Borgne

Yum! I wasnt too enthused to try a restaurant in a vacation spot inside a hotel but i was grateful to our client for taking us here. The appetizers were so so good! Shrimp toast and bacon wrapped duck, I could not stop talking about it afterward and really wanted the last bite! haha Great appetizers and although I couldnt make it to happy hour, I saw that they had great happy hour options. My salad for lunch was ok, but I highly recommend coming here during happy hour and trying their appetizers for a happy belly :)

This is located in the Hyatt regency New Orleans hotel. Super convenient and reasonably price if you are staying at the hotel. The John legend fried chicken is amazing. Not super thick and greasy. I stayed at the hotel sinking I got to try a few dishes here. The scallops wee great as well and came with spaghetti squash. Healthy I tel
Ya!

I really think that Borgne is one of the most underrated restaurants in the city. The service is always great and the food is even better. The wine list is short, but full of great options. That said, there is the option to bring your own bottle for a $ 20 corkage fee. I’ve never had any of the cocktails here, but I’ve heard wonderful things from friends. On my most recent trip we had some of the Caminada Bay oysters and they were delicious! So fresh; I seriously could have just had those for my entrée. We also had the duck poppers and split the whole stuffed flounder. The kitchen was kind enough to prepare the split entrée on two separate plates so we didn’t have to do the dirty work of splitting an entire fish on our own. By the way, high recommend the flounder. Lightly fried and so flavorful. To be honest, everything I’ve had has been great here. I enjoy the casual environment and the music they play. I’d recommend Borgne to anyone looking for fresh and delicious seafood in New Orleans.

Best food in New Orleans. Great interior setting and the menu is awesome. We stopped for lunch and couldn’t have been treated better. Such a cool place!

So, so good! I can’t imagine a 2 star review. Started with raw oysters and duck poppers. We loved the duck poppers so much we ordered a second plate. They were gone in 30 seconds.
For entrees, we had angel hair w/​oysters, the John Legend chicken and the black drum with pecans and lump crab.
The drum was out of this world. The pecans gave it a nice crunch. The chicken falls off the bone, so juicy with a perfect crunch, and the potatoes it sat upon were incredible too. This dish was fantastic, NOT comparable to KFC!
My least favorite was the pasta, very heavy, but still good too.
Get dessert! That hazelnut pudding is what pushed this review from 4 to 5 stars. Glad I checked Unilocal first or I probably wouldn’t have ordered it. Great meal! (But the ladies room could be cleaner).

We came here on Christmas Day around 7pm for dinner and was sent away because the restaurant was fully booked for the rest of the night. Based on how crowded it was, we figure it must be really good! Thus, we came back the next day for lunch. The food was good, but nothing to rave about. A lot of it tasted like home cooking, which was nice, but not sure it was worth it for the regular price. Come here for the weekday lunch specials or the happy hour specials for better deals!
Complimentary bread — I loved the sprinkle of fennel on top, definitely ask for several rounds of this!
Shrimp angel hair pasta ($ 24) — Very flavorful pasta with huge shrimps! However, it was super rich and salty so felt too heavy after several bites.
Fish in a bag ($ 28) — The catch of the day was mahi mahi. The fish is literally cooked in a brown bag with lots of flavors on top. It tasted fresh, but the blend of flavors wasn’t particularly memorable in my opinion.
John Legend’s fried chicken ($ 22) — This is basically your usual KFC fried chicken but spiced up. They were very tasty but overpriced for three pieces of chicken with some potatoes at the bottom.
Chop salad ($ 16) — The least impressive dish of the morning. This salad looked more like a side dish. It’s about a third of the size of a regular entrée.

So I eat a lot of salads at restaurants because, frankly, my refrigerator is where produce goes to die a slow agonizing death. The chopped salad here is one of my favorite meals. Just enough of everything!

Another amazing experience at Bourne with our water John shenamen he was great. The food was perfect. And we continue to come to this John Besh restaurant because of the people and the food.

Nice quality place to come and cool my jets after working. Staff is splendid and the Parking gods smile on me when I’m near here. Happy hour is the journey-​destination all in one. Eat everything and bring friends.

I have been here in the past and was not impressed. I went here for lunch on Saints Sunday. We ordered 2 dozen raw oysters and 2 dozen chargrilled. Both were excellent. The chargrilled weren’t your typical, but were amazing. A friend and I split the drum with crabmeat. It was insanely terrific. So much crabmeat and it was perfect that we split it. Can’t wait to go back soon!

Another mediocre stop for me. This place didn’t blow my socks off. I had the duck poppers, broiled oysters, and fish in the bag.
The oysters, now those were tasty; but, what brings my review down was the entrée. The fish was a bit overcooked and there was not a good balance of the fixings. The fennel was piled up with very little spinach and tomato. Overall, the food was not bad it just wasn’t great.
My waiter was nice but they could use some help with the hostesses. Cute faces that say «welcome», just doesn’t cut it. I walked in with father in law, who is in a wheel chair, and no one grabbed the door. Then when we were preparing to sit, we had to arrange the seating for his wheel chair– the hostess just observed. First world problems, huh? Yes, I know how I sound but in the service industry I do expect a certain level of… service ;)

I’m pretty easy going and look for the good in things. Had to look really hard at Borgne.
Wanted a nice New Orleans gumbo and appetizers as a light dinner after a day of travel.
I do have to admit it was light. The portions were small, which is probably okay…
But the gumbo had no life to it. I like to be able to isolate the textures, tastes and flavors of a good gumbo and one would think that a New Orleans restaurant would hit the mark.
Their gumbo was almost a purée of the various ingredients leaving a uni-​flavor mélange that probably could have been consumed through a frappuccino straw. We sat at the bar and service was still slow and inattentive. The ambiance of the place is pretty much a sports bar atmosphere and was too loud for much reasonable conversation.
I can’t totally ditch the place. It was clean. There were plenty of TV monitors with a variety of football and baseball games visible. It just wasn’t what I was looking for.

The food was good, not great. I was impressed with the presentation and atmosphere, but the food didn’t blow me away like I expected.
Listen to the reviews about the duck poppers! Those were hands-​down the best part of the meal. If that was an entrée, I would have ordered it and possibly given 5 stars.
I ordered the whole seafood stuffed flounder. It was good, but the stuffing was the only part that really tasted seasoned. The stuffing was really good, but the flavor of the flounder was somewhat bland.
We got three desserts, and I don’t remember the exact names. The berry sorbet that was with the panna cotta was really light and refreshing.
My favorite dessert was the chocolate hazelnut pudding. It feels heavy, but it’s hard to stop eating once you start.
Overall, if I wanted a break from the usual dining locations I frequent, I’d come back to Borgne for the duck poppers and pudding!

Was here for a conference at the regency and was too lazy to go out for dinner. Since I was dining solo, I decided to just get take out from the restaurant here in the hotel.
I later found out that it was a famous chefs joint! Super cool. Though being from Cleveland, I think Michael Symon will forever have my heart.
I ended up getting the adobo hanger steak. The potatoes on the side were little pockets of heaven. Delicious. Oh my word. The steak was great too. They actually cooked it medium rare like I asked. Giving a 4 star rating since the green sauce it came with wasn’t my favorite and the overall feel of the restaurant is slightly low scale.

YUM. This was my first taste of both John Besh’s food, and New Orleans cuisine. I must say I was not disappointed.
Parking was a little bit of an issue, as the hotel was very busy. We valeted our car instead of trying to find a spot ourselves. The inside of the restaurant is really cool. They have a large bar area which seems like it would be a fun place to hang out in. They also have huge columns full of Oyster Shells, which set the stage for the great seafood you’re about to devour.
We started with Duck Poppers and the Slow Smoked Pork Empanadas. The Duck Poppers were so good, the cream cheese mellowed out the jalapeño perfectly, and the bacon gave it great crunch. The Empanadas were also very good — crispy on the outside and nice and juicy on the inside. I really enjoyed the White BBQ sauce they came with; I had never tried (nor seen) a white barbecue sauce before.
For my entrée I ordered the Black Drum A La Plancha — black drum served with brown butter, pecans and jumbo lump crab. Oh my, was it good. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the crab added just the right touch of sweetness. The nuts provided a great crunch to the dish, and it was the first time I’ve had nuts with seafood. I have to say it worked! One of my co-​workers ordered the Whole Seafood Stuffed Flounder. When they say whole they mean whole. It was the entire fish, skin and everything. But she really enjoyed hers as well.
Everything we tried was very good. Prices seem a little high, but the restaurant is in a hotel so that probably adds to it.

I’ve been a big fan of Chef John Besh for years, but this was my first opportunity to have a meal at Borgne. Located within the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Borgne essentially greets you at the front door.
We walked in and were immediately seated without a reservation. We heard about the types of fish being used throughout the menu and all ordered the sangria. Ours was weak or perhaps diluted with too much ice, but the rest of the meal was so good that I just ignored this issue in awarding stars for this review. We stirred to see if the spirit was at the bottom, but it was just weak.
The octopus with curried hummus was super tender. The hummus had great curry flavor, and at the center there were garlic chips and capers that were almost a hidden burst of flavor surprise. Amazing.
The duck poppers. Salty, sweet, savory, spicy, bacon-​y, slightly cheesy, will leaving you mopping the plate for every drizzle of sauce goodness. That is all.
Fish in a bag — Chef’s award-​winning dish. Mahi mahi over fennel, caramelized onions, spinach, and grape tomatoes. Crab fat butter on top. All enclosed in a parchment bag and steamed in the oven, served in a closed bag, which is cut open by the server. Light, but decadent with the onions.
Scallops and sea beans. I expected saltiness because of the briney sea beans. The scallops were well seasoned and perfectly cooked on top of garlic pesto couscous. Really good, but you’ll want to drink more water.
We passed on dessert, but our server was extremely nice, food passers were friendly, and even the person refilling waters was warm and welcoming.
There is a long, inviting bar within the restaurant as well. They are currently advertising «Downtown Tuesdays» — happy hour extends to 7pm.
See pics.

One of the best happy hours in New Orleans. In recent years, I’ve been staying at the Hyatt Regency during my NOLA trips, so Borne has become the natural choice for happy hour since it’s located on the premises. Happy hour takes places every day from 3 to 6 pm, and they even have live music on Fridays. The drink specials cannot be beat (hello — $ 7 CARAFES of sangria!!!), and the small plates are delicious. The quality is not compromised due it being happy hour. Favorites include the bolognese and turkey necks.
Best part is that they take reservations, even for happy hours — so, if you have a large group (think weddings, conferences, etc), you can rest assured that your group will have seating and delicious nomz and dranks.

Excelente. Tudo muito bom. Fica dentro do Hyatt mas tem acesso livre. Vale à pena.

Not our favorite of the Besh empire of restaurants. It’s a wide open restaurant with tiny tables and a cafeteria feel to it. It’s has some charming décor but it just feels more like a hotel restaurant than the others to me.
The food wasn’t bad but it wasn’t special either. The wife had a salad with grilled chicken. No grill marks on the chicken and the dressing was separated. Three of us got the Monday special. It was red beans and rice with a fried pork chop. The red beans were sweet for some reason and the pork chop was less than a quarter inch thick. That meant it was mostly breading. Same went for the grilled oysters. There was a half a cup of breading on top of each oyster.
The coolest part of the experience was the square ice cubes and the logo water pitcher on the table. Probably won’t be back. We will stick with Luke, Domenica, or August.

Just left New Orleans about 2 days ago and I am still thinking about my meal from Borgne. I was visiting with a group of girlfriends for a bachelorette party (yes, it was epic– thanks for asking) and we decided our last big dinner together would be at Borgne. Best decision ever. (Thank you, Audra B. for the reservation!)
The restaurant is in the business district, which was a nice break from all the noise. Its located in the Hyatt hotel. The place itself is fun and modern. The pillars in the middle of the restaurant were adorned with oyster shells. Pretty cool. Our group of 13 was quite the table but our server was excellent (and very patient).
For starters, a few of us decided to split a dozen raw oysters. Very light on the briney side, and perfectly sized. Some of the best oysters I’ve had. Congratulations, Lousiana! I would have preferred a bit of vinegar, but the oysters were so light, vinegar wasnt needed. A dozen set us back about $ 15. I could have eaten a dozen more.
For my entrée I got the oyster spaghetti. Made with creamy garlicy oyster broth and a nice amount of oysters. Was a favorite among the table. I also tried some of the hanger steak which was also very good. The steak had a nice rub on it, which had a bit of a middle eastern flare to it. I also tried the duck poppers (they will change your life) and the charbroiled oysters, courtesy of Audra B. Stellar choices.
Once we were almost finished, our server brought us a side of potatoes with chorizo. Wow again. I normally look past sides on most menus but these are a must have. I wish these were in Philadelphia, because i’d eat these for brunch all day, every day.
All in all, this place is a must visit in New Orleans!

Things are either really good or really bad if you can’t wait to write a Unilocal review after visiting. In this case, really good!
Borgne is located in the Hyatt in the CBD. The first thing to know about it is that it’s confusing as hell to get to. I didn’t know better and parked in a garage adjacent to the hotel. This required us to take an elevator down, walk through the hotel atrium, take two escalators down, and walk all the way around the hotel.
It was worth it though. We ordered a carafe of winter sangria (brandy and winter spices, mmm) and a dinner of appetizers: duck poppers, turtle soup, slow cooked pork empanadas, and swordfish ceviche. All extremely excellent. Very impressed.
The restaurant is beautiful, but relaxed too. You feel like you’re in a nice place, but it’s not stuffy or pretentious.
There was a weird service moment, though. I’m allergic to shellfish (which sucks big time in NOLA) and forgot to ask about the ingredients in the turtle soup until it had arrived at our table. Our sever checked with the kitchen and sadly it was made with shrimp stock so I could not enjoy it. Bummer, sure, but we were sharing everything so I wasn’t upset about it. Then, the waiter proceeded to lecture me about how I should have informed him of my allergy immediately. It was so strange to be scolded by my server while at a nice restaurant. I get it where he’s coming from, but the tone was really not necessary since there was no harm done.
Anyway, it was a great dinner with a couple non-​food related hiccups. I’d definitely recommend!