HOME > Chowhound > New Orleans >


Has Sonnier hit his stride at the Grill Room?

  • 6

Any updates on the Grill Room at the Windsor Court? Is the food like Gabrielle or a fancier version?

  1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit)
  1. We have eaten there 6 times in the last year, and, in my opinion, it is not worth the expense. The slow roasted duck, the signature dish, was inedible - dry and overcooked. Prior to the exit of Jonathon Wright, we always enjoyed eating at the now renamed New Orleans Grill.

    In case you are wondering why we have eaten there so many times in the last year when we aren't a big fan anymore of the restaurant, it is because we get a free lunch and dinner for two with a three nights stay with our American Express card.

    4 Replies
    1. re: pterostyrax

      Almost all of those meals were prior to Chef Sonnier taking over the kitchen, I would suspect.

      1. re: paz5559

        I really liked the look of the new menu, so I checked it out. We got a BBQ shrimp pie and rabbit tenderloin to start. I really liked the rabbit, though temperature-wise it seemed like it was waiting for the pie (which was out-of-the-oven hot). The pie was not that great, the shrimp lacked that buttery trademark of New Orleans BBQ shrimp.


        I had Creole Cream Cheese Crusted Lamb Chops. Great sounding idea, but execution was a little lacking. The lamb was a little too fatty for me, so basically you have the meat surrounded by a real thick, greasy layer of fat. The grease kind of soggied up the cheese crust. But it was rich and the meat itself was well-prepared, cooked a perfect med-rare, closer to rare.

        Also we had the Mojito Marinated Pork Rib Chop with a Chile Relleno, and Root Beer Glazed Apples. My girlfriend really like this, I though it was pretty good. The sides were very creative and the flavors worked really well together.

        Desert was terrific - two fondues - chocolate and sea salt caramel, and assorted dippers (standard fruits, cakes). The caramel was amazing, and i would almost consider asking for two caramel fondues, but the chocolate was pretty damn good too.

        Service: It was a little awkward. My "dirty" martini had zero olive juice in it, and the server was friendly, but kind of timid and softspoken. It seemed like he was new or something, and his english was a little hard to understand so it was doubly hard to catch him.

        Also, when another server brought out our fondues, the candles under the bowls immediately went out. Instead of getting some matches and relighting them, she simply laughed it off and said how often that happens. So after waiting a little bit to see if she came back, i had to relight the candles myself using the candle on the table (neither the chocolate nor the caramel especially were nearly as good when they got cold). Not what I expect from such a renowned restaurant.

        So in summation, I would expect better, smoother, more professional service. But foodwise, the tastes were there, I think the execution might need a little work. A little tweaking, and this place could be up there with August or Cuvee. Not yet worth the price, but perhaps later.

        1. re: paz5559

          Nope. They were all after Chef Sonnier took over as executive chef.

        2. re: pterostyrax

          We were unimpressed with the food at Gabrielle so your experience at the NO Grill comes as no surprise.

        3. I had a great meal there (culinary), but the service was horrible. I would recommend many other fine dining establishments over the New Orleans Grill.