Copeland’s of New Orleans

Seems like every time I log onto Unilocal these days I get a friendly notice requesting a review of Copelands: You’ve checked in here x times! What keeps you coming back? Why do I keep coming back? The answer is simple, my wife likes the fish dishes, especially the Pecan Crusted Ricochet catfish. So do I, but I tend to pick different items off the menu. And there is plenty to choose from, such as the Crawfish Fettuccine, Jambalaya Pasta, and Hickory Cheddar Burger.
One of the most recent visits here was on a Friday night for Happy Hour. We told a few friends we were going and they said they’d meet us there. We pulled two of the tables together and ordered wine and the spinach & artichoke dip with fried bowtie pasta. Friends started showing up. They ordered some Happy Hour drinks and different appetizer specials. More friends showed up and we pulled over another table. More appetizers were ordered and passed around. By the time Happy Hour was over, we had five tables filled with friends. Great thing was that the bar staff was cool about it as the crowd grew. Everyone ran their tab and as far as I heard, the bills were all correct. Kudos to the servers. Maybe because it was Memorial Day weekend, the bar wasn’t as busy it is usually is on a Friday night. The next time we tried it, we were lucky to get one table.

As a NOLA native one used to think of Copeland’s as «fine dining».
As the years since Al senior’s death have passed, our family jokes that it is the McDonald’s of haute cuisine. I must say, that after leaving this restaurant the last two times without even being able to eat, I would have preferred Mickey D’s.
The first experience was the Thursday before Mother’s Day last month.
We had a large party, so we try to eat out on Thursdays to not only make it easier on ourselves, and the wait staff as well. That day we had 10 people, one of which was my infant nephew.
I’m not a fan of Copeland’s since the entire menu has pretty much turned into a deep-​fat-​fried nightmare and I’ve had a recent health condition that drastically altered my diet, but my father-​in-​law enjoys it and he usually foots the bill.
It took me a few to find something on the menu that wouldn’t kill me, and settled on a piece of grilled snapper, some steamed vegetables and jambalaya.
We all ordered and sat back and waited. The appetizers came out, and my FIL had ordered about everything on the menu, 90% of which was fried. The crawfish bread was placed in front of me, and the grease dripping off the cheese was an astonishing amount. I picked one minuscule crawfish tail up off of the piece my husband was choking down and I swear to you it was like I put a salt pearl in my mouth. It took almost an entire glass of overly-​sweetened tea to get the taste out.
The food starts appearing and a piece of salmon is laid at my place, no veggies, on a bed of the saddest jambalaya I had ever seen. I tried stopping the food delivery staff to inform them I was given the wrong order, to no avail. I hate salmon.
About ten minutes later, we finally catch the attention of our waitress. None of the steaks are cooked correctly and the only thing correct about my order was the pitiful jambalaya. She apologized and whisked my plate away, doing nothing about the incorrect steaks.
About 15 minutes later, the same plate appears with the same jambalaya, and is put down at my place by the same food runner. I say this because the configuration of the jambalaya on the plate was exactly the same with the same chip on the side, still no veggies, and the foulest smelling piece of fish I have ever had the misfortune of smelling. It was nausea inducing, so much so that my sister in law and husband who were next to me had to scoot away, and I was leaning back as far as possible.
I signaled the waitress again and sent food back for the first time in my life for being inedible. She asked if I wanted something else, and since the rest of the family was almost done eating, I declined. She came back as we were leaving and told me that after I sent the food back, she left it in the prep area for the manager to inspect, but ended up throwing it out before he could because the stench was overwhelming the space.
Tell me the cook did not notice that. The bill that night with gratuity was almost $ 400.
Today we went with a party of 12, for a late lunch after a coworker’s funeral. (Our family business.)
We were seated promptly and I joked with my husband and sister in law that I wouldn’t be ordering the fish.
Again my father in law orders several appetizers, all fried and the crawfish bread. I didn’t touch them.
I looked through the menu and settled on the chicken avocado club with no bacon.
Everyone’s food comes out and there, lingering on the side of my plate was a medium length curled black hair. On a stark white plate. And nobody noticed this before my food was set in front of me. I signal the waitress and point out the OBVIOUS BLACK HAIR on my plate. (I’m a dark blonde with very long, straight hair.)
Multiple apologies ensued and the plate was whisked away. Not 3 minutes later, the exact same sandwich appeared on a new plate.
I’m not an idiot. The food was not back there nearly long enough to be prepared again.
I look down at the repackaged sandwich and see bacon sticking out. I pull the top piece of soggy with «butter» bread and find two of the most mushy tomatoes ever, a sad, wilted piece of romaine, over-​cooked bacon, pieces of greasy «grilled» chicken and NO avocado, all slathered with more mayo than any one person should eat.
I sighed, signaled the waitress and asked where is the avocado, STILL thinking that I can pull the chicken off and eat the chicken and avocado. She says that she’ll be right back, goes to the back, comes back out and says someone will bring out the avocado momentarily.
10 minutes, no avocado. 15 minutes, no avocado.
20 minutes and the manager stops at the table and apologizes that they were actually OUT of avocado and he has sent someone to buy some. Apparently their delivery of avocado was bad THIS MORNING. I ask him why someone didn’t tell me that when I ordered the chicken and AVOCADO sandwich and he states «Yeah, we should be telling people». Really, Sherlock? Plate sent back. Again left hungry.
Total bill $ 340.
TLDR; not going back.

I’ve been to this location multiple times and it’s never been great. Usually the service is horrible but Johnny was great considering he had what looked like a 20 top that was running him the whole time. Elizabeth came to greet us after almost 10 minutes of sitting there to apologize and get us started with drinks. Once the appetizers came, we didn’t have any small plates to share and kept looking around for someone to help and multiple servers, bussers, hostesses, and even the GM (A Copeland himself) walked by several times making zero eye contact with me or other guests. I was practically out of my chair which made it very clear I needed something. Everyone had tunnel vision and cared nothing about their teammates tables. My server was stuck at his large top and the rest of his team failed at helping him except Elizabeth. They should be more organized with teamwork especially because they often have these large parties. I’ve been through Copeland training and have worked for the company before so I know the standards and how the system should work and none of it was executed properly. My food came out wrong as usual and the redfish was tasteless. On my way out, my 2 yr old daughter wanted to tell Elizabeth goodbye so I stopped while she was talking with the GM and she remembered my daughters name and was very friendly while the GM looked at us with frustration as to why we were interrupting. Zero hospitality on his part and it’s the last time I’ll ever eat there. All of the Copeland locations have drastically gone downhill in the last few years.

This place is top notch five stars all around. The drinks are on point. The food is even better. It’s romantic for couples. But you can still bring your girls for all girl fun. They add love to each dish & fun to each glass of liquor. My favorite place on earth when in the South.

Wanting to find a new place we chose Copeland — it over exceeded our expectations From the appetizer to main course it was a flavor burst. Drinks were great. Waitstaff friendly but not pushy. When asked for something it was right there. Don’t leave New Orleans with out finding this jewel

There is this one waiter named Christian, he was our waiter and he wouldn’t even refill our drinks. we had to ask the other waiters for everything! He would literally pass us up with an iced tea pitcher and refill all the Caucasian customers cups to the top and watched our drinks turn into water. Horrible service. Horrible waiter. I’ll be sure to never sit in his section again.

While I normally enjoy this restaurant tonight was not one of those times. Yes, the place was busy but we sat for ten minutes at the bar with dirty dishes from the previous guests in front of us we received no acknowledgement that we were there despite the fact that these servers in view of us. That was unacceptable and to top it off we are regulars.

Had I group of 6 at 8pm very slow service from server and kitchen, after seeing tables next to us receive there food before ours, we approached the hostess and had group of people at the table bring us food, the only problem what they brought wasn’t ours, or it was incomplete. we received seafood platter for a shrimp platter the Duck dish wasn’t served with duck, and there response was we just wanted to get everything out. my food tasted fine but I was not the average…

Copelands always has good food, however, the service at this particular location… well…ehhhh. Not so good. I came here for a light lunch. The hostess was rude. We asked for a booth. She told the lil dude and as we were walking to our table, which we thought was going to be a booth was not. No one said anything. So we politely said we wanted a booth. The lil dude got snappy! My mom informed him that we walked past several booths and it would be better for my sleeping daughter But he said no and offered a high chair for my sleeping daughter (what the heck). Anyways, I told my mom just forget it. Thankfully the waiter we had was pleasant and our lunch was pretty good.

If anyone were to ask me about this place, I would have to tell them to find another place. The service is wonderful but the food is subpar. Even the design of the food is lacking. I have no idea what’s going on. The menu has changed since I’ve been here last. There’s not much reason to come here besides the crab beignets and the entrees they’ve kept over the years. I ordered the chicken Parmesan and I was shocked to find the pasta dry under room temperature chicken and cheese. It’s like they made it and brought it back and reheated it for another customer. That’s bad for business. No wonder there are hardly any people here. It’s not as good as it used to be. It’s just that simple.

Usually go to the location on Vets and what a night and day difference! The food was good but like a lot of other people’s experience the service was worse than horrible. Our original waitress (never introduced herself with a name) took our order, didn’t know anything about the menu, and was never to be seen again not even to get the check… having someone different come to the table each time made it feel like we were being passed around to whoever had time help.
This sorta made sense, since a majority of the wait staff seemed to be taking their own dinner break before the real dinner rush (we got there early) eating at tables just across from us. I guess the employees need to eat too but seemed a little awkward in general but so did refilling my own tea and waters, fortunately they left a pitcher of each sitting on a table around the corner.
Got there early trying to get in and get out in a reasonable amount of time, 1hr and 45min later we’re still trying to flag someone down for the check. Wish I could say it was busy but it wasn’t, the bar area was only half full and there was maybe 10 other tables on the floor.
When it came time to pay and leave a tip who were we really tipping? The original waitress who gave us wrong information about the food we ordered? The server dropped the food off and promptly took off without saying a word? Or the server who brought the check and rolled her eyes when asked for a couple to go containers for the leftovers? It’s a tough one but for the price your paying to eat there you’d expect a little better service… would never go back to this location.

Absolutely pathetic! My wife and I finished eating at this Copeland’s at 9:45 pm and could not have been more dissatisfied.
1. Walking in we were told to wait while the host prepared the table. We thought this was unusual because we walked in the north entrance to the restaurant and could see that there was only one other couple seated. I don’t mind waiting… but 5 minutes for what??? Strike 1!
2. We were escorted to where the other couple, as mentioned above, were dining and seated adjacent to them. There were a total of 8 tables in this area. Four of the 6 empty tables had not been bussed and contained dirty dishes on them. This was still the case when we left the restaurant. There had been no attempt by ANYONE to clean the area. Strike 2!
3. The floor had food and multiple pieces of trash on it. There was no interest by either of the 2 waitresses working the area to pick any of it up… not there job I guess. When we were seated at our table (the place that took them 5 minutes to prepare), it too was not very clean. There was a dirty fork and cloth napkin under my chair. Strike 3! We should have left then…
4. My wife ordered the Catfish Acadiana which came with 2 corn fritters, coleslaw and a signature side. She requested the loaded baked potatoe for her side. I ordered the large Shrimp and Crabmeat Salad. After waiting 10 minutes, our waitress retuned to say that they were «out of baked potatoes… well, we had 1 left but it was rotten in the inside». My wife then opted for the cauliflower gratin. I asked if I could add a cup of the soup of the day to accompany my salad… Again, «Oh, sorry, we are out of the chicken fajita soup too».
5. The food was delivered. The presentation and taste of my salad were both acceptable. I did enjoy it. However, my wife’s…not so much. Her side was brought out in a typical side dish as expected, but the remainder of her dinner was brought out on an appetizer plate (approximately a 4“x 8″ oblong-​sized dish)…how strange! We asked if they were out of dinner plates as well… hmmm. According to the menu, her entrée was supposed to come with 2 corn fritters… nope…just 1 on the dish. One guess what the response was when we inquired about the missing fritter… YEP…“Sorry, we’re out, that was the last one we had”. We figured they purposely put the food on a smaller plate in hopes we would not notice the missing portion. Uhh, no… WRONG! Of course, the plate LOOKED full!
6. While sitting there eating, one of the workers was telling a waitress, «Starting now, you are to address me as ‘Stud Muffin’». He called her by name which I do recall was «Lauren». This is exactly what I wanted to hear while trying to digest my incredibly pleasant dining experience. Oh, may I add, he was sweeping the floor in the empty dining area next to us. I guess cleaning the area where the customers are dining isn’t so important.
7. So, do you think the manager could have come to our table and perhaps apologized for being out of so many food items? Nope… nada…zip…not a sign of a manager anywhere!
Now let’s see… no potatoes, no soup, no corn fritters, no manager, unclean dining area, dialogue from no other than the Stud Muffin himself…
Just close the doors and hang a FOR RENT sign, ’cause this place isn’t doing anyone justice whatsoever with such poor quality.
We will never patronize Copeland’s again. Additionally, I will certainly convey our abject dining experience of this establishment to our friends and associates.
Poor Al Senior, he must be rolling in his grave!!!

Food was great but the service was horrible. I usually go to the location on Vets but wanted to see the remodeling. I will stick to my normal location.

Yummy comfort gumbo. Romantic fire pit. Delicious wings. So crispy and light. Valet service and a romantic atmosphere.

Had the Grilled chicken with yams and homemade worcestershire. Also had sliced sirloin which was on the light side but perfect as we wanted dessert. Both were delicious. Enjoyed white chocolate bread pudding and praline cheesecake. Yummy
Service was great by Leslie

Went here Friday night with a friend. We ordered drinks first. I got a dirty martini. It was way too dirty for me. The drink was like a cloud. We then ordered spinach and artichoke dip. It was delicious. Since we had the appetizer we thought to just get a small plate we each ordered the Steak Labouchere. It was tasty. The waitress was very attentive and the service was good.

The fried bow tie pasta with spinach artichoke dip is why we came here. We frequently go to the location in Shreveport.- which is always fabulous. … this location… not so much!!! To be fair… the dip was really the only good part of our meal.
Once seated at our table we waited 25 minutes to even get our deinks… water! Only saw our waitress Echo briefly… that is until she brought the check… then she was circling the table.
Our food was not up to the Copeland standards that we are used to… especially for the price. Rather bland for a Cajun restaurant. We ordered the Stuffed Shrimp Alfredo, the Crab Meat Ravioli, and the Shrimp and Crab Cake Alfredo.
We decided to skip dessert as we were already disappointed in our food and service. Won’t be back to this location.

The staff and service are always super friendly and attentive. Everything I’ve eaten has always been great. It’s close to my house and it’s always very convenient.

Ate here this past weekend and must say I was a bit disappointed.
The appetizer was good and that was the buffalo spring rolls! We ate them very fast. Loved the sauce they came with too.
The main entrees looked good, but they just were not. I ordered the crab stuffed shrimp Alfredo and it was not seasoned well. The only thing that really had flavor was the stuffed shrimp but the Alfredo sauce and noodles were sort of bland. My friends food was also thrown on her plate and didn’t look appetizing.
I’ve eaten here once before in 2012 and ordered the same thing and it was so delicious that I had to come have it again. However, it was not good this time.
Service was okay.

My boyfriend and I just left here after dining for a late lunch with a gift card. The sad part is that the food is actually good. I have never eaten a meal from here that I didn’t like. It may be a bit salty for some, but I really enjoy the flavor. Unfortunately, I find that the portion sizes have significantly decreased recently, but the prices haven’t. The lunch prices are still a good deal though. The worst part is the service. Our waitress didn’t check on us once, no brownie for the lunch deal, no refills. It felt like she purposely ignored us. When we left we saw her sitting down and eating at a table with other waitresses. I guess she started her break early…