Infirmary

Horrible experience tonight. I loved this place when I used to live around the corner. Food is still amazing. Bartenders are lacking now. Slow and not terribly great — by the book. The worst part though… the owner’s friends had a party and one of them was SO loud. Yelling so loudly and aggressively (albeit in jest and fun) that people were leaving due to his yelling, upsetting people throughout the restaurant but no one would tell him to calm down because they were the owner’s friends. Disgraceful and what a waste of a nice night with my girlfriend. This used to be a place that was awesome to come to for good food, great drinks, and fun times with nice clientele. Now, it’s a bunch of financial looking a**holes with money to do $ 20 shots and drink $ 25 cocktails that may as well be a red bull and vodka with the way they are drinking them. Glad to have moved to queens and leave the UES riff-​raff where it belongs. Enjoy your pretentious night. I hope you’re still tipping the bartenders.

Service was great. Food was great! The char baked oysters (I believe that’s what it was called) were amazing!!! The drinks were different and awesome. A great time for some drinks and food.

My friends, Dean and James, own this spot and it’s a great place on the UES for a fancy cocktail and some delicious Creole food. Go there for Happy Hour for specials on drinks and bites.
Food: All Creole with some fusion dishes. Crispy Boudin Balls, Baked Mac n Cheese, and extremely fresh hummus and veggies are all a big hit for me.
Cocktails: These are the stars of the show for sure. Pin Up Girl… go on… DO IT.
Overall: Dean and James, you two are killing it! Cheers to you both, and can’t wait to see you next time I’m up there!

WOW! Awesome, loved it :)
Great food, we had shrimp and great, authentic New Orleans barbecue, and the fried chicken and biscuits was best I’ve had. Great service, fun atmosphere. Loved it, definitely going back :) :) :)
Three smiley faces

This place is perfection for me! Not only is it a few block from home but their drinks, food, and service is amazing. We’ve been here 4 or 5 times now and every time it’s a solid experience.
Some of my favorite drinks here are the classic sazerac and pin up girl, they’re a must try. I would describe their food as good ‘ol cajun cooking with an upscale twist. In other words its damn good hearty food with a kick. My ultimate favorite is their roast beef po’ boy, it’s soooo flavorful it will leave you wanting more. Their fried chicken is cooked to perfection! It’s moist and crispy and they give you dark meat! Also their braised collards are the best I’ve ever had you got to get them.
Everything I’ve ever ordered here wether it was a cocktail or a meal I’ve loved. The restaurant itself has a very relaxed vibe but it’s stylish and cool. They also have a great happy hour M-​F from 12−7pm on drinks and food. All their staff is so friendly they go out of the way to make you feel at home. This has definitely become one of my favorite places in the UES.

Delicious cocktails and great atmosphere. I ate at the bar with my husband for new years eve and have to say they make some of the best fried chicken I’ve had. Their biscuit was also really good and had just enough salt but not too salty! It also came with an apple butter sauce for the biscuits that was good but not necessary, a nice option to sweeten the meal. For drinks i ordered a love punch and it was insanely good and dangerous
Service was a bit slow but would go back again

Went for a private event. Ordered the gumbo, which was nice and spicy. Had the breakfast Po boy, which was yummy. Sampled the Ceasar salad, which was good. Also sampled the chicken and biscuits, which were very good… kudos to the honey butter. Good service, lovely staff.

I truly love Infirmary. The food is divine especially the service. It’s fast, timely and they cater to your very quickly. If you’re looking for authentication New Orleans Cajun food… especially if you reside in the island of Manhattan.
It’s worth the commute. The cocktails are delicious and have a special touch to it. And you can’t go wrong with there desserts as everything should delectable. The icing on the cake is the amazing female manager. She’s very sweet, respectful and truly cater to your needs.
This can easily become your cheers.

I’d been charged with finding a brunch spot for Patricia, Pam and I and Calle Ocho didn’t seem like we’d have space to connect. I’d been to the much larger venue a week before and it’s a zoo.
Infirmary is far more laid back and you pay for it with no real drink specials to sip on. The buttermilk biscuits are a hit and it felt oddly charming. I’d stay away from the chicken and waffles. I had the egg skillet, which was a tomato cheesy bubbling mess that managed to be quite tasty.

Service was incredibly slow. Then, when my wife’s shrimp and grits came out, they were room temperature. And she found egg shells in her food! My crawfish benedict was warmer and tasted ok, not great. Had the gumbo as a starter. Also could have been hotter. Was a good sized portion (the bowl, not cup), but a bit sweet.
The server took my wife’s entrée off the check and gave us complimentary beignets. That was worth an extra star. Otherwise, would have given a 2 star rating.

I’d come here again to get drinks but not sure I’d order food unless I were starving. The husband and I shared a seafood jambalaya and rice and beans and both dishes were very watery. Bleh!
Also, one of my friends who lives on the UES came here for a first date last week and the food was so bad, she decided the guy didn’t deserve a second date bc he doesn’t know how to use Unilocal

Southerner who came North…
So, Yes! It does make me an «expert» on Southern Cuisine! (Well, at least in my own head).
I was raised on shrimp and grits… fish and grits… fried chicken and biscuits with syrup… fried chicken and homemade waffles or pancakes… seafood gumbo… oyster stew… oyster dressing… crabmeat and rice… crabmeat and grits… conch fritters… oxtails… low country boils and SO ON!
I was anxious and excited about the experience I THOUGHT I was going to have…
The experience started off «ON POINT»! The specialty cocktails were YUMMY! I tried two! The Silver Tongued Devil and the Love Drunk Ginger Punch! Both were de-​lish! BUT, that Silver Tongued Devil was DA’BOMB! So freakin’ good!
Now to be honest about my review, my table only tried two items from the food menu. We ordered the Shrimp & Grits and the Chicken & Cornbread Waffles… We were NOT pleased with our dishes. The sauce used with the shrimp was TERRIBLE! It had a unsavory, burnt, «past-​its-​expiration-​date» sorta of flavor :(More like a burnt worcestershire sauce — not a BBQ sauce! And the Cornbread Waffles! Well, they sounded like a good idea… (But NOT!) Very dry and unappealing. That idea needs some DEFINITE work… (and probably some syrup).
Will I go back??? Well… maybe for the cocktails in the Spring! :)

I’ve been here about 3 or 4 times now and each visit I was impressed! Went for brunch yesterday and ordered the crispy chicken sandwich which I absolutely LOVED! Chicken was perfect and I’m a sucker for any sandwich with a fried egg on top. I also ordered the kale salad to split with a friend. Let me start off with saying I don’t really like salad and don’t often order at restaurants b/​c it seems like a waste of money for just some greens… but this salad I completely love. It is weird to me how much I love this thing. I think the standout is the Candied Pecan-​Bourbon vinaigrette. I was so excited about the food I was ordering I forgot to order the beignets, which I’ve heard are great (something to look forward to next time).
The drinks are also very yummy. With brunch I had the bloody mary which was big and very flavorful. The silver tongued devil is great if you like spicy things.
Atmosphere is fun and relaxed, classy but not pretentious. The big windows out front give it a nice open feel to it, and I am in love with this turquoise patter wall décor in the back room. I am trying to figure out how to work that into my home design. Music is good and upbeat but not overpowering. Staff is always really friendly the crowd on a Saturday night is lively and fun.

Umm… I dont know but i think this is a lezzy bar disguised as a creole bar… Lots of ladies in pairs. But the drinks are great, they have a huge selection of absinthe which I have never seen here in nyc. Its nice and spacious. But again, i think its lezzy night or something, all i meed to see are a few cats!

The chicken sandwich is the killa. Huge portion of perfectly fried crispy chicken with the best buns. When you put the top bun on top and slightly press down to get a good grip of this sandwich, the egg starts to ooze out to your place. Makes it even better with the hot sauce on the side and even! better if you get the side of fries (more like potato wedges, $ 7).
Of course I got the bang bang cocktail and baked mac n cheese to start before my sandwich. You can’t leave Infirmary without getting a strong drink Mac n cheese.
We finished our meal with beignets that are topped with powdered sugar.
Unusually the food took forever to come out today but I was okay because the food and drinks were absolutely on point and our server was really nice. And of course I’ll be back here soon:)

I’m not quite sure why they chose to call this place ‘Infirmary’, but I sure hope it’s not because they send a lot of people to the hospital!
I love the ambience of this place. It has huge windows out front that they keep open at nights and a spacious bar area with lots of christmas lights, which give it a festive feel. There are plenty of seats and counter space, which makes it great for groups! The music is also on point: a great mix of older songs mixed in with some top 40 songs.
The drinks are poured with a heavy, heavy hand. I ordered the Bang, Bang thinking that it would be a lighter drink, because… grapefruit juice? Anyway, I know my tolerance for alcohol, and if I’d finished the whole drink, I would have been slurring and stumbling all the way home.
That being said, I think Infirmary would definitely be a good place to start the night. Drinks are on the pricier end, but one drink could probably last you the whole evening.
They also have a food menu (and brunch!), which I would definitely be up to trying if I’m in the area in the future.

To be honest I only chose this place for the beignets. I miss NO and beignets are practically a staple. Four of us went right after work and ordered several items off the menu to share:
I don’t remember the exact names of the items ordered
Baked oysters
New Orleans sampler
Alligator po boy
Crabcake dipping sauce
Duck meat
Mac & cheese
Beignets
That’s all I remember for now. My favorites were the mac & cheese and alligator with a delicious sweet sauce. The crabmeat sauce was also addictive.
I wasn’t allowed to try any of the alcoholic drinks but I tried a mocktail. The fresh lemonade and pineapple was so refreshing. Try a mocktail if you want the taste of a cool alcoholic beverage, and look like you’re having one, without the buzz and drunkenness. They are cheaper too, only $ 7.
Everyone enjoyed the food and drinks, except one person said the hurricane was watered down, but she was called an alcoholic anyway, and congratulated me on an exceptional choice in venue.
This is now one of our favorite places.

Solid drink selection and they offer a variety of Cajun food.
Had the gumbo on a warm summer day. I hate celery in things and this had plenty of it. I feel like it’s just a filler food which is never a good thing. It wasn’t tomato based which, to me, is a very odd concept as that wasn’t how it was done growing up in Texas. I also have a stance that for it to be considered gumbo it must have okra. Sigh. No okra here.
I feel like if you’re just looking for small bites and some good drinks one night, Infirmary is a great choice but this just feels like a spot that you wouldn’t go to strictly for Cajun food. That’s why I came here and left a tad disappointed. It wasn’t a bad bowl of gumbo, just not the real, deal, Holyfield.
The bartenders are killer though. Fun, interactive with patrons, and on their game. I also loved the space. Super chill vibes and those big windows at the front are to die for.
3.5 stars rounded down.

Got a call from hubbs for a happy hour farewell to one of his coworkers. The place is close to his job and apparently a cpl of people were leaving the job, so the front was packed with people from his hospital. From what I understand, management wouldn’t let them use any part of the dining room so everyone was made to stay in the front bar area which became very cramped, very quickly.
I ordered a glass of wine, a cocktail for hubbs, oysters, hand cut fries and mac and cheese as soon as I got there, which was around 6pm. Phil, the bartender, took care of my drink order fairly quickly but the food took forever to come out. I heard some of the guests had to wait 20 minutes or longer for their drinks but I got mine in a timely fashion. It was probably just the luck of when I ordered but I could understand the frustration; there were only two bartenders taking care of a scant dining room and over fifty bar patrons who were fervently enjoying the libations.
At this time there really wasn’t anyone else there but our party of about 40 – 50 ppl and not many food orders, so I’m not understanding why it took almost an hour for uncooked oysters. Another guest came by and ordered fries and chicken Sliders about 30 minutes after I ordered my food and hers came out before mine. A lot of the guests were complaining about the same thing. I kept seeing some guy coming out to the front, wearing a black chef jacket and was wondering if the food would come out quicker if he stayed in the kitchen to help out. TBH, I think the organization was just completely screwed up.
By the time I got my oysters (about 45 minutes post ordering), you could tell they were done some time ago because the ice they were supposed to be sitting atop was already a pool and I had to drain them before consumption. They were fresh and I enjoyed them but I wished the oyster juice wasn’t completely washed out. When I counted, I noticed that I only received 17 oysters and I informed Phil, who put in for the mollusk owed to me. I mean, it took another long wait but he hooked me with two oysters for the trouble. It was minutes to seven, when the HH would expire, so I ordered some baked oysters and another mac & cheese for myself.
Finally, my fries and hubby’s mac and cheese came. We scarfed that down and proceeded to wait another hour for the extra mac and the char baked oysters. The fries were great. They’re hand cut all different sizes and perfectly cooked with some fresh parm grated on top and two dipping sauces. The mac is very cheesy and slightly spicy with what I’m guessing to be jalapeños cooked into it. Hubby hates spicy but he liked it and said it was great. Those baked oysters are where it’s at. I ordered four and they are offered as one piece for $ 2 with a minimum order of two. They taste so good with a little bit of melty cheese and spices all over and are served with a crusty, warm baguette section that’s perfect to rip apart and sop up all that greasy, cheesy, seasoned oyster sauce that leaks onto the plate.
The food was great but the service; not so much. I’m chalking it up to an unexpected influx of happy hour bar patrons. The staff looked frazzled and I’m sure on a regular night, this would be a great date night spot with the hubbster, so I’ll definitely be back.

I really want to give this place 5 stars, but what really fell flat for me were the boudin balls. I’ve been on a quest to seek out good boudin in NYC after visiting a small town in Louisiana in November… it’s a LOT harder than you imagine! We ordered 2 drinks (milk punch and the sinister kid) and 3 dishes: New Orleans special, boudin balls, and the char-​broiled oysters.
The New Orleans special was a sampling of gumbo, rice and beans, and jambalaya. The gumbo was very good but had a strange sweet flavor that isn’t normally in gumbo. I’m not sure what it was. The rice and beans were excellent, especially since it had tassou and andouille in it (yay tassou!). The jambalaya was creole style (with tomatoes), not cajun style. I personally liked it, but my boyfriend prefers cajun style jambalaya.
The char-​boiled oysters were a little too cheesy, but since I love cheese, I did NOT mind at all!
The boudin balls are the reason why I did not give the Infirmary a 5 star. Cajun boudin is so hard to come by up here in the Northeast… I was looking forward to these balls. Unfortunately, the rice inside was dry and the balls were a bit too dense. Boudin should be nice and moist and soft. The fried balls should have that juxtaposing texture of crunchy outside and juicy/​steaming/​moist rice inside. It was a bummer.
I really enjoyed my milk punch a LOT. In fact, I have ideas on how I can make this stuff at home. Lighter than eggnog, just as strong. Fantastic. The boyfriend enjoyed his sinister kid drink. It was a very interesting twist on a sazerac.
Last but not least, our favorite dish was the beignets. These hot, freshly fried, confectioners sugar covered desserts were JUST as good as the ones at Café Du Monde. It was a bummer they no longer have the chicory coffee.
This is a great place on the UES, but for the price and the food/​boudin balls they have to offer, I would only come back here for the beignets. There are places in NYC (Bushwick) that have the same food for much less… and can make a much better boudin ball.