Darrow's New Orleans Grill — Restaurant in Carson

Had the opportunity to visit Darrow's and I can't begin to share how extremely pleased we were with EVERYTHING. We were greeted warmly by a new server, Ingles. He explained he'd only been there a short time, but still took time to expertly explain to us first-time guests the House Rules and graciously offered us a sample of gumbo. After I had a chance to taste the gumbo, I knew choosing this spot was the right way to go.

We had a seat and took a minute to check out our surroundings and look at the menu. The place is really casual with walls adorned with everything New Orleans. The Falcons fan in me took a deep breath and decided to stay anyway! The restaurant is kept very clean and the staff are always busy keeping things running smoothly. You can tell they work well as a team to serve their customers. There are a variety of delicious options to choose from. We had several questions about the menu, and Tracy was so sweet and patient with all the things we asked. It was hard to choose, but we finally ordered. The wait was fairly decent, especially for food that's freshly prepared.

Our drinks were perfect! We tried a Georgia Peach Martini and a Blended Mango Daiquiri. Both were well balanced, the martini was chilled just right and the Daquiri wasn't too syrupy like most flavored drinks can get. They really were delicious. Our meals arrived shortly after. Fried catfish, fried shrimp, fried wings (they offer grilled options) jambalaya, red beans and rice, and cornbread. Nothing on our plates stood a chance! I'm from the south, and I miss rich flavor profiles like the ones they use here. It's not salty. It's not heavily seasoned. You can taste the build-up of the flavors from the base of the recipe to the final touches. The wings, catfish and shrimp were fried just right. Nice and juicy on the inside while having a good coating on the outside without being hard or too crunchy. The beans were tender. The rice was fluffy. The jambalaya had really good sausage in it. I believe it was chicken sausage as the restaurant uses no pork. And the cornbread. I don't know what they use or how they do it. But I will boldly go on record and say this is the best cornbread I've had at any restaurant I've visited. We couldn't help ourselves and also got an order of Beignets and the Peach Cobbler. The beignets were soft and pillowy covered with powdered sugar. We took the peach cobbler home as we were absolutely stuffed! We should've got two because we fought over that one! The crust was so good. The peaches were cooked down perfectly. The sweetness was spot on. I want some now as I'm typing this!

And the cherry on top was getting to meet Mr. Norwood before we left. What an absolute pleasure. To have such an amazing establishment where the food and drink stand on its own and speaks for itself, and STILL go above and beyond to engage with your customers speaks volumes. Thank you and your entire staff for feeding us well, making us some fantastic drinks, and for being so warm and welcoming. Something I've really missed since moving to Los Angeles. You guys just got a couple new family members. Get used to our faces because we...

I rarely write a review the instant I walk in the door after trying a place but this restaurant deserves it. First off, parking looks non existent from the front but there's a big free parking garage behind the restaurant that you can enter off of Avalon or Carson. It's close to the freeway so it's easy to get to.

The instant I walked in the door I felt like I was visiting family. All the staff here were genuinely welcoming and friendly and seemed excited I was a first time customer. They were giving me free samples of gumbo and let me try their Hurricane and Punch rum mixers before I ordered. They also explained everything on the menu. I went with the catfish plate with collard greens and "bean balaya" which is a half size portion of red beans and jambalaya so you get to try two sides and it only counts as one! Also a choice of French bread of cornbread. GET THE CORNBREAD.

The sample of gumbo they gave me was mind blowing and that was just the broth. Best I've ever had so I will have to get the entree next time.

The Rum Punch was so good and not only was it fruit punch flavored but it packed a punch. Was really strong drink.

My plate came out smelling like heaven and looked just as good. Every single thing on my plate I was thinking "this is the best I've had". The cornbread was phenomenal. I could not believe how good the cornbread was. It was crunchy on the outside yet moist on the inside and tasted almost like cake. The catfish was also super crunchy yet retained it's moisture. It came with hotsauce, tartar sauce, and "gator sauce" which was a peppery ranch sauce dyed green but the fish was so good I barely used any condiments. All the side dishes were flavor packed and loved them all.

When I was about done I ordered the fried chicken breast plate with tater salad and side salad for my wife as take-out. Even with the 25 minute drive home the chicken was still piping hot and crunchy. My wife let me take a bite and it was delicious. I like how they cut up the breast into strips so you got more of the wonderful tasting batter. The potato salad was heavy on the mustard and pickle flavors which was great. Salad had a tasty herbal vinaigrette.

Truly loved this place and cannot wait to return. Next time I want to try the gumbo or the soft shell crab po'boy. ...

As a New Orleans native, I do my best to support establishments that bring the culture and food to others. Last night my children and myself went to Darrows. Upon walking in you see quite a bit of "Cajun" decorative items. There's a chalkboard indicating to you what you should do, if it happens to be your first time there. So, I did as the chalkboard indicated. I went to the register and waited about 7-10 minuets while another patrons order was placed. When it was my turn, I informed the young man that it was my first time there and that I'm allergic to shrimp. There wasn't any samples offered as indicated on the chalkboard. He did offer my children juice, they asked for water and he still brings them juice. I order a fried oyster po boy, 2 orders of shrimp, and 2 orders of "Cajun" fries, with a Daiquiri for mom. First off, the shrimp order was 4 prices of shrimp and they had the audacity to place both shrimp orders in one basket, then the presumably "Cajun" fries, there wasn't a drop of Tony Chaseres on them things, so to call them "Cajun" is totally out of the question, they are simply fries, and lastly the po boy, which was a good effort. The Daiquiri was way too small for $8. The service sucks horribly. My 4 year old son spilled the juice that was provided to him. I went to tree bar and asked for napkins, none were provided, even though I stated that I would clean up the mess. A bus boy who dropped off the food, stated that he would clean it up and never did. So my over all thoughts? Too pricey for the portions you get, no flavor, and crappy service. The good times did not...