Ernst Cafe

Decent spot. Lunch was okay. Everything from the service, to the food, to the ambience was just okay. The gumbo was pretty bland. The red beans were also pretty plain. The boudin balls were mushy and kind of lame. Probably not a great day in the kitchen. Even our server recognized that. My wife's salad was missing tomatoes and other things listed in the menu. We won't return.

An interesting atmosphere in here. Foremost, good and friendly service and staff, and brilliant prices for the area and outright ($4-5 for draft beer). We didn’t have food. The 20th century atmosphere strikes intrigue and is elegant. It’s all very authentic in feel. It was built in 1901 which importantly predates the war. The floor is lined with swastikas, importantly symbolising good fortune and prosperity but it makes you think twice.

I was looking for ‘best roast beef po’boy’ and concierge at my hotel recommended here. Wow, I have always preferred shrimp, so ordered both! They are huge! But both were devoured. 2 Abita ‘Boot’s and my whole body feels happy! Bailey was a great server, much appreciated.

This was a nice spot off the beaten path. Food was good, the burgers were amazing but the Cajun food was not special at all. Definitely would recommend sitting up stairs if you want a bit more peace and quiet.

Fun lively sports tvs great noisy fun atmosphere. Families, football fans quirky fun. Lots of college kids. Fries were over cooked. Poboy was good but need some kind of sauce. Came out with no sauce. Otherwise it was good.

Thank you, Queen, for setting me up with a full bowl of red beans and rice-- a small portion would not have been enough. And the meat?! Wow!! The pulled pork with the bbq sauce is exceptional; the blackened chicken is the centerpiece; and those blackened sausage cuts are a nice addition to the trifecta. The mac 'n cheese are a great compliment to the pork. What a feast! I LOVE Ernst Cafe!!

Prob my new favorite restaurant in NOLA. When we walked in I wasn’t sure until every staff member was awesome and treated us like family. When we asked about a sauce they brought us a sample. Best Bloody Mary. And the Ernst poboy, and the boudin balls are a must.

It was typical bar food. It was good. The only thing I didn't like were my sweet potato fries were fried way too hard. My hubby enjoyed his burnt end barbecue sandwich.

I really liked this place. I was in New Orleans to watch my Niners beat the Saints, and this place was close to my hotel. First, coming from California, I fell in love with the prices of their beers. How? How can they charge $2.50 for a Corona or Modelo? Who cares? Load me up. I stopped by each night I was there. Every bartender was super friendly and attentive. The food was good. I had the red beans n rice, the gumbo, and the jambalaya. If I'm ever back on town, I will definitely stop by.

Decent spot. Lunch was okay. Everything from the service, to the food, to the ambience was just okay. The gumbo was pretty bland. The red beans were also pretty plain. The boudin balls were mushy and kind of lame. Probably not a great day in the kitchen. Even our server recognized that. My wife's salad was missing tomatoes and other things listed in the menu. We won't return.

We attempted to go to Ernst Cafe three times while in NOLA. 2 out of 3 times were successful and the second visit was the most impressive experience, during the day, right at lunch, not too long after they opened on a Friday afternoon. Their door states that they are open until 2 AM, but upon experience, they will close early if business is slow and they stop serving food after midnight, which was a major disappointment on my third visit. On our first visit, we attempted to come around 1 AM on Friday morning and another customer informed us that they were closed. On the third visit, we came a few minutes after midnight, and I was disappointed when I found out that we could only order drinks. Now to talk about my good experience(s). 1) Cheap drinks, especially for the beer lovers. They have a drink menu with a list of spirits that range from $1.50 - $7 and the variety is great. I am not much of a beer drinker, but noticed they carried spiked teas, wine and seltzers for the ladies to give them something to sip on for a low price. These were year round prices. 2) Good cocktails for a fair price. My Tito's Lemon Drop was $10 and tasted GREAT. I ended up ordering two. 3) Good fresh food during lunch. We ordered a large shrimp poboy and split the honey habanero appetizer with fries and jalepeno slaw. The food was so good that we planned on coming back later that night since they stayed open late, BUT they stopped serving food at midnight (I was so disappointed). 4) Happy Hour specials from 4-6 PM, they have 50% off of the well spirits, so some things are $4. Overall, this is a great place to stop in for drinks and food before midnight! I liked the food and service. I would return if in the area.

Our group of 11 spent about 6 hours here watching football. We drank the whole time, had appetizers and food and the bill was $300. What a deal!! The guys had more buckets of beer than I can count, we had the upstairs mostly to ourselves and in nice weather I think the patio would be great. If you're looking for a game watch deal, this is your place.

No complaints. Awesome service. Brandon was great. He was friendly, prompt, and attentive. Great atmosphere and ambuance. Cafe/bar is spacious and clean. I loved the vibe. Really good prices on their drinks. I would definitely come back here.

One of the older bars in the Fulton Alley. Looks run down if you've never been there but it looks exactly like it should if you wanna be in a New Orleans Bar. Food is average but good. Nothing bad about service but it's a bar... so don't expect white glove service. Will always come back here! Good times!

Friendly bartenders and good food, what more do you want from a neighborhood bar. I went here originally because it was rainy and it was close to my hotel near the convention center. Downstairs was a bit of a cluster so I dined upstairs where you order at the bar and they bring the food to you. The Gumbo was excellent and I'd get it again for sure. Same with the shrimp po boy which was loaded with crispy shrimp and excellent bread. The waffle fries were great too. I went back for a drink on a different night as they had Hoop Tea, which is the best canned hard iced tea if you ask me (and you didn't). Later in the night some dealers from the casino trickled in after their shifts so it seems like a good place that locals love too. If you're thinking about going to Mannings, consider Ernst Cafe right across the street. You'll at least get served.

I visited the Ernst Cafe for a hosted reception as part of a conference and it was one of my favorite dining experiences of my trip. We were taken upstairs to the event space, which was open and spacious, with a beautiful wraparound balcony. There was a nice selection of drinks, and some amazing local fare- the roast beef po'boy as my favorite, but we also enjoyed fish and shrimp po'boys, a beautiful veggie platter and selection of sausages (andouille, gator and crawfish,) as well as crawfish cornbread. Everything was amazing and nicely portioned so that we could try a little bit of everything. The dining space downstairs looked fun, and the atmosphere was great all around. Wonderful experience.

Best place for inexpensive food and drinks! Service and atmosphere were great both times we went. Yes we had such a great time we went back the next day!

Came here to watch a football game and have some drinks. It was a Saturday night so they had music over the speakers and we weren't able to hear the game. That's fine as it's not a sports bar. I ordered Fried Pickles, Gumbo and Wings. Fried pickles were ok - I love that they have fried jalapenos mixed in. The gumbo was ok but there were bits of overcooked rice in it so every bite had crunchy rice. I'm not sure if it was just bottom of the pan rice or old rice - not a fan. The wings were pretty good. Service was ok. Overall, ok.

This is a super friendly location just off the waterway and by the Aquarium. They brought the food quickly, personably, and with a ton of kindness. The food was tasty, and as we only had apps we were able to sample a variety. Mama Mia Sticks, Debris Fries, and Chicken Wings we enjoyed all of them, and the flavors were outstanding. We were able to sit back and catch our breath from the heat and walking. The place was so well decorated that there was something to be seen everywhere! So much fun in one place!! Good times, good eats, good service!!

Came over with a group of about 13 during a break for a conference and we were concerned initially about being able to get in. There's ample space to accommodate lots of people as there are picnic tables outside and two floors of seating. We sat upstairs and the kids loved being able to go on the balcony and scope out the city. We had to order at the bar, and the bartender was very pleasant and handled all of our orders with ease. Even with our party being large, they were able to get our food out quickly. I got the Southwest egg rolls and they were spicy and fried to perfection. The ranch dressing with them was amazing! I willingly would have purchased a bottle to go.

The business responded to my comment about the very jarring tiles. It was beyond me why I couldn't see any conversation about it, so I greatly appreciate the response and acknowledgement. And the Po Boys and service were still great!

Cool little place Was clean and staff was very friendly. We had a couple Ernst Bowls. Was jambalaya and grilled chicken breast with gumbo on top. Was realllly good A roast beef and shrimp po boy and wings. Delicious. Jambalaya. Verrry good The fish po boy and another roast beef po boy. Everyone enjoyed their meals and we would def go back.

Came here for a quick dinner after landing in NO for the Eagles game. Had a shrimp po boy: very delicious but a little dry. Shrimp cooked perfectly though. Husband had wings that seemed very flavorful. I also got a Bloody Mary that has pickled green beans in it: those should be in every Bloody Mary ever. Delicious. It felt a little dive bar esque but that made it really charming: our waitstaff were friendly and quick. Great first impression.

The vibe is divey in a good way. Upstairs is family friendly with an extensive menu and great beer prices. It's an order at the counter situation and the food came quickly. We were with a pretty big group so we sampled many items and everything was hot, fresh, and tasty. Ernst Cafe was better quality and a much better value than the more touristy places nearby.

Had this for lunch after coming here for a late night beer a couple nights in a row. Bella was the most attentive and friendliest server I've had in the city this far! Food was decently priced and portioned. I got the burnt ends & mac n cheese for lunch. Sauce was a little sweeter than I personally like it but it was tasty overall! This is close to the convention center and not too far from the french quarter with great out door seating options. Definitely will visit again and hope to get Bella as a server once more!

conveniently located near our hotel with a welcoming vibe and open late, ernst cafe was great. the food was on the saltier side but was good overall.

If you're looking for a spot off the quarter with a hometown spot feel, this is the place. The staff is friendly and helpful. There are tvs for the games which is a plus! The food is solid and the drinks are yummy ! Everything was reasonably priced and good came out quick!

Love the entire experience.Staff was polite and food wAs good old New Orleans cuisine.Looking like a return spot for sure.

Stopped by to pick up an order to go. Nice menu and when checking in on Yelp you get a free appetizer. We tried the blue crab cake with waffle fries and jambalaya. The crab was so good with a crispy coating on a soft bun with a scoop of jalapeño coleslaw and some waffle fries. Good food cold beer, the bartender was super friendly and sooo busy.

Stumbled across Ernst Cafe as we were hungry for a mid afternoon snack and thirsty upon just arriving in town. It was around 3pm on a Monday afternoon. The place wasn't terribly busy by any means so we were kinda surprised with the slow service. We were seated at one of the outside tables to enjoy the mild temperatures that afternoon. The waitress eventually came by and took our drink and food order. We waited and waited for what seemed like probably 20 minutes before our 3 bottles of beer came out to the table. The creole nachos came next and they hit the spot with good flavor. I'd recommend those as a snack. The music over the speakers was not enjoyable. Whoever was working the music was only playing what we described as death metal. Every time a song would come on that we enjoyed it would quickly get skipped and another heavy metal song would come on. Not really what we were looking for as far as that goes but we managed. Our waitress did the bare minimum for her job. She didn't make conversation, just took the order. Didn't wipe down the table from the prior guests. She didn't give us any small plates to share our basket of nachos at the table. No forks or anything to assist with eating. On the positive side, they do have great prices on beer!

Great food. Best place to stop in before going to Saints game. Outside balcony seating with a good view.

I have nothing but nice things to say about this place. The friendliness of the staff was impeccable. Above and beyond! We went the night of the Philly game on Sunday 9/22. Everywhere was busy. They make you feel special. Best shrimp po boy! Hubs had the burnt ends sandwich. Beers on ice. TV's everywhere. Truly enjoyed our experience. Will be back!

Good food and great drink specials. Loved visiting! The balcony seats are well worth seeking out

Cheapest Beer in Warehouse/Arts District, maybe all of NOLA. 7 Mass Market Beers, including Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light, Miller High Life, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Bud all for $1.50 each. Even up to 12 beers TO GO for same price. Excellent Gumbo, Salads with Super Hot delicious Jalapeño Ranch Dressing. Great, friendly bartenders. Bar is small. Wish music was not as load.

We just wanted a bite to eat and a beer. This place hit the spot. Nice vibes with both indoor and outdoor seating and a balcony upstairs. I had a delicious po' boy with roast beef and fried shrimp. My partner had a bowl of gumbo which was tasty but a very small portion. The beers were cheap and there were lots of choices. Our server warmed up as she got to know us. Great spot for lunch or to watch the game.

The ambiance/environment is nice and the food is really flavorful for a dive bar. I've been here a couple times and never had a bad experience yet. If you're in New Orleans and need a place to snack and decompress from the hot weather, then I would suggest stopping by here. XOXO, Your Fav Foodie

The Red Beans & Rice had burnt chunks in it that tasted NASTY. It was hard I get anyone's attention so I just ate around it

Had to wait for service for longer than usual and when they came, they were kinda snappy. Food was decent but the rude server made it worse. Outside seating is nice but the sunset can be harsh so bring some sunshades.

What a great bar atmosphere honestly my favorite spot I've been here in New Orleans since I've been here , I'm from Miami and I love good service and Brandon was absolutely incredible from explaining the food menu to the drinks.

We had a pretty good experience at Ernst Cafe. The servers were super sweet & helpful with helping us pick out something to eat. The inside & bathroom could have been a little cleaner but that was the only downside. My fish was delish and had some good flavor to it. My coworker enjoyed her po boy but wishes the bread wasn't so thick. The margaritas were amazing!!

5 stars aren't enough for the exceptional service we received from our amazing waitress, She was attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu, making excellent recommendations that enhanced our dining experience. What truly impressed us was her warm personality, genuine smile, and ability to make us feel like part of the family. She turned a great meal into an unforgettable experience! Gracias and I hope to see you in San Francisco one day!! !

Not what I would call a cafe but this place is cute!! Has 2 levels and the upstairs has an outside balcony with lots of seating. Not far from the river walk and mall. Food was super good!! Only complaint is it seemed like small portions. I had the bbq Mac and it was delish but not much food. Which can be good with such a heavy dish. They had a ton of beads you could take and they actually gave me a whole bag which was amazing for our booze cruise later. Staff was all super friendly!!!!

Ernst - we walked in: how can we help you, Are you hungry. Are you thirsty. Perfect hospitality. Heather and Brandon - these are the elite stars of Ernst. Coming from an elite food background I was so impressed by the waffle fries and the burger cooked to perfection. We tried to adventure to a couple other spots that were really prestigious and the new upcoming neighborhood spots. Yeah no - This will be our go to from now on.

First taste of New Orleans! Shrimp po boy with a side salad. The po boy needed some sauce, it was quite dry and very bread-y. I added some mayo onto the sandwich. The service was slow. We sat down outside and it took a while to even get a menu. Once we ordered though the food came quickly. I recommend sitting indoors if you want faster service. Parking here is tough, only street. Typical sports bar ambiance. Total for the burger and po boy came out to about $45.

Sara is the BEST bartender ever, she made some tourists feel like locals which isn't easy to do. Sara was super knowledgeable, efficient, and made some excellent recommendations. We can't recommend her enough. Honestly this place wouldn't have had quite the same effect without her even though the food was amazing! We tried the southwest egg rolls, hot sausage po boy and the blue crab cakes and were so in LOVE with all of it! The egg rolls were light and crispy, the po boy was spicy and satisfying, the crab cakes were flavorful and had such a good consistency. Cheap drinks too, highly recommend the Fulton Freeze which is basically a frozen Irish coffee. Easily some of the best food we have had in this trip and we will definitely be back for more! Walking distance from our hotel by the convention center too! I can't say enough good about this place, if you like hole in the wall places this one's for you!

Just stopped in for lunch, my usual stops closed on Monday and just wanted a light lunch, good salad and service was quick

I visited Ernst cafe today and there only thing I can say is that I was deeply disappointed. While sitting down before even ordering drinks, I noticed a rat just six feet away from me inside the restaurant. I was truly shocked and disgusted so I called an employee only for her to tell me it was "normal". I really don't understand how that can be normal for rats to be roaming around. The response was not only worrying but made me question the overall cleanliness of the establishment. Overall if you're looking for somewhere to eat I would strongly advise YOU DO NOT eat here and that there are definitely much better and cleaner options in the city :)

Maybe it was an off day. Trying to find a reason for such poor service. We could find a table on the balcony. They were all dirty and filled with dishes. We had to eat inside. Hard to find a clean table inside too. Seat yourself if you dare I guess. We were not impressed.how do you run out of iced tea? Iboth of us ordered the jambalaya and it was super dry. The chicken, the rice, everything. It tasted good but oh my I needed my water because it was so dry. The seasoning was nice and warm. The flavor was good FYI- So for newbies what to remember is Cajun is seasonings. Creole is tomato based. No one came to check on us while we ate. We had to go and search for water and my husband only got one beer. Hard to order when no one serves. The gal was too busy talking to her friend I guess. Anyway this is not a spot we would go back to. Save yourself a trip and go somewhere else. Bottom line food was ok, Service was poor Ambiance is dive bar ish

All day beer prices- lowest around, ranging from $1.25- 3.25 for a huge selection! Perfect spot for a little day snack and upstairs covered patio time- plus they've been open over 100 years- history! The staff is incredibly friendly, ordered the southwest egg rolls at their recommendation- DELICIOUS!

Our favorite kind of corner bar while traveling! Great prices, a fully stocked bar, decent pub fare great for sharing, and balcony seating. Brittany was an A+ bartender and server, super friendly and fun to interact with while she was running glasses and plates for us and rocking gooooood music upstairs. Will def. visit again the next time we are at the Convention Center.

Food is OK but service was bad. It's not the cleanest restaurant but kind of fits in with most for the city. I ordered the grilled jumbo shrimp and the waitress brought me the grilled fish. When I questioned it and told her that I ordered the grilled shrimp. She literally argued with me to tell me I didn't. I know for a fact I did order the shrimp but will cut her some slack since it is a little loud in there So maybe she didn't hear me but don't argue with me and tell me I ordered something that I know I would never order. Not exactly a good experience.

Absolutely awful experience. We went into this bar as paying customers and politely asked the bartender for a simple cup of water. His response? "Go outside, open your mouth, and maybe you'll catch some rain." We were stunned. When we calmly brought this up to another bartender, instead of addressing how unbelievably rude that was, we were told not to raise our voices and then kicked out. Let me be clear: we were kicked out for asking for water and being told to drink from the rain. This place clearly has no understanding of basic customer service, decency, or how to treat people--especially visitors. If you're a tourist, do yourself a favor and stay far away. There are too many great places in this city to waste your time or money here.

Sarah made the best drinks I've had in Nola. she's super sweet too. ask for her at the bar!!!

I tried to go to Manning's tonight but there was a wait, so I walked a little further down the walkway and came across this place. It said to seat yourself and I found an open table. I had my choice of appetizer for free with Yelp check-in. I chose the wings but changed my mind when my server told me they took about 13 minutes. (I was tired from working all day and didn't want to wait.) So I settled on the chips & queso, even though my server warned me that it was not the best queso. (He was right!) Bland and definitely nothing special. I chose the entree which was a combination dish of gumbo and jambalaya, with two blackened chicken breasts, and he told me he added shrimp to his for more protein (for only $3 more). I did that and I was glad. The dish barely had any andouille sausage in it (which I love) so I was happy for the shrimp. The dish was great with the shrimp and even better with the Crystal hot sauce. My waiter "Z" was super helpful, made great suggestions, and attentive throughout my visit. Definitely one of the best servers I've had in New Orleans. I ordered the white chocolate bread pudding to go and was happy to find that 1) it didn't have raisins in it and 2) it was still warm when I got back to my hotel.

This review is for 1/17/24. I was starving and just wanted to get anything since I was only visiting for the evening for a conference. This place was walking distance and the menu looked appealing. Thanks to Yelp I received a free appetizer with an entree purchase, so I chose the southwest egg rolls which were extremely tasty. The cup of gumbo was extremely mid. I've had better tasting gumbo and it wasn't flavorful (to me) and tastes a little burnt. The buffalo shrimp po'boy was good. But I honestly only ate the shrimp. If I wasn't so hungry, I'm sure I would have rated the sandwich alone a 5 out of 10. I'd return if I'm ever in that specific area again, but will try other items on the menu. Oh! The hurricane was really good. I wouldn't have minded it to be a smidge stronger though

Mannings was closed so we went across the street to Ernst. Good decision on our part! Cory took excellent care of us! We got the mozzarella sticks which were delicious so we ordered the gumbo jambalayas. Wowsa! Perfectly seasoned and absolutely New Orleans cuisine! The coffee and cakes after drinks were amazing (another Cory suggestion) and used the King cake vodka! We cannot wait to come back!

Ordered through their website, order was canceled without delivery or refund 3 hours later. I called the restaurant at least 10 times over 3 days to get someone to pick up, they have a voice mailbox that no one seemed to be checking. When I finally got the manager on the phone, she said I had to email their corporate office for a refund. It's been almost a week and no one has emailed me back yet. I was also told to try to get a refund through door dash, but they don't have you order through the app, so it's a weird variation of their service, and they direct all communication to Ernst Cafe. 6 or more door dashers attempted to pick up this order, and all canceled when they arrived at the cafe. Not sure why, but clearly there was some issue they didn't think it was worth it to deal with. I will file this under the absolute nightmare category, with zero recourse to get my money back. Someone said I should file a police report since I have their cancelation notice without a refund. They really want to give you the impression that this is all your fault for ordering food from them, I honestly don't understand who runs a business like this. One of the all time worst I have dealt with.