dfinley

We are going to NO in JAn. to celebrate our friends 4oth bday. We will have about 15 of us. Can you recommend a place that is fun with good food? I have heard these suggestions so far but know nothing about them.
Commanders Pl.
Muriels
Gautreaux
Brigsten
Pelican Club
GW Fins
Peristyle\
What do you think would be a good place for us to eat on Friday and Sat. night?
We are staying at the Hotel Montelone.
Thanks!!

flyfaraway

you should also check out mulattes!! Great cajun food! And go to all the little cafe's around bourbon street.

dfinley

thanks for the recomendation, do you know if any of these I listed are better than others?

almesq

Of course, it depends on your taste, but Commanders Palace is one of the oldest most well known restaurants anywhere, let alone NO. I haven't been there in a few years, but it is wonderful--I can't imagine it's slipped too much. Plus, a great sunday jazz brunch. It's a great NO experience.

travelingirl

Make sure you head to the Cat's Meow on Boubon - no food but lots of good drinks and FUN!!

tommy

I vote for Muriel's - its right in the French Quarter, good food, historic building (former bordello, and decadently decorated like it still is). They have rooms for private parties if you want one. The lounge is very plush, the bar very trendy. I think a group of women celebrating would really enjoy it.

Peristyle is great food, but small. I was there with a large group once, and while it was very good, we felt as if we were intruding on the place when things got a little boisterous.

Personally, I think Commanders Palace is a bit stuffy and overrated.

tommy

Muriels also has a great website
www.muriels.com

neworleanslaura

If you want someplace more relaxed and fun i would definitely check out jacques-imos. It is a fun, delicious, funky place. (Though on the noisy side.) You will absolutely have a blast.

Kal

Ditto Muriel's but also a for Jacques Imos. While the service was really good at Muriels and the location can't be beat, J-Is is really an experience and the service was very friendly...just like Jacques.

Austin

I went to NO about 20 years ago and had a BLAST at Pat O'Briens. Oh, well at least I think I did. In the pictures it looked like I had fun.

GatorLadyUSA

I'll throw in my vote for Muriel's and the Pelican Club. Muriel's has an upstairs lounge that is amazingly beautiful. Very classic bordello feel. *{J}*

GatorLadyUSA

dfinley, if I can toss another idea at you, I recently sent a client on a ghost tour (won't metion the name because people freak out about "advertising" on Fodor's) but I will post it if you ask. There were 8 executive-level women who wanted to let their hair down and party. Since the tour starts in a bar, I figured they would enjoy it. And oh did hey ever! Just got the coment card back on their trip and they RAVED about the tour. They also liked singing karaoke at the Cat's Meow on Bourbon St after the tour. So maybe that's another idea for 15 of you celebrating. *{J}*

Dan

If you're interested in the above ghost tour suggestion, click on the poster's name. She mentions it a lot and it won't be hard to spot.

Dan

Of your list, dfinley, I really like them all. You "done good." However, I'd probably pick Gautreaus, Pelican Club and Peristyle.

Wayne

Being from Louisiana and having visited all of these restaurants, I'll classify them in order of my preferences. I will keep in mind that you want to have a good time, perhaps let down your hair a little but not be rowdy, and have better-than-average food at reasonable cost. Having said that, here is my preferred order:
-Brigtsen's
-GW Fins (though noisy)
-Pelican Club
-Muriel's
-Gautreau's
-Peristyle
-Commander's Palace

What you seemed to ask in your concluding question, though, is for a suggestion of a "good place to eat" that might not include any of the above. Based on that assumption, I'd strongly recommend one of the following:
-Red Fish Grill if you want to have a short walk from the Monteleone.
-Jacques-Imo's if you want fantastic food in a down-home atmosphere, crowded and lively. You'll need to take a cab.

Good luck.

dfinley

Thanks for all the great info!! We went on our trip and had a great time! We ate at Muriels one night and the food and the service was excellent. We went to the Cats Meow and the Spotted cat and had a blast. The next night we went to C. PAlace. We had fun there but were too noisy for them. 16 women celebrating was too much. They were nice about it but we were too loud. Had fun shopping around Jackson Square and having our palms read. WEnt to Harrahs for a little while and won $30!!S We ate lunch at Mothers(after we saw the King Tut exhibit) and that was good and fairly cheap. Ate breakfast at Cafe Beignet and thought it was as good as Cafe Du monde. Hotel monteleone was nice but rooms are small, we had 3 in some rooms and that was 2 too many.
Thanks again for all the advice. WE will be back!!

Ronda

Where is the King Tut exhibit and is it still in NO? Thanks.

AnneO

It's not King Tut...its an Egyptian exhibit at NO Museum of Art...here until Feb 28.

I can't believe I missed it...no time to go now. I thought it was here through the end of March...oh well!

Anne