red gravy café

the owner is beyond rude!. 5/25/2014
we had a horrible experience at this restaurant. the owner/hostess was rude and down right insane. i opened the door to enter the restaurant when the owner came out to get a couple waiting for a table so me, my husband and children could barely get into the door. i graciously held the door for her and the couple but was invisible to all of them. i was prepared to let that go, but when i asked for a table for 5, she rudely told me that i would be placed on a 45 minute waiting list. the wait did not shock me, but her unwelcoming and frankly callous attitude did. i'm not sure why she was treating me this way but it felt like a scene back before desegregation.

at that point i calmly made her aware of her behavior toward me and my family as we were trying to enter the restaurant. instead of simply apologizing, she told me she was happy that she did not have room to serve us, she was sorry that she did not bow to me, and told us to leave. trying to keep my cool, i told her god bless you as we left and she said "no thank you, i don't believe in god!" now she certainly has every right to her beliefs but not to be rude and hateful toward others.

see reply below.
many of the other reviews reveal the nastiness that exudes this woman's pores. her horrible treatment of people is so wretched, that the only thing she can or even should do is deny (as she did with the other reviews on this and other sites). the behavior is just beyond humane. stay away, it's not worth it. there is no way that she can create something that is good and positive, particulary food. her goal seems to be to make you and your children's day as miserable as her life must be!!

cinnamon walnut bread is awesome as is the sausage- one of the best i've ever tasted!

it's a pretty far walk if you're staying in the quarter, but worth every trouble. get here now, if you're having trouble deciding. coffee is good here. i had the omelette with meatballs and red sauce and it was phenomenal. everything my family got, they enjoyed. best breakfast around.

excellent food!. this restaurant had the best carbonara i have ever had. i love the amarretti in the sauce and the guanciale bacon was wonderful. i had never heard of that kind of bacon before but the waiter was very knowledgeable and told me what it was and even where it came from on the pig. i was surprised to see shell pasta instead of fettuccine or spaghetti, but it definitely worked. definitely going to come back next time i'm in town.

mmm!. one of my favorite places to order lunch from. the red gravy is fantastic!

ok. i decided to stop and eat lunch here today. i’ll ordered meatballs and spaghetti and an ice tea. the food was delicious however the prices are just totally crazy........ my lunch without a tip was $35.00. for one person. omg. these people are absolutely crazy. service was just ok. so sad to say that i can’t return because of the prices. now i understand why they did not have a wait. so sad to see such good food be over priced.

if you've never had breakfast spaghetti, you should. not suprised they were voted best brunch of nola. apple bourbon drink was delicious, they are $12 just in case you wonder since the menu doesn't say.

absolutely horrible experience. i could complain about so many things, but ultimately it boils down to this: i ordered the coco sandwich. described on the menu as :coco $15 fresh mozzarella, capicola, tomatoes, lightly grilled. capicola is one of my favorite cuts and i was excited about it. presentation on the plate was nice (not too hard for a sammich). i took my first bite, no meat. 4 bites later, no meat. i see a thin slice hanging off the end of the sandwich so i know it's there. that said, how much sandwich am i expected to eat before i actually get to a slice of meat? by comparison, my friends all ordered something related to their meatballs (apparently, their meatballs are a well known staple) which were huge. and here i am with a meat and cheese sandwich that was severely lacking on the meat.

not wanting to interrupt my friends meals, i quietly stepped to the bar to voice my displeasure with the sandwich. i was met with accusations of not knowing wtf i was talking about.

me: i ordered this, you gave me a caprese salad on bread.

her: i cut 4 slices of capicola and put them on myself.

me: i took several bites and never got any meat.

her: well maybe you should pay more attention to what you order.

this is not the typical experience of a restaurant patron that didn't like the meal. at this point it was paid for and i got the rudest person ever telling me to essentially go screw myself. nah.

it's a kitschy little place with cramped seating and ok ambiance, but i was somewhat interested in going back to maybe just try something else. not after that experience. new orleans is jam packed full of tiny places with great food and blah service. i'll never visit this one again.

when we visited red gravy, we left the extremely long and blistering hot line at jimmy j's. red gravy greeted us with no wait, however the wait for our food once sat was over thirty minutes. the mimosas and almost everything else was overpriced. $91 for brunch for two? no thank you. the meatballs are what they are known for and they were definitely the best part. the grits were some of the best too but our omelette, breakfast potatoes and breakfast sandwich were certainly nothing special, especially for the ticket price. we wouldn't return for breakfast. dinner might be worth checking out since that is more of what they're known for and the meatballs were so good. keep in mind when ordering them that they are huge! i will say that our service was great!

had the chicken and waffles and they were wonderful. the chicken was juicy and delicious. a real gem of a place.

so good!! in town for a conference- walked by and the sign caught our eye.great food, music and cozy atmosphere! brunch, lunch and more! will be back to try out the praline pancakes!

i ate at red gravy at the recommendation of a friend. well, after the meal, she would not recommend it again. the waitress was rude and abrupt. she gave us little time to order, and seemed uninterested in explaining menu items. this is the type of service that i have come to expect in restaurants such as this that charge a 20% gratuity on parties of five or more. the food was cold, bland, and overpriced. the meatballs that they feature were full of gristle. we had to ask for salt and pepper shakers, and they apparently had just one set for the whole restaurant, because they shortly took them to another table. there are far too many really good restaurants in new orleans to waste time at red gravy.

deliciously amazing food, we heartily enjoyed it! it was a bit pricey and the wait was a bit long, but the service was attentive and friendly. they had great tea, and the red gravy and bolognese was just perfect. handmade, and definitely could tell the difference!

this small 'italiany' restaurant was highly vaunted in the local travel media as an outstanding brunch destination, while not being an old standard. the location of red gravy was certainly convenient, being across camp st. from the sheraton & across canal from the fq. there were trendy & eclectic lighting & decor throughout, but the comfort of the seating was diminished by the close proximity of the tables to one another. too close for my comfort anyway. 
for a late am brunch i wasn't feeling any of the heavier pasta entrees, tho these seemed to make up about half the one page menu. i chose the sicilian egg pie, a meatless entree well designed & presented in a medium sized ramekin. it was good but nothing more than that. the service was accurate, but the eggs were a bit long in arriving. not a bad choice depending on what you're hungry for, but be prepared for the traditional new orleans a la carte brunch to add up quickly if you're very hungry, here & at many other venues.

went to brunch today to find a much smaller menu then before. food was excellent as always i must say. server... was horrible our table was neglected she didn't put in our whole order. after asking about the rest of our order she avoided the table. we love the food there but her service really left us with a bad taste. the worst part is she didn't really seem to care. the manager was not very help full either he really took the stance of what do you want me to do about it.