You're going to want to get here. There's nothing else even remotely similar to this place north of Lake Pontchartrain. Gourmet-casual food, craft cocktails and family-friendly atmosphere in a sophisticated outdoor setting fitting to it's location on the Tchefuncte River. It's located in the covered patio area of a building with at least two other floors of a contemporary architectural marvel. It appears more good things are to come from the inside of the host building which wasn't yet open but looked to be the makings of it's more formal, inside dining counterpart which is named after the river- don't make me spell it again-that is the source of it's riverfront dining distinction. I visited on what I think must have been opening day, or very close to it. Luckily, it's typical for me to investigate, compare and contrast my food options when I am in the mood for a sit down meal. Being a St Tammany parish resident, one of my sources for inspiration is the Louisiana Northshore tourist information center's Facebook feed that features local dining options. The Anchor was featured on 7/03/20 and the description was enough to capture my interest. I had never heard of this place though, so of course I checked Yelp because the explanation for that had to be there. The Anchor wasn't listed, hmmm I thought, I'll just take a chance and drive there anyway. That was such a good decision for me. Knowing what I know now, it might have been worth walking to this place. The place is a huge covered patio with an attached playground for the kids, a dock for this who chose to take a boat instead of walking or driving, and the kind of games seen outdoor settings (table tennis, bag toss, etc). There was a ton of wait staff (masked for these times), a walk up bar serving craft daiquiris among other crafty cocktails, a DJ, hosted table seating and raised bar seating around the perimeter overlooking the river-for bonus views. The menu wasn't expensive or expansive. We were told it would expand next week. There were appetizers, mostly sandwiches, a couple of entrees and a desert. I choose a roast beef debris sandwich and my husband had a soft shell crab sandwich. We shared an order of hand cut fries with cheese and pork belly as the sandwiches were a la carte. My roast beef sandwich looked small, but the density of the shredded beef made it more than I could finish. The beef was flavorful and had enough gravy to make it meld together without causing the bread to be soggy, with tomatoes and shredded white cheese and a little lettuce underneath the beef. Most importantly, the bread was homemade and delicious! The sandwich was served lobster-roll style and grilled underneath. I really enjoyed my sandwich, but would have preferred a larger portion of bread because I had to pull about half of the meat out to be able to pick the sandwich up without the meat falling off. Life is hard sometimes, but I managed to get through it and took home enough beef for another sandwich. I only had a few of the fries because I am one of those people who eats one thing at a time. I was too stuffed to eat more than a few after the sandwich. They were good enough and on the soft side like most hand-cut fries with real melted white cheese of some sort. The pork belly wasn't moist and chewy like I've usually had. It was more akin to the texture of pre-packaged bacon bits you can buy in a grocery store and a little on the salty side for me, eaten alone. Together with the fries though, saltiness was no longer an issue. I don't do soft-shell crab but my husband said it was really good and the tempura batter was different. He said the sauce on the sandwich was good but sweet. It was described as a bacon vinaigrette on the menu. I didn't ask if the "but sweet" was a good or a bad thing. We had a couple of drinks, a daiquiri with rose and fruit flavors with gin and I had the margarita with mango and no salt. The daiquiri was good and I don't even like gin. This was different, with the mild rose flavor making it distinct from the usual daiquiri flavors. I had the margarita which was in a small cup and served on the rocks. The mango flavor was prevalent and made the strong drink go down smoothly. This was so smooth that my husband needed to drive home afterwards. Overall the atmosphere, setting (location, location location), better than good food and interesting drinks make the Anchor a place that is going to be a part of my regular rotation. I am excited to see what it's sister indoor dining venue will bring. It's a welcome and sure to be revered addition to the New Orleans area dining scene. read more

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Incredible food and atmosphere! It's so nice with the breeze from the river. The staff if really friendly and helpful. read more

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Outdoor seating on the 1st floor allows for a view of the Tchefuncte River while you dine. Delicious menu, friendly staff & excellent customer service make this Indoor/outdoor restaurant a wonderful experience! read more

The Anchor - Saturday lunch at The Anchor in Madisonville! View from the dock. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Madisonville, Louisiana

Love this place! Atmosphere is great. Food is consistent and always yummy. And the service is always with a smile! I recommend the Cuban sandwich and the pork tacos. Oh and the shrimp. The fries are soooo good. And dessert- ice cream sandwich. read more

After an awful experience at the Abita Roasting Co., just down the street, we walked over to the Anchor. Emery is amazing! What a queen! The drinks are great and the food was 10/10! Loves the atmosphere. read more

The atmosphere here is amazing! Their drinks were very good. I had a shrimp po boy. You can definitely tell everything is made fresh! My boyfriend had the fish and chips and said he would order it again. The fries were very good as well. My only critique is not having appetizer plates. We ordered tuna to start and it was so fresh and beautiful presentation but the little plate was so small and they don't bring appetizer plates. Looking around I saw another couple struggling to cut their appetizer up to split so I just think they don't provide plates. It was strange and the tuna pieces were large there was no way to eat it without cutting it. Overall it was very good and we will definitely be back. read more

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Went on a Sunday afternoon when there was live music. It was pretty packed and music was good. However, service was not on their game, food came out wrong and High Noon seltzer was $10.00/can. Unbelievable. Likely will not return. I like how the effort is being made to revitalize the building, but, I will not spend $10.00/can plus other bar offerings were just as expensive. Not everyone wants the frozen daiquiris. read more

Parking was easy. Our server was delightful and the food was amazing! Being on the water was beautiful. Highly recommend The Anchor!

This is a very upscale restaurant. There is the main part which you go into or you go out to the patio overlooking the water. The menus are different for each place. The food at the patio is comparable. The service is good and the food is delicious. If you want to pay more for better food you have to go into the main part. read more

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I was hesitant after reading some of these reviews but the food was pretty good! We had the burger and shrimp tacos and both were great. The playground is fantastic read more

Been going here since it opened and always enjoyed it until recently. Maybe it's the current labor shortage that forced them to change the way the seat customers, take orders and collect payment. The current system of going to the hostess stand and grab a menu, seat yourself, RETURN to hostess stand to place your order dine and then RETURN to the hostess stand to pay. To say the least this is a confusing, non functioning mess where the employees are clearly struggling with the system. Look forward to going back......once they return to regular service, until then too many other places to go. read more

Food and drinks are great. Scenery is wonderful. But when I say there's a problem here... it's serious. Upon walking in, the disorganization & chaos begins...you have been called to begin the game. A game that you did not ask to play. A long line piles out the door. You wait in line thinking your going to be seated... psych! You will NOT be seated. In fact, they let the lines pile up with zero indication that you simply seat yourself & go to the bar to order when ready. They let them stand there most likely for all eternity until they figure it out. You aren't even given a menu. The servers are only there to take drink orders & absolutely nothing else. When you finally figure that out & order... you will wait at least 45 minutes for food. I have been other times & have waited 2+ hours. Absurd. But none of this is known upon going in. It's as if you are put in some kind of sick joke or occult game. Figure out what to do or stand waiting in lines forever going hungry waiting for all eternity... jokes on you. read more

Great area for kids to play and the food is good, too. Small menu but everything we had: bounding whorls, Cuban, and fried shrimp were good. Daiquiris were refreshing! read more

It's all outdoor seating. They have a playground area for the kids and games like connect 4, corn hole and foosball. This was nice because it kept the kids entertained while waiting for our food. The food was very good. I had the fried chicken sandwich which was delicious. My husband had the red fish enchiladas which were a little to spicy for me. My eldest son had the double burger and my two younger one had a kids burger and kids shrimp platter. They each come with a side. The fries were good. The potato salad was ok, nothing special. The sauted okra, corn and tomatoes were very fresh. All the staff were wearing masks. If you sit on the deck there is a nice view of the river but we opted to sit in the shade at a regular table. read more

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Small portions and poorly seasoned food. The strawberries were mushy in my salad, the hummus was drowning in oil & came with only two celery/carrot sticks, and my husband's wings were overcooked. Also, our server wasn't friendly. I really wanted to like this place, but we won't be back. read more

Unfortunately The Anchor has earned my official "worst service I've ever had" title. Extremely slow. Server checked on table once every 35-40 minutes. Disappeared completely off the floor during that time. Forgot to put orders in. When questioned about why we are being checked on every 40 minutes he said "thats how we are trained to do it here." Restaurant was not packed nor was it empty at the time. Don't know how the food is because we left after the drinks. Manager wasn't concerned about the report of his service team. Told us "feel free to never come back." read more

The atmosphere can by no means overshadow the fact that this establishment has such horrible management. I have tried more than once with higher hopes but to no avail, they completely ruin the experience. read more

At least 10 tables empty (40 seats). Young teen hostess told us the tables were "reserved" and it would be 45 minutes for a table. We watched people walk in the door and off the dock as people were leaving tables (clearing them themselves) and seating themselves. No one sat at the "reserved" tables the 30+ minutes we waited. Staff was grossly incompetent and disorganized. After all the "reserved tables" sat empty for over 30 minutes we got disgusted with the lack of oversight and poor management, and we left and went down the River where we had a organized hostess seat us and we were served in a timely manner. Real bad experience for first try, we'll try it again one day after the staff gets proper training and a adult is on site to supervise the "incompotent -and /or don't give a shit" staff. read more

Wow that was really weird. I've been in dock-side wharfs and great restaurants.. this was odd. Seriously no service and weird vibe

The atmosphere was great where lot of families with children and a great play area. The porch overlooking the river was picturesque. We had the egg rolls as an appetizer that were great. The humus was Ok. My burger was good, just what I expected. The Cuban sandwich was dry and cook use more flavor. The most disappointing was the fried shrimp. The hand crafted drinks were good. When I go back, it will be for a drink and burger. read more

Your paying for being on the water- all prices for food compensate for that experience & it's a river & not an ocean !

I've been afraid to come here based on reviews but bridge was messed up and we had no choice. We both ordered beef brisket which was moist and good. Potato salad was just ok but coleslaw was awful. It had no taste and very light Mayo. Our waitress did disappear as was noted in other reviews. We had to ask another one for a box and our check. Because of this, we probably won't return as we can get this type of food elsewhere and better service! read more

3.5 stars for the food, 5 stars for ambiance. Wonderful casual, kid-friendly outdoor dining. Playground was perfect for my active kiddos and view of the river was gorgeous. And when Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd are on the speakers, you get bonus stars from me! Coconut shrimp app and Crispy chicken sandwich was the best thing that our table ordered. Maybe this is common knowledge,but don't go to a seafood/bar-like restaurant and order a salad. Girl wanted some green in her life so what can I say?! Was needing a salad and what I got was a pinch of greens in a paper bowl...disappointing. Luckily my children eat like birds so I snacked on their leftovers of crispy chicken tenders. We will return for sure - just next time, we'll pull up & dock our boat like a boss! Boat slips/parking tools always a win!! read more

Great place to go with the family! love hanging out here! The foods good people are great and the kids love playing on the playground!

The view and ambiance obviously make The Anchor a cool spot. We enjoyed our dinner on the deck. Service and drinks were great (I suggest their lime in the coconut daiquiri)! Menu and food were ok. read more

The Anchor - Lime in the coconut - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Madisonville, Louisiana

So I had heard a bunch of negative things about this place and I was a little hesitant to try it... but, let me say I'm glad I did! Their daiquiris were delicious, for one. Two, the peel and eat shrimp were also tasty. Three, I'm hesitant about ordering BBQ from places because sometimes it doesn't even taste smoky. But their brisket plate was actually really good. And my husband had a burger that he claimed was the best on the northshore (and he's tried a bunch). Honestly, the prices were fair, too. We had 5 cocktails total, 2 entrees and 1 appetizer for $100. Where else can you get that? And we were definitely full when we left. The only negative thing would be that some of the food was under-salted. But other than that I would say it was great! read more

Beautiful restaurant with great food and service! Thanks for taking care of us Maggie!

Came to see what all the rave was about and was not disappointed. I highly recommend the painkiller but drink cautiously. They creep up on you. The staff is super friendly and attentive and makes you feel at home. read more

Took a couple friends here for lunch. I didn't relize they changed menu. The food I had told them about they didn't have. Also found out they had gotten rid of fries, but brought them back, they now don't come with your food, u have to pay extra for now. I got the coconut shrimp w/ fries, others had salads and crispy chicken sandwiches. Every thing was good. But I won't be back till they change menu. My husband doesn't like new menu. Please bring back old menu. Picture is of new menu read more

The Anchor - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Madisonville, Louisiana

Walked in on Friday at 7 pm w/ a group of four to be told that they are not seating anyone for food for the evening. We figured we would at least catch a drink and hang out to enjoy the sunset. Bartenders were in the weeds and no place to stand or congregate, so we left. I'll give them another chance. read more

Amazing bbq I waited a long time but well worth the wait ! Highly recommend and honestly best bbq on northshore

We decided to stop in on Sunday and glad we did! The cocktails were delicious and the food was great! They are taking temperatures and distanced customers. We sat by the water and enjoyed our time greatly! Can't wait to come back! read more

It's a joke. I ordered chicken quesadillas with Avocado aioli. It was hummus. 4 people tasted it. Waitress assured me it was the aioli. Avocado aioli is green. Hummus is brown. The chef must me color blind. I would post a picture of avocado aioli but this app won't let me read more