Jessie's Smokin' NOLA

I have always been interested in New Orleans cuisine. When I found out about this restaurant from a friend, I was excited to check it out. The visit I’m reviewing was back in August 2024. The shrimp etouffee was decent. Seasoned well. The dish was kind of lukewarm, not as warm as it should have been but it was tolerable. I purchased the fried fish & shrimp with jambalaya and red beans rice. The Jambalaya along with the red beans and rice was a bit much. It should be an option to choose either jambalaya or red beans & rice. I recommend the side dishes be served in small bowls on the side, not all piled up on the plates. The fried fish was unfortunately a bit soggy. The shrimp was DELICIOUS. Fried perfectly well seasoned and crispy. The staff & owner were very kind. I will return to this restaurant again to eat. Sometimes the experience is a hit or miss, but it doesn’t mean you can’t support the business and give them another try.

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗷𝘂𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱?? This place is amazing!!! We first had their food when they were in Max Taps off Arapahoe. They’ve since opened a full service restaurant in Parker. Weve tried it all. Last week we had their fried okra which is newish to the menu. Holy cow!!! Every Wednesday, they have their fried chicken. Today it came with Collards and Dirty Rice. The last six pictures are from prior visits.

I’ve eaten there twice now. The first time, I had The Taste of NOLA, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since—it was that good. I went again last night and tried the Magnolia Catfish, and once again, it did not disappoint!

First visit to our new fav Cajun restaurant! "Cajun Manning" poor boy was huge, full of seafood & sausage and the bread was fresh & crunchy. "Second Line" was a delicious sampler of red beans & rice, jambalaya, gumbo & etouffee. We split everything and still had enough for dinner. Spices & flavors absolutely on point. Makes me miss NOLA a little less... We'll be back soon.

Food was delicious, coming back for sure. The gumbo was just like the one I had in NOLA. The catfish could have used a bit more seasoning, but with the hot sauce it was perfect.

Very good service. Good jambalaya, gumbo and shrimp etoufee! The po boy was massive! Need to go back on Wednesdays to try their fried chicken special!

We had the gumbolaya and fried catfish platter. The gumbolaya was good but I made the mistake of adding shrimp. I immediately saw that they were baby shrimp, which were pale and not deveined. After I removed them all from my gumbo, I was able to eat it. Those should never be in any dish! The catfish was seasoned well, but a little wet. I will ask for it to be cooked hard next time. I don't know what kind of hot sauce they have but it ain't Red Hot and it ain't Louisiana. The fries were good and seasoned well.

The restaurant is a cute and quaint establishment. I can imagine Saints football Sunday will be LIT here. The decor is nice and the rag time playing in the background is a nice bonus. I came with HIGH expectations and was drastically disappointed. I had the Taste of Nola. FOR ME, it didn’t live up to the name. When I have Nawlin’s cuisine, the food has Always been fresh. My shrimp were overcooked… possibly refried after sitting a little while, the catfish was mid… not as crispy as I expected, nor as seasoned. The rice was… 🤔 just not it, the sausage was kinda hard… like it was left out overnight. The bean to rice ratio was out of proportion. There was no homemade sweet tea. Matter of fact, they don’t have homemade sweet tea, it’s bottled Pure Leaf. And the final disappointment was there were no beignets! Tastes more like Smokin Bama or Smokin Colorado (inspired by Nola). Again, my opinion. Not worth the drive to Parker, imo. HOWEVER, you be the judge! It may be EXACTLY what you desire! The pictures depict what I received, when I was thinking “this ain’t it”, and what I left on the plate. Oh yeah, you pay upfront, even when dining it.