Emeril's Kitchenette — Restaurant in New Orleans

Went to Emeril’s Brasserie last week with our party of six. It was the fourth Emeril’s restaurant I’ve dined at, and it was also the most disappointing. In the past, I’ve had good experiences at Delmonico Steakhouse in Las Vegas and Emeril’s in downtown New Orleans. And, my favorite Emeril’s restaurant experience continues to be NOLA. So, during our recent visit to New Orleans, I was excited to take my family to his latest restaurant, Emeril’s Brasserie in the Harrah’s Casino.

Here’s what we had: Appetizers: Baked Brie, Tarte Flambe, Steak Tartare Entrees: Kicked-up Onion Soup & Butter Lettuce Salad, Steak Frites, Herb-Roasted Salmon, Lobster Pot Pie, Chicken Breast, Beer-steamed Mussels I was first surprised that the menu didn’t lean into French cuisine as much as I had expected. Baked Brie, Steak Tartare, Onion Soup, and Steak Frites do not a French menu make. The menu was uninspired in my experience with French and higher-end dining.

To be fair, the Baked Brie and Tarte Flambe appetizers were a hit with our crowd. Everyone enjoyed both. However, the Steak Tartare was bland and rather chunky compared to the same dish I’ve had elsewhere.

Both the Onion Soup and Steak Frites were overly salty. The Steak Frites to the point of verging on inedible. The feedback on the Lobster Pot Pie and the Beer Steamed Mussels was that they were “ok” but nothing special compared to other places. The Herb-Roasted Salmon was raw in the middle when it was specifically requested to be done throughout. The feedback on the stuffed Chicken Breast was positive.

The restaurant was not busy when we arrived for 7 pm Thursday night reservation. It filled up a bit but was not overwhelming by any stretch. That made the long waits for wait staff confusing and frustrating. Cocktails came in waves. Several would show up, then a long delay, then a couple more, then another delay, then the last of the order. At least one cocktail order was wrong. They also erroneously doubled the Beer Steamed Mussels order, which caused confusion for the wait staff as they tried to put two large bowls down in front of one person. We explained that it must have been an order entry mistake, but still found a charge for the second mistaken order on our bill at the end of the night.

An additional small nit to pick. At the end of the night, we also found two charges for bread that were brought to the table without being ordered. It’s a small thing, but not something I expected at an Emeril’s restaurant.

I understand that the restaurant had been open for about 6 weeks at the time of our visit. So, it is newer. However, Emeril and his management team are not new to the restaurant game. Six weeks should be plenty to have ironed out the issues we ran into. On top of that, I’ve had better French cuisine at smaller, independent bistros than was on offer at Emeril’s Brasserie. I’ve also had much better service, meals, and overall experiences at other Emeril’s restaurants.

Bottom Line: We won’t be back to Emeril’s Brasserie the next time we are in New Orleans. And, for that matter, we’ll probably avoid other Emeril-badged restaurants...

I'll start by saying we were charged for bread and butter...regular bread and butter that every New Orleans restaurant gives you for free. We ordered an appetizer for $17 and it was just ok. We decided to split a burger and get an extra side. The burger came out cold and the fries were basically McDonald's fries. I do...

I was hiding from the storm and had a light brunch here, coffee was good and strong enough to keep me awake. And the highlight was the turkey, egg and cheese croissant, it was so good and more than what I expected. I have to come back and repeat it especially for the croissant!! Please...