Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)
Food: B+/A-
Ambiance: A/A-
Service: B-/B
Drinks: B
Overall Experience: B+/A-
H says, Adolfo’s is my favorite place for a night out when friends are in town. It is not too expensive but the food is great and the decor is cozy, just the way I like it. It is a bit hot in the summer but not too bad as you can wear a t-shirt and shorts and be fine. The best part is it is located on Frenchmen St, which means you can leave dinner and go catch some live music and drinks after without having to drive or take a cab. So if you have friends in town that have never been to New Orleans, go here your first night, just make sure you show up by 6 or there won’t be any tables left. Cash only, but don’t worry, they have an ATM in the restaurant.
C says, This is another restaurant that I had heard a lot about but never tried til I went with H. It's located above the Apple Barrel on Frenchmen, and it is tiny. No reservations, cash only. The food is good and the prices are reasonable. (Entrees range from $13.25-$25.50, with most under $20.) The food is Creole Italian/Seafood, and I'd recommend the fish. They change what is available depending upon what's fresh, and then you just pick your sauce. Yum!
Overall thoughts from H:
First thing's first, make sure you go to Adolfo’s and not the Apple Barrel. The restaurant is above the bar and accessed by the small staircase on the side. Don’t get spooked; just walk up the stairs and through the door. It is a very small place with a tiny kitchen. The floor is crooked and everything looks like it is from the 80’s or 90’s but I just love it. [C says, I'd say the decor's older-looking than that, but it may just be that the building is so old.] Reminds me of the great family restaurants in Boston.
The drinks list is not extensive but their wine is good and they usually have a discount on the red wine at the tables, which is normally a Chianti. The menu is long but the jist of it is this: skip the pasta dishes, all the fish dishes come with a side salad or pasta. Order the fish. First they will tell you which fish they have in stock for the day, then figure out which sauce you want. Make sure you order the mussels appetizer and ASK for the white wine sauce. It is not on the menu but if you ask they will make it and it is amazing. [C says, We love the mussels here, and whenever we eat mussels elsewhere, we see how they measure up. Sorry, Tempt, not even in the ballpark!] They also sometimes have a rack of lamb which is amazing. It depends on what you feel.
Now there if there is one bad thing you can say about Adolfo’s, it is the service. The waiter knows me by face but has still gotten my pasta order wrong every time I order. I am not sure at this point if he is playing with me or what, but at this point it is just something C and I laugh about every time I order. [C says, The pasta that comes with the fish is served on the side and comes with red sauce, but H always requests alfredo instead, and the waiter always brings him the red anyway. We did have a different, younger waiter last time and had no such problem. Otherwise the service is good, and any little quirks just seem fitting with the atmosphere and worth a giggle.]
For my meal, I went with the Grouper with the shrimp and crawfish sauce. It is a large portion. Very delicious but very big. The desserts are not great, but most of the time you won’t have any room anyways. [C says, H thinks any place that puts raisins in bread pudding does not have good desserts, even though that is traditional! Take this warning with a grain of salt.] My suggestion would be to skip dessert and walk down to any of the local bars to grab a drink and listen to some music. It’s a great way to finish a great meal.
C says, H always gets the pasta with his fish, but I always opt for the salad. If you like salad, I'd urge you in that direction--you're going to have more than enough food and their house dressing is a creamy creole-mustard concoction--it's really yummy. I've had drum and grouper here, as well as one of the pasta dishes, and the fish is the way to go in my opinion. I especially like the crabmeat sauce (Fish Cruz), but you can get the fish with ocean sauce: they cover half the fish with the crabmeat sauce and half with the shrimp and crawfish sauce. That way you can try H's fave and my fave at once! I have never had room for dessert here, so I can't even tell you what they serve or if it is any good. If you get the mussels first, followed by the fish, you won't have room for dessert either and may even take some food home.
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