The Big Easy

I've been in Raleigh a couple of years, constantly looking for food as good as I could easily find in New Orleans. We finally found it last Friday at the Big Easy. The seafood and chicken gumbo was as good as any restaurant gumbo I've ever had. My wife's catfish was perfectly seasoned and crispy, and the etoufee I had was most excellent, althjough I prefer my roux a little bit darker for etoufee. Our server (Peter) was flawless - attentive without interrupting, perfectly timing the sequence of service. The ambiance was just right, and contrary to the Citysearch info, smoking is allowed in the bar area. Prices were very reasonable - appetizers, entrees, beers and a bottle of decent caberent came to around $70. Pros: Loved it! more

We are transplants from New Orleans. We have been looking for some good down home cooking from a local rest. (We found it.) The Big Easy is like New Orleans in Raleigh. We did read these reviews before trying The Pros: Food Variety, food flavor, authenticity and ambiance Cons: wait staff needs some work more

I have had the oppoitunity to dine at Big Easy and was very impressed with the number of items on the menu as well as the variety of Louisiana favorites. The Louisiana Pretzel is definitely the best appetizer on the menu. The burgers are good, the crawfish and gumbo are awesome. The quality of the service is lacking, however. It takes a long time for the server to cometo the table, long time for them to return with beverages, and the never know when they are out of items that evening until long after you have ordered and they finally return to let you know. more

I recenly moved to Raleigh from New Orleans and have been missing New Orleans style food. Last Friday my family and I ate at The Big Easy and enjoyed every last bite. For an appetizer we tried the Louisiana Pretzel and the crab-stuffed poppers, both were outstanding! My husband and I both had the Etoufee and our daughter had the jumbalaya. Everything we ate was delicious and the atmosphere was astounding. I heard about this place by word of mouth and so I checked the reviews on citysearch first. (just to be careful) After reading some of the other reviews I felt that I should clear some things up. People bave said the food is bland or just not up to par with food from New Orleans. Well, something people need to remember is that not ALL food from New Orleans has to be super spicy. There is obviously a steroetype that needs to be busted. Every restaurant you eat at in New Orleans does each dish just a little bit different from the next. So unless you are a native of New Orleans and have been eating these foods all your life, wether in restaurants or at home, don't judge the effort that The Big Easy puts into their meals. As a native I would say with confidence that The Big Easy has GREAT food, a WONDERFUL atmosphere, and could hold their own in the Crescent City. We will definetely be returning soon! Pros: Wonderful food and atmosphere Cons: Waistaff could use a little bit of work. more

I so wanted to love this place. Great location, great name. I'd read and heard fairly lousy reviews but when I walked in the door I had a hope that the critics were wrong. The lanterns and old town look were inviting. Alas, the food was just warm and the entrees forgettable. The crab dip pretzel was pretty good, but the gumbo and jambalaya were fair, at best. In general, the food was bland and nothing like what I'd come to expect of good Cajun restaurants in other cities. Still, the atmosphere was nice and our waiter was really friendly - and attentive. But the bottom line is that I doubt we'll go back until the food is significantly better. Pros: Nice location, inviting interior Cons: The food more

This place used to have great food. When I went there the first time the food was great. i hadnt gone back in a while but i went the other night and it it completly changed. The menu was different but looked great. It seemed liked every time I asked for something they were out of it. So i stuck with what i knew would be good. The seafood gumbo. What a dissapointment. It tasted burnt and had hardly any seafood in it. My wife had jambalaya, it looked and tasted like it sat under a heatlamp for an hour. maybe i cought them on a bad night because the sevice was slow and didnt look like they new what they were doing. Hopefully they can fix there problems because it used to be so good. Pros: atmosphere Cons: waitstaff and food more

I saw this restaurant one night in one of my many journeys downtown and vowed to sample their wares. Upon making it in to dine, the atmosphere is great. The bar placement and lay out are unique and inviting. That?s about where the pleasure ends. The wait staff was quite inept-no wine presentation here; they just cracked the bottle and poured. So much for the opportunity to send a spoiled bottle back with 2 full glasses in front of us. The Shee Crab soup was just above room temperature. I chose to take the Tour of New Orleans meal, which has Saucy Craw Tails, Jambalaya and Gumbo. While my date ordered an Oyster concoction, the name of which escapes me. The Saucy/Spicy craw tails were quite tasty, surprisingly flavorful and very tender. The gumbo was brown gravy with some odds and ends placed in it-and was promptly avoided. The Jambalaya was passable, with 3 tablespoons of the dish served on 1 cup of rice. My date fared a bit better. The only way to describe the dish was potato skins with an oyster twist. The oyster?s shells were stuffed with an oyster, cheese, bacon and breading mix. It was the best of the meals by far. I think I had my hopes a bit too high for what I received. Which was essentially Bar Food with a New Orleans-esque twist. The wait staff was inexperienced, slow and lackadaisical. I'll probably return to have a few drinks for the atmosphere, but I'll pass on anything that isn't an appetizer. Pros: Atmosphere, Location Cons: Service, Quality of food, Food Temperature more

I am a transplant from New Orleans and thought there would be no hope of finding a good cajun meal in Raleigh. I was wrong. This place hits the nail on the head. I had the seafood gumbo and my wife had the red beans and rice. Both of which were some of the best I have tasted. This place made me feel at home and I will be returning. The owners did a great job with the decor too. It looks like it is straight out of the french quarter. I am very impressed. more

When greeted at the door, we were told they only had 2 high-chairs in the place - not family friendly. We were promptly seated, but it took 15 mins. for a random waiter to realize that we had not been ""assigned."" He went to find soneone to serve us and retunred 10 mins. later with, ""I couldn't find anyone, so I guess I'll do it."" Our waiter was nice enough, but slack and slow as hell. We watched the other tables around us - some were served very fast, others seemed to take forever. Totally inconsistant service. It took 1.5 hours for us to get a burger and a salad. The burger was over-cooked and the bun was almost stale. The chicken on the salad was luke warm (should have been either cold or hot). We will not return for a meal or with a child. Seems like a good place to get a beer... that's about it. Pros: interesting interior Cons: poor service, long wait, confused kitchen and staff more

Definitely has a New Orleans feel with the huge front doors that were open to the sidewalk the mild evening my husband and I were there. We chose the smoking section, in the front, over the non-smoking section at the rear of the space because the back room seemed so isolated. With the high ceilings and open front doors, the smoke was not an issue. The service was very good although when I asked if the etouffee was prepared with a dark roux, the waiter responded that it was a classic New Orleans butter roux of light color - not necessarily accurate (I believe Paul Prudomme would argue that one). The food was good but I would have preferred a darker roux - just bring it up to more of a caramel color with a bit more spice and I'd be thrilled! The prices are very reasonable and the portions were huge - we should have shared an entree as we did the appetizer. Beautiful decor and love the fact that the bar is large enough and allows bar flies to be out of the path of other patron traffic. I believe if the owners would take more of a personal interest in the customers by visiting customer tables and with some tweaking on the roux, this could be an excellent restaurant. Of course, we still enjoyed it and will absolutely return! I wish the owners much success in an excellent location on exciting Fayetteville Street! more

This new downtown casual dining establishment is the perfect spot for lunch or dinner. With such an extensive menu, everyone in your party will be pleased. Highly recommended....the crab dip pretzel. It just doesn't get any tastier! Great service, friendly bartenders and staff. more

I met a girlfriend here last Friday night and we had a great time. We hung out at the bar and had wine and dinner. We shared the Louisiana pretzel for the appetizer which was awesome. It is a soft pretzel that is covered with crab and shrimp dip. Yum. We both had the crawfish etoufee for dinner which I thought was really good too. The menu was cool because there was a lot to choose from. The staff was really friendly, informative and timely. We ended up staying later than we thought we would because they had a DJ & dancing in the back which we hadn't expected. The place had a nice size crowd, but it wasn't overly packed. I really am trying to think of any kind of fault that I could give this place, but we just had such a great time. I will definitely be back. Pros: Good food, nice staff, fun entertainment, a very pretty place. Cons: I could not find any. more

My wife and I went here for our first time last weekend. We had the Crawfish Tails to start. The serving size could have feed 4 people. Over all quality was ok. Our entres were as follows;Shrimp Creole-big shrimp but average flavor. I had the Crawfish Etouffee. For those who know what etouffee SHOULD taste like this was not it. I know that all the etouffees I've ever had had a nice spicy kick to it. This was about as bland as cream of chicken soup in a can. The service also seemed like they were pretty new at what they were doing. My wife and I watched as they went about their business and looked very new. I don't think our server Ron was too familiar with the menu and all that comes with the dishes. The atmosphere was great though. Very kid friendly. Pros: Ambience Cons: Average food flavor more