Toups Meatery

What a great eating experience – stuffing face with the most amazing meats– smoked, cured and prepared. The most amazing thing about Toups is the menu. How a kitchen can execute so many 5 star dishes is beyond me. I had two appetizers – deviled eggs and gulf shrimp. The deviled eggs were the most talked about but the gulf shrimp blew me away. To list them on the menu as just roasted greatly understates the flavor they retain. I could drink that sauce! Of course, I had to try the meat plate being my first time at Toups. Every ingredient was prepared and placed do delicately and attentively. Easily the number of different ingredients and the way in which they were prepared could easily fill up sheet of paper, front and back. Highlights from the meat plate are cracklins and chicken sausage.

I’ve been here at least half a dozen times. Always delicious! Friendly staff, accommodating, and the food speaks for itself! I ate light today but I typically chow down on the cheese and meat boards. I could live on pork belly alone (especially the candied pork belly), but, just because I can…
This is, however, the first time I sit out doors. They are dog friendly. Service is as good as it is inside, and it’s been a nice, peaceful escape — before I get started on my own busy day. Lots of free parking or, if you’re coming from downtown, hop on the red streetcar line going toward the museum and you’ll get dropped off right in front.

The double cut pork chop is delicious. The dirty rice it’s served on is scrumptious, especially with the sweet gastric on top. Great flavor combination. It was great meeting Chef Issac and his wife at the bar, they are your typical friendly down south Cajuns.

After seeing Chef Isaac on Top Chef my wife and I were determined to visit his restaurant. A short trip from St Louis to NOLA for a meeting provided such opportunity.
Toups is a great restaurant adorned with English mount animal heads and old black and white farm pictures. A foreshadowing of the meal to come!
Starters were smoked trout deviled eggs topped with cracklins and the foie gras. The foie was some of the best I’ve ever eaten, a perfect portion size too. The deviled eggs were served in 5 making it a meal unto itself. Both apps were so good my wife and I were eager to order more food.
Main courses were venison and the lamb neck. The venison was cooked perfectly and the seasoning was spot on. I’ve killed, cooked and eatin a lot of venison and can’t recall it tasting nearly as good as Toups. Life changing! My wife is a connoisseur of lamb. My family has a farm where we raise and eat lamb. In saying that, the look on my wife’s face when she tasted the lamb neck meat with the black eyed peas was one of pure culinary satisfaction.
The evening was brought full circle when leaving we ran into the man himself, Chef Isaac Toups. Chef Isaac took the time to shake our hands, introduced himself and his wife Amanda. We praised his great food, apologized for disturbing him and wished him well. He’s just as you’d expect, souther style nice guy to the core. I’ll be sure to visit again soon. Thank you

This place is hands down one of my favorite spots in New Orleans. I’m keeping this simple and let the restaurant speak for itself… once you go.
I would recommend the Meatery Board and lamb neck. Have them bring it out at the same time with some beers and Enjoy!

Went here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon after seeing Chef Toups on Top Chef. All of the food he made on the show looked phenomenal so I was very excited to see what his restaurant was like… And even better when i walked to the restroom I was happy to see that Chef Toups was busy working the kitchen and pushing out dishes.
The cocktail list had so many good choices on it that choosing one was very difficult. I ended up going with the Lizzard King. It was bourbon, mint, and a pineapple ginger shrub. It was very light and refreshing and something I definitely see myself ordering again if it’s on the menu.
For lunch I ended up getting the Seafood Couvillion. It was a tomato based seafood dish with a piece of fish and shrimp cooked in the sauce. There was a nice scoop of crab fat rice in the bowl. The fish was cooked perfect and nice and juicy. The shrimp were just a tad bit over done, but that’s just me being picky and overanalyzing.
I’m not really a fan of rice but I could have eaten an entire bowl of the crab fat rice by itself. It was just so comforting and reminded of me meals that my mom made for us as kids.

Date 1−21−16:
After watching Issac on Top Chef I was impressed on how he carried himself and prepared his dishes. He is a wonderful ambassador of Louisiana and who we are.
Toups is an outstanding representation of what Louisiana Cajun cooking is.
Creole cooking can be had all around New Orleans, Cajun not so much.
Toups takes Cajun cooking and elevates it.
He cooks the way our grandparents cooked. Slow cooked for hours and flavors built thru the «Trinity».
Service was excellent!
Start with the Shrimp. It is outstanding. Make sure to ask for additional bread because you will want to wipe the bowl clean.
I had the Lamb Neck over black eyed peas. The lamb fell off of the bone and was tender and full of flavor.
It was hilarious when our meals came that multiple tables turned to see what we had ordered.
The tables were laughing as we all did the same to each other.
Finish your meal with the Caramel cake. I didn’t realize it had a touch of Cayenne in the icing so that was a surprise. A really great surprise.
The restaurant is in a really cool area of Carrolton and there is a really eclectic crowd in the restaurant.
Issac his wife and staff are wonderfully friendly.
Make sure you say hello.
Go go go!

So maybe it was the food, the football game, the ambience, the company, or a combination that made this dining experience wonderfully memorable. I ordered the lamb neck, which was tender, moist, savory, and well paired with black eyed pea ragout and fennel. My companion had the BBQ goat with citrus slaw and cornbread. Both dishes were amazing! The wine menu is full, but not overbearing (by the bottle). We enjoyed a light red, Spy Valley Pinot Noir. Our meal was followed by doberge cake (the salted caramel, peanut butter, and bacon) and Irish coffee. The cake was perfection! Our waitress was attentive and engaging, the host was personable, and the remaining waitstaff engaged us in light conversation as well.
At the close of the evening (which coincided with the closing of the restaurant for the evening), the chef, Isaac Toups, came to check on our satisfaction with our meals, which was a nice touch. He then brought over shots of Jack Daniels as a final salud.
Compliments all around to Toups’ Meatery!

So, this is not a fast food place, but having forgotten that a double pork chop takes a bit longer to suffer its eminent and inevitable culinary demise, I became impatient as I sat waiting, sipping my diet coke.
Every minute passing my thoughts raced: «This better be good». Then, a huge beast of a bald headed man, escorted by a petite assistant, was Chef Isaac and Pauly. They carefully carried my double pig chop, goat thighs with cornbread and dirty rice straight away and the wait was indeed worth every minute.

I went to Toups because I’ve heard exceptional things around town and, admittedly, I’m a Top Chef fanatic. Did not disappoint.
My friend and I were going for a happy hour feel so we just ordered the Meatery Board and a pitcher of the drink of the day.
‘Twas but a dream.
The charcuterie was exceptional. Best I’ve ever had. The board is $ 25 and you get around 10 different types of delicious meats. Each meat is accompanied by an extremely fitting and interesting character foil such as pickled squash or grilled pineapple. Thinking about it is making me tear up…
I can’t really remember what was in the drink we got, but it was delicious.
The most important part of our visit was when Chef Isaac came to the bar to get whiskey for the kitchen. My friend and I were geeking out but somehow managed to ask if he would take a shot with us. He didn’t hesitate and poured himself and each of us a shot of whiskey. He’s a cajun prince.
All in all– recommend the heck out of this place. I can’t wait to go back and try more!

The meatery board is always my favorite here. I find it’s a great place for small plates and shared appetizers with friends. Great lunch too.

We came to this place because I’m obsessed with meeting celebrity chefs, and Isaac Toups is on Top Chef Season 13 (Bravo TV). He actually came out of the kitchen to deliver a dish to a big group table and he was charming. Celebrity chef sighting: checked!
The place is small and charming. We arrived early and we were seated right away! The service was very good, our server was very knowledgeable and prepared. We order the Meatery Board which has a selection of cured meats made in house. Holy crap! That and a glass of wine would have been a perfect evening. The combination of flavors and textures on that board are insane!!! My husband ordered the Double Pork Chop and I ordered the Venison. They were both great. The park chop was very juicy and the dirty rice with it was a great compliment. He venison was so tender! The couscous with it was very tasty. There was a horseradish sauce with it that in my opinion and for my palate was too strong, but it worked in a very interesting way. For desert we had the Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter, and Bacon douberge cake. The icing on this cake was too sweet for us, but the inside is delicious! It’s like a pancake met pralines and cream!!!
Overall is was a great meal! We highly recommend this place!

Oh man, Toups is cool.
My boyfrand and I came here for a splurgey holiday dinner and it did not disappoint. We started with a bottle of Malbec and the meat plate. If you come here and don’t get the meat plate, you’re wasting your time. This is definitely the signature Toups menu item, and if you’re making the trip you may as well just go for it, life is short. It’s $ 25, but contains more than $ 25 worth of food/​deliciousness. The plate had sausage, terrine, pates, pickles, mustards, etc. and everything was awesome. I’ve never been super adventurous with the weird spreadable meat products, but I tried everything on the plate and loved it all! The cracklins were the absolute star, they were hot and salty and SO GOOD I WANTED TO SCREAM.
I got the marrow special for my entrée because I think eating the marrow of other animals’ bones is essential to humans maintaining their spot at the top of the food chain. It came with chicken liver pâté crostinis, which were delishhhhh and a great complement to the marrow itself. The dish also came with duck hearts, which I had never tried before and are not my favorite. I’m sure Toups prepared them well, they’re just not my thing. When I finished all the marrow, the waitress informed me that I got a complimentary shot of whiskey to be drunk through the bone. What a time to be alive! I happily obliged and very much enjoyed the whimsy of the bone shot.
Service was also awesome and the restaurant itself was cool. John Besh was even sitting a few tables away! Overall, definitely one of the pricier places to have dinner in Nola, but you’re guaranteed totally unique and well done food.

4 star food — 2 star service.
Meatery board was very good. The cocktails were meh. And the douberge cake was highly disappointing. Service was brusque and unorganized.
I don’t write many reviews but the service was that frustrating.

We really wanted to love this restaurant. It came highly recommended. We even canceled our reservation at Couchon to eat here. Mistake. It was not very good at all. All of the food was too salty.
I ordered a double cut pork chop. When it arrived it was a huge chunk of meat atop a huge mound of inedible dirty rice with no greens of any kind.
Steve’s flank steak was tough and stringy. He hated it and did not eat it. His potatoes were pretty good. I ate them.
No one could tell me the cut of venison (scary) Jean ordered. It was tasteless.
The best dish was the lamb neck if you can get passed the tack that you have a huge chunk of lamb neck on your plate.
Highlight of the meal-​the pork cracklings and the wine. We tried it, we paid dearly for the experience and we won’t return.

Veal Sweetbread Poutine 18 $ /​/​fried potato and sweetbreads smothered with gravy and cheddar cheese then sprinkled w green onions. Heavy dish. I could only take a few bites before I couldn’t stomach anymore. Okay in flavors, maybe more on the boring side. Disappointed that the cheese wasn’t distributed more evenly. I don’t care about pretty food, just makes it a challenge to eat when it’s not necessary.
Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs 7 $ /​/​I enjoy the texture the crisp and trout roe brings to the eggs. I didn’t taste much of the pickled jalapeño. Okay appetizer.
BBQ Goat 23 $ /​/​The cornbread stood out way more than the goat, pickled peppers, & citrus slaw. The goat was cooked well. The flavors did not stand out to me. & the bitterness of the purple cabbage overtook everything.
Fried Rice & Porkbelly Special 25 $ /​/​I wish the porkbelly was cooked more crispy. The fried rice had flavor. However, the dish is to mushy!

MEAT!
No, seriously, they have it in every form. From lamb cheek, to ox tail no part of the animal can go uneaten here. They make cheese boards, charcuterie boards, and even pickled boards. We came by ourselves to have a small night out and split some things. The chicken thighs were cooked perfectly and both legs were plentiful. We split some cheeses and a pickled vegetable plate. It was all interesting. The service was quick and friendly. They make specialty cocktails and have a good selection of whiskey and bourbons.

My friend was visiting from out of town with her son’s girlfriend on their way to another destination. I wanted to come, as I have been eyeballing Toups and stalking reviews. We were coldly greeted at the door. My friends were tired from an 8 hour drive, and we weren’t sloppy looking, but we weren’t the best looking either. We were seated promptly. The greeter/​server clearly did not think that we were worthy of service.
We decided on drinks, and to just have appetizers. The food and beverages were simply set down, with out discussion. At no point were we asked how everything was. At no point were we not glared at by the staff. The drink tasted like turpentine. The cheese platter was decent, but there were three of us, four pieces of bread and too much cheese for the small pieces of bread. The shrimp was very good.
I am very disappointed because I had very high hopes based on the rave reviews. I was hoping to have a place to take future visitors that was not touristy. This is not the place.

My sister & brother-​in-​law have been telling me to go dine at Toups for the past 2 years, and I finally went this past Saturday night for my boyfriend’s birthday dinner. I’m already planning my next visit back.
We had reservations for 5 and were seated immediately. I ordered the beet martini, which had the perfect amount of tartness. For apps we had the bone marrow with duck hearts, the lamb tartare, and the cheese board. All were delicious, but the bone marrow was truly superb.
For entrees, we ordered the shrimp, the barbecued goat, the pork chop, the venison, and the quail. Everyone tried a bite of each other’s entrees and not surprisingly, everything was great. With that said, I chose the quail; while it was delicious, the portion wasn’t nearly as big as the pork chop or the venison. I’m thinking next time I go that I want to try something different and order the flank steak.
For dessert, we had the salted peanut butter bacon doberge cake, the key lime pie doberge cake, and the special dessert of the night, which was a cornbread bread pudding with pork belly, peaches, candied pecans, and a caramelized sauce. I’ve ordered cakes from Debbie Does Doberge in the past, so I knew that the doberge slices would be a solid choice. And the dessert special had the perfect combination of sweet and savory. My only dessert critique would be for Toups to have maybe 1 or 2 other options besides the doberge & dessert special, like a pie/​tart or an after dinner cheese selection.

Came here for lunch with my wife and we really enjoyed ourselves! This is a very laid back and welcoming environment, one of the first things we noticed was the friendliness of the staff!
We ordered a couple specialty drinks to start with… I had the Louisiana citrus sour (a vodka drink w/​fresh citrus and I especially loved the grapefruit notes and thyme was a nice garnish). My wife had the beet martini which she enjoyed but I didn’t really care for.
We tried the small plate of Foie Gras Torchon which was absolutely fantastic! Every single detail of this small plate was carefully thought out, and was probably one of the most harmonious foie gras dishes we have ever had! It included a fig and pistachio log, seasonal marmalade, green grape halves, local honey, and walnut bread. Highly recommend.
For an entrée I had the BBQ Goat which was a very interesting dish. The citrus slaw and pickled peppers complimented the goat perfectly. The one aspect of the dish that I still can’t make too much sense of was the cornbread w/​sugar on top. It was decent, but would have preferred an alternative accompaniment.
My wife had the Flank Steak w/​potatoes bordelaise, oyster mushrooms, and red wine butter. The steak was very tender and cooked a perfect medium as she asked for. The steak was extremely good, the bordelaise sauce added nice flavor to the steak (it’s made with bone marrow) but was a little salty.
Overall, a fantastic experience! If you are looking for an excellent server here ask for Mac, he took great care of us! We will be back soon.