Roux.....Oh My

I have to admit that I walked into Roux with mixed cautious expectations. I had dined at a couple of his other "gigs" in town, and found his use of 'heat' rather over powering, if not off-putting, however, Roux was neither of these, thankfully!

The redo of the former La Galla has been done to erase all traces of it's former self and transform the building into a colorful, artsy, and surprisingly large dining space. That said, my only complaints of the evening were the fact that our table was an awkwardly placed two-top in a corner by one of the fireplaces and the noise level made it almost impossible to have a normal level conversation. Tables are rather crammed in on top of each other which caused navigation rather interesting, if not accidently intimate. Upstairs is a very colorful, and rather open bar area that looked like it's right in line with many in the neighborhood.

The menu is very much what I would expect to see if dining in the French Quarter, however, the prices are very much down to earth. Alan and I both started the evening with a Hurricane, which I must say was well prepared and properly flavorful. Alan's first course was the She Crab Soup, which he professed as "prime" as he cleared the bowl. I had the Lobster Salad, which I must say would do very well for a nice luncheon by it self. Plump, tender chunk of fresh lobster in a "creole cream" dressing (small bit of heat) atop a bed of fresh Kentucky Bibb Lettuce made it a delight.

For the main, we opted to go with tradition. Alan had the Stuffed Shrimp, served atop a fresh pile of pasta in a very light basil sauce (yes, the chef was pleased that the pasta was tossed and not drowned). I went with the Gumbo which was, as one would expect, hearty and flavorful. Although one would expect the flavors to overpower one another, you could discern them in this dish, which I found very delightful.

Now, I must admit, we added, as an afterthought, the Oysters Au Gratin and I am so glad we did. Alan and I both were impressed with the dish as it was chocked full of small, plump bits of oyster in a smooth gratin' and topped with a crisp breadcrumb crust, served piping hot (note to self, wait 5 minutes before digging in next time).

Dessert selections were rather limited, but I feel that will change since Dustin's other half is in the pastry side of things (as is Chef Ethan Ray). They had the Beignet's on the menu and a Banana's Foster Cheesecake. Alan and I both opted for the Cheesecake. It was very well done, however, Banana's Foster would not be my first choice of a topping---it tends to loose itself with the Cheesecake.

Now, you all know that I don't mind spending good money for a meal that I feel that I get my money's worth from. Did Roux accomplish this task? For the most part yes. Both dinners, 3 cocktails, and two desserts came to $117 including a $20 tip for very attentive and knowledgeable service.

I will say this....if you are not a fan of noisy and close surroundings, I'd advise you figure out a 'slow' time and enjoy. We will defiantly be back to sample many other things on the menu. I suggest that you succumb to your inner foodie, and make a reservation and try it out. It is rather a fun place!

Great review Bill! We were already planning on going there relatively soon but your review pushed soon to sooner!

I am dying to hear more feedback on "Roux" They are not doing well on social media, a lot of complaints about entree size, stale bread, service, etc.. Airline food was even mentioned, which you don't hear that often when describing a meal. I would love to hear more from the knowledgeable HB members before I spend the big bucks. Thanks.

I am dying to hear more feedback on "Roux" They are not doing well on social media, a lot of complaints about entree size, stale bread, service, etc.. Airline food was even mentioned, which you don't hear that often when describing a meal. I would love to hear more from the knowledgeable HB members before I spend the big bucks. Thanks.

I saw a Yelp review to which you might be referring. Bee K? Let's see, 1 star from her first and only review? I'll take that with a grain of salt.

(sarcastic eye roll directed at the Yelp review, not you)

I always forget that Yelp is to be taken with a grain of salt. I was just reading about the issues that restaurant owners, chefs, etc. have with drive-by reviewers and such. We always have had positive reviews and so I tend to forget the problems others have with Yelp and other social media. The issues with portion sizes actually comes up over and over, so I'm wondering if this will become a problem. One or two bad reviewers, maybe...but more than that and there might be something to it. I want to try Roux and just trying to get the lay of the land.

Dustin must have said "no" when the Yelp extortionists came calling.

All of this is news to me..I mean, I've been reading about it and it is an eye opener. We have only positive reviews on Yelp, and Trip Adviser has named us the number 1 restaurant in Saint. Mathews, and AAA recommends us, and on and on..but I've never had a call from anyone demanding or extorting money for services..weird. Now ASCAP and those crooks, that's another story.

I may check Yelp once in a while for address, phone number or hours - objective facts. On the reviews side, Yelp is about on the level with things scrawled inside a toilet stall at your local dive bar. Urbanspoon seems a cut above and I usually go by TripAdvisor as the best of the lot that I'm aware of. Hopefully most restaurants realize by now that Yelp just plain sucks, has a terrible reputation with the public that is getting worse all the time and restaurant owners should ignore them entirely. Most other people do.
We ate lunch at Roux this week and it was quite enjoyable. We agreed that the portion sizes for our respective dishes, red beans & rice and étouffeé were perfect. My wife noted, "This is the appropriate size for a normal person". Her words, not mine, but it was certainly the right size for a single meal for me. She got some beignets to have later and said they weren't as light as some she had in New Orleans but they were just as tasty. I got my dish vegetarian as, unlike some options on the dinner menu, there weren't lunch options that I recall that didn't touch on seafood one way or another, something I don't eat except some lobster every few years. I look forward to going back for something like the pork boudin balls.

Lonnie, Thanks for the mini review. I have to admit, that I usually only read my own reviews on Yelp, and that might explain my confusion over the bad rep they have. Glad to hear you thought the portions were sufficient, and I hope Dustin kicks ass at the new location. We seem to have fewer disgruntled flamers on all our social media, and for that I am so thankful. Thanks again. Bill

I had a shrimp po boy for lunch and was disappointed. As with some of the Yelp reviews, the bread was indeed stale. Also, I am not a "supersize it" type of guy, but it was slim pickings on the shrimp. The amount itself would be fine had it not been overwhelmed with the comparatively massive loaf of bread. The shrimp itself was nicely cooked and the sauce was tasty, but the shrimp/dry bread ratio ruined the sandwich. Until that changes, I won't order the po boy again.

After a look around the room at the lunch entrees: étouffée, red beans and rice, et al., I too agree that portions were more than adequate. They also looked and smelled great, so I plan on returning to try more of the menu......just not for the po boy.

I recently had a birthday dinner at Roux and walked away very disappointed. Let me say I am not someone who throws stones on internet forums with a hidden identity. I am a foodie who lived in New Orleans for 4 years & consider myself a person who knows good New Orleans food when he sees it.

My complaints started with the charbroiled oysters. I orders six of them & for the price I paid I did not feel I got my money's worth at all. Three of the six were very small, and if I were sending that food out I would have put two small oysters on a shell in order to give the customer their money's worth. There was also not a hint of char taste, any time I have had these in NOLA you can clearly taste charcoal flavor that comes from them being prepared on a grill.

I then had an oyster poby & my poboy bread was very dry, almost to the point of being stale, and the oysters were a very small quantity compared to the bread, lettuce, and tomatoes. Not many oysters on my poboy, and for the price, the size of the sandwich was not very big at all.

I ordered a side dish of stewed tomatoes & okra, one of my favorite southern sides. It came ice cold and when I sent it back I was then told that it was supposed to be served cold. I have never heard of this in my life & the one bite I had was horrible because it was not served hot. I walked away shaking my head & rolling my eyes.

The beignets for dessert were very small & very dense, not at all like any I have had in NOLA.

The other people I was with in general thought the portions were small when compared to the price we were paying & some of the trinity veggies (onion, celery, bell pepper) were still crunchy, which I have never experienced in the same dishes eaten in NOLA.

I won't be going back to Roux based upon the issues outlined above.

I went to Roux twice this past week, ordering the crawfish etouffee with fingerling potatoes for lunch and a fried shrimp po'boy for dinner on the second occasion. I went twice because I was so disappointed with the etouffee on my first visit. I really wanted to like the place. The decor and atmosphere is great, but unfortunately the food fell well short of my expectations.

My experience with the shrimp poboy was exactly the same as the other disappointed posters above. Stale bread, shrimp that didn't seem to have enough breading to give that satisfying fried crunch, and an insufficient amount of mayo I couldn't taste drizzled over the shrimp (I prefer a layer of mayo coated evenly across the entire piece of bread)

I didn't have any issues with the size of the crawfish etouffee portion, but I did have issues with the tiny amount of crawfish. It wasn't enough for any crawfish etouffee and it definitely wasn't enough given the price. The fingerling potatoes I ordered on the side, however, were delicious. My friend said that the shrimp pecante he had was good, for what it's worth.

We appreciate everyone's feedback on here and I want to address a couple things. I appreciate people letting us work out our kinks like every other restaurant that opens. I am certainly not claiming we have been perfect, because we haven't, but I have been very proud of my team and 99.9% of the food that has left the kitchen.

As to some issues....

We receive Leidenheimer bread in 3 times a week fresh. French bread is crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It is intended to be that way. It is in no way stale because we go through so many cases a day that it would be impossible.

As far as amounts of mayonaisse and ketchup. This is a very personal thing. It's like salad dressing. Most people do not want their food buried in sauce. I personally love my food buried in sauce so I know to request more when I go out. This is one of those restaurant issues that you have to just cater to the majority even over your own personal preferences.

As for the portion sizes of po boys, we actually increased them this weekend. With that increase comes an increase in shrimp, oysters, etc so I hope that helps out everyone a little bit. People thought they were too large on soft opening so we decreased them, but that clearly isn't going over well so I'm glad to increase the size of them while maintaining the same price points.

Our etouffee and gumbo etc. portions are 9 oz, plenty reasonable for the $11-13 range coming with multiple U10 Gulf shrimp or plenty of andouille sausage depending on the dish.

I did see a complaint on here about the amount of crawfish in an etouffee. I am sorry for that experience. We make giant batches of etouffee every day, and when scooping some into the pan, it is certainly plausible that not enough crawfish itself made it into your particular portion. I will speak to my kitchen staff about this issue because this isn't something I want to be a complaint.

The restaurant is loud. It is intended to be loud. I have never walked into one place in Nola and complained about the noise, because that is part of the beauty of Nola, the fun. We are seeking that kind of environment. If loud restaurants aren't in your wheelhouse, I'd suggest the Bristol or Equus, both places have food that I enjoy personally and both are nice, quiet experiences.

We had over 1k guests between opening day through Sat night. I or managers table touched almost every single one of those tables. Between feedback from tables themselves, managers and the servers, the reviews have been great. The reviews from writers have been fantastic as well. I have had multiple well respected chefs in town into the restaurant multiple times in one week. I have tons of regulars already. If i have 10 complaints in 1000 diners, I am going to be a happy chef. The majority of people who love their food, never take the time to write reviews on it, they just return as customers.

What I don't tend to cater to are customers who are miserable as soon as they walk into the door. There is a complaint running around all the forums and review sites from someone who I was warned by wait staff from the very moment they sat down that they would be a problem. They were. From working in restaurants for years, you will never satisfy those customers, ever. They will complain and/or ask for food for free. If you've never worked in a restaurant, the sad truth is the staff already knows you as soon as you sit down. I will never make you happy and I don't apologize. I suggest more vacations and trips to the beach.

To those who have expressed constructive concerns to me or my management personally and professionally, I truly appreciate that feedback. Those are the kinds of feedback that gets things changed in the restaurant business. We will work diligently to satisfy the palates of the people of this great city. I am more than thrilled with our opening weekend and am sorry for those of you who didn't enjoy. If you didn't enjoy it, we hope you come back to see us and give us another chance, unless of course you just happen to be one of those aforementioned customers.

I have to disagree with you guys about yelp. I use it frequently to check out restaurants. I think most people on there give good honest reviews. Sure someone with a bone to pick can go on there and attack a place but usually those are easy to filter out.

Where it's bad is if a new place opens and gets bad reviews while they're working out the kinks. The reviews might be legitimate but other newcomers will see a handful of bad reviews and avoid the place. Maybe best to avoid getting a yelp account until you hit your stride. Also I agree the company itself is pretty shady. I too have a small business and yelp has actually been VERY beneficial for us overall despite their business practices though.

As far as amounts of mayonaisse and ketchup. This is a very personal thing. It's like salad dressing. Most people do not want their food buried in sauce. I personally love my food buried in sauce so I know to request more when I go out. This is one of those restaurant issues that you have to just cater to the majority even over your own personal preferences.

I think this is true, and my specific complaint about this is more of a preference issue rather than a true fault with the food.

I failed to mention that the service was excellent as was the decor and ambiance. I entered and left your establishment both times in a good mood without complaint (until my post here, I suppose), but I was just a bit disappointed by a few nitpicky issues with my food in both visits. Still, I'm looking forward to returning to try many of the other dishes soon.