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Mr. B's Bistro
I had a tough time during my New Orleans trip picking restaurants, mainly because there are so many highly recommended restaurants in town, and not enough time to eat at them all. Decisions, decisions. I really didn’t want to make reservations ahead of time, as I wanted to be flexible, and I find that I can usually walk into a restaurant and at least get a seat at the bar. Saturday night, I had planned on dining at the Gumbo Shop, but changed my mind at the last minute on the recommendation of another visitor I met at the bar at the Marriott. He suggested I try Mr. B’s Bistro. So I did.
Mr. B’s is a classy place; a truly beautiful establishment both inside and out. It’s also a very busy restaurant. When I arrived, shortly after it opened at 5:30, I was told they were completely booked and not taking walk-ins. One of the perks of solo travel is that it’s often easier to snag a lone seat even at a busy bar, so I asked if I could eat at the bar, and they said absolutely. When I first sat down, most of the tables in the restaurant were empty, but by the time my meal arrived, they were all full.
The food here was good. Not the best I’ve ever had, and nothing to rave about, but it was absolutely worth the price. I had the wood-grilled fish, which was drum fish that day. This was my first time eating drum fish. It was good. It came with mashed potatoes and green beans (which were nicely crisp, the way I like them), a baguette of bread, and a lemon butter sauce which was supposed to be for the fish but I used for the mashed potatoes. It was just the right amount of food for me–not too much, not too little. I thought about ordering dessert, since I still had some room, but didn’t get a chance (more on that in a minute).
I had the privilege of chatting for awhile with the couple dining next to me, a doctor and his wife from Hershey, Pennsylvania. They described their experiences doing some voluntourism in the ninth ward and at a soup kitchen over the holidays. They were a lovely couple and it was nice having someone to talk to during dinner.
Our service was a mixed bag, I’m afraid to say. Though we sat side-by-side, we had two different bartenders serving us. Mine, Jeremy, was fantastic. He was attentive, efficient, professional, and on top of everything until the restaurant got a lot busier. Theirs, whose name I did not catch, was slow to attend to their needs and had an attitude problem that was essentially “I’ll get to you when I get to you”–and this was before the restaurant was even half full! The difference in the quality of service we were receiving was noticed by all three of us. When the doctor commented on it, the young man immediately got defensive and the doctor let it drop, but really they should have had better service from him. It’s a shame to have someone like that working in a restaurant with the upscale atmosphere of Mr. B’s.
Toward the end of my meal, the restaurant was so busy they were running out of martini glasses behind the bar, and Jeremy’s attention was on a million things at once, so although he gave me a dessert menu, he didn’t come back to see if I actually wanted a dessert for such a long time that I decided I didn’t have time to order one before I needed to get to my ghost tour. So instead I paid (by cash, since I was afraid it might take a long time to process my credit card, too). Still, I thought he did a terrific job and didn’t blame him at all for not being quite as attentive once the restaurant got busy. It was a little manic in there.
In summary, I would recommend this restaurant, but only if you make a reservation and give yourself plenty of time for dinner (2-3 hours). Don’t expect it to be a life-changing meal, but do expect good food. Prices vary; my meal was $25 before taxes and tip, which I consider a great price for an establishment like this. Mr. B’s is located at 201 Royal Street, on the corner of Royal and Iberville, in the French Quarter.
