Meril — Restaurant in New Orleans

The Good:

Quality and taste of the food Service from our server Aesthetic of the restaurant

The Bad:

Being from Miami, FL, there was excitement about the Florida Panthers making the Conference Finals. We arrived at Meril around 7 pm, knowing it belonged to Emeril Lagasse's daughter, so we were looking forward to a great meal and time watching our team take on the Rangers. We noticed there were two TVs at the bar, one showing the Panthers game, the other showing the Mavericks and Timberwolves basketball game. I had asked the hostess upon being seated about swapping the games on the televisions, given that we were seated at the table closest to the door on the left side of the restaurant where a pillar inside the bar was blocking the view to the rightmost television that had the Panthers game on. The hostess immediately let the General Manager, Marcus, know of my request. 5 minutes later, he tried changing the games, but somehow both televisions were now showing the basketball game. Our server, who was great at his job, took our order and I also asked him 15 minutes into the seating if he could please remind the GM of my request, and I saw him do so. Still, nothing changed on the TVs and Marcus was nowhere to be seen. A few minutes later, I spot Marcus providing great customer service to a couple at the bar and I approached him, asking if he could please put the hockey game on the leftmost television. He didn't say anything to me, but put the game on the right television again, and then promptly changed it back to the basketball game without any notice or explanation to me. I did notice that the couple was staring at me, so understandably, they wanted to watch their basketball game.

I continued asking our server if Marcus could please come to our table so I can ask why there was an issue with simply splitting the TVs and having the hockey game on the left TV. 30 minutes go by, 15 of which I see Marcus on the opposite end of the restaurant attending a table of about 10 guests. Clearly he is an attentive GM, but frustration began to brew as we're now approaching 45 minutes and still no response to my initial request of changing the game. Marcus finally arrives close to an hour of our visit and informs me that other guests had arrived first and were requesting the basketball game. This is understandable, first come, first served, however, I was frustrated and let him know that it wasn't fair to wait an hour to get that answer from him when this simple explanation upon the first request would've been fine. We ended up closing our tab after two drinks and appetizers.

While this may seem like a trivial issue, for a fan of the sport and for a couple looking for an entertaining and respectable dining experience from the staff on vacation, this was a very disappointing experience. Marcus simply offered his apologies and we were on our way.

This is a reminder that even with such a prestigious name on a restaurant, certain people can really undermine meeting a client's expectations and fulfilling what was supposed to be a pleasant dining experience. I asked Marcus to put himself in my situation of how frustrating it can be that not one, but two other parties took priority over us, and that seems unfair and unprofessional. I hope this review can help others manage their expectations when dining at this location.

The Ugly:

Upset wife and the Panthers scoring a goal without us being...

We made a reservation a week ahead. It was raining so we were a little bit behind schedule by five minutes. They didn’t hassle us for the delay. We were sat the moment we walked in. Our server was exceptional. The menu and specials were explained.

For appetizers, My choice was the pineapple upside down cornbread. Mike ordered the pocket bread for his appetizer. As most of you know my sweetheart is allergic to corn. I have to say I was glad not to have to share my appetizer. The upside down cornbread is FANTASTIC!! It had a hint of Jalapeño and the sweet glaze. Ohhh! You will love it.

For dinner, I chose the BBQ Shrimp, and Mike chose their Pan Seared Copper River Salmon. Both of these dishes were prepared perfectly. I truly believe that there are no bad dishes here at Meril.

However, after tasting both of the dishes it is my opinion that the prawns was the better choice! I make good choices. My husband might balk a little for me to say that MY dish was better. The dish did come with some country biscuits so I feel like the southern appeal was definitely shown throughout the dish.

Let’s talk about this shrimp! This shrimp was out of this world good!!! It was smoky, sultry, seducing me with every bite. I wanted more before I was even finished with the dish. 🐷 If you are still thinking about those southern buttermilk biscuits I will tell you that I used them to sop up that sauce!

For dessert we chose the key lime tartlet. Now, I am not usually a fan of anything with a meringue top because soooo many do meringue wrong. It is not their fault! Many restaurants must keep their desserts prepared ahead and frozen. While I believe the key lime and graham cracker crust were chilled well, and possibly frozen, this restaurant made sure that it was the correct set temperature and put a fresh torched meringue on top. It was not a miss! The whole dessert was gonbled up quickly. It was such a good ending to a fantastic meal!

By the way, they surprised us with the cotton candy and fireworks at the end of the meal. It was a gratis thing. I tried to take the cotton candy back to the hotel for my Paris but it didn’t make it well. I promised my little food allergy baby we would take her next time, and I bought her some more cotton candy. (Of course) I would have to say this restaurant is up there with the incredible restaurants I have dined at. Five stars! Btw this was on my bucket list to visit an Emeril Lagasse restaurant and all I can say is “Bam!”

Thank you for reading. Yes they sat us under the pig picture. Isn’t that...

Well, I had to try it! After all who doesn’t have some memory of Emeril from the Food Channel. A legacy of nostalgia and quirks and comedy! I definitely was disappointed in the meal and the service (which is not often the case). We usually get so lucky and get great service; even in the face of poor cuisine. The thing is, it’s not difficult to make good food! If you pay your employees well, if you work hard to manage and set an example, boom; good food…

Service-So we booked a 7:45 pm seat for 4, and to our surprise they closed at 8, only fifteen minutes later. We sort of wondered why they allowed reservations so close to close. Our server made us very much aware of that fact and a closing kitchen, despite there being a good deal of tables remaining without food. We’ve often found many quality food stops to allow late reservations and they seat an entire floor of new patrons before close and then serve the house and allow no further seats. We had to order appetizers and wine and everything at once and quickly, and we were definitely rushed, server, busser, those clearing tables etc. It was our final evening in New Orleans and it was Mardi Gras; so there was no place else remotely available with an extra table, the city was packed!

Food-I'm not sure the food was worthy of the New Orleans Southern name and culture. Food came fast and often 2 dimensional. For example the brussel sprouts were soggy and unsalted and absolutely flavorless. The French fries or the hand cut fries were also soggy and over saturated in oil. The deviled gags were tart and plain and thin batter if you will, needing texture and dimension; a word I use a lot! The pineapple upside down cornbread was ordered twice between our two parties and one was barren of its sauce and dressings and the other ample. Elite corn was good, because it was rich and savory. The cornbread itself was okay. The Korean wings were a good texture albeit drowned in sauce. It was just dressed up casual food that isn’t reflective in quality for the price and rushed and under managed. I am not hard to impress! Just simple and good food, it can be achieved! I often find the culprit of poor dining experience is as usual the sharp blade or perhaps dull, of quantity over quality.

I’ve eaten and multiple of Gordon Ramsays restaurants, to give nod to another celebrity chef experience, even with his rigorous standards on service the food was only “not bad”, but plenty to celebrate. At this restaurant I’d find it hard to believe it can...