Ralph’s on the Park

A great place for a special occasion. The food is of course fabulous and creative. The ambience is fun and relaxed. They have extras like special personalized menus for birthdays and anniversaries. The service is exceptional and friendly.

We recently held a surprise party for my wife’s birthday at Ralph’s. It was perfect in every way. The upstairs room is great. They set up the bar on the balcony overlooking the park, which was a lovely setting for socializing before dinner. The staff, led by our team captain Jonathan, was awesome, starting with their help ensuring that the event would be a surprise. The food was fantastic, and was served to 36 people pretty much at the same time, fresh and hot. The evening was planned with their sales coordinator, Lauren, who was a pleasure to work with and helped think through every detail. Could not have been happier with the whole experience,

My coworker booked a room for 12 of us at Ralph’s on the Park and it was wonderful! They gave us a list of menu items we could choose from and we decided on a Pork Belly Appetizer, Gumbo OR Salad, Steak, and I honestly forgot what dessert was but it was good!
We had some people who came late, and the staff was willing to start our dinner later than what we booked. We hung out in our room drinking and enjoying each other’s company, and then we ordered our food as soon as our coworkers arrived.
Even though the set menu was very limited, some of my coworkers switched the pork belly appetizer so they could eat soup AND salad.
I’ve dined in the main dining about two years ago, but this private party and delicious steak really took the cake!
The weather was horrible that night and I was very appreciative of the complimentary valet parking.

Ralph’s was a decent meal. We ate here on a Saturday night to celebrate getting through the holidays. Service was excellent, ambiance was classy and the food was decent. Here’s the breakdown.
I usually don’t lead off talking about the service, but I found our waiter refreshingly good. He was prompt, unintrusive and friendly. I think his name was David. He applauded our every order and helped direct us to the right entrée for what we were craving. Turns out we did not like the entrée, but David didn’t cook it. So how can I fault him.
On to the food. We did 3 rounds. We did some pre-​apps, appetizers and split an entrée. For pregame, I had the turtle soup and Shari V had the truffle fries. She is quite the fry enthusiast. Truffle soup was very tasty. It had a light base, well flavored and not overpowering. It ranked in my top 3 turtle soups. The fries were great. They came with black truffle mayo, which I mistook for aioli. At any rate, they were delicious. Strong start to the meal.
For the next plating, we had braised beef in pumpkin seed mole. Interested flavors but it was only ok. We also had some lamb ribs. It had a nice glaze, but they weren’t exactly falling off the bone. Maybe lambs ribs aren’t as tender as pork or beef ribs. It was my first lamb rib. Flavor was slightly better than the braised beef. Both small plates ranked around a ³⁄₅.
For the entrée we had a whole fish — lane snapper to be exact. Haven’t had a lane snapper until Saturday. It was billed as a cousin to red snapper. I wasn’t thrilled with the flavor or lack thereof. It was cooked well, but it just tasted like a bland fish. Shari V and I both asked for some extra lemon wedges and kind of self seasoned. I found that sad.
I liked Ralph’s and the food has potential. I think Shari V and I misordered, particularly our entrée. Ralph’s is a classy place and has a nice backdrop with city park. We will repeat. I for sure will grab a turtle soup. Shari V will get more fries. Then maybe we’ll have better luck with another entrée.

We visited Ralph’s last on a Thursday evening following a company Holiday cocktail party. I always find this restaurant to have a dapper charm that is upscale but comfortable. I ordered the braised beef with pumpkin seed mole. I love a mole and this was good but slightly different than the true classic with a sauce leaning a bit toward a sweet bbq version of the mole. The beef was tender and there were cornmeal fritters around the dish that were unusual but good. My dish was a smaller plate but I found it plenty filling. My husband had the duck confit which he enjoyed and I thought was well done from my small taste of it. We ended with the chocolate hazelnut tart that had a surprising but pleasant strong orange notes on the plate and in the tart.
Overall, I always enjoy Ralph’s and it’s a great place to take guests with a charming view of City Park. The food is inventive and always good but sometimes the ambitious flavor profiles don’t quite hit the mark. All the same, I can’t imagine that you can ever have an unenjoyable experience here.

Location and ambiance — 5 Stars. Right outside of city park. Classy setting and each table has ample space to have private conversations.
Food — 3 Stars. Nothing special compared with other places we tried in New Orleans. Although the Unilocal page states it’s a Cajun restaurant, most items on the menu look just like offerings of a typical American restaurant with some infusion of other cuisines. I had their Salmon Sado Noodle salad last night; the concept and overall taste was good but the salmon lacked seasoning
Service — 4 Stars. The service was really slow and it appeared that they were understaffed. Our waitress was friendly but was busy the whole night. We waited for over 2 hours for the entrée but it’s nice that the restaurant brought us complimentary snacks for the long wait
Overall I would only recommend if you want to have dinner in a nice environment on a special occasion, and don’t care that much about food quality and price.

We just had my daughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner there. Let me tell you, that was the BEST steak I have ever had in my life. It was perfectly cooked and had some type of blue cheese sauce that was to die for. The food was absolutely delicious and the portion sizes were tremendous. We were in a private dining room upstairs and the service was top notch. A complete five star experience all the way around! Everyone commented on how much they enjoyed the evening.
P. S. If you are ordering from the private party menu, GET THE STEAK!!! Dang it was good!

I wish I could give a 3.5 stars rating! The ambiance and service was wonderful, as one would expect from a Brennan restaurant. The food was beautiful. However, I did not think that anything I ate was very special or memorable (which I need at these prices)! Had the fried oyster appetizer, which was quite good. All 5 of us had the turtle soup and remarked how little turtle was in it. Then the grilled pork chop. The chop was cooked perfectly. However, it came with black-​eyed peas and was $ 31.00. Being a former corporate chef, I scanned the menu and realized that a vast majority of the selections were low cost proteins «made gourmet» (sweetbreads, shanks, barbacoa, even pork chops). The menu is very limited. It is a very good restaurant, and I would be happy to return, it is simply that for the price, I think that there are much better options in NOLA.

Excellent food and atmosphere. Would definitely go back. Large group had the consensus that the quality was sublime. Service was great with the server providing extra gumbo after a salad.
Wonderful night with great friends, food and service.

Gorgeous view of the park — complimentary valet service. We came for Sunday Brunch. Pricey. Would I choose to go again? Probably not. Did I enjoy the experience? Yes indeed.
Drinks: Chipotle Bloody Mary — nice and spicy $ 8. Blood Orange Margarita — unfortunately the Blood Orange taste did not come through — mostly tasted of Tequila $ 10. Hot Tea — $ 4.
Appetizers: Tuna 2 ways — nice amount of Tuna, very fresh (though I could have used stronger sauces to compliment) $ 11. Yakamein — very strong brown broth, little pork belly, small amount of noodles $ 10. The server will ask if you’d like bread or biscuits — for 5 of us, we had 3 sides of biscuits for $ 10.50.
Entrees: Shrimp and Grits were very popular and looked delicious $ 17.50. Changua was a white broth soup with crab — served luke warm — green onion and other fresh herbs overpowered the dish, not enough crab $ 18. Paneed Chicken — delicious! $ 18. Most entrees were served with an egg — eggs were cooked perfectly.
Desserts: doberge Cake — moist and delicious $ 8. Blueberry Dessert — fresh blueberries, unmemorable panna cotta $ 8. Dessert special was a chocolate bar which was quite delicious.

I just dined here for my birthday last night and I’d say Ralph’s on the Park was an «A-​OK» experience.
The restaurant itself is beautiful in a minimalist sort of way which is a good sign so as not to distract from the food. Our greeting by the host was friendly, but kind of turned a bit awkward. We had 6:15pm reservations, but arrived at 6:00pm and explained that we would like to sit in the bar area to have a predinnner drink. His response, «Well all of my tables are reserved in the bar area, but you can sit at the bar.» Okaayy then, that’s what we we’re going to do anyway? So we enter the bar area to find the small bar only had 2 available seats not next to each other and there were three of us. So, since we were not permitted to sit at any of the five empty but reserved tables in the bar, we kind of awkwardly meandered back over to the host’s stand to let him know we would just like to be seated. His response, «Yeah, it’s gonna be more like 6:15 in this pretentious voice (mind you the restaurant was empty). Our faces must have spoke a thousand words because someone else came overand we were immediately sat.
With all that weirdness out of the way we actually had a nice dinner, well apps I should say. Ralph’s menu is set up of all small plates with maybe 2 – 3 choices that of which you can upgrade to a meal-​sized portion. Their special was choose 3 different small plates (some choices included up charges) and a glass of wine for $ 33.00. Food portions are very small.
Food was underwhelming. Nothing we had blew us away. The presentation of the food was really nice (see pics below). I expected the food to be much better based on the way Ralph’s represents itself.
Table service was impeccable throughout our entire meal.
Overall a good experience and would recommend trying Ralph’s at least one.

My brother took me here the dinner during my visit to NOLA. The restaurant is adorable, beautiful décor with southern flair. The hostess sat us at our table immediately and the server brought us water as we got settled.
The menu had a nice selection and can tell that they like to provide a southern twist to their dishes. We ordered the French fries with truffle mayo– which I was disappointed the fries looked pressed rather then freshly cut. For an upscale restaurant I would think they can offer fresh cut potatoes.
I ordered the beef «pot roast» which turned out to be a perfectly cooked filet with the yummiest sauce that had mushrooms, carrots, and peas. The steak was perfectly medium rare and sauce was nicely cooked. My only criticism that the dish was heated so the good got cold real quick!
This is an upscale restaurant so the service was up there but little details of food preparation does not match up with the price of the dish.

I have had many a friend throw luncheons, rehearsal dinners, and family gatherings here, and I will say that they really do a phenomenal job with these memorable private events. I’ve been lucky enough to always attend these events when the weather is incredible with a beautiful view of City Park across the street from their wrap around balcony upstairs. The rooms are intimate without being pretentious or stuffy.
The staff has always been incredibly spot on for these events, greeting at the top of the stairs and taking any coats, knowing when a mimosa is the perfect thing to cure a hangover from the bridal party kickin’ it up a notch the night before… I’m sure the application has something on it about the ability to read minds being *preferred. They also know just the right amount of sherry to add in their uh-​mazing turtle soup. I’ve never ordered turtle soup ’cause the thought of it kinda skeezes me out, but ya’ll…this turtle soup is so so good. It has a dark roux with bits of meat and a hint of sherry to complement, but not too smokey or heavy that you can’t have other courses.
At the recent luncheon I attended I was also able to enjoy their Louisiana Gulf Shrimp perfectly cooked and just the right amount of food for a lady’s luncheon with tasso roasted heirloom potatoes, garlic spinach, and smoked tomato beurre blanc. Just enough to save room for their Bananas Foster Bread Pudding that I cleaned my plate of ’cause that would be a sin to let that go to waist. er, I mean waste.
They offer valet parking which I will partake in if my car isn’t chin deep in event supplies, balled up receipts, and empty Zapp’s potato chip bags. Like I said these events are top notch, 5 stars. The reason I left off a star (though they’re really like a 4.5) is because I recently went after a special event because there was a post-​event cocktail that they were serving. After having spent a pretty penny on the event ticket, I was hoping to keep the party going with an affordable cocktail but the specialty cocktail was around $ 13 which was a little pricey for me to enjoy late into the night. In terms of their regular menu, this is very much within the range of the company that would dine here, just a little pricey for me.
Enter the Happy Hour! I will definitely have to get in there for their Happy Hour Tues-​Thursday 5 –7pm ($ 5 cocktails/​wine/​spirits/​$ 4 craft beers $ 2 domestic) with some of their appetizers that look incredibly delectable including ya-​ka-​mein and cobia crudo. Thank you to all the families who have given me the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful establishment!

Had reservations for 8pm on a Friday night. Walked in and were greeted and seated right away. Our server was Mallory, she was quite bubbly, and seemed to enjoy her job. She sold us on the special appetizer, Japanese mussels from Washington State that they apparently don’t get too often. Well, sure! We tried those and enjoyed them. While small, they had a great sauce that we soaked up with the delicious warm French bread brought to the table. Traditional dirty martini’s were enjoyed, one vodka, one gin. We were then informed that if you like Traditional martinis, they are only 10 cents at lunch! 10 cents! That beats the 25 cent specials other places.
On to the main courses. I had the Pan Seared Cobia, served over a cheese grit cake with tomato gravy. I found this to be a fantastic dish. Was not only visually pleasing but full of flavor and cooked nicely. Also ordered was the Whole Roasted Red Snapper. Another dish done well, just watch out for the bones. For dessert, the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding with a caramel rum sauce and scoop of ice cream was inhaled. We were full from dinner but found room for that dessert!
Really enjoyed the dining experience here. Good location on City Park Ave, lovely décor, well prepared dishes, and attentive service.

Our friend lives off of city park, so we walked down on a Sunday to a nice crowd and nice view of the park from the restaurant. We were greeted warmly and seated and we had some wine and appetizers. I had wanted the Sangria, but they said they were all out of it. Oh, well. Wine was ok, but was really wanting the home made Sangria.
We had some nice dishes of truffle fries and aioli as well as some nice bread and some other seafood dishes. Our dinners were nice, but they did feature an ala carte menu and I am thinking next time, I may just suffice with the apps and skip the dinner as a few apps were enough.
Dessert, since were with our friend consisted of the Chocolate Bar, ice cream and Banana’s foster, which were all amazing. A nice restaurant near the park and we had a good time. I’d recommend it.

I have had the pleasure of dining at Ralph’s numerous times and the food and service is always extraordinary. The turtle soup is a must have, the broth is dark and earthy with an intense flavor profile. I typically order seafood here and have always been happy with the outcome. They can do amazing things with fish.
I have also had the pleasure of attending a few private events. I had my bridal luncheon here and for our party of 7 we had our own private dining room with access to the balcony overlooking city park. The service was exceptional always making an effort to go above and beyond. It was nice to be queen for a day.
More recently I helped in hosting a bridal shower for 40 guests and they were so easy and professional to work with. We were able to choose our own menu and it was set up buffet style. The servers were constantly refilling the guests drinks and cleaning away dirty plates to keep the tables neat. This room also had access to the balcony which makes for great photo ops. I found the pricing is very reasonable. For private parties large or small I would recommend Ralph’s for an easy and stress free event.

I’ve been a patron here at least a half a dozen times. Whether it was for dinner or brunch in the main dining room, or for a private luncheon, reception or dinner in the private room upstairs, my every experience has been first class and top notch. As with most Brennan restaurants, the food is always excellent, the cocktails creative and the service stellar. The one area this Brennan restaurant can claim a real advantage over its sister restaurants is location, location, location. The view of City Park is beautiful year round and of course positively stunning during Celebration in the Oaks.
The private room upstairs is quite large. Probably the largest event I had there easily accommodated at least 60 at a seated luncheon plus there was a separate adjacent private bar area for drinking and mingling. Upstairs also has a extra large wrap around balcony which is a really nice selling point considering the view.
Whether for a romantic night out or special celebration or for a private event, Ralph’s is an excellent choice. Oh — and chocoholics beware – , save room for desert. The Chocolate bar is super rich and oh so good! Don’t miss it!

Lunch reservations for 1:30p. Tables not ready until 2:15p and our party of 14 scattered across the restaurant. Wamp.
UPDATE (10÷18÷14):
After all were reseated and arranged, I was overall satisfied at the creativity displayed by the management to accommodate our party of twelve adults and two babies. My wife missed out on the meal she ordered, but we walked out with all limbs in tact and heart beating, so I cannot complain too much. Bumped to three stars.

It was that time of year again, the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience’s Vintner Dinners. Each year we look over the list of restaurants and paired wineries, then make our selection. This year we picked Ralph’s and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for the dinner. We hit another home run. (It’s not like you can go wrong at one of these dinners, unless the chef prepares something you don’t like or can’t eat.)
The dinner started with a little socializing on their balcony overlooking City Park. We sipped on Sauvignon Blanc while enjoying the passed appetizers. My favorite was the tomato and Gruyère tartlets. The crab beignets and smoked redfish rillette were nice. We were eventually led into the dining room and served a crudo of lemonfish paired with a chardonnay. The pineapple flavor (from both fresh pineapple and Big Shot soda) contracted nicely with the crispness of the chardonnay.
The main part of the meal started with a small plate of ya-​ka-​mein accented with a slow poached egg and shiitake mushrooms. A bonus bragging point was that this dish captured a gold medal in the NOWFE food competition. The dish was paired with their current release «Artemis» Cabernet Sauvignon. It provided a nice contrast in flavors.
The entrée was beef tenderloin marinated in a Cabernet Sauvignon, served with pureed carrots and roasted broccoli. The flavors were awesome. The wine was a library vintage, the 2006 «Fay» Cabernet Sauvignon. It was smooth and totally accented the meat. The entrée and wine was the highlight of the evening.
Dessert was a Swiss chocolate mousse with candied pecans and fresh berries, served with their Merlot. A nice sweet ending to the meal.
The wait staff was great, handling the small crowd easily as the night became noisier. Plenty of attention as the meals were served and between the courses.
Jennifer, from Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, explained each wine and gave the expected history of the winery. And some history it is as they were the American winery that won the red wine award at the 1976 Tasting of Paris which put the Napa Valley cabs on the world stage.

Very nice place! Was out for dinner with some New Orleans people in the know, who chose Ralph’s and told us a bit about the history. Used to be a rowdy bar, and was bought and cleaned up and now looks like a classic restaurant that’s been there for a century. Nice touches like chandeliers and old art, and a side bar and dining area with a live piano player keep it classy.
I had the Whole Gulf Fish, and the server put me at ease that even though it had bones (and a tail and a face), the fish was so superbly cooked, the meat would come right off, no bones (say it a la Nigel Tuffnel). And she was right. The fish, pan seared in with spices and jalapeño was fall off the bone tender, excellent.
Very pleased with our meal at Ralph’s.