mary mahoney's old french house

mary mahoney's is a restaurant with a lot of history behind it. theplacesits on a corner near the casinos and is conjoined by clothing stores within a quaint square place. you can see the ambience from the start, the building brandishing an antique look with a white color to give it that old louisiana vibe.

apparently a "biloxi jewel" and crowd favorite, this restaurant, according to it's website, has been visited by "presidents, dignitaries, celebrities." yet, i've never been left with more to desire.

the atmosphere is extremely dated. the dining room coukd use a remodel, or even some new carpet. the quality of the dining area alone is a shock. the chairs were uncomfortable, the furniture was not good quality at all and the whole thing just looked extremely old -- in a bad way.

the service was okay. honestly i would expect to be treated much better based on the price point. i was extremely disappointed to see another waiter gazing at our table and snicker with his customers. of course we didn't think much of it, three lonely women and a waiter dressed in a cheap green button down laughing at us means very little. still, disgusting behavior.

our waitress was somewhat attentive. though we could tell we were not prioritized at all. and she seemed very impatient with us. she even told one of us "please" when they asked for another drink. excuse us for asking you for a drink? our salads and food took questionably long to reach our table. we were here for nearly three hours while others were receiving their items quicker.

the food was the shocking part, though i expected it. it was so far off the price it was worth that i will never return to thisplacesolely based off of this reason. while it was not the worst food we have experience it was no where near 28 dollars for pasta or 68 dollars for a steak.

i ordered to seafood pasta and asked for "queen mary" sauce. the dish was ok. i was not astonished by it, which i wanted to be for thirty dollar pasta. my husband made the grave mistake of ordering the surf and turf ( which i contested to). the dish looked so sad. the steak did not look seasoned and the lobster was obviously tough and not hot at all.

many people at our table ordered steak and i could see how hard it was for them to cut into. one person got a wagyu steak, which is famous for being tender and slices like butter. this steak was so laughably hard to cut that i genuinely chuckled. these steaks also sat in a bath of their own juices, looking boiled and unseasoned. nothing you can't make better at home for way less.

overall this is one of the most unimpressive restaurants i have ever been to. thisplaceis a crowd favorite, probably for the older people who grew up on it. the website says the food is upscale and elegant. nay. this food is dated, messy and boring. the service is bleak and underwhelming. the atmosphere is shabby.

thisplacescreams desperate.

sometimes you simply forget how magnificent the hometown classics are.  mary mahoney's has been a focal point of every special event in my life, every relative who has come to visit, but i guess i get caught up in the new stuff and forget about my old favorites.  well, not this time.  a couple weeks ago, we had a friend in town and i could think of no betterplaceto take her.  it was a wednesday night at 6:30, a day we had had some pretty horrific weather.  i never expected a reservation would be required.  but when we got there, they were slammed!  luckily, longtime friend bobby mahoney was manning the maître d desk and managed to squeeze us in.  there's just something about old southern charm and service that is so welcoming.  as soon as you walk in, you feel taken care of, at home, like all is well and a good time is ahead.  the service is always perfect, and it was on this very busy night.  it was impossible to tell that anyone else was in the place.  our every need was taken care of.  their gumbo is the only gumbo, as far as i am concerned.  the sautéed crab claws are the best in the land.  the speckled trout i ordered with a meuniere (brown butter) sauce, topped with lumb crabmeat, simply out of this world.  ladies and gentlemen, this family can cook, and they know how to lay on the charm and the service at the same time.  best part about the restaurant is that bobby mahoney always has a great joke and a smile.  great job, sir.  sorry it has taken me so long to review your very special piece of gulf coast paradise.

my mom's favorite. took my mother here many times, way back when, it was a treat i locved giving her.. she loved mm... well we both did..enjoyed the atmosphere of the place, and how one felt " up-scaled, yet downtown"..dress up or dress down, it mattered not.. food and drinks and service was superb.expensive? yes, of course it was, after she passed away, my sister and i went a ferw times, prior to katrina.. again, we enjoyed theplaceand the memories were bitter sweet... it's been now some 8 years since i have gone.. first time was in 1976..i'll try another time come this october enroute to ala/fla..

wonderful food!. thisplacewas amazing! we had the shrimp and crab au gratin. i have had this dish at many places and this is the best i have ever had. can't wait to come back for more. the prime rib and the grilled chicken were super also. if you make it to biloxi stop in and try this place. you will not be disappointed. the waiter was friendly and very helpful with suggestions.

the prime rib was so good!! shrimp and crap au gratin so good. i suggest no matter what you go!! theplaceis wonderful

great food and service. i've dined here at least 10 times and have never been disappointed,the stuffed red snapper is my all time favorite restaurant meal l!!!!,don't believe all those negative reviews,theplaceis always busy and that says a lot,so if you've never dined here give it a try,lunch prices are very reasonable

greatplacefor a restaurant. i love mary mahoney's atmosphere the ambience is perfect, the food however is another matter. we took out of town guests there over the holidays for lunch. our friends ordered the stuffed snapper. the fish was just fair and the side of étouffé was horrible. i tasted it and it was obviously old and someone had tried revive it with some sort of spice we couldn't identify. bottom line it was not edible and was sent back untouched. i had the fried trout with a side of pasta with crab sauce. the trout was heavily battered and not seasoned well the pasta was gummy the sauce was pasty and i could not find any crab in it. the bread pudding and coffee were great but hardly made up for the poor entrées. the meal was a disappointment. at this price point folks are looking for freshly prepared food not sides but have been sitting out under a heat lamp. if you're looking for fine dining, keep looking!

sadness. it was over 30 years ago as a high school senior i had saved up enough money to take my date out for a special dinner and this was the place. they treated us like royalty and we met mary mahoney as well and she treated us to complimentary desserts after our meal. the food and dining experience was out of this world. down through the years i have enjoyed many a memorable dinner there with good friends and family, as well as the occaisonal business lunch always consistant and always good. theplacemade a heroic return following the destruction wrought upon it by katrina, but unfortunately something else is destroying this wonderful biloxi landmark and that is complacency. the mahoney family obviously either has no clue or no longer cares about the quality of food they are serving these days. it had been a long time since i dined here for dinner, the last time i had lunch here it was ok, but far from what it had been in the past. a recent dinner visit was heartbreaking to say the least. the once wonderful gumbo was too thick and had a burnt taste, our entree's were over cooked and bland. the wait staff is still top notch and they are not to blame for what comes out of the kitchen. i relayed my dissatisfaction to my server and he appologized and said he would pass it along to mr. mahoney who was not there at the moment. we over heard a couple at a nearby table make almost the same compliant we did. we left very saddened and still hungry as well. having read other reviews on here i can see we did not eat there on a random bad night. hopefully, the mahoney family may take note of this website and the numerous reviews as well as listen to the compliants being vocalized to them and take steps to save thisplacebefore it is too late.

you can't go home. was there for the opening night in the 60s. frequented theplacefor our ten year residence there. was never over impressed with the food. ambiance great. visited this year on a sentimental journey. still a classyplacewith plenty of eye candy. food terrible. stuffed flounder dead a long time; stuffing overbearing cajun, couldn't eat it. dried up corn; and the sin of all sins: dried up pecan pie. talk about sitting on ones laurels? you need professional help bobby.

a menu centered around fried seafood does not even hint at fine dining for me. this was far from an upscale or elegant dining experience. if you want to pay $40+ for a plate of overcooked, fried seafood; a salad consisting of white lettuce, a tomato wedge and maybe a pickled ear of corn; and a tragically overcooked vegetable (mine was asparagus cooked to the point of being mushy) - this is your place. however, i demand quality. fine dining is about flavors and experiences, all thisplacehas to offer is fried and bland. also, fine dining restaurants rotate their menus so as to offer what is in season. there should be more than one vegetable on the menu, any given day. the vegetables should complement each dish. salads should be fresh. the wine list is a joke. what the hell did i pay for? white table clothes? you may as well have had vinyl table clothes and been located in a strip mall for the quality of food that i received while i was there. needless to say, i will not be back.

never again1. i am from new orleans so i have to disagree with the billing thisplacelikes to give itself as "new orleans style" and "french". the poodle i bought in covington is more french than the cuisine at this restaurant. having just wasted $120 of my hard earned money at mary mahoney's friday night - i feel compelled to warn off as many people as possible..... my husband and i went there to celebrate our anniversary on friday night. i made the mistake of getting their "famous" gumbo. it tasted like nothing but file', it was served to me lukewarm and it was terrible. it is obvious to me that whoever made that gumbo had no idea how to make a roux. to make things worse, i just found their gumbo recipe in a cookbook that we just bought while we were on the coast - it had no file in it - called for okra (there was none in mine) and looked a whole lot better in the cookbook that it did on my plate!!! my husband and i also had broiled fish, served with some burnt sauce that purported to be etouffe' and was served over angel hair pasta along with some broccoli that looked like it came out of the freezer first. again, these were $36 dollar entrees, people - it was an absolute insult! staff was decent, but this restaurant has not evolved since the eighties - they are living off of their former reputation - you want new orleans food? put in the extra mileage and drive to new orleans. you want a decent meal at a fair price - don't go here! this restaurant has deteriorated into tourist trap.... very disappointed - this used to be a great place.....

very disappointed. we were visiting from out of town, and we are used to sophisticated restaurants. at these prices--entrees $28-36--you expect sharp, discreet service, good ambience, excellent food. instead we got a server who not only patronizingly explained after ordering the veal that "it doesn't have a marinara sauce or other sauce"--in case we were upset to not see such a sauce!?!--but when the dessert menu was brought, she told us "don't order the lemon meringue pie--it's not good. not made here and i don't like it. " why is it on the menu then? needless to say none of us ordered any dessert after that comment. no butter was brought with the bread; a coffee was forgotten; the iceberg lettuce salads were sad little afterthoughts; the room we were seated in appeared to be a from '80s addition, complete with tacky acoustic ceiling, odd "ice cream parlor" chairs, and cheap paintings and framed prints askew on the walls. we are all for old fashioned meals in old fashioned places, but this truly felt like aplacecoasting on former glory. and charging an arm and a leg. cannot recommend this restaurant.

good place.placehas nice cahracter to it, however, it is quiet noisy. accoustics is bad. food is good but and service as well. food priced moderately. my experinced was ok in this restaurant but will let you decided for youreself

i'd go back.. good food, good service. not the 'to die for'placethat some folks seem to think it is, but certainly a cut above the average restaurant. my only disappointment was the bread pudding. i expected an expertly executed bread pudding given the location and atmosphere, but it was marginal at best. spend your desert calorie budget on the ms mud pie instead.

whenever i get to visit my family in picayune we love to come here! my last visit i had the soft shell crabs and they were delish! the visit before i had the stuffed trout and it was out of this world. a little advice from me?? don't eat at aplaceon the coast and get a steak. go for the fresh seafood!!