scallops: Delicious, yet expensive ($14.00 for only two). Red Snapper: Good, but nothing to brag about. Atmosphere: Relaxing w/pleasant background music. Overall: Satisfactory, yet without good service a business is lost. As New Orleans locals, our party fully agreed we would go elsewhere next time... more

This is my favorite restaurant in New Orleans by far. My boyfriend and I love this place. Every time we go, we order something different and have NEVER been disappointed. The food is sooooooooooo good. The staff is so friendly, welcoming, and generous. We love it. I don't have a single bad thing to say. The grilled redfish is my favorite. The fried green tomatoes are so yummy and the shrimp and grits are the best I ever had. more

We ate dinner here on a busy Saturday night and found ourselves running 45mins late (caught in mardi gras parade traffic) for our reservation - to which the host could not have been kinder. He assured us we would not go hungry and we were seated within 10 mins. We started with goat cheese stuffed pimento that melts in your mouth, then I had steak with asparagus and mashed potatoes that were out of this world - creamy, rich, textured and flavorful - and I don't even like mashed potatoes! The service was decent, as our apps arrived before our champagne, which took a good 20 minutes. The decor was chic with an amalgam of modern new orleans local artist charm. Would definitely go back for a special occasion. Pros: excellent food Cons: a little pricey more

Forget about those nasty reviews ... this is true local flavor from the moment you drive up to the door. You're in the heart of New Orleans, authentic architecture and neighborhood, live music greeting you as you enter through the bar and terrific ambience in the high-ceilinged dining room. The food is great and filled with local seafood dishes. Our waiter was knowledgeable, friendly and prompt. My hat goes off to this intrepid owner who appears to have gone through heck and back ... and still supports our fantastic city! Please go to dinner at this local gem. Pros: Tasty local food, ambience, service more

I live right down the street from the restaurant and had the opportunity to purchase the business and the building in late 2004. Little did I know as to how difficult things would turn out to be. 2 weeks after I purchased the property it was ran into by a stolen Tahoe that was involved in a high speed police chase! The truck ran straight into the side of the building and knocked it off of its foundation. The ceiling fell in, 4 rafters were cracked and you could see daylight through the roof. They were caught and I was in shock! This event changed the whole course of my turn key operation plan. The insurance would only cover putting the foundation back into place, replacing the cracked rafters and the sheetrock immediately surrounding the hole in the wall. I suddenly found myself in the first of numerous challenges that would follow. It became apparent that the best thing and only thing to do would be to gut the property and start again, as everyone else had only added layer after layer of plaster, paneling and sheetrock. Of course I did not have the money for this totally unexpected turn of events, and worked with 3 people that helped me strip the 90 plus year old building straight to the studs. We pulled 13 construction dumpsters of debris from the well worn building. It was really a huge job but we did it. It also really needed it. It took 9 months because of the lack of funds. I did not expect myself to find myself in the renovation business but worked every day at it until I accomplished it. more

Cafe Atchafalaya owners story more

There are not enough places like this in town. Scrumptious, wholesome and filling food at a good price, great drink specials, live music most days. I discovered the Honey Island Swamp Band there one Sunday and they rock. It's also a lot cleaner than alot of restaurants around town, or it feels that way at least. I have been here a few times now and I really think it is the perfect place to unwind after work or have Sunday brunch. It has a neighborhood feel, but more upscale than say, Liuzza's. Pros: food, wine, atmosphere more

Then came another surprise for everyone. We had the entire building stripped down to bare framework, and foundation. Then Katrina occured! 2 months later we started to build it back together. At this point we had been closed for a year, while making the bank note every month with no income. Still I stuck with it. 9 months later we were able to open in a brand new building. Reflecting back on these difficult times I am proud to have gotten through it. More difficult times were still in the future. Anyone that knows the restaurant business is aware that it is a very tough business to start anyway and I was already totally overwhelmed by the time we did open. The next set of problems came immediately. The labor force was almost non existent. Waitstaff was almost impossible to find, let alone keep. Everyone was transient at that time. I have gone through 3 chefs and 4 managers in the 26 months that we have been open. All 4 managers were caught stealing. No less than 60 waitstaff members have come and gone. Training somebody for a position was nearly impossible. Tough times but I still believed in the restaurant. After all that I had been through I knew I would not quit. I thought that things would start to get better but I was dead wrong. On October 19th, 2007 I was nearly akilled at 4 oclock in the afternoon. I was walking my dog on Annuciation street when I was assulted from behind with a baseball bat or perhaps a pipe. I was not robbed, but left in the middle of the street having seizures. I woke up 5 hours later with 3 staples in my head and a permanently seperated shoulder. I have always been proud of my Irish Channel neighborhood and took it upon myself to board up and paint an abandoned crackdealer house at 3327 Annunciation. I have a rental property in that block and all the neighbors were complaining about the problem. The police did nothing, so I did. 8 days later I was nailed from behind and left for dead1, I later learned how close to death I was... more

This was the worst service I have experienced in any restaurant. Today was mother's day and cafe atchafalaya disappointed a local mother with a big mouth! The owner/manager is obviously missing a screw. he repeatedly told us after we sat at our table for an hour that our food would be out next. we watched people come in sit down eat and leave and OUR FOOD NEVER CAME. our waitress disappeared...no bread was given.... our 2 year old was not given a high chair... no drinks were offered. It was like a crazy movie. We laughed but had to just get the hell outta there and we won't be returning. funny note...i was a waitress at this restaurant about 15 years ago when it was under different ownership. this place needs to change the name (or, better yet, just close down) as it is giving the classic cafe atchafalya a bad name it does not deserve. It is an embarrassment to our city. Cons: terrible terrible service--run by inexperienced fools more

I understand a long wait to get seated on a Friday night (Jazz Fest), even a longer than estimated wait, but the remainder of our experience at Cafe Atchafalaya was inexcusable. Once we were seated, we waited 25 minutes before even meeting our waitress, despite having asked several servers and someone who seemed to be a manager/owner type and being promised prompt service, bread, water, etc. (none of which came). When a waitress finally arrived, it was apparent that she had been assigned to our table only seconds before and that no server was ever originally assigned to our table. She did her best to get our orders, but when the kitchen takes 25 minutes to get an appetizer out and 40 to get a pasta out, there's not much a girl can do. Worse yet was this owner/manager man who greeted us when we came in but then appeared to be helpless and/or intoxicated and simply walked around the restaurant -- seemingly checking on things -- but not actually doing anything at all. All of the tables around us (and even people in the bathroom) were talking about the bad service. The food was good when it came, but not good enough to overcome the rest of the experience. We won't be going back. more

This was my first time at this cafe, and I must say I was extremely disappointed. Everything about this place was average. The food was just ok, the main courses tasted like something was missing from the recipe. Our waitress was running around like crazy, but there were only 3 tables of customers. She kept forgetting about us; we had to flag her down several times because she kept forgetting parts of our order. The only time she was on top of things was when we gave her our credit card to pay. Pros: the appetizer was good Cons: the appetizer was the only thing that was good more

The food was okay but not not great. The waitress was not knowledgeable at all. Service was okay but not great. Martini was one of the best and very reasonably priced. Wine was also good and reasonably priced. Pros: Most of the employees were very pleasant Cons: An animal in a restaurant just doesn't fly for me more

INCREDIBLE! The food was incredible and the service was prompt. We had the trout almondine and the pork roulade...wonderful. Seafood gumbo and the shrimp remoulade salad were also outstanding...the price is just right, the food is filling and tasty, and the place is cozy. We went back for brunch and it blew us away. The Eggs Jean Lafitte were unreal! A real southern restaurant with creative flair. more

The food was good, but I think the price was a bit much for the quality and the small portions. I also felt that the staff was unknowlegdable about the entrees. I had to ask a few different people (the hostess and 2 waiters) for information on certian dishes and they either gave me and incorrect answer or just did not know the answer, but did not offer to go and ask the chef. Overall, the experience was average, but for the money I was expecting more. Pros: Good, quality food Cons: pricey, small portions, unknowledgable staff more

After a long walk from the St. Charles line (8 blocks) we found the cafe. It is a charming little neighborhood place, but portions are small and presentation is lax. Two out of the six items were standouts: the corn fritters and the veal with crab. The corn fritters tasted wonderful, but there were only about 8 tater tot sized pieces in the order. The veal was a small, maybe 4oz and was pounded so flat it resembled a fast food hamburger. The best part of the dining experience was overhearing the proprietor talk about food and other restaurants. She knows what's good and keeps tabs on other restaurants, which is good. Her ideas about food preparation were right on, I'd love to taste her home cooking, but I'm not sure it carried through the restaurant's. Pros: neighborhood place, good wine list Cons: , small portions more

The food is good and comforting, and it *is* a good value, but I have yet to have a visit where my service was anything better than lackadaisical (and while the wait staff is mostly good-humored in their scatteredness, they occasionally get a little surly when the table asks for things that should have been there to begin with, like butter for the biscuits, or cream for the coffee, or a refill on water, or a side dish that had been ordered but not delivered). So, prepare yourself to ask and ask for things, and to wait a little while for them, but know that you're going to eat well. more

This place has a neighborhood feel, and the food is great. The cheese grits for breakfast are especially tasty. more