Chapter IV — Restaurant in New Orleans

I was back in New Orleans again (this city is like my third home), and this time, I was determined to check out at least two new restaurants. On my last day there, two friends and I had brunch at Chapter IV. They'd never heard of it, but they always trust my opinion and recommendations, so they were absolutely okay with giving it try.

The first thing you need to know is that a reservation is required. This is a fairly new and popular restaurant, so try and book ahead. I think I booked 3 weeks before arrival.Not sure if that's a standard timeframe, but that's just what I chose to do. You will need a credit card to book. They do not charge your card. It's just on file in case you or members of your party do not show up. Please provide them with an accurate headcount. Your card will be charged $10 per person who does not show up. You can call them and update your headcount at any time in case something comes up or someone flakes out. This actually happened with us. We started out as a party of nine, and it dwindled to a party of three. I called the morning of and updated the headcount, and we were just fine. I'm not including this information to discourage anyone. Just providing details that others need to know before booking.

We dined on a Sunday. They do not have a dedicated parking lot for their establishment. Much like most of New Orleans, it's first come first served street metered parking. We lucked up and got a space right in front as someone else was leaving and it was Sunday so parking was free.

As we approached the entrance, we decided to take a photo together in front of the signage. A very nice young guy came out, greeted us, and asked us if we wanted him to take our photo. He then escorted us in, and we were immediately seated.

The restaurant is gorgeous! They've outdone themselves. The decor, atmosphere, and ambiance is very welcoming, clean, and relaxing. A waitress immediately came over to take our drink order. We decided on mimosas. There were three different juices (orange, cranberry, and pineapple... if I remember correctly) and they brought over a bottle of chilled champagne for us to concoct our own. They were pretty standard and tasty.

Everything on the menu looked appetizing. It was hard to choose, but we ultimately ended up getting the Crabcake, Catfish & Andouille Corn Maqcue Choux, Shrimp and Grits, and a Biscuit. HANDS DOWN one of the best meals we had the entire trip. All three of us were in food heaven. There was nothing left. Everything was cooked and seasoned to perfection. The staff was also friendly and very helpful.

We'd also been eyeballing the dessert menu, and we settled on the bread pudding with the bourbon carmel sauce. DO NOT SKIP THIS DESSERT! It was phenomenal 🤤

Just know, Chapter IV is permanently on our revisit list for anytime we're in the city. The prices were...

I had been told to go by many and this was a big damn deal. I invited my oldest friend for Sunday brunch. The first red flag was calling the number online to ask if we could come early. The number doesn't work ....... We arrived at a very busy restaurant and was told it wasn't a problem to arrive early and we would have a table. At some point we brought up the subject of a drink ( its hot in new Orleans). Should have been a courtesy. We were offered to go to the bar and order a drink. Obviously we were not really servered a drink because; who knows why??? . We were not served and that's the point. We were eventually offered a table in the bar area. We took it so we could at least sit down. Bj was our server and there was a challenge to get water service( it was delayed for few minutes as he walked around with a water pitcher in hand). I want everyone to understand the water was not fit to drink so we did order cocktails quickly. A lady manager came by and was very hospitable and apologetic to even offer to buy the appetizer that I order. Outside of very good food; she was the last positive part of being at chapter IV. Great oysters, awesome wings and ribs, some of the best shrimp and grits, Creole creamcheese cheese cake with strawberry is my favorite. I use to eat it all the time when I worked at commanders. What made this the pits was how damn hot the restaurant was and the sound volume ultimately. We both sweated so much while eating that the awful water was used to cool off. I went to the bathroom twice to cool off in the sink. Picture a packed restaurant with glass windows floor to ceiling with hardwood tables and ceramic floors...... everything echos. No sound proofing and not designed by someone in operation and difficult to hold a conversation with a party of two. The experience so overshadowed the awesome food that I have no plans in coming back and this experience will be the butt of many stories for a big mouth southern man that works in the business. This should be a teaching moment for ownership because the sun has set on the negative experience and I don't see ownership have the talent or "juice enough" to recapture this paying guest. Shame on ownership for poor operation from such a talent

Finally..... don't go to chapter IV unless it is to pick up to go food. It felt like we ate outside. It was that damn hot inside...

The food was really good, but the service from Carnika was poor. She was very inattentive. I ordered a water, an alcoholic beverage and 2 appetizers. My son ordered a lemonade. During the process of ordering our entrées, I asked the waitress if I could sample the creole sauce that came with the shrimp and grits. She told me to hold on because she had other tables to tend to and that I had to wait. Our appetizers came out along with his drink, but my drinks didn’t. After about 10 min after receiving our appetizers, Carnika came back and asked if I’d decided on an entreé. I reminded her that I asked to sample the creole sauce. She provided an explanation as to why I could not, but her rationale did not make sense. I said okay and ordered a different entreé. I also reminded her about my drink requests. She indicated that the bar was slow and she couldn’t control it. I asked if I could get the water I initially ordered in the meantime. I also observed the table next to me receive alcoholic drinks before me even though they were seated after I ordered my drinks. About another 5 min had passed by before I received my water, which was brought out by another staff member, and I still had not received my drink from the bar. Our entreés came out, we ate, but still no drink from the bar. Carnika passed by later and asked if we needed anything. I told her I was ready for the check, but I wanted to see a printed copy. The check was brought to the wrong table, which the other table passed to me. The check included the alcoholic beverage I never received. I had to ask Carnika to remove the beverage and explained why. She removed the drink, but offered no apology or further explanation, which was expected.

I am deeply disappointed in the service I receive today. I hope better training is provided to this waitress. While today was disappointing, I have received better service from this establishment...