Courtyard Grill

I am a huge fan of Persian food and to finally see some Persian fare in New Orleans made me overwhelmingly happy. The staff was wonderful and very sociable. The food was great. My friend and I tried a few different types of the kabobs. I really loved the koobideh.

While the staff was friendly and helpful, this was the worst Mediterranean food I’ve ever had in my life. The appetizers we ordered had no flavor and my entrée was an atrocity to lamb. I didn’t want to send it back and be disagreeable, but I did not eat more than one bite. The baklava was the highlight of the meal, and then I immediately proceeded to McDonalds. I might give it a second chance once they revamp their menu; however, it would only be because someone else wants to go there.

Took my girlfriend here for a quiet dinner. The ambience was nice. And the service was good. The food came out quickly, but it did not taste good. We got the Turkish meat pie, which tasted like plain meat in a pastry — no seasoning. We got the lamb adona kabob as an entrée, and it just tasted unpleasant. I ate most of it, but did not enjoy it. She ate one bite. We got baklava for dessert; this was the highlight of the meal. It was served with whipped cream and Hershey chocolate syrup. All in all, we will not be going back there.

I had some expectations coming to this restaurant. Courtyard Grill was recommended by several people to have the best lamb in town, and also very good kabob and falafels.
I was pretty disappointed. I got the Shish Kabob, green peppers, and grilled tomatoes… I asked the waitress, are those green bell peppers? She said yes. So for my actual dish I got 1 grilled tomato and 1 jalapeño, no bell peppers. My lamb was also a bit dry, chewy, and bland. The tomato and jalapeño tasted burnt. Sad. My lady friend had the Yogurt Kabob, she seemed to enjoy hers more than me. But she stated that she liked the lamb at Pyramids better.
I did enjoy the Falafel appetizer though, but I must say that I still feel that Pyramids has the best Falafels in town.
I was also there on a saturday night and it was absolutely dead. My lady friend and I were the only people there. The waitresses were also speaking very loudly to each other next to us about random stuff and gossip. It felt awkward…
How about those Christmas lights?

Traveled here with two Turkish guys who were missing their home cooked meals. I had the Tavuk Sarma, which was delicious and they both had something with spiced lamb, bread, tomato sauce, yogurt and rice, and were pleased, though they liked mine better. The portion sizes were huge to me, but they both finished their meals and mine. The complimentary bread is fresh and warm. We had baklava for dessert but it was pretty much and we didn’t love it. I also noticed they have several imported alcoholic beverages if you’re into that.

Good food, with 50 – 50 service. We came for our friend’s bday since he absolutely loves this place. The way he has raved about it raised my expectations. I have to say, although I wasn’t completely blown away — I did enjoy my meal and our time.
Service-​wise: 50% of the staff was wonderful, attentive and kind and 50% was rude and bossy. One of the waitresses made us feel guilty for asking if we could order at different times. There were 21 people in all in our party and half of the table was ready to go. However, she shut that down, even the requests for appetizers. They also kinda forgot about us towards the end of the night. I’m not sure how they forgot since we were basically the only party there on a Monday night.
We sat outside with multiple smaller tables pushed together. The inside area with décor was nice (where the toilets are) and the cooking area seems to be street side next to the entrance to where the deck is. It’s a creative set up for what the space allows.
Food-​wise: perhaps there were too many of us at one time and so the food didn’t get the individual love it normally gets. Some of us felt that the kabobs and various other rice dishes were just dry stuff on top of dry stuff. It was good, but not amazing. I would like to go back and try the fesenjoon since that also sounded good.
Bonus points for their dolmas — which were awesome and I highly recommend if you like the perfect balance of rice with lemon. I would come back for those alone and then to try some of the other dishes with a smaller crowd.

If it weren’t for Unilocal,I would have never experienced the Courtyard Grill.
One night I was looking for a new place to eat. Despite driving by this location an untold number of times, I had never considered it. From the window facing Magazine it appeared to be a small kitchen with a walk up counter. There is nothing wrong with that, but at dinner I prefer legitimate sit down restaurants. So when I entered on the side and learned it was a legitimate sit down restaurant, I was pleasantly surprised.
The dining area has several tables in a small space. Despite the number of tables, they were not so close together that I couldn’t carry on a private conversation. There was a giant TV on the wall tuned to a sporing event that I found very distracting, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying the game. I prefer restaurants without Tvs just because I would rather talk to the people I am dining with.
We started with hummus which was very good. My entrée was a gyro sandwich. While the gyro meat had a good taste, it was very dry. The side of fries that came with the gyro were very good and in a special metal container that encouraged sharing. My dining companion had something called fessenjon which may have been one of the more unique dishes I have ever tried. It was chicken topped with a pomegranate and walnut sauce. To this day I don’t know whether I like it or not, but it was very interesting.
I will definitely return and try more items. If you are a fan of Mediterranean food, I encourage you to give this place a try.

Had a delicious lunch. As others
had said the lamb was fabulous. Great flavors, will eat here again.

These are the most friendly restaurateurs on the face of the planet. I’ve been here twice, so far. Had the koubideh kabob and chicken kabob. The Turkish tea is great. The bread is exceptionally good. The dining room is in the back and there is outside seating. I ate inside both times. The dining room has a great feel and the noise level is low.
The meal came to about $ 20 with a pot of tea and an entrée, including tip.
I plan to eat here at least once a week since I pass it going home after leaving NOLA BJJ.

After passing by this place no telling how many times and saying «we need to go there sometime,» we finally made a point to eat at Courtyard Grill. I think one of the reasons it took us so long to finally try it was because it always looks deserted. Come to find out that’s because the dining room is actually in the back. A-​ha.
I’m a fiend for Middle Eastern cuisine. LOVE. IT. And this place knows what’s up. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
Started with the falafel appetizer, ordered a kabob and a doner dinner and, of course, ended with baklava. Everything was absolutely perfect. The service was good, maybe a tiny bit on the slow side considering there weren’t a ton of people in there, but not terrible either. The server was nice and very helpful.
I’ll definitely be going back.

It’s hard to find a place to eat here that’s open «late» so big ups for staying open until 11 on weekends. I always swoon for restaurants that bring out bread and oil, so there’s a couple stars for that. I ordered the hummus and a bowl of lentil soup. The hummus was good, but is there such thing as bad hummus? I was disappointed that instead of pita bread, the same appetizer bread was provided. Lame. The soup was good, there was strong flavor, and thick consistency.
My friend ordered one of the chicken salads and had it put on a «turkish salad» which is a mix of onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes (I think) and it was so good and fresh.
The food took awhile and the service was a little slow. Their receipts had a bunch of numbers and prices but didn’t list the food so luckily I just went with one other friend. That would be annoying if I was with a group and tried to figure out prices.

Place is dead empty. Flickering TV. Service takes forever. Open kitchen in depressing.
I don’t know what’s Iranian about this restaurant. They had never heard of dill rice– a Persian staple.
The food took forever– I guess they mostly deal in takeout. I have to say it was tasty, but not worth the lazy-​ass operation. Put some work in to it yo! You get what you give.

Very slow Saturday evening, 6:30 PM, maybe half a dozen people in the dining room, no one outside.
We were met at the door and invited to pick a seat. Service was immediate, friendly and helpful. There seemed to be a fair amount of help around, I assume they were geared up for a larger crown.
The dining room is very nice, Mediterranean style music playing in the background. Several large screen TVs mounted around the room. You could see from anyplace but they were not intrusive. The outside eating area looks really nice, it was a little too warm to sit there. On the other hand, it was a little chilly inside, I could see the dining room thermostat was set for 69.
Large menu, lot of choices. I really liked the sandwich menu, I have to try this place for lunch. We ordered the Falafel and a couple of the kabob meals. Bread was also served as an appetizer.
As a life long bread connoisseur, I can qualitatively grade the bread as fantastic. I could have easily filled up on the bread and dipping oil. As a Falafel novice, I can say it might have been the best Falafel ever made, but I thought it was kind of boring, no more than average. I’ve seen the reviews praising the Falafel, I’m happy to admit that I don’t get it. Where are the Turkish spices? I was looking for a shaker of Tony Chachare.
The entrees are enormous, lots and lots of food. Really liked the long needle rice side. The kabobs were bland. I couldn’t tell the difference between the beef and the lamb. Again, where are the spices we were promised? I wouldn’t order them again.
Lots of positives, the atmosphere and service were excellent. Not sure I would come back here for dinner if Jamilas is open. I am interested in a noon meal on the patio.
About $ 60 for dinner, drinks and tip for two.

Courtyard Grill is the only place in New Orleans where you can feast on Iranian and Turkish cuisine. It is located on Magazine street and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. The Turkish chef blends his cuisine with the traditional Iranian recipes leading to a menu full of delicious dishes.
The meal started off with a refreshing doogh beverage. Doogh is a yogurt drink blended with water and sprinkled with dried mint. It is a very popular drink in Iran and is always served with the traditional kabob and rice dish. We were also served with a basket of bread and a side of spicy tomato sauce. It tasted like a Turkish version of Salsa. The bread was perfect. It was chewy and crispy on the outside. The best I have had in New Orleans.
For our main entrees, I chose the boneless chicken kabob served with a side of basmati rice, onions, grilled tomatoes, pickled cabbage and yogurt. The serving was just perfect. Not too much and not too little. The chicken kabob was marinated in saffron and was juicy and tender. The basmati rice was just as it should be: cooked perfectly so that it was not too soft and not too hard. The pickled cabbage and sliced onions were a great touch to the meal.

Went with a group of 12. Array of apps were mediocre, with the best being the Tabuleh. Humus, babaganoush, and meat pies were passable, but neither outstanding examples of the classics, nor anything interesting.
Lamb kabobs were dry and overcooked, with very little spice. Yogurt chicken was overly sauced, and served on a gloppy base of bred. Lamb shank was overcooked, and swimming in gravy. Beef stew was similarly simmered to the point where the meat had no flavor. Tavuk Sarma (stuffed chicken) was the one exception, quite interesting, and well prepared.
Staff was friendly until the need for checks arose. Restaurant was only willing to divide checks 3 ways, despite there being 12 of us. «Itemized» bill turned out to be a list of prices, with no identifier of what each dish cost. Restaurant accepts credit cards, but would not allow individual diners to use them, insisting that each entire check be paid in cash or on one credit card.
All in all, a place I had hoped for more from. Fatoush, Phonecia, or Byblos are clearly better options

Great outdoor seating and very good Mediterranean food. The ingredients were fresh and full of flavor. I stopped in for lunch with a friend who was visiting NOLA and I am glad I did. It was a good break from all the cajun food. I would definitely go back here for lunch of lighter fare.

The. Best. Falafel. I. Have. Ever. Had.
I’m talking *just* the falafel balls themselves, as I didn’t order a sandwich, just an app.
So many places just get these things wrong. Or, maybe they are «right» according to some ancient Lebanese recipe that’s been passed through the generations but far too many times I’ve had to all but choke down (or drown in tahini) falafel that is too dry, too dense and just pasty in flavor.
Courtyard Grill’s falafel is the opposite of the falafel fail: moist, full of delicious flavor (the owner tells us they are made with chick peas and celery) and straight-​up delectable. They all but melt in your mouth.
Service is just so nice. You feel like there is a lot of love going on (definitely family-​owned and operated).
Lentil soup is fine and the hummus, a touch tangy (lemony) for my liking. The only real bummer was the truly disturbing condiment bottle placed in front of me (I noticed a strange grey matter in the Crystal *after* I poured it all over my food). A small thing, but these things need to be inspected regularly. I did my best to ignore, as the falafel was just *that* good.
Still can’t get them balls outta my head!

First, I never would have thought to come to the Courtyard Grill if it weren’t for Unilocal.We were looking for a casual but delicious place to have a kid-​free dinner before a Unilocal event. After driving around without any real plan, I decided to see what was nearby. The fiancé and I never would have guessed that the Courtyard Grill is actually Turkish food — and delicious Turkish food at that.
We started out with the hummus, which was definitely miles above store-​bought hummus, but I’ve had better in other restaurants. I was also surprised that it wasn’t served with pita bread — although that was just an expectation in my mind due to other Mediterranean restaurants, it wasn’t listed on the menu. The waitress did bring us a huge basket of delicious homemade bread, with a side of dipping oil.
I can’t remember what the fiancé had, but he said it was good. I had a chicken kabob with a fancy name that I can’t remember either (too many margaritas afterwards at the Unilocal event). The kabob was beautifully seasoned and served over a bed of rice. It was accompanied by onions, grilled tomato, grilled pepper, and other various veggies.
It was a LOT of food for the price, and very delicious. The waitress wasn’t super talkative, but friendly and efficient. She kept the iced tea refills coming!
Oh, and yes, it is a kid-​friendly restaurant… we just chose not to bring ours because we needed a date night. When we return, I’ll certainly bring her along.

I avoided this place for awhile as I didn’t know they had an inside but then my waitress from Mona’s defected so I had to try it out. This place has some of the most tender and tasty lamb I’ve ever had!!! I’ve been several times and enjoyed everything except the giant burger, which I found was too much bun and not enough meat. I recently went with a group of people and we got the giant combo kabob platter and that was a LOT of food for the price and we all enjoyed it so much that even though we were full we got more food as the meat was just so tasty.
Nice people running the place and the owner has very high standards for his food and wants to get fresh organic produce whenever possible.

great veggie food + ample outdoor seating = great place to go when there is nice weather
We went here on a whim on Friday night and were surprised we were basically the only people there. We ordered Hummus to start and I have to say that it was bad. They also brought out an olive oil dip that was amazing and warm fresh bread that I could have eaten all night. I was disappointed that the hummus was so bad but everything else was good. We ordered a Veggie sandwich and a Falaffel sandwich. They were both HUGE and great. The veggie sandwich is very light and summery and the other was the normal falaffel.
The wait staff was prompt and friendly and I loved sitting outside. Overall a great place to go.