Irene's Cuisine

539 St Philip St New Orleans, LA 70116

(504) 529-8811

Overall Ratings (H in orange, C in purple)

Food:  B / B+

Ambiance: A / A

Service:  A- / A-

Drinks: B (Wine selection was good but not excellent)

Overall Experience: B+ / A-

H says, C and I were walking in the Quarter and I thought we should try our Irene’s as it always smells so nice walking by. I really was worried it wasn’t going to be that good, but I was pleasantly surprised.

C says, Whenever we walk by Irene’s, the smell makes us hungry! A little Italian restaurant off of Chartres, it always smells enticing, so the other night we decided to go in. The meal had a few bumps, but was enjoyable overall--there’s just some room for improvement.

Overall thoughts from H:

First off, it doesn’t look like much from the outside but the interior is just what you think of when you mention old fashioned New Orleans interiors. I might be wrong but it just felt like this is where people went out back in the day. Not that it felt dated but it was just a very enjoyable ambiance. We had the mussels appetizer which was ok, nothing special but ok. I think when we go back we will try something else. [C says, The mussels were in a red sauce, which is not our preference. The sauce was very good, though. The problem was that some of the mussels were overcooked--not cool. The bread served with the mussels was especially tasty, though.] 

Mussels Marinara

For the main course I got the filet mignon which was very well cooked, but the potato side that went with it was a little cold, they heated it up for me and it turned out to be a very nice meal. Now, it wasn’t the best-tasting meal but the steak itself was delicious. All it was really missing was more sauce. I enjoy steaks, but it’s really about the sauce and steak together that does it for me. Now my favorite part: the dessert. They have a bread pudding with bananas foster dessert that is amazing. Enough to feed 2 easily, but it is amazing. So overall it was enjoyable, probably one of the better restaurants in the Quarter that isn’t named GW Fins. Definitely planning on trying it again.

Filet and potato gratin

Soft-shelled Crab w/ Pasta

C says, I will agree with H that the ambiance is perfect for a New Orleans Italian restaurant. When you sit down, they bring you a couple of pieces of Italian bread with sliced tomatoes and melted cheese--a nice amuse. Then, later in the meal, they bring a basket with tasty rolls. As you should know by now, H and I love bread, so that was a plus! The mussels were ok, as we said above, but next time I would try a different appetizer. For dinner, I had the soft-shelled crab with crawfish pasta. The crab was cooked perfectly, nice wide pasta with plenty of crawfish, spinach, and a cream sauce--the sauce was over-herbed, though. Someone had a heavy hand with the oregano or something and it threw the dish off. Otherwise, it would have been really delish. As H said, the dessert was bread pudding with bananas foster sauce and vanilla gelato--basically his 3 favorite foods--and it was very good. Now, from what I hear, we really lucked out being able to walk into Irene’s. We went really early and got the last table in the house. So, if you want to check it out, you might make a reservation first. And expect to spot Irene herself puttering around. Not our favorite place, but a fun one to try. They just need to make a few tweaks and it could be excellent.