Cuisine type: New Orleans, Cajun
Atmosphere: casual, festive
Meal: lunch
Overall score: 7.3
Nina
Cajun, why not? At the end of a long bike ride to Palo Alto, we decided to stop for a nice, but casual lunch. This place looks and feels like a piece straight from the heart of New Orleans, with a multi-level interior courtyard with garden style seating furniture, a lively atmosphere, and Mardi Gras decorations. They had a decent selection of local, domestic and imported beers, both by the bottle and on tap.
We ordered a half dozen oysters and steak tacos as appetizers. The tacos was quite good, with the steak pretty tender, topped with avocado, pickled red onions and house made chimichurri, which struck a good balance of creamy, sour and savory. However, I was pretty disappointed with the oysters. Even though they were fresh (i wouldn’t expect any less), they were poorly shucked and had shards of shell in each one, making them hard and almost unpleasant to eat.
I ordered something that by name at least sounded very authentic New Orleans - the 4 napkin boudreaux. It was a grilled chicken breast sandwich, topped with crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms, blue cheese, napa cabbage and red wine vinaigrette. The chicken was tender and bacon was crispy, but I found that there was too much napa cabbage and vinaigrette and too little mushrooms to be a well balanced sandwich. Even so, I enjoyed eating this with my hands, and having it live up to its name :)
We skipped dessert since we eyed this one French bakery down the street with luscious macarons that we couldn’t pass up.
We ordered a half dozen oysters and steak tacos as appetizers. The tacos was quite good, with the steak pretty tender, topped with avocado, pickled red onions and house made chimichurri, which struck a good balance of creamy, sour and savory. However, I was pretty disappointed with the oysters. Even though they were fresh (i wouldn’t expect any less), they were poorly shucked and had shards of shell in each one, making them hard and almost unpleasant to eat.
I ordered something that by name at least sounded very authentic New Orleans - the 4 napkin boudreaux. It was a grilled chicken breast sandwich, topped with crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms, blue cheese, napa cabbage and red wine vinaigrette. The chicken was tender and bacon was crispy, but I found that there was too much napa cabbage and vinaigrette and too little mushrooms to be a well balanced sandwich. Even so, I enjoyed eating this with my hands, and having it live up to its name :)
We skipped dessert since we eyed this one French bakery down the street with luscious macarons that we couldn’t pass up.
| Food | 6 |
| Drinks | 8 |
| Atmosphere | 9 |
| Service | 7 |
| Value | 7 |
Ben
Right off of University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, Nola Restaurant wraps around an inner courtyard with outdoor tables. The outdoor seating is a pleasant, lively area, a great place to hang out with friends for a meal / drinks. The indoor seating has TVs playing sports, seemingly divided into smaller single / double party rooms. The beer selection is a solid list of good microbrews, including many local. We started off with some fresh oysters and steak tacos. The oysters were clean, the cocktail sauce was fresh, and the tacos were tasty with avocado and pickled red onions. I ordered a spicy jambalaya. The jumbalaya had a decent flavor though the meat was a little overcooked. Overall a nice setting, average food (though where else are you going to find cajun food?), good drinks, though somewhat pricy.
| Food | 7 |
| Drinks | 7 |
| Atmosphere | 8 |
| Service | 9 |
| Value | 7 |
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