Estrella Steak & Lobster — Restaurant in New Orleans

So we had the GROUPON deal....lets just say they don't want you to use this. They first do not tell you they add on fees for using them. When we asked the waitress SARA about this then she had a major attitude and started yelling "if you want to give me a $5 tip then I can just give it to the bar tender." First of all we were not only giving her a $5 tip we were giving her the remainder of the money for our bill which was $25 for the additional $22 owed in the folder with the bill. Where I am from then you leave the tip for the waitress on the table and not with the bill or hand it to the waitress, which is what I was going to do. She was getting real nasty and my husband who likes to prevent conflict encouraged me not to, but I HAD to get back with her because I am not sure who she thought she was talking to us in that manner. I told her she should never be a waitress again and should be fired on the spot because that is no way to provide service and just to assume that the amount we gave for the bill was just her tip (considering we were still sitting at the table and handing her a $20 bill starting the hand it to her when she started all of this for her tip). I am sorry if other GROUPNERS do not tip, but just because you have one doesn't mean you cant tip. We use GROUPON to try new restaurants that we otherwise would not think of, not to rip off waitresses. Aside from the nasty attitude of SARA who should NEVER waitress again....I can say that the manager and the host who we interacted with were pleasant along with the bartender. The food was pretty good along with the jazz musician for the night who we tipped $50 for his god music. Loved the old New Orleans atmosphere. SARA YOU SHOULD BE FIRED!!! And you need to grow up and never work as a waitress in any restaurant again. This is coming from someone who often tries hard to help others advance their careers and would usually never want...

Unfortunately, my husband and I were sorely disappointed, to say the very least, with our experience last night at Star Steak and Lobster House. We were in NO celebrating our 41st anniversary, and we were so looking forward to eating there. We have been there before, and the food, martinis, service, and prices were always outstanding; however, last night's dining experience was less than satisfying. First, the service was very slow. No one came to our table for a while, and when the waitress did come, the size of the martinis was much smaller than what we had in our previous experiences. The "lump" crabmeat was terrible!!! It appeared to be canned crabmeat, and not only did it taste very strong, but it was also shredded, not lump, was brown, and had a strong aroma. Neither of us ate it. The worst part about the experience was that I was fired up about getting the whole Maine lobster, which is their signature dish, but they had "just sold the last fresh lobster" before I placed my order. This was at 7:00 on a Friday night!!! We should have left right then, but we have never done that before. I was asked if I wanted two lobster tails, but when I asked if they were frozen, the waitress said YES. I opted for the filet mignon with the lump crabmeat, very reluctantly. My hushand ordered a filet stuffed with crabmeat and crawfish, which is what he wanted in the first place. The steaks were cooked to perfection, but neither of us ate the seafood for the reason stated above. The crawfish were tiny--definitely not Louisiana crawfish--and rubbery.The sides of sauteed spinach and asparagus were good. The good thing in the end was that the waitress brought out a steamed lobster tail alongside my steak at no charge, which was good, and we got two martinis, at no extra charge. We did leave a generous tip to thank the staff for their efforts to please...

To be honest my new fiancé, Kelsey, and I were on our way to a different restaurant for dinner and asked a worker from another local restaurant where we should go and he immediately said Estrella's. We wandered over and it has been by far the best experience we've had here yet. We were immediately greeted by the owner, Amir. I was in the mood for some seafood gumbo and Kelsey does not like seafood so she asked what they had for options. He said they could make her whatever she wanted. One of their burgers caught here eye but then she had a special request because she likes her burgers very smashed and flat. Amir did not bat and eyelash and as he was saying they could do that, his head chef walked by so Amir told him about the unusual request and he seemed happy to do it. The gumbo was best I've had in the NOLA and Kelsey was very happy with the burger. The atmosphere was incredible. They had a live musician playing jazz in the background. I can't even begin to describe how great the experience was. We felt like we were the only ones in there but at the same time were overjoyed every time where heard Amir clanking a spoon on a plate to get everyone's attention to make an announcement of what other patrons were celebrating. One table was celebrating a wedding, one just found out they were pregnant, and we had just got engaged. While in the bathroom Kelsey asked about a desert menu and Amir asked if he could surprise us and she said yes and I'm sure glad she did. He brought out a beautiful plate that had samples bread pudding, cheesecake, and a piece of chocolate cake. The bread pudding was our favorite followed closely by the cheesecake and the chocolate cake. A trip to the NOLA will never happen again without going to Estrella's. I hope if you ever dine in this gem that you have the pleasure of doing so while Amir is present. His hospitality...