Kermit’s Treme Speakeasy Restaurant

Kermit puts on a sensational show and the fried rabbit was out of this world. Really friendly service and great drinks in an awesome neighborhood make this place a real gem. So sad to see it go but look forward to continuing the party at Mother-in-Law’s.

Great neighborhood spot, the food is fantastic, and the service is great. One of local spots that never disappoints!

i love it. the atmosphere is great the bartenders were attentive and ready to assist me with anything. it felt like home in the living and dining room with family drinking and talking over music. the drinks were good and the people were friendly!””!!

First racist place I went to. Bartender completely ignored me, made herself a drink, went and sat down completely ignoring me. I’ve never experienced anything like that. Wow. I was the only person at the bar and she was less than a foot away from me while making her own drink.

I was very happy to find this place was close the the French Quarter RV lot where I was staying during our off season visit to NOLA. We went on a Thursday night and there was a cover charge of $ 10. That night, Jazz Muffin was performing, an amazing blues/​soul diva. Kermit wasn’t there that night as he was performing at Vaughn’s Lounge, where we went to after dinner.
In regards to dinner, it was there that I discovered as a West Coast gal, I’m not a fan of the fresh-​water meats. I’m really an adventurous person when it comes to food, but I discovered that night that I wasn’t a fan of the fried frog legs, which was sad because it looked good! Aw well, it wasn’t any fault of the chef, just my taste buds revolting for once against me. My husband ordered the fried chicken and loved it, my father-​in-​law ordered the fried shrimp and loved his plate as well. Then there was this woman sitting next to me who ordered the fried trout and was surprised to that it was fried in it’s whole entirety. (See photo!) Seriously, she had to share that with a few of us just to make a dent in it (that was tastey too!)
Overall, great, fun little joint! :)

Get here early!
We had a really great time here, this was my first time coming to Treme and it was so cool to actually hear Kermit play. We arrived 5ish, knowing that music would start at 6. It was pretty packed when we arrived and the place is pretty small. We grabbed the last two seats in the back room. We ordered fried trout and fried chicken wings with fries. As much as I really want to say that the food was wonderful, it really wasn’t it. The trout was just fried that it. I didn’t detect any other flavor or spices and it was accompanied by potato salad. The fried chicken wings were ok, it tasted cold. But anyway, the music was fun! Kermit brought out some other guest singers and the vibe was cool all around. So my final verdict, seeing Kermit was great, but the food left more to be desired.

«ALL ABOARD!» Kermit hollers from the stage. And what a fun ride it is!
We went on Easter Sunday; I don’t know if that made the place more festive, or if it’s always like this… but it was the best night of our trip. As previously reviewed, Kermit didn’t start until well after the 6pm posted time, but the opening marimba player (I think, forgive me) was enjoyable, and it was fun just watching people come in and the excitement build. Kermit works the room before he goes on, and doesn’t seem to mind posing for pictures. He’s a very natty dresser here, and has a 1000-​watt smile.
We all enjoyed our food-​I had red beans and rice which were smoky and delicious. But, oh, the show! He started out with traditional jazz standards, including a beautiful rendition of «What a Wonderful World» dedicated to his mom. Guest musicians included a talented female singer whose name unfortunately escapes me, and two Asian sisters who absolutely COOKED on trumpet and trombone. It all finished up as Kermit instructed us all to get up and dance to a rollicking «Treme». Now there’s not really space to actually dance, but there is enough room for some booty-​shaking in place, which everybody did.
Now a note about the location. We were advised by a guy in a visitors’ center not to walk there. It’s less than a mile from the upper French Quarter, but we did as we were told and cabbed it over there, which took only a few minutes and was fine. After the show, we called a cab to go back and waited around while a big part of the audience walked back en masse to the French Quarter. Basin Street is a fairly busy thoroughfare, so I think if you’re in a big group you’d be just fine walking. Either way, DO NOT let the neighborhood scare you away. Go on and go crazy ’bout jumpin’ and havin’ fun!

I had high hopes for this place. I was happy to see this particular piece of property fixed up. I was even more stoked to see they had decided to go Smoke Free! Kudos!
The food was fine. I had Frog Legs with Potato Salad. Decent enough but the Frog Legs @ Jack Dempsey’s are worth the trip down to the edge of the upper 9^th ward.
Now my biggest complaint was the music. The musicians were world-​class, Trica Boutte and Paul David Longstreth. They did the best they could with what they had. Unfortunately Kermit’s Speakeasy didn’t provide much by way of sound system or sound engineer. Not to mention the non-​paying crowd walking in off the street to buy drinks and linger and talk loudly. On top of that the door hinge was so loud it squeaked over the music!
In addition the furniture is dangerous. The leg of one of my compadres was cut deep enough to draw blood. It seems the edges of the chairs are sharp to the touch.
This place is more a local drinking spot than a place for dinner and music.

This is such an awesome place! You can get a great meal and hear great music. Kermit typically plays a 6p set on Sundays. The festivals and an engagement resulted in a 11p set which worked out great for me. He serves red beans, rabbit and other soul food meals. And Kermit cooks some of the meals himself.
The set consisted of a four piece band (trumpet (Kermit Ruffin), a drummer, guitarist and pianist). There was a nice crowd. The music selections consisted o f quite a variety. The finale was the Treme theme song which is played on the show Treme. He encouraged the crowd to get up and dance. Everyone took him up on it. It was great music, great service, great food, drinks and a ton of laughs. He cracked jokes all night.
I’m looking forward to returning in the near future. New Orleans own Kermit Ruffin owns the place. He is originally from the lower ninth ward area but he is fond of the Treme.
He was also sells his music there. I was able to buy his newest CD.

Fun place.
If you plan on seeing Kermit play, go early. I’d say around 4:45. Pull up a chair, get a bite to eat and an ice cold Abita and wait for Kermit his horn and his smile to take the stage. Great mix of people. The area isn’t all that bad. Hell, Bourbon Street on a Friday or Saturday night is worse. Worth the trip.
«We Partyin»!

Out of this world! What a great, great experience! We got there early based on other Unilocal reviews, probably got there around 4:30 and it quickly started filling up right around 5:10 or so. We didn’t have any food, so can’t write about that, but had plenty of good, cold Abita Amber and damn was it good! Gotta give some props to the waitresses there who always kept our drinks full no matter how crowded the place got and it did get crowded. One interesting thing was the level of trust these folks had with their customers, they didn’t take my card and hold it as a tab, it would have been easy for someone to skate out and screw over this place or the staff. We walked over from 2517 St. Charles, a little bit of a walk, we weren’t about to walk back and had to wait a bit for a cab. We met some nice people from Chicago and Minnesota there, fellow music lovers and just had a nice time getting to know the people around us. Of course, the music was superb and Kermit is such a gracious host and cool guy, was able to get a really nice picture with him too. A great opening encounter on our first day in New Orleans!

The location of Kermit’s club is in a neighborhood near Rampart where you wonder if your car will be up on cinderblocks when you return to it but it’s well worth finding to hear him play. Seating is scarce so get there early if you want to sit, particularly if you are in a group. There are many people standing to hear Kermit perform and I hope there’s never an emergency in this place where people have to exit in a hurry. It is chaotic getting one of the servers to take your order for either drinks or food but it eventually gets done and it’s most likely you’ll have to eat standing up so many patrons get their orders in to-​go containers to eat there. The men’s room was pretty disgusting and the door didn’t lock.
I ordered the meatloaf which came with mac and cheese and some unmemorable vegetable. It looked better when someone else had ordered it because it was bland and unfulfilling all around.
That’s the negative. The positive: good acoustics, Kermit and his band playing and singing, and his constant enthusiasm as an ambassador for the city of New Orleans. One of the servers sang Norah Jones’ «Don’t Know Why» and did a great job and Kermit stayed after his set to greet fans and have his picture taken with them. I was with a group of volunteers rebuilding homes in McClendonville and we’d been coming annually since Katrina hit so when Mike had his photo taken with Kermit and talked to him about our week, Kermit thanked us for helping NOLA recover. Oh, and I think SNL’s Jason Sudeikis was in the crowd that night. Overall, a great musical night and the rating is for the music venue but in the future, I’d eat somewhere else.

Happy Talk!
I love the Treme. If there’s any part of New Orleans that I would love to live in, it would be there. Notorious for housing many of the local musicians, the Treme gives a better sense of NOLA than hanging in the French Quarter or Uptown.
Recently, local trumpeter Kermit Ruffins gave the Treme a great new restaurant and too-​cool-​for-​school hangout called Kermit’s Treme Speakeasy. As you walk down Basin Street, the only sign of an establishment is the music blaring and people hanging out on the corner. There was no sign, as far as I could tell, but we knew the addressed and wander in, only to find Kermit himself entertaining a packed house.
And it was packed. We had to cut through the crowd to the back of room, unable to see what was happening on stage. I know that it sounds bleak, but it was the best time that I had on my entire trip. People were dancing. The drinks were flowing. The music was fantastic.
My only problem doesn’t even lie with the place. It was more our faults than anything. We planned our visit poorly and arrived late to the venue. The tables were all taken, and we didn’t get a chance to try any of Kermit’s food creations, which are now famous thanks to the Travel Channel.
If you’re looking for something different than Café du Monde or Acme Oyster House, do something bold and head down to Kermit’s Treme Speakeasy. I can guarentee that I’m coming back!

This place is awesome on a Sunday night. The place was packed out, at least of half of which were Kermit’s relatives as it was his brother’s birthday, along with some other people’s birthdays as well. We got there around 530 and there was nowhere to sit, however one of the reserved tables in the adjoining room opened up and we got to sit.
We had stewed rabbit, red beans and rice and fried catfish, all of which were awesome, big portions too. Kermit and his band put on a really really awesome show, he’s one of the most cheerful dudes i’ve ever seen. He had a whole bunch of guest musicians come and take the stage at various points during the 2 and a half hour set as well.
Of particular note is the bass player in his backing band — that guy is ridiculously amazing, i’ve never seen a bass player as versatile and talented as him, ever. If nothing else, it’s worth making the trip just to see him play.
It gets pretty rowdy and really fun when the band plays, i highly recommend a visit if you’re in New Orleans.

I went on a Sunday to see Kermit play. Amazing night. I can’t speak for the food, but if you’re looking for a good night with some great jazz and an authentic New Orleans feel, this is your place. Cold beers, live Jazz, and who know’s what else by the end of the night.
Only in New Orleans!

We love Kermit’s place! Super great vibe and mix of folks. A lot of neighborhood personalities hanging out. The waitresses are fun and as they rattle off the menu off the top of their heads its up to you to pay attention and pick! And you’ll want to pay attention because Kermit doesn’t just blow a damn good horn, he’s no joke in the kitchen! His red beans & rice sneak in ham hock with the andoulie that makes it the best RB&R I’ve ever had! Then there’s the chicken, rabbit, and all the other entries he cooks up every day.
Oh and there’s some guy and his band playing music on sundays and mondays… but get there around 5pm if you wanna get a seat. Hit it!

Great place, definitely a lot of fun. Kermit plays on Sundays and Mondays — they say 6:00-ish but in reality he goes onstage between 6:45 and 7:45. Get there early though because all the seats on Sunday & Monday are gone by 5:15 to 5:30 and it’s not really an ideal space for standing — you can get some food and drink while you wait though so it’s all good. As of February there is also music on most Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays too and that’s the main reason you come here. That being said, the food is also quite good and both the food and vibe of Kermit’s is casual but solid.
These days it’s more of a set menu with an occasional special but over the past months I’ve had smothered steak, beef stroganoff, white beans, red beans, frog legs, tamales, and potato salad were all homemade and very good. The tamales are actually some of the best I’ve ever had. Fried chicken wings are also pretty good although the fries are your standard frozen «crinkle cut» variety and fried catfish tasted definitely appeared to be frozen — collard greens at times have been quite dry and could have used a more added flavor. We ordered mixed drinks which was a mistake — they’re in tiny little cups that reminded me of a large shot glass — and it’s tough to get a drink anyhow when it’s busy so most people seem to drink beer. Bottled beers are pretty standard — Bud, Coors, Miller, along with Abita Amber and a few others such as Red Stripe
Overall, it’s a great place and I’ll definitely be back — they’re open every day at Noon for food & drinks (and it’s a nice little lunch/​dinner space on its own) plus it’s a fun atmosphere when Kermit & his band play on Sunday & Monday nights. Be aware of the $ 10 cover though due at the door in cash, otherwise they do take Visa & Mastercard for those who are cash challenged.

Stopped in one Sunday afternoon… It didn’t feel like a restaurant, more like visiting an old friend’s house (or at mom’s). Laid back and no pressure to «be a customer», just hang out and enjoy the people there
I had the fried rabbit with homestyle potato salad… rabbit was seasoned to perfection (not gamey) and tender. The potato salad was not as tangy as I was expecting but it had an interesting twist of adding pork to it. Great meal, tthough and only $ 8.
Drinks are reasonable; standard Bud/​Coors are $ 3 while Abita is $ 5 (…)
Again, I wouldn’t go here just for food… it is the warmth of the people and music that invite you in to become part of the family, if for only an afternoon.

Went Sunday night to see Kermit play. I really enjoyed the neighborhood atmosphere and the staff members were very nice, especially the cook. He and another older gentlemen sat and talked to us like we knew them our whole lives.
My boyfriend loved the red beans and rice and the table next to us raved about the coon.
The best thing was hearing Kermit and the BBQ Swingers play. This was the highlight of our entire trip.
FYI the drinks are small but really strong. I ordered a vodka and cranberry and ended up with 98% vodka 2% cranberry.

Went here last night. The room is small but comfortable. Music was amazing. Kermit was leading but had several people step in to sing. The food is fantastic. The red beans & rice and the potato salad were spot on. Pricing is definitely reasonable. Kermit walks the floor and talks to everyone. My only fear is that this place will turn into a destination for people that watch the TV show & not the neighborhood bar that it could be. I’m glad we went a little early so that we could avoid this crowd. Will definitely try to make this a weekly thing on a Sunday or Monday night, which is when Kermit plays. The bar gals are all really sweet & patient.