Gentilly Kitchen + Bar
“It has a great cocktail menu based off of classic New Orleans cocktails.”
“Like being transported to The French Quarter from the West Village.”
“I loved my bacon wrapped trout, the bacon was perfectly crisp and the trout was moist and delicious.”
Gentilly Kitchen + Bar
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
7 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
A welcome addition to the rapidly changing restaurant scene on Carmine Street, Gentilly seems to have all the makings of a great neighborhood spot.
What was once a stuffy white table cloth trattoria is now a well lighted restaurant with open windows giving breeze to a series of worn wooden tables and booths centered around a ~10 seat bar. Accents on the walls and ceiling, along with some faux gaslights hanging from the ceiling give a hint of NOLA without being overly kitschy.
The staff is friendly, attentive, and genuinely excited about the place. And given that one can basically walk in and get a table or seat at the bar at any time, I can see why. This place still hasn't gotten the press necessary to generate a wait. But I suspect this will change soon, much to Gentilly's benefit and my peril. Such is the cost for good restaurant experiences.
The drink menu is creative, offering some nice interpretations on classic cocktails. And they have four Abita varietals on draft for $7. About as cheap as you can get one in NYC.
The food held up its end of the bargain. The fried green tomato salad was a perfect balance of saltiness from the tomatoes and lightly dressed greens vs. the sweetness of a fresh, cool lump of burrata.
The burger was also great. A thick piece of bacon on top and a house sauce command the flavor, but the patty is well seasoned with a nice crust and holds the weight necessary to be paired with with the airy potato bun they've chosen as its vessel. Big flavor there is also matched with a side of cajun fries that will make you regret you ever admitted to liking Five Guys sober.
Eat at Gentilly while it's still convenient. Soon, you'll have to wait.
Dear Gentilly: you have a potential gem on your hands. Please step it up because I want you to succeed. #1 problem: for a NOLA restaurant, you cannot have a bad beignet and these beignets are more than bad. They are awful. Rock hard, chewy, doughy, bland, and cold. I don't know if your kitchen has ever tasted their own handiwork but this requires some serious reflection and soul searching.
#2: apps are way better than mains. I loved the mac n cheese, fried green tomatoes, and salads. My chicken chop was pretty unappetizing and boring. I didn't hear much outcry pro or con about the salmon or steak but most of the mains went uneaten in my group.
#3: fruit cobbler should be cooked and resemble a wonderful pie with a nice crumble on top. Your fruit cobbler was literally chopped apples, no sauce, and barely baked. It was a fruit salad, not a cobbler.
You got some points back by delivering good ice cream and a pretty good bread pudding. Please try harder because I'd like to come back for the awesome vibe and service and cocktail list.
A new spot on Carmine Street that I really liked.
A New Orleans inspired theme, unlike other reviewers I can't comment on the authenticity having never visited (the city), but I can say it's a warm, welcoming and cool dining space.
Brunch was good, not the very best I've had, but good – I'm curious about the dinner menu and keen to try it as soon as possible, some of the food sounds amazing.
A note, the price for brunch for two without alcohol was $34 before tips, I thought that was astonishingly good value given the location.
I'll b back, to try dinner, and happy to upgrade based on subsequent visits, good luck to this new place.
So this is a bit tough because you have pretty solid service paired with pretty middle of the road food. I'll break it down.
Service
The server was quite attentive, filling water glasses and bringing out food as it was ready. When they didn't have the beer I wanted, he brought me out what they had on draft to sample which was cool. I wasn't a fan of the IPA so he recommended a soda, which I didn't happen to like either so he ended up taking it off the tab. All in all a pretty good experience.
Food
Unfortunately the food did not match the excellent service. First was the berry soda that I tried had an ovewhelmingly strong vinegar taste — so overbearing that no other flavors were perceptible.
Next was the chicken and waffle. The chicken skin was nice and crispy (probably due to being overdone – see photo), however was ultimately devoid of significant flavor. The chicken itself was dark meat and was overly salty and the texture was almost like that of smoked turkey, likely due to being cooked too long or going a touch overboard with the brining. The waffle was not crispy, but rather soft. The cheese however was a nice touch and gave it a more expansive flavor profile.
Finally was the breakfast sandwich. The contents were fine: the egg was standard undressed and the sausage was typical, however the biscuit was like a rock. I could legit chip my tooth and have to get my teef fixed.
4 star service with 2 star food = A-OK
Brunch…
Oyster… Terribly shucked no oyster juice in the shell. First time in my life having DRY oysters
Cobb salad… YUM! even if it had fried chicken in it, duh! Good fried chicken makes EVERYTHING better. Buttermilk ranch dressing on the side was everything and more… Solely because I could control the amount that was actually in the salad.
Chicken and waffle… Good. Great fried chicken I have had better but this was up there. The sauce they out between the waffle and the chicken made the waffle super soggy which I am NOT a fan of… Sauce on the side and I actually really do not like when they plop fried chicken on top of an amazing crispy waffle. Ya ruined it! But still tasted great.
The service was on point absolutely phenomenal could not have been better, thank you. Ambience was chill, not too crowded although it was a very mixed interesting crowd not any specific type of group. Very mixed from old to young to tourist to regular … All of the above and some.
Why 3 stars? Not exceptional but a okay. What can I say, it was just good….
I always appreciate when new places open near my office, so when I walked by Gentilly the other day, I had to visit.
My coworker and I ordered the shrimp po' boy sandwich and the tofu egg scramble for lunch. Both were OK. I really enjoyed the grits more than anything. The tofu scramble was a little too salty.
Overall, really love the atmosphere of the restaurant and from what I saw on the menu, they have solid selections for cocktails.
Since it's new, I'm willing to give it another try for happy hour. Some places just aren't built for lunch, and I'm hopeful that their drinks will be better than the food.
We made a reservation for a large party work lunch, but when we arrived they were not expecting us. What in the world?
They were out of the blackberry shrub soda and the special of the day for lunch, even though we were the first table they received for the lunch service. Huh?
Service was so incredibly slow that we had to practically inhale our food to make it back to the office before 2pm (we arrived to the restaurant at noon.) We also nearly left with the check because it took the wait staff 15 mins to come back to the table to get the payment.
Food was mediocre, at best. Over-salted, undercooked (burgers ordered medium rare were still bleeding, rarer than rare!). Oysters in the oyster po' boys were suspiciously fishy, as if bad oysters were used to cut corners.
Never coming back again.