Annunciation

Ate here on a late Friday evening with a group of 7 and easily got a table. After living here for two years and many delectable NOLA meals, I was underwhelmed by my meal (pork shoulder with smoked onion and jalapeño grits). Didn’t taste jalapeño and I think I just expected so much more from the roasted meat. We got two of the oyster starters on the menu and I felt it was lacking flavor. Everyone else liked their meals — not sure if it was hunger or just their first NOLA meal. not sure if it was worth the cost of the dish. Service wasn’t bad and we didn’t have to wait too long for our meals.

In town for a trade show. Had Drumfish. Excellent. Two shrimp included. Started with fried oysters with Brie. Yummy!!! Allen very attentive & added to out wonderful experience.

I came back to Annunciation about a week ago. Sat at the bar and had a drink while waiting for the rest of our group. The drinks were on point. The food was delicious as usual. Had the brie and spinach oysters and sweetbreads. Both were really good. I also had the duck as an entrée — which was also delish. I must say that my complaint remains the same as my previous review. The service is lacking.

Lee Y.
Just to leave more details
We went as a group of around 10 friends, we only get together once in awhile. That is why it was still a great experience.
I had the Mahi. It was very bland and over cooked. After food was delivered nobody came to check on us till after everyone else had already eaten. I brought it up to the waiter and he didn’t seem to care that I had only taken two bites. Another person in the party told one of my friends that they had the swordfish but only had a few left. She said I want it. He confirmed she would get a piece. When food was delivered they gave her the Mahi, not mentioning that they didn’t have anymore swordfish. So she wouldn’t eat Mahi either. Many of the party said the food was ok but, we all agreed it would not be a place we would return.
So not really mean spirited just a bad experience, that if the staff was attentive could have resolved easily.

We had an excellent dinner at Annunciation… may be our new Nola fav! Our waiter, Decklyn, was terrific. The fried oysters appetizer was good and the green salad was amazing! My wife had the drum fish special and I had the shrimp etoufee… both fantastic. Great experience!

I’ve never given a one-​star review for a restaurant before — see my other reviews.
Our first bottle of red was brought to the table and placed on the plate of one of our party, where it remained, unopened, for the 20 minutes it took for our waiter to return.
We also ordered a single glass of white, but oddly the waiter brought by the entire bottle to the table («you’ll drink more than one glass, won’t you? I’ll chill it for you»). It was a surprise to realize some time later that he had simply left the open bottle on the windowsill.
The sweetbreads were inedible. Gristle? In sweetbreads?!? Both orders? The single reasonable outcome of the evening was that we were not charged for the sweetbreads.
Baked oyster appetizer was very good, as was the drum entrée and (I am told) and the veal osso bucco. The drum was lukewarm by the time it arrived at the table, however.
My pork shoulder was also tepid upon arrival, and was impressively salty. The jalapeño that was supposedly in it could not be tasted.
Service was so painfully slow that my brother felt compelled to say something. This did, at the end of the day, result in one bottle of wine being comped — but it was the bottle of WHITE wine — the one that we hadn’t even ordered (we had just ordered a glass) — and the comp came with the comment «I don’t like it when my manager has to apologize for me, but I’d never stand in the way of free wine.» The second bottle of red wine that we DID order did not show up for another half hour.
My wife and her mother ordered greens as a side. Her mother’s order arrived with her already late main course, but my wife’s order didn’t arrive at all, She reminded the waiter about it, but her greens still did not show up until everyone had finished eating. We sent them away, but were still charged for them too (and the waiter pointed out that her mother hadn’t finished HER greens, which seemed like a very odd excuse for not having brought my wife’s side dish).
We were told by the manager that the reason for the poor service was that one of their staff had abruptly quit working shortly after we were seated.
At the end of the meal, I thought back to its inauspicious beginning, which I hadn’t thought much of at the time, but which rounded out the picture in the end: the waiter took orders for appetizers, entrees and sides from a table for 7 without taking any notes. I’ve seen this parlor trick before from folks with impressive memories. However, after we finished ordering, when the waiter pulled out his pad and said «ok, let’s see if I’ve got this right» he was unable to remember a single one of our orders correctly.
I should note that this was a dinner in honor of my mother’s parents’ 47^th wedding anniversary. My brother-​in-​law made note of this to the manager, but this fact was not acknowledged at all. (Contrast this with the extremely nice gestures that we have experienced at places like GW Fins, Vincent’s, Commanders and Brigtsens on the occasion of other anniversary dinners).
Having never written this unpleasant of a review of a restaurant before, this is a bit of an odd experience for me. BUT: dining out should be an extremely pleasant experience. Dropping $ 400 for a dinner for 7 is not something that is done simply because the food is unusually good (which, in this case, it wasn’t), but because the overall experience, including the service, makes it especially more valuable than the actual cost of the ingredients. In this case, the food itself merited somewhere in he neighborhood of 3 stars, even when taking the inedible sweetbreads into account.
The service, however, was SO shockingly bad, and so impressively slow and sloppy and downright unpleasant, that I’d give it zero stars if I were permitted to do so. I have NEVER before slanged the staff at any restaurant that I have reviewed, so this is also a first for me.
A final side note: women, if you like sharing restrooms with men, this is the place for you. None of the women in our party found this preferable.
I’ve reviewed a couple of places where I wouldn’t recommend my friends make reservations. This, however, is the first place I’ve reviewed where I would actually attempt to dissuade any friends from attending.

Love the staff! Great people, great food
This was a real surprise, of course you can’t get a bad meal in this town, but some are better then others. This place is better then others and the price is a real bargain.
There were four of us and everyone raved about their entire, apps were very good — sweetbreads were best I’ve ever had. They pour a nice cocktail also
I especially love 4 star quality rating restaurants with 2 dollar price ratings — Great Value.
I read Russell’s review from the 19^th of December. — - — I say «bullshit». Here’s an example: Central Grocery is not the best Resturant in all of Nola it just has the best Muffuletta in town, don’t leave town without stopping for a muffuletta at central grocery. To say there’s other and better restaurants is missing the point.
I love all the best that Nola has to offer (Anton’s, Galatorie’s, Commanders Palace, Mr B’s, Palace Café, August, etc etc) Annunciation isn’t the very best Resturant in all of the Nola restaurants– it’s just really good, fun, and a lovely experience. You should go here.

Didn’t have big expectations, but enjoyed a delicious Maple Vanilla Old Fashioned before an amazing Pork Shoulder over grits and sliced steamed Brussels sprouts. Great music, great service! Why didn’t I come here earlier?

Hard to have a bad meal in New Orleans. Impossible to have a bad meal here.
Nice atmosphere. You can bring clients or a date. Staff is very professional and friendly. Willing to make any dish in anyway that will make you happy.
Hash brown brussel sprouts a fav. Great gumbo and wonderful pan searched chicken.
I will be back.

Loved! After a grueling 4-​day conference, I was the last of my compadres in town. As is my wont when dining solo, I found a place with a great, quiet bar, Annunciation, this charming old building just a 3 block walk from the Hilton Garden Inn.
From start to finish, the food and service were exceptional. The friendly bartender made a mean Sazerac and chatted with me about her NY past and NOLA present. The executive chef stopped at the bar to say hello and we also talked Louisiana. He and his team delivered deliciously complex — yet home-​feeling — food — the Veal Annunciation, Cooked to perfection and served over pasta and a perfectly seasoned herby Alfredo sauce.
Absolutely what the Dr ordered after a long few days away from home. Thanks for taking me in for a meal, Annunciation! Hope to be back soon.

Bogus!
Party of 6, showed up on time for our reservations. Restaurant wide open but told we have to wait for our table to be «ready». It’s right there buddy; all set and ready! I see it! Who are you kidding? Made to wait 20 minutes at bar do they could get us to order drinks. Are you that desperate for an extra drink to tack on our bill? Ruins the experience.

The bartender taught me how to order my martini correctly! I said I wanted a vodka martini neat and he said no you don’t-you want it dry and up and he was right and it was great and dirty!!! The apps were: shrimp remoulade and fried oysters with brie. Delish! I loved the shrimp! The remoulade was light and perfect and not creamy. Main meal: I had the veal Oscar. It was very buttery and rich but good. The guys ordered the swordfish special and they were very happy. The pork shoulder with grits-​I would go back for that-​my boss had it the night before and he loved it. The wine was reasonably priced. We had the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and it was lovely. Dessert: Chocolat Pot De crème-​like a mousse. It was fabulous! Bread pudding: I did not like the coconut in there but it was still good.

We went here as another work function with 20+ people. The restaurant was able to accommodate all of us efficiently and actually pretty quick. The set up is cool, it’s small and cozy almost. The maître d’ greeted us at the door and carried on a pretty long conversation at the table, he was great. The food was really good, as well. I’d return next time I’m in the city.

We are from out of town and came here on the suggestion of our hotel. It was absolutely the best meal ever. I had the pan roastrd chicken which was perfection. My husband had the pork shoulder and it was so good he says that he is ruined from all other pork. This place is a must.
The staff was also extremely attentive and friendly. They made us feel very welcome.

This is my last night in New Orleans so I decided to give Annunciation a try. I was hesitant after reading some of the reviews. I have to say, I was very impressed by the service and food. We started with the Turtle Soup amd Onion Soup. Both great! The Veal Oscar was amazing so was my son’s Sheepshead with crabmeat and fried plantains. The atmosphere is great. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

Fantastic option in the CBD. Had the special filet tonight. Cooked perfectly and paired with potatoes au gratin. I started with the fresh greens salad topped with tomatoes. Very fresh and delicious. Will chose this establishment again.

What a lovely surprise! A hidden gem! New York-​meets-​New Orleans atmosphere, and food was DIVINE! Handcrafted cocktails were excellent. Our server and maitre d’ made us feel like rock stars. The meal was timed impeccably… We enjoyed a gracious two-​hour visit with our friends and were sad that we didn’t have room for dessert. We will be back soon!

Really disappointing.
Service was fine but everything after that was a mess. So many better option around here there is zero reason to go to Annunciation.

One of the best maitre ‘d s in the business. We arrived early and were serenaded while awaiting our appetizers. I ordered a Pimms Cup before dinner and while out od cucumbers a staff member was sent sprinting down the street to acquire one brownie points for sure. We ordered the cabbage to start, scallops for dinner and lemkn cake for dessert. I later learned the head chef once worked for Clancy’s which makes sensw as the menu is nearly identicle, not that is all bad but I felt like I had tasted this menu before.
Overall it was pleasurable experience but there are other places that I would choose first.

What a wonderful treat to the end of a weeklong conference. This restaurant was one that everyone said all the «locals» loved to go to for authentic Creole food.
I started with the Pimms Annunciation cocktail which was delish: lemon and ginger nuances. Hot bread was served to us immediately and both the host and our waiter were very friendly. I ordered the roasted pork shoulder served with the creamiest grits. It had the texture of mashed potatoes. My friends started their meals off with a salad that was plentiful. One ordered the lobster and shrimp risotto, the other ordered the lentil soup. The side order of fried eggplant was shared by the three of us, because all of the portion sizes were very generous. There was only room for the chocolate pot de crime for dessert, although there were other selections that had caught our eye, based on the suggestions of our charming waiter. On our next trip, we will definitely stop here again.
It was a lovely atmosphere and we could have a normal conversation without the usual loud din in many of the other restaurants we visited during our stay in this lovely city on the Gulf coast. I’m not sure if our dished were Creole, but they were wonderful, and we had a great dining experience. Five stars… And we’ll-deserved.
If you try to use their online booking feature, it’s not always accurate. It had indicated they didn’t have a table for the time we had selected, but a telephone call proved otherwise.