Public Service — Restaurant in New Orleans

We stayed in the NOPSY hotel (fantastic experience) and decided to try the Public Service restaurant on site. We arrived at 5:00 (had a reservation) and the lights were off and there were no staff except the bartender. After about 15 minutes, the bartender came out and showed us to a table...then they turned on the overhead lights. The bartender explained that it was just him and apologized profusely because he was trying to bartend and be a server, all at once. They had apparently launched a new menu the day before and he was not sure what they could make, and what they couldn't....I ordered a drink advertised on the menu and he wasn't sure if they could make it or not? He would check.... After about 30 minutes, our appetizers arrived. Spinach and artichoke dip was cold in the middle and served with a few pieces of toasted baguette instead of the tortilla chips listed on the menu. We had a few other appetizers including sea food cornbread, which was undercooked. After an eternity, our entrees arrived. The most palatable was the Seafood Pasta, which was hot and very good! My shrimp PO'boy sandwich was a roll with about 6 mini shrimp on it, 1 piece of lettuce and 2 tiny pieces of tomato (see photo). My fries were good. My husband absolutely hated his red fish (catch of the day) and his smashed potatoe side was cold. At the end of the meal, I asked (again) about my drink...I requested a margarita instead of the elusive pink drink that was apparently never going to appear. I received a "margarita" in a martini glass (see photo) with our check! It was $180....for an absolutely horrible experience! We never spend this much on a meal, but we splurged because we wanted our son to have this special experience. I absolutely do not blame the server. He was obviously NOT a trained server and was trying his best to fill in when no one else was there... We saw a few other employees walking past us but no one attempted to help him, even though he was obviously in distress. It was such a stark contrast to our experience in the NOPSY hotel, which was...

What a disaster. This restaurant looked like a great option for dinner during a recent trip to New Orleans. Looked pleasing with upscale interior and furnishings, variety of menu items, good cocktail selection, and within walking distance to our accommodations. Took awhile once seated for our waiter to come. Reviewed the cocktail menu and ordered drinks. I was told the feature cocktail I ordered couldn’t be made since they were missing ingredients. Disappointing. Only found this out after placing the order and the other person dining with me was brought their drink. As their drink became watered down waiting for me to reorder I didn’t find anything else that struck my fancy (a lot of gin based drinks and Im not a fan of gin) and asked if a the “Pink Drink” could be made but with vodka rather than gin and was told it could. Waited awhile for my new cocktail to arrive and when it did it was yellow (not pink as the name implies) and had gin not vodka. Had to wait again for the waiter to return and questioned what exactly I was drinking. He wasnt sure. Took that cocktail away. I ordered a glass of wine. (By this time I could have used the while bottle?). In to ordering…since it was later in the evening we both decided on the club croissant. Ordered those only to be told they are out of croissants! You’ve got to be kidding me. When asked what type of bread they did have we were told regular white or wheat. Pass. We looked at the menu again trying to find something else and debating if we should just finish our drinks and leave it and be done with it. Waiter came back and we asked if it would be possible to have the club on po boy bread abd was told yes. Finally! Ordered 2 more glasses of wine. Waiter brought me a wine and the other person a cocktail. I just dont get it. The sandwiches were very good on po boys but what an ordeal. Service was slow, items and ingredients weren’t available, and...

I just ate here two nights ago. The experience started off great. The fried oyster and spinach crab dip appetizers are EXCEPTIONAL. Each was the best I'd ever had.

Unfortunately then my service began to deteriorate after my server basically forgot I was there. I told him to come back in "2-3 minutes" to take my entree order. He didn't return for 15-20 minutes, well after I'd finished my starters, then it took another 20 minutes for my entree to come out.

Mind you, I was one of maybe 2 or 3 tables total. It was pretty dead that night. I could see my server and the other employees laughing and goofing off with the kitchen staff at the end of the room, which would be fine if I hadn't been made to sit there waiting to put in my order.

A 90 minute dining experience that should've been 45-50 minutes is frustrating. My server was nice otherwise.

So then the main course arrived. I'd ordered the short rib at his recommendation.

It was awful. The BBQ sauce and overall flavors were great, but there was a huge layer of thick fat that really ruined the dish for me. It was so much fat it made me nauseous. JFC that was NOT APPETIZING. I couldn't believe they would serve it with half of the thing just being all fat! It was so gross. There was also a side of pickled root vegetables which was so so, except for the weird crunchy starchy flat pieces that were mixed in. I get that they were going for texture, but they completely threw off the dish with those huge pieces of whatever that was.

I was upfront with the server and expressed my disappointment and frustration as nicely as I could. He was apologetic and offered me 10% off, which was basically only enough to cover the side of mashed potatoes I'd ordered. Not really my idea of a fair gesture considering all the mishaps, but it was something.

I'm giving it 3 stars because the appetizers were SO GOOD. But for the price ($$$), I felt gypped and would...