Acme Oyster House
724 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA
French Quarter
The least pretentious of the seven century-old New Orleans restaurants, the Acme acts its age in its signature activity. Their oysters have always been among the city's best, both in the raw bivalves and the grilled oysters--the latter a recent borrowing from Drago's. Most of the rest of the menu is standard New Orleans neighborhood eats, but in much of that the kitchen comes across as the small chain restaurant that it is, with less range in its offering, particularly the finfish.
Anecdotes & Analysis
The least pretentious of the seven century-old New Orleans restaurants, the Acme acts its age in its signature activity. Their oysters have always been among the city's best, both in the raw bivalves and the grilled oysters--the latter a recent borrowing from Drago's. Most of the rest of the menu is standard New Orleans neighborhood eats, but in much of that the kitchen comes across as the small chain restaurant that it is, with less range in its offering, particularly the finfish.
Backstory
The Acme on Iberville Street is the Antoine’s of oyster bars, its history stretching back to 1910. Oyster bars were a recent import from New York City. Our estuaries produced first-class oysters in quantities so vast that oysters were (and still are) a delicacy that could be afforded by anybody here. When the current owners took over about twenty-five years ago, they turned a sleepy but very fine little cafe into a phenomenon, just by jazzing it up a little. The satellite locations came in the 1990s, and have lately begun opening well outside of New Orleans, with Acmes in Metairie, Covington, Baton Rouge and Sandestin.
Dining Room
All the locations are different, except for one common motif: neon signs everywhere, one proclaiming "Waitress Available Sometimes." (There's a joke in there somewhere.) The Iberville original is the roughest, most beat-up of the bunch (people love that about it; it's widely believed that a restaurant can't be real Nawlins without being funky.) The Metairie restaurant is a former Mexican cantina, not much renovated from that look. The most pleasant Acme is the Covington location, which has a separate room for the oyster bar and a clean, bustling environment in the television-surrounded main room.
Why It's Essential
The original Acme Oyster House on Iberville has always been popular, but during the past decade it has become a must-visit eatery for visitors to New Orleans. It's so busy that many local Acme fans have forsaken it for the other Acme locations--the best of which is the one in Covington. The place can become habit-forming. It serves all the New Orleans neighborhood-cafe classics, from gumbo and seafood platters to red beans and roast beef poor boys.
Why It's Good
Beyond the consistently excellent oysters (Acme is in deadly earnest about that part of its operation), all the seafood here is prepared to order and comes out hot and crisp. That's a good start. Much--perhaps most--of the rest of the menu comes from a commissary, and is only warmed up and served on site. Despite that, most of those dishes are more than edible. (The red beans and gumbos are notable examples.) In recent times the Acme has expanded and modified its menu. This has made the place even better, without harming the culinary core. A very reliable place to eat.
Most Interesting Dishes
<em><strong>Starters</strong></em> Raw oysters on the half shell Char-grilled oysters Fried oysters remoulade Wedge salad, blue cheese, bacon Seafood gumbo Chicken-andouille gumbo <em><strong>Entrees</strong></em> Red beans and rice, smoked sausage Fried oyster, shrimp, fish, or combo platters New Orleans hamburger steak Grilled marinated shrimp, fish or chicken platter <em><strong>Sandwiches</strong></em> Peacemaker poor boy (fried oysters and shrimp) Fried oyster, shrimp, crawfish or fish poor boy Fried oyster, shrimp, crawfish or fish loaf Hot or smoked sausage poor boy Chuck roast beef poor boy <em><strong>Desserts</strong></em> Bread pudding, whiskey sauce Chocolate caramel pie Bananas Foster pie
Deficiencies
The catfish is Asian and the other finfish are of similarly secondary quality. The soft shell crabs are too inconsistent to order (where are those coming from, anyway?).
For Best Results
Whether oysters are a main course or an appetizer, have them at the bar to get the biggest and best ones. Order twice as many of the grilled oysters as you think you'll eat. If there's a line in front on Iberville Street, go for oysters to the Bourbon House or the Red Fish Grill instead.
Bonus Ratings
1
Attitude
2
Local Color
1
Service
1
Value