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 the bar we asked the bar tender if weorderfrom a server like the table sign implies and she said who takes yourordercan 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.

you went too far. four of us sat at the bar for 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 a bar on 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 toorderat the bar when you have a table and leave a credit card even if you don't plan toorderanything else are absolutely true but not so off-putting that i wouldn't endure them to see a band i liked.

overall, exceptional. i am on vacation in new orleans and saw three muses mentioned online. some friends and i came in and immediately loved the atmosphere: live soft music and an elegant bar. we ordered tapas throughout the night including stuffed dates, pork belly, lamb sliders, apple & blue cheese fritters, poutin, butternut squash ravioli, and duck wings. everything was unique and delicious. the only thing i would recommend is toorderyour own drink instead of the signature cocktails, which do not live up to their names. staff was helpful and friendly. it was a wonderful experience.

service at @threemusesnola is tag-team and informal. youorderat the bar, and food is brought to you by whichever of the staff is back by the kitchen when it's ready. cocktails are also ordered at the bar, with a server bringing it over to the table so you don't have to wait.

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 toorderdrinks at the bar or toorderat 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 toordermore?

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

great music venue & even better tapas! come early to get a seat, sit back andorderlittle plates of delicious food. will definitely be back.

was here for happy hour on a wednesday in december. the food was great, we ordered all of the happy hour specials for our table of 4. the standout, by a far margin, was the bacon wrapped dates. simply amazing we had toorderit three times! the atmosphere is warm and inviting and the jazz is killer good. stop by, eat a little, have another glass of wine!

great food, but won't return. i was really torn on whether to "like it" or "don't like" this place. the food was exceptional. the bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with cheddar on the happy hour menu were so good, we ordered two orders. we also had the duck confit pizza, which wasn't very flavorful and the arugula was a little too plentiful and make it difficult to eat politely. the steak and crab cake were equally delicious in the steak and cake order. the steak was tender and juicy. with all this being said, our foodorderalone came to $30, plus tax. the waitress did explain that the food was tapas style, but still we left feeling hungry. after $30+, we should not be as eager as we were to find a place to have dinner.

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 toorderfrom the bar no matter where you sit. it's not all that much of a problem, but with the folks at the bar already, 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.