Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant & Bar

Friends came into town and wanted seafood without driving too far from Arabi, so I suggested JD’s.
WOW this place is expensive for an old neighborhood joint! It has the look and feel of a $ 10-​per-​entrée place with a $ 20(+)-per-entrée price tag. The one saving grace for their hefty price points: the chargrilled oysters. They were excellent and that was the one thing with a great price tag at Jack Dempsey’s: -$ 17.95 for a dozen here versus $ 19.99 at Acme or $ 19.95 at Drago’s. They gave both of those places a run for their money with great flavor, without the lines and with far better service!
WOW our server was great! I forgot to ask her name but she was tall with shoulder-​length brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and she was fantastic: super quick, knowledgable, friendly, and super accommodating.
The rest of the food? It was decent. I had a great time because I was with great friends and we had a wonderful server. Our food was okay, but not very memorable. We tried several items on the menu. I wasn’t a fan of the artichoke app but I loved most things about the seafood gumbo. My favorite dish on the table was the redfish topped with crab. The flounder was pretty bland as far as seasoning but the fish itself was cooked to perfection. The stuffing below the fish was very heavy and mushy. This is me being picky: The seafood gumbo and the stuffing under the flounder were chock full of mushy little shrimps that were way too soft and tasteless. They really took away from the otherwise-​lovely taste of both dishes. I would’ve rather had just a gumbo purée or one big fresh shrimp per dish than 20 – 30 of those tiny little mushy «scrimps». No one ever likes those — ever. Why waste your money and put them into the dishes?
My recommendation to other Unilocalers: Go here. Give them a shot because they’ve been in the neighborhood a lot longer than those other joints y’all love so much. I loved the casual atmosphere and the service. Everyone tries to be fancy these days and these folks at JD’s get that part right — this is a great place to sit back, drink a beer, and have some fried seafood. I wish it were a little cheaper because I’d go here more often if it were. C’est la vie.

The service here was the best I’ve experienced in a long time. Friendly and welcoming front of house staff who look like they enjoy being there.
The server was excellent, as well. Whatever you needed came out fast as can be.
I was disappointed by the Boiled Shrimp. I was hoping for a basket of steamed shrimp that I could peel myself. There wasn’t any indication that it would be anything other than some boiled shrimp. The platter, however, was the shrimp drowning in a bowl of butter covered in cheese, with a hunk of white bread.
This was like the opposite of what I was looking for after a weekend of fried po boy artery clogging death food. I’m from New York, what can I say, we don’t eat this stuff…
The cheese also had a very industrial taste to it. Were they using the microwave? Not sure, but the taste was definitely off. I had enough to drink at that point to finish it, but alas… they should specify on the menu what exactly it is. My fault for not asking.
Mac and Cheese side was also industrial tasting.
The chargrilled oysters weren’t as good as Felix’s (tourist trap, yes yes yes, I know), but they were still good. Reasonably priced.
The fried fish platter was of a Trumpian proportion, but it was also hella expensive at $ 41.95. Granted, it was a lot of food, but jeeze, if I had ordered that I would feel like I was being overcharged.
So, in short, the food was hit or miss, the service was excellent, and the prices were so-​so.

Imagine my surprise when I arrived here and it looked like a little house. The seafood is very good. The batter is light and flavorful. The portions are huge so you will have a carry out for later. The service was fast, and the staff was nice. It’s not the best seafood I’ve had in the area, but I wouldn’t mind returning for a meal.

Great food and friendly service! Snow crabs ALL YOU CAN EAT and they mean it! Great time to go is on a week night as there is less of a crowd. Thursday night worked well for me.

Finally went and loved it crab ain’t gratin to die for had the broiled redfish with crab au gratin and was blown away wife had seafood platter was super huge and fried to perfection, excellent service ice cold draft in frosted cup unbelievable will be back also had crawfish pies for apps only bad thing is no desert menu only because you are gonna be to full to order it anyway!

We stopped here during a culinary bike tour and I couldn’t have been happier. Growing up in Wisconsin, this place reminds me of a local corner bar. Dark wood paneling, a little outdated, a whole lot of wonderful. Staff is friendly and the food is phenomenal (and the portions of enormous). We opted for the half and half platter, steamed crawfish and their mac and cheese. The platter-​shrimp, catfish, oysters, and crab balls could feed an army. Everything was perfectly fried with a light delicate batter. It was probably the best fried catfish I have ever eaten. The crawfish were your standard pile of mudbugs. Twist, pinch, suck, eat. Probably could be a title of a porn but in this case, the simple instructions on how to eat them. As good as the seafood platter was, the mac and cheese was even better. If a person could be addicted to mac and cheese, this is the place where they could go to get their fix. Baked penne, creamy sauce, absolutely delish.
I probably never would have run across this place otherwise so I am glad the tour stopped here.

It’s nothing fancy (this is the Bywater, not the French Quarter) but if you want a bunch of fried seafood for a decent price, you won’t be disappointed. The best bet is probably the platter that comes with a whole bunch of fried catfish, fried shrimp, 2 crab balls, a little crawfish pie, and a cup of gumbo. Oh, and some toast. It’s about $ 25 and can easily feed 2 people. The catfish is buttery in both flavor and texture. Falls right apart (but the breading stays on)! The gumbo is among the better ones we’ve had here (though not quite as good as it is at Coop’s). Each table gets a big dispenser of tartar and remoulade sauce. In other words, all you’ll need for a satisfying dining experience.

It was busy and we had to wait an hour for a table, which was understandable since we had a large party. Where the problem can is was with the food and service. Yes there are large portions but it’s large portions of bland food. Plus one of the individuals in our party never got her order, which after tasting our food we can say she was the lucky one.

I expected a lot more from this place. Nothing was terrible about it. Food was ok. Just didn’t wow me like I had hoped. My boyfriend shared the platter which is just a ridiculous amount of fried food. YUM! But then there was just plan white bread that was toasted under it all. Why? Overall service was good, people were nice… seems like this used to be a happening place at one point but it has lost it’s flair in comparison to all the other restaurants here in the city now.

I’m originally from New Orleans and had heard of Jack Dempsey’s but I’d never gone to it. Momz treated me to dinner there. BEST seafood and Cajun food ever! The food was fresh and delicious. I love oyster poboy’s and the bread pudding is to die for. Atmosphere is typical New Orleans cozy, clean and memorable. Can’t wait to go back. I live in Houston now so when I go home I love anything that makes me think of home. Jack Dempsey’s fits the bill! A must go to place in the city.

I am a regular to this restaurant. They have a very light and tasty batter on their fried seafood. I know it’s fried but it’s not oily nor tastes like old grease. My friend and I always ask for the jumbo plate and we always have substantial leftovers. I am not one who regularly likes thin fried catfish, but theirs is the best.
Service is really good for a «Mom and Pop» restaurant. It can get very busy and have some delay due to the above.
I cannot speak of the other plates for we always get the same and at a very good price compared to the huge portion.
We have tried: Don’s Seafood, Mr. Ed’s, ACME (not the best and overpriced), Trauth’s and even Middendorf: Jack Dempsey’s the Golden standard.
I highly recommend it for typical New Orlenians fried seafood platter.

Great restaurant with a great feel. Not super classy but very comfortable. Crab claws and onion ring for the appetizer were good. My wife ordered the stuffed flounder. The portion was big and it was delicious. I ordered the soft shelled crab with crab meat au gratin on top. Hands down the biggest and best soft shelled crab that I’ve ever eaten. Full of meat. Fried to perfection. We wish that we would have had room for dessert, but no such luck with such large portions. First time here, but not our last. Entire staff was warm, courteous and friendly. Felt right at home.

Walking by the neighborhood and my hubby and I decided to try this restaurant and boy they have one of the best fried catfish and soft shell crab I’ve ever had in my life both are well seasoned and doesn’t have that fishy taste. Their char broiled oysters are AMAZING, tangy, sweet and cheesy and the crab balls are delicious as well. We definitely be back again and try other food on their menu. :)

What a great neighborhood restaurant nestled in the heart of NOLA!
My boyfriend, his mother, and I came here for lunch during a trip to visit her. We had the stuffed artichoke appetizer and it was fantastic. There aren’t many places where you can find a perfectly baked whole artichoke.
For mains he had the stuffed trout and their famous baked mac-​n-​cheese. The trout stuffing was loaded with crabmeat instead of breading. I had the shrimp and king crabmeat salad. It is a very light and refreshing seafood salad with shrimp and king crab meat served on a platter with mixed greens.
Our server was very friendly and the food came out quickly. Taken in conjunction with the ambience and the location, I give this place 5 stars.
We will be back!
We love it and will definitely be back!

Pretty much the greatest. I’d lived around the corner from this place for about a year before I set foot in it. As a vegetarian, seafood places are usually pretty low on my list of fooderies. However, I had an old friend in town and he wanted to try some New Orleans seafood. We’d made plans to hit Deanie’s, but after a long day of abusing drugs and cavorting in the summer hell heat that is August in New Orleans, we decided to keep it in the neighborhood.
Christ, this place is a hidden gem. The inside reminds me of the bar my dad got stoned in with his buddies post weird middle-​aged dude softball league games when I was a kid, circa 1995. The only real difference is these people can fucking cook. My lady and out-​of-​town friend set to work on devouring a small mountain of fried seafood while I feasted on fried mushrooms and baked macaroni and cheese all the while guzziling cheap ambers and inhaling second hand smoke. I’d recommending getting a bit blitzed first as it makes the nostalgia stronger, the matronly waitresses seem that much more motherly and helps you forget that each visit moves you 3 years closer to a massive heart attack.

They have the best baked macaroni and cheese in the world! Do not come here without getting some. Dont like mac and cheese? Get it anyways! You will be a convert, I promise.
The fried shrimp is really good too but the catfish was the best of the meats! It is in a less than awesome neighborhood so put away the valuables in the car.
The atmosphere is very laid back and they have a couple of tvs playing the news and such while you dine.
It is a darker restaurant with low lights but that is okay as it is older décor and probably helps the visuals a little.
Always a must on our New Orleans trips. Hours are odd though so check before you head out!

Food came out under 12 minutes ! Huge seafood platter great waitress n hot n fresh food!
No complaints !
Want to impress someone with a lot of seafood?!
This is the place!
Waitress Juliet, was flawless! Thx for great service

This is their lunch review. From 11−2pm JD offers lunch specials from around $ 10. On this occasion I came for the famed dish that my friend bragged about which consisted of a broiled fish stuffed with a crabmeat stuffing. Today’s fish was trout so my friend and I ordered the much talked about dish. What came out was a dish of «seafood» stuffing topped with a filet of trout and seasonings served with a side of potato salad. Well the stuffing was ok with a small amount of claw crabmeat if any, a few shrimp and a small filet of broiled trout on top. The potato salad was actually the highlight of the meal and very good. I observed other lunch menu orders that looked much better in quantity as well as quality. I had ordered a similar dish here in the past using flounder which was much better in quality much more in quality and price. I would come here again for lunch but will not be ordering this dish anytime soon.
CONGRATS TO ME ON MY 400TH REVIEW

We went to Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant & Bar for lunch to get a seafood meal, because it’s a New Orleans tradition to eat seafood on Ash Wednesday. Both of us ordered the Stuffed Trout. I had the cole slaw as my side order and my lunch partner had the potato salad as his side order.
This visit was almost an opposite experience from my last visit, in terms of cost, quantity and waiting time. My last visit was on a Friday evening and the place was packed, so that we had to wait a while to be seated and it also took a while for our food to be prepared. It seems too that the dinner menu items are larger and cost twice as much as the lunch menu items.
Well, this time our food was prepared in no time flat. It’s just that it wasn’t that much of it. It was a small trout filet atop seafood stuffing, and the stuffing had a high consistency of bread crumbs and a nearly undetectable amount of shrimp and crabmeat. This is quite a different presentation from their dinner menu item, Stuffed Flounder. The way that dish is prepared, the whole flounder is served with the backbone removed, creating a pocket that is stuffed, and thereby the stuffing is surrounded by fish on all sides.
The best things about this latest visit was the price didn’t break the bank, the service was fast and the food satisfied my appetite enough to permit me to return to work with a sense of renewal, and not have that bloated feeling from having overeaten.

Jack Dempsey’s a local favorite for decently priced seafood. The outside looks very unassuming, the inside somewhat divey, but the food was makes you want to come back for more.
I went with my family for a nice evening out. The parking in the back is a little bit cramped but if you look you can always find a space. Once you get seated take a look at the specials on the board they are usually pretty good.
We started off with a half order of onion rings, if you order a full order the plate is the size of a decent sized one month old baby. Onion rings were crispy and average for the area.
As for the service the people here are attentive but I have seen better. My most major complaint was that our food was not brought out all at the same time. Out of the four of us I had to wait an extra five minutes for my meal. I know its not a huge deal but it’s always good to bring out everyone’s meals out at once. I mean that’s the main reason why hot lamps exist.
Going back to the meal, I ordered the the stuffed Lobster special off the board, and man oh man they do the full deal here. You get the lobster bib, melted butter, and a side of stuffing. I thought that the stuffing was going to be in the lobster but not so much. The lobster was huge and tasted great. The stuffing was meh and I could do without.
My Uncle ordered the Broiled red fish with crab meat au gratin and the crab meat was delicious and the red fish was very moist and tender. My wife ordered Crab meat au gratin, with a side of baked Mac and cheese. The Crab was loaded with cheese and tasted great. The baked mac and cheese was so-​so. I’m not to certain what the fuss is about. My aunt ordered the gumbo which tasted really good and I’m glad I tried it.
Overall meal and the experience was pleasant, I really enjoyed my self and I look forward to go back when I visit NOLA next time.