Neighborhood Cafe.
Bucktown: 216 Old Hammond Hwy.. 504-831-1248. Map.
Lunch seven days. Dinner Wednesday-Sunday.
Very Casual
DS MC V
WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
A restaurant will never go too far wrong with enormous servings at lower-than-normal prices. That has always been the hallmark of R&O's food--but it's good, too. Now that nearby West End Park is bereft of its restaurants, R&O and its neighbors in Bucktown are even more important to the casual dining scene, even without a view of the nearby lake.
WHY IT'S GOOD
The three specialties have always shown some distinction. The thin-crust pizza is the best item on the menu, followed closely by the poor boy sandwiches, made with a light, seeded, Italian-French bread. The fried and boiled seafood come in third, but they're far from bad. For many people the quantities of seafood serve make up for a certain dullness in the coating.
BACKSTORY
R&O (it stands for Roland and Ora, the founders) began in 1980 as a tiny cafe in the back of an ancient Bucktown grocery store. It served then most of what it does now: poor boys, pizza, and seafood. It drew crowds so large that it since moved twice, each time to a bigger spot. It still remains full at all hours. In 2007, they opened a second location in Covington, but it never took off, and is now closed.
DINING ROOM
One enormous room with a high ceiling, the walls decorated with mounted fish and other standard lakefront touches. On the noisy side, largely because of the number of people who jam in. The service staff squeezes between the tables to deliver a rushed service that doesn't seem to upset the hungry customers.
ESSENTIAL DISHES
Boiled shrimp.
Boiled crawfish (in season).
Garlic pizza.
Traditional thin-crust pizza.
R&O special poor boy (ham, roast beef, and Swiss).
Italian special poor boy (meatballs, Italian sausage, mozzarella, red sauce).
Fried seafood platters.
Bread pudding.
FOR BEST RESULTS
Show up later in the evening rather than the busy early hours. Have one person with a cellphone wait in the restaurant while the others with you (one of whom also has a phone) hangs on the levee across the street. Avoid Fridays.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
Except for the pizza, which is genuinely terrific, the food at R&O is lacking in the finer points. The gravy on the poor boys, the crispness of the seafood, and the boil of the shrimp is a shade below excellent. However, the low prices keep it all a fair deal.
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
- Value +2
- Attitude -1
- Wine and Bar
- Hipness
- Local Color +1
SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
- Good view
- Open Sunday lunch and dinner
- Open Monday lunch and dinner
- Open all afternoon
- Unusually large servings
- Good for children
- Easy, nearby parking
This review was updated with new information on 11/10/2009.
A list of all 275 full, current reviews is here.