Supplanting the ideas from the famous street all the way in New Orleans, Bourbon Street is yet another recent addition to further give a diverse range of dining options to the already burgeoning South Bank region. Getting with the influx of American style eating, it goes for a certain region - mixed results at best. Let's see what exactly that means, and get to the bottom of it.
As usual, the website Dimmi released a 50% off deal and it was for Bourbon Street. Booking it in, without much hesitation for thought, the arrangements were made for here. One Sunday night, just a bit outside peak hours we were off to a meal here and it was, passable at best.
To its credit, where the credit must be due, I do give them some points for the interior design. It has the look of part bar, part French-style cafe, and part boardwalk. It has a slight fancy chic in parts of it, having Madi Gras murals, rose pink walls and a chandelier - not bad, but might need to go the full bore to really get the charm out of it. Most of the seating is some form of al fresco.
Service, however, is inconsistent. Walking on in, the young woman at the counter seemed a bit more interested in her phone and it took a while for her to turn around and address us. This is a sign of apathy, and something which a successful place cannot have if it want to attract some clientele. It was nowhere near as bad or slow as others on this site have recounted, and the meals did come out in a reasonable amount of time. Although, what service can come down to is whether it seems the staff want to be there, or are giving it love. There might have been one guy exerting a bit more effort, but for the most part it did not come together as a whole. And they really ought to work on that to avoid diminishing returns.
The menu is inspired by the local cuisines of Creole and Cajun, or so they say. Do they deliver on it? Just ask people from the area, and the news won't be good. Occasionally, a token gumbo or beignet may be present on the menu but for the most part it is a bit stock standard, and indecisive. The drinks menus is pretty big, with plenty of cocktails and it probably eclipses the variety of food.
Starting off with a couple of appetisers, my dining buddy went for the savoury style beignets, and I went for their meatballs. Now, the highlight of the meal was probably those said beignets - they were a tasty little treat to begin the meal. Beignets are a French-style doughnut, able to be served sweet or savoury, and are mostly associated with the New Orleans. These fritters were made with a corn puree, and laced with jalapenos. They were pipping hot and crispy, with quite a bit of flavour. Certainly a worthy finger food with half a dozen of these suckers.
The one that I went for, while not as good, was also serviceable - the pork meatballs. Another half dozen, these were freshly made with mince and served in a tomato ragout. This ragout was plentiful, and on the side they gave a couple of slices of garlic bread. Goodness knows how long it has been since I have had garlic bread, but this was like a brilliant return - the butter oozed out of the bread, melted and plentiful with an infusion of the garlic taste. The meatballs was tender, and the thick tomato sauce was also good, being able to be soaked up by both the bread and the meat. Not a bad starter, definitely doesn't compare to the beignets though - those were really tasty.
It goes on to the mains, and unfortunately it doesn't get better from here - almost a bit of a nosedive. This isn't anything terrible, but it certainly did not deliver what would be expected. My order was a "buttermilk fried chicken:, which - let's be honest - was merely a chicken schnitzel. It was average quality, with a coating that was a bit too soft and the meat pretty tacky and bland. This ain't any kind of fried chicken that would please a self-respecting Southern man (or belle). The sweet potato mash it was on was actually pretty good, being creamy and smooth on the tongue. Adding to it was honey mustard being mixed through.
On the side I got some truffle macaroni cheese, which was wholesome and not bad as a side dish. Nothing to go out of your way, but pleasant enough as comfort food.
My dining buddy was also not impressed by his dish, which was braised short ribs, minus the s. The meat was not too bad, a bit tender but the price tag is not justifiable here. Just, not really anything remarkable.
So those were some, at best, good meals. Not being content with just trying the savoury version of beignet, I also went for the sweet version to finish off the meal. These were infused with chocolate, poured over with some caramel sauce and served alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This was a bit better. The ice cream on the side was creamy and good. They used a great caramel sauce to mix with the chocolaty doughnuts, which were all different sizes. It was crispy on the outside, slightly soft on the inside and a finish to a meal that was, a meal.
This review is somewhat skewed in favour, mainly due to not having to have payed full price. It would likely be somewhat lower if it were so. This place in itself is not bad, but it did not have much of a "wow" factor that could have made it more memorable. They are banking a bit too much on a theme, which they are not delivering much on anyways. The quality of the service certainly required much more attention, and could benefit from training or finding a whole new group of people.
I have not yet been to New Orleans, but even I can tell that this is not authentic and that I have made much more substantial, better quality fare from said city at home. Additionally, where is the focus on seafood or the more gamy, lively fare that it is renowned for? Do they use the "holy trinity" in any of the cooking? Gripes, gripes though. The food is decent, but not anything memorable and the serving sizes are nothing that would fill most people up - though I left satiated enough. As a general cafe, I guess it would not be so bad, but it needs to do away with the price tag and stop parading itself as something it is not.
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