Petite Brasserie — Restaurant in New Orleans

Went to Emeril’s Brasserie last week with our party of six. It was the fourth Emeril’s restaurant I’ve dined at, and it was also the most disappointing. In the past, I’ve had good experiences at Delmonico Steakhouse in Las Vegas and Emeril’s in downtown New Orleans. And, my favorite Emeril’s restaurant experience continues to be NOLA. So, during our recent visit to New Orleans, I was excited to take my family to his latest restaurant, Emeril’s Brasserie in the Harrah’s Casino.

Here’s what we had: Appetizers: Baked Brie, Tarte Flambe, Steak Tartare Entrees: Kicked-up Onion Soup & Butter Lettuce Salad, Steak Frites, Herb-Roasted Salmon, Lobster Pot Pie, Chicken Breast, Beer-steamed Mussels I was first surprised that the menu didn’t lean into French cuisine as much as I had expected. Baked Brie, Steak Tartare, Onion Soup, and Steak Frites do not a French menu make. The menu was uninspired in my experience with French and higher-end dining.

To be fair, the Baked Brie and Tarte Flambe appetizers were a hit with our crowd. Everyone enjoyed both. However, the Steak Tartare was bland and rather chunky compared to the same dish I’ve had elsewhere.

Both the Onion Soup and Steak Frites were overly salty. The Steak Frites to the point of verging on inedible. The feedback on the Lobster Pot Pie and the Beer Steamed Mussels was that they were “ok” but nothing special compared to other places. The Herb-Roasted Salmon was raw in the middle when it was specifically requested to be done throughout. The feedback on the stuffed Chicken Breast was positive.

The restaurant was not busy when we arrived for 7 pm Thursday night reservation. It filled up a bit but was not overwhelming by any stretch. That made the long waits for wait staff confusing and frustrating. Cocktails came in waves. Several would show up, then a long delay, then a couple more, then another delay, then the last of the order. At least one cocktail order was wrong. They also erroneously doubled the Beer Steamed Mussels order, which caused confusion for the wait staff as they tried to put two large bowls down in front of one person. We explained that it must have been an order entry mistake, but still found a charge for the second mistaken order on our bill at the end of the night.

An additional small nit to pick. At the end of the night, we also found two charges for bread that were brought to the table without being ordered. It’s a small thing, but not something I expected at an Emeril’s restaurant.

I understand that the restaurant had been open for about 6 weeks at the time of our visit. So, it is newer. However, Emeril and his management team are not new to the restaurant game. Six weeks should be plenty to have ironed out the issues we ran into. On top of that, I’ve had better French cuisine at smaller, independent bistros than was on offer at Emeril’s Brasserie. I’ve also had much better service, meals, and overall experiences at other Emeril’s restaurants.

Bottom Line: We won’t be back to Emeril’s Brasserie the next time we are in New Orleans. And, for that matter, we’ll probably avoid other Emeril-badged restaurants...

The food was excellent, well prepared, and all the flavors you would expect from Emeril Lagasse! I ordered Smoked turkey and Andouille Gumbo from the "Brunch" menu (this means a la carte, not brunch in the traditional sense!). It was Sunday between noon and one, and the restaurant was EMPTY save two single tables which were seated AFTER us. No new tables were seated while we were there. A solid 30 minutes later, we got our drink. We were then able to let the wait staff know that we wish to order. We ordered before the other two tables. About 15 minutes later, the other two tables received their orders. It was a full 30 minutes after that that we finally got our order. Thankfully, the food was not cold, nor did it appear to have sat for a lengthy time under a heat lamp. No one came by to enquire whether we needed more soft drinks. We had to call staff over and ask each time. Other than those faux pas, our waitress was very friendly and polite. Now, for the most egregious part, the dining room was as cold and sterile looking as any hospital operating room, yet with all the ambiance of a Buccees bathroom sans the art canvases. Obnoxious pop and rap music blared over the empty cold white tile room like they were trying to torture a confession out of the patrons of an asylum for the criminally insane! It was too terrible to be described! Perhaps the many staff members (approximately 5 per table) were confused with all the racket?? The entrance to the restaurant is directly off of Poydras Street and is open directly to the casino divided only by an open cocktail bar, which serves both the restaurant and the casino, manned by a single bartender! We have had many wonderful memories of meals expertly prepared and graciously served at Emeril's Delmonico on St. Charles. Our hearts are truly broken at the closing of that historic iconic restaurant. It was a landmark for New Orleans. If we order ever again, it will be for pick up or perhaps door...

Let me start by saying that the good reviews here are actually people posting for a different restaurant with a similar name. I tried to bite into the chicken biscuit, but it was impossible. It wasn’t so much like a rock, but more like biting into a thick leather belt with less flavor. I couldn’t even cut it with a knife. I have never in my life had a worse biscuit than the chicken biscuit. Emeril is going to be upset when he finds out this place is using his name. CHECK YOUR RECEIPT Look at the picture of the menu board, and the picture of my receipt, and notice that the prices are different (everything is an extra dollar). I asked the lady working (she was actually pretty nice, but also working alone and brand new) if that’s a mistake, and she said, “the prices are what they are, and nothing can be done”. So not only was inedible, but I got...