Desi Vega’s Steakhouse

Here is the sad part. This was probably the best food I had during my entire vacation. What made is bad is a RAT running across the floor after I finished dinner. If you are one of the people who know and are okay that restaurants have rats I would highly recommend this place.

The service here was excellent. The sides and drinks were also great. Where the evening fell short was the steak. I ordered medium but ended up getting rare. The taste was about average for most steak restaurants. Not nearly as good as la boca but similar to crescent city steakhouse. When you pay top dollar for a steak you expect top dollar taste and that just wasn’t the case.

The meatballs!!! So good, apparently they are a family recipe of melt in your mouth deliciousness. Also the creamy, smooth and surprisingly not too heavy peanut butter pie is truly an extra special treat. The place is beautifully and tastefully decorated. I broke a glass (not drunk, just a klutz so sorry!!!) and Desi was standing right there and was super sweet about the whole thing. A truly great experience

Food:
Fried Green Tomatoes: Really lump and fresh crab meat on top of three sliced pieces of fried green tomatoes. The crabmeat was really delectable. The fried green tomatoes are fried in a seasoned batter that was not too heavy or too light. I really enjoyed it.
Turtle Soup: My boyfriend says its’ similar to Ruth Chris’s turtle soup, but has a kick.
Rib eye: I personally like rib eye the best because it still has a little fat. Man, I really love how to comes out on a HOT sizzling plate. You know when you steak is coming when you smell a strong aroma of garlic and butter. Be really careful because when I started to cut into my steak, the juices would get in contact with the garlic butter and start popping. Really awkward and dangerous haha.
Key Lime Pie: Its presentation was really a delight to the eyes. Too tangy and sweet for me.
Crème Brulee: It really looked promising, and in all honesty, I think I was looking forward to this the most. But, it was a let down. The custard was almost like a thicker version of condensed milk, but pretty just as sweet.
Service:
We had two servers cater to us. They treated us well, not much more to say about that.
Plain and simple, great food and great service. Really is the epitome of a 5 star restaurant.

Best steak (hands down) I have ever had at a restaurant!
Came to this restaurant for dinner. It has a very intimate atmosphere (with dim lighting) and is the PERFECT place for date night.
Ordered the Porterhouse for two with the Oscar (lump crabmeat and grilled asparagus) topping, temperature medium.
Can I say… WOW! This steak was huge, cooked to perfection with the right amount of seasoning. It’s tenderness was like none other.
Also ordered a side of Freddie Mac & Cheese. That was also excellent.
Will definitely return here when visiting New Orleans again.

Great New Orleans resteraunt. The view of St. Charles is wonderful. I had the meatball poboy for lunch. Desi is known for his meatballs, and now I know why. Just be sure you are really hungry, lots of food. Can’t wait to go back for dinner.

Had the bone in filet medium rare and it was perfect. Chef made up an off menu side of brussels that were great too. Of the four nights in New Orleans out for fancy work dinners this place was the best. Nice that it’s not in the busy touristy part of downtown yet still a 10 min walk. They could use some better pics on Unilocal and on their mobile website because the restaurant and the food was much more impressive in person.

There service was great! The food was pretty good. The only issue I had was with my filet topping. The crabmeat was full of shells. On the other hand, it was a very pleasant experience. We will definitely be back.

Great place! Awesome location with beautiful views of St. Charles street car. Fun place to start your New Orleans evening!
My group of ten ladies out for a birthday celebration started our evening with dinner here. It was fabulous! I think we tried almost every appetizer and they were ALL wonderful. Sometimes accommodating a larger group can be trying but this place pulled it off impeccably well. The service was outstanding-​fast, friendly and accurate.
The sides we ordered along with our steaks were also delicious, especially the Freddy Mac n cheese… best thing I had all night. I would go back just for this!
I loved the ambience here for the celebration dinner but would love it just as much with my husband. All glass floor to ceiling windows right off of the street watching the city at night is fascinating and romantic.
I will be back soon.

Always an excellent place to dine. We love the crab cake, gnocchi with lump crab meat, lamb chops, surf and turf lobster with filet, creamed spinach, and bread pudding. Try the second line cocktail, it’s delish. Service is always remarkable.

Desi Vega’s staff know how to treat their customers while serving up amazing steaks. Chris, Thomas, and Kevin made us feel like family. I love this place for a special night out!

Per my buddies, Desi Vega’s is one of New Orleans’ best steakhouses. I am not sure about that.
We did a guy’s steak night here on a Wednesday. Easy reservation, nice hostess and seated promptly after drinks from the bar. I started with the turtle soup which was great. I get turtle soup a lot, and this was a great batch.
Then I went ribeye… cooked rare. I only order rare at restaurants because that usually gets me medium rare. And if I actually get rare, well that works. I just don’t like my steaks overcooked. So the cut comes out, and the plate is sizzling. At Desi Vega’s, they don’t just sell the steak, they sell the sizzle. Cut into what looked to be a nicely marbled ribeye and it was cooked medium. This was a peripheral bite, so I gave the chef some slack. About two bites later, closer to center, and I am still at medium. Maybe it cooked on the plate or maybe I just let Desi Vega’s slide with an overcooked ribeye. At any rate, it was less than ideal.
But, this is actually forgivable. I will still eat a steak that is overcooked if it seasoned really well. This steak was not. I like my steaks well-​seasoned. Basically, I like them salted, and then salted some more before being cooked perfectly. I’m not a fan of the buttered steak. It was a combination of overcooking and lack of seasoning, that left my steak night unfulfilled.
The restaurant did earn an extra star for a killer red velvet dessert. It was some kind of red velvet cake with a side of ice cream. This was incredible.
The restaurant is classy with a good wait staff. It’s a fun place to grab dinner. The turtle soup and dessert earned them a few stars. But I was let down on the main course. Probably won’t repeat Desi Vega’s.

Our table was ready when we walked in. This place isn’t the largest yet busy so they carefully maximize their seating. Our servers Thomas and Kevin were a good team. Thomas worked with us as we decided on a bottle of wine. Attentive. We both ordered the Rib Eye. Succulent and juicy as expected. Suprised the Chef doesn’t offer creamed horseradish. Perhaps they will consider offering this easy to make steak enhancement. Thomas was willing to stir some sourcream and horseradish together per our request. the Freddie Mac and cheese was recommended. The Andouille was a nice addition although we didn’t identify the crawfish that was suppose to be in there. A minor snafoo happened with our creamed spinach. It impressed us that the food runner immediately recovered the issue without handing it back to the server. That way our second creamed spinach was eaten with the rest of our food. The red velvet brownie has excellent cream cheese but the brownie itself was rather boring. Almost like the flourless cakes that have reared it’s boring head.

Just when I thought Mr. John Steakhouse was my favorite, I found this steakhouse to be equally amazing! Desi Vega is brother/​sister restaurant to Mr. John. I have to say, their steak quality remains phenomenon! It was my sister birthday, so we decided to give it a try since we have heard good things about it! We ordered a Cowboy Steak, which is a bone-​in Ribeye, and the server suggested to share since it is roughly a 16oz steak. So we did, and it was definitely a great idea. The steak was huge! The steak is perfectly seasoned and meat are sooo tender because of it being bone-​in. I can see that the steak must have been perfectly aged! I absolutely LOVE it! We also ordered two sides: Freddie Mac and Cheese (mac and cheese with Andouille sausages and crawfish), and grilled asparagus. The asparagus was nicely seasoned and texture was just perfect. The mac and cheese was a little too salty to my taste, but the favor was still very good.
For dessert, we ordered the bread pudding and the Oreo Peanut Butter Ice Box. The bread pudding was okay, but the ice box, Ooo la la… it was delicious!
So now, about the service, AMAZING! We have two servers serving our tables. My sister had a Groupon for $ 20, and they gladly took it without even a bit attitude. The main server (Brian) also suggested us to share the steak which he could have just suggested two steaks to increase the check. He also made sure that we had two hot plates so that we can share our steak. He constantly checked on us to make sure we got what we needed and both of them are so personable! Also, he asked if there was anything he could have done better till the end of the meal and asked us to come back next time!
I had such a great experience there, and they have definitely set my new standard for good steak!

I had a livingsocisl deal and went here for the porterhouse for 2. It’s 36 oz of glorious meat! I couldn’t finish it there was so much. We also had a glass of cabernet as well as a shared side of twice baked potatoes w Crawford sauce on top. One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. We ate in the lounge area and Karen took care of us. She was a down to earth perfect waitress and was very attentive to all our newds. We also love the free garlic bread! Excellent, excellent, excellent. (My pic is posted in the photos)

This place is modern hipster version of Mr John’s steakhouse. Excellent service and great food. The valet service is somewhat wanting. The place doesn’t resemble a steakhouse and on a week night is slow. The famous bacon wrapped shrimp had a little heat which was good. The meatballs on the chief was excellent. It was so good we ordered spaghetti with meatballs for the kids. My wife had the gulf fish of the day which she liked very much. I ordered the cowboy bone-​in ribeye. The steak was good but sure looked pretty small… maybe I’m just used to eating double porterhouse 48oz! Overall, great dining experience, excellent food with great service. Don’t let the exterior or old hotel fool ya!

I bought a LivinigSocial Voucher, $ 20 for $ 40. I have forgotten that Desi Vega has the same owner as Mr. John’s Steakhouse. It is located right next to the Lafayette Square.
The menu is pretty much similar to other steakhouses. My husband ordered the soft shell crab special as a starter, spinach salad, and the ribeye to share.
Soft shell crab appetizer– surprisingly good. I am not a fan of the typical New Orleans fried seafood. This was lightly battered and perfectly fried. Not greasy at all.
Spinach salad– spinach salad with bacon, egg, red onion, and warm vinaigrette. I didn’t like it too much because there were too much dressing on the salad.
Rib eye– I enjoyed the rib eye. It was cooked at the temperature I liked. The steak was tender and flavorful.
Overall experience, typical steakhouse atmosphere with good food and service.

Step 1 of battling the birthday dinner game… order a living social deal and make your server aware of your coupon immediately upon arrival. Step 2 order your wine (glass or bottle) at the bar.
A group of maybe 20 of us got together to celebrate a friends 30^th birthday on a Saturday evening. Great location at the beginning of St. Charles with valet parking. Of course the guest of honor gave us a false starting time for dinner so that everyone would technically be on time. Folks are always running late. So that meant I arrive early… lol.
The restaurant is gorgeous. Two full bars and dining areas to accommodate larger parties such as ours. Nice view of the St. Charles street car line.
Service was impeccable from beginning to end. Man we ordered and shared a bunch of appetizers. The Who Dat shrimp was a fav among the group… that sauce was a hit atop the crispy bacon and shrimp. Other favorites that I tried were the bbq shrimp, fried green tomatoes, crabcakes and the fried calamari (which we dipped in the Who Dat sauce).
By the time our entrees arrived I was stuffed. That was until my Freddy Mac and Cheese arrived. Listen, it was the best thing I had of the night. Creamy, cheesy, goey goodness, with Andouille sausage and crawfish tails. Say what?! Yes! YES! Give me more!
I was in hog heaven lol. And then the entrée arrived which I think was a good pick. It was a meat sampler of sorts. Everything was cooked perfectly… I can’t even pick a favorite between the chicken, filet or Italian sausage. Nah… I take that back. Sometimes I’m a sucker for grilled veggies… and the tomato that was added to my plate was a treat.
Needless to say… the dinner experience went over surprisingly well. They even split all of our checks! Whoop Whoop!
Great meal and service… and not to much of a hit to the bank with the Living Social deal. Will be back for HH or down the way to Mr. Johns to try some of their specials.

First let me say that I’ve been to numerous steakhouses and this one far has been the best! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see steak the same again after dining here. Simply no way to go back to Ruth Chris or Outback. lol
Service was amazing. The waiters take really good care of you and nothing is too much to ask for. The manager came by twice and had very nice conversation with us and made you feel very comfortable. All of the staff are very friendly, smiling and open to make your experience a great one.
The atmosphere was a nice upscale, fine dining feel. Dim lighting, crisp white table cloths, a variety of soft music streaming in the background; which is always a good feel for a night out on the town.
The food was AMAZING! My friend and I ordered the ribeye steak (14 oz) and petite filet (6oz) (medium) with Mac & cheese and the sweet potato soufflé as our sides. The sides a big enough to be shared between too people and boy were they good. I loved the soufflé but I do think they could ease up on the brown sugar topping. My ribeye steak was cook to perfection and came out sizzling hot on a 500 degree plate that allowed it to stay nice and warm throughout my meal. The seasoning on the ribeye was to die for. I love the slight crunch of the pepper and salt that was used to season it. The steak was so tender that it was no effort to cut right through it. I literally ate the entire 14oz ribeye and I’ve never done that in one seating but it was so good that I had to keep eating it. I’m not exaggerating here. lol
Overall, we had an amazing dining experience at Desi Vega’s and I’m bummed that I won’t be able to try it again unless I visit New Orleans sometime in the future. Please, please visit if you want to experience true fining dining.

Grabbed dinner here on our 1^st monthly steak night and I was all around impressed. One of the better meals I’ve had in a bit. The long and short of it:
1. Meat. Everyone said their steak was juicy, tender and cooked to perfection. I got the NY strip medium rare and my friend got the Cowboy Steak medium rare. Both came out actually medium rare (I hate when some places consider slightly pink in the center medium rare). It’s definitely the best cut of meat I’d had in awhile.
2. Apps and Sides. The seafood bisque that was a special for the night was amazing. The oysters Rockefeller were decent, but could have used a bit more flavor. They don’t have a huge selection of sides, but are willing to accommodate. I like my steak with some sautéed onions or mushrooms which wasn’t on the menu, but they whipped some up for me anyway. Bonus points to the chef.
3. Atmosphere. Calm, relaxed and classy. It was upscale enough that I wouldn’t go in on jeans, but not so classy that I felt like I couldn’t unwind with a few drinks and joke around with the staff.
4. Bar. The bartender was very knowledgeable and they had a decent liquor stock. Their wine list wasn’t very extensive but what was on there was tasty.
5. Price. It’s expensive, but what nice steakhouse isn’t? Be prepared to drop $ 45 on a steak, $ 50 on a bottle of wine and realize at the meals end that it was totally worth it.
I’ll be coming back to Desi Vega again when my wallet can handle it. Glad to have a great steakhouse close to me when I get tired of the NOLA Cajun affair!
Overall Grade: A–