What can really be said about Commander’s Palace that hasn’t already been said? The sprawling seven dining room Garden District mansion is an American institution of culinary tradition, a birthing place of great chefs, and a damn good place to eat in New Orleans, if not one of the best.
Despite what you might think, however, I do actually have a few negative things to say, but I’ll save those for the end. For now, let’s get down to the meal.
The waiters brought out a sample of the shrimp and tasso henican appetizer. That’s wild Louisiana white shrimp, tasso ham, pickled okra, sweet onions, five pepper jelly and Crystal hot sauce beurre blanc. Certainly one of the best bites of the meal.
I started with a red fish cake. This was essentially a crab cake made with local fish rather than crab meat. It had a nice exterior crust, a good spicy sauce, and a soft, tender inside.
For my main course I had the pecan crusted gulf fish, which is one of the house specialties. This was executed perfectly. The fish tasted like a cross between halibut and catfish.
My wife ordered what I considered to be the star of the meal: dry aged duck breast. This thing packed great flavor, and the fat beneath the crispy skin rendered out perfectly, allowing for a really juicy cut of duck tit.
Now for one of the negatives: the lamb shank was dry as fuck. It did look gorgeous though, and despite the dryness, it still tasted good.
We tried a vast array of desserts, like pecan pie, a massive sundae and a strawberries and cream shortcake.
All were good, but the best of the desserts was their special bread pudding souffle, which one must order with their apps and entrees so that it can be made in time.
While it might look like the pull-out scene of an adult cream pie video on YouPorn, I promise you it tasted better. Wait… I have no experience there, so I can’t really make a fair comparison. In any case it was damn delicious, and the amount of work that goes into this dish (as well as many other dishes) is staggering. It’s no wonder chefs not only learn technique here but are made to excel at them.
This place is awesome. They even sent out a round of shots for us. I forget what was in them, but it was a milky substance that had booze in it.
And speaking of alcohol, you should check out their bar if you get the chance. You will walk through the immaculate kitchen and the chef’s table to get to it, and you can have some of their awesome signature cocktails beside the patio garden.
But here comes the other bad thing: my buddy noticed a small roach on the bar while we were waiting for our other party members to arrive. I’m not sure how that’s possible given the insanely clean kitchen and dining spaces. My only guess is that it came in from outside in the patio area to escape the ungodly cold weather that NOLA was experiencing that weekend. We told the bartender and she was mortified.
Don’t let the two negatives I mentioned stop you from going here though. Every cook has a bad day (dry lamb) and there’s only so much you can do to prevent a bug from getting into an establishment.
UPDATE 2025:
I went back for brunch and had an excellent meal. Starter was a perfectly fried rabbit over a poached egg. Amazing.
The main course was a stew of pork cheeks (a bit salty) with another poached egg. So tasty.
And finally, a huge and smooth banana pudding.
COMMANDER’S PALACE
1403 Washington Ave
New Orleans, LA 70130
