BLDG 5 Market | Kitchen | Patio — Restaurant in Baton Rouge

Oh dear. From outside, appears to be a very hip and with it addition to the B.R. restaurant scene as nurtured by the Perkins overpass locus. Interior reads of much the same, as though the quirky bric-a- brac interior design merchants of simulated culture eateries have cracked the hipster aesthetic a decade or two after the peak. Waitstaff with a knit beanie, another with a ever-so- carefully curled mustache; adorable. The menu is full of vegetarian and vegan and gluten free selections because OF COURSE IT IS. Words like "rustic" have been press- ganged into service for bread that is extremely not. I challenge new venues in southeastern Louisiana if they have the gusto to put something like shrimp creole on the menu. In this case, I led with some crab cakes. The side salad was the big winner of that course. The crab cakes were okay. Could have been more crab intensive for appetizer pricing. The shrimp creole had shrimp in it. I do not dispute that. But the creole was muted or missing entirely. It is possible that my expectations have been skewed by offerings by friends and family, but I feel confident in saying only the most timid or naive palate will endorse this dish completely. In all fairness, the green peas as a side were expertly prepared and bursting with flavor. A big plus for vegetables treated with respect. A great big star arrived to bump up the score here: the chocolate chunk cookie for a finisher was entirely legit. Definitely take a chance on a dessert if one strikes your fancy. Service was good. Interior ambiance is very improvisational restaurant furniture. The intentional lack of effort screams as loudly as possible: "We're a very hip and laid back eatery! We are a playful venue!" But the casual cool feels carefully posed. We visited on a Wednesday around early dinner time and I earnestly hope the sincere mediocre white guy with an acoustic guitar singing bloodless simulations of decades- old moderate rock was a one- time thing and the management recognizes their mistake and cancels that unnecessary intrusion that only distracts and detracts from what pleasantness there is to be had. I'm definitely up for another run at their menu in a few weeks or so. I suspect there are more gems...

One of the most wonderful places to open in Baton Rouge the last two years. I love walking into this building. The atmosphere is so great. All of the colors, the lighting, and overall mood of everyone in the building makes it really enjoyable. I love looking at their little table of stuff next to the entryway, with candles, hand towels, soaps, wine bags, etcetera! It's all really neat, and have definitely bought a from items off of it before. Generally, I like dining in the bar area or the outdoor area. Outdoor area has a beautiful selection of plants, and makes it feel like you have some privacy from others who are dining outside as well. The food is incredible. Never disappoints. My favorite is the Steak and Potatoes Board, their BLDG 5 Chicken Sandwich, and now their Dessert Boards since they are offering dessert now! Their in-house chips are really great- they're crunchy and have a twinge of rosemary on them, which adds such an interesting kick. Cocktails are marvelous. Their house lemonade vodka drinks (you can pick your choice of spirit in the lemonade) is I think the best I've ever had. Recently worked with them for catering, as well, and it was super easy and a delight to organize catering! Brumby was awesome, and great to talk to, really friendly. He helped with picking what I might need for the catering based on ages and how many people were coming. I've also attended events here (pre-COVID), and their grazing boards were beautifully set-up, very appealing, and almost made me not want to eat off of it! I would recommend BLDG 5 for almost any...

Usually BLDG5 is the best. Every time I’ve gone to enjoy, the service and staff have always been incredibly welcoming. However this time, for my mother’s first visit and her first restaurant experience in Baton Rouge, it was a bit ridiculous. First when we arrived, standing behind another couple, we overheard them saw the inside has a wait, but the patio is completely open. When we stepped up, they told us only about the wait which was ten minutes longer than the previous time. My mom asked what about the patio which was greeted with a nonchalant , “Oh yeah, the patio is open.” by the dark headed girl who stepped in front of the previous hostess. I assured my mom that they have fans and they proceeded to sit us in the one corner with no fans on the patio, which only had two other tables sitting. The actual server was incredibly kind and I could tell he was busy with inside tables, which I had no problem with. The only real issue was the unwelcoming attitude when we arrived and the fact they put me and my 50yr old mother in the hottest place on the patio. My face was red and covered in sweat while every other, empty table was blown with fans or at least in the way of a breeze of wind. I’ve worked in restaurants my entire life. The server, bartender, the host, the manager. It felt incredibly targeted that since we asked about the patio, we were placed in the worst spot and then left without anything besides a look from the host stand. I really enjoy this place. Just incredibly disappointed that my mother didn’t...