Bayona

Hand down the best meal we had in our 5 days in New Orleans. The goat cheese croûton was insane as was the garlic soup. And my steak was perfect. The service was also fantastic while the setting was charming.

Had a great time recently at Bayona. We were entertaining my dad and his wife and this elegant eatery in the FQ was a great choice. When service and product excel it is truly a superstar experience and Bayona is just that. Like Susan’s other restaurants she puts together wonderful flavors resulting in excellent dishes.

Not recommended, food is mediocre at best and the service is very bad. Took them 25 min to pay attention that we are done with our meal because the waitress was chatting with a couple for all that time. They gave my wife and I the feeling that they are doing is a favor for serving us. There are many good places in NO — this is not it.

I had forgotten I’ve been here before. Wednesday lunch with the wifey is very different from the drunken dinner with friends a few years ago. The food was still spectacular as I remembered, but I certainly drank less. The shrimp with grits was pretty good, but you have to try the sweetbreads.
Atmosphere is pretty formal. Although the other diners were a mix of young and old, everyone was pretty laid back and quiet.

We came here a few years back and really liked it, so came back again. This time around it was so-​so… :-(
Most of what we ordered was pretty average and nothing special or memorable… however, the mushrooms with a goat cheese croûton were extremely good (really really really good!!!)…
Service was fair and it is a lovely environment…
We would recommend it, but we probably wouldn’t come back again as we’ve since found many other restaurants that we believe are superior… Hope you enjoy it…

We celebrated our 5^th wedding anniversary here last night. It was amazing!
Great service. There when you needed them, privacy the rest of the time.
Great food. We had the smoked quail salad, lamb loin, and salmon. All of the temperatures were nailed, and the portions were perfect to match the fact that we had a salad and a Au grautin to start with.
Put this place on your list if you want to have a nice dinner out in NOLA.

It took us six years to get a table here — we should have waited longer. We tried to just walk in during a NOLA trip in 2010 and were unsuccessful. This time we booked a table in advance and were less-​than-​blown away. This pretentious restaurant is extremely loud, the menu relatively pedestrian, and the food was just ok.
We went late on a Friday night expecting a reserved, refined meal. Instead we were seated next to party of seven communicating at such a volume that my wife and I frequently couldn’t hear each other talk. A guy at a nearby four-​top inexplicably started barking. And of course, our servers had to speak loudly to be heard. It was a jarring experience.
The service was attentive, but also annoying with its classic up-​sell strategy — starting with the ol’ bottled water ploy. Ice water was sufficient. We were treated to a lengthy dissertation about the house sazerac cocktail, assuming both that we were familiar with it and would be ordering it — we didn’t. And when it was time to discuss bread we were urged to try the $ 5 brioche first and then the «complimentary wild flour bread.» We chose just the bread and it wasn’t bad, actually.
Each server had a rehearsed speech about the menu, recited almost identically. The restaurant is 26 years old — items accompanied by a symbol had been available the entire time, and were excellent. Specials did not receive a symbol, and were excellent.
The menu seemed more like California cuisine than what we are conditioned to expect in Louisiana. I detected few local influences. My wife’s starter was interesting, though — cream of garlic soup. You might think it would be overpowering but it was satisfying and mellow. My salad was average — the greens seemed to be from an industrial supplier and were a little old. The best part about it was shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. For dinner we had a good blue crab salad and a disappointing hanger steak. I know it’s not always the best cut of beef, but I paid $ 32 for something that was chewy like beef jerky. It was served with really good sautéed squash and a slice of bland potato pie called a «tortilla» — a Spanish interpretation, according to our server. Fine, but why not charge me $ 42 and serve me a ribeye? I should add that I enjoyed a ribeye at another restaurant the next evening, for $ 28.
The glasses of wine were disappointing, especially at the $ 15 and $ 14 price points. My wife winced when I asked her about her white Rioja; it was apparently a bit tart. And my Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region made me pine for more elegant Pinots from California and Oregon.
All in all, we had a better experience at a French Quarter brewhouse the night before; it was quieter – even with blues music playing on the sound system – the service was subtle and more assured, and the food was better.

Had a horrible dining experience at Bayona. I was excited to finally try this restaurant after several missed attempts at snagging a reservation. Made reservations for a large party for a birthday dinner. Staff was pleasant enough initially, but as the night wore on they became significantly less and less attentive. The filet I ordered was probably the worst filet I’ve ever had. Because no one ever circled back to our table after our entrees were served, I never had a chance to express my disappointment.
At a finer dining establishment I would have expected our waitress to show some concern after the busboy cleared my barely touched entrée. Nope — she was totally unbothered and proceeded to serve us our bill + gratuity for a party of 11. I’ve received better service at Coop’s Place. I chopped it up as a loss. Maybe those missed attempts at reservations were God’s way of keeping me from having a dreadful meal/​service :(.

We came for the Saturday lunch, which is a small plate selection. 3 small plates for $ 28, which was a fantastic bargain here. Between my wife and I, we had the garlic soup, Caesar salad, glazed pork cheeks with soba, pancetta-​wrapped asparagus, culotte steak, and duck puff pastry. Everything was phenomenal. Amazing flavors!
The cocktails were great as well, as also was the service. We actually had the same server we had the first time we came here two years ago, and we weren’t disappointed.

This was the nicest meal we had on our recent trip to NO. We had heard good things and wanted to give it a try. Better make your reservation early. We called for our reservation early on a Tuesday and 8:30 was the earliest we could get in. From what I hear, we were luck to get in on the same day!
Bayona is located is a neat little building with the entrance on the side. Décor is rather traditional. It’s small, with seating for 50 – 60 at a time. Tables were situated a little too close for my liking. We were early and waited in their small waiting area with seating for about 12.
I would rate the wait staff at 4 stars, only because they were hard pressed to keep up with the crowded room.
The food was faultless. Starting with the complimentary bread. It was listed as some type of special flour, but I can’t remember what that was. Very nice with a wonderful chewy crust.
We shared the eggplant caviar which came with toasted points. The eggplant had a great salty Mediterranean flavor.
Next we had the garlic soup. Made with roasted garlic, it was sweet and flavorful. I would have been happy to make my meal out of a large bowl of this soup!
For the main, my wife had the duck and I had the lamb. Both were excellent, but perhaps not the absolute best we have ever had. My lamb, for example, was cooked to a perfect med-​rare and the sauce was a perfect complement. I enjoyed every bite, but wondered if there was something missing.
The wine list is very good and wines, while not cheap, are reasonably priced. We elected to get wines by the glass and were very happy with the selections available.

Our first meal in New Orleans and it was… good. Tucked away on Dauphine Street, we passed it the first time we walked by. We were warmly greeted by the hostess and seated immediately.
Service was good if not a little hesitant. They seem to tag team tables in NOLA and that’s a SMART idea. I started with the roasted garlic soup and it was garlicy. I love garlic and even I was a little overwhelmed. It was good but you better LOVE garlic. Husband had the pork cheeks and if he could have licked the plate clean he would have. They were that good.
My peppered lamb was presliced and very very good. Lamb + goat cheese + red wine reduction = happiness in my book. Husband had the salmon and they actually cooked it to his liking. They actually asked how he preferred it cooked. Nice touch. Well done.
We drank a bottle of wine since it was my birthday. They had a nice selection. We did not save room for dessert so I can’t comment on that.
Décor is a little old school and worn but overall the food was really good.

I’d been scoping out this restaurant for a week or so now determining if I wanted to actually come here. I heard a few rave reviews but, when I demurred towards the city’s famous Michelin-​quality restaurants like Commander’s Palace and Gautreau’s, I read that Bayona was «different» and «unique» from these distinguished places, a once-​in-​a-​lifetime sort of experience.
Nothing could be more true.
While Commander’s offers you superb service and Gautreau’s offers you superb food, Bayona is distinguished in offering you neither. This place is a production line of «good food», a restaurant designed to simply fool you into believing that you ate well in the same fashion that the emperor was too embarrassed to admit that he was, in fact, wearing no clothes. The service? Completely atrocious. The food? Lukewarm on cold plates. Want to complain? Forget about it, as the manager find such things to be your problem rather than his own. Bayona is charging you Manhattan prices while rendering you Bronx quality.
When I was making my decision to eat here, I came onto Unilocal to check it out. I read how bad the service is and how hit or miss the food can be and I simply thought I was reading the reviews of some overzealous Unilocalers. What I can say without reservation — and you’ll need one to get in here believe it or not — is that this is perhaps the worst meal I had in New Orleans. In a city famed for its culinary reputation, that’s certainly a unique accomplishment in it of itself.

Got there 20 minutes early and the hostess was not too friendly. We ordered eggplant caviar it was delicious and the grilled shrimp and black bean cake was amazing! Garlic soup was incredible! I had the drum dish. It was very different it was okay. I wouldn’t order it again. My boss got the duck sandwich. It was amazing and the vendor got got pork cheeks that was good, too. We ordered ice cream and it was good, but didn’t blow you away. The service needs improvement. We were there almost 3 hours for lunch. They had one waitress for the whole restaurant. She was not friendly nor personable at all. Christina the waitress for the drinks and desert was nice. I am not sure I would go back.

WELCOME TO BAYONA! The Quarter’s best fine dining-​themed circus.
Step right up and take a seat. Let the aloof waiters set the mood. I hope you brought a poncho! Now’s the time to pull it on: the wine flows freely everywhere but in your glass, making a Pollockian masterpiece of your tablecloth. If you’re lucky, they may extend their artistry to your dress shirt by opening a bottle over it, as they did for one of my dining companions.
Oh, you didn’t want your memories of Bayona on your shirt? How unappreciat… I mean, please leave your information with the host stand, dry clean your shirt, mail the receipt, and (maybe) you’ll be reimbursed: At Bayona, they exemplify «service.»
The manager, you ask? The manager is part of the experience, silly! And he makes Ed Debevic’s look like Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood:
Manager S. (ask for him by name!) starts the encounter reasonably, but – when you step aside with him and suggest that a comped entrée for the victim/​art patron might be in order since, you know, he expected to pay for fine dining but instead is without a dress shirt for the night – you realize that you’re still in Alice’s Wonderland, and S. will insist that you’re the crazy one. «Intoxicated!» Never mind that the only alcohol you’d had since waking was the maybe one glass of wine his restaurant served you when the waitress wasn’t watering the tablecloth or your shirt with your bottle: if you don’t sit down, Manager S. will call the police.
Suffer through the performance or go to jail: those are your options.
Following my S.-perience but still before our entrées arrived, our guest of honor, still in denial that we were actually at the circus, went, himself, to talk with the manager. Manager S. told him our options were to leave or stay, and when we chose to leave, ran after us calling the police. As we waited for S. at the front door, S. let loose a racial epithet at our guest of honor, perhaps as compensation for the waitress’s spill.
Wanting to get on with our night, we ultimately paid over $ 400 for the whole experience, including the entrées we hadn’t received. (We demanded they pack those entrées for us. They left out one, so they still shorted us not only in service but also in still-​unwanted food.) New Orleans’ finest – about six of them – arrived shortly thereafter, heard our story, talked to S., and then left, handcuffs empty.
One star for falsely promoting itself as a restaurant. Performance art is great, but not when I’m hungry.
N.B.: Manager S.‘s full name omitted for the sake of internet anonymity. Mr. Rogers, rest in peace, probably would have wanted it that way.
And, again in Mr. Rogers’ memory, I’ll mention that the host stand staff were pleasant, so props to them. One of them should be promoted to manager.

This might be the lowest rating I’ve ever given anywhere. I want to give no stars, but as a hospitality employee, I can’t.
I went on for the Saturday lunch with 2 friends. We arrived at 1225 for our 1215 reservation, so admitedly, we were late. And we had to get out by 150 for a show. We ordered our wine and picked our 3 courses each. It all sounded amazing. And then it was like we stopped existing. We had to flag people down to ask for water and bread. Yes, bread is only on request, but we didn’t have anyone from whom to request! At about 115, our first course came out. And by 130, nothing else had. So we asked for more bread. And by 140, still no more food. We asked our server for the bill at this point because it was clear we couldn’t stay to eat before our show. He sent the manager over and he only had us pay for our drinks which was very fair.
But the server we had was quite attentive to all of his other tables. I manage dining rooms, so I know what it looks like. Even his attitude when he greeted us was annoyed and bored. Maybe because we were 3 young ladies. Maybe because one of us is a person of color. Whatever the reason he judged us, it’s unacceptable. There are mirrors all over that place, and it’s very easy to see when someone rolls his eyes or makes a face when he turns around.
It’s a true shame because I love Bayona and take a lot of guests there, as well as recommend it to others when I help out the concierge desk. This experience was heartbreaking.

Went here on our last night in New Orleans. This one is a tough reservation so plan ahead a walk in is not going to cut it. Place has been there about 25 years and the staff is very friendly. Décor is nice and it is a place to bring your family. Though it is a bit upscale so your kids should behave them selves. My daughter commented that she likes the wallpaper (she is 7).
As for food I had the garlic soup. Cream based and, well, garlicky. Good flavors and I don’t usually see this on a menu so I had to get it. Other diners had salads which were solid but at the end of the day, just salads except for a blue cheese crumble which drew praise. Hangar steak was good as were the roasted Brussels sprouts that came with it.
Deserts were the star of the show mine was a chocolate crêpe that really hit the spot. Ice cream was vanilla and I think house made. It was excellent. Wife had selection of sweets but while delicious she said it was small portion wise. I’d come back and would count this as more of a high end «occasion» type place.

This place was very nice. Great murals painted on the walls and good location.
I had the Grilled Spinalis Steak served with asparagus and Roasted Potatoes. It was wonderful. The steak was so tender and cooked to perfection. No complaints at all on how well the steak was cooked.
BUT… I left the restaurant hungry. My food portion was very small. I wish now I had ordered an appetizer and a salad to go with my meal. …Lesson learned!
Food was great. Small portion. Service was just «Ok».

So many pleasant suprises in this place. Gorgeous walkway to a fabulous courtyard for outdoor dining. Surrounded by lush plants and stone. Hospitable hostess working perfessionally to honor every guest request. It didn’t stop there. The Goat cheese croûton app was well balance yet sharp, topped with a medley of mushrooms in a Madeira sauce. I savored every bite. The BBQ short rib was a hit as well. Boneless yet still tender. The BBQ sauce was carefully prepared not «bottled». The mushroom barley casserole left something to be desired. Pretty boring and a little dry but the brussels sprouts browned beautifully. Top notch service with a proactive manager on hand is always a good sight to see.

A very good lunch.
We started with the shrimp and black bean cake. I wasn’t too fond of the cake. Probably my least favorite thing I tried during the meal. The goat cheese crostini was very good (not really much commentary needed though; it takes like a crostini with goat cheese and mushrooms on top. The Madeira in the mushrooms was great).
For entrees my companions had the lamb and seared trout while I had bbq shrimp and grits. It was all very good. There was something about it that wasn’t quite special enough for five stars, but maybe that’s because I came for lunch.

One of the finest places I’ve dined. Certainly one of the top 5. I’ll be very explicit.
I came here with my colleagues for a late and tired dinner. I’ll sort of stick to my direct meal:
Apps: Parisian Gnocchi with pancheta and greens. It was excellent, and the blue cheese fondue was a perfect pairing to the otherwise very delicate gnocchi. A solid 4.5 stars mainly because the pancheta was few and far between.
Entrée: The rabbit. Dish came with a southern fried rabbit leg, rabbit stuffed with sausage and an almost wasabi flavored filler. Starch was a pureed sweet potato, and grilled brussel sprouts finished it off.
It was an absolute home run. Perfectly delicate fried leg (best I’ve ever had). As not a huge fan of sweet potato OR wasabi, the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed it was enough to say it was as good as it could be. ⁵⁄₅ and it’s not even close.
Finished with a great Charteusse, poured liberally, and bites of the pear and bread pudding take. Also excellent on both accounts, though the initial jolt of the drink felt like my throat getting shot at point blank. ⁵⁄₅.
This restaurant certainly cares about their food and they do an excellent job in all facets, especially service. Very knowledgeable staff, quality ingredients, and a general lack of pretentiousness (though they could afford to be) makes it a solid ⁵⁄₅ and one of the best restaurants I have eaten at.

Excellent restaurant avec une cuisine délicate et savoureuse.
Recommandé par tous les guides aussi bien français qu’américains, j’ai réservé une table pour deux avant que les festivités de Mardi Gras né commencent de peur de né pas avoir de place. Je n’ai pas regretté.
Nous nous sommes régalées les papilles de l’entrée au dessert.
Un seul petit bémol: nos plats principaux ont tardé à venir et du coup mon canard n’était pas assez chaud à mon goût.

This is an excellent restaurant where you absolutely have to go!
Could be award by the French Michelin guide, trust me I know what I’m talking about!
We ordered the cochon de lait, the duck, the flat iron (beef) and the rabbit, everything was excellent. The duck and the iron were perfectly cooked, the rabbit and the pork so tasty.
Moreover they have an interesting wine list!
All the personal knowledgeable and you can feel there presence without been interrupted every 5 mn! An excellent level of quality.