East End Grill — Restaurant in Lafayette

While I give it overall 4 stars, that is because there were small things that I did not care for, but others would usually overlook, plus certain experience that enhanced the problems I found with the place.

Even though there was a bit of a wait, we expected this because of the eclipse bringing so many people to town. We did reserve a table here on Maps but then called and they said they would have a table almost 2.5 hours earlier, whereas on Maps it said they only had the later tables. So we were seated earlier than expected, but did have to wait a little bit when we did arrive for our table to be ready (again, not a long wait, maybe about 10 mins).

The waitress was great. She came by often enough without being overbearing. She was very kind, smiled, kept a great attitude, and was very nice about explaining the menu.

Now the ambiance is almost like a bar, regardless of where you sat, there were TVs, all with sports, and lots of people, stuffed into a small place. There were certain things on the walls, but I did not pay too much attention to them, and the whole place just had a bar feeling to it. This may have been different for those not sitting in the bar area, but I felt this way just upon arrival. This is both a good and bad thing, to me.

Onto the food. The entrees were all delicious. The pictured item is one of their burgers, and it was cooked perfectly. The negative to the food was the let down of the appetizer which was just a few pieces of lunch meat, random hunks of cheese, and some honey on nuts, and blackberries, all served with some bread. It was not worth the $17 we paid for it. There was not enough there for the 4 of us to enjoy, when we paid less for our entrees than we did for this appetizer. It looked like a crappy charcuterie board, for 1 person, maybe 2 at most.

The other let down was the dessert called Peach Crisps. With the name and description, we thought it would be almost like a cobbler. But when it arrived, it was just canned peaches, with a sprinkling of oatmeal heated up in a dish (tasted microwaved and cheap), with a small scoop of ice cream on top. Both my father-in-law and myself got this dessert and both of us were not happy with it. In fact, I didn't eat much of mine, and he ate about half of his, before we just stopped eating it and asked for the check.

On the flip side of that, the ladies bought the flourless chocolate cake, and loved it. They said it was delicious and so was the syrup that was on the plate and cake. They ate it quicker than I have seen either of them eat a dessert.

Parking was OK, it was down the block and very limited to space. Unless you know that it is the parking lot for that block, you would pass it up, especially since it seemed to be only a gravel parking lot, not paved, and had grass growing in certain spots.

One big issue was when we were sitting at our table, two kids were on the other side of the partition, and the partition was just wood slats with bigger spacing between posts in certain spots. One of these big spaced spots was next to and a little behind my wife. At one point the two kids (waiting on their table or just sitting away from adult supervision), knocked over a menu on our table, and they were facing towards us, so their talking was aimed right at mine and my wife's ears, making it even more difficult to hear each other and her parents. They kept poking their heads between the boards and even almost touched my wifes shoulder but I noticed and when I looked over they quickly pulled their hands back through.

I would just hope that this would be glassed off or something for the future so that people aren't getting pestered by others while trying to enjoy their meals.

But overall, the experience was positive and I would absolutely suggest it to people. I would just steer people away from the appetizer and that specific dessert, and tell them to enjoy the entrees and drinks, and the chocolate...

After reading the rave reviews I selected this as my next attempt to try something different. As a couple reviews stated, it seems pretentious when it comes to the staff. The hostess was disconnected and monotone, the bartender almost seemed annoyed that I asked if he could do a hurricane, they don't do blender drinks he states. Odd, I've never got a hurricane from a blender before. The waiter, Josh, who was a sweaty mess rolled his eyes when I requested the truffle fries that everyone raves about. Those were decent but too greasy for my taste. When I refused to purchase a dessert he rolled his eyes again. While he rolled his eyes he failed to see me catching him doing it. This is not service, this is the behavior of a teenager. I'm not sure if they have a "B" crew because I didn't meet the people the reviews praised so highly. I ordered the Paddington drink, which for $11 turned out to be 3 ounces of rubbing alcohol...and a charred orange wheel, Tasteless. The decor is average, however, a grateful dead framed picture was so out of place given what otherwise was a nice atmosphere. The bar station having corrugated steel siding makes me wonder why this place is so uppity. My girlfriend ordered a lemon blossom drink which had nice presentation but was not too great. We both ordered the tacos which I must not have had enough time to read the description. Dry pork, radishes, Kraft parmesan cheese, and flour tortillas. The salads came with a dressing so thick with vinegar that it burned my eyes and nose. My girlfriend wouldn't even eat hers. The tacos were passable as ok but for the overall price to service, attitude, and taste... This place was a fail for us. We boxed the remains and will bury them with one of the homeless that would like to have anything. $59.92.... this place should be ashamed. If this is "upscale" dining and worthy of 4.7 stars, it pulls Burger King up to 4. I experienced none of what was described in the older reviews and therefore call them into question. I would consider it fair to assume many are friends, family, or...

WONDERFUL! We had great service, great food, and the atmosphere was perfect.

I am a 40-something, work-at-home mom. I work with toddlers, and rarely have adult conversation. With that in mind, my opinion of trendy maybe inaccurate; but I felt the East End Grill was trendy without trying.

The food, exquisite. It isn't bar food, or chain food, or so odd I wasn't sure what I was eating. We had the truffle fries, ribs, beef hanger steak, hamburger, flourless chocolate cake, and pumpkin cheesecake. The steak was initially served undercooked, but a brand new one was served quickly and perfectly in its place. Portions were plentiful but not so large there was lots of waste.

The wait-staff could (did) answer questions without an air of arrogance or ignorance. Our waitress was a perfect blend of friendly yet stealthy. She was so quick with my refills I couldn't tell her I didn't need another soda. When we left, our table had one glass for each person, our dessert plates and forks. The steak error wasn't blamed on anyone or questioned, it was just taken care if promptly. PERFECT SERVICE.

The restaurant itself was cozy, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. My friends and I talked and visited without distraction from others because there was plenty of room for tables and for maneuvering around the restaurant.

I cant wait to take my husband here, he will LOVE it! If you live or visit Lafayette, you need...