Our first visit to Lady N'awlins was a 1 (a fail). Not cause of the restaurant, but the website had the hours listed till 2am. We came in around 11:30pm and lo and behold the kitchen had been closed for about 30 minutes and only the bar was open. So Richmonders, this is not a late night eatery like the website would have you believe.
Moving along, visit #2 to the cajun hot spot was better. We came on a sunday afternoon and the business was minimal. You come into the door to a seat yourself policy. You have a choice of about 10 tables or so, the few tables up front are mostly inhabited by bar attendees so good luck with that. It's a tight squeeze but we walked past the lively, fully stocked bar to a quiet bench in the back end of the restaurant. It was adorned with cute throw pillows, which was the only cushion on the wooden bench. Immediately we were greeted by a young waitress in glasses, who brought us our simple drinks of water and shirley temple. We do drink, but for some reason not today. We told her we needed a minute to peruse the menu, and we discovered that the menu has a lovely southern vocab lesson on the back. Which is a plus to the novice diners who have never heard of an etouffee or a roux. It even gives a biological lesson on the differences of the alligator and crocodile. Needless to say I found that to be quite informational.
We were greeted again minutes later by the second waitress (presumably because our initial waitress' shift had come to an end). We ordered the Taste of N'awlins which showcases three bouillon bowls, one jambalaya, one gumbo, and one red beans and rice. We also ordered the cornbread and fries for the toddler that joined us at dinner. The wait was pleasantly brief, about 15 minutes or so which actually zoomed by as we read the glossary on the menu. The presentation was simple. The bowls laid out horizontally on a rectangular platter and was garnished with some fresh spinach leaves sprinkled randomly on the plate. The cornbread was deliciously sweet and the french fries while lacking a crunch were generously seasoned and reminded me of carnival fries, which is a plus. The red beans and rice, while vegetarian, was by far my favorite. It was mild in spice but not in flavor. The gumbo was tasty as well, however the jambalaya was super spicy. If you have a high tolerance for spice you might find it mild, but it set my mouth ablaze. The plate also came with what looked like french baguette chips. To be honest I wasn't quite sure if it was stale or lightly toasted, but it worked well with the spicy jambalaya, and was edible. The server was very informative and on time with tasks. She listed the desserts for us, among them, bread pudding w/ ice cream, beignets, calas, and bananas foster. We politely declined knowing we would be back for the $5 po-boy special they have on Mondays. We shall have desserts then :)
Food - 4/5: While the baguette chips were pretty they served little purpose for taste. They should make cornbread a staple instead.
Service - 4/5: The lag while waiting for our order to be taken was quite long, however the service was timely other than that.
Atmosphere - 2/5: The only plus to the atmosphere was the intimacy of it all, dimly lit and quaint. However the music was alternative rock. It should have kept w/ the dixieland theme, not too hokey but at least something jazzy. Also the music was loud for such a small space and actually the music turned off and the speakers buzzed for a moment or two. We didn't want to be rude and sit on top of the throw pillows, but the seats are hard. If you have had a recent coccyx injury, get your food to go.
Price - $$: You can get a decent sized entree for $15 or less .
M's Overall Score: 3/5: What it lacks in atmosphere it makes up for in taste and authenticity. But the food is about the only authentic thing about that place. The food keeps you coming back, and the food was delicious.
K's Overall Score: 4/5: I agree that the food makes up for the horrible first time experience and the atmosphere that lacked in authenticity for the New Orleans feel. But we will return in the near future... at least for a taste of their po boys lol...
LADY N'AWLINS
2329 W. Main St. Richmond
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