Ruby Slipper — Restaurant in New Orleans

Prior to my trip to the French Quarter, I had researched that the Ruby Slipper Cafe was a go-to spot for your standard breakfast fare. I quickly discovered that it was actually a chain restaurant and offered several locations within the French Quarter, including one that was walking distance from our hotel!

We arrived to the location early enough to beat the brunch rush, which was intentional as I read many reviews about how long the wait can be and knew that they do not accept reservations. In our favor, we arrived early enough that we were sat immediately! Having the understanding that the Ruby Slipper Cafe is a chain, you do get the "chain restaurant" feeling as you walk through the restaurant (gives off the feeling off a nicer version of an IHOP). With that being said, the decor was very New Orleans inspired, retro, and bright/inviting. Additionally, our waitress was incredibly hospitable and kind, which made the overall experience enjoyable!

We started off our meal by ordering some beverages from the drink menu, which is offered a wide variety! I decided on the Lavender Paloma and my husband ordered an Iced Irish Coffee. When I ordered the Lavender Paloma, they did mention that the syrup was just mixed and might be a bit tart - that was QUITE an understatement. It was very thick and incredibly sour. After I mixed the drink a bit more to dissipate the strong concentration gathering at the bottom of the drink, the flavor started to improve significantly! My husband mentioned the Iced Irish Coffee was great, and having the iced option was refreshing.

Now, after a long extended weekend in New Orleans, I made the shocking realization that I had not yet had a serving of Shrimp & Grits! I knew I had to order it, but had reservations about ordering it since it was cooked with Pork Tasso in it and I do not eat pork. They were kind enough to offer to pull the larger pieces out of the mixture for me which was incredibly sweet of them, as I could have done that myself. I was so pleased by the level of customer service they showed with this. As far as the dish goes, I was very glad I ordered the Shrimp & Grits! It was so flavorful and rich. Additionally, the buttermilk biscuit was wonderful; perfectly buttery and fluffy. From what I could tell, my husband enjoyed his Chicken St. Charles benedict, and it really was a sight to behold! Quite possibly one of the largest versions of eggs benedict I have ever seen!

Although the Ruby Slipper Cafe is a chain that spans across the south, they offered great customer service and the feeling of southern hospitality. The meal was enjoyable and we would definitely return to any of their locations to enjoy another...

Sat down and no one greeted us for 5 minutes. Our server Ashira greeted us like we were a burden to her day and asked what we wanted. We ordered the peaches and cream beignets, biscuits and gravy, and banana foster.

The peaches and cream beignets looked nothing like the picture and were instead served as beignets bites in a sludge of sauce. The runner as he was dropping it off was holding it with his hands grasping inside the dish.

The biscuits and gravy themselves were good, however the eggs were ice cold and looked like they were scooped straight out of a bucket.

The banana fosters looked disgusting, the bananas weren’t fresh and the french toast looked like it had been getting soggy in the kitchen for a while before it was served.

A manager came by and asked how everything was, we told him the banana fosters looked gross and we didn’t want to eat it. He argued with us about the bananas being fresh and when I insisted we wouldn’t eat it he begrudgingly took it back and hid in the corner of the restaurant gossiping with the staff while avoiding us for the remainder of our time there.

Side note - While the entire staff was avoiding us, the bus boy finally came to clear the dishes and a knife flew off from the plate and hit my girlfriend. PSA: pretend to love the gross food or else they will try to stab you!

The server came about 10 minutes after our food was cleared to finally greet us again to close us out. She told us the banana fosters was removed from the check and insisted something about how all restaurants in New Orleans cook their bananas and the bananas would be old and gross no matter where we went. She continued to breath down my neck as she handed me the reader to make sure I tipped her 20% for taking our order and avoiding us the rest of the time while runners put their hands in our food.

It’s mind boggling to me how this seemingly cute restaurant has so many great reviews. Would recommend a restaurant, that at a minimum,...

Service with a smile will NOT be available at this establishment!

I really do not understand the good reviews that this place has.

Firstly, we arrived at the restaurant at 11:08am, I know because we needed to leave by 1pm, which I thought was a hugely ample amount of time for some brunch.

We were told the wait was 20 minutes which wasn’t an issue and so we stood outside with the other people waiting. At 11:38am we started to worry that we hadn’t heard them calling us, or the text they said they would send hadn’t worked. So we popped back in and checked on the status, we were told in a rude tone that we had already been called. I discovered why we hadn’t heard once we were sat inside, the hostess was calling people from inside with the door slightly ajar, when the restaurant itself was extremely loud and Canal Street is a loud, Main Street. How is anyone supposed to hear this? We also never got the text….

Either way, we sat down but was already put off based on the attitude.

We ordered our food as soon as possible. One hour later, our food arrived… Furthermore, the table next to us also told us that they had waited an hour for their food.

The food itself is fine, nothing to shout about, pretty average diner level food. I think the people are perhaps raving about it because they are ravenous by the time it arrives and so anything would taste good.

The atmosphere was okay, just extremely loud to be honest! Maybe okay if you’re having a crazy boozy brunch with your pals, but it’s not for everybody!

As the food had come so late, we were then in a rush to eat, pay and get out!

Overall, would not recommend, a shame after visiting based on the...