Bistreaux Metairie

Anthony Spizale has been Executive Chef at The Rib Room, Upperline, & Mannings. He is now practicing his culinary craft at BISTREAUX, at the Marriott Lakeway Metairie. I recommend BISTREAUX as a dining destination. Chef Spizale’s dishes are creatively prepared to yield a spectrum of delicious flavors, at an exceptional price. I recommend his marinated crab claws ($ 9 order this! Do not pass this up!!!), his fried oysters & slaw w/​remoulade ($ 9), and his crab cakes ($ 14… a blend of a Louisiana Shrimp Mousse w/​Lake Pontchatrain Lump Crabmeat folded-​in before frying… No other binders… So light with complex flavors … Order this!). Chef Spizale offers farm-​to-​market, local, seasonal cuisine at a great value. Tonight, he surprised me with a house-​made Vanilla-​Bean Gelato & Caramel with Salty Popcorn. You’re going to see some impressive & delicious dishes coming out of Chef Spizale’s BISTREAUX.

This is the restaurant in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in Metairie. We ate here two nights while in town on a business trip.
Pros:
— Lots of seating options, including near the elevators where there are tvs and plugs to recharge or use phones and laptops.
— Menu has LOTS of local flavor and uses local ingredients
— Fairly quiet in the evening
Cons:
— Definitely understaffed
— Room Service menus haven’t been updated to reflect new kitchen
Overall, my food was good (shrimp & grits — day 1; and oyster poboy — day 2). The White Bean Hummus was delicious and they brought us some extra veggies to finish it all off.

Meh.
I’ve been here twice and am underwhelmed. The food is decent but the service is terrible. Both times we were here the place was almost empty yet our server would disappear for long periods of time. We all felt as though the staff was not interested in providing superior service.
Even though this place is within walking distance of my office, we will find somewhere else for lunch

I had a salad and the crab cake appetizer. The salad was nice. Wasn’t a fan of the balsamic dressing. Crab cakes were real crab cakes. Lump neat and just enough bread to bind. Dining room was very noisy. We also ordered a bottle if wine. Menu price said $ 38 but they charged $ 44. When I inquired they said the menu is old. Use caution and question all prices.

My first day in Metairie I was starving after flying 6 hours so I made my way to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite. I decided on the gumbo which was filling, perfectly portioned and quite delicious! The server was super attentive and the restaurant itself was very very nicely decorated. I love the bar area and the private dining room. Although I didn’t eat much more than a cup of gumbo here, the menu looked very appetizing and I would happily eat here again!

Ambience was great. Appearance was wonderful. Service is superb… But the food, ahhhhh not so much.
I had the fortune opportunity to be at this hotel for a work event. Not wanting to fight the traffic to go out, some of us decided to dine at the hotel restaurant.
The portion sizes were small but the prices were not… Ha, they were large. Lol.
The Mac n cheese truffle, truly disappointed. One of my fellow dining partner said the jerk chicken was superb & my salad was tasty.
We initially had ordered the crab cakes, but sent them back as they appeared more along the lines of a cornbread muffin… Ummmmm NOPE!!! Lol. We replace the crab cakes with a BBQ chicken sandwich, which I’m told was very tasty.
All in all, for hotel food in New Orleans, I was disappointed.

If you have no car, then this is about your only option at the Marriott. The food is average American faire. …nothing special, and barely any New Orleans classics.

I really think Bistreaux will be the driving force to bring me to Metairie more often, seriously and that my friend is a accomplishment. Soon as you walk in you get such a cool relax vibe. Something about this location makes you want to chat it up with everyone! The food is just like they describe it… SOUTHERN COMFORT. If you try nothing else you at least need the Truffle Mac N Cheese. When you need some food to comfort you that is the dish to go with. I also enjoyed the steak with blue cheese, it definitely is a treat and the two flavors play well with each other.
What makes the location also cool is the club service, you can get cocktail created right at your table!