the waverley east

restaurant that tries to be hip but fails miserably.

the décor. the decor seems nice at first glance. but then you see the whole wall pasted with colonial pictures of champlain and cartier. there is even a map/wallpaper displaying northern africa as "barbaria". although it is true that these were the perceptions in the 1600's waverley does nothing to change those and actually celebrates them by displaying a full wall of it. the seats are too soft and the edge of the banquette and chairs dig in the back of your thighs.

the food. most disappointing. i ordered the burger on special and it was messy. chefs need to realize that brioche is a soft bread and most of the time doesn't hold a fatty burger patty. the burger was good but didn't stay together. who puts pickles slices on top of the burger? you put a whole pickle on top, but not slices. the fries that came with the burger were supposed to be seasoned but they tasted like nothing. i asked for salt and ketchup and i was made to feel that i shouldn't since they had been seasoned. i got a little cup of ketchup for myself only. nothing for my wife who had fries also with her tilapia fish and chips, which was tasteless. i ordered a rolling rocks beer and, although i should have known since it's an american beer, it tasted more watery than a coors light. my wife had the tilapia fish and chips, which she qualified as okay. the tartar sauce tasted like mayo and so did the weird-looking coleslaw that came with it.

the service. we were served by some kind of a hipster who showed off his arm tattoos without introducing himself. he wasn't very friendly and he made me feel like i wasn't welcome. i asked for extra napkins when i ordered, which he called "serviettes". i know what napkins are in french thank you very much, my first language is french. those "serviettes" were nothing more than square bar napkins. theserverreally didn't get us and didn't engage with us and only asked us if we wanted anything when we were downing our drinks to try to get out of there.

overall mark: f

this is still relatively a new place here in orleans. we arrived before the busy time hit. our food came out very promptly. theserverwas very friendly. our mussels were fine but the broth was salty. the black and blue burger was great. it was juicy and flavorful and seasoned nicely. we felt a bit rushed though but i think i would still go back to this establishment.

went here for a late lunch and we loved everything we had! i had the croquettes and the beet salad, both were absolutely amazing! my husband had one of the huge, house-made burgers on house-made buns and said it was one of the best he had ever had (don't recall the name, but it had blue cheese and bacon and looked fabulous). the portion sizes were also very generous, for the app, salad and burger, noone was leaving hungry! we both had mixed drinks that ourserverrecommended (found out later in the meal ourserverwas the bar manager) and they were delicious too. not the cheapest place to go (especially for the drinks), but the ambiance and the food were both great (especially for orleans!) and i will be going back soon!