Smiley's Grill

I don't understand the negative reviews . Check the Google reviews, they are much more positive.This place is awesome. Good prices, good food, seasoned well . Friendly staff . Good portions .Comfortable feel

Smiley's Cafe is a gem! Amazing food, top-notch customer service, and that personal touch from the staff make it a 10 out of 10 experience--definitely a place worth visiting.

I wish I could give y'all 0 stars. The waitress did not accommodate with her attitude on exchanging the mac-n-cheese. It was cold, nasty no seasoning. It appears to have been frozen Mac-n-cheese. She stated no returns or exchanges. I have never experienced that!

Great restaurant in the Gentilly/New Orleans east area. The food is delicious and very reasonable. A great variety of food from breakfeast, appetizers daily lunch specials dinnerFirst time visiting the establishment because I was looking for something new in the District D area. Heard from coworkers that this is a good place for lunch. The daily lunch time specials were a nice variety, I plan to try the bell pepper plate next time. This time I had a Ribeye steak with loaded baked potato for about $15The steak was tender and a nice size. I enjoyed While the customer service is isn't overhelming the food was very goodI am giving a good rating because it is clean and has a nice drive up appeal. The menu has a good variety of tasty foolThe owners last name must Be Smiley because I did not see no smiles on that dayBut the food was good and reasonable so I will make that a good lunch spot

This is a hidden gem chef Keith really knows how to grill and the love shows up in his food. After fracturing my ankle the night before we had to cut our trip to New Orleans short by a day and I didn't want to make the long ride back home to Mesa AZ without having more of the tasty grilled oysters that New Orleans has to offer and Smiley's was right down the road from where we were staying. I ordered a dozen grilled oysters they were huge , mouth watering and grilled to perfection they came with garlic/parmesan bread that just really complimented my oyster's well. My boyfriend ordered BBQ ribs that came with two sides his sides were a loaded baked potato and cornbread. Now I'm not a fan of cornbread so I honestly didn't try it but the ribs were very tender, had that nice smoky southern taste to them and well I'm a huge potato fan so I can't say enough about the loaded baked potatoes. There is a full bar inside and considering I fractured my ankle I wasn't able to try any of the frozen drinks. The staff was very friendly but I can't say enough great words about Keith's cooking so if you happen to be in NOLA stop in say hello to Keith and his staff and try either the grilled oysters or some of his yummy ribs!

It's a family vibe What more can you really ask for The food is great just communicate and you'll get communication Service is a T ! Stays Busy!

The food was really good, great service and very clean. A little hidden gem! Give Smiley's a try!

A little place off the beaten path. You have to know it's there or get Google to point you. Hubby had roast beef with gravy and it was enough for 2 sandwiches. I had the shrimp platter. Could barely finish and took the salad home for later.

Updated Review (6/17/22)I've been coming to this business for over 5 years now and sadly, I have to say it has completely fallen off. It's understandable that the restaurant has been impacted by the pandemic but the way they handle operations is as bad as it gets. For starters, their times listed on Yelp as well as at the physical building are incorrect. The listed phone number appears to be disconnected or not properly functioning. After coming back a second time in one day attempting to order food I was met by a woman locking the gate outside of the entrance. They turned myself away along with two other groups saying they didn't have enough workers to be open. After talking with the woman momentarily I saw a man come and I explained they were closed. He said he had ordered and I asked if he was able to get through on the phone. He said he made an order online and they told him to get there by 2 pm(remember this time; it will be important later in the story). The same woman they came out and passed him his order. I asked to speak with the manager and she said he was "busy" which is confusing because they were closed and apparently had no customers. Anyway, the manager by chance ended up coming out with another guy and he said he couldn't get people to come to work and that there was nothing he could do. I then asked since they were still handing out pickup orders if I could put in an order but he said they were all wrapped up. This was yet again, another instance that left me confused as it was 1:30 and they were still fulfilling online orders apparently until 2. TLDR: Here's the short and sweet: don't waste your time with this business. They can't handle the basics of running a business like having proper hours of operation listed or properly functioning phones. On top of that, the manager is full of excuses and does nothing to rectify the problems or problem solve viable solutions for patrons/customers of the business. Save yourself the headache and trouble of dealing with this place and try another restaurant. Anywhere has to be better than here. To be as fair as possible, I will try to come again another day to give them a second chance. I will update the review if things have improved.

I've only been here a few times and that was before the pandemic. I enjoyed the food and liked that it was close to home but since the pandemic they've changed their hours which makes it an inconvenience for late eaters. Also by being such a small restaurant the owner/manager could be more engaged with customers as they were not, at least not on my visits. Sometimes a small conversation of asking customers about their experience with food and service can show their appreciation that you stopped in to patronize their business.