Brutto Americano — Restaurant in New Orleans

This review is mainly a heads up for guests at The Barnett Hotel, which the restaurant is attached to and shares a lobby with.

My husband and I just stayed for 5 days in NOLA at the Barnett. We ordered from Brutto Americano 3 times.

The first night we stayed (Sunday), we had dinner and drinks in the restaurant and it was 7/10 on taste, presentation and service, though price was on the higher side. We had a male waiter who was kind and when asked if we could take our tiramisu dessert to go, he did not hesitate and brought our dessert nicely packaged for us to enjoy in our room.

Monday morning, we were quite tired from traveling so we figured we would eat breakfast in. I called down to place an order “to go” so we could eat and enjoy our slow morning in our room. When I asked to place an order to pick up, the lady who answered the phone just said “we don’t do that here”, and when I asked for clarification, she said they don’t do “to go” orders. So I hung up and went about my day, understanding that it’s a new restaurant and perhaps new staff still training who maybe misunderstood a policy. No big deal. But seriously, what kind of restaurant, especially one that is IN A HOTEL, does not let you order something in a to go box to eat in your room, five floors up?

Wednesday morning, we decided to eat breakfast in the restaurant. The food was above average, and as we finished up, our waitress asked if we would like to take our remaining food to go and offered us a box.

(In case you didn’t catch on yet, two servers have now offered us to take our food to go after eating IN the restaurant).

Wednesday night (last night 5/7/25), I decided I’d walk down and order another tiramisu to go because it was good and I was craving something sweet. I approached the hostess booth and asked politely to pay for a tiramisu to go. Once again, I get a “you can’t do that here” and I asked why and explained that I had taken my dessert to go a few nights before after our dinner there. And she told me they allowed it because we had eaten in the restaurant. I told her we had dined in again that morning and that I just wanted to have some dessert in my room. She rolled her eyes and huffed as she told me she’d go her her manager (who I didn’t even ask to speak to, mind you) to tell me why I couldn’t order a dessert to eat in my room.

I wait about 5 minutes and the manager comes up to me and says that they “typically don’t allow anything to be purchased for take out” and I explained that other than the fact that I wasn’t sitting at one of their tables, I was a guest at the connected hotel and not some random person coming in off the street to order something to go. She then gave me a silly excuse of “well the tiramisu doesn’t travel well”. I said back to her that it traveled up the elevator 5 floors just fine a few nights before and that I would like to order it regardless. She made some comment about how “as long as (I) was fine with it not traveling well” that they would put the order in for me. I paid my $14 dollars for my tiramisu and she brought it out to me and I went on my way.

So, if you’re a guest, don’t anticipate on having any level of convenience of a restaurant inside your hotel unless you’re happy to sit at a table and not in the comfort of your own space

Also. Be wary that they have an additional 3% up charge on their menu that is “supplementary” to go towards the wage and health care of their kitchen staff? With prices that high, you shouldn’t need to add an additional 3% to everyone’s check to pay your cooks a living wage and give them health insurance. Very “high end” spot, huh?

Lastly, a photo of my tiramisu. It traveled up the elevator and into my...

I’ve never walked out of a restaurant wanting to ask for my money back until now. I’m a patient diner. I know things go wrong. I try to give grace. But my experience at Brutto Americano was disorganized, underwhelming, and not remotely worth the price.

It started with the “focaccia,” which arrived first. I’m not sure why they’re calling it focaccia it was just slices of toasted baguette missing everything you expect from real focaccia (like olive oil, a soft interior, or… well, any actual focaccia texture).

Next came the meatballs, which I was hoping would set a better tone. They didn’t. They were bland, dense, and served in a watery marinara that lacked depth. For an Italian-inspired restaurant, it was a letdown.

Then there was the salad. I ordered the Bib—a $14, light mix of bibb lettuce, radish, parmesan, and lemon vinaigrette. Instead, I was served the Little Gem Caesar with fried oysters—a completely different, heavier salad that costs $24. I did eat the oysters—they were actually pretty good—really the best thing I had the whole night—but I didn’t want that salad and didn’t order it. When another staff member asked about it, I explained the issue. He offered to either make the correct salad or cancel my entrée (tagliatelle). At that point, neither option felt right. I declined—but looking back, canceling the pasta might’ve been the better move. Little did I know.

The tagliatelle arrived clumped together, overcooked and under-seasoned, with a large, floppy slice of prosciutto just laid on top. There was no balance or cohesion—just starch and salt.

Dessert was the final chance to save the meal. Budino is one of my favorite desserts, and I was hoping for a rich, silky custard to end on a high note. Instead, it arrived oddly deconstructed and lacked any of the texture or balance that makes budino work. Just another miss.

On top of all that, I was charged $7 for a bottle of sparkling water, which my waiter took “to put on ice” and never brought back. I had a single glass. That summed up the night pretty well: overpromised, underdelivered, and expensive for what it was.

Brutto Americano feels like it’s aiming for a polished, upscale experience but what I experienced was careless, poorly paced, and unrewarding. I’ve never wanted to ask for my money back before, but I left feeling exactly that way. This was a...

I wish we had as good of an experience as other reviews. There was 8 of us that went for lunch on a Sunday. There was one maybe two other tables in the whole place. The food was just ok. Nothing special. Same with the service. Not bad just not that good. The parts that made me write this review is 4 of the 8 people paid with cash, 2 people used credit cards. Even though we clearly told them what went on what card and the balance was cash, the waitress split the $600 bill into the 2 credit cards. So there was over $300 in cash that she assumed was her tip. She then tells us they don’t take cash. Then we find out that they add an auto gratuity for the kitchen staff. I am all for the kitchen staff making a good living. When I was in my 20’s I worked in different restaurants and the kitchen staff does bust their butts, but that should be paid by the restaurant, not auto gratuity. If you are going to have hidden fees, at least tell the customers up front. Finally we looked up what “Brutto Americano” means and it means “Ugly American”. In Italian it is quite the insult. Look it up for yourself. Imagine having a restaurant called Ugly American. I am insulted by it. The food was ok but not for the price and portion size. There are far better Italian Restaurants in the city who don’t insult you with the name of the business and actually pay their kitchen staff without adding an additional charge to the customers bill. At least be honest about what you are doing.

I am not planning...