Bourbon House. French Quarter: 144 Bourbon. 504-522-0111.

Last Updated on Friday, 03 December 2010 16:35

Restaurants - Seafood Restaurants

Bourbon House

French Quarter: 144 Bourbon. 504-522-0111. Map.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Despite the fact that seafood houses are among the most popular restaurants in New Orleans, there aren't many of them in the French Quarter. Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House answers that call, with fried platters, gumbo, and an oyster bar. It goes one step further by cooking some classic Brennan family dishes, including a number of items from days gone by at Commander's Palace. They've adopted bourbon (the spirit) as a specialty, and not only make great cocktails, but also mount major dinners around the great small-batch bourbons.

WHY IT'S GOOD
Everything's fresh, everything's distinctly Creole in flavor. Although fried seafood is here in all the usual forms, the kitchen is at least as adept at grilling, sauteeing, and broiling. Here are one of the best version of barbecue shrimp in town, and a great example of that recent hit dish, redfish on the half shell (grilled on the skin and scales with garlic butter). The oyster bar is one of the best around, as are the baked oysters.

BACKSTORY
The Bourbon House opened in 2002 as the main restaurant of the new Astor Hotel. After creating a runaway success with his steakhouse a half-block away, Dickie Brennan and Steve Pettus thought they'd have good luck with an upscale seafood place. They were right. Although the excellent oyster bar hasn't shortened the line at the Acme very much, this is as fine an oyster bar as any, in the densest concentration of oyster bars in the city. The name Bourbon House has a historic precedent: through the 1960s, it was the name of a restaurant on the corner of Bourbon and St. Peter (now the Embers steakhouse).

DINING ROOM
An expansive room with large windows and interior balconies, the Bourbon House stands just close enough to the Bourbon Street strip to have a strong sense of place, but enough separated from its louder aspects to make dining here pleasant. The lighting fixtures look like gigantic peeled satsumas.

ESSENTIAL MENU
Assortment of oysters and chilled seafod Raw oysters, especially with granita and caviar Baked oysters Rockefeller, Bienville, Fonseca, or all three Crab spring roll with crab and shrimp dumpling Crab fingers bordelaise Fried calamari, chipotle aïoli Cajun gator pie Shrimp cocktail, pickled vegetables Crystal fried alligator, blue cheese dressing Red bean hummus with tomato and feta Steamed mussels Shrimp remoulade, fried green tomatoes, fresh mozzarella Seafood gumbo Corn and crab soup Gulf fish Iberville (with shrimp and oysters) Fried seafood platters Deviled crab stuffed fish with browned butter Redfish on the half-shell Grilled yellowfin tuna Creole bouillabaisse New Orleans barbecue shrimp Honey glazed chicken, with andouille hash Filet mignon or rib-eye steak PB&J ice cream sandwich Bread pudding

FOR BEST RESULTS
Make a reservation and let them know you're a local. If you'd like raw oysters, get them at the bar. I've been served oysters at the tables here that were obviously shucked long in advance.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The food at the Bourbon House has been a shade inconsistent during the past few years, for no apparent reason. Same chef, more or less the same menu, same management. What gives?

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

• Dining Environment +1
• Consistency -1
• Service +1
• Value
• Attitude +2
• Wine and Bar +1
• Hipness +1
• Local Color +2

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

• Good view
• Good for business meetings
• Many private rooms
• Open Sunday lunch and dinner
• Open Monday lunch and dinner
• Open most holidays
• Open all afternoon
• Oyster bar
• Good for children
• Reservations recommended