bourbon house

worst dining expierence ever!!!!!. while visiting the french quarter for the first time, my friends and i wanted to relax and have a nice meal at a nicer restaurant. looking over the menu, we thought bourbonhousewould be an excellent choice. wrong.

let me preface by saying i am a restaurant manager, and the entire group of us (7 total) are in the food and beverage industry, so we are generally very forgiving and understanding of other restaurants.

after waiting over an hour for a table (which we were completely fine with), the beverage server, brittany, comes directly to the table and gets our drink order and promptly returns with the drinks. (yay brittany!!) she informed us that our server would be right along to get our dinner order. we sat at the table for literally 20 mins watching who we presumed was our server go to all of his other tables but not even acknowledge us. finally, keving (yep, it was him all along) came and said "have any questions?" one of our party asked what the soup of the day was. he ignored her and asked the one male at the table if he knew what he wanted. i then loudly asked him once more what the soup was, assuming he just didn't hear the first time. he rolled his eyes and then told me what it was, but not the rest of the nightly specials.

he then started taking our orders (again, starting with the one guy first). we waited a good while for our salads and calamari. then, waited even longer for our entrees. while kevin was no where to be seen, other servers/food runners were trying to pass out our orders, but they were not correct. after everyone was served, we tasted our food. it was okay at best. i looked around the table, already frusterated by the lack of service and wait for our food, and noticed that not only had our server, nor anyone else, been back to the table to check to see if we needed anything, everyone was out of water and drinks.

i then proceeded to leave my meal and group to find a manager. armond (i believe) was receiving another complaint at the time from a different table. once his attention was free, i explained to him our situation. i assured him that we wanted absoultely nothing in return, i just wanted to make him aware of what was going on in his restaurant. he seemed rather frazzled (it appeared he had already had a pretty rough night). upon returning to my meal, the manager came up to our table and told us he was sending out dessert on the house. it was appreciated, but certainly not necessary.

after going to the manager, brittany came and refilled our waters and drinks (yay brittany!!). kevin seemed not to care one bit. by this point, we were all fed up with the dinner and wanted to leave as soon as possible.

we asked for separate checks. after taking 15 mins to separate the checks, they were wrong. one of our cards got charged twice, incorrectly. it took a total of 30 mins just to get our checks and pay.

this was by far the absoulte worst dining experience myself or anyone in my group has ever had!! i personally would have rather gone through a drive through, because the at least smile and tell you to have a nice day!

i get that new orleans doesn't see that much repeat business, so customer service standards might not be what they are in places that do focus on repeat business, but the expierence we had was just unacceptable.

bourbonhousewas an excellent spot to escape the afternoon heat and have a lunch. we shared half a dozen natural oysters which came with horseradish and seafood sauce. oysters were big and juicy and i loved adding in the horseradish. we also shared the fried chicken sandwich which came in a “scone” biscuit with pickle and hand cut fries. very nice on the inside and while we ate a busking jazz band set up outside so we could enjoy the bourbon street experience in air conditioned comfort.

i always eat @ bourbonhouseonce (lunch or dinner) when visiting nola & i always have the seafood gumbo! but this visit the gumbo was almost just room temperature! how did that happen? cold gumbo seems impossible to comprehend! the redfish on the half shell was terrific! the service is always wonderful!

classy old school atmosphere with an insane list of bourbon offerings. lives up to its name with a list that literally covers the entire wall at the end of the bar. we came in to sit at the bar and have some oysters to sit down for a moment and get out of the heat. the bartenders were fantastic! very friendly and knowledgeable about both the oysters and the booze offerings. exceptionally clean restrooms even with a packedhouseon a busy weekend. don't leave without trying the bourbon milk punch. it's probably the best i've ever had... and if you can cool off with bourbon, then why wouldn't you?

the only reason this places get a 4.5 and not a 5 is because the speckled trout was a shy overcooked and the rice that was substituted for the grits was overcooked. however, i had such a beautiful experience at the bourbonhousethat i would not erase the memory of this place from my brain.  the service was amazing! the waiter was very knowledgeable regarding the food, wine, as well as bourbon menus. we ordered the speckled trout, cheese grits, black bean puree, and some kind of baby spinach. we also ordered a half an order of charbroiled oysters, and two flights of bourbon. one  flight of bourbon was small batch the other was single barrel. i got the small batch they were fruity, light, and semi-strong. the single barrel was smoother but it was stronger than the small batch. oh the trout, it was delicious you could tell the chef sauteed it and put it in the oven to crisp. it was lightly battered in flour only, so there was a thin crust on top of the trout. the rice was over cooked but it paired well with the manchego cheese and the black bean puree. i honestly felt like the black bean puree was the best thing that i'd eaten that night. i never had oysters, but i am so very glad that i decided to go with charbroiled which were cooked oysters. they were great but on one that i ate i got a small piece of shell in my mouth, which kind of ruined it for me. i didnt like the lemon juice on  the oyster. the bourbon paired very well with the oysters as well as the fish. i would recommend this place to anyone who is a lover of excellent cuisine that is cooked using a knowledgeable chef with great culinary technique. its pricey though!

absolutely amazing shrimp and grits!!! this was possibly the best breakfast/meal i've had in new orleans. go early in the morning (they open at 6a.m.) and get the full attentive experience. i ordered the shrimp and grits and the honey drink. the shrimp where sweet, grits where creamy and cheesy, and the sauce made me want to order another order to go!!! 

i want to go back for lunch and dinner, which is highly likely because i would stay at the crowne plaza again and bourbonhouseis right on the corner of bourbon and canal.

the only reasons i'm rating it a 4 (and not a 5) is 1) walked in, heard the front ofhouseoffer to move tables around to accommodate a party of 8 to seat "right now" then told us we had to sit at the bar or wait 20-25 minutes for a table (for 2) then snaking through the restaurant to the bar noticing multiple open tables (and there was no line out front and no one else waiting) and 2) my husband's green beans were undercooked (keep in mind we are from the south and like our veggies well done). that being said the wait staff and bartenders were fabulous. bbq shrimp is some of the best i've ever had. also tried paneed veal with crab and the crab crusted drum, so good. bourbonhousehas made it to the list of places to eat.

firstly, i didn't really get the match of fine bourbon w/ gulf fish & shellfish, but b/c of the splendor of the large dining room clearly evident through the picture windows running the length of the establishment on the sw corner of bourbon & iberville, i elected bourbonhousefor my last creole meal of my long wknd summer excursion. after a $12 shot of some well-heeled ky mash & water, followed by a wedge salad & blackened redfish, i get the theme even less. (by the way i didn't incorrectly assume bh was a liquor-themed place b/c of confusion over the address; there was double entendre as  their large collection of fine bourbon was displayed together at the end of the bar & featured in a list on the menu's back page. the menu items themselves were all good enough to call satisfactory, but the meal as a whole lacked authenticity for some reason. the corn salsa was a nice complement over the fish, but the potato cake underneath (like a fat latke) too closely replicated the consistency of the fish & failed to absorb much of the light sauce. mainly though, the redfish was overdone, which took away much of its flavor. the service was observant & fairly well paced, but on a couple of instances when i required an odd or end, the members of the team were clearly distracted by the late hour & their side work. prices are super premium. unfortunately my apprehensions about the odd focus on premium bourbon were well- founded, as bh was certainly more style than substance. may be better to spend an hour at the oyster bar mixing fresh ones on the half shell w/ a few cold libations. but vodka, champagne, or beer this time please.

service was very good. food was solid but not spectacular. we went to bourbonhouseafter it being recommended to us when we asked at our hotel if there was a place to get great chargrilled oysters without having to walk all the way to drago's. we started with a dozen and i was underwhelmed. oysters seemed over done and small and lacking of the butter and goodness that they grill them in. we also had a crab cake that was excellent and a special of crab lasagna that was also very very good. beer selection was great. i guess i just had my heart set on great chargrilled oysters and i didn't feel like i got that there. if i had went and skipped the chargrilled i probably would have said 5 stars.

the bourbonhousewas a last minute dinner, and overall, it was tasty. my husband swooned over the scallop entree, and the bourbon milk punch was amazing. 

they do offer gluten-free selections, but the kitchen put regular bread directly on top of my meal, which was frustrating as i have celiac disease--no can do. they immediately corrected it, but overall, i found the response careless. 

that being said, the food *was* good and the service was excellent.

in hawaii, i’m always looking for the perfect lava slide.  in new orleans, the restaurants pride themselves on their bread pudding, preferably with bourbon sauce.  i intend to try every bread pudding i can get my hands on to find the perfect one, then steal the recipe. last night mike and i had dinner at the bourbon house, a white tablecloth joint 3 blocks from the marriott that seemed like it would be a great spot for my research. we started with the crab and corn chowder, which was decent but not great.  the crab here is “fishier” than the dungeness we are accustomed to on the west coast, the chowder was fairly thin and it was all around just acceptable. here in new orleans restaurants tend to put a small loaf of bread in its wrapper on the table, which they think is french bread but they clearly haven’t been to france. i had the “fish on the half-shell”, ahousespecialty.  of course i had to inquire about the name, and it turns out that they grill the red fish with the skin on, which dries up and shrinks into a shell-like shape.  add a ton of creole seasoning, and you have a pretty good dish. red fish on the half shell. the entrée wasn’t the point, though, so let’s get right to dessert. chocolate chip bread pudding with burbon caramel sauce and banana   close, no cigar.  the bourbon sauce was fantastic, the pudding was somewhat overcooked, dry and hard.  not hideous, but could have been much better–which is what i think about bourbonhousein general, except for the excellent service.  the staff were on top of things, well trained, personable without being familiar, all-around first rate. bourbonhousehas all the makings of a great restaurant, but they have succumbed to touristy mediocrity.  a good manager and executive could whip this place into shape pretty quickly, but they get so much business from the transient tourist population that they just aren’t challenged, which is a pity. about these ads share this with a friend or 12: email

what we hoped for. after walking by bourbonhouseseveral times while in town we decided that we liked what we saw -- a large, handsome restaurant constantly busy with patrons -- and decided to try them for a weeknight dinner. although it was a monday we still had to wait for about 40 minutes for a table. no big deal, as the restaurant lounge opens onto the lobby at the astor hotel, with ample comfortable seating. the hostess desk texted us when our table was ready, and we were then promptly shown to our table.
the waiter appeared immediately to detail the daily specials and answer questions. then a waitress showed up to take our drink order. apparently they divide up those duties.
we ordered a mix of appetizers, salads and main courses, and each was delivered in a very timely manner, shortly after our drinks and a small loaf of bread were served.
my pecan catfish and prawns with sautéed veggies and rice in a bourbon pecan sauce was very good. my only wish is that the kitchen would have pealed and deveined the shrimp. trying to do so in a dimly lit dining room proved to be a chore.
that aside, my meal was excellent, as was my husbands, he first ordered the raw oysters, and when they arrived he was both shocked and delighted at the size of each oyster. and his roasted duck was pronounced as being one of the very best he had ever sampled.
my meal represented a wonderful blending of the bourbon and pecans to form a wonderfully rich and flavorful sauce, which i used for dipping large pieces of my pecan encrusted catfish. between the sauce and the accompanying rice, my meal was a winner.
a word about our server: he clearly loved his job, and was quite good at it. he also took time to share some of his love of new orleans, and of music. it was a nice touch.
i highly recommend the bourbonhouseto those who don't want to spend an arm and a leg, but who still want a high quality meal professionally served in a big, handsome atmosphere, at a price that won't force you to take a second job. while this place is located near the headwaters of bourbon street, it feels like anything but a tourist trap. i recommend it.
food: a
atmosphere: a
service: a
menu sophistication: a-
value: a-

if there’s a “first family” or royalty of the restaurant biz in the us, one surely has to consider members of the brennan family in new orleans at the top of the list. various family members own a dozen or more restaurants in the crescent city and elsewhere, including the always highly touted commander’s palace . a trained chef and third generation member of the family, dickie brennan has made his own mark on new orleans dining, with four marks to his name, including the fine dining establishment called “ bourbonhouse“, at the corner of bourbon and iberville, at the western gateway to the french quarter. there are three elements of a good restaurant experience:  food, service, and ambiance. sometimes it only takes one of them to carry the night, two can make it a great event, and all three create an over the top outing. at dickie brennan’s bourbon house, i had the extreme pleasure of a trifecta: great food, pleasant atmosphere, and over the top

my husband and i went to bourbonhousefor breakfast this morning and the service was poor given the grandeur of this place. our waitress was scarce and the waitress for nearby tables would come out with plates and say "who had the...?" the lady at the table next to us waited over 30 mins and her food never arrived. my husband took it upon himself to stop another waitress to help the lady at the next table. as we were leaving, the manager i presume, was letting her know they lost her ticket in the kitchen.

my husband ordered the bourbonhousebenedict, which was tasty, but the pulled pork bagel i ordered was dry and lacked flavor.

this restaurant stinks. i had the worst po'boy at bourbanhousei have ever had. inane been coming to nola several times a year since 1067 and i had my first nola bad meal today at the bourbon house. dickie brennan must have paid for the highly rated reviews by the pros, as he didn't get them based on the food.2