The Munch Factory

Excellent Place! The servers were very friendly and did recommend a dish to me. I had Ribs with Potato slices and spaghetti salad. it was served hot and was very good! Will return soon.

9 of us stopped in here for a casual dinner during JazzFest. No beer on tap, but they did have a limited selection of bottles. I had the blackened drum which I enjoyed. My wife liked the shrimp and grits, and overall everyone was happy their meal.
This is clearly a family run place and this was to us a large part of the charm of eating here. The entire family seemed to be involved in the operation including their sweet young children. Everyone was smiling and really enjoying the opportunity to show you a nice time.
We will definitely be back, and I have this sense that while the food was certainly very good, it will get even better with time and experience!

Extremely bad service. I didn’t leave a tip and the waitress confronted me outside. Really unprofessional. I called back to speak to management and she acted like the manager on the phone. I DO NOT recommend this place

I really wanted to like this place. It’s overrated. Mediocre food and high prices. We went at night during the week. I ordered the crab cake appetizer and it was three quarter sized bread cakes for $ 15. My niece ordered the gumbo but it was so salty she couldn’t eat it. My husband ordered the shrimp poboy and he enjoyed it. The service was kind and the restaurant was clean. We probably won’t be back.

This place is great. The atmosphere is really warm and the food is original and creative and delicious. The wait staff was super nice. My favorite thing was the attention to the small details. Everything was homemade and made fresh when I ordered it, so everything was hot and delicious.

The food was excellent, the atmosphere was casual and quiet and the staff was amazing!

First time visitors from Massachusetts and this was our first bite to eat in New Orleans. The waitress we had was so nice, although her name escapes us, she gave us a lot of suggestions on other places we could visit while in town. The food was yummy, and service was fast. We just got a bunch of appetizers, and we definitely recommend the Salmon bites.

This fella has out done himself yet again. The food is excellent, always fresh. Recipes are on point. Today, we had the chicken tortilla soup, gumbo, blackened red fish with crabmeat, and a thick pork chop with 4 cheese baked macaroni that was slap ya momma suberb. If I could give 10 stars, I would give 20.

Be prepared for the FINE PRINT…
I was here visiting my family from the Bay Area in California. We were looking for something local; possibly family-​owned as we like to support small restaurants. We had no reservation; but were seated quickly and the servers were quite cordial. My boyfriend ordered the Fines Herb Chicken, it was ok — a little over cooked and I ordered the Blacken Redfish also a bit overdone. My cousin, who we were visiting ordered the fried green tomatoes, had a couple bowls of gumbo along with a to go meal for her boyfriend who could not join us. I was satisfied with my meal –a bit pricey; but I was on vacation so happy to splurge for quality.
We added dessert to go and asked for our check — NO problem — we knew our meal would be well over $ 100 (almost $ 200 actually) — hell mine dish alone was $ 40! So needless to say when the bill came and they AUTOMATICALLY added the gratuity when there was only 3 of us, I was in shock! We looked back at the menu (we’d been picking things off it to try) curious as to WHY the hell would you add a gratuity to 3 people for a simple meal? There it was in FINE PRINT [We automatically add Gratuity to parties of (whatever the number was) and meals over $ 100] WHAT? Seriously! HOW RUDE and disrespectful to your patrons to add the gratuity! Respect: I’m certain the staff have been stiffed in the past, I’m sorry to hear that. I bartend and serve in the Bay Area part-​time and of course I have been stiffed or given a poor tip; but I still have such low regard for restaurants that do this. I was left with this curdling bad taste in my mouth the rest of the night! It is unfortunate that restaurants feel they must do this to their patrons rather than pay a decent wage (speculation of course). I tip well (I’d have actually given more in cash) — unless service is dreadful and lazy — even then, I realize this is how a living is made and tip reasonably. I was also frustrated to see that the tip was OVER 20% — How dare you! I visit my cousin quite often and I can say, I will not return here for that reason alone and have stopped going to spots in the Bay Area that «assume» gratuity as well. Unfortunate.

Good food. Very friendly staff. Nice atmosphere.
Prices are lunch were on the high side.
But damn… those BBQ shrimp were good.

Omg! My first time here. I passed it twice on our way to sassafras and today i decided to turn around and come here after looking a the pictures posted on Unilocal.I always judge by the pics rather than the reviews even if it has 4 – 5 stars pics tell it all and omg i do not regret it! U have to come here. chef Ruiz u are amazing. Pure comfort food. For appetizer i ordered the fried shrimp but instead of the buffalo sauce i asked for the thai ginger sauce that comes on the salmon bits and it was Amazing! .
My mom ordered the plain chicken wings and the gourmet potato skins n LOVED it. The wings were perfect tasted like my homemade fried chicken yum. This is definitely authentic NOLA Cuisine. I ordered the Pork chop w/​mac n cheese entrée and omgggg delicious. I rarely eat pork chops but the picture i saw of it on here made me want to get it and i was not disappointed. The baked macaroni was dream tasted homemade like something we’d eat at thanksgiving with a stuffed bell pepper or dressing lawwwddd! N my green beans were sautéed to perfection. … And the food was sooo good i had to try the dessert which is also made from scratch too btw. Jesus take the wheel i dont even like or eat bread pudding my mom ordered it n i ate some of hers n its THE BEST IVE EVER HADDD lawwwd like seriously yall im not even exaggerating. I ordered the key lime pie n it was really good and flavorful but that breadpudding won my heart. seriously id give 10 stars if i could im so impressed and thats says a lot coming from me. N ill pay anything for great food and the prices r reasonable and worth it!!! Wheeeew… I already know what i want to try on my next visit. And FYI i was born and raised in New Orleans so i know good food when i come across it. Ohhh and i cant forget the sweet and verf attentive server Alexis. Thanks girl u were great. Very good attentive, knowledgeable and was even playful with the other guests kids. Great Job Chef Ruiz! Great restaurant.

There is a need for a good restaurant in this area. I was anxious about trying Munch, as I had heard a spread of differences from friends and then reading on Unilocal. The outside doesn’t seem like much, but the interior is pretty awesome. Some of the bench seats were pretty worn out, but some looked great. The menu states that it is their policy to add gratuity to the bill, I am not sure if that is why the prices were so high, but the bill had no extra tip added.
The small-​ish burgers were really good, and was cooked medium, just how I like it. The shoestring french fries were pretty darn good. I do think that it was a bit pricy ($ 16) for what was served (see pictures). I think that I will be an occasional patron, and not a regular, as long as I live in the area.

Had great drinks here and great service. For eats we ordered a cup of gumbo, crab cakes, a Caesar side salad, and the lightly fried salmon with ginger sauce.
The gumbo was decent. I ate the whole bowl, I may have been misinformed by an old photo because I half expected soft shell crab with my gumbo… perhaps that was a special on that day. Bummer. Lol. Cesar salad was good and the crab cakes were true to the testament of being all crab, which is always AWESOME.
Now for the salmon, my first serving was a smidge over done and completely immersed in sauce. I tried it and then asked for a better batch. Without hesitation I was obliged and received a new plate of fish that was cooked to perfection. I thought the marriage of the lightly fried fish and the Asian inspired glaze was a great pairing.
Visiting this restaurant was a great experience. You can tell they take care of their customers and it matters to them that you leave happy and full. Finely makes me want to come back.

I’m glad to finally try this restaurant, just a short hop down Elysian Fields from my home. I was going to a little conference at UNO and lunch was on our own, so my co-​worker and I went here. I had done my Unilocal research, so figured this was a good, close option, and it was.
I had the grilled fish sandwich and chose the «Elysian Peels» potatoes for my side. Both were quite nice. The Elysian Peels are a bit hard to describe they have more potato meat than fried potato skins but less than… oh, lord, those baked/​fried slices of potato that are thicker than fries. I’m having a brain freeze and can’t remember exactly what they are called. Anyway, they were hot and crispy. The sandwiches are on brioche buns, which can add grease but worked great with grilled fish.
The service was good. The server was very nice and she was very attentive with water and iced tea refills. I’m looking forward to trying Munch Factory again.

Came here for a business meeting. Restaurant itself was at nearly full capacity at 11 am on Friday. Because of its size, there was no wait. We were promptly seated and had a great view of the street.
Server immediately came and got our drink order. I decided to check out their homemade lemonade and ordered the Buffalo oysters. We settled on the munch bowl and shrimp and grits (We were both craving grits.)
And it was the perfect choice! Tons of food– filled with flavor and deliciousness. Both of us had plenty of leftovers.
Will definitely be back.

Made reservations to come here after a nearby graduation and wish we hadn’t. Food was overpriced for both quantity and quality, menu is very limited, and service was poor to mediocre at best. Wish I would have gone with my gut instead of the Unilocal reviews and avoided this place.

Wow is all I can really say to sum this place up!
Highlights:
Firehouse Burger — A burger stuffed with pepper jack cheese, jalapenos, and Elysian peels. It was one of the specials and it was slap yo mama good!
Bayou Fries area great appetizer. Very tasty, cheesy, meaty and filling.
Thick Cut Pork Chop #NotMine — I’m not a fan of pork chops but if you are, I think you will LOVE theirs! The flavors exploded in my mouth. So tender and juicy! My friend that ordered it looked like he was in heaven with every bite! The green beans were also a highlight!
Rib Eye Steak #NotMine — I’m also not a big fan of steak but I tasted a piece of this steak and it was very juicy and delicious. The sauce on top and those blue cheese crumbles… mmmm He couldn’t stop eating it!
Mac and Cheese — Ok sooooo I LOVE mac and cheese and I’ve tried several kinds from all over the country but THIS RIGHT HERE!!! I’ve never had mac and cheese with spaghetti noodles. I was a little apprehensive about it but boy oh boy was it good good great! Since the noodles are skinnier, the cheese to noodle ratio is off the chain! Next time I go back I will have to order that.
Molly was our server and she was awesome. She was the one that recommended the burger. I told her it was my first time and I just needed to know ONE thing that I must try. I told her what I don’t like and she suggested that deliciousness on a bun. I’m so thankful that she did. The drinks were ok. I had a pomegranate margarita. Nothing to write home about.
This was one of my best eating experiences in NOLA! I will definitely be back one day! I’m glad they waited until the last day to take me here because otherwise, i might have ended up going there everyday!

Sometimes Unilocal reviews lead me to gems and sometimes to duds, this one is a dud. After seeing how high The Munch Factory has gone on our board due to soaring reviews I called my parents who live in the area and we went for dinner. This was a huge mistake. There were no specials like most restaurants in this class and the few entrees they did have were not to the liking of my old fashioned parents who prefer traditional New Orleans fare. We assumed that this was going to be a similar experience to Neyows on Jeff Davis. Neyows features contemporary and traditional creole soul food which was what I was expecting here and that was not the case. No charbroiled oysters either which was another disappointment.
Seeing nothing on the limited entrée menu my parents ordered oyster poboys with fries and I ordered the gumbo. The poboys were on some sort of bun instead of french bread which I couldn’t understand and the oysters themselves were just ok. They had some house made fries that were not only overcooked but in grease that hadn’t been changed in a while because they had a pungent aftertaste. They brought out some potato wedges to make up for it but they had the same grease problem which left my stomach aching as I sampled them.
My gumbo seemed to be old as it was very dark and the ingredients did not seem fresh either. Doesn’t seem like they serve much gumbo here which is surprising for whats supposed to be a creole restaurant. There was a lot of ingredients but no crab, a lot of cheap sausage and one piece of shrimp.
To make matters worse two oyster poboys with fries and a bowl of gumbo ended up being a $ 60 bill with tip. You can bet I will probably never be back here. I normally side with my fellow Unilocalers on reviews but this one I have to go the opposite direction. One of the worst feelings in the world is to be full of a meal you did not like. Thats where blue bell ice cream at home helps clean the pallet.

This was way better than going to the French quarter!
We had shrimp n grits, blackened red fish, and the finds herb chicken. Everything was great! And the staff was very friendly too:) it was nice stopping here after driving 36hours! My family was happy too!

Came here for our Finance Christmas party on 12÷12÷14. the space is amazingly renovated. This particular building has been home to several different restaurants over the years. Décor, parking, and ambiance all get an A+ rating. Now on to the food.
We had a select menu so our options were few but great. As group appetizers we ordered the Buffalo Shrimp and Oysters, Munchin’ Wings (Hot and Garlic Parmesan) and Bayou Nachos. All were absolutely amazing! My favorites were a toss between oysters and wings. The nachos were my least favorite… they were large and great for group sharing but I’m not a fan of raw onions on my dishes and the portion of meat to toppings was kind of one sided.
Majority of the ppl at our table ordered the Shrimp and Grits. I usually cook these at home so I steer away from restaurant preparations because I’m always kind of disappointed. BIG MISTAKE. After I tried some of the persons next to me I was already planning my next visit to have some!
I had the Fines Herb Chicken, which is said to be one of there best/​popular dishes, it was just okay. Nothing too spectacular about it in my opinion.
Overall it was a great experience… I’ll def be visiting again.