Mahogany Jazz Hall — Restaurant in New Orleans

I just sent this email to the owner:

Hi there,

My husband and I just left your establishment and I have to admit.. it was one of the worst experiences we had on our trip to New Orleans.

We’ve been here for 5 days and have had varying service but nothing like what we went through this evening.

I should start by saying that the music was 11/10- out of this world. Your musicians are top notch and their rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow made both of us shed tears. Very special.

That being said, the service staff was beyond rude. We read reviews before coming and thought the ‘bad’ reviews were potentially just drunk tourists being intolerable which is very understandable!

After visiting tonight, my impression has changed. Your staff were SHOCKINGLY bad the second we entered the door…

First of all, our bills were higher and higher prices each time we ordered… the SAME two drinks each time. We did not complain as we didn’t want to make a scene. But why was this? I feel we were being taken advantage of. Many reviews online state the same.

Secondly, the one server whose birthday it was (the most problematic staff member it seemed) went after a black gentleman with a baseball bat outside of the bar. How is this okay?! A simple conversation or a calm resolution should have sufficed. Violence is completely unprofessional and was honestly shocking.

To add, we were not intoxicated and we had both wished this server a very happy birthday to try and change the service we were receiving and hopefully uplift her evening. No dice.

There were other aspects of the staffs behaviour that was absolutely unacceptable, but overall our evening was ruined by their attitude. It was our last night visiting New Orleans and I’ll be honest.. your bar ruined it.

My husband and I never write reviews because we understand the service industry (we work and own a business in the industry in Canada!!!), but wow.. I couldn’t help but write this email right away.

I want to be clear. The jazz and the musicians were world class. But your staff absolutely ruined it.

I’m unsure how this can be remedied… I don't think it can be as we are not locals. But your employees 100% took away from the incredible band you have. These gentleman have clearly worked their entire lives to perfect their craft and the staff squashed it. I’m so disappointed and I will absolutely telling my friends and family not to go to your business when they visit NOLA.

I strongly urge you to change the culture of your business. Your patrons are your entire...

We came here based on a recommendation by the restaurant manager, Samuel, of The Court of Two Sisters. The place was packed to the nines BUT, we met a lovely woman named Lexi, who was closing tickets and seating people, so I believe she may have been the hostess. She was super friendly and very accommodating and she made it a mission to ensure that we were able to find a seat, which I absolutely loved. I loved her bubbly and outgoing personality and hope that she is recognized for these traits, because she really set the mood for how we felt about the service here. The servers brought us our drinks in a timely manner which is commendable because as previously stated, this place was PACKED. The jazz band we watched for the evening was Gerald French which was honestly so lovely, and they played BEAUTIFULLY. The band was great and they have wonderful personalities. They were interactive and spoke to the audience between songs, and they have great humor. Their humor is a ten, by the way. If you have a chance to go to Mahogany’s though, it’s highly recommended. Just be ready to wait for an open seat. (It’s very worth it, though, don’t leave, just wait.) My love had a Lucid Absinthe, which was well made and strong. According to my SO, it is a little sweet, and it tasted kind of like licorice. I had a Bees Knees which is honey, lemon, and gin, and honestly I could live off of these now. I don’t know the name of the bartender who made it but they did a fantastic job. The people I met in here were super friendly, and we met people from all over the states and then a group from South Korea on a business trip, so just be prepared to meet people from all over if you plan on mingling and networking with the other...

You can be the judge, if I was wrong. I did go inside the bar with my outside drink. Please keep in mind, the bouncer let me inside. I had just purchased a drink from a bar on Bourbon Street. I was traveling alone, so I was pacing myself. I went in Mahogany Jazz Hall with the intentions of relaxing and enjoying some live music. The server, Carla, was uncomfortably aggressive with me. She insisted I throw my drink out, even though I insisted I was going to get another “after this one” ( the one from another bar). She told me, I needed to either finish it (3/4 Hurricane), or rid of it. So, I ordered a shot of rum so that I didn’t mix my alcohols (Hurricane has Rum in it). She still insisted I throw out my foreign mixed drink. I’m BIG on tipping, and I was going to give her a tip for bringing out my shot of rum, but her attitude was intense, so I decided against it. The band, the bar tender who poured me a free water, and the other server who poured me a free water all received a tip. Was I wrong for not tipping the initial server, Carla? Mind you she was very demanding and aggressive with me. I don’t want to play the race card, but I pay close attention, and she didn’t give that energy to anyone else, so yeah. The music was great, but there was one server who was slightly aggressive in her approach. I stayed, and enjoyed the great live band, but I didn’t deal with her...