NOLA Seafood & Spirits

First review of 2025 and well deserved to be #1. I have been to Nola twice in the past few months and have had a fun dining experience. If you're in the mood for R&B music while eating and then a DJ after (on the weekends), keep reading lol. My first time I came here was on a Saturday evening. There is a parking garage around the corner for about $10-15. Reservation was for 7pm and we sat downstairs not too far from the host stand. A DJ was setting up for 9-1 so glad I was able to sit and enjoy before the turn up started. My friend and I started with the chargrilled oysters that came with this toasted butter French bread that is to die for. Warm & buttery yum! I then ordered the Mardi Gras Mambo shrimp and my friend had the bowl of gumbo which both came with the same French bread so be aware of carb overload but it's sooo worth it. We were full from drinks and appetizers. On my second visit, my friend and I sat upstairs because downstairs was packed during the holidays. Upstairs had less people but it was early and eventually all the seats began to fill up. The only downside about being upstairs is that you have to go quite a distance to get to the bathrooms downstairs. The music was bumpin louder, no DJ yet, but I didn't mind because it was R&B tunes I'm familiar with.For drinks on the second visit, I stuck with champagne but on the 1st visit, I had a mixed drink and all I remember is that they give you a ton of ice up to the brim. The meals this time were the crawfish bread as an appetizer which is really good but it could have been cooked a little longer to melt the cheese. My main entree was the stuffed salmon which was seasoned very well. The blend of cajun rice and mixed veggies was perfect. My friend had the cajun catfish entree that came with the same sides. By the time we were done dinner, it was a whole party vibe going on downstairs. I wanted to stay but my 40yr old+ feet in heels said to go lol. I'll be returning sooner then later to try out more on the menu and the manager I met on my 2nd visit was wonderful. Can't remember her name but she is a sommelier and gave great recommendations. Thank you NOLA team for bringing a taste of New Orleans to Baltimore!

Overall rating: 4/5Food: NOLA chefs put their foot in this food. So delicious. Perfectly seasoned and tastes authentically Cajun/Creole! Service: The service was the only thing that hampered my experience here. My friend and I walked in and it took awhile for the front house folks to check in with us bc they were trying to crisis-manage a situation with another patron. After they informed us there were no available seats, we decided on sitting at the bar. It took probably 15mins to get service, so that was frustrating/perplexing. It appeared to be an honest mistake of overlooking our presence. Once we did get service, however, it was lovely. The bartender made us excellent Watermelon Palomas. She checked in with us, apologizing on behalf of service staff that our food had been packed as to-go orders -- after they corrected their mistake, the manager brought our plated food and wished us a wonderful meal. She then comped us another round of Palomas. We felt that was sweet and thoughtful, and it put a cherry on top our awesome food experience. Ambiance: When you walk into NOLA, you instantly get the feeling that this is the place to be. The music is right, the decor is hip, and the energy is fun/lively. I would highly recommend you visit NOLA if you're in Baltimore! I know I'll be back the next time I'm in town.

Visited this restaurant for football Sunday and it was lit !! I only liked the atmosphere and vibe. The sangria was nasty and the service was slow.

The music is always top notch here, and very loud. If you like hip hop, house and Afro beats, you'll be bouncing and grinding in your seat. Now about the food, the apps were really good but the mains fell short. They were super buttery, and the flavor/ seasonings got lost in the mouthfuls of butter. Age may be a factor thought? The under 22 year-olds in the group loved the food but the older ones struggled. The cocktails were a little too sweet, unfortunately. The service was pretty good and fast, and the food took an average amount of time to come out. Parking is horrendous. Be prepared to park far away and walk if necessary.

Arrived in Baltimore and went here for lunch/early dinner. It's an open space kind of bar with seating outside and inside. There are plenty of tvs so it's a good spot to come and watch the game. Luckily we arrived just in time for the start of happy hour. My cousin recommended their chargrilled oysters and wings. I decided to order their Fat Tuesday Pasta and the oysters of course! Since they had just opened my family and I were the only ones dining when we arrived, so service was focused on us. The pasta was pretty good, a little heavy on the Alfredo, but the seafood was was good and fresh. The oysters were SO GOOD! Almost got a second order. I love coming to Baltimore for the fresh seafood and NOLA did not miss.

While on an impromptu staycay, it was time for brunch before heading down 95S!We wanted somewhere near our hotel and when I saw the name "Nola", my mouth started to water for charbroiled oysters! After checking out the brunch menu online, I was a little disappointed that oysters weren't on it but hey, I'm somewhat of a risk taker so she was all in. Let's take a shot! LolOnce we arrived, I was pleasantly surprised that they also offered their full menu during brunch so already, they were WINNING! So without further ado, let's see if their charbroiled oysters lived up to the restaurant's name! Let me tell you, they certainly did! I'm glad she's not an oyster lover like me so she only had one. I was low key happy as hell because those things were heavenly and I got to eat 5 without feeling guilty.. LolI went for the fried seafood platter and she being a chicken and waffle connoisseur, she chose that after our attentive server highly recommended it. My meal was great while the chicken part fell a little short on flavor but the waffle part was perfect. She'll get the shrimp and grits next time while I'll probably do a complete redo because mine was sooo good! :)Nola in a word is charming. Small but big enough! B'more gets a bad rap for being a big bad city. I love the Federal Hill community and Nola and its employees were awesome and we'll definitely return.. This time it'll be later in the day so we can try their NOLA inspired drinks.. CAN'T WAIT!

The space itself was cute. It had an upstairs and two bar areas. The customer service was good. I saw a couple that sat on the same side of the booth area, so the hostess flipped the table around for them to make more room. I thought that was nice. We sat at the booth like seats but I didn't find them comfortable at all. I had to sit all the way to the edge of my seat to reach the table and I'm fairly tall. We ordered the wings, fires, chargrilled oysters, and crawfish toast. The oysters were pretty decent. The fries were great; they are the beer battered type. The wings would have been good with just a little bit more seasoning. The crawfish toast was decent as well. Everything needed just a tab bit more seasoning but there was old bay at the table to do the trick. We also ordered the catfish and fried shrimp platter; both came fries and coleslaw. I tried the coleslaw and had to spit it back out. It was not good for i my tastebuds at all. I tried the fried catfish nuggets which I typically love to eat and I again had to spit it out; it had the strongest fish taste I've ever had eating catfish. I tried another nugget tabs that didn't have that strong flavor but was fairly bland. I tried a third piece and that had the same extremely fishy taste as the first bite. My husband said his shrimp was not bad but not good. We ended up not eating most of our food. There was a 19% gratuity charge included already and I thought it was nice if our shrimp waiter to alert us to that when we were about to pay the bill. I liked the vibe and the customer service but the food was not for my taste buds.

I've been wanting to try this place for a while. I finally got the chance on July 7th. We were able to get a reservation thirty minutes before walking in. The food options are plentiful. It was brunch time but they offered both brunch and the dinner menu. The steal of the day were the mimosas! They offer buy one, get one champagne so we paid $30 for two bottles of champagne. I ordered the red beans & rice with andouille sausage which I thoroughly enjoyed. The beans could've been cooked down a little longer but nothing to complain about. The chargrilled oysters were a treat as well! There's also a second bar upstairs should you want to just watch sports and grab a quick bite.

NOLA in BMore? Say it ain't so! Let my Beau tell it! It is! He felt like we were in NOLA just by the oysters! We even had beads! We started with charbroiled oysters and they were good! My Beau is lucky it was lunch cause I would have had more. He got the majority of them. He had the seafood platter and had no complaints. I tried, you guessed it, the chicken and waffle and it was YUMMY! (Still on my quest to find the BEST one.) Overall, excellent! No signs of bare chests when we walked outside so safe to say, this NOLA is in Baltimore!

Closest comparison to New Orleans oysters in Baltimore!Nola is a go to restaurant for me that I've been to in federal hill that sells New Orleans Cajun cuisine and cocktails hence the name. On Tuesdays they have Fat Tuesday specials where certain drinks are half off and food are discounted. I decided on getting the chargrilled oysters and a brandy crusta. I've had a brandy crusta many times however this one was a bit different. I did let the bartender know and she was friendly and did her best to make sure It was better. I sat by the bar and ate the oysters. It was covered in garlic butter, Parmesan cheese and herbs. The oysters were hot and delicious. The lemon added a good citrus taste to It. It reminded me of the oysters from New Orleans and I enjoyed them a lot. My only caveat I have with Nola is their high 19% gratuity that they add to all checks including tax. I didn't have a bad service. But if I did, I want to choose if I want to tip or not and also that 19% gratuity is very high in this inflation but I digress