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NOLA
Categories: Restaurants Cajun/Creole Arts & Entertainment Music Venues Nightlife Music Venues Cajun/Creole, Music Venues [Edit]
124 Street NWUnit 11802
Edmonton, AB T5L 0M5
(780) 451-1390
- Hours:
Tue-Thu 5 pm - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 2 am
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Has TV:
- No
11 reviews for NOLA
11 reviews in English
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Review from Rachel F.
1/16/2012
Having grown up not too far from the N'awlins, I am a big fan of Creole and Cajun cuisine. So I was excited, though a bit skeptical, to see Nola open up on 124th St. This past Friday, I finally had the occasion to try it out.
My partner and I started with some tapas: fried oysters, stuffed peppers, and "hush puppies. First, let me say that, while tasty, the hush puppies were not, in fact, hush puppies. The menu describes them as "seafood fritters" so we knew we wouldn't be getting actual hush puppies (which are really just fried corn meal balls - yummy, but nobody would actually pay for them, they just come as a side on your plate in most authentic southern joints). Still, "seafood fritters" sounded yummy, so we tried them out. They were very tasty, indeed. Just not hush puppies. The oysters were also good. My sweetie was disappointed that we only got five small oysters for the price, but I reminded him that we live in Alberta, nowhere near the coast, so oysters are imported and thus the reason for the cost (I'll get him some good, cheap Gulf Coast oysters next time we visit my folks). The peppers were also quite delicious, though not very Creole. 4-stars for each of the tapas.
The highlight of the meal was certainly the blackened red snapper. Oh my, was it delicious. The texture was flaky, but not dry. And the dish was seasoned to perfection. Get this dish if you go. The fish alone was worth 5-stars.
I wish we had concluded the meal with the fish, because dessert was a big let-down. I'd had my eye on the pecan tarts only to have the server tell us they were not available. Bummer. I was leaning towards the bread pudding when the server suggested the beignets, and describes them as "doughnuts" to my companion, who has a thing for doughnuts. I like beignets, so I went along. Huge mistake. They were absolutely atrocious. First, they weren't beignets at all, as real beignets are yeasty (light and fluffy). These were more like fried cake balls, which still had potential to be tasty. Sadly, they were overcooked on the outside (and tasted of burnt oil) and raw on the inside. We couldn't finish them. They were horrible. 1-star for the dessert.
Still, all in all, it was a pleasant evening. The snapper was divine. And the music was outstanding (definitely 5-stars). I love having a place in town where I can have a decent meal and enjoy nice jazz music. That combination makes Nola a place I'll return to, especially when I long for a little taste of home. -
Review from Adam S.
1/23/2012
I really wanted to like NOLA. In fact, I really did like NOLA right up until the end of the night when my table was unceremoniously kicked out because we'd reached the 3 hour seating limit.
The food at NOLA was really good. The country fried chicken was amazing. The various seafood appetizers that we had were great, and their drink selection is pretty good. But there were problems. They were out of a lot of menu items which, considering we arrived at 6:30pm, seemed a bit strange. They were out of at least 4 items very early in the night and ran out of more items as the night went on.
On the night we were there they had no wings, no nachos, no sweet potato fries, no etouffee, and they ran out of coconut shrimp part-way through the evening. Things weren't off to a promising start, but we ordered from the items that they hadn't run out of them and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Because NOLA is also a live music venue, we had planned to stay around after our meal and continue to order drinks. This was fine until our server came up and told us that she had been informed that we had to leave in 15 minutes because another party had reserved our table. She had delivered new drinks to us just moments earlier, so this was unwelcome news. The first band hadn't even finished!
After some discussions with a very unhelpful manager -- apparently the waitress had to fight with him to get him to even apologize -- we learned that they have a policy of limiting parties to 3 hours at a table. If they weren't a live music venue, this would be understandable. But because they are a music venue, it seems odd to have a time limit that would make more sense at a traditional restaurant. Still, we wouldn't have minded if they'd informed us of this at the start of the evening (or, better yet, when we made our reservation).
The manager did tell us that he would try to find space for us toward the back of the room, but he never returned to our table. After we cleared up our bill and left -- now in a very bad mood -- we noticed that there were many empty tables. Surely, both our party and the party with the 9:15 reservation could have been accommodated.
It's a shame, because up until the moment that we were so rudely ejected from the restaurant, we were all really enjoying the scene and thinking that we would likely be regular customers. Instead of gaining 5 new regulars, NOLA lost 5 customers and gained a negative Yelp review. -
Review from Kirei P.
Edmonton, AB
12/11/2011
NOLA's is superb for live music, great eats and these adorable little cornmeal muffins.
Last night was my first time to Nola's and I'd definitely go again. All my friends ordered the jambalaya topped with alligator (apparently it tastes like very lean, lean chicken) and I had the braised beef and it was divine, matched with creamy mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. But what stole my breath away, were the cornmeal muffins that were brought as we were eating our meal. They were spicy due to little bits of jalapeno mixed in....so good in fact I have been researching how to make cornmeal dishes...that's how much I liked them.
The venue is very busy inside and jam packed with tables. The ceiling is low, so the acoustics are crazy loud...we had a reservation and even still we were sitting in the middle of the restaurant about 2-3 feet from the stage and the music was two notches beyond what everyone considered really loud. It was very difficult to hold a conversation with my fellow diners...it became necessary to utilize charades in order to carry on the conversation. :)
I strongly suggest sitting near the back of the venue when you decide to try it out...also their parking is very limited so you may need to park on the street or risk parking at McDees which is right across the street. -
Review from Farees K.
Updated - 3/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
Just changed their hours to evenings only, 5 days a week. As I was there to try the lunch menu I am pretty disappointed.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/25/2012
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?
So confused by this place I am not sure yet what to think:
Good
The… Read more »
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Review from Brittany K.
Edmonton, AB
11/25/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I really wanted to have a 5-star experience at NOLA, and I almost did. But in the end, I couldn't dish out higher than a 3 - let me start from the beginning.
We were part of a big group for a friend's birthday party. The table was ready when we all got there and we had a good spot relative to the stage. The live music all evening was simply fantastic and a real treat.
A few of us shared alligator as an appie, which wasn't too bad. Like a cross between chicken and calimari. It was a little pricey, but delicious all the same.
Our server, Kathleen, was very friendly. She was pretty pushy with the alcohol, but it was kind of funny. (IE. My husband ordered a glass of wine and she asked him if he would like a bottle instead.) If you're ordering a martini, though, definitely supersize you order. It's $12 for a 2 oz or $24 for an entire pitcher!
The food was out of this world. I had the country fried chicken. It was very good, and the accompanying mashed potatoes were the best I've ever had (but don't tell my mom I said that)! I also loved the slaw the came with it. Light, kind of tangy. Yum!
So up to this point, everything is going swimmingly 5-stars. I'm stoked to go home and write my epic review of NOLA. And then this happens:
Michael and I asked for our bill, since we were leaving before the rest of the table. The server gave our bill to me. I noticed at the bottom of the bill that the gratuity was included in the final total. That was because we were part of a large table, which is fine with me (although she probably should have said something at the beginning of the night or when she brought the bill over). I pulled out my credit card, but she said I would have to pay on the machine up at the front. That was no problem, and I started putting on my jacket and gabbing away at everyone.
While I was saying goodbye to friends, Michael went to the front to pay our bill (which I didn't realize). Instead of re-printing the bill (which I still had in my hands back at the table), the server told Michael she remembered how much our bill was, and punched in the final number to the card machine. What she did NOT tell him was that the final number already included tip. So he went and added on 15% on top of our with-gratuity-total, and she never said a word. It wasn't until I finished chatting that I realized he had paid, and it wasn't until we got to the car that we realized what had happened. I'd like to give the server the benefit of the doubt and I hope it was an accident, but not telling your customer that gratuity is included in their bill is a major mistake to make.
Great night out, but definitely not worth our final cost, and I'm still angry about the way the night ended. -
Review from Jay T.
Edmonton, AB
4/29/2012
Went on a Friday night to listen to some music and have some dinner. That neighbourhood really needs revitalizing, so I am happy to see that new places are starting to sprout up. The food was just ok...nothing super special. The crab cakes were dry and the corn bread was burned. As others have said, the fried chicken was a highlight. It was really nice to have live music. The jazz trio was really fun to listen to. I will go back and give it another try because I love the live music. Maybe I'd just go for drinks next time.
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Review from Lea A.
Updating this with a "conditional additional" 1 star -- go go go for the live music and atmosphere later in the eve. That alone deserves a star. The acts they have are fantastic.
My suggestion is also to go between 8:30-9pm so you'll be able to catch the first band of the evening and the switch to the second. We were sat at the VERY front of the resto even though we had no reservation, so we had a great view of the bands but we were still able to converse. My friends and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and place.
Also, their appetizers are MUCH better than their mains. My friends and I only ordered appetizers this time. I had the fried oysters (simple but yum), and I tasted their crab cakes which were also good.
It looks like they switch up their menu, because this was a slightly tweaked/different menu than the last time. This is a good thing, as I believe they need to further enhance their meals, but it looks like a step in the right direction.
Edit: Oh, I also forgot... I love their complimentary cornbread muffins with soft honey butter. Great snack.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/9/2011 First to Review
On the way to Duchess, my hubby and I often pass by the new looking Nola restaurant. It stands out… Read more »
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Review from Heather L.
Edmonton, AB
12/30/2011
I really wanted to like or even love NOLA, but really my experience was sub-par and their food is sub-par. They have Mexican hot sauce, not creole. The seating was awkward -- our table backed up to a pony wall and the other side of our table left our guest with their back to the entertainment. When we ordered the crab cakes, our waitress told us we'd get 3, but it came out with 2. The cornbread tasted decent, but was so dry that when you bit into it, it just crumbled everywhere making a mess across the table. And now i get the idea of a $3/person entertainment fee, but when the drinks are $12 each, I would have thought that the entertainment fee could have been built-in, because their menu pricing definitely doesn't reflect the food quality or service. For a couple you'll end up spending over $100.
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Review from Allie K.
Edmonton, AB
11/19/2011
Having just come back from yet another trip to the real NOLA, we weren't expecting much in terms of real cajun/creole food in Edmonton. We were right.
The menu is small and the tapas are far superior then the main dishes. If they are going to bill this restaurant/jazz house in the NOLA fashion, perhaps they should concentrate on more then bringing in live jazz music (which were very good btw.)
I understand it is hard to bring in fresh seafood to Edmonton but if you are going to have it on the menu, please make sure your oyster's are fresh and your "Cajun" spice is not just some random Cajun type topping you picked up at the local super market. Also, if you are offering me hot sauce PLEASE don't produce a bottle that has a picture of some guy with a sombrero on it. Mexican hot sauce and Louisiana hot sauce are 2 totally different things. I would like Crystal or Texas Pete or even Trappey's. If your trying to serve me Louisiana food, please put in the effort to offer me some authentic Louisiana sauce.
Speaking of sauce, the drinks are A-ok. Not the greatest Hurricane I have ever tasted, but at least they used pineapple juice instead of a catch all fruit juice. Perhaps they should consider adding a few more drinks to the menu and actually having the menu items in stock (who runs out of Mint?!?)
The service was par at best. Our appies came out BEFORE our drinks arrived. How strange is that? We also had to wait quite a long time between visits from our server.
The tables along the back half wall should be angled sideways so we don't have our backs to the entertainment, which was fabulous!
Please put in the effort to dress up when you come here. It is so nice to see the ladies in dresses and heels and the men in chino's and button downs. Creating ambiance starts with the club but they can only bring it so far, it is up to us as the diners to carry it forward.
The washrooms are amazingly clean (so much better then most washrooms in the quarter) and bright.
It's the music that will carry this place forward. The bands were great and it was awesome to see everyone in the crowd really get into it.
In order for the place to survive it's location, a total menu overhaul needs to take place. -
Review from virginia p.
Edmonton, AB
1/1/2012
we went here for the first time on new years eve. Food was good, service excellent and soo friendly. The live music was superb, room for dancing, couldn't have had a better night. This will now definitely be our local. Well done
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Review from Paul G.
Edmonton, AB
11/6/2011
I have been here three times now on a Saturday around 7:00pm. This is a jazz house/ restaurant. They focus on creole cuisine. The place is still relatively new and it replaces the Rusty Reeds Blues bar (formerly Inglewood bar). But I love it here. The place fills up fast. Has a supper club feel to it. The red carpet entrance is a nice touch. They always have live jazz bands that are not too loud..thank you! thank you! Yes you can carry on a conversation and enjoy the music! They take reservations or if you are alone you can sit at the bar. The appetizers do appear to be the better value. Entrees are hit and miss as they are still fine tuning. They are all good but not great. I go primarily for the live music and atmosphere. Pints of beer are quite reasonably priced and they have a unique French Quarter beer on tap that is full flavoured if you want something a little stronger. Room for improvement: they changed the gumbo from white to black and it is no longer my favourite; although the great majority of patrons are properly attired, they do let in some with sloppy attire...which is fine, but they could at least tell them to kindly REMOVE their baseball caps especially on the Friday and Saturday nights when most people are dressed up for a night out! Parking is not the best given the neighbourhood, but don't let that turn you away. This place is an oasis! Due to it's uniqueness (dining with live jazz) I have to give it 5 stars.
