Blue Orleans Seafood Restaurant — Restaurant in Chattanooga

Waiter! There's a salad in my Bloody Mary! Rather unexpectedly, my very large Queen Bloody Mary came topped with grape tomato, small wedges of lemon and lime, two green olives, two slices of cucumber and a hot pepper. If I'd seen two turtle doves and a partridge, I'd have just shrugged. I almost asked for a fork and croutons! Luckily, a straw did present itself. As for the drink, it was a refreshing blend of Vodka and tomato juice over ice with subtle hints celery (not a single stalk of it in sight, so it must have been ground). The hot pepper, lemon and lime elevated this classic. And anything marinated in Vodka...well. Try the crab cake pops. They are 3 balls of perfectly crisp, moist crab drizzled with spicy aolli. The Bayou Platter serves 2 or 3. At least that is what they claim. The dish includes gumbo, fried catfish, shrimp, fried gator, and seasoned fries. The two of us couldn't finish it and so....hey, dinner for the next day. Our server, as it happens, is the owner. Southern charm and hospitality oozed from her pores. She answered questions, offered suggestions, and made our visit memorable. She separated the gumbo into 2 bowls for us. It was served with rice. The base was spicy, but not three-alarm fire. It contained nice-sized shrimp perfectly cooked. The shrimp with the platter were more like prawns, lightly battered and fried. The gator was juicy, tender and crispy. (Cooked incorrectly it can get be rubbery.) The fries were crisp and well seasoned on the outside, creamy on the inside. Now let's talk about the catfish. I can say with absolute sincerity that it was the best I've ever eaten. It was flaky and moist. Tender. Perfectly seasoned. No tartar sauce required! The platter was served with four sauces: tartar (clearly house made ) slightly tart and briny. ( Not a carrot in sight! As so many recipes use.) Louisiana aoli. Cocktail sauce and, for the fries, ketchup. The fries didn't need the ketchup. The shrimp didn't need the cocktail sauce, either. The catfish needed a fork, nothing more. We did meet with the chef. He came out to see how we liked the food. Apparently he is a local man known as the Catfish King. A well deserved title. Be prepared to spend some cash here. But I feel safe in saying it is well worth it. I feel like this is a slice of Nawlins right in the heart of Chattanooga. This may not be a romantic date spot, but it is a let's go have a fun date place. There is a downside or two. Parking is a mess. Chattanooga, anyone? We got lucky as we went at 4pm on a Thursday. There is a pay parking lot a block or so down. The other thing to remember is this is a terribly old building and predates federal mandates for all access. The restrooms are in the basement down a short flight of stairs. This could present problems for those with mobility issues. Although, I did notice some work being done, so presumably new offices or business will be coming in soon. The lower level was interesting. And maybe it will prompt an elevator for handicap use. When it was time to go, our leftovers were boxed up and placed neatly in a bag for us. Everything about this experience was...

I want to make sure I am clear that this rating is NOT for the food but the CUSTOMER SERVICE. The entire interaction with this restaurant was unpleasant. My family and I were fresh from the aquarium and site seeing downtown Chattanooga. After spending all day as tourist we decided to find somewhere to sit down and dine in. My parents are originally from Louisiana so ‘Blue Orleans’ automatically caught their eye. We try to stick to what we know (food wise) rather than taking the chance of trying somewhere new in an unfamiliar city. We arrive at Blue Orleans and greet the staff in the front. We advised we did not have a reservation nor knew one was required. The staff member says that our party might be too large to accommodate (A party of 9). Now being that 6 out the 9 are adults, we understood that we were a big party and the restaurant was very small in the inside but there was only 1 party of 2 dining in at the time . They advised us we can schedule a reservation for later but due to us not being from Chattanooga we declined. For the simple fact we wouldnt be there later. My father then asked since there was only 2 people eating and the restaurant just opened at 5 (it was 5:15) would it be possible to accommodate us by splitting us into 2 groups instead?!? He was told “give us a minute” so we exit the restaurant to the lobby of the building that the restaurant is located inside of. Abruptly some bald light skinned guy comes out and starts off the conversation with how it would be “virtually impossible to serve a party of 9 at this time”. He doesn’t introduce himself, he doesn’t identify himself at all! We literally don’t know if this guy is a cook, manager, dishwasher, owner or nothing. All we know is that’s it’s impossible to serve us. My mom then explains to him that we aren’t from the area and we just need a place to eat at this point. He quickly dismissed the attempt to explain we aren’t being problematic or irate about the situation, we are only looking for somewhere to eat and she asked what would he recommend since we were refused service? I’m not sure if we were getting on his nerves, he was having a bad day, or what the bad energy was for. He starts naming these places that he “kind of likes” or has “ok food”. (his words).. In my opinion, he was better off not naming anything since he only likes them a little!

Due to the fact we still don’t know who this guy is MY PERCEPTION was they sent some black guy from the kitchen to tell the black family that it’s reservation only… even with 2 people dining in at the time.

To all tourist and their loved ones good luck eating there. I hope the customer service matches the food review when it’s somebody else’s turn and you guys DONT have the same experience my...

I've never been to a restaurant that wowed me enough to write a review. But, WOW! My family and I went on a last minute trip to Chattanooga and spent some time walking around downtown and when it was time to find a place to eat, we looked up what was nearby and came across Blue Orleans. We looked up the menu and it sounded like somewhere we needed to try. We called to see if there was availability and luckily they were able to seat us within 20 minutes. I'm sure that had something to do with us wanting to eat a little earlier than normal though because they were fully booked up later. While we were waiting for a table, we started thinking about how familiar the place looked which was funny because we had never been there before. But, then we realized that we remembered it from a Restaurant Impossible episode last year. The staff was super friendly and efficient. They made us feel very welcome. Our kids both had the Grilled Shrimp Pasta and ate every bite which is hard to get them to do! My husband had the Chicken and Andouille Gumbo and Rice appetizer and Creole Red Beans and Rice with Andouille Sausage entree (he likes sausage) and he was practically licking the bowl clean! The kids were even able to sneak a couple of bites while he wasn't looking and they loved it too! I had the Cajun Shrimp and Mushroom Bisque appetizer and the Cajun Chicken Pasta entree. They were both excellent! My only complaint was I wish I could have had more! We even ordered the Beignets for dessert and they were so light and fluffy and amazing! We left the restaurant with a warm goodbye and full bellies. We will definitely make sure that any time we visit Chattanooga, we will be making reservations at Blue Orleans! We are so glad that Chef Irvine helped this family and their amazing restaurant out when he did! This restaurant is a must for Chattanooga residents and...