Mariza

Looks upscale, feels upscale, that is about it. Everything we had here was bland and underwhelming. Nothing we had was bad, but nothing was good either. They put so much effort into the beautiful decor, you'd think the food would be equally prioritized. Just seems like one of the upscale places that sells a style. I would be shocked if the owner of this establishment was from southern Louisiana.

My wife and I know the difference between a real good meal and one that is off the hinge. This was one of the finest dining experiences we have enjoyed in New Orleans in 25 years. The service, the food, and ambiance were simply magnificent. We shared five killers: pepperoni soup, butternut squash ravioli, risotto with duck confit, hanger steak and a chocolate dessert par excellence. Don't get any better than this.

Really great spot on the ground floor of a very cool building in the bywater area. This sleek and modern Italian joint has a lot of innovative pasta dishes along with a cool wine list. The owner shucks oysters himself and seems to really be involved with the entire operation. The hipster and diverse crowd makes me think I am eating in Brooklyn and not NOLA yet it remains elegant and sophisticated. I really think this place is a rising star in the New Orleans food scene and is doing a lot of great things!

The best food we had in New Orleans by far. I almost did not go here because of some of the negative reviews on this restaurant, but we had a fabulous experience. The atmosphere was lovely and the food was incredible This one will stay on my mind for a long time:)

We live in the neighborhood and are very lucky to have some excellent restaurant to choose from. Mariza, is exceptional and drop dead cool . The food is both simple and imaginative fitting I had everything on the menu from pig's ear ( cracklin ) to tender delicious sweetbreads , the hanger stake is perfect and all the salads are fresh and never over done. Very good wine selection but here is the surprise this very cool Italian bistro is very very affordable . I wish they had more seafood one fish is it plus a raw bar. The ower-chef is a great guy , great help and excellent food at half of what you pay on Magazine Street. I love the place

I heard this place is closing at the end of 2017. It was one of my favorites. But I went on December 6, 2017 and it was the worst meal possible. I had a reservation at 7:30 and didn't get seated until 8:10. Wine was brought...but no wine glasses so had to wait 10 minutes for glasses. It took nearly 30 minutes to get burrata on a crostini. The meal itself was inedible. Even a dish, the shrimp and linguine, which used to be fantastic, was pitifully bad. Sad to see this place go...but if that's what they have to offer then its the right call.

My husband and I can out Friday night for m birthday with a group of 5. This restaurant looks sketchy from the outside but very nice and trendy on the inside. The host who happened to be the manager was super nice and seated us right away. We had their appetizers to share, mains and desserts which all were delicious. Their drinks were pretty good too. Overall a super cute restaurant with good food. The service unfortunately was subpar. Our waitress, Callan, was disinterested at best and made us feel like waiting on us was a chore. What made matters worse is at the end after we all split the bill and paid. She came to harrass my husband about the size of the tip he left. When she noticed he had an accent, she proceeded to berate him about how he "musn't" understand tipping in "this country". Mind you collectively our group ended up giving her a pretty decent despite the below average service. The food of the restaurant is important but it's the servers that make the experience and she made my birthday end on a very awkward note for everyone. One star just for leaving us with such an uncomfortable feeling at the end.

I write this not necessarily about the restaurant in general, but about an experience I had today. I went today to Mariza for a celebratory birthday dinner for a friend, after hearing very complimentary reviews from peers. The atmosphere was pleasant and the menu was very intriguing. We all ordered cocktails, appetizers, mains, and dessert, so we were obviously very satisfied with the food; however, the service was another story. Our server, whose name we were never told, was very indifferent from the start and not particularly willing to answer questions about the menu. She was also visibly bothered by the fact that we wanted to order appetizers and and drinks and enjoy them before we ordered mains. After the delicious meal, she brought the check. We asked for separate checks, which she said she could not do, but stated she could charge multiple cards for the one tab. Okay, no worries, we sat down and added up everyone's bills and wrote down a list of which card should get charged what amount. She brought them back, and each person filled out their receipt accordingly. Everything seemed fine until right before we left. She returned to the table and pointedly asked one of the members of the party if there was something wrong with what she did because they did not tip her enough. My friend asked what she meant and she very aggressively told them that they did not tip her 20% and that she was not going to make enough money off of their tab. (A bit of relevant information, my friend was not born in the US and thus does have an accent. They do, however, speak fluent English and are certainly not new to the States.) My friend calmly stated that they left the tip that they thought was fair, and she scoffed and stated, "you CLEARLY don't understand what I'm saying. You're obviously not from here. HERE IN AMERICA, we don't do it like that." She then continued to rant for a minute before stalking off to the register which was a few feet away. She proceeded to loudly say very rude and expletive things about my friend to another server, which we could hear from our table. A bit in shock, we spoke to the GM, who was very courteous and polite, which was very much appreciated. I know we all have bad days, but to be honest, she ruined our night and ruined my friend's birthday with her blow up. We left the restaurant feeling very offended by her comments and assumptions about my friend just based on an accent, and also very confronted, because none of us had ever had an experience like that before. All of us currently work in a different kind of service industry, and we would be in very hot water had we ever treated someone like that. It really left a bad taste in our mouths, and as much as I hate to admit it, I am not sure any of our group will be quick to return to Mariza despite the delicious food. In summary, great food (would give 4-5 stars for it!) but a ruined dining experience due to the the rudest server any of us had ever dealt with.