Criollo Restaurant

If you're looking for a restaurant with that old school feel, and a lovely jazz brunch, this is the spot for you.If you don't like pomp, you might want to choose elsewhere...The servers dressed in tuxedos will call you by your last name and treat you like you're the only guest in the room.The breakfast was out of this world, get the chicken and biscuit, you won't regret it!

Old-fashioned lux restaurant in the old-fashioned lux Monteleone Hotel. Criollo is the hotel's chichi restaurant and it lives up to its reputation. It is located right next to the hotel's famous Carousel Bar ... both of which are well worth doing.We only had breakfast here and it was very nice. One in our party had the Orchard Harvest starter ... which is really a meal size dish that includes a number of in-season and very fresh fruits ... comes with a slice of their banana bread and a cup of yogurt or cottage cheese. Another in our party had the Monteleone Breakfast, which consisted of eggs your way, choice of meat, a fresh made biscuit, and their version of a breakfast potato (shredded potato with herbs pressed in a muffin mold shape). Both dishes were excellent: the Orchard Harvest shining for its freshness and the Monteleone Breakfast 5 stars except for the herby potato. Give this place a try ... we'll go for dinner next time we're in town. Overall 3.5 stars marked up for ambiance and service.

Top-of-the-line service in the heart of the French Quarter, we were pleasantly surprised with the tasty brunch options offered in the charming and elegant Hotel Montelone. The live jazz music and gold accents of Criollo reminded me of a European jazz cafe, instantly transporting me to a different country, at least for a few hours.The beignets were warm and pillowy, pairing up perfectly with the hot sweet praline sauce and fresh strawberries. That was certainly my favorite dish but I also quite enjoyed the tender and juicy steak, well-seasoned hash browns and fluffy eggs. A special shoutout also goes out to the chimichurri sauce with its aromatic yet simple flavors. The chicken biscuit sandwich was also delicious but the so-called "jalapeño cheddar" flavor was not highlighted enough, leaving the sandwich tasty but a bit underwhelming. Coffee service at Criollo was also amazing and the wait staff is extremely attentive at re-filling coffee cups, serving up water, and switching out the silverware between meals. That said, I do wish they would have asked us if we were done eating before switching out the dishes as there were times I wanted to scrape the plate clean before watching the dishes be taken away. That said, I would definitely come back to this spot for the ambiance, the beignets, and the experience of dining in such a historical setting. 7/10 recommend!

Good food, and service was fine, but not the most accommodating restaurant. Wasnt very busy but still took some time to get our drinks. Moreover, one of our guests asked for the delicious truffle fries (I know, I know). They told us they make them in the kitchen, but can only be ordered at the bar. Rather than the server saying to himself, "I'll make an even more sizable tip if I just go and get it from the bar for them", it caused one of our guests to go and wait at the bar for them. Again, good food (nothing spectacular as you can see in the images - oh, and avoid that brutal Mardi Gras cake they promote). Decent meal, but not really worth the money. ($1,200 for a table of 6.)

I didn't like how I asked for cranberry juice and they waited for the last moment to bring me my drink. The food was okay, but they didn't have a lot on the menu. No freshly squeezed orange juice For lunch I rather go to another place then wait for my food so long.

My FIL recommended this spot as a better place to get beignets in the city than Cafe Dumont. Now don't get me wrong, Cafe Dumont has spectacular beignets but the ones here are just better. They're more like an adult toaster strudel very flaky and not piled high with powdered sugar. We were seated within minutes of walking in and service was spectacular. The vibes of the restaurant were also nice. This hotel is a great spot for tourist in town for a conference. We will be back.

I love this hotel and the bar is amazing. However the restaurant wasn't great. While in a beautiful space the food was bland and the service inattentive. Considering the surrounding optional choices for dinner (Brennan's, Mr B's etc) I was expecting more.

Best Beignets!!! We went to Cafe Beignet super tasty and Cafe Du Monde which were okay, so trust me when I say Criollo has the Best Beignets!!! They were so light and flakey. The praline sauce was the perfect companion! Overall the restaurant was quaint with top notch service!

Another delightful lunch at Criollo. Not cheap but not nuts either. And it's so good, so nicely served, with so many genteel little extras, in such pleasant surroundings. OK so what extras--a little coat/umbrella rack delivered to the table as we removed our garments and bags. An ice bucket for my sparkling water. Not with any pretension, just a natural hospitality. The menu has the standard things you'd expect in a hotel; and the "New Orleans" things you'd expect here are done with their own twist and they're really good: gumbo, crab cakes, beignets. On the beignets: theirs are nothing like the lovely fried dough pillows you'll get at Café du Monde; Criollo's are about an inch in diameter and packed with creamy crab and corn. Super rich, but a treat. So the food: all great, or I'd never have bothered writing this. Besides the beignets we shared the shrimp crab avocado stack, a wedge salad and the crab cakes. The crab cakes were probably the best of the lot, but not by much. The blue cheese dressing on the salad was much remarked for its smoothness. Lastly the staff. New Orleans is a tourist town and sometimes staff are out to impress. At Criollo they all just seemed like nice friendly people, with very good manners, who wanted to offer us a lovely meal. Just a pleasure. I don't know anything about the leadership of the Monteleone Hotel, where Criollo is located. But from our experiences at Criollo I think they must be something special.

10/10Came here on my birthday today and I didn't know what to expect because I only came to have a spa day in the hotel. Crab cake was the best I ever had. Chicken and biscuits is one of my favorite brunch dishes and this didn't disappoint. The biscuit however was burned underneath. Made it very crunchy. But I enjoy my time here. I would definitely return. The service was superb. The restaurant is top notch. Very fancy.