The Library On Fern — Restaurant in Shreveport

Walking in, love the ambiance, decor, temperature, and overall layout. We went on a Wednesday night for reference. It was quiet. Overall, service was good, food was ok (oversalted but I think the locals prefer this), but they were out of everything we tried to order (ribeye, steak toppings, cheesecake to name a few) and they need to tend to some minor details to prevent annoying their guests. More details below.

The very wonderful waitress (no sarcasm, she was fabulous) sat us at a high top table in a corner. Perfect right? No. The table wobbled. I asked to be seated elsewhere. That table also wobbled and was right in front of the entrance (that's just a terrible location for a table so I'm not sure why it's even there). We finally just moved to a standard table and that table was fine. This was an omen of what was to come. This is an easy fix just need to level the tables so I'm surprised the issue existed, but I would rather leave than sit at a wobbly table for an hour.

The menu was, ok. Several options. We ordered a glass of wine, appetizer, our meals, and desert. She left and returned to inform us that they were out of my husband's steak. She returned again to tell me they didn't have the ingredients for my steak topping. Ok, annoying, but no big deal, changed our orders Ahi Tuna appetizer came. It was good, but had an excessive amount of coleslaw under it and mayo that wasn't listed. I recommend they put the mayo on the side since it isn't listed on the menu. Our steaks came. They were cooked to order and tender. Over seasoned for us, but again I think that's a local thing because every steakhouse in the area is like this 😔 so I'm not bashing this. It's a personal preference. Sides were delicious and well cooked. Desert. Well for one they were out of one of the deserts we tried to order and the creme brulee we did get was more like wet/cold pudding than creme. Not a fan, but fixable.

Price. We spent nearly $200 for two. If they actually had their full menu available and fixed some of the issues, this place could be worth the prices they are charging. The experience/meals we received were not worth the price tag we paid. I would be willing to try again as this place has potential and I hope they read these reviews and improve because I would love for this restaurant to survive. Shreveport needs more...

We went on Sunday brunch today. 3 minors 2 adults. Upside, the place looks great, the menu is simple and well balanced. 4 out of 5 dishes were satisfactory. When we were seated, we were shown to a table in the back…that was a pity as we were almost in Siberia, many servers go by but no one seems to be paying much attention. We had to flag a couple down to get some service. There was plenty of seating in the front but apparently a table for 5 is hard to come by. I read a review on the food and service I so wanted to try. I asked about the deviled eggs (as seen on the review) and the server made a face and said she does not eat them.I ordered them anyway and they were good (basic server training would cover this, everything is good, always). My wife asked about the type of coffee they used and the server didn’t know. I went to wash my hands, soap was almost out and the restroom needed some attention. I approached the first person I could to let them know. 1 hour later no one had gone by as it was in the same condition and the soap was out. We had mimosas, they were on point. We ordered basil soup (very good) , blackened ahi tuna salad(excellent), chicken and waffles(outstanding), biscuits and gravy (these were just ok) but the burger was a complete let down. It came dry and tasteless, no seasoning, I took a bite to confirm. This was for my son, he wouldn’t eat it, so I flagged someone down and the server came by to ask me what was wrong (with a bit of an attitude) I said he wouldn’t eat it and that it needed to be returned. She said it was her fault, she assumed because is it was for a child it needed to be well done. I told her it was really bad for a $15 burger and she took it back. My son ordered beignets instead and they came quickly and he ate them without complaint. My wife had the bread pudding and was very pleased with it. At the end with a $140 bill I realized I was billed for the burger. So instead of arguing I chose not to leave a tip. I never do this but I really needed to get across the message that we were not happy. With all that went on and with so many times we interrupted other servers to get service I was expecting to have a manager check in. Alas, it seems no one was around for this. It’s a shame. I had great expectations and although the food was mostly really good, it can never overcome...

On wait times/reservations: I went on a Thursday night and it was my first time going to this restaurant. I read several Google reviews before actually going and there seemed to be many reviews on a long wait so making a reservation would be best. So, I did that. I made the reservation on the day of, and I'm guessing because it was a Thursday, that's how they accommodated me so easily. I even changed my reservation time 5 minutes before the original reservation time, and they still accommodated me.

On service: I saw a couple bad reviews about being seated close to the kitchen. I was two tables away from the kitchen door and it didn't seem to bother me. There was only a couple other occupied tables in the area I was seated. The ambiance was great, the lighting was perfect. It's actually a more business-casual dining experience at night. I think their lunch menu is more cafe-like and very casual.

On food: THE FOOD WAS EXCELLENT! I wish I was exaggerating. I saw that they had scallops on the menu and I was really fixed on ordering that; however, the server informed me that they were out of scallops...thankfully... because that led me to order the duck. Mind you, I'm really picky about ordering duck in American restaurants. I just noticed duck isn't really a popular American dish, at least not in Shreveport. I was hesitant on ordering this, but the server SWORE that the chef makes the best duck, and that I won't want to eat chicken after trying their duck. She was right. The portion size was a decent amount for $35.

The menu is small, two pages long - I love restaurants like this because that USUALLY means their focus is on the quality of the few dishes they do serve. Their appetizers were great as well, I tried the truffle fries and tomato caprese.

Btw, they do 15% off...