Nola Seafood & Spirits — Restaurant in Baltimore

As much as I enjoyed dining at NOLA on other occasions, the experience with this reservation was extremely disappointing. Let’s start with the fact that this was a birthday dinner for my daughter who turned 18. We hoped to have a very special and memorable evening celebrating her, which is why we prepared ahead and tried to cover all the bases. Our reservation was made weeks ahead of time, and was set for 7pm. The manager that handled my booking told me a specific area that we would be seated in, and also confirmed it was ok for me to arrive early on the day of to set up a few decorations. Apparently there was no communication with other staff because everyone seemed confused and made lots of excuses when we got there. When I arrived I was handled by friendly but confused hostesses, never had the opportunity to meet the person who took care of my reservation, although it was said she was working that night. Our table was not ready. Matter of fact, they didn’t even know where our table would be. Since I was early I tried to remain calm, but again I did ask permission to come in early to set up and greet our guests, only to arrive and be inconvenienced. It was stressed to me by the manager that in order to be seated I needed over half of my party there at 7pm or there would be a possibility of a $100 penalty and canceled reservation. Well imagine how embarrassing it was that my guest showed up most before and others right at 7 and we didn’t even have a table to seat them. My husband and I stood around in the restaurant looking absolutely foolish stalking a table in hopes to hurry and decorate it and get started. We didn’t get seated and situated until about 7:30-7:35. Once we got seated we realized the pre fixed menu that we took time to create was no where to be found, they gave us all the regular restaurants menu. I had to ask about our menu we created and then was told the manager (same one that took my reservation) would print them out right away. I guess I expected a bit more since we were celebrating a birthday, but the menu didn’t even have my daughters name or “Happy Birthday” as a header at minimum, it looked like a rushed menu template, and read “Pre Fix” at the top. I was so embarrassed and just disappointed at the lack of detail. The waitress brought us all waters, to one of my guest surprise their water was a Sprite soda. Everyone was so uncomfortable at that point we didn’t bother sending it back, just waited to order our food and start the night. As the night continued we were brought several dishes that weren’t ours, there were double meals coming to the table, the staff seemed confused about what belonged to who, pure chaos. Still the manager never checked in. Finally we get to my daughters birthday cake. The most satisfying thing all evening was the added sparklers on the cake, that was a nice touch. However, after we sang happy birthday the waitress brought out a knife and plates so I can cut and serve the cake that I was charged a cake cutting fee for. I absolutely will NEVER ever celebrate any other occasion at NOLA. Happy hour maybe, a casual dine, possibly but I will not ever recommend anyone looking to do something special book here. I felt like a walk in anywhere would’ve been smoother than what this reserved event provided. Truly...

TLDR: Passable takes on Big Easy food/drink staples. A bit on the pricey side for portion sizes.

Vibe: 3/5. Very similar layout and feel to the former Ryleighs Oyster that occupied this space. Raw bar with counter seating on the left, another bar on the right of the restaurant and ample 4 tops in the center and upstairs. They have added several high back booths in the center and back of the restaurant, perfect for larger groups. For a bar that is all about New Orleans, I really didn't get the French Quarter or Magazine Street vibe that I was hoping for.

Service: 5/5. Our server was fantastic from start to finish. Normally a bartender, she was working the floor that night. With it being our first time dining at Nola, she provided us with great food and drink suggestions as well as a few fresh shucked oysters on the house. Food/drinks came out quickly and piping hot. When it was time to grab the check, she was able to split our bill amongst the 2 couples at our table by what we ordered.

Food/drink: 3/5. Overall, everything was just OK. Amongst our group of 4, we ordered the 1/2 doz Charbroiled oysters ($14), 1/2 doz salt buoy raw oysters ($14), a cup of gumbo ($10), seafood platter ($29), jambalaya ($21) and the shrimp and grits ($26). The charbroiled oysters, a staple at many New Orleans restaurants, we're passable but lacked the distinct charred taste and small in size. The jambalaya was a bit over seasoned with salt which could just be a one off occurrence. The rest of the food was decent, but honestly forgettable. Drink wise, we ordered the brown sugar bourbon rickey ($11), watermelon basil paloma ($12), hurricane ($14) and the raspberry beret ($11). The hurricane was very reminiscent of Pat 'O Brien's rendition, which could be a good or bad thing. The bourbon rickey was slightly over acidic, making me wish they used more bourbon or brown sugar to counter balance the tartness. The watermelon paloma was very tequila forward, needing more sweet and tart to calm down the liquor. The biggest gripe overall is the menu pricing to portion size. Understanding that seafood prices overall have went up and that this place is being marketed as an elevated casual dining experience, I still feel the portions could of been more robust for the price. For example, even though we did not order it (saw it on another table), the po boys range in price from $15-18 and what you get by New Orleans standards is a half sandwich. Which leads me to say that the food at Nola is best represented by said po boy, you will pay full price but receive half the dining experience of what can be had at restaurants in...

First I was taken here for my birthday so I naturally Google's the place before coming.

Let me admit now that the website gives off a bit of an upscale dinner vibe, so I figured let's dress for the occasion. The menu looked pretty good and had things I'd love to try out when I got there. All things were looking up from my first impression.

When I got here, I noticed that the upscale vibe I got from the website wasn't the same vibe given in person. In person, it just hits like a bar and grill. It's definitely not a problem, but we were overdressed, unfortunately for the atmosphere. They had open seating, not unusual for a Monday night in the city. The service was good, the staff was attentive, and friendly.

The drinks were good, we didn't order anything spectacular for an experience so I was ok. My date got the purple drink and I had the hurricane both were made well.

The food selections: I ordered the uptown Gumbo cup which was absolutely amazing. 10/10 would definitely recommend. My date ordered the Crawdaddy Etouffee and it was another hit. Also another 10/10 both were spicy so if you don't care for that please don't order, but we loved them both.

For main courses I ordered the Catfish po'boy minus the tomato. This came with fries that seemed to be season to perfection. But the fish left alot to be desired. It was simply fried fish the breading wasn't season but the fish was definitely fried and crispy. The star for me was the fries.

My date ordered the Cajun Catfish minus the mixed veggies. This also comes with Cajun rice and we subbed for the Mac and cheese. They said the fish again was ok but dialed up by the sauce that came with. The star for them was the Mac and cheese, considering that didn't come with it I'm not sure they would've had a star.

The check: we spent $130 on two people but the check break down was in question. There was a convenience fee added to the check, I asked what for and that was for using a card vs cash but the waitress said if we used cash she would definitely take it off. There is a automatic gratuity applied to your check as well so be prepared for that in advance.

All and all I would give the visit a 3.5-4...