Best Restaurants for Special Occasions in Mid-City / City Park

Great food! Wonderful service. A perfect spot to bring your kiddos along. Very family friendly. It was very loud in there though.

My first visit to Vessel was phenomenal! I selected scallops with risotto and the roasted asparagus after discussing the menu with my waiter. I chose this dish based on his recommendation and was very pleased. Presentation was stunning and the food was delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed the vibes that the restaurant projected and was pleased with my interactions with the staff. I definitely will be back and will bring my coworkers with me.

Great service today on Christmas day! So busy but servers were awesome. I messed up on timing of my reservation but they worked hard to accommodate my mistake. Food was great and good quantity.

Food and service were exceptional. We had the ceviche’ and lobster ravioli appetizers then ordered Hallibut with scallops and shrimp risotto — the signature dish — and the Parmesan-crusted sheepshead with lemon butter and browned capers served either asparagus as our main courses. Everything was perfectly prepared! We ordered 3 desserts to top it all off: the salty malty ice cream pie, the white chocolate bread pudding and the chocolate mouse in a dark chocolate dome with raspberry gelee’. Perfect evening. Except for learning at the end of the night that our parking would not be validated. We were not told to bring the parking ticket to the front desk at the beginning of the night. If you go to GW Finn’s and expect to get parking validated, do not pay the garage when you park (despite the fact that all of the signs in the garage and the boots on cars are somewhat threatening in there). Instead, take your unpaid parking garage ticket directly to the front desk at the restaurant for validation with a picture of your license plate. This was the only sour note of our evening. Otherwise, it was perfect!

As a native New Orleanian, we love Ralph’s!! Food is great (shrimp skill is our fav appetizer!) The setting across from City Park is gorgeous and service is excellent. You will not be disappointed!