Cafe Sbisa — Restaurant in New Orleans

I'm not exaggerating when I say having dinner here was unanimously the worst dining experience anyone in our group has ever had (there were 18 of us, to give you some perspective). Many of us worked in the service industry for years and all of us are sensitive to the challenges COVID has presented to restaurants in terms of staffing. We were in town for a girls weekend and had a dinner reservation here on a Saturday night for 20 people. We ended up being 18.

We were seated at our table on the mezzanine and everything went downhill from there. It took the waiter over 20 minutes to come take our drink order. About 20 minutes after that, we looked down onto the bar and saw the bartender chatting away with some servers and our tray of drinks half-made on the bar. When they finally arrived another 15 minutes later, we were still waiting to order our food. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and our dinners at the same time. Then began our long quest to flag down a server or busboy for more water, going to get our own, and desperately trying to order a second round of drinks to no avail for about an hour and a half. We were given several apologies from the waiter and told we would be "taken care of" which you would think translated to that round of drinks at least given the level of "service" we received, but they only comp'd ONE SINGLE DRINK for the bride-to-be. Much of the food came out undercooked (the oysters also made several people sick) or incorrect.

The worst of it all was how long everything took - even when the restaurant was mostly empty we were still sitting there waiting for our food over TWO HOURS after we were seated. It was excruciating and ruined our evening. Several of the appetizers never arrived, which we shrugged off, but then showed up about 15 minutes after our DINNERS had come out. When we said we didn't want them at that point, they said just leave them on the table. When the check came, they charged us for them all. When we asked to speak to a manager, we were given what I can only describe as a sob story about a chef quitting the day before, and though she claimed it was an anomaly experience that we had, we were told nothing would be taken care of off the check. The manager was not someone who should be dealing with customers - 3 separate people from our party tried to speak with her very nicely and she was incredibly rude and dismissive - seems that type of service is the norm for her. Avoid this place...

I made a reservation for our brunch group for brunch on today, June 24th. The establishment was amenable when it came to the reservation and accommodating with our seating for service. When we arrived, we were seated and everything was awaiting us. Our party was the largest there and the restaurant wasn’t busy even while we enjoyed our meal. One of our members ordered the steak and eggs medium rare. She repeated the order to the server twice which repeated it back to her. However when her order was brought out, it came out medium well and she was able to tell when she cut into it. She sent the item back so her steak could be cooked properly. She was approached by the manager at the time, Scott Stage who pulled her to the side and stated that she could not receive another steak and then proceeded to tell her that she told the server the incorrect order and she, the customer was responsible for the cost of the steak. The member alerted me of the situation and I went to speak to Mr. Stage who’s demeanor gave off the impression of poor customer service and management. He stated that they are not a “corporate” restaurant like others and orders cannot be replaced. I then stated that one other member had ordered crab cakes that were too salty and they were replaced promptly, how was that situation any different? I explained to him that clearly a mistake was made and a customer shouldn’t have to pay for a meal they didn’t get to eat. He also stated that the Executive Chef Who is the owner would be telling me the same thing if he were here. That she would Have to pay for the meal regardless whether it was correct or not. He then had the server give her account of the situation with the member there and when I addressed him and told him that she will not pay for a meal she didn’t enjoy, he said he didn’t want to “argue about that and to go ahead and give her another steak and get them the check so they can get out of here.” He then walked away. His attitude was deplorable and so is his work ethic. I nor the 20 other ladies that are apart of our brunch group will patron there ever again. I’ve been to finer establishments than this and have been to everyday establishments and have never been treated as I was today. Our 1100 bill was paid in full (including the steak my member never received) which includes the 20% gratuity. You would think you’d get better service for that kind...

"America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland." -- Tennessee Williams

I don't know who this cat is, but he's on to somethin'

I am from SF and I have spent time in NY, so the first two are on point. The 3rd, that's also factual information.

Dining in NO is unlike any other dining experience I have enjoyed. The flavors are so bold, and specific, and it's always about seasoning in layers and layers of flavor. Sure, if you watched Food Network 20 years ago, you'd think Emeril was always talking about spicy food in NO. That's false. It's about very well seasoned food, and that's the way they roll here.

I am a huge fan of seasonings, and making my own spice rubs. That inspiration came from watching Emeril and the way he talked about NO. I love it!

So, that takes us here.

Cafe Sbisa is an exceptional dining experience, and you should visit them and find out for yourself.

App:

Crawfish Beignets Savory beignets are not my fave, but I can't turn em away either. These were exceptionally well seasoned, cooked and fried to perfection, with a delicious house-made creole mustard cream dipping sauce. The crawfish flavors are forward and the tails were evident. I love when you know that you got what you ordered and that you can visually see the crawfish tails.

Entrees:

Daily Special My friend ordered the special double cut pork chop, cooked medium. It was a thing of beauty! Perfectly cooked chop, seasoned extremely well. Wonderful flavors present, with a sweet and savory sauce that could be eaten with any protein and enjoyed by all.

Shrimp N Grits

That was my order of course. I mean, how do you visit this town and not try a Southern classic like this? Grits were loaded with cheesyness, salty, creamy, and super duper. The shrimp is served in a saucy presentation and clearly the flavors are that of the holy trinity. I could feel the New Orleans in every single bite!

We decided to pass on dessert, because we wanted to try to space out the overeating sitch.

Wait staff did an exceptional job of being attentive, kind, and not being too much. We enjoyed the entire dining experience, and a suggestion to those who are reading this. Wear some decent clothes and act like an adult. Shorts, t shirts, flip flops, sandals, and the like are fine. But, when you dine at a legit restaurant, just try...