Fountain Lounge — Restaurant in New Orleans

I usually do not write bad reviews unless the experience was warrants it. I heard about this place from a friend who raved about how great the chicken was, how hot the chicken was, and how great the experience was for them. So i decided that I would venture there first Monday I had a chance to.Based on what I was told I had very high expectations and never once thought my experience would be any less than superb. Needless to say and judging by the rating, that was not the case. And I'll just cut to the chase with it. Dinner is from 5-9pm here. So we arrived about 7:30-ish. Only thing on the menu on Mondays is Chef Carl's fried Chicken and that's exactly what I wanted. I should have taken pictures since seeing is believing. When the chicken and biscuits arrived, the chicken was dark (looked as though it had been sitting under the light after thinking about it later) and the biscuits were a dark brown, which I didn't really mind. Normally, I would send food back immediately, but I thought this must be the way its supposed to be. Moreover, the chicken was lukewarm, at best and the biscuits were hard and dry. Moments after the beans and coleslaw arrived. They were the stars of the night. The chicken was a mix of salty, spicy, and flavorless (besides cayenne pepper). it probably won't have been so bad if the chicken was at least hot. Hot food always tastes better than lukewarm of cold food. Amen! My disappointment was heightened when I observed the tables surrounding me receive fresh golden brown chicken and oh my god, freshly baked beautifully buttered biscuits. This prompted me to ask if I could get another biscuit and man when I did, it was a totally different experience. That one biscuit almost changed my life. It was so soft and delicious (so THEY DO EXISTS) I almost ordered a whole other basket of chicken in hopes of an all together different experience. but I resisted because that would have been a risk that only cost me more money. And for the record, I asked my waitress about the chicken and expressed my displeasure and she pretty much shrugged her shoulders and walked away. I felt halfway ignored. to top it all off the beer that you get with your food (which we both ordered the Amber) was FLAT.

Summary: My experience was void of golden brown, piping hot chicken and biscuit. Chicken was salty and had too much cayenne pepper with little evidence of other seasonings.

The bright spots about this place were the sides(red beans and coleslaw) live music and...

Unfortunately, this establishment had the worst service I have experienced in my 6+ years living in New Orleans.

My fiance and I made a 6 o'clock reservation for to enjoy the "pre-theater" menu advertised, as we were to attend a 7:30PM show at the Orpheum Theater across the street. I arrived 10 minutes early, and my fiance was 4 minutes late. The hostess explained that I had apparently reserved a table for 4 instead of 2. I checked my e-mail confirmation of the reservation, which clearly stated "table for 2." I informed the hostess of this and showed her the reservation. Despite this error not being my fault, I was still made to feel as if I had in some way inconvenienced the hostess and there was a delay in seating us, despite there being several open tables.

We explained to the host and hostess that we were to attend the 7:30 show and were here for the pre-theater meal. Despite this, we waited 20 minutes before having to get up from our table and let the wait staff and hostess know that we had not even been greeted by a server. It was only after this that we were served water. Bread was not provided for our table until we specifically asked, about 1 half hour after being seated.

I asked to speak to a manager, but one never came. After we finally ordered, the food came out relatively quickly and all at once. The crispy duck was not crispy. We could not enjoy our meal, as we were rushing to finish and were frustrated by the poor, inattentive service. When we were finished eating, we stacked our plates and silverware neatly on the table to indicate that we were finished, and again, we waited. We ended up standing up at our table and looking around for someone to ask for our check. Dessert was not served, as we had to leave for the show, even though there would have been time to eat it. What was supposed to be a romantic dinner was definitively ruined, and unfortunately overshadowed our concert experience as well.

Our bill was reduced significantly, however, the night was still ruined. I hope that this isn't the status quo at this establishment, because I had high expectations and my experience here has left me angered and disappointed. If you're planning to attend a show at the Orpheum, consider eating somewhere...

As locals, we were pleased to have another option for fried chicken. Monday is the day. We were sat promptly. It was the day after jazzfest, so naturally, the restaurant was not crowded. The waiter removed the menu and wine list before we even had a chance to look at it. Yes, only chicken was available, but I would have liked to at least look at it. Drinks came within 5 minutes, and so did the fried chicken. Fried chicken should take at least 20 minutes, so the early arrival tells me it was fried earlier. Flavor was great, but the chicken was not piping hot as it would have been, right out of the fryer. Red beans, cole slaw and biscuit were all very good. Waiter checked the table 2 minutes in. When we were finished, waiter asked if we wanted dessert and he listed beignets, bread pudding, a mouse and a cheesecake. I asked if there were raisins in the bread pudding. I was told there were not, so I ordered it. It arrived with a warm sauce you can pour out yourself. The plate was placed in the center of an oval table. Without small plates, the option was going to be to push the plate back and forth between each other if we wanted to share. The first spoonful had 2 raisins in it. I put the spoon down, and the plate sat in the center of the table for 15 before we were able to get the attention of the waiter who was clearly present in the dining room. When we did manage, the waiter assumed we wanted the check, and brought it to the table, with a thank you. No word about the dessert sitting in the middle of the table. When we mentioned the raisins in the pudding, he predictably said the kitchen must have changed the recipe. We declined anything else, and just asked for the check. There was a bit more waiting for the check to be dropped and then picked up again. I didn't want anything comped, but an apology for the confusion and delay would have gone a long way. All we got was a thanks for coming in. I would have spoken all this to a manager if one person had approached us. It is the Waldorf, a Hilton. Even the host just said goodbye when we left, rather than ask how...