atchafalaya restaurant

charming with good food. we stopped here for brunch on our last visit to nola. we had a fantastic experience & loved the atmosphere

the best date ever. a girlfriend of mine and i decided that we needed a girl's night out, away from the excessive testosterone in our lives, and decided on atchafalaya for our excursion. we went with the sole intention of ordering a round or two of cocktails and some appetizers, but once we saw the menu, that plan flew out the window. after staring in awe at the countless delicious options for a few minutes, our attentive waiter returned to our table to see if we were ready to order our drinks. we ordered a bottle of champagne for a decent price, that turned out to be a good compliment to our dinner. i ordered the quail wrapped in bacon and she ordered the flounder stuffed with crawfish. both had intense and complex flavors, that sent our mouths into orgasm. for after our entrees we ordered a bread pudding that we shared, covered in a white chocolate sauce. we couldn't imagine a better evening or a better dining experience. when we received the check, we didn't wince once. not once. everything had been so incredible that although we had both done the mental math before, we were expecting it to be much higher than it actually was. our meals were so incredible, that we enjoyed signing our checks and even wanted to write a special note, assigning a portion of the tip specifically to the chef.

breakfast done right. on sunday mornings a band plays. drinks are small and a little pricey but nice to know there is a place where brandy milk punch could be enjoyed while a fiddle is crying and the eggs jiggle in perfection.

amazing.... i took my best friend here for brunch and it was wonderful! the atmosphere was perfect, we were seated at a single table on a porch overlooking the ave. the live band was awesome, staff and owner tony super friendly and professional. and the food, excellent ! we has the crab omelet, banana's foster french toast and eggs florenteine, everything was great! oh and did i mention the cocktails! this was an amazing experiance, we will definately be back...

first visit in a while. very nice update to the space and the menu. enjoyed everything, especially the stuffed quail.

restaurant review, not food.. never got to eat here. walked in off the street with my friend because it looked like a cozy little spot to grab some gumbo wearing our street clothes. boy were we wrong.
first of all it was button-up dress shirts and dresses at lunch in the middle of the summer. they had this smug little bearded gentleman playing some lame ass soothing jazz guitar and the whole scene just reeked of pretentiousness. we decided to look at the over-priced menu and then walked out accompanied by the whole restaurant slow clapping us out of there.
i assure you this is no joke. the jazz guy even stopped playing and joined in.
plus they pronounce atchafalaya wrong.

awesome dining experience. after doing my research of various websites to determine where to dine for that "non-quarter" expertly prepared dinner, i decided on café atchafalaya. i'm glad i did!!!
this is a small restaurant that has about 12 tables (seating 2-4) in the main dining room. there are a few more tables tucked away in some of the small rooms/alcoves on the 2nd floor, but no diners there the sunday night we dined.
this is a "local" kind of place. i believe most (all) other diners were local. perhaps because it was sunday night, the diners were very casually dressed; some men wore tennis shoes and jeans. of course the women looked better dressed, as men are usually slobs (me excluded).
anyway, the reason for coming here is for the authentic "creole" cuisine. there are so many upscale priced restaurants; i try to find an undiscovered and better value dining experience, which this turned out to be.

my wife and i selected a bottle of 2006 cabernet (upper priced from their short list @ $48) to start the evening, and while it breathed and we sipped, we perused the menu. the medium sized menu and many of the specials of the day were intriguing, and yet i had to make a decision. we decided to share an appetizer of sweet & spicy sautéed shrimp ($10). delicious sauce and slight crisp made for a nice texture. next was a pear & blue salad that we also shared ($10). the baby greens were drizzled with a blue cheese dressing and caramelized pecans-great salad to share!! next we decided on our own entrees. i chose a special of the day which was fettuccine with shrimp, boudin (a spicy cajun sausage containing little rice and pork), chicken and duck in a brown creole sauce. fantastic @ $20. my wife opted for the grilled redfish topped with crab over a bed of rice and sautéed spinach ($24), which she devoured the entire large portion. the kitchen was very accommodating to the special dietary requests we had in altering some of the ingredients. we were tempted by two desserts @ $7 ea., which were as the rest of the meal, excellent!!

the service we received from dave was nothing short of outstanding!! attentive and considerate without being obtrusive. all in all a most satisfying evening, and one to return to!!

by far the best meal i had in new orleans! dined from the brunch menu with everyone in our group extremely pleased. highly recommend if in the garden district.

excellent. as i finish the bread pudding, i reflect on what a great meal this has been. the owner, tony, helped me park my car - then patiently guided me through the menu. fried green tomatoes with lump crab was the star of the meal and is truly a must have. excellent gumbo, grit and shrimp was uniquely good, and the bread pudding is well above average. i'm from texas, but next time i'm in new orleans, this place is top of my list to eat at!

try sunday brunch!. neighborhood cafe. open sunday brunch, but can get crowded. sun brunch menu is very original and tasty, though portions were not huge. try grillades and grits; or rabbit, or country fried steak, or crawfish beignets. best fired eggs i have ever had. eggs atchafalaya good if runny and a little cold. potatoes lyonnaise great. strong mimosas. great live music. took 90 minutes to get food once, 5/08. closed mon.
3/09