30th Birthday Celebration: Emeril's or Bayona or _____
I'm headed to New Orleans to celebrate a friend's 30th; there will be 6 girls in all. My friend has asked me to pick a restaurant for her birthday evening.
On my last visit, I ate at August and thought I died and went to heaven. As much as I'd like to repeat the experience, I'm too nervous to book there without knowing that everyone can cover what would be a sizable check.
My friend said something relatively fancy. I think she'd prefer to stay in the french quarter. I want to pick something that's right for the occasion but also fun; not too stuffy. She has never been to New Orleans. Does Emeril's fit the bill? It's not too casual is it? I'm wondering if anyone can give me a sense of the vibe. I always thought going to Emeril's would be kind of cheesy but after reading everything on this board it seems like many of you are fans.
I was also thinking about Bayona and Galatoires. My concern with Galatoires is the reservation policy; is the 2nd floor room as good as the 1st floor?
Or should I convince my friends that we should take a cab ride to Uptown or the Garden District? Namely thinking of Patois...
Thank you in advance for any light you can shed!
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Bayona
430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112
Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130
Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130
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GroovinGourmet
Feb 1, 2011 05:06 PM
This would be a no-brainer for me: Brigtsen's
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Brigtsen's Restaurant
723 Dante St, New Orleans, LA 70118›1 Reply -
You may want to consider the neighborhood you will want to party in after dinner when making your choice. For 30 year old women who want to dress up and club hop, you should probably go with the Warehouse District, maybe Tommy's or Meson 923. If you want to see live music on Frenchman Street, you should try Three Muses or Mimi's. If you want to get sloppy drunk, stay in the Quarter and go to Mr. B's, Galatoire's or GW Fins. If you want to go Uptown, you should start out at Lilette and their sister bar Bouligny. Or you can hit the Riverbend and downscale it a bit and have a raucous time at Jacques Imos and party at the fancy new wine bar, Oak and catch a late night band at The Mapleleaf. You can't go wrong with any of these, it just depends on what you girls are in the mood for.
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Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130Lilette
3637 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70115 -
BayouTeche
Feb 1, 2011 01:45 PM
You'd definitely want Galatoire's downstairs.....no reservations, though. Bayona's solid. Not a real festive atmosphere. Clancy's is great, unless you get stuck upstairs....totally different atmosphere. If you do go Uptown, besides Patois (which would be a great choice), also consider Lilette, which would be perfect.
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Bayona
430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130Lilette
3637 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70115 -
Ugh... actually I spoke too soon. Emeril's is totally booked. And I've tried a few other places too. We should have booked weeks ago I guess. Any ideas for a party of 6 for Friday? Would it be crazy to try to walk in anywhere? Like at Galatoire's?
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Emeril's Restaurant
800 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, LA 70130Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130›2 Replies-
re: ktinbrooklyn
Head to Clancy's, babe! Quintessential New Orleans restaurant in the middle of a neighborhood, cannot beat the food, nice bustle, stiff drinks, reasonably priced and interesting wine list...come to think of it, I'm overdue myself. I'll call right now for you ladies and join you, 7-top, boom!
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re: ktinbrooklyn
Not in the quarter, but my choice would be Coquette. Fun to order a variety of specialty cocktails to pass around. Tasting menu is good (even if it's something you wouldn't normally order).Reasonably priced. Lilette would be great for an all appetizer meal. Be sure to order several truffled parm. toast with marrow. You won't want to share. I don't think Galatoire's should be a problem. Always fun. Quintessential New Orleans. Worth ordering a martini just for the olive bowl. Don't sit upstairs. No reservations downstairs.
Just a thought, see if the chef's table is booked at Emeril's. Food and service are very good. Fun, boisterous restaurant..
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Galatoire's Restaurant
209 Bourbon St., New Orleans, LA 70130Lilette
3637 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70115
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