Drew K.
Yelp
Mr. John's is attached to the Wyndham Avenue Plaza on St. Charles. This steakhouse has been open since 2006 and many locals refer to it as one of the best in town. My wife and I swung by for dinner while in town recently and had a mixed bag of a meal.
The interior is American Steakhouse meets New Orleans. There's rich wood paneling, that familiar tile floor, bent wood chairs, bustling tight dining areas with waiters running about holding plates piled high, and framed pictures of local/national celebrities grinning over plates of steak collecting dust on the walls. It's intimate if you're a two top, but would equally feel comfortable if you were a loud boisterous big table of friends.
Although it's a steakhouse, I noticed many guests dining in shorts or other versions of casual dress, so don't sweat the details if it's too hot outside for a jacket.
The service is everything you've come to expect from New Orleans fine dining waiters. They were cracking jokes and having fun, but all business when it came to questions, orders, bringing food out fast, and making sure we had everything we needed. Zero complaints on that front.
The food though left us disappointed. Either this place used to be fantastic and has just let their standards backslide over time, or maybe it was just an off night, but neither of us were impressed by the quality of just about everything that came out. Was it edible? Yes. I'm not saying the food was terrible avoid at all costs, etc. It just wasn't executed well, especially for the price point.
They bring out a gratis meatball when you first sit down, and not that I paid for it, but the little meat treat was falling apart at the touch of my fork, and the red sauce it came in was thin and under seasoned.
I ordered the Veal Alyssa, a breaded cut of veal with crabmeat and lemon butter sauce, sitting atop a linguini Bolognese. The breading was over fried and chewy. The sauce was again thin and under seasoned, but the linguini Bolognese itself had a nice bite.
We both ordered the turtle soup and it was just plain off.
My wife had similar feedback on her entree. Just meh.
New Orleans is filled with exceptional fine dining options. Admittedly, steakhouses take a backseat to French Creole fare which is usually the main event, but there's still plenty of options to choose from. I'm not ready to completely write the place off based on one evening and hope my eventual next visit is an improvement.