A hidden gem on Frenchmen--don't miss the Steak Madrina! - 5 stars Adolfo's is an unforgettable dining experience tucked above a lively bar on Frenchmen Street. It's cozy, quirky, and full of charm. The standout for me was the Steak Madrina--perfectly cooked and smothered in their famous Ocean Sauce. Rich, flavorful, and absolutely worth the hype. The service was friendly and personal, and the vibe felt authentically New Orleans. Don't let the modest entrance fool you--this spot is a true gem. read more

We were in town with a group of cheerleading parents for the New Orleans Bowl and were recommended to visit Adolfos. We enjoyed the warm, intimate atmosphere, the staff were friendly and attentive and the food was uniquely flavorful and satisfying. It was refreshing to enjoy a New Orleans meal with the Italian flair. The Pasta Rachel was a favorite on our party and my husband enjoyed the Signature Lamb Chops, but I can still taste the unique blend of lemon and butter and deliciousness of the Chicken Leon. Don't miss an opportunity to enjoy a delicious meal and New Orleans at Adolfos! read more

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Adolfo's is located in the bohemian Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. You'll find jazz clubs, night markets, and interesting people in this part of town, outside the Vieux Carre. Adolfo's is always busy, and as they don't accept reservations, it is difficult to find seating for groups of 4 or more. So aim for arriving just before they open at 5:30. My suggestion: eggplant with crab and capers for starters ($9), Fish Michelle--catch of the day, smothered in shrimp and crawfish ($22), or Veal Piccata ($20). The catch of the day is often grouper or flounder; and, if you are a pasta lover, or prefer chicken or steak, you will find several delicious choices as well. There is a full bar, so you can start with an aperitif, then enjoy a glass of house wine, or share a bottle of Italian or Californian wine. read more

I visited Adolfo's for the first time this week. I was with my sister who had eaten there quite a while ago and thought highly of it. We arrived near opening time and were seated right away. Our server, who did not introduce himself, seemed friendly. However, I felt like we were being ignored. The wait time between ordering and being served was rather long. The veal dishes that we ordered were extremely salty, so much so that I could barely eat it. It was also much too spicy for my taste. I will not be going back and would not recommend. read more

Certainly a place worth the wait, as it is small and seating limited. A drink downstairs listening g to music while you wait fills the time nicely. Food selection is tasty and covers most areas from steak to seafood to pasta. read more

This is what a guy on death row orders for his last meal: stuffed flounder with ocean sauce. Staff are friendly, ambiance is classic. Ca$h only. read more

I guess we caught them on a bad night, our family of 4 was disappointed. This was the worst meal we have had anywhere in a long time. Nothing had flavor. I got the special, which was the stuffed flounder. It had a tiny bit of crawfish and shrimp, but no seasoning. The stuffing was a very very sweet cornbread type dressing, but again there was no seasoning. There was no Cajun seasoning or old bay or even Italian seasoning not even salt. I had to ask for them to bring a salt shaker. One got the chicken Parmesan and veal Parmesan. The breading all came off and there was piles of cheese that was plasticy. Again they said it was bland. The sauce was very greasy. Another got a chicken dish that had spoonfuls of olive oil that was not integrated into the sauce. My husband heard someone at another table say, "This has been a great trip. This food sucks, but we have had a great time and good food d everywhere else." That was pretty much how we felt too. Even the service was not that great for a restaurant with only about 12 tables. The bar tender could not make mixed drinks, in fact they really were not even on the menu. Another table asked for a sweet mixed drink and the waiter had no suggestions. Finally the customer said how about a margarita. The waiter said I'll have to go downstairs and get it. The upstairs bar looked fully stocked. The waiter took forever to get back to us after bringing our drinks. He only brought 1 straw for 4 drinks. Then brought out the side pasta for 2 of us and no utensils. We sat there like 10 minutes looking at our pasta. read more

Adolfo's - Still the chicken parm, but closer up see how the sauce is very greasy. - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Super cool to go upstairs and have dinner. It's a small spot. With limited tables and long waiting list. But once you make it inside it's great. It definitely is not your normal French quarter spot. Which is also fun. read more

This is the kind of hole in the wall place that makes you question if you should really go or not, but then you kinda know you should. The food here is rich. They do not slack up on the butter, but as a result, they don't slack up on the flavor. This is a no-frills establishment they want you to come and sit down and enjoy a great meal. Bring your family and your friends, be ready to talk and have drinks. Oh, while you focus on having a good time. I love New Orleans so I can't wait to come back and show my friends this hidden gem read more

Fabulous fish dishes with many different sauce options. I had the fish mizzy ( with crabmeat ,capers and lemon cream sauce. the cannelloni is mouthwatering as well. Old New Orleans (40's) decor. Service is attentive read more

Fantastic! We were staying in the area and spotted this small establishment. They were able to accommodate our larger party including kids. Our server Scottie was hilarious and sold the dishes well. Their signature is this seafood based "ocean sauce" that they can put on literally anything, super yummy. We started with escargot, best part was dipping the bread in the garlic butter. Entrees all came with salad which was fantastic. Kids loved the sausage and marinara pasta, and we devoured our dishes ranging from rack of lamb, snapper Michelle, snapper with ocean sauce and pasta with ocean sauce. Highly recommend this family establishment. read more

This place was STRONGLY recommended to me by my coworker when I told her I was coming to NOLA, and man, am I glad I listened as it's one of the best things I've ever eaten. Somewhat down the beaten path as I was staying smack in the middle of Bourbon Street. Nevertheless, it was pretty easy to find, but I had to really pay attention. Adolfo's is only open for four hours apparently. Located on the top floor of a jazz club, I would have surely missed it had I not been actively looking. It was a somewhat unassuming building, but do not let your eyes deceive you. Adolfo's is like New Orleans' best kept secret. Because it's all first come, first serve as my dear coworker (thanks, Touk B.!) had informed me, I stood outside of the entrance for a good twenty minutes before the doors opened at 5:30pm on the dot. We were directed up a flight of red wooden stairs, and immediately I almost felt like I was entering a speakeasy (I'm soooo green, teehee). The room was small, but very warmly lit and cozy. Everything was red like the outside of the building, the walls decorated with local art depicting scenes of the beautiful city. There were only a few tables, and immediately, I thanked myself for having the foresight to wait around for them to open. I got my table immediately, and my friendly server went over the specials and menu items. Well, after much mental deliberation, I decided to go with the flounder special with ocean sauce--the very same meal my coworker had and was raving about. I'm not normally a fish person, but I thought it would go best with the Ocean Sauce Adolfo's is so famous for, and I thought, "Why not?". Need I had that I've never had flounder in my life, so this experience is going to be all round new to me. So I got the flounder with ocean sauce, and ordered it with the side salad. Normally I would get pasta, and if you've followed my reviews enough, you would know Italian is my favorite food, and I do not shy away from it. But...between being full from two days straight of eating beignets, and the top button of my skinny jeans threatening to pop out, I was more conservative and thought the salad was a better choice. And oh man, I made the right choice! The flounder was light, flaky, and absorbed the creamy ocean sauce very well. It was two filets sandwiched between stuffing, which added a layer of flavor. The sauce was split in two: one side was more creamy and mild with crab, the other side was spicy and complex with crawfish. It was creamy yet somehow still managed to be light, and I was right about the mild taste going well with absorbing the sauce, the rest of which I sopped up with the bread. The salad was okay as salad could be. I was happy it wasn't overly large so it would overwhelm me, and it helped prep my stomach for the delicious main course. This was definitely one of my favorite parts of my New Orleans trip! read more

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Our hotel concierge recommended this restaurant. Opens at 5:30 and a line starts forming at around 5:00 so that's a good sign, yes? Maybe the fish dishes are better than the pasta/parmigiana dishes. The staff is friendly. It's a quaint, cute little place. The portions are large. Both our table and the one behind us found a bug on the wall and napkin; not so good. I think there are better places to go... read more

We tried going to Adolfo's on Saturday night without much of a game plan and found that there was a 2 hour wait. They are connected to the Apple Barrel Bar where you can listen to jazz and have a drink while waiting (the bar is cash only). However, we had other plans that night and didn't want to wait so we decided to come back Sunday right at their 5:30pm open. On Sunday we got there at 5:20 and there were several parties already in line. We made it in with the first seated group and climbed the stairs to the cozy restaurant. Highly recommend doing this to avoid the long wait times. The dining experience was excellent. Good vibes and good cadence of service. We had some wine, and escargot and their special steak bruschetta appetizers which were VERY tasty. Make sure to dip the complimentary bread in the sauces! For my main I had the Pasta Ocean which was a seafood pasta - shrimp, crawfish, and crab. Great portion and quality for the price. It came with a side salad with homemade mustard dressing beforehand. We didn't have room for dessert but they did have lots of options. Would give 6 stars if I could tonight based on our experience tonight. Hopefully you have a similar experience! Sadly I forgot to take a picture of my main course bc I dove in too quickly. read more

Adolfo's - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Food was very underwhelming, and staff was surprisingly rude. Thought the south was supposed to be nicer lol

Great atmosphere and service from Cameron, food was served quickly, it was delicious and cooked perfectly. I had the rack of lamb, with a salad! The menu is very specialized and if I had one request it would be to have a pasta option with a creamy Parmesan wine type sauce! read more

As we were making our way down Frenchman street we noticed music playing at barrel and walked up the stairs to find Adolfo's. We were quickly seated. The food coming from the kitchen smelled really good and we decided to get a plate of meatballs to split. The sauce and the meatballs were fantastic. I recommend going in for authentic Italian fare. read more

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An interesting little place. And by little, I mean, it used to be a one bedroom apartment. Seating is for about 40. As the two servers work, the room, you can feel a light bounce on the floor. The menu is relatively simple, but everything is tasty. the lamb was the popular dish for tonight. The only pasta noodle they have is fettuccine. The chicken Parmesan was tender and a generous portion. And the eggplant Parmesan fill a little flat for me. It didn't have much flavor. Half of the table opted for pasta instead of salad, but the house dressing is a creole, mustard vinaigrette, and very tasty. It was a full house when we got there and a full house when we left. Very reasonable prices. read more

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Our food was simply not good. The steak was a poor grisly cut of meat - medium rare on one end a well done on the other, very thin, chewy side. Appetizers came out 2 minutes before entrees after our server told us she had to put the entire order in at once - I still expected it to come out at different times. We weren't given a choice of a side, the server chose for us. Overall, not impressed. Atmosphere was the only positive. read more

Food is delicious and ordered was seamless The staff brought on all filling and delicious. Would definitely recommend. -

If I could give less I would. We didn't get to eat here which I'm very glad. As locals we decided on Adolph's despite the 4 star review because the location. It's not handicap accessible which is okay. What is not okay is the snarky way the waiter said "ya sorry French isn't really accessible for Nona". I didn't realize the staff was ableist. read more

Our server was great at Aldolfo's and so friendly while explaining all the options. We tried a bunch of different dishes like the Pasta Rachel and Chicken Luis and a Lamb Rack special they had that were all delicious!! Would definitely recommend for anyone looking for great food in NOLA! read more

Adolfo's has been one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans for the greater part of 20 years. They have so many options on their menu that it never gets boring. Despite possible deviations in your choice of entree, Ocean Sauce is always a YES. I would describe the restaurant as Creole Italian which is one of the things NOLA does best. The Cannelloni is always a great start and you legit cannot go wrong with any entree. The restaurant opens at 5:30 and if you'd like to be seated on time I'd suggest getting there before they open as the restaurant has about 10 tables tops. Very quaint, perfect for a date night but also to have a night out with close friends for a good meal. It is located above the Apple Barrel bar so if you're late or don't mind waiting you can sit at the bar and have a drink till your table is ready. Staff is always wonderful and this last time we went they were nice enough to pull tables together for our party which was a little bigger to accommodate. read more

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We had a lovely Last Night in NOLA dinner at Adolfo's. The restaurant is above The Apple Barrel jazz club, and has maybe a dozen tables (2 or 4 top). But it's well worth a visit! Our server was really interactive and friendly with us, made a lot of recommendations and changed a couple of orders. There are not a lot of customization options here, so be ready to eat what's on the menu. I had the Pasta Ocean, which is their signature seafood LOADED cream sauce, and it came with a salad with their house cajun viniagrette. It was so good, the pasta was creamy, the seafood so well cooked, HUGE portion, but a hefty amount of seafood in there. Just, yum. I took a slice of the lemoncello cake to go - it was actually not a ridiculous size, and it was creamy and lemony. Just go - get an amazing dinner right before hitting the clubs on Frenchman. It will be a great evening! read more

Amazing atmosphere- old one room apartment turned restaurant. Smells great when you walk in. I had fish missy - flaky grouper with lemon caper sauce and crabmeat. My coworker had the veal. Unreal. Jazz downstairs keeps it feeling busy and you can go down to enjoy the band after dinner. Id def go back! read more

Food was fantastic. The steak was our favorite then the lamb then the veal. The sauce is the cherry on top that makes everything taste perfect. read more

Both had a steak here. Joanne had the shrimp and crab steak. I had the house special. both were done perfectly 16 oz with no excess fat. Good service from Cameron . Had my first Sezerac here which is the original cocktail supposedly. So terrible that it set me on a quest to have a sezerac at every stop while in New Orleans. Each one different but all but one pretty much like kerosine with old fashioned lister one and a touch of Buckleys. But when on Rome.... Still a great meal and night read more

The food looked so promising. I was hoping for so much more. The rack of lamb with the creamy sauce- sauce was good. Lamb had basically no seasoning. The fish was ok... nothing special. Customer service was great. I wouldn't return. read more

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First time every in NOLA and looked up mussels and this place was rated best- after eating there, I can understand why. At first we were very confused and disappointed when popping our heads in the downstairs area around 5pm- only one guy at a bar- but after reading reviews on Yelp I learned you had to go upstairs, and it was such a cozy, dimly lit, walls covered with paintings and art and red tinted windows spot. They also had a live band downstairs that started around 6-7pm during our dinner that was AMAZING. Needless to say, I finished all my mussels and my coworker loved his stuffed flounder. Def recommend this place!! read more

Adolfo's - Red window - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Adolfo's is our favorite restaurant in New Orleans! We love the intimate atmosphere and of course their famous ocean sauce (which is delicious on everything!) The service is always friendly and you feel like you are having dinner with your family! read more

This was the worst food we had in a long time. We came at the suggestion of the door person at D.b.a after listening to a great band - Treme. Stop by Dba if you're in town. It's a small place. We could see the kitchen staff from our seats. One of the chefs was cleaning a Sprite can on his shirt. And didn't seem apologetic when he saw us looking at him. That should have been a sign. As I said, this is a small place. You would think the person seating us would have given us a menu. Nope, that was not the case. We sat for about 10 minutes before the waiter brought us menus. My husband ordered the "Veal Missy," and I ordered the Fish Missy. BOTH DISHES WERE HORRIBLE!! Covered in a nasty tasteless sauce. The veal was so thin it might as well not be there. The fish was unrecognizable in the sauce. We returned to the DBA doorman and told him he should not recommend that space to anyone. read more

I would call this a hidden gem. Thank goodness my friends knew about it, because I would have never even known it was there. When you enter, you find yourself in one of the many music bars along this stretch. Loud and crowded and fun. What I didn't know was to venture upstairs for a tiny quaint Italian restaurant. Great atmosphere. Busy as all busy can be. We managed to be seated in a somewhat quiet corner, well quieter than the rest of the dining room. Started out with fresh mussels, which my friends enjoyed thoroughly. I am not a fan of mussels, so we will have to take their word for it. I ordered the two cannelloni dinner and I chose the crab with corn, as well as the sausage with spinach. While I did like the crab stuffed cannelloni, I preferred the sausage stuffing. That is really great sausage. Both came topped with a nice tomato and cream sauce and were delicious. I know one of my friends had the pasta with Italian sausage and tomato sauce. A huge portion I have to say. She agreed with me that the sausage here is absolutely delicious. Definitely recommend any dish containing sausage here. Also the Tiramisu is spectacular. Light and creamy it certainly hits the spot. read more

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Saw this place on Reddit while we were looking for things to do on Frenchmen. Great atmosphere and service. I had the steak ocean and it was pretty good, I didn't like that everything came covered in grated cheese but that might just be my fault for not asking for less. Loved the fact we didn't need reservation and could walk right in. Cute atmosphere with all the painting hung around and the bar downstairs. read more

I love this special little restaurant above the apple barrel, I hesitate giving this review as I don't want it over run so that it's difficult getting a table when I'm in town, every this is great read more

Absolutely delicious! The Veal Ocean was a perfect blend of spices unlike anything I have ever tasted. Everyone in my party found their entree beyond their expectations. read more

We came here on the recommendation of a local who works on the Natchez steamboat. The location is fine, on the less touristy and rowdy Frenchmen St (compared to Bourbon St). The restaurant is upstairs and there's a jazz bar downstairs. It is small, no reservations accepted, and looks to seat about 8-10 tables. The food was ok and moderately priced so no complaints there and our waitress was pleasant. But the big negative for me was the less that pleasant smell I noticed as soon as we entered the dining area. And the deal-breaker for me was the horrible odor in the tiny bathroom. Sorry, but that scent stuck in my mind the rest of our dinner. So based on that I can't go above 3 stars. read more

This was my second visit to Adolfo's and I was not disappointed in the food or service. I had the stuffed flounder with ocean sauce and it melted in my mouth! I highly recommend this establishment. read more

Adolfo's - Flounder with ocean sauce - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

A local shop owner recommended Adolfo's to us as a great place that he loves to eat himself, and really recommend their rack of lamb. The stuffed flounder special is what both my husband and I opted for. It came with either pasta or salad, we chose the salad and the dressing was really great!. Kind of a Cajun take on Italian dressing...very unique. Our waiter was so on top of things too, and very friendly...we couldn't have asked for a better meal our last night in NOLA. Adolfo's is located above a tiny bar in what was a little one bedroom apartment, so it doesn't have many tables and the kitchen only has a six burner stove....but this little place leaves a lasting impression. We will definitely return! read more

Adolfo's - A local couple recommended this place to us. It's small, with lots of atmosphere. - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Every time, and I mean EVERY TIME, I'm in NOLA I go here. Even though it's been over 6 years since my last visit, as usual Adolfo's did not disappoint. I was the first to arrive in my friend group to get in town so I went to dinner by myself and got right in on a Thursday night. I don't even need a menu because I always get the Fish of the Day with Ocean Sauce - A MUST! Please go and try it for yourself! read more

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Exceptional gem off the beaten path on Frenchman Street. This isn't new news for the locals, but this place knows how to deliver deliciousness!! Whatever that Ocean Sauce is, keep that coming! I had a steak and it was perfect! The wait staff is friendly and knowledgeable on the menu even though they are really hustling. The pasta was amazing too. This is a don't miss spot if you're in New Orleans! Right above a little dive bar, don't be surprised if you have to wait. But it is worth it! read more