Willa Jean — Restaurant in New Orleans

I am so serious when I say if I could rate Willa Jean 6 stars, I would. First off, it was crowded and busy at lunch time - the first sign that this place gets the attention it deserves. The building is clean, beautiful and well kept. We had a party of four and were sat almost immediately - it is clear they know how to successfully turn their tables. Now to the experience - for starters- Lauren, the GM is lovely and introduced herself immediately to take our drink orders. It was awesome to see a GM jumping in, helping the staff, and establishing a face-to-face relationship with clients. John, our server, was a friendly face off the bat! He gave amazing menu recommendations, always kept our glasses full, and our bellies happy. Service was quick, but the experience was not rushed. Now, we ordered the biscuits with butter and jam to start (Tim the baker, I know you're back there putting magic in those pastries and breads!). Not to be dramatic but I feel like a different person post-biscuits. They were flaky, warm, buttery, and fresh. They were hands down the best biscuits we've ever had. We also got the cornbread - it was light and delicious. With the little room left in our happy bellies, we dove right into our entrees. We got the WJ BLT's, fried chicken sandwich, and avocado toast. They bake all of their breads in house and it is such a game changer. The flavors were incredible and the presentation was beautiful. As if we didn't get enough already, on our way out we stopped by the front to get some cookies, lemonade and coffee to go. Dylan, the barista was the sweetest and most kind person ever - he knows how to make a damn good latte too! From the front of house to back of house staff, everyone at Willa Jean is lovely. The food is truly next level (we wish we stayed for drinks but couldn't!) and the experience couldn't have been better. We're from out of state but cannot wait to come back and Willa Jean will be on our list to come back...

One of my favorite’s breakfast spot in New Orleans! Every time I visit is a must come!

Unfortunately this time around their Espresso machine was broken BUMMER! Tried their Cold Brew which was nothing amazing but helped a bit to wake up. If upon visiting their espresso machine is broken make sure to get your coffee at their next door breakfast spot (District All Day Delicious)

We started off with Iced Cold Brew with Almond Milk as that was the only option they offered for coffee.

For food:

• Cornbread with Whipped Butter & Poirer’s Syrup (better to ask syrup on the side) The portion for the Cornbread is huge! But extremely delicious and scrumptious. A must order! • Biscuit + Jam + Butter - best biscuit you will eat in New Orleans. Every single bite is amazing to say the least! Biscuit size can be shared between 2. • Avocado Toast was simple but extremely feeling. Egg was perfectly poached! • Beet Cured Salmon Benedict was a total hit. Loved the idea of the Cured Salmon infused into the Beet. Also loved their Challah Bread & Hollandaise Sauce. Perfectly executed! • Hangover Bowl was a big portion with lots of protein. Big size! Definitely takes off that hangover! •WJ Breakfast was big and filling but the Cheesy Grits were a total hit! WOW best one I’ve tried so far in New Orleans! • Creme Brûlée French Toast was nothing out of this world and brioche bread was overly burnt! But upon mentioning server said it’s how Louisiana people eat it 🤔 • Coconut Pudding Cake is the reason I keep coming to this establishment! Love this cake!

If you’ve ever been to OEB Restaurant anywhere in Canada. Willa has a similar concept to their establishment and food items!

Highly Recommended!

Ps. We went twice and only dropped a star simply because Camila our server was terrible both times. The other gentleman that was serving the other side of the restaurant was much more attentive...

My friend and I came in at 10:30am, and we were notified that the wait would be about 45 minutes for a table. We got a delicious chai latte and walked around until we got a text saying our table was ready. I didn't realize that they switched over to the lunch menu at 11am, which ended up being fine, but it would have been helpful for the host at the front to give us a heads up since we initially came in during breakfast. Be aware if you sit next to one of the south facing windows, you will need to wear your sunglasses because the sun is glaring right at you and there aren't any blinds / shades for cover. We started off by splitting an order of the avocado toast as an appetizer, which took about 30 minutes to come out. We ordered our main meals before the avocado toast even came to the table, and our mail meals still ended up taking 1 hour to come out. The avocado toast was really tasty. They even split it in half for us. For the main meal, my friend got the meatloaf sandwich, and I got the crawfish roll. I tried a bite of her meatloaf and it was really good and the portion was huge. My crawfish roll was delicious, but it was pretty runny and I bit into shells twice. I would order it again though and just know what to expect. It seemed like maybe they were short staffed because we had to flag down our server to order our main meals, to get more silverware after they cleared them from the appetizer, and to get a to-go box. Overall, the food was fantastic, but the service was very slow. We were there for an hour and 45 minutes total once we sat down. Our server did give us some cookies to apologize for the wait on the food. If you have the time, I'd recommend going for the food. If you're in a rush or only have a set amount of time for a lunch...