three muses

inovative food and good music. the two hardest things here are getting a table and figuring out how to place your order, after that things get good. they do not take reservations and it is a fairly small place so go early if you can as you will probably want to take your time and listen to some music. once we got a table next to thebarwe asked thebartender if we order from a server like the table sign implies and she said who takes your order can be confusing and then happily took our order. we started with the deviled eggs that were smooth and tasty and then had a flash fried shrimp dish that did not look like much with its small pieces in a bowl with a light sauce but it was good enough we could have ordered another bowl. the dishes here are not meant to be large and tastes of a few dishes while listening to music works well here. the food tastes chef driven and we would go back on our next visit to new orleans.

while in new orleans on business, i was enjoying all the fantastic live music on frenchman street.

i spent hours going in and out of nearly every establishment. my experience at the three muses deserves mention. i travel for work and i am in sales. i speak with strangers easily and make friends everywhere i go. which i why this story is so amazing to me.

upon entering this place i noted the amount of people in the three muses was very low, maybe 15 people total on a very busy night. being alone, i walked up to thebarand ordered a drink. when i receiving the drink, i took a sip and remarked to the bartender that the drink was great, she said “why wouldn’t it be?” hmm, i thought. odd response.

i turned to the music, as the band was very good. when the person next to me ordered a drink, i noted some ingredients that i like and asked this same bartender what the drink was called, she glared at me saying nothing. i thought she could not hear me, so i asked again. she reached down, grabbed a drink menu and tossed it at me. i was shocked. i was trying to imagine what i could have done to make this woman so unkind towards me. i looked at the younger bartender, that miss happy was clearly training and she rolled her eyes at me. as if to say, “i don’t know why this manager/bartender is being so mean to you but i am sorry” we all know the look. the young bartender even went so far as to let me try some of the new drinks she was learning, when miss happy walked away. when the mean employee returned however, she quickly moved away from me and stopped speaking. the straw that broke the camel’s back was this- as i was quickly drinking my one and only drink, i asked very nicely “sweet heart, could you please give me a glass of water, when it is convenient” to which she said “did you just call me sweetie?” i responded, i was simply trying to be nice, i am from texas. i was being sincere. the water never came. i paid my bill and began to leave. when i asked about the water she stated with a stern look in her eyes. “you said ‘when it was convenient“ and then sneered at me.

upon leaving, i could not find one single employee who would tell me miss happy’s name. i have never been in a restaurant orbarin my life where every employee was in fear of revealing a person’s name. they all said things like “why not ask her?” “why do you need to know?” clearly, this happens all the time and they cover for her. therefore, i will kindly describe the bartender who is scaring all your customers away. she is a heavyset blonde-haired woman, with pale skin and tattoos up and down both arms. if you own the three muses and you are wondering why your sales numbers do not compare to the other bars on frenchman, she is working at your bar. i will never come back here and will recommend people avoid this place. your entire staff knows this is occurring, regularly, and they are enabling this person. it is clear she needs therapy and should not be customer facing. as a christian, i will pray for her, she needs it.

had an awesome experience.barseats for dinner with an awesomebartender. the pork belly and the tempura shrimp were definitely highlights. the drinks were unique and our bartender was had great recommendations to our tastes. the praline ice cream was a perfect finish.

atmosphere and great choices! love it. been here 4 times in 4 trips. consistently stellar. creativebarstaff, ideally sized small plates, always a delightful musical surround. (seriously strong selections in who the bring in. )
the stuffed dates, italian tomato salad, the tempura shrimp. all strong and wiped clean by our table!

unbelievable food!. don't expectbarfood in this bar. everything on the menu looked so good, i had an appetizer, entree and dessert! it was all fantastic. i couldn't believe i could get food of this caliber sitting at a crowded bar.

the highlight of our trip!. visited no for the first time the weekend of feb 20. we loved the city, the people and the food. but our favorite spot of the long weekend was three muses. as we listened to french music played by and elderly man on an accordion and another guy on guitar we tried 4 items from the menu. first we had the filet lettuce wraps and were very pleased. next the fries which my wife loved (so did i). the edaname was fantastic with new seasonings instead of the normal plain old salt. but my favorite by far were the best fish tacos i have ever had.

the people next to us had the ravioli and said it was amazing.

worth the wait! sat at thebarand had a great time talking to guests and servers.

bz

you went too far. four of us sat at thebarfor a glen david andrews performance...the surly female bartender shooshed my appropriately enthusiastic, not drunk group and continued to chastise us and shame us even after we sat quietly for 'music appreciation class'. then she had a very loud conversation with my friend that actually made it so i, the patron, could not enjoy the performance. since i had guests, i decided not to shoosh her back. three muses will be my absolute last choice place to see gda or any band. thankfully he has residencies at dba, the saint and little gem, all of whom appreciate my enthusiasm and patronage. gda earned 3 new fans that night...three muses lost one.


-----16 aug, 2012-----

good cocktails. no cover for live music.. let's start with the positives...no cover for music. they are considered a restaurant so people under 21 are allowed. i could bring my 10 yr old neice to hear a little flamenco music. the mixed drinks were well done...my friend got a persephone's revenge and i got a blueberry mojito...quite a good mojito for abaron a tourist street. my niece's feta fries were tasty. i'll definitely try other things on the menu when i return.

service is lacking but what's new with that? the staff ignores you and everything others have said about having to order at thebarwhen you have a table and leave a credit card even if you don't plan to order anything else are absolutely true but not so off-putting that i wouldn't endure them to see a band i liked.

one-stop shopping. a friend who'd recently been to three muses recommended it to us before our trip down, so my husband and i went on friday of st.patrick's weekend. nola was crazy crowded, but we got in around 7, waited at thebarfor about 15 minutes (during which time we enjoyed their lavender bitters champagne cocktail which i liked so much that i made a batch of lavender bitters as soon as we got home), then quickly got a table. we didn't understand the "order at the bar" part for a while, but enjoyed the music and our drinks as we slowly realized how to order. the small plates were excellent- light and flavorful. we were full without feeling stuffed. i had the beet and blood orange bruschetta, we split the red curry mussels (i'm going to be adapting this recipe for family dinners), and my husband had the ribeye bulgogi rice bowl. their homemade kimchi was fabulous. seems like we had two drinks each and three small plates for about $60.

pretty, tasty food; weird service. definitely on the pricey side, but this was a great place to stop in for a drink and a fancy little plate. i had a beet salad and a drink, and both were really beautifully presented and tasted spectacular.

sort of a weird thing-- when we came in and secured a table, we were asked to "hold the table" by running a credit card... something i've had to do. i guess this is in case of people skipping out on the check? it seemed odd to me. otherwise, the servers alternated between telling us to order drinks at thebaror to order at the table, which was somewhat annoying, considering we each ordered one cocktail and one food item, and that was it. i guess they were trying to pressure us to order more?

anyway, the food and drink were tasty, and for that, i'd say it's worth checking out.

i loved this place. not what i'd call a traditional restaurant as its more like abarwith live music and amazing tapas. the falafel sliders and feta fries were to die for! yum!

a special thing.... while there are a few things about the street that embrace "refinement," frenchman has one now. visited the place last night, and with very little in the way of expectations (our neighbors told us it was - pause - "different."). imagine our surprise to see a beautiful, well lit, and thoughtfully designed space with live music. the place smelled great too - hardly a problem when we're starving...

the model of the place is a little tough to deal with - you have to order from thebarno matter where you sit. it's not all that much of a problem, but with the folks at thebaralready, and the 40 or plus people sitting in the dining room, it is nearly impossible for 2 bartenders to handle the load. harder still is that they both are trying hard not to make eye contact with anyone that needs to order, lest they get spoken to...

but that's where the not-so-perfect ends. once they have time to talk to you, the bartenders are charming, and rather well-informed. the menu for drinks and wines, while not deep, is broad...and then there is the food.

muses is a place where you continue to eat long after the "i'm full" threshold is crossed. it's easy to justify, too, because you have convinced yourself that the dishes are small, but they're unusually filling. lamb sliders worth fighting close friends over, perfectly spiced; feta french fries that finish with that perfect greco-citrusy mouthfeel; rabbit empanadas that literally disappear as if never ordered...the only issue that we had was with the crab ravioli, seemingly cooked before the sauce was added, and never seasoned - they were nice, potentially, but a little bland. whatever - we ate them anyway.

best part of the deal is that we left, full and glowing from wine, for under $100. that included our gratuity, and we're not the worst tippers in the world. enter with an open mind - and if you try without looking for bad, you'll see that this is a gem that we need to keep around.

impressive cocktails, clean air, and a nice bathroom - excellent addition to frenchmen!. went to three muses for a wrap party, had a great time! beautiful art, innovative menu of small plates (featuring duck empanadas), quickly expanding cocktail menu. overall, a polished, well executed space. a refreshing addition to the frenchman street drag. no smoky hovel with a pit toilet in the back (though some of us, myself included, will always love that kind of bar), this place is actually kinda classy. i enjoyed the music. pianobarstylings of everything from etta james to sublime. i know it sounds hokey, but it works. i'm sold. three muses gets my vote. here's to hoping they stay around for quite awhile! also, the owner is an absolute peach!