It's been the better part of 15 years since the last time I visited French Market Grille/West. I don't remember being blown away the first time I went, but I also don't remember it being overwhelmingly terrible. Went there recently for a friend's birthday and was part of a large party comprised of 12 people.
Ambience: Generic and underwhelming. Strong "Fatz" vibes. Nothing thematic for what they claimed to offer. Not bad, but not memorable
Service: We had two servers that tended to us during our visit. One server was actually quite nice and attentive, the other...not so much. We had one member of our party with a severe (anaphylactic) shellfish allergy, We had asked if they had non-fried options to cater to them as we were aware they had fried shrimp and it was the safer path. We were offered a steak with a side which my Father In Law opted for. Yes, a Louisiana restaurant and a shellfish allergy seems like an obvious issue, but it would be reasonable to offer options for such situations. The aforementioned "less than great" server seemed disinterested in the severe shellfish allergy of our family member, and didn't do much to ensure the concerns were addressed, but more on that later.
Food: The potato soup was good. End of positives. The steak was a $45 cut of less than optimal quality. It was cooked medium rare for the first portion, but somehow managed to get to well done as it approached the bone. When my FIL asked for mashed potatoes, they were brought fries. When asked if the fries had been cooked in the same oil as the shrimp we were told "you should be good". Not wanting to risk having to administer epi-pens to someone in their 60s, we asked for another option. We were offered chips, which were nothing more than a bag of potato chips. A $45 improperly cooked steak with a side of packaged chips.
His spouse ordered a spinach salad with bacon which, at $15 was nothing more than a side salad and was missing a key component: the bacon.
I ordered the Philly cheesesteak which was more dry than any sandwich I had ever had the misfortune of experiencing.
Additionally, EVERY MEMBER of our party ended up feeling nauseated later in the evening, regardless of what they ate.
After 30 minutes or so, I was provided with a painful reminder of why I hadn't been to one of these establishments in the better part of two decades.
Let this serve as a reminder to myself to never endure this place again, but also as a warning to anyone who values decent food to not bother wasting their time. read more