Joey K's Restaurant& Bar

New Orleans, Louisiana

I had a couple of friends come in town for some cajun/creole cuisine the other day. I remember spotting this place on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives so I figured that it had to be pretty good. Little did I know that my hopes were about to be dashed.

We ordered a few things: the Oyster Platter, Red Beans and Rice, and the Trout Tchoupitoulas.

The Oyster Platter consisted of a bunch of deliciously fried oysters and a side of fries. Probably the one highlight of our meal. The Red Beans and Rice wasn't so spectacular. They were quite stingy on the rice and it was a little too thick for my liking. Flavor was decent though. It's pretty hard to mess up either dish.

The one specialty item on the menu that I decided to go for was the Trout Tchoupitoulas. It comes lightly floured and pan fried, then topped with shrimp and crab meat. On the side were mixed vegetables and potatoes. It also comes with a side of salad, but I didn't bother to take a picture, because it clearly came out of a pre-made salad bag.

When the plate got placed in front of me I immediately knew I probably wasn't going to enjoy it, especially not for the amount of money it was worth. The trout was definitely over cooked. It came out very dry and the seasoning was very very conservative at best. Hardly flavorful at all. The toppings on it weren't very appetizing either. The shrimp was very bland and whatever alcohol they tried cooking into the crab meat stuck out like a sore thumb. It almost tasted like a sour beer. The potatoes were pretty plain and the mixed vegetables dwarfed the portion size of the fish. The garnish of scallions on our dishes looked relatively old as well.

Joey K's also added gratuity to our table. I am perfectly fine with adding gratuity to my bill as long as the service can back it up... which it most certainly did not. Our waiter may have visited us twice during our two hour stay (most of the time we spent waiting for our food). It got to the point where we were sipping on our melted ice. I was utterly disappointed with the quality of service and their specialty item, however they can fry a mean oyster.

To be honest, I felt pretty embarrassed on bringing my friends here. And how this place got mentioned on the food channel is beyond me. It will take a ridiculous amount of consideration to give this place another shot.

Joey K's Restaurant & Bar - 3001 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana
http://www.joeyksrestaurant.com/