Café Minh — Restaurant in New Orleans

We made a reservation through Open Table for 15 people at 8PM. 12 people showed for our reservation, which was accommodated. The table was set very nicely with silverware and coned napkins. Once everyone was seated, the server gave us one drink menu for 12 people to look at. I dont know the servers name because she never introduced herself. She was "just helping out." After we asked for a couple more drink menus, we ordered our drinks. One of the sakes that was ordered was not available.. ordered the pear/other fruit small sake?and the server came back with a bottle of cucumber sake twice the size and price and no knowledge of the drink menu. Index fingers were too much involved. The Sprite was also served flat/out. We were provided glasses of water while we looked at the drink menu. Once the drinks from the drink menu arrived, we received the dinner menu. After 40 minutes of seation, the server told us of the dinner specials (after prompting). As we ordered, we notified the server we would be separate checks. She then stated "it was busy, so she might not be able to do seperate checks because it would take a long time" The restaurant was full at that point. We all ordered smoothly and asked questions about the specials, as there was no specials menu. The Miso Oysters were unavailable, upon ordering, no other suggestions were made by the sever. The food arrived promptly. A member at our table ordered lamb med rare and received it fully cooked. The restaurant accepted it back and fixed the dish without issue. There were so many good and bad moments with this dinner experience, but what broke the bubble was getting the $900 check at the end and being told we need to separate it ourselves. $25-54 entrees, 20% gratuity, at 10PM, when the restaurant cleared. The system was "slow and would take a long time." We told her we were also slow and would take a long time, after she came back and asked if we were ready to pay. Then she offered to try and seperate the checks. Food was good and the service was equal to a late night diner, but with $130 gratuity tacked into it. We won't be back. I would give the food 4 stars and...

We had heard how good Cafe Minh was, but had never been until last night. We arrived around 5:30 without a reservation, but were still promptly and congenially seated. Our primary server was Andy, who was knowledgeable, consistent, and had plenty of assistance as needed. This was a pro wait staff without pretense. There are two wine lists, one by the bottle the other by the glass, and we were satisfied with the bar's chardonnay and pinot Grigio selections. Every dish we ordered came with its own distinctive sauce or flavor. We sampled the pumpkin puree, which is not your grandma's pumpkin soup. We shared the perfectly fried calamari with a sweet side sauce, rather than the marina to which many of us are used. We shared an exceptional steamed mussels, where the sauce was enhanced by the fresh spices and fresh vegetables. Minh provides a whole small loaf of fresh bread for dipping as well. my wife also ordered the perfectly prepared spring rolls. The entrees were a bouillabaisse that my son thought "best ever", a whole flash fried spelled trout, and a marvelous pompano with grilled shrimp. My son allowed us a small sample of the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. It was an exceptional meal, perfectly timed, and...

It's a family run business, so that is enough for me to give it 3 stars. The owner sat us and apparently his daughter served us, always nice to have a family spot succeeding. The food is quite good: fried chicken spring rolls were piping hot and tasty even without the sauce, although the bedding material was a little lackluster. The scallops were excellent, and the lacquered duck was very good, cooked well with substantial flavor. Only 4 stars because they don't seem to handle busy nights very well, which is surprising given their sustained success. We waited quite a while for some things to be served or taken away. It looks like they could use a few extra servers when they're booked up and still seating walk-ins at the bar. Still definitely worth your...