Feast New Orleans

Don’t waste time going to Feast. The food is mediocre, but interesting. The service from my waiter pretty much sucked. We felt ignored most of the night. It didn’t matter how many times we looked at the waitstaff we were ignored. We weren’t check on, had to wait at the bar to get our check. Unless you just HAVE to have Sticky Toffee Pudding, just don’t go. By the way, the Sticky Toffee Pudding wasn’t good and had a glob of what I thought was ice cream on the side… turns out, it was a hunk of lard. Very strange.

Feast is a mixed bag of a restaurant, and I’m not quite sure where I stand. On the one hand, the food we ate for lunch was beautifully presented and tasted great. On the other hand, it was terribly understaffed and even at lunch time, it’s so darkly lit it was difficult to see our plates. Our menu:
Snails on Toast
Mixed greens
Pan-​fried fish w/​asparagus
Fresh Blueberries w/​lime
Chocolate Gelato
Sadly, they have ceased operations July 10^th.

I’m torn about how I feel about this place, it has a lot of «meh» going for it, a lot of «ok» but an enthusiastic «oh man this is awesome» for the pork belly, so I’ll call it an average place with an AWESOME, AWESOME dish (and, likely several more above average dishes, but I only had one).
I had a night to myself down in NOLa and walked by this place on my way to the convention center. I saw they had pork belly on the menu, so I planned on going back later for dinner. When I finally did arrive, I opted to sit at the bar which is my preferred seating when I dine alone. The restaurant wasn’t particularly crowded, but it would be about 15 minutes of «has anyone helped you yet?» «no» «ok, someone will be right with you» before someone WAS right with me. I ordered one of their bottled beers (nothing on tap, sadly, and the bottled selection was unimpressive), and a menu. Asking for a menu was just a formality, as I already knew what I was ordering, but it was a nod to the bartender that I would be getting food. When he delivered my Paulaner, I went with the pork belly and was told «good choice.»
When my food arrived, I assessed the situation: large piece of fatty pork belly, a potato cake, a cabbage and apple mixture and a napkin to wipe the drool off my face. It looked fantastic and tasted even better. The layers of pork were about as tender as any I can think of, and the top layer of skin was like candy. The potato cake, which was more like mashed potatos with a burned crust were probably the best potatos of my trip, and the cabbage/​apple mixture was unique and delicious. While my arteries felt relief as I scraped the plate clean, my mouth felt a sense of sadness. At this point, my bread would arrive… that’s weird.
If we call it an off night for service (though to be fair, the service improved dramatically as the crowd thinned, and I had a nice conversation with the bartender), a slow night for bread, and a sad circumstance for beer, this is a great place. Frankly, I’d rate the dish high even if I walked in and they immediately punched me in the face.

I was really hoping for more local seafood fare to be available. I was also suprised to see that you could only order Pre Fixe for lunch. I had the Pan Roasted Gulf Drum with Braised Lentils and Asparagus which was very good. The lemon yogurt cake was also delicious.
Service started off very good as the restaurant was not very full. But after 30 minutes the place was packed and service was spotty as the server seemed to be in the weeds, spending most of his time walking between tables and the kitchen, forgetting to consolidate tasks. Took nearly an hour to get through the 3 course meal.

One of New Orleans best kept secrets! The food is wonderful, the service helpful and friendly, great location and ambience. We just LOVE the bread there (great goodness!) — in fact we buy loaves to take home!
Couldn’t recommend it enough!

This restaurant has the potential to be one of my favorites, but there are a few kinks to be worked out. The food has ranged from just shy of exciting to inspired with most dishes tending towards the inspired. The half pheasant special was so good that I had a hard time maintaining composure appropriate for the dinner table. On my first visit, the cocktail list was short, interesting and the drinks were well executed. Since, the list has changed and grown to perhaps 8 – 10 cocktails which appear to be from a 1985 Family Feud episode that included «cocktails people order at a bar»… survey says «no creative changes to the recipes.» The service has been mostly competent, but I’ve had a service meltdown that I would consider restaurant killing. The waiter was persistently inattentive and error prone. Service this bad means it may be some time before I post an update.

I am so glad I finally made it to Feast!
The critically acclaimed original Feast location is in Houston. Feast New Orleans opened last fall. Feast is known for being really creative, using head to tail– no factory farmed meat here. The menu has heavy British influences– a gastropub for adventurous diners. The menu changes daily, based on ingredients. While it sounds meat-​centric, there seems to be two appetizer and one entrée choice for vegetarians, and the same for pescetarians. While there may have been some adventurous choices on the menu, our dinner was comfort food at its best.
My friend and I shared dishes. We started with Scallops St. Jacques– three large scallops, cheese, brandy cream mushroom sauce (but mostly scallop & cheese). I would have loved one more (or 3 or 4). Our other starter was a salad of watercress, pork rillon (tasty cubes of roasted pork belly?), walnuts, and brandied cherries. The vinaigrette had nice brightness & you could definitely detect the brandy in the cherries. Our waiter convinced us to try the roast fat. It was pretty much as I expected, but it needed salt (which is probably why they leave the little salt cellar on the table).
For our entrée, we split a very large bowl of shepherd’s pie, served with sautéed kale (which was very flavorful and possibly not vegetarian). Delicious, perfectly executed comfort food. This entrée was HUGE. We noticed that their entrée portions were very large– even better for sharing, especially if you want to try several items.
For dessert, we split sticky toffee pudding, which was lighter in texture than we expected. YUM. It was the perfect way to end our meal.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything that we ordered. I look forward to going back. I want to visit for happy hour (5 – 6:30 with ½ priced appetizers & glasses of wine) or for their 2 or 3 course lunch. There are many more appetizers and entrees that I want to try. I thought Feast was reasonably priced– my friend & I each had 2 glasses of wine– our meal including wine, tax, and tip was less than $ 50 per person. I’ve spent close to that at far less interesting restaurants.
If you’re in the Warehouse District and in the mood for comfort food or something really different, check out Feast.

Feast New Orleans–
The only part that it lived up to was the New Orleans part. The food was as the rating shows A-​OK. I got the Braised Niman Ranch Beef in Red Wine, Duchess Potatoes and Green Beans $ 23.95. We will just call it beef stew, because that’s all it was. Don’t get me wrong. It was good, but not wait an hour and a half for food to come out and then pay $ 23.95 good. Nor was it a feast.
Since I am only rating the quality of food I did receive, I do think it is fair to note service was slow and spotty all night. Long wait for drinks, bread, and checks. The Waiter forgot to bring the splenda (which comes in a shaker) and my appetizer and then he said he thought I didn’t want it any more after he paired it to my main course and said it was a good selection.
Overall I do not plan on returning to Feast and give them a ⁴⁄₁₀.

My boyfriend has dined at Feast in Houston before, so he was thrilled when he found out Feast was coming to NOLA. We went for an early Valentine’s day dinner, and we were really excited to try the tasting menu. However, our waitress informed us that they only do tastings Monday through Thursday. Boo. It’s understandable, because on a Friday night, the restaurant was packed.
Drinks [3/​5]: I had a Pimm’s and a gin martini, and my boyfriend ordered an Old Fashioned. The Pimm’s was mixed with Sprite and garnished with cucumber. While it was good, I wish that they had added more Pimm’s. My boyfriend said his Old Fashioned was a little too sweet and heavy on the bitters. The gin martini was very good, but the waitress didn’t ask me what kind of gin I wanted, and I ordered it prior to our main course and didn’t receive it until I was almost done eating.
Appetizers [5/​5]: First off, the bread in the bread basket was AMAZING — chewy with a crispy crust, and it was served with European butter. However, we had to ask for the wait staff to bring us bread — which you shouldn’t have to do. I had a fish soup, which was served with homemade croutons, aioli, and cheese. The waitress told me to spread the aioli on the croûton, top it with the cheese, and place it in the broth. Um, foodgasm. The spicy aioli and cheese added a kick to the delicious broth. My boyfriend had the charcuterie platter, which consisted of pork cheek, horseradish mustard, shallot jelly, fennel sausage, and other meat goodies. He said it was good, but preferred the charcuterie platter at Dante’s.
Main Course [4/​5]: I ordered the Crispy Pork Belly with cabbage, apples, and potato and my boyfriend had the Cassoulet. We also had a side of Bubble and Squeak [potato, bacon, brussel sprouts mashed together]. The pork was good, but the crispy top was just a tad too crispy. I would have also preferred my pork a little more tender. The cassoulet was AMAZING — rich, filling, complex, and enough to easily feed a small village.
Dessert [4/​5]: STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING! You must order this. Don’t bother with anything else. I made the grave mistake of getting the lemon yogurt cake, which was more like a mousse — I was expecting something more like a pound cake. I pushed my dessert aside and dove spoon-​first into the toffee pudding. I would return to Feast solely for that dessert.

I don’t think you can go wrong here. It is an extraordinary dining experience, with culinary surprises around every corner and impeccable service on top of it.
Dessert and drinks don’t disappoint, either. Fabulous Pimm’s Cup — crisp & refreshing.
I’ll be back and tell everyone I know how excellent this place is.

Very unusual and bold menu featuring lots of British/​European highlights. If you like the idea of fat on toast, guinea hen, bubble and squeek, this might be for you. The food preperation is on point, but it was regarded as overwhelmingly bland by just about everyone in our large party of 6. Seems that it lacked seasoning… which of course British/​European food is not really known for though.
As one member put it, it was interesting, a nice experience, but not sure that I’d want to go again anytime soon.
Service was acceptable, although even the servers were a bit confused by what entrée was what… desserts were the best part of the meal.

I’m not one for dittos, but ditto Greck C. I’m the guy who spilled the salt (as he said, it didn’t matter). Chef’s choice is definitely the way to go. Sublime root vegetable soup, great bread, confit chicken necks (divine), lamb neck (faint), and you get to gnaw on the entire jawbone of a pig at the end. Can you ask for more? Sure. Add an amazingly friendly wait staff and a chef that’s gracious on top of his wizard-​like talent.
I still want the ride on the handle bars, by the way.

Feast is not for bitches.
In from out of town, with two natives at the helm. I chose Feast from a short list since neither of them had been there and I dig on swine. Sparsely occupied when we arrived for a 7 pm reservation, dim yet spacious interior, unpretentious. Had a comical wine mishap (binned wrong from the wholesaler?) that was handled with aplomb.
All of us opted for the Chef’s Tasting Menu and had our minds blown in nine courses. I’m a firm believer that if you like everything you try, then you didn’t try enough things… and the tasting menu was a highly competent mix of delicious and challenging, ranging from edible calf’s liver (which is high praise – I *loathe* it) to a pork+chicken liver+cherry+pistachio terrine that was the most memorable balance of flavor I can think of at the moment (and the pickled cauliflower on the side made we want a 5 gallon bucket of something I normally leave mostly uneaten on the plate).
The half pig’s head turns the challenge from flavor-​texual to visual-​mechanical, but the reward is some of the most delectable pork you can find.
Soup, three appetizers, three entrees, two desserts. Expertly seasoned (in fact, one of us knocked over the salt cellar at the beginning, and I suggested later that might should become a custom here, because you just don’t need it). Providing steak knives is an insult to the preparation. In conclusion, 12+ hours later, and I’m still having the occasional contented sigh.
So go forth, and be adventurous… your intrepidity will be rewarded, and this place definitely needs to be around for my next visit.

My friends and I recently visited this quiet place. I had heard of it from my brother in Houston, where they have another location (which almost closed due to lack of patronage). I had to give this place a try after he gave me such a glowing review.
We were not disappointed. Started the meal with a couple of cocktails from the menu, all prepared well. We ordered the chicken onion (yum) and a couple of the sides: the Welsh Rarebit and the Bubble and Squeak. I think like most patrons our love of the rich and fatty got the best of us. By the time our entrees arrived we were barely able to eat a bite. I had the fish and scallop pie with leeks (I love leeks), my friends had the Crispy Pork Belly and the other a special entrée. All were very good and the portions were large. We took most of it to go and it warmed up nicely the next day.
Including the bottle of wine we ordered with dinner our bill ended up about $ 50 a person. For the amount of food and drink we received it was well worth it. You could get out for much less, but we wanted to try everything. The service was not stuffy and very informative. The atmosphere was very cozy and made for a pleasant experience. I will go back again and again.

Ok I don’t know how in the world this place has received any good reviews. We went there on one of the busiest nights to dine out of the year. It was the only place we could get a table and now we know why. There were only 4 people there when we arrived and not many came through the doors while we were there. First, they are one of the only restaurants in NOLA that touts itself as a high end establishment that will not allow you to bring your own bottle of wine. We didn’t bring cheap wine either. We caught a major attitude from the woman owner when we asked and she said «we have a wine list», well so do the rest of the restaurants in NOLA.
We tried the bay scallops and bubble and squeak for appetizers. We noticed that there were mini pans of salt on the tables and realized after our food came its purpose. Everything we ordered was under seasoned and on some the salt didn’t help. The scallops were small with cream sauce and mushrooms not bad after we seasoned them up with salt and pepper. I also meant to add I have rarely had to add salt or pepper to any meals I have had in this city. The bubble and squeak was potatoes, cabbage, and brussel sprout leaves combined together. Again needed salt and pepper and surprisingly a bit greasy. We deduced that they added some pork fat to this dish.
We ordered pork belly and Amberjack for entrees. While a huge piece of fish, the Amberjack was one of the most disappointing pieces of fish I have ever eaten in this city. The entire bottom of the dish was COVERED in peas. thats right peas! We were told the chef carefully chooses the accompaniments to the entrees. well no offense but his choices were way off. Peas, tomatoes, bacon and fish? Now I don’t know about you but never in my life would I accompany fish this way and where on earth would you find Amberjack in the English countryside?!? The fish alone lacked everything you would expect a fish dish to have in New Orleans. The pork belly was. well pork belly. Our waitress recommended it as a «favorite» dish. The questions begs to be asked «WHOSE favorite? The menu touted it as «crispy» yet it was just pork and soft fat, hardly crispy served with a potato cake and red cabbage. I think had they switched the peas and the red cabbage on the two dishes they may have had a shot. then again, not really. Both were full of disappointment.
We got the toffee cake for dessert. This was truly the only good thing that we ate the whole night. A small piece of cake with warm toffee melted and a dollop of fresh cream. Good, but certainly not redeeming of an entire poor menu.
Did I mention how sick we were after eating? I have no idea if it was food poisoning, but both of us got highly ill a few hours later, I will spare you the details but it wasn’t pretty. As if all of this wasn’t enough to detour you from attempting to eat here.
What boggles my mind is the only reason we considered this place, because the menu scared us to death, were reviews we read and of course the feature in the Gambit. I cant help but wonder what these people ate that was so much better than our standard menu selections. Was there magic dust added to these peoples dishes that we didn’t get? Maybe roofies to help them block out the memory of the meal? Who knows. I also, after eating here, have to laugh at any comparisons we read in reference to Cochon! This place couldn’t touch Cochon and if if you were referring to the nose to tail menu I don’t even think there is still a fair comparison.
In short, in a city where it is REAL hard to get a bad meal, we found one and it was at Feast. My advice, this place needs to stay in Houston. NOLA foodies expect a lot more than this place can ever possibly deliver.

Walked over to Feast which is right at the Riverplace Market on Julia Street. Not many diners inside, and it was very quiet. Comfortable restaurant. Waiter was nice and I ordered a Hendricks martini ($ 12). Then I did something stupid. I ordered warm pork fat toast ($ 8.45), and then crispy pork belly ($ 23.95)! Dumb move on my part.
By the time the pork belly arrived, I was full. I could not eat another bite of fat! I did eat the crispy skin and had a couple of bites of apple with a couple bites of pork. The waiter came by and I told him he could take the plate. He asked me if I wanted it to go. I said no and he seemed offended. I assured him it was delicious and it was, I was just stupid to order so much fat and I had no fridge at my hotel! My love of pork fat got the best of me!
Would certainly return if given the chance, just would plan my courses a little better!

This place was amazing. Very European style, but don’t let things on the menu like duck hearts and cow tongue scare you. There was plenty of «normal» food as well including a delicious seafood Shepherd’s pie with perfectly grilled and seasoned brussel sprouts.
The appetizer of «snails on toast» was probably the best escargot I’ve ever had, dripping in butter and garlic, just the slightest salty taste and very tender.
Great wine list, reasonably priced. Servers were friendly and the atmosphere had a really nice «small European bistro» feel. Great find if you are in the Convention area.

Well, you have to compare Feast to Cochon since they both focus on pork and meat products and well, Feast beats Cochon in terms of flavor.
Placed right next to Rock n Sake on Fulton street — the interior of the restaurant keeps its warehouse interior but with lots of wood and dim lighting — with playing classical and french music in the background.
The menu is divided into two — they have a «classics» section which are favorites from the other Feast restaurant and then they have rotating daily (or however fast they change it) menu as well.
Note to everyone — I find that the entrees are what they are, but prepared differently than what you would expect.
I started off with the classic pork rilette — which I’m always used to rilette being cold and pretty much in pâté form — however it came out warm with a similiar texture to canned tuna — I was kind of disappointed with this one. My dining partner had the lentil soup which he liked a lot — but that was part of the revolving menu.
I had the pan seared amberjack with haricot verts and bacon and sauteed spinach– the amberjack was seared very nicely and the vegetables were delicious. My friend had the pork belly pot pie — you would think the inside would be a thick stew but it was pork belly and veggies in broth — like I said, things are prepared differently here, but the flavors and ingredients work nicely.
Service was great with enthusiastic servers — they have a pretty decent wine list but their cocktails are well made. I had a delicious Pimm’s Cup. They also have happy hour from 5 — 630.
Again, one of the newest restaurants in the city, has been open a couple of weeks as I write this. Check it out.

If you like undercooked organ meats this is your restaurant. No parking accept on dark streets of warehouse district. Cracklins were in large pizza slices that glued your teeth & left a film across your mouth. Absolutely horrible. Service was good & waiter was very cordial. We will never go back, Prices were moderate.

Possibly the best meal I had this year. I had the chefs tasting menu — a little too much food for me, but each item was memorable, some of which have stayed on my mind all week. Great work, Feast — I wish I didn’t live over a thousand miles away! I’ve been telling several people about my visit.