Gautreau's Restaurant — Restaurant in New Orleans

Long time patron so it hurts to write about another local restaurant going down.... We went the other night, as we do 2-3 times a year, for a special occasion - birthday - dinner. BUT, this time, we could hear the noise from inside a house and 1/2 away! Yes, looks like theyve started catering more to tourists and and parties vs locals... It was so loud that the table next to us - mr mardi gras JR, another local, kept hitting his hand on the table to try and get some attention and quiet the place down - to no avail. The wait staff were a bit in the weeds until about 2130 when it emptied out a bit - 2.5hours into our stay! Our table of 4 could barely hear ourselves and in between all the other folks taking pictures and moving around, it was obnoxious. We even called the next day to discuss the matter and while the hostess said Patrick would give us a call to discuss, we've not heard back from anyone. Odd also, we made our reservation through OpenTable. Well, when just about an hour had passed since our apps were finished and the table cleared and our entrees had not arrived, we inquired. 7 minutes we were told. Sure enough, 10 minutes later and almost an hour after the apps, the food arrived. BUT, heres the weird part, the next day when we went to leave a review on OpenTable, we saw the resturant had marked us as a no show which cancelled our spot on OpenTable - which then made us not get an option to respond to OT for a Review - a First!! The reservation was cancelled at just about the same time we inquired as to when our food was coming out. Shady of the restaurant to mark us that way as to not get a review - so were leaving it here. The food was good - but - the apps, at least mine, was not hot. It was cooked properly - the duck had a nice crisp on it, so i know it was done right, just not hot. Being a special dinner i didnt say anything as to spoil the occasion. The table was cleared and we drank our drinks. Then, tick tock, tick tock, we sat chatting all with empty glasses. we talked and talked and finally i had to flag someone down and got a refill. But, i embarrassingly forgot to check my table mates, they all needed drinks too. Flagged the waiter and all good again - except no dinner. When the dinner finally arrived, my steak was cold. My wifes fish was hot though. So the kitchen timing or the wait staff timing was off!! Finally, time for dessert. It was no so late that i wanst in the mood and my behind hurt for sitting for so long - but it was my birthday. So i ordered a coffee and banana split. Coffee came, now its 9pm, and it was lukewarm - ugh! then the desserts came - now get this - my banana split plate was hot?!?! I give up here - what gives. One of the staff was nice and had offered to take my steak back so chef could warm it - but honestly - wed waited so long for it, and i did not want my table mates to not eat while my plate was warmed and i didnt jknow how long that would take, i passed.

No apologies no nothing for such a rotten experience. They knew it too, im sure. And did NOTHING. Which makes it all the worse.

Next time well be at Brigtsen's! Sorry, we loved this place. Guess the tourists will be happy - they wont know the difference and itll be a one off experience all...

Short story - If you are from out of town they don't want you. They cancelled our reservation within an hour of calling us to confirm, because they saw an out of town phone number. Service was grumpy. The first course was excellent, the salad was mediocre, the main dishes were "tired" at best, the dessert was okay. Long story - We traveled to New Orleans for a birthday trip for our son who was turning 11. We made reservations at Gautreau's to celebrate his birthday. I had the good fortune of regular business travel to New Orleans post Katrina nearly 15 years ago and enjoyed lots of amazing food, but never had the opportunity to dine at Gautreau's. I am guessing it was probably better a decade ago. I made reservations far in advance of our trip via Open Table for 8:30pm. On the day of our reservation, the restaurant called to confirm our reservation around 3pm and left a vmail. We were on a tour so I did not get chance to call back to confirm the reservation until 6pm. The woman on the phone surprisingly seemed to begrudgingly confirm my reservation. I later realized she had already cancelled the reservation on Open table around 4pm because I had not called back to confirm. When we arrived, the owner, who was pleasant, indicated that when they saw my cell number on the reservation (a Chicago area code) they determined it was not a reservation that would show up, so they cancelled it. He sort of apologized. It seemed that Gautreau's is far more focused on the neighborhood (repeat) customers and is not so interested in out of town guests. Fundamentally we did not feel welcomed at all. It took 45 minutes from our original reservation time for us to be seated at the table (mind you our reservation was for 8:30pm....) The service was not at all pleasant once seated. The staff seemed almost irritated to take our orders. Items that we ordered were never delivered. Fundamentally the food was overall okay, but not worthy of a food mecca like New Orleans. All of the awkwardness of the service and cancelled reservation aside, there are so many restaurants in New Orleans that are head and shoulders above this restaurant. Don't waste your time if you are from...

Definitely my favorite meal of the trip! Ever since Sue Zemanick appeared on Top Chef, I have wanted to dine at Gautreau's; however, considering she left back in 2016, it's certainly taken me awhile to get here. Since a recent trip had us staying in the area, Gautreau's seemed to be the place to have our fine dining experience. Also, one of my regular customers, who occasionally dines here, spoke highly of Gautreau's, so that cinched it for me. The weather permitted us to enjoy a leisurely walk from the Alder Hotel, passing by St. Vincent Cemetery, Green Trees Early Childhood Village and lots of lovely houses along the way. Gautreau's is in a lovely, but somewhat unassuming building. We actually had to check the address to be sure we were in the right place. I wondered whether the formality of the place might make it seem "stuffy", but; although, our server, Patrick, was very professional, he also made us feel very comfortable. After being sure that the peppers wouldn't be to spicy, I ordered the Duck Confit with Caramelized Pears and Sherry Jus, chiriboga blue cheese, lentils, and piquillo peppers as my appetizer. Anytime there is duck confit on a menu, I'm ordering it, and WOW, was this delicious! Highly, highly recommended. For entrees, I chose their fresh catch of Triple Tail because it's always enjoyed when we have it where I serve. My friend ordered their Cracked Pepper Gnocchi with Brandied Creme Fraiche with morrels, green garbanzos, grilled spring onions and tomato confit. Both of us were exceedingly happy with our choices, my fish being cooked perfectly and her gnocchi being nicely tender. I'm very happy that I finally made it to Gautreau's, and I know it won't be too long before I make plans to...