A highly-rated New Orleans-inspired restaurant in downtown San Antonio, known for its brunch, happy hour, dinner, and Southern hospitality. It has been voted one of the best for brunch in San Antonio and holds a 4.5-star rating on Tripadvisor.
Philip Buccieri is a seasoned culinary professional known for his roles in prominent kitchens, including a significant tenure at Emeril Lagasse's NOLA Restaurant and as Executive Chef at Meme's Bar & Grille,...
NOLA Restaurant brings the vibrant flavors and southern hospitality of New Orleans to downtown San Antonio. It's known for its lively atmosphere, offering brunch, happy hour, and dinner, and uniquely features a 'puppy menu' for dog owners dining on the patio.
Customer Perception
Customers generally praise NOLA for its delicious New Orleans-inspired dishes, particularly the Beignets, Crawfish Etouffee, Po'boys, and Bananas Foster Pancakes. The ambiance is frequently highlighted as a positive, with a diverse crowd and great music. Many appreciate the unique 'puppy menu' for patio dining. While food quality is often rated highly, some reviews mention initial slow service or attentiveness at the bar, and a few dishes like the gumbo or boudin balls received mixed feedback.
Additional Details
The restaurant offers validated parking at 1000 N. Alamo. It's a popular spot for both locals and visitors looking for an authentic taste of New Orleans in San Antonio.
NOLA is open 7 days a week from 8 am to 9 pm. Brunch is a popular offering, and reservations are recommended, especially on weekends. Happy Hour runs Monday-Friday from 4 pm to 6 pm.
First time here and we went on Sunday! It was packed, so my impression was "it must be good!" and I was right ✅️
We got seated at the bar instead of waiting for a table. The bartender was super nice to us (I didn't catch her name, but her hair was blonde) she recommened the crab omelet and the breakfast biscuit, both were delicious.
The star of the show was the beignets, we got the nola mix, all the flavors were delicious, my favorite was the lemon and seasonal flavor (cookies and cream)
Highly recommend!
We chose to sit at the bar since we arrived before our reservation time. It wasn't very busy, and there were plenty of open seats, but it still took about 10 minutes before anyone acknowledged us or took our drink order.
Once the bartender greeted us, she was friendly, attentive, and helpful with the menu. The drinks were good, but the food was just okay. We ordered the crab purses as an appetizer, along with the NOLA Breakfast Platter and the Breakfast Biscuit. Nothing really stood out, but it wasn't bad either.
The music was great, and I really appreciated how diverse the crowd was. The ambiance was definitely one of the highlights of the experience. Overall, the service was good after we were finally greeted, but they could definitely improve their initial greeting and attentiveness when guests first arrive.
5
I'm glad I gave them another try. I dined here a few months ago and didn't enjoy the food as much as I would have liked. But today, it was a success!
Fried Green tomatoes - 10/10
Grits - 10/10
Praline Bacon - 10+++
Avocado - 10/10
Biscuits - 9/10
Scrambled Eggs w/Cheese - 6/10. After all that cheese and cajun seasoning, they were still tasteless. I added black pepper and it helped.
My chai latte with oatmilk and a little caramel topped the meal off. Oh, and I ordered some beignets to-go. I remember those being good. I got 3 classics and 1 stuffed with peaches and cream.
The music was a mixture between jazz, r&b, and a little funk. It added a nice touch on this rainy morning, especially jamming to James Brown.
The hotness was friendly and looked like she was ready for her day. And Sara, our waitress, had a nice disposition early in the morning. She was pleasant, friendly, and efficient.
4
I wanna start by saying they have a puppy menu!! I brought my dog we sat on the patio and had lunch. They brought out a water bowl for her and served her a plate on the ground of chicken and sweet potatoes. Me and the husband ordered the eggs, Benedict and crab omelette. The flavors were delicious. I would not recommend the potatoes as a side just because they’re not my favorite. The waitress was very nice but hard to get a hold of for a refill on drinks. The gumbo was nowhere close to anything I’ve ever had do not recommend but the deaf beignets were out of this world. The Boudin balls were not my favorite, but try once for your own taste.
5
Great experience at the NOLA. Definitely make a reservation at least a day or two in advance especially on the weekends. We ordered the Crawfish Etouffee, classic beignets (located on the back of the menu under dessert, we couldn’t find it the first time), and the brunch plate. The Ive coffee is a MUST order, just the right sweetness and reminds me of Vietnamese coffee. The crawfish etouffee is right level of spicy, not too fishy and extremely homey. The brunch plate is a nice mix of different things with green tomatoes, praline bacon (delicious!) and man…these grits are some of the best I’ve had in months. Id recommend ordering them at least as a sign. The beignets themselves are to die for. Our server was extremely kind and overall we had a great experience.
