Dominique’s on Magazine

This was the best private luncheon ever. Ladies were served by handsome young men that were on the spot helpful. Finger food range from hot spinach pies to wonderful imported cheeses, big fabulous salad, crusty bread and great Pinot — desserts were delicious with soothing coffee to finish

What a great place! A friend of mine recommended this establishment based on her casually knowing the executive chef Dominique Macquet and hoping that he would make our dining experience a memorable one. However, when we arrived at this visually striking restaurant, we were greeted by a somewhat stressed out head waiter who explained to us that Chef Dominique was no longer involved with the establishment. We had our opportunity to leave, but we chose to stay and give it a shot… and boy were we glad that we did. The head waiter Clark (previously described as «stressed out») was terrific, the bartender mixed great cocktails (I strongly recommend the Phở Cajun Sour!) and the food was outstanding. We did several small plates and one main course and ended with a shared desert. They were all presented beautifully and prepared in a way that layered textures and flavors creatively and (most importantly) deliciously. There was not one menu item that failed to please our senses.
The moral to the story is do not give up on a great restaurant just because the «e chef» is no longer there. We’re sure glad we didn’t.

The atmosphere in here was really nice, comfortable yet elegant, with pretty lighting and mirrors on the white painted brick walls, and a small, quiet patio in the back. The set up of the restaurant can make it a little loud on a busy night, however my friends and I came here in a large group for a birthday dinner so the volume wasn’t an issue. They did an expert job of handling our group, even taking photos for us, and giving us free champagne for a birthday toast. For my meal I had an appetizer and salad, the duck confit and an eggplant mozzarella salad. The duck had great flavor, and the skin was just crispy enough. I also tried some of the octopus, which was excellent. My salad with eggplant, roasted red peppers, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic, was really good, although I sort of felt like I could have made it at home (my own fault for ordering something so simple). My favorite part of the meal was the raspberry goat cheesecake dessert, which was not too sweet, rich creamy texture, and crust-​less but with some crunchy toasted almonds. One of the main reasons we chose this place was because we needed a vegetarian option for some people, and they have a vegetarian entrée of the day. This particular night, it was not something anyone in our group felt could suffice as an entrée (a ratatouille style vegetable blend with no starch or protein). That was disappointing for some of my friends, but their menu changes frequently because they try use local ingredients, so maybe that was just an off night for the vegetarian dish.

Beautiful atmosphere and simply a STEAL during happy hour. Plan to pair this with the park in better weather. It’s quiet on a weekday, so just prepare to entertain yourself.

Inserts fresh batteries into gym class style megaphone. Begins review… which is best read as if spoken through megaphone.
Why so loud, Dominique’s?! Your location on Magazine St Uptown + sleek & sophisticated decore + wait staff + fresh herbs & ingredients are all on point. But the noise level! My ears continue to throb from my Saturday evening dining experience. The noise level is why this review is 3 stars & not 4. The noise level is why I cannot recommend this establishment for business dinners. The noise is why I will not return for a date night.
The saving grace, a lovely courtyard growing fresh herbs. Yes! I will return on a crisp fall evening for a pre/​post dinner drink in this space.
We went during Restraunt Week 2014 & enjoyed: BABY MIXED GREENS & GRILLED LOCAL SQUASH SHERRY DIJON VINAIGRETTE + SEARED LOCAL FISH OF THE DAY (which was a skin-​on Drum) + CHEF’S SIGNATURE PASSION FRUIT PANACOTTA. From the line-​up, I’d return for the Passion Fruit Panacotta.
From the shouted at us specials, we ordered the meat-​nut-​cheese plate. The waiter did share with us the name of the plate as well as the items on the plate, but, socker! we couldn’t hear him.
Alright, enough of this megaphone review! Over and out!

First, the maitre d’ worked very well with my reservation even though they were booked-I’m very last minute. Luckily, the three of us were able to be seated in their courtyard, my first time outside. The ambiance took us to a posh LA restaurant where we did not feel like we were in Old New Orleans. The service was exceptional. I allowed my friends to try my favorite entrée there. The most memorable dish is when you have to sit back motionless and speechless allowing the tastebuds sort through the dynamic flavors. I will always, always order the chef’s spaghetti and meatballs.

The only reason attracted me into this restaurant is the picture on Unilocal,it seems very well decorated. However, actually it looks not as nice as it seems in the pictures.
The food is ok, not very impressive, I don’t know if it is because I tried the coolinary dinner menu (35 $ three courses):
Appetizer
Garden Fresh Basil Wraps
Jumbo pink prawns, local green papaya, roasted tomato remoulade
Entrée
Seared Local Fish of the Day
Crispy Colorado Lamb
Baby local lima bean salad, melted mozzarella, harissa-​mint lamb jus
Dessert
Local Blackberry Panacotta
BTW, I almost cannot recognize it as French restaurants, not only because of the food taste, also it kept playing some mid western music, which was weird.

This place has a great atmosphere, very upscale and new yawky… but the food did not match the environment. I ordered the vegetarian special, which I assumed that for 24 $ it would be fabulous and creative, but it was nothing more that maque choux w lima beans instead of corn… literally…like how is that «special»? It was surrounded by grilled squash and that was IT. Completely bland and unimpressive. We ordered one of each app and the only one I really liked was the shrimp wrap one… the sauce was delicious. My friend ordered the Lamb entrée and said it tasted like the lamb rolled in shit, all 5 ppl at the table agreed… most even suspected it wasn’t even in fact lamb and they are chefs, soooo I think they know what they are talking about.
I would come back in the future but only to drink, their bar is really nice and the menu was full of craft cocktails. Its a nice posh place and I like the fact that they have a cheese plate and it looks like a great place to throw a party (in back). but the food isn’t worth what they are charging…

What a night we love this space, food, drinks, waitstaff, bartenders… Everyone is so welcoming and attentive. The manager and chef frequently visited our table throughout our fantastic dinner. Our server Claire was very helpful with the extensive wine list helping us find the perfect bottle to pair with Dominique’s amazing fusion cuisine. We will be returning soon hopefully to sit on the patio.

The only reason why I chose three stars instead of four is because it didn’t WOW me. I didn’t leave thinking that I should come back again. I got their take on Spaghetti made with special meatballs. It wasn’t your average spaghetti. The noodles kind of reminded me like ramen noodles. That was different. My entrée with just subpar. It was good, but not super fantastic delicious.
However, what I did love about this place was the appetizers. You have to get the shrimp ceviche and the beef tartare. Yum Yum Yum. I went here for my best friend’s birthday with all of the girls and we killed the appetizers. It was that delicious. They give you cotton candy as a complimentary dessert so that was cool.
Now when you go to a classy restaurant such as Dominique’s you’re going to expect excellent service right? Well, you get two people to serve you. One is your main server who takes your order and so on. The other only refills your drinks. Sad to say I saw the girl who refilled our drinks more than our server. Server only came to take our order and other than that was rarely seen.

The first time we ate here was marvelous — a 5 star experience, last summer.
We decided to come back for a family celebration. And did it fall SHORT!
Before I go into details about OBVIOUS restaurant flaws. I would like to say: «the atmosphere is lovely and outdoor seating is marvelous.»
Now on to the shittiest restaurant experience in a long time.
We sat outside in the courtyard. The glass table tops were DIRTY. Since we were the first party to be seated for dinner, I am sure it would have been obvious for the staff to wipe down the tables beforehand.
We had to ask for the music to be turned up, because nothing is more obvious (again) than a restaurant courtyard, quieter than a cemetery.
The server came out promptly. The server the assistant came out promptly and served bread. The bread was probably picked up from the throw away container for stale breads from a grocery store, that was on its way to the nearest fish aquarium.
I have never experienced bread so STALE. Even at a chain dinner, one would get served a piece of freshly baked, or same day baked bread.
I know its free bread, but if you can’t serve a piece of whole some bread at a dinner where I would dish out $ 200-​$ 300 a dinner, PLEASE DO NOT SERVE IT AT ALL. IT IS INSULTING!!! PLEASE DO NOT INSULT YOU CUSTOMER!
Then came the appetizer special. If you would like to call it a special, then a piece of TURD should be given a new definition in a dictionary. The so called cognac infused chicken liver, aka turd. I feel actually entitled to call it such, because I have dined at the best restaurants around the country and the world. So please do not serve me something that looks and probably tastes like it came out of bumblefuck expired goods from a convenience store in the middle of nowhere.
I was sweating bricks worrying my entrees would completely devastate our dinner, and our party of four would hate the experience at our once beloved Dominique’s.
The entrees were just fine. I wish we all ordered just those and no appetizers and denied the bread.
On the bright side, there are 100s of amazing restaurants in Nola. So I am sure we will be just fine for next dinner. But for those just considering Dominique’s for the first time, do not order appetizers and avoid bread, and hope for the remainder to be fine.

I’m giving this review three and a half stars, but no half stars here… so it gets three.
It was time for fancy girl’s dinner out, and since several of us had never been, we chose Dominique’s.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of Dominique’s. The chairs were comfortable, we were seated by the big open window, and the lighting was beautiful.
The service didn’t strike me as very personable, but at the same time it was still fine.
I found the food to be fine, but it just didn’t wow me. Some things were good, others… not so much.
I started out with the Baked Louisiana Oysters. On the menu, this is described as gruyère cheese, bourgeois andouille, rutabaga. What I got didn’t taste bad, but it just did not work in any way whatsoever. It was 4 good sized oysters… but they were topped with what seemed like a slop of mashed potatoes. I couldn’t even taste the oyster buried beneath it.
A friend of mine got the Charred Rare Wagyu Beef Tartar. It was delicious, and probably the best thing I ate all night. I also tried the Cobia & Gulf Octopus Ceviche. It was good, but nothing spectacular. Another friend had the Lobster and Celery Root Salad. It was really good.
For my entrée, I had the Seared Maple Leaf Duck Breast. This was just o.k. It was a tad bit overcooked, and the skin was a little chewy. Not bad, but not great either. The only other entrée that I tried was the special of soft-​shelled crab. This tasted pretty good, but was pretty small for the price.
We had two bottles of wine with dinner, and they were VERY reasonably priced. I think the mark up on one of them wasn’t even 100%. Considering that a 300% mark up on wine is to be expected in most nice restaurants, I was pleasantly surprised. I was happy to find a new wine favorite… Northstar Stella Maris cabernet. It was priced at $ 45. It retails for $ 30.
For dessert, I had an Almond Nougatine with crème praline, house-​made pecan vanilla ice cream. This was delicious!
After all was said and done, with 20% gratuity added, we spent $ 80 per person. I don’t mind spending $ 80 for dinner and some wine, as I love fine food and the experience of it all. But at the end of the night, I just didn’t feel like this meal was worth it. For that price point, I’m still putting Coquette at the top of my list.

This is, sadly, for the bar only…
I had some time to kill and really wanted an adult beverage. Saw a couple through the window enjoying ceviche and I was sold. What makes me what to go back was the great drink list, including what I had — the Nola Phở Sour.

As always Dominique’s is amazing, innovative and delicious! Having been in town a few days, we were ready for a change.
We ordered 4 items from the appetizer menu. I had the shrimp ceviche and Waygu beef tartare. My guy ordered Foie Gras and Sizzling Royal Red Shrimp.
The hand crafted cocktails are equally amazing. The Phở Cajun Sour– WOW!
Get here as quick as you can, you’ll be glad you did.

This visit was better than the last. They have added some new items to the menu and they are great. The short ribs are awesome and really tender. Tonight I had the new york strip steak with this type of hash brownish potatoes with flan. They rolled out a new cocktail menu they change it seasonally. They also started a happy hour and they start at 430. It is very loud when it gets full but happy hour out in their courtyard when the weather is right will be a nice whine down.

In short – the best dining experience I have had to date – ever!
superb food, great service, excellent wine recommendations, very nice modern ambience – LOVED it! I will be back (and coming from Chicago) and would recommend it to all! I will follow chef Dominique in any future ventures he partakes in – I am a devotee for life!

I loved this place before they moved to the new location. I was excited after reviews and seeing their impressive fresh herb garden in the courtyard. We arrived late for dinner on our fateful night. Our waiter seemed nice enough and offered their specialty cocktail. We took part as it was an anniversary celebratory dinner. We each ordered a drink and all 8 of them were on the really sweet side. The best by far was the Phở sour. Sounds weird but the spice helped cut the sour mash. A few people ordered the appetizers and agreed the salad was nothing special but the shrimp ramelade salad was the best.
After appetizers our waiter picked up the plates and offered us more cocktails while we waited for the entrées to arrive. And wait is what we did. Several times the waiter stopped by to offer cocktails and bread. We refused further drinks but jumped at the chance for bread because we are still hungry.
At the 30 minute mark, since the pick up of our appetizers the house manager was seen walking around and talking with other tables and avoiding our group of 8 hungry adults.
35 minutes our waiter comes back and says our food will be out shortly, more bread.
45 minutes later he comes back and says I thought the food was for your table, but it is all for the large party upstairs. More bread.
50 minutes later we have had enough and we are ready to leave. My wife and I leave from the table and walk to the front door. We were kind enough to stop to tell our waiter that he can cancel our entrée’s and the rest of the party will tend to our portion of the check. He finally got the house manager involved and he begged and pleaded for us to wait «5 more minutes.’ The head chef was involved as well because he was walking around the dining room and talking with staff. When we attempted to leave both him and the manager were behind the hostess stand so after they begged, we stayed and waited for 55 minutes for entrées to be served after the appetizers were bussed. I know that they had a large party upstairs, and am forgiving to a point. But we ordered our food 90 minutes before we could eat and almost an hour between servings is unreasonable. If we had not gotten involved with the head chef I wonder how long we would have waited.
The entrée’s had finally arrived. The food was mediocre at best. It may have been good if I was still hungry, but bread and water filled my stomach and I was not happy to be eating the food he just rushed out of the kitchen after waiting so long.

Just go there for yourself you will see what I mean, décor, food, drinks, service, ambiance and Chef Dominque is an ultra talented who can say they served Nelson Mandela his first free South African citizen after his major jail sentence a South African Shrimp Remoulade?

Had driven by Dominique’s many times but never got to try it until today. I thought the ambiance of the restaurant was really good. It has a back patio with fresh herbs growing in hydroponics, which I’ve never seen in a restaurant before. To drink I had the Phở Sour it was really nice and refreshing drink with hints of ginger, great cocktail for the summer. For entrée I had the grilled cobia. Fish was cooked and seasoned to perfection. Flavors were balanced and the combination of purple and white cauliflower plus spinach gave a nice contrast of colors to the plate. A big plus in portions size. I cant wait to be back really hungry. Desserts look amazing!

I mulled over my choices for my birthday dinner several times –an old favorite or someplace new. I decided to go with the latter and chose Dominique’s for a lot of reasons but mostly because I have always loved his food. I was a big fan way back in the days when he was at the helm of the Bistro at the Maison de Ville as well as his place in the Quarter. And I was one of the all too few who were lucky enough to experience his take on French influenced Vietnamese fare at Tamarind, which seemed to be open all but 45 minutes when it closed. My lovely dining companion was excited too because she loved her dinner at Dominique’s prior place on Magazine that now goes by the name Apolline.
So after a cocktail at Cure we headed to Dominique’s. The space was as cool as I imagined — very sleek and chic. I brought some of my own wine which I had been saving for a special occasion (and what’s more special than my birthday, right?). I was a little miffed at the $ 25 corkage which is way too high. In my opinion, $ 15 should be the max corkage. The wait staff was a little unpolished, but helpful and friendly. No complaints. I had a tough time figuring out what to order since it all looked so good. For appetizers we had bone marrow which was a special that night and the oysters in cauliflower crème fraîche. Frankly neither was spectacular. Solid but no wow. For entrees, I ordered the lamb chops and the dining companion ordered another special, a coulette. Coulette is a cut of beef not often seen, at least not down here. I had it in NYC at Per Se and loved it. It’s taken from the sirloin and has great flavor and texture. Dominique stuffed it with cheese and did an amazing job with it. It was the star of the evening. My lamb chops were awesome too, no complaints there at all. It’s just that the coulette was better. So better in fact that the dining companion, who is usually generous with the sharing, gave me just one bite. Hmmmpf!
The only downside is the noise. I don’t mind a noisy restaurant, but this place is ridiculous. Once the restaurant filled up and the patrons got tanked up, it was prom level noise. We were literally screaming at each other. And there are so many easy ways to reduce noise level. Dominique needs to think about doing something and soon.
I definitely want to go back, and I have the feeling that this place is going to rate 4 or 5 stars if I do. I just don’t feel I can honestly rate it higher than three right now.