Dooky Chase Restaurant

Omg. I ate to much. I should have taken the dessert home.
Delicious. I’m about to pass out. Ohhhh. God help me. Why couldn’t I stop.
I know better. However everything was so good. Ugh. My side hurts.
Well…gotta go walk this off in the French Quarter some where.
Later.
–cojo

worst dining experience ever. not exaggerating. Severely short staffed, sat for 30 min before staff took drink order, another hour for drinks to arrive. Martini… all olive juice. «Mint julep» gritty green swamp juice. Dry salad came out with two Toll House crackers on it, food out lukewarm, salty, nasty. Staff kept saying oh we are checking on that, empty pledge. Manager was inept at checking in, common courtesies, bill came with built in 20% gratuity. Yea right. Bathroom disgusting, Kleenex boxes out for paper towel. Would never ever return to this «restaurant»

Literally the worst dining experience I’ve ever had. I’m not misusing the term. I can’t think of single worse experience whether it was fast food, chain restaurant, whole in the wall, in flight meal, or my own shitty cooking. I came with a large party that had reservations. We were forced to wait over an hour for drinks, salad and soup. When we got the items each component included at least one error. Despite the long wait, nothing had a flavor worth waiting or paying for.
The Creole Chicken meal that I ordered was served luke warm with dry, tasteless chicken. I can only assume that it was sitting in the kitchen well before it was actually served.
As we asked where our drinks, appetizers etc were, we were first offered the salad that comes with our meals as a resolution. Those salads did not appear for another 45 minutes after this generous offer. The salads we received were on tiny plates that held a few pieces of lettuce each, not the bowls that other parties received. We were also offered bread. This too was shockingly horrible. The offer was forgotten. The wait was long. The bread was blah. How can it take an hour to serve garlic bread? How can you make garlic bread that doesn’t taste good to a person that hasn’t eaten all day and loves bread?
The main excuse given by staff for the lack of food/​service was that a private party was allowed to bring in twice the number of expected guests. Their 50 walk-​ins were being given excellent service so there was no one left to serve our reserved table properly. My meal was returned to the manager (I had to find them myself because politely asking for the manager only yielded polite excuses). The meal I didn’t eat was not charged. Everything else was charged at full price with gratuity. The only compensation offered was «free» dessert.
Moral of the story. Your time is valuable. This is a restaurant that does not appreciate that fact. There are several great restaurants in New Orleans. There’s no need to waste your time, money, or appetite on a place that doesn’t value your business. Also don’t let the fact that you took a cab or über stop you from walking out ;)

Been sitting for 65 minutes with no drinks, bread or salad. The bathroom doesn’t have a mirror, dead flowers, dirty, I could go on.

This place is a legend… exceeded all my expectations. If you are visiting NOLA, no trip is complete. Get your reservation. If a party of 2 or less and you arrive about 5;30 to 6:00 PM, they will work you in without a reservation. Most reservations seem to be for 7:00 or 7:30 PM. They sneaked me in and were very, very pleasant about it all.
I had the seafood gumbo and red fish. They way they served up in traditional creole style with potatoes and veggies made it the ultimate comfort food.
As a side note, I took the trolley out from the Quarter and walked back late in the evening. The midtown neighborhood has come back to life quite nicely since Katrina.

Almost 6 years later I decided after one of the most horrific restaurant experiences I’ve ever had to return and try again. This is, after all, some of my very favorite food and an historic restaurant in my adopted home city. This time, I showed up early and was one of the first in the door in hopes of avoiding some of the problems I encountered the last time. It ended up to be one of the best down home fried chicken dinners I’ve had in awhile.
We opted for the buffet for lunch. The soup today was chicken. Tasted nicely of paprika and vegetables. Delicious. The buffet was a nice salad, red beans, rice, sausage, stewed okra, greens, corn, beef tips, potatoes and their rightfully famous fried chicken. This oversimplifies these dishes as they were complex and flavorful creations lovingly prepared. The chicken is crispy, juicy and spicy. Some of the best you’ll find in New Orleans. I stuffed myself silly. I didn’t forget that dessert was coming but underestimated just how much peach cobbler was going to arrive. My server told me not to hurt myself but I didn’t heed her warning. I had one of those meals where there’s almost not enough room to breathe. It goes away. It was worth it.
It won’t be 6 years until I return again. I’m not sure what happened last time but whatever it was, they’ve cleaned up the service issues and seemed to care about my patronage.

The best thing that I ate here. Was the fried catfish and the gumbo. The buffet was quite expensive at $ 20 per person. The servers were nice and it is good to say I experienced it but I will not be back anytime soon.

In 2004, while attending Xavier University of Louisiana for Pre-​Med the school treat my family to this fine establishment. Initially, I was hesitant at the name. I mean let’s be honest it’s not the most appealing name, but the food was worthy of five stars if not more. The customer service was very warming and to know the history in which the kitchen was removed from the house and brought to the location in which it currently sits is amazing. This is by far the safest cajun/​creole food I have ever tasted and I highly recommend that if you are coming to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this 2016 to stop in for food!
Today I had the opportunity to return to Dooky Chase and I had the fried chicken with a side of green beans and peach cobbler. The food was excellent, but we had to wait 15 minutes just to get our card back from making the payment. I read a paper and used the washroom and we were still waiting on the waiter to return with the check.

Having lived in the NOLA for years, I never ate here (how did that happen?). The staff here is typical Southern Hospitality at its finest. The food was delicious. I had the Chicken Creole, which was perfection — like it was cooked by your mom from the bayou. My husband had the stuffed shrimp and he loved it. This is ‘a must’, if you are visiting New Orleans and looking for a local flavor instead of those places that advertise local. Dooky Chase has been around since 1941, so it is the real deal.

My NaNa insisted I visit Dooky Chase when she found out I was visiting New Orleans. A short drive away from my hotel on Common we got there for Friday dinner before 5pm. Lucky for us a kind server let us into the bar area early as we was «cold» out.
Service was a little hit or miss. Our actual waitress wasn’t very good, but the man in charge of water made sure our cups were never empty and the gentleman who let us in earned himself a tip by being so accommodating.
I tried the Creole Queen drink which was nice but not as strong as many drinks I had while in town. I also ordered the stuffed shrimp which were to die for! I could eat them everyday and the shrimp were huge. Also ordered the greens which weren’t as spicy as I would have liked but nothing some tabasco didn’t improve.
Looking forward to being in town during the week to try out the lunch buffet.

An iconic chef and culture bearer, Leah Chase, is at the helm here. The dining room exudes a warm atmosphere one would associate with the a family member (if they were nice :)). I was torn between the buffet and the Shrimp Clemenceau (sp?), decided on the buffet. Fried Chicken, Mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, salad, smothered cabbage and PEACH COBBLER. I was there catching up with a friend and it was lovely. Bonus that we could spy the lady herself being interviewed in a separate space as we exited. She had on a signature bright colored chef coat (pink) and looked like she was laughing. Heart melt!!!

Anyone who likes Fried Chicken will love this. Moist, crunchy with a mild essence of heat that can only be described as devine.
Mac and Cheese (and butter with butter) is the epitome of decadent.

Great place for some New Orleans soul food. The Buffett was a no brainier at $ 18. They change it up a little it seems but here is what you might find: fried chicken (awesome) salad (yeah right), Mac n cheese, greens (best I’ve eaten) andouille sausage, ribs, green beans and potatoes, and yams. They also being you out soup of the day and peach cobbler. Service was great and we enjoyed our meal.

We came here on the recommendation of a family friend!!! It’s his auntie cooking and he’s our friend! He said order anything, everything was good. So we had buffet!!! Home style cooking with a beautiful ambiance! Stella seated us perfectly! Dookys fried chicken! Yummy. All the right spices! Interesting cuts of breast meat. Huge chunks breast meat!!! The Lima beans and fluffy rice. The remoulade sauce for the catfish was delish, but I used it also for my chicken! Worth the wait…

Went here for Friday night dinner with significant other and his parents. I love the art work in the restaurant. Their menu is small, mostly fried, but they do have good fried chicken. The meat has the flavor, not the batter. And it’s very juicy. Most of us ordered the special shrimp Clemenceau. The reason I’m not rating this a 5 is our waiter. He was slow to respond… and it looked like the service overall was slow. From seated to leaving the restaurant, it took 2.5 hours! We also think he let our shrimp sit for too long in the back which is why the potatoes were not crispy. I’d go here for lunch, but not dinner again.

Very good! I came for lunch with my family. We all got the buffet and we all loved it. Something delicious for everybody. They also have a menu if you prefer.
If you like cajun/​creole home cooking, you’ll be right at home and won’t be leaving hungry. I can say this place has the best fried chicken I have ever tasted and the peach cobbler was unbelievable.
If you are looking for a quick bite of some great food, come here! Fast, delicious and clean and some interesting history as well. I’ll be back.

On a recent trip to NOLA, the only thing my beloved insisted upon was that we somehow, some way, get to Dooky Chase. He had been there and loved it years ago and wanted to make sure it had returned to glory post Katrina. (And also to share one of his favorite places in the world with me.) The restaurant is only open for dinner one night a week (Friday), so lunch it was.
The restaurant is not large and its hours are limited (lunch Tues-​Fri and Fri night dinner). So if you don’t have a reservation (and maybe even if you do), be prepared to wait — and to keep a good humor about it. The place is a landmark and EVERYONE wants to eat there. You have been warned — don’t go there with your entitled self, expect to be seated and fed immediately, fail, and whine about it on
.
Whew — glad I got that off my chest.
Likewise, if you don’t like soul food, seek culinary pleasure elsewhere. Because Dooky Chase IS soul food — fried chicken, whole fried catfish, greens, lima beans, shrimp stuffing, peach cobbler, and gumbo. Every delicious bite will make you shed another care and settle a little more comfortably into your chair. Go for lunch and order the buffet so you can have seconds (or thirds or…). At $ 19.95, it’s the best thing going.
The dining room is lovely and the service is friendly. But the place is busy non-​stop and the servers are swamped, so help them out by knowing what you want and ordering it without hmming and hawing. (Hint: Again, order the lunch buffet. That way, you can serve yourself as much and as you like.)
This is happy food. So get in the spirit and you won’t go wrong.

Great lunch buffet! Fried chicken was excellent… Gumbo so so! Yams and macaroni cheese were flavorful and hit the spot!

I was disheartened to find out that their famous gumbo is made with crab; unfortunately they did not have the gumbo z’herbes that Chef John Besh famously devoured as one of the best gumbos he has ever had.
I chose not to die that day so I opted to get their fried chicken with red beans and rice instead. Out comes a huge plate of beans with a scoop of rice. You get to ask if you prefer white, dark, or mixed. My entrée came with a small bowl of salad and I was offered a wonderful red vinaigrette that Ms. Chase supposedly made. I loved the vinaigrette. This bowl of salad was the first vegetable break since coming to New Orleans 3 days ago.
The amount of breading on the skin is just the right amount (not too heavy) and the skin is nice and crisp. My only qualm about all the items I ate here is that they were all under-​seasoned. I feel I should not have to douse my chicken in hot sauce if the flavors were on point. The experience left me wanting.
Note: they have very limited hours and offer a 19.95 buffet (fried chicken, salads, a bunch of sides, and a small dessert) for adults. I believe it is a few dollars cheaper for kids.
Come here for the history of the place, the beautiful dining room bedecked with stained glass and paintings of prominent African American artists, Leah Chase’s blessing by Pope Benedict for her 90^th birthday, President Obama’s regard of her contribution to the culinary landscape of New Orleans, and the Zulu costumes. The patrons who opted for the buffet seemed to have been more satisfied as they were able to try a wider variety of foods, including desserts.

I’d first heard about Dooky Chase on Top Chef, but as I researched places to try while in the area, more and more folks recommended it. Conveniently, we found ourselves a few blocks away at lunch time, so it became the obvious choice.
Arriving around 11:30 on a Friday, there was a spot in the small parking lot at the back. We entered through the bar door and headed up the steps to the dining room area. We were promptly seated, and briefly perused the menu as we eyed the buffet. When our server arrived, greeted us, welcomed us as first time guests, and explained what was on the buffet, it became the obvious choice.
While there is a salad bar, I wasn’t going to fill up on salad greens that I could get anywhere. I grabbed some pickled okra and headed for the main events.
My first plate included lima beans with shrimp over rice, squash casserole, mustard greens, and fried catfish with mustard tartar sauce. When I returned to the table there was a bowl of gumbo waiting, but I dug into the plate. With the exception of the lima beans with shrimp over rice (not a lima bean fan, but still wanted to try… sure enough too chalky and bland), everything was quite tasty. The tartar sauce for the catfish was quite good, but so was the catfish on its own.
The squash was a little oily, but the mustard greens hit the spot.
The gumbo was divine. That roux had so much flavor! And it wasn’t even spicy hot.
For my next plate, I got a few pieces of fried chicken (freshly added to the chaffing dish), a bite or two of the squash, and a heap of greens (yes, I liked them that much. Plus, eat your vegetables — they’re good for you!). The chicken was really good — the breading stayed attached and had just enough seasoning to add some flavor without detracting from the moist and flavorful meat. Even if this isn’t your favorite fried chicken, you have to admit that it’s darn good.
After all that, I was ready for dessert. You have to ask, and they’ll bring it to you. Our was about 4 bites of peach cobbler with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. So good. Just the right amount of cinnamon and seasoning to make it special and cleanse the pallet rather than leaving you with cloying sweetness.
We did have a minute where our waters were overly sweet, as if the water had been poured into a pitcher that had been serving sweet tea. We notified the bus boy and he brought new goblets and filled them. Other than that, the waters were kept full, and the service was decently prompt for a busy buffet crowd.