No restaurant captures New Orleans's gastronomic heritage and celebratory spirit as well as this one, long considered the grande dame of New Orleans's fine dining. The post-Katrina renovation has added new life, especially upstairs, where the Garden Room's glass walls have marvelous views of the giant oak trees on the patio below; other rooms promote conviviality with their bright pastels. The menu's classics include foie-gras-and-rabbit pie; a spicy and meaty turtle soup; terrific grilled veal chops with grits; and a wonderful sautéed Gulf fish coated with crunchy pecans. Among the addictive desserts is the bread-pudding soufflé. Weekend brunches are a New Orleans tradition. Jackets are preferred at dinner.
Reviewed by HRHSusan from Beaumont, TX on 1/20/09
The food is excellent. The service excellent but not pretenious. The dining rooms are all decorated beautifully. The kitchen is clean. And who could turn down 25 cent martini at lunch? Everytime I visit NOLA I try some new restaurants but none have topped the experience I have come enjoy at Commander's Palace.
Reviewed by Jex from New Orleans on 12/18/08
I am a native New Orleanian so I thought I'd weigh in. Katrina (though horribly devastating) was the best thing that could have happened to Commander's Palace. Pre-K I found it more than a little "tired." Now, it has the most beautiful, sophisticated interior and true nouvelle cuisine that is still classically New Orleans. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Is it expensive? Yes, it is. But you will be treated like an absolute rock star. Everyone is a VIP to them. Get the 3-3-3 soups---a wonderful intro to the best gumbo, turtle soup, and soup du jour that you will have in New Orleans. Others have mentioned the bread pudding souffle...it is truly remarkable and worth it. The creole cream cheese cheesecake is also unlike anything you've ever tasted and takes them 3 days to make. Last time I was there I had their chocolate offering and was not impressed by that, but the two others I've mentioned would put you over the moon.
Reviewed by lizaj1 from Coastal North Carolina on 12/29/07
We took a chance and didn't make reservations during the Christams season until we got to NO. When I looked at online reservations they showed no availibilty, but our hotel got us right in. The food was wonderful and the service was excellent as well as entertaining. For a party of four we had a head waiter and two assistant waiters. We ordered off a prefixed menu and had a choice of three appetizers, entrees and desserts. I believe that dinner cost approximately $40 per person not including drinks. You can't beat that! Do not miss the bread pudding souffle! After a very minor glitch in our order the assistant waiter apologized profusely and served us additional desserts and a round of drinks on the house. Quite unnecessary, but quite nice. After dinner another assistant waiter took us on a tour of the entire restaurant including the kitchen where we talked to the chefs. Of course it was late in the evening and things were winding down in the kitchen, but this was a first for me. As we left the restaurant the valet was going to get us a cab, but another driver was available. Because he seemed to be known and on friendly terms with the staff we engaged his services. We ended up using him again for a mini tour and our ride back to the airport two days later. We would have used him more, but we had a slight miscommunication and ran short on time. When we return, we will definitely look him up and use him as a driver. Needless to say our Commander's Palace experience was one of the trip's highlights. I will definitely be back. I hope they find a new location in Vegas soon as they have closed the old Alladin location.
Reviewed by Lionel22 from San Francisco, California on 3/25/07
overlooking the cemetery makes you really enjoy being alive and able to eat the most delicious food. we loved the different rooms and the waitstaff is wonderful. highly recommended, we ate there every day!
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