Cafe Atchafalaya - (504) 891-9626

We ate dinner here on a busy Saturday night and found ourselves running 45mins late (caught in mardi gras parade traffic) for our reservation - to which the host could not have been kinder. He assured us we would not go hungry and we were seated within 10 mins. We started with goat cheese stuffed pimento that melts in your mouth, then I had steak with asparagus and mashed potatoes that were out of this world - creamy, rich, textured and flavorful - and I don't even like mashed potatoes! The service was decent, as our apps arrived before our champagne, which took a good 20 minutes. The decor was chic with an amalgam of modern new orleans local artist charm. Would definitely go back for a special occasion.

Forget about those nasty reviews ... this is true local flavor from the moment you drive up to the door. You're in the heart of New Orleans, authentic architecture and neighborhood, live music greeting you as you enter through the bar and terrific ambience in the high-ceilinged dining room. The food is great and filled with local seafood dishes. Our waiter was knowledgeable, friendly and prompt. My hat goes off to this intrepid owner who appears to have gone through heck and back ... and still supports our fantastic city! Please go to dinner at this local gem.

I live right down the street from the restaurant and had the opportunity to purchase the business and the building in late 2004. Little did I know as to how difficult things would turn out to be. 2 weeks after I purchased the property it was ran into by a stolen Tahoe that was involved in a high speed police chase! The truck ran straight into the side of the building and knocked it off of its foundation. The ceiling fell in, 4 rafters were cracked and you could see daylight through the roof. They were caught and I was in shock! This event changed the whole course of my turn key operation plan. The insurance would only cover putting the foundation back into place, replacing the cracked rafters and the sheetrock immediately surrounding the hole in the wall. I suddenly found myself in the first of numerous challenges that would follow. It became apparent that the best thing and only thing to do would be to gut the property and start again, as everyone else had only added layer after layer of plaster, paneling and sheetrock. Of course I did not have the money for this totally unexpected turn of events, and worked with 3 people that helped me strip the 90 plus year old building straight to the studs. We pulled 13 construction dumpsters of debris from the well worn building. It was really a huge job but we did it. It also really needed it. It took 9 months because of the lack of funds. I did not expect myself to find myself in the renovation business but worked every day at it until I accomplished it.