Cena; Hammond — Restaurant in Hammond

This restaurant is hands down in the top 3 restaurants that I have ever dined in. I don’t know what military base they found the Chefs and waiters but you are doing your self a disservice if you have not visited. Okay, buckle in.

Beginning with the service. As a disclaimer, I am a regular who has never left a review anywhere so this place really moved me. I had one of the best waiters ever, Drake. Along with him, and the other servers, you will have an unforgettable dining experience.

What I love most about Cena is the care that that have for their customers from the moment you walk in. So now to the food.

Starting with the appetizer, fried shrimp sat on top of a bacon slab with Chilean honey glaze — 10/10. When I say I hate when shrimp appetizers don’t fill me up but this one almost made me reconsider stopping my food order. You really get what you pay for because the portion was so filling.

Cocktail hour: espresso martini and pumpkin spice martini. And for all you pumpkin haters stop right here because this is wa ls amazing. Perfectly well balanced and great. Now, I will say for the pumpkin martini if you are looking for a dessert, order it at the end of your meal. However, both drinks 10/10.

Dinner: I ordered the soft shell crab stuffed with seafood shrimp polenta and topped with a crawfish cream sauce along side broccolini and roasted tomatoes and a side of cranberry glaze. This was the taker. Everything was so well balanced.

The overall meal left me feeling so satisfied and satiated. I didn’t feel bloated at all and as a regular to this restaurant, I am floored at the consistency in the staff and the treatment of all people. It’s such a friendly dining experience and atmosphere.

If you are looking for a great night out, look no further. Chance, the owner, I’d exceptional and visits every table. Do yourself a...

Ok, so we did not have reservations and it was Saturday night. We sat at the bar, my wife was a bit perturbed about it but we figured what the hell, why not. Our bartender / server, was awesome and knowledgeable of the specials - spit them out without even an um. However, not even Blue Moon on draft? C'mon. We ordered the caprese - bread was way too hard. A bit crispy ok, but that was more than what should have been. Not very many vegan dishes but I ordered the gnocci and polenta. My wife the shrimp and grits (yea she does DO seafood).

So, we waited a GOOD bit for a our food. The caprese, ceasar salad, and roasted beets came out soon enough but goodness our main course seemed to take forever. Mind you, we were still on the look out for the rest of the restaurant to be 'packed' was we were told that it would be an hour's wait if we wanted to be seated somewhere else other than the bar - THAT never happened. Why our food took that long for it come out...who knows.

When it did come out, I've had better gnocchi, the polenta was more like mashed - I don't know why i was expecting it to be rounds, and my wife's shrimp where just way too salty - according to her. I did not try them.

The cannoli and irish coffee were very good and a nice way to end the night. We were seated between an older couple and a couple that were just a bit older than us, that made the night a bit livelier.

Overall, it was ok but definitely NOT worth the prices we paid for. We are still on the look out for that 'fine dining' experience that is going to knock our socks...

Just ate at Cena for the first time tonight for my birthday dinner. I’m so happy we gave this place a chance. Everything was wonderful from start to finish. Everything we had tonight were specials and not on the regular menu. We had a smoked pork belly appetizer that was actually being entered in a bacon competition in Gulfport tonight and definitely worthy. It had fried shrimp and melted cheese on the top. My only complaint would be the crust on the shrimp. Just a little too hard for our liking but that’s being picky. It’s the type of crust that’s so hard it falls off when you cut into the shrimp. The smoke on the pork belly though was perfect. We ate it all before I could get a pic. For our entree’s, my husband had a filet and I had gnocchi which is the very reason I wanted to eat there. It’s very hard to find gnocchi in a restaurant much less homemade. It was in a Parmesan cream sauce with grilled shrimp on top and there wasn’t a bite left on either plate.

The atmosphere was very nice and I know they were booked for the evening. We were lucky to get reservations the same day but we did call as soon as they opened today. Our waitress, Abbey, was one of the best waitresses we’ve had at any restaurant ever. She was so personable and knowledgeable about the menu. There were about 6-8 specials to tell us about between appetizers and main course and she had it all memorized perfectly. I would’ve stumbled through notes if it were me. We will definitely be back and will definitely request her...