The Italian Barrel

This restaurant is truly amazing. Tonight I had the veal chop topped with arugula with a 4 potato soufflé and Brussel sprouts. This dish was outstanding. Another truly memorable dining experience at this french quarter bistro.

Love this restaurant. Quaint. Authentic. A MUST in my book. Last time, had the special which included veal (flavor explosion in your mouth… wow), potatoes, and brussel sprouts (which I had no clue that I liked… but honestly were awesome… and I’ve been craving ever since I left!!!)

Delicious Italian food, maybe the best in New Orleans. Pricey but portion sizes are so large that I had to take some home. Service was superb as well. This is a great place to take a date :)

Really excellent Italian food at the east end of the French Quarter. We go there every time we visit New Orleans. Pumpkin ravioli in sage butter sauce is the bomb. Also great gnocchi!

What an amazing way to kickoff thanksgiving weekend! A cozy little place with beautiful ambiance and delicious food. This place is a perfect example of the fact that simplest of the ingredients can make world of a difference when done right. I and husband both loved our appetizers, entrée and wine.

On a recent trip to NOLA we were looking for a good Italian restaurant. Our friends are seafood eaters so we needed something with fishy stuff as well. I found The Italian Barrel and everyone was happy. Our friends has some salad with various ocean creatures and they said it was great. We started with bruschetta and it was the best bruschetta ever — and we have had it many places!
My wife and I had pasta meals and both were great. Our friends had pasta with fish and they loved it also. Predinner drinks and wine were also good.
We sat outside which I would recommend. Inside is crowded and was very loud. It was totally full inside so it looked like no one minded but it was more peaceful outside.
Definitely a winner!

Mussels sautéed in white wine, parsley, and garlic (19 $). Nothing special, typical dish. It’s a good starter. It’s not bland, but the flavors won’t blow your sock off. Good appetizer to share or you’ll be bored having to eat it all.
Porcini and Truffle Ravioli. Fresh pasta stuffed with porcini mushrooms topped with creamy white sauce then drizzled with truffle extra virgin olive oil (18 $). This dish is very decadent and heavy. The truffle flavor is intense. Normally, I love anything truffle. However, this was a little to much for me.
Pumpkin Ravioli. Fresh pasta filled with pumpkin, sauteed in butter and sage (16 $). I loved this. The pasta was perfectly cooked. Then, sautéed in butter, it just melts in your mouth.
Penne Alla Vodka. Penne pasta and jumbo lump crabmeat tossed in a vodka sauce (21 $). I thoroughly enjoyed this pasta too. The crab truly brings a sweet and delicate flavor to the dish.

We were in Jackson Square and the Gold Dude that stands on the streets in a pose was on a break. He recommeded the Italian Barrel. So we all voted and figured the Gold Dude to be a reliable soure and set off on our trek. We arrived hungry after about 8 blocks of walking.
Here are the negatives first: Sure was hard to find the front door. Walked around looking stupid but finally someone pointed to where the door was. Please mark the location of the door.
Did not know you needed a resevation, but very kind and sat us outside along Decatur St. This was pretty cool and it was a nice night outside, not our typical N.O. hot, sweltering night, also a lot of fun the wath people try to finfd the door.
That starts the positive. GREAT, GREAT Sever. She knew all the dishes, gave great recommendations and kept up with us all thru the meal. Rarely do I give 20% but she was well worth it.
Food was good and well made as you could tell by taste and presentation this was an Chef run kitchen and made with pride. I had the Veal Parmesian. Hot, Excellent not over cooked and very well presented. All the rest of my tabel had diffrent fare and it was all good to great.
Sitting outside in New Orleans in it self is a treat.
The inside, however looked very cozy and romantic. Would love to bring my wife back.
Did not have the wine but wine list is extensive.
Anyway, if you want italian in New Orleans, Get a reservation and listen the the Gold Dude and me. Go to the Italian Barrel.

I was so excited to locate this Italian Restaurant in the Quarter. Not a typical fast food Italian joint. Wonderful quality and service. The Osso Bucco is out of this world. Carpaccio blew my socks off.
However, I know my Italiano food and the mozzarella in salad is not fresh. My server informed me it would be fresh.
Great ambiance here!
Try dessert!

I loved this meal. wow
of course we over ordered on the food, and the portions? yeah BIG.
brushetta… wow huge appetizer and super fresh tomatoes. I think our server was «savannah»? she was so wonderful and knew her menu. knew her wines.
we had the olive sampler, I had fettucini crema. wow. made my week. lots of red wine, table of 8 and not one thing was a miss. we all shared. I loved all the fresh tomatoes, and the big ball of fresh mozzarella. wow. who knew so many tomatoes could be served at a table and we all were drooling. LOL
dessert too. sat on the sidewalk, and enjoyed every minute of the experience. inside its quite lovely, but again, thank you for the half hour notice we gave you for a reservation, and then making it happen for us.
cheers.

What a find! I was very hesitant to try Italian food in NOLA. We started with a meat & cheese platter with different dipping sauces and flatbreads. Delicious. The entrees were as follows:
Ravioli with roasted tomatoes and ricotta cheese
Chicken Parmigan with linguine in a white sauce
Lasagna
No complaints on any. All clean plates
So if you are not in the mood for traditional cuisine you must try this place. Service was also excellent. Enjoy

This is one of those places that is hard to review. My friends constantly rave about it, yet I am constantly unimpressed. My visit last nite solidified that feeling for me. The staff was nice but all seemed overwhelmed even though it wasn’t particularly busy. 2 tables walked out during my meal unable to get someone to take their order. The fire roasted ravioli was flavorless and uninteresting and one of those times you say to yourself I seriously make much better at home. So if it weren’t for other local friends who constantly rave on their personal experiences I would likely be giving this a 2 star review. Ill give it another try in a few months but not sure I’ll have a better taste in my mouth.

BEST Italian restaurant in New Orleans. Shared the jumbo lump crab salad with my friend, it was excellent the crab was SO fresh. Than had the gnocchi with tomato basil sauce which was amazing. If you want true authentic Italian food in Nola don’t hesitate come here!

The veal parm was burned and too much sauce was used. The attitude of some of the servers was absolutely miserable. We had asked that our $ 23 crab salad be split in half and the female server copped all kinds of tude bc she had to walk back into the kitchen. Our primary server Juan did a nice job. When our check came, we were assessed a $ 4 split fee on the salad. I’d understand if we split an entrée but a salad… after a $ 50 bottle of wine and 2 $ 30 entrees? Then the manager Gio (wonder if that’s on his birth certificate?) gave us crap bc I asked him to remove the $ 4. It was done as «a one time courtesy»! With all of the dining options in New Orleans you can have a way better dining experience for a couple a hundred bucks!
Michael
Dallas, Tx

We recently had dinner here and thought the food (jumbo lump crabmeat salad and pappardelle with truffle cream sauce) was outstanding. However, a huge drawback for us was the INCREDIBLY HIGH NOISE level. We were there on a Friday evening at 7 pm (peak time, I guess) and it was truly impossible to hear my husband speak (and we were seated in a corner). The tables were very close together and there were only hard surfaces in the dining room save for tablecloths so the noise from diners shrieking and loudly talking reverbated throughout the meal. It was very jarring and we were glad to get out of there.
I would only go back to the Italian Barrel at a very off-​peak time/​day. There is outdoor seating but when it is 90 degrees on a June evening, it is not very tempting to sit out there.

I like the location and atmosphere of this place. I like how it seems very authentically European with so many tables crammed into a small space. I see Italian Barrel claims to be authentic Italian cuisine but I do not find it to be at all. I find the pasta dishes to be far too full of butter (inedible amounts of butter) and not tasting like I expect them to.
I do like their seafood salad, and prosciutto and melon salads. The cheese plate is fantastic here. If you are walking through the quarter and want a snack and wine, I highly recommend stopping here for the cheese or a salad and some wine because the atmosphere is lovely.

Holy S**t! We LOVED this place. We each ordered an entrée and every single one was delicious! They quality of the ingredients shines through each dish. The pasta is amazing and the appetizer (caprese salad) was simple yet perfect. My only complaint would be the tiramisu was not my favorite, but I am very picky about my tiramisu.
Wine — YUM. They have a nice selection from a specific Italian winemaker so it was fun to try those and the quality did not disappoint.
Service — Attentive and knowledgeable
Atmosphere — It was nice outside so we wanted to sit on the patio. It was quaint and an average view, but it is right across the street from something that smelled like we were near dumpsters. Nothing bad enough to ruin the experience, though.

This is an absolute must for the best dining experience a person can have in the Quarter.
Lovely place to dress your best!

I’m pretty amazed. I had never heard of this place when a friend suggested that we get dinner here.
Walking in, the restaurant is small but nice. We were here during the week, so there was no huge crowd and there were a few empty tables. We sat down and the waitress was quick to come over, bring us a bread basket and take our beverage order.
Looking over the menu, everything sounded delicious. I decided to go with the Penne Alla Vodka which is penne pasta, mixed with a delicious cream sauce and huge pieces of crab. It was delicious and creamy and I was delighted that there was plenty of crab. The dish had a lot of flavor and wasn’t overly filling.
My only complaint was that service was pretty slow. Considering it was a week night and there weren’t a lot of people in the place, it took a while to get our food. We weren’t in a rush, but from the time we sat down until the time we left, two hours had passed. It took about 45 minutes to get our entrees, even though we didn’t order anything crazy complicated. It’s not the end of the world, but just be aware of this if you are looking to grab dinner and you are on a schedule that you have to keep.
I would return to this cozy little French Quarter restaurant and would recommend it for a date.

Charming. Intimate. Authentic. Delicious.
My husband and I were wandering looking for a place to eat, and the Italian Barrel on the corner caught our eye. It was later after the dinner rush so we were lucky to get a table without a reservation.
It’s an intimate little restaurant, with only about 18 – 20 tables and a small bar that seats about 5 or 6. The staff is extremely knowledgable and friendly.
THE FOOD IS SOOOOO GOOD! I had their homemade pumpkin ravioli. Wow. Wow. Wow. Every bite was pure heaven! My husband got the Veal Parmesan (the portion size was huge!) and that was delicious as well.
We loved the Italian Barrel so much we came back a send time during our week trip to New Orleans!