Coop's Place — Restaurant in New Orleans

Edit: A quick scan of the reviews online reaffirmed my judgment. At least I didn't see any of the rats!

My first time in New Orleans for vacation and to plan an annual retreat. Coop's Place started as a recommendation from a local business nearby. Unfortunately, what started as my favorite food establishment discovery turned into a low-key nightmare. The first day, I went for lunch in a torrential downpour, which was fantastic: splendid sampler plate options, drinks, and friendly service. Seafood gumbo and fried chicken hit the spot, and we adored our waiter. I loved it enough to want to frequent it again and again and include it on a future itinerary. The second experience was unfortunate enough not to recommend this establishment to anyone. We went back for a second day to grab another entree, learn more about the establishment, and purchase one of the cookbooks they have for sale. I decided to pay for a song for a birthday from the public jukebox; that was a rap song. The song was taken off after 1 minute. When I asked our waiter if something was wrong or if we had done something wrong, they inferred it was the bartender and forces beyond control, but we had done nothing wrong. Annoying, yes, but nothing a conversation explaining "why" can't resolve. That did not happen. When I asked why, asked why they had a public jukebox as an option and for my money back, I was told by the bartender to "know your audience." I was shocked, but it was nothing I hadn't experienced before, even if I was a paying customer. What was more shocking was the complaints that contributed to that choice being made and the glares from a few other customers (mostly old and mostly white) that started to occur in my direction because of this situation. I became very uncomfortable very quickly. I'm not one to be bullied out of somewhere, especially around something so stupid, but we paid, packed up our things, and began to finish what we had. Obviously, we would not be hanging out much longer. It escalated, and what was a pleasant lunch turned into something very different, with permission from some (but not all) staff. The hostility from a few of the other customers continued. My guest saw what was happening and came to my defense. We asked our waiter what we had done and if we had contributed to the hostility; we were told no, we were good but inferred this was weird and kind of bullshit. More here, but the bottom line is that we all parted ways. Some staff jumped in, asking us to leave. On our way out, I tried to be a voice of reason and talk to an employee. Got the door slammed in my face and insulted by an employee. It was aggressive and hostile enough to a) not return and, b) not recommend it to anyone else, and c) if you do go, remember a public jukebox isn't actually public, seemingly, unless it's being policed by others who are more palatable than I am. It was unnecessary and could have been resolved by professionals, with a conversation, or at least, human beings who acted more curious than defensive about the unequal standards they chose to enforce when they felt like it. If I were to give some grace to some of those employed here, they would have walked into a situation they didn't fully understand. The establishment and its food weren't worth all of that mess. Know your audience and plan accordingly....

We're from Wisconsin and after Jazz Fest we were dismayed to see so many places closed after dark or needing a reservation, I saw Coops mentioned on Reddit and it was open late nuf to head over after a quick shower. I was a bit worried with reviews so hit or miss, but on deeper look, most reviews were not about the food just service. We were up for the challenge lol. Note don't go in expecting a fine dining level service but there were no problems for us!! Pro tip: if you're in a tourist town and most bad reviews seem Karen -y and only talk about service, it's probably the reviewers that are the problem.

My boyfriend and I party of 2 had a great experience! Don't expect to show up with a huge group an hour before close, or anything but we showed up on a Friday night an hour and a half before close and got right in just us.

Yes the bar tender we heard calling out a dumb ass tourist but it was hilarious, he had waddled up to the bar and didn't know what to order and clearly wasted af, when the place was packed and it was straight out of the Seinfeld No Soup For You episode. And the sign on the wall says Two Rules: #1) bartender is always right #2) if bartender is wrong, see rule no 1

I admire a place that values their employees enough to know that lots of times customers especially out of towners can be disrespectful and in the wrong. The bar was packed, filled every seat and everyone seemed to be having a great time, the bartender was a badass she had them at her beck n call and needs to be studied. Those that are chill n don't cause problems, no problem.

BACK TO THE FOOD/our meal: we had a tall dude server who was fast, efficient, got everything right and even cracked a joke despite being peak busy hour.

My bf and I shared 1 app and 2 entrees and were stuffed, got the very unique Duck Quesadilla (with orange sauce, SO GOOD, and sopped up every last drop of that sauce), their fried chicken 3 piece (batter is amazing perfect crispy crunchy, stuck to the chx and doesn't slide off if u know what I mean), and jambalaya, which we had a lot of in our week in NOLA and Coops was our favorite, deep flavor.

It was a PERFECT straight to the point bite to eat place, no frills after a long weary day in the sun, where we didn't want a fussy white tablecloth place anyway.

In short; don't be a dumbazz Karen or Chad, don't show up with a huge group during busy time, don't be difficult, and you'll have a fine time and great experience and have...

The locals told us that if we wanted excellent food and didn't mind "salty service and the worst bathrooms in town," we should go to Coop's Place. The recommendation was spot on. My friend got the BBQ shrimp and it was out of this world. I don't remember our other dishes, but we were all extremely happy with our meal.

As for the bathrooms, they were certainly interesting but didn't feel terribly dirty, so that was good.

What about the salty service, you ask? Well. The lady who served us was blunt but kind. She didn't mince words ("no!" she replied without further ado when we asked for something she didn't have) but she guided us well and I enjoyed her quite a bit. The waiter who came to refill our glasses and scold us, however, was not as much of a treat.

Allow me to explain.

My friend was checking on her kids at home (she had left them with her husband for the week) and the waiter came over to us to say scornfully, "You came THIS far from home just to stare at your phone??" Then he rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving my friend feeling chastised and self-conscious.

Now, if he had asked, I am the QUEEN of putting down my cell phone. I turn it off for days at a time. I agree that we are a world full of cell phone addicts and that we should all be more present with each other. However, my friend was doing a necessary thing by checking on her kids and he shouldn't have commented without having any context or even knowing us at all.

That wasn't it though. After that, my other friend picked up her phone to look something up for our adventures the next day, and he came by and scolded HER. I was the only one he didn't pick out, but I think I was the most annoyed.

He returned a little while later, at which point we were done with our quick research/kids check in and engrossed in conversation. And he took CREDIT for it! "Good job, girls," he said condescendingly, and then proceeded to act all friendly, the eye rolls a thing of the past.

Dude, just knock it off. Yes, we should all be present and off our phones, but you don't know our story and even if you are right, it's not your place to scold your customers.

So, if you want amazing food and you can take "salty" servers (is that the definition of salty? I guess so...) then you should give...