Lenis Restaurant

Hmm, four or five stars? I had vascillated between the two options because while I could see that Leni’s could use an upgrade, it was that reason that I felt it led to its authentic local charm and on top of that, the fast and friendly service along with the delicious food pushed it towards the Woohoo! As good as it gets! rating.
There is a gaming room, and coming from the north, I didn’t know that was a thing. An old school register is used for transactions and seating at the long counter comes as circular vinyl covered stools. There is a menu board and tv from yesteryear on the walls although they have special daily menus which are laminated. Since my colleague and I came this past Monday, we had the Monday menu.
From it, we both selected #5: smoked sausage with red beans and rice, and lettuce and tomato salad for $ 7.65 + $ 0.35 extra for our to go order. We also received a few slices of French bread with butter and asked about our salad dressing preferences (French, Italian, and Russian, I think were the options.)
At the bottom of the menu: «Good food at a reasonable price.» I wholeheartedly concur. The portions were large, fulfilling, and hearty, especially on a «cold» (read, temperatures hovering in the 50’s) and windy day. Even though I wasn’t that hungry, I gobbled up the «salad» since that was my first real exposure to veggies on the four day excursion. I ate a lot of the red beans and rice and finished all the sausage. The bread was ok and so I had just a slice of it. The meal was super satisfying and surprisingly did not leave me in a stupor afterwards.

I loved this place! The servers are really sweet and fast, even when they’re juggling a packed house.
As great as the different food options are in New Orleans, especially the upscale restaurants that have their own twists on all the local food, I was desperate for something simple. This place is perfect — cheap and good fare in a welcoming environment. Interesting mix of people ducking in, too, which is nice.
Went with the cheeseburger and the side salad. The burger was excellent and the salad was just to my taste, meaning mostly lettuce and sliced tomatoes. There’s room for specialization if you want it, but that’ll hit the spot if you let it.
This is not heaven for a foodie, but if you like diners it will definitely will carve a place in your heart if you let it. If you don’t like diners, this isn’t the place for you.

I love this place. Simple food. Cheap meal and fun diner for breakfast and lunch. The couple that have owned this joint for like 30 yrs are just as sweet as can be. Very accommodating and obliging to whatever you need or want. I love their daily specials. I mean where can one go and eat for $ 13 after tip, where a server is involved, for a filling satisfying meal of comfort food? No where, but here at Leni’s you can! Pete, Deb and Wendy are a wonderful treat for my partner and I in the morning for breakfast, after our ridiculously early boot camp. Without fail they are there to fill us up and help start the day off right. Always fun conversation with our server and will always bend over back words to make you happy at their place. A real find for quick dependable cheap food! A must.

Very basic food– burgers, wings, fries… Frozen stuff, but cheap. Though I’m sure if you ordered a salad they’d bring ya some crappy pre-​packaged iceberg lettuce and unripe tomatoes.

Great diner to grab a quick bite — standard breakfast options: eggs, toast, bacon, etc. Nothing fancy but their service is quick and friendly and cheap. Glad to have Leni’s in my neighborhood. Wish they were open on weekends tho.

After several days of indulgence in the great city of New Orleans, we were craving some simple food. This little old-​fashioned lunch counter absolutely hit the spot. The smoked sausage sandwich, dressed with mayo, lettuce and tomato was garlicky and yummy. The hubby had red beans, rice and beef stew. He was silent throughout the meal, just enjoying the home-​style food and finished up by soaking up the left-​over gravy with some soft white bread. Less than 20 bucks for the both of us. A bargain in this town.