scarlett_pudge

We are looking for a restaurant for our wedding dinner. There are 9 of us and want to experience true New Orlean's traditional food but also have atmoshere and ambiance.
Where would be the most memorable experience where money isn't that important? (We have to splurge for our wedding!)

Reeder

How about Commander's Palace in glass room--? H

scarlett_pudge

Glass room? Is that a certain room in the house?
I heard Brigston's or Peristyle might be worth considering?
Any thoughts?

Dan

Do you want privacy for your group? If so, Peristyle is out. It's small and noisy.

How about Arnaud's? Still good after all these years!

alvarki

I would suggest the Patio at Bayona. Beautiful patio and fabulous food.

scarlett_pudge

We are getting married in the middle of January/2005, so it would have to be indoors.
I've heard of Arnauds.
I don't want too noisy but not too secluded either. I don't need privacy.
What about Antoines or Clancy's?
I've been reading about all these places but it's hard to get a feel for atmoshere.

Dan

Antoine's wouldn't be my first choice although its reviews online are worse than they sometimes need to be.

Bella Luna is very nice and romantic as it's on the river. Food is good, too.

Restaurant August is fantastic if money isn't an issue. It's expensive but not THAT much more than the others.

scarlett_pudge

I'll look up Restaurant August!
I haven't heard of it. Thanks!

scarlett_pudge

Has anyone been to Gautreau's or Tujague's?
They sound great for traditional local flavors but are they upscale enough for our wedding dinner?

TC

Tujagues was quite possibly one of the all time worst meals I have every had -- anywhere! We ate with a large group there years ago and the whole group still laughs about it as the scariest meal ever. When the waiter told me that the small, gray objects next to the meat were PEAS, I knew we had made a BIG mistake. It was so bad that we finally resorted to just drinking bourbon hoping at least the alcohol had sterilized the glasses.

scarlett_pudge

Thanks for the heads up! I'll cross it off!
I've short listed to Court of two Sisters,Clancy's,Commander's, August and Arnauds.
Any thoughts?

ejcrowe

Bella Luna is a beautiful setting right along the river with terrific food and an intimate atmosphere. Not sure if they have a private room small enough for only 9 people, but the regular dining room is very nice.

If you can get an upstairs dining room at Arnaud's, it is also a very nice atmosphere. The large, open dining room on the ground floor would NOT be good, in my opinion. Too crowded, loud, and no atmosphere to speak of.

I also agree with previous poster about the "glass room" at Commander's. Not sure if that is the real name for it or not, but it's at the very back of the restaurant on the other side of the courtyard, and you get a quick tour of the kitchen walking to the glass room.

Tujague's is historic but in my opinion nothing special. Lately I've only heard poor reviews of COurt of Two Sisters, but I've not been there in over 5 years myself.

Irene's offers more of a traditional local flavor with great food in a slightly more casual atmosphere than the others I've mentioned. If you can reserve the back room where the piano is (they usually only use it as a seating area for people waiting for tables), it could be quite nice.

It might be more fun for your group to dine in the French Quarter (rather than at, say, Commander's in the Garden District) so that everybody can wander around after the meal to windowshop, sample the bars, or hear some music. COngrats on the wedding!

Reeder

The "Glass Room" was my name for room in Commanders Palace--I think they could arrange a nice area for you near the windows. It is a special place and yes you do walk thru the "kitchen" but I think that is cool.(There is only one table there to observe and I was told people wait months for the "privilege" of watching the chefs at work.
We ate at Irene's as we heard from several longtime locals it was their favorite restaurant in all of NO. That room in the back with piano might just work The food was superb as was service. H

scarlett_pudge

Thanks so much!
I'll look into the "glass room".
I'm still considering Restaurant August, Arnaud's and Bella Luna.
I've been reading about Broussard's as well.
It's tough when you've never been, and you can't see what a place looks like.

ejcrowe

Reeder, maybe my post wasn't clear, but I, too, thought it was a treat to walk through the kitchens to get to the Glass Room. And isn't there also a tree growing in the middle of it? That, combined with the floor to ceiling glass, does give you a feeling of being out of doors but with all the comfort of climate control.

I've never been to Broussards and I'm sorry to say that I've not even heard of Restaurant August, so can't help you on those. Wherever you go, very likely you can't go wrong. There's more good eating per capita in NO than just about any other city I can think of, certainly for any city within 1,000 miles, as NYC and San Francisco are definitely great eating cities, too.

benj

I agree with Commander's. The "glass room" is the Patio Room. It is enclosed & has a view of the patio. We always called it the garden room. That's our favorite place too. Be sure to mention that it's for your wedding dinner when you check for reservations.