parking for Galatoires?
 

Where is a good place to park for dinner at Galatoire's or is there valet parking? This will be on a Saturday night...

You may want to call Galatoires and see if they validate tickets at nearby garages. Since the restaurant is right on Bourbon and cars can't go down Bourbon at night, there's no valet parking. Many garages are nearby, however, so how much you pay at a garage is really the only question.

Thanks Dan - that's a good point

For anyone interested I just called - they do NOT validate parking anywhere but did say the closest spot was DH Holmes (spelling?)on Iberville.

Good to know! Thanks for the update. The DH Holmes garage is probably a good, close choice since you will be dressed up for dinner.

I'd love hearing a report on your dinner. Galatoire's has been a favorite of ours for decades, but the last time we ate there (just before the hurricane), we were VERY disappointed. In fact, our food was so mediocre we swore to never go back.

Hey, Dan, you're the perfect person to answer this - do you think our experience was an aberration?

Hi Susan! Long time no see. I'm still a fan of Galatoires but, like every restaurant I supposed, they can have a bad day from time to time. I've always liked it but I don't think it's the best meal in New Orleans. Galatoires is all about the food, the attitude and the experience, I think.

For what its worth, Galatoires has fantastic fried chicken! Problem is no one wants to order this when dressed up!!

Thanks for the info, Dan. I'll just chalk it up to a one-time thing and hope it won't happen again. Has my old favorite Commander's Palace opened? And how about you? Is your life more-or-less back to normal?

Commander's is closed but will reopen soon. They had lots of water damage from roof issues.

Other than my screaming kid with an ear infection keeping me up at night, I'm fine!

Hi SusanCS - I will definitely post a report after my dinner on this coming Saturday night.

Sorry it took forever to report but here it is...

We got to Galatoire's on Saturday, March 25 at 5:45pm. We asked for Ryan Casey (recommended by a salesperson at MS Rau Antiques) but he was working at a party which had the entire 2nd floor reserved! We were seated immediately and were served by a waiter with the last name of Imre. He was a nice guy and was very helpful with picking out menu items. By 6pm every table with seating for more than 2 people was taken.

The meal was delicious. Some appetizers tried were:

Turtle Soup
Oysters Rockefeller
Eggplant and Souffle Potatoes

Meal items:
Crawfish Etouffee
Crabmeat au Gratin
Sauteed Trout with Crabmeat Garnish
Lamb Chops
Filet

Everyone enjoyed their meals. I think the best ones were the Etouffee (probably the best I've tasted anywhere)and the Filet.

Overall the service was good but I did notice some waiters explaining how to do things to other staff members many times (probably a result of lack of staff post-Katrina). Plus, I noticed something different and I'm not sure if it's just how Galatoire's does things or if it was just our server. He would only approach the "head" of the table (my dad) for requests and he pretty much waited until he was "waved over" to help us (no automatic drink refills except for water). Is this "old style" service? Living in the Dallas area I'm used to someone at nice restaurants automatically asking if I want another glass of champagne as soon as it was less than half full. But we enjoyed it overall. My husband (who is originally from the Dallas area) had a funny reaction when he realized the restaurant was on Bourbon Street and a couple of doors away from a porn place! Haha!

Anyway, the suggestion to park at DH Holmes garage works perfectly. It is VERY close for walking there.