Nhadya C.
Yelp
I've wanted to come to Noir for a while now. I finally got some time and some friends together to go for their happy hour (HH)! They have a parking lot very close by (can be validated), and great views of the city. Inside the establishment is very cute, had plenty of seating available , and was decorated for Christmas! The food and drinks were delicious and the staff were extremely friendly, but I unfortunately will not be back here for a while.
We ordered:
- lamb chops (HH, they were like lollipops)
- wings (honey hot, lemon pepper, sweet heat, 1 flavor & 5 wing max during HH )
- yams (sweet and sticky )
- Mac & cheese (very good, actually seasoned!)
- Brussels sprouts (a little sweet if you don't mind, but well seasoned)
- Cajun cabbage
- fries (battered)
- garlic mashed potatoes (a little thick but good, heavy on the garlic)
- Parmesan oysters
- Rockefeller oysters (very salty, but good otherwise)
- margaritas, lemon drops, don julio shots
***HH portions are smaller than regular price, and it seemed like they move slowly to avoid getting your orders during HH to get you to order from the regular priced menu***
We had to stop someone to get waters after being seated for 20 minutes without being acknowledged by anyone. We waited 2 hours for our drinks (we were forewarned that the bar was moving slow but wow), and at least an hour for our food, though food was constantly coming out of the kitchen. There are restrictions on the happy hour menu that aren't clearly advertised like $1 wings have a 5 wing max. Dirty rice and the loaded mashed potatoes aren't part of happy hour sides. Also, the only oyster included with happy hour is the hot Parmesan. The food was brought out in parts, so while I had most of my food, other people were brought absolutely nothing. Someone in my party had food allergies which were acknowledged but then the food that came out could've sent her to the hospital. The manager tried to correct her experience but failed to try to correct anyone else's in the same moment. When we ordered the wings, initially boneless wings (essentially chicken nuggets) came out but when my wings finally came out (after asking about them 3x) they were actual party wings. Apparently, earlier in the evening the kitchen said they were out of wings, but it wasn't communicated to us prior to them being brought out. I guess they ended up finding more wings between the first order coming out and mine coming out.
We did also notice people dressed in plain clothes going back and forth to the kitchen, which was different. The music was amazing though, they know how to set the ambiance while you wait for God knows how long to eat or drink.
All in all, I'm not sure where the disconnect was between the kitchen, bar, and service staff. To have parts of our order be brought out twice, have to ask for our food and drinks 3 and 4 times and not ever have the table cleared, our 3 hour visit was one for the books. Thankfully, our tab was covered by the establishment but I can't say I'd ever recommend Noir for a quick lunch or drink because there's no telling how the service would be. The only way I'd try Noir again is by ordering takeout, but I'm very nervous that the experience would be about the same and I don't have it in me to be disappointed twice.