New Orleans Board of Trade

Historic chic NOLA wedding venue.Visited as a guest to a December wedding at the Eliza Jane / Board of Trade. Though renovated in 1993, the BoT maintains a vintage shabby aesthetic that seems similar to that which drives designers at Anthropologie. Otherwise, architectural and interior design features are on the spartan side - the posh Roosevelt Hotel this is not.Courtyard fountain offers a pretty location for photos. Light rain reduced its use, but improved the shine of candlelight.High marks for exclusive food service vendor Pigeon Caterers. Though I have no idea how much they charge for the buffet spread, memorable dishes included shrimp and grits, gouda mashed potatoes, and crawfish etouffe. Bananas Foster were a cool effect, but ended up too soupy for excellence. Reasonable bar selection of mid-level wines and spirits with simple mixed drinks only (no sazaracs, French 75s, or gin fizzes at this wedding) - again, don't know what our friends sprung for. Unique is that leftovers were packaged for the wedding party to bring home.Second line up Poydras was pretty special. Must do.

This building and courtyard is one of New Orleans premier wedding locales. I would put this right behind Southern Oaks Plantation as best places to get married in the city.The building itself is gorgeous with its huge main room, beautiful ceiling, and its adjacent courtyard. There are many events that take place here from cocktail parties, luncheons, weddings, and meetings. I have worked here quite a few times for weddings and parties and everything always runs smoothly. The caterers for these events are Pigeon Caterers. While I am not a big fan of Pigeon Caterers I do think they do provide guests with high quality food. The charbroiled oysters and their bananas foster are the stars on their menu. Those mini grilled cheese sandwiches they serve should be removed from the menu list. Just sayin. Fancy events and they are serving grilled cheese sandwiches. And burnt ones at that.If you plan a party here you won't be disappointed. The Board of Trade building is quite a sight to behold when it is all decorated up for an event.

One of the BEST places in the city to get married. I'm a wedding planner and I LOVE working with the team here!Amazing food and location!

I have attended several events here (most recently a wedding reception and cook off). The inside space is beautiful and can hold a good deal of people. The outside area is also nice, with a fountain and a nice wrought iron fence.The building was also used for several scenes in the movie Bad Lieutenant Port of Call New Orleans. Parking on the street is extremely limited, but there are several lots on Poydras that are within walking distance.

I was at this venue for New Orleans Fashion Week.This is a gorgeous place. It was hard to get a feel of the room because there was a big runway in the middle of it, but even with the runway where was a lot of space to move around and room for people to sit. The highlight for me was the outside: a beautiful patio'd courtyard with a nice garden adds to the "upscale" feel and makes you feel like you are at an exquisite manor.Parking is a pain, and I ended up having to park a few blocks away for the event that I attended, but that is the only minor drawback of the space and pretty typical for the area.

I've been to BOT on several occasions. It was mostly for weddings, but most recently I went for a graduation party. Please don't misinterpret this rating, the venue itself is VERY nice and elegant. Let me explain why I cannot give more stars. 1 - Food. Never very good. I always leave here hungry and cannot prevent myself from making faces when I put certain hors d'oeuvre in my mouth. More importantly, the desserts are awful. I had a banana something or other about a month ago. I had to spit it out. It tasted like rotten 5 day old bananas.2 - Drink. I have yet to enjoy a well made cocktail here. Even when top shelf liquors were paid for, it was as if they didn't have actual bartenders. Why? For these reasons, I do not feel like I can award more than 3 stars. While the ambience and actual venue counts for a lot, how much does it matter if your guests don't enjoy the food and beverages? I couldn't knowingly book BOT unless I could bring in an outside caterer or staff.

My first impression of the venue, in broad daylight, was not good. I thought the place looked a bit dated. Under the lights and decked out for an event, it is an entirely different environment. Our reception was universally praised by our guests and, to my surprise, many commented that the food was as good as any they had in the city. When do you hear of reception food being so praised? For the record, we had passed hors d'oeuvres of Boudin Balls, Seared Duck Breast and Portobello Fries along with serving stations with Pork, Chicken and veal sliders, Grilled Shrimp Creole, Tequila Lime Chicken and, of course, Bananas Foster. All told, it was a "magical' evening as promised by Lea.

Good place for a gala dinerNeed light on the external terrace to organise a cocktail.

Recently, I went to a Tales of the Cocktails event at this location. Extremely beautiful. Huge room, with beautiful wall and ceilings. It's a great space to rent out for many different types of events.

This would be my choice for parties/events in town! It's very spacious you could fit 3000 people there easily. I love the outdoor courtyard perfect setting for candles and flower arrangements. Everywhere you look there is something eye catching to see. I think the food is primarily contracted with Pigeon Caterers. Their food is good. I especially enjoyed their mini fries and lemon tart. I look forward to having another opportunity to attend an event here.