Baronne Bistro — Restaurant in New Orleans

Let me preface by saying that I was a server for about 15 years. This was easily the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. The reviews looked decent so we were excited to try some Cajun food on a quick trip to New Orleans. When we arrived around 12:30, there were about five other tables sat with one server. The short of it is, our food, and everyone else’s, took about an hour or longer to come out of the kitchen, if at all, with zero updates from the server. Our sodas sat empty for over a half hour, probably longer, with no real service happening. Then our food finally arrived: -The trio appetizer was really tasty but not sure what took so long since all of those items should have been prepped. The fried catfish was good, but they served it with mediocre fries when the menu said it was supposed to come with Mac and cheese and a vegetable. the two stuffed mushrooms ($16) were undercooked and had huge chunks of raw garlic and no beurre blanc or whatever sauce was supposed to be on them. Our bill was $71 and we were aghast that we were even having to pay for that experience. Not even a comped soda. One table next to us ended up leaving after about an hour with no food. After a full career in restaurants, I cannot for the life of me understand what was happening in there. There were no new tables (the server started turning away guests walking in) and no new orders, yet everyone’s drinks ran empty, the server was running around kind of doing nothing, and the kitchen sent out someone’s sandwich without fries because they weren’t ready? (the first plate we saw come out after a 30-minute lull, so why didn’t they just drop some fries in the fryer during that time?) Perhaps people didn’t show up for work or something, but they should have closed. Whatever happened here today felt like they stole so much of our time on a quick trip, the opportunity to enjoy a New Orleans meal, and money that should have been refused for such a uniquely terrible experience. It honestly felt like two people broke into this restaurant and started pretending to work there when they truly had no...

I'm always reluctant to put five stars on everything for a particular place because I feel like I'm going over the top and nobody's going to believe me. But after searching and researching over a dozen places to eat near our hotel on the quick 2-day trip we made to New Orleans, we found this one a block away on Baronne street. and it turned out to be just what we were looking for on our hit-and-run vacation: a spot with our favorites that we never get to enjoy like gumbo, etouffee, red beans and rice, and a cocktail. without spending a fortune, please! This was it. We caught them on a quiet evening in the middle of the week. The intimate spot with soft lighting on the red brick walls and a beautiful bar - you can watch a game without an insane atmosphere - was ours. After checking out the menu of traditional Creole fare, I cut to the chase and chose the Creole Trio, sort of a "flight" if you will of what I was craving: a bowl of gumbo, one of etouffee and red beans and rice. They were perfect. So good I ordered it again for lunch the next day, lol. All were delicious, just what you look for on a New Orleans menu. But my favorite was possibly the etouffee; spicy but not overwhelming. The chef in the kitchen knew exactly how to make this stuff. I told Earl, the proprietor that night it was one of the only times in my life I didn't ask for a bottle of hot sauce to kick things up a notch. Ce n'etait pas necessaire. But the menu has much more than that. but I highly suggest if you're looking for a combination of some of your favorite flavors, go for the trio. And the folks who run the place are very friendly by the way. Pet friendly too. Baronne Bistro. Have a blast and make it your own. And tell them Dave and Ellen...

Had a reservation for 4 people at 7 PM on New Year's Day (this was the day of the Bourbon Street tragedy) - arrived a little early and seated a few minutes later.

Had waters and menus brought to us right away... but then didn't get any attention from staff until about an hour later when I waved them down to order drinks and food. The restaurant isn't very large but was mostly full. They walked by us multiple times but wouldn't notice us.

Several waitresses and staff working throughout but was very difficult to get any service - even upon asking (as politely and patiently as we could), we were told other tables had been waiting even longer than us... couldn't really believe how poor the service was. Kept in mind the horrific events that occurred earlier that morning and empathized that the staff could easily be affected and having an off day.

However, we couldn't overlook that both dishes of Boudin Stuffed Chicken were completely raw - had to return both and requested to have them removed from the bill.

I ordered the Derby Salad which came as only lettuce. Brought it to their attention and it was remade with the other toppings.

Things We Liked: -Cucumber martinis were good -Atmosphere was good -One waitress was friendly (unfortunately, ours was not very friendly) -Truffle fries & jalapeño ranch were good

Overall, we can't recommend and wouldn't return, but I do hope this day was a...