Saint John

This was my first drag brunch experience and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT! We had such a great time at Saint John. The staff was extremely friendly. The food was good! I would highly recommend coming to Saint John for Drag brunch!
Also I enjoyed sitting by kitchen. I didn't think l'd enjoy it but it actually worked out and kitchen staff was fun, friendly, and seemed to also be enjoying the show!
Ambiance wise: the decor was pretty & gave a very clean feels music wasn't too loud or overbearing. We genuinely had a great time! And highly recommend going!
Some of the menu items we had & enjoyed!
Baked Macaroni Pie
Gumbo Du Jour
Oysters 3 WaysGumbo Du Jour

I am a big believer in constructive feedback which is the reason I am leaving this review and providing 3 stars as opposed to less. I feel like this place has potential and maybe was just an super off night and they are trying. So far they are trying to be something they are not and not ready to be that but maybe one day.

The place itself is nice - multiple floors - they said four - I saw three but I am sure they are right. We sat on the balcony which was quiet and perfect weather. Our server was awesome. Very nice. But that is where the service experience ended. Our food took over an hour to arrive. No updates. Nada. I ended up walking inside and asked to speak to the manager. She said the kitchen was backed up as they had a huge run (during Jazz fest). I can understand that but come give us an update. Let us know it is going to be a while. I know she was trying but I still found the lack of communication and the feedback after to be unacceptable. They made an adjustment to the bill which was very nice but they have a lot of learning to do on what the kitchen can handle and what they cannot handle.

The food itself was good. Also not great for what I was expecting and the price. The Caesar salad was very tasty but very small for the price. Would not hurt to add a little more lettuce and dressing - I mean that is all there is too it - but the dressing is delicious. We shared the short rib which was also good. Very tender and tasty. Finally we had the brown butter corn which has amazing flavor but was very salty. I would still order it again as it was delicious but the salt level was off.

Our experience was so off that I will not be back. The manager never came back after our discussion to say anything to us. She mentioned she was just one person which I get but this place is just not there for me.

I really wanted to be happy with my brunch choice but we couldn't be. Let me start with the staff. Aside from the hostess, everyone was sooooo nice and kind. Who I felt was the manager and the server were beyond kind, even after we explained that it wasn't what we expected, they were so gracious.

Here's our take:

Planned our usually foodie trip and watched Alex on TikTok then I read their homepage and reviews on yelp. I was stoked. Hubs and friends were disappointed that no biscuits. My bad, we decided to find another brunch place. We ordered drinks and the pain perdu since we were trying to be considerate. They were not super busy so it was surprising how long that one dish took to arrive at the table. We inquired after 15 mins and she said it was in the oven. I think it was $18 which isn't terrible for basic French toast. The menu description had us anticipating something special but see the pic. Nothing special at all. "Sugarcane syrup" is a fancy way to say molasses. Molasses is too strong, in our opinion. Not terrible but not great. Took entirely too long for a simple dish.

I ordered a brandy milk punch which was good. The mimosa was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. The open kitchen was very clean. Seeing them open a bag of frozen fries was disappointing.

Let's talk atmosphere. They are really trying to give bougie vibes but you can't get that when you're in the middle of the filthy French quarter. We've been eating in NOLA for over 33 years and there is a filth to the French quarter that is what it is.

For their price point, I feel they need to scrub the bathroom more and remove those Clorox air fresheners and can of Glade.

The music was very "bar-ish". It didn't fit the menu and feel that I feel they are shooting for.

Again, the server and manager were so kind as we left. The hostess had her face buried in her phone and didn't notice our departure.

Will we come again? No. We don't usually eat in the French quarter but I failed to look at the address when I made reservations.

We went on a Saturday at 1pm, we had made reservations however it was not super busy so we could have easily gotten in without them. We were sat and served promptly. The hubby had a Blue and Green cocktail, it was beautiful and tasty. Four of us split the Macaroni Pie it was a very generous serving, I loved the texture and the red gravy really adds flavor. The couple with us had the burger and said it was delicious. I had to steal a few of their shoestring fries/ -yum! My husband and I split the GRITS AND GRILLADES, the grits were perfectly cooked and the meat was full of flavor and tender. We enjoyed lunch and will be going back for more.

Best dinner I had in New Orleans during my one week stay. The scallops and shrimp and grits were delicious. The meal was a full body YES. I was dancing in my seat while eating the fried green tomatoes. :)

Okay service, it was late at night. The ambiance was also just okay. Sadly, a loud, drunk table of frat boys took away from the experience.

But food alone, absolutely delicious.

Saint John has been our favorite when in Nola. Tonight we had such a bad experience. Food just good. The waitress was so bad. We were a large party but very polite and didn't mKe her job hard. She didn't want be there and made it obvious. After the meal instead asking if we wanted dessert she asked if we want check. She was borderline obnoxious. This is an expensive restaurant and expect more.

Very disappointing. We will have to find another favorite place.

A tour guide recommended Saint John on our visit to New Orleans so we decided to check it out! The place had several great reviews so we might have walked in with slightly higher expectations. The place is modern and well decorated, but something felt cold about the ambience. The host was a little rude when we walked in , and even though our waitress and the manager were really nice and service was fine, it's still a first impression and left a sour taste. We were seated close to the kitchen so it was neat to see the chefs in action. We ordered their Cajun shrimp, which was great and so flavorful. The short rib was most recommended and it did not disappoint. We split the plate since we were both not too hungry and it was still a great size and filling.
If it hadn't been for the host, I would give Saint John a 4 star.

I had been anticipating coming here for the longest and finally was able to during Coolinary. At that time, I would've rated my experience a 10/10, but I came back about a month later and ordered the same entrée (scallops) and everything just wasn't as impressive that time around. Maybe they were just having an off night? I'm not sure, but the chef and waitstaff were very kind when I expressed my disappointment. Namely, the broccolini tasted kinda weird or spoiled or something, but the waitress was kind enough to exchange them for green beans for me. I usually don't get bread pudding but since a dessert was required for Coolinary, that's what I opted for. I'm SO GLAD I DID! It is delicious and consistent unlike the scallops.

I'd probably come back to see if the 3rd time can compare to the first.

Saint John is nestled in between a few dives on Decatur but when you step in it is refreshing to enter such a nice upscale place. I was on my own for this meal so ate it at the bar. It has good furniture and a nice marble bar top. The service I got was great and I spoke to a number of the bar and wait staff, and a manager checked in on me too.
For this meal I enjoyed a bowl of gumbo and the oyster appetizer which had oysters cooked three ways. The oyster appetizer was good but not my favorite. I couldn't really distinguish a difference on the two oysters that were not in a puff pastry. The puff pastry was my favorite of the three but I wouldn't say it was fantastic. I also didn't love the cream sauce on the bottom which was an underlying flavor to the whole dish. I could tell that the ingredients were of a great quality but it just didn't match my taste buds well.
I really liked the gumbo. It was a higher quality than gumbo you'll find elsewhere in the city and it was really delicious. I like this restaurant and look forward to eating there again.

Our group stopped by for dinner here for our last night in town, since we wanted to at least have one meal at a nicer restaurant. The experience wasn't quite what I was expecting, but maybe we just came on an off day.

SERVICE: The staff was very friendly and the owner even came around and introduced himself to us and spoke with us personally, but there were also a few hiccups in regards to the service. We had a large group so we made reservations beforehand, but for some reason they didn't have any record of our reservation. Luckily they still had their large table available so we were still able to be seated after about a 10-15 minute wait. After being seated though it took quite a while before a staff member came around to take our orders, and from there another hour until our food came out. I was super hungry and about ready to just leave when the food finally came out. We were a huge group so I understand it may take longer to get our orders ready especially with the dinner rush, but an hour seems excessive especially for a burger which quite a few members of our group had ordered.

LOWER DECATUR BURGER: This was one of the more affordable options on the menu. My body was dying after a full weekend of drinking and I really just wanted something cheaper and relatively simple to bring me back to life, rather than splurging on some of the nicer menu items. I enjoyed my burger, but I feel like it's hard to mess up a burger. I ordered mine medium and it was cooked perfectly, although a few of my friends ordered medium rare and theirs came out overcooked. Good serving size for the burger and side of fries.

BAKED MACARONI PIE: I didn't end up ordering this because it looked pretty small from photos, but my friend did and when it came out it was huge! I had a few bites and it was so cheesy and delicious, some other members of our party ended up adding this to their order after trying it. I would've done so as well but decided to refrain from over-ordering since it was our last night in town.

Overall, decent food and nice ambiance, but not sure if it's worth it with the price and wait times. Granted, I just got a burger, so maybe the "fancier" menu items would make a visit more worth it!