Sylvain

Beef cheek or pork shoulder the way to go. Service was tremendous similar to the experience we had at their sister restaurant Cavan. The outdoor garden made it fun to jump back and forth while waiting for the next course and a drink in our hand. Also had the champagne and fries — pleasant surprise.

The food here is always amazing. I live for the shaved Brussel sprout salad and the beef cheeck entrée. I like to sit at the bar and enjoy watching the bartenders doing their craft. They also have daily specials that have yet to let me down. This place is one of my top places to eat in the French Quarter.

Just came to the bar mid day and wow super impressed! Great craft cocktails and local brew list. Amazing atmosphere and a lovely courtyard. So glad to have landed on this sassy spot

Fantastic food and intimate dining experience. Not a tourist trap, rather a real gastronomic Louisiana food experience. Gourmet home cooked food. Don’t tell anyone about it, just call and make a reservation and show up. It’s somewhat secluded, with a no-​nonsense storefront. An absolute fantastic find if you value good cuisine and causal, intimate atmosphere.

Upon recommendation from a friend and also a glimpse on Munchies about this restaurant me and my girlfriend dined here on our New Orleans visit.
Nice setting and friendly service. We had the southern cold meats and mushroom toast for starter which both were great.
Followed by the hangar steak and the burger, both were splendid!!!
No espresso available after dinner, only drip coffee. Apart from that we loved it!!!

Enter through the side alley entrance. Don’t go through the window they are blocking with the chair. It’s not an entrance. Shaved brussel sprouts were so yummy /​it must take so much work to shave them over a mandolin. Also had poached egg over black eyed pea cake. Yummy. Smoked fish with scrambled egg and olive on toast. Plenty for the 3 of us. Location looked like cool old bar. Strangely had to wait to be seated even though plenty empty tables inside. Not sure if not enough servers or wanted to preserve the flow in the kitchen. We didn’t wanna eat anything heavy and it was perfect. Hard to find not heavy foods here but this place fit the bill perfectly.

My husband and I came here before we got married and had a lovely experience. Some dill weed was on his laptop while we sat through a romantic candle-​lit dinner but we tried not to let it get to us.
The food was amazing. The location is fantastic. We sat next to a hilarious couple from DC, where my husband is from, so we chatted until they got their food.
Lovely people. Great food. Excellent time.

I really enjoyed this spot — lots of great things on the menu and the service is very friendly. We especially liked the southern take on antipasti — the house pickles are so delicious, as was their black bean hummus and the cured meats. The burrata and eggplant dish was also fantastic, though I really wish there had been more burrata on the plate. I really loved how the eggplant was prepared in the style of friend green tomatoes.
The cocktails were great but all tasted very similar — everything seemed to be citrusy no matter which one you picked.
The ambiance is dark and cozy — a great date spot. Its fairly small, so a reservation is a good idea.

Not your typical French quarter restaurant. The patio seating is small and limited, but beautiful if you can get it. This cute little hole in the wall has a small menu with good options; they also have daily specials so be sure to ask your server. The crudo, market salad, eggplant & burrata appetizers are very good. The beef cheeks entrée is very tender and flavorful. The bar has decent cocktails as well

To me… as a Philly guy not used to the overabundance of REAL craft cocktails, the top notch bartenders who shake them, and the subtle but incredibly unique atmosphere, this is definitely 5 out 5 stars. Take it for what it’s worth.
I was first led to this place by asking some other great bartenders where they like to go for a good cocktail. Sylvain is definitely an insider’s bar. I’ve only sat at the crowded bar either alone or with one other friend — but I’m convinced that’s the best seat in the house. It’s all about the cocktails!
One time, I made a note of some great cocktails they had — Creole Comfort and Luca Not Dead. 6 months later, I came back and asked Darren (the same bartender from the first time) for those cocktails again. He was so surprised and said, «wow, I haven’t made on those since… about 6 months ago!» But without any notes he put it all together and it was just as perfect as before… AMAZING!
So here’s my advice — don’t go with a huge group of people… it can get a little loud. Take a friend or two and park it at the bar. Enjoy an awesome bartending show — they’re the best of the best!

The crispy pork shoulder over grits is New Orleans cuisine graduate school.
The fresh squeezed orange juice is the perfect complement. The service was 5 star, polite waitresses and true NOLA courtyard ambiance.
At this point I really don’t like writing long reviews on Unilocal so I’m just going to type until they let me post this by filling up with random words. Hallelujah Hallelujah…

Sylvain was a really cool tucked away spot. My boyfriend is a Unilocaler in training ;) so he found this spot. We wanted some good cocktails and some shareable small plates, mainly because we end up eating 3 – 5 meals a day here. Full ones.
Back to Sylvain. It’s a dark room made visible by the light of lots of candles and a few dim lit lights. It works though. You don’t feel like you’re in a vampires den.
Great mule to start. Jim had a Manhattan. If you like Manhattans, he liked his. They taste like pure gasoline to me.
We shared the antipasti plate and the sweetbreads. If you’re looking for something to pick at, it’s a fun antipasti plate. The only thing on it I wasn’t a fan of was a red bean hummus that had raw garlic. Super pungent and can’t be masked. There was a white bean hummus (ish) that was smoother and more balanced. Their pickled okra was awesome, the right hint of vinegar and sweet. You get some butter pickles, some cheese and some meat. Top it off with bread and stone ground mustard and you’ve got a good time. It was good, but I could have used more cheese and meat, less pickles and pickleds.
The sweetbreads were a delight. They had a buffalo sauce that wasn’t too in your face. It was nice because the spice cuts the fat and is full of flavor.
We sat at the bar. Standard for us. It’s usually my favorite place to sit if the restaurant has a cool bar and pleasant drinks to go with the meal.

This is a wonderfully cute restaurant with tables out back and a ton of character in the interior tables. We were seated next to the window and privy to the confusion of whether the window was the entrance to the restaurant since the door is actually tucked in the alley.
Our waitress promptly asked for our drink preferences and briefly explained the menu options that evening. We selected the Brussels sprouts salad to start and or entrees were the Chicken sandwich and the Pork Milanese.
Food ⁴⁄₅ — the Brussels sprouts were a healthy portion and enough for two people to share. Fresh, but upon retrospect I wouldn’t have used my intestinal real estate for this next time. The Pork Milanese was the highlight, healthy portions, crispy and done perfectly. It was over white bean mash and arugula with a citrus vinaigrette. The «Chick-​Syl-​vain» Sandwich, I would also pass on next time since my husband said it was a bit dry. I tried it also and agreed. Fries were better than the sandwich. At this point we were too full so we didn’t have any dessert. Next time I will try the Braised beef Cheeks and maybe the Pork Shoulder.
Venue ⁵⁄₅ — perfect with details everywhere!
Service ⁵⁄₅ — our waitress knew the menu well, had good recommendations and came to check on us the right amount of times. Water was always refilled quickly.

Its entrance, nestled behind and In between buildings, can be easily missed so pay close attention not to miss it; For missing the entrance means missing an enjoyable and tasty dinner.
Once seated, the server, in our case Joe, gave us the most attentive service. His knowledge of the difference in the wines offered lead him to choose the perfect bottle that matched our distinctive taste preference for the night.
We started with the shaved Brussel spout salad. It was refreshing and light. The lemon white balsamic dressing gave it a special kick.
One entrée was the daily fish preparation. It was fresh and depending on the season and day of the week, the fish type itself differs. It was pan seared and then backed to a perfect outside crisp with a flaky inside.
The second entrée which was made especially for me, a vegetarian, was a house made pasta with a light sauce and vegetables. This dish allowed my tastebuds to «party yum yum yum!»
This place is a must not only for the food and service, but for the atmosphere.
I never knew that sitting in an alleyway on non descriptive tables and chairs could be such a different and pleasant dinner experience.

Ah another great review for Unilocal!While I may have frequented this establishment in the past, my craving for New Orleans cuisine has sparked this review. I would suggest making a reservation ahead of time, as I’ve dropped in during the week and the high-​egos of the staff will look down upon you for even thinking you could get a table without calling ahead.
My recent dining experience started with the fried eggplant with burrata, and the brussel sprouts salad. Now let me say– both of these small plates surpassed my expectations for New Orleans cuisine and I would highly recommend these as starters. For my main course I ordered the commonly Unilocaled entrée — Braise Beef Cheeks; ah-​may-​ZING! For a girl who is known to eat faster than most can speak, I can say this meal is perfectly satisfying if paired with a small plate. My dining experience ended with a few fries that i was lucky enough to snag from my dining partner. I was blown away at how perfectly seasoned these fried carbs were (I didn’t even think to ask for the usual ranch dressing that normally accompanies any of the fried foods I regret I ate the next day).
My only complaints are in regards to the snooty staff and wait time for the food to be delivered to the tables. Both times I have dined here I have found the staff to be very unfriendly and to have a superior tone when talking to the customers. Outside of the staff, the kitchen is extremely slow in preparing the food and both of my visits I have waited almost an hour to indulge on any food (all worth it however I don’t’ like waiting for anything).
All in all, I can get over the snobby staff and slow preparation of the food and would recommend this hot spot in NOLA for anyone passing through the French Quarter.

The GF and I went here for a late lunch on the Friday before Mardi Gras. Locals love to go to the Quarter on this day and have lunch, roam the Quarter, and run into friends. I had been to Sylvain several times for dinner when the original chef was here and always had a stellar meal. I was curious if the food was still up to those standards and also curious about the brunch menu. Well I’m happy to say al is still awesome at Sylvain.
We ordered one thing on the menu and one special. The menu item was crispy pork shoulder served over grits with a fried egg and finished with a smoked tomato hollandaise. It was absolutely delicious, one of the best brunch dishes I have ever had. I ordered the sautéed trout served over duck fat fried potatoes and wilted arugula. It was finished with a lemon vinaigrette or something close. It was awesome as well. The GF commented, «I could come here tomorrow and order both of these dishes with no qualms.» Oh we also had a small order of frites as an appetizer. They were excellent.
I forgot to mention the tremendously delicious bloody Mary the GF ordered. It was made with their own tomato juice concoction. Unlike those heavy tomato mixes you are used to having, this bloody Mary was extremely light and refreshing. Definitely worth a try.
I can’t wait to come back here.

Came here on mardi gras weekend — managed to get a table with no reservation.
I ordered the beef cheeks — really meaty, great portion size (not too much) and delicious accompaniments. They were great with my asking for a milk free order.
Service was good. Food was great but not spectacular. Would recommend.

My girlfriend and I decided to go to this restaurant on our first night in New Orleans and it was an excellent choice! We walk through the French quarter looking for the restaurant and we almost missed it. The front of the place is really small, and we had to go down through a narrow alleyway to reach the entrance to the place. Once we were at the door we only had to wait a handful of minutes, then we were quickley seated. The place has a nice cozy feel, and the waiters were very attentive.
We ended up ordering the chicken liver crostini, the roasted pork shoulder, and the beef cheeks. My girlfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken liver crostini with dandelion greens, this was probably one of her favorite dishes the entire trip, probably tied with char grilled oysters. I found the pork shoulder to be a little boring, but it satisfied me none-​the-​less. And my girlfriend found her beef cheeks dish to be absolutely delicious.
Great food in a hidden and lovely setting, would definitely come back!

This intimate gastropub is a great place to dine by candlelight.
The wine list is a bit limited and the selections rather quirky, but there are plenty of cocktails.
The short menu is heavy on gastropub staples like pork and beef cheeks, but they also have a good hamburger, and a fairly sophisticated scallop entrée.
My favorite was the chicken sandwich, which has been voted among the top 25 in the country, and with good reason. A think, succulent slab of white meat is sealed in a wonderful crust without being greasy at all. Served with house made pickles on a bun, with fresh from the fryer crispy fries. Four condiments elevated it even further.
The root beer float was a great dessert.
Service was friendly and attentive. Recommended.

I came here on a Saturday with my husband to celebrate our one year anniversary. We had a reservation and were seated inside near the front so we could look out onto the street. It was a tad bit hot out, so we were relived to be sitting inside. It took a little more time than usual for our server to come take our drink orders and then our food orders, but we’re pretty patient and didn’t mind too much. We ordered two seasonal market salads as starters, and the seared hanger steak and braised beef cheeks as entrees.
When the salads came out they were big, evenly dressed, and topped with candied pecans (my favorite). However, when I started eating I noticed a short, black hair (not mine). I moved it to the side and continued to eat, but I paid a little more attention to what I was eating and found not one but two more hairs. I can deal with one hair, but three was a bit excessive.
By the time my husband had finished his salad, I was finally able to flag a server down to let them know about the hairs. I told them I was fine continuing on with the salad I had because I just wanted to let them know so they could fix whatever the guy /​gal mixing the salads was doing. Instead, the server was very polite, took back the salad, brought out another one, and the manager brought out two complimentary cups of their soup of the day (which was delicious by the way).
The way they handled the whole hair issue was extremely polite, professional, and swift. The rest of the dinner went smoothly. The braised beef cheeks were tender and moist, and the steak was cooked to medium-​rare perfection. I had no idea that steak paired so well with black beans (not sure how I missed it before…)!
Despite the hair incident, dinner was a success and Sylvain was delicious. Just remember to keep an eye on your food. You know, for stuff.