The Big Easy

Recommends

Pamela O.

Joined 1 year ago

Heaven on Earth.... I've never dined Downtown before. Yesterday was my birthday and my "Special Friend" took me out...it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The weather was great, the sax player was playing and the service was the best! I would definitely dine here again...the Taste of Louisiana is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Recommends

mike v.

Joined 2 years ago

Really well done Cajun/Creole food. My wife and I eat there about once a month and have never been disappointed. We love the French Quarter ambience, the live sax player (5 nights a week), and the very good bands playing on weekends.

Our favorite dishes include the Seafood Gumbo, the Jambalaya, the Pasta Primavera, and the House Salad topped with Blackened Shrimp. We've had the last two items many times at many other places in the Triangle, but the Big Easy really does a superior job with both those items.

Love the nice selection of draft craft brews, especially because 6-8 of them are always from NC.

Took a business group of 24 and also my office staff of 9 here for dinner and lunch on separate occasions, and all raved about the food.

Recommends

Triangle Entertainment

Joined 4 years ago

I eat at the Big Easy on a regular basis and Love It!. My husband and I eat out at least 3 times a week cooking is not what I do and we choose to eat at The Big Easy at least once a month. The staff is quick, the menu is diverse and the food is excellent! We have never had a bad meal there. We were fortunate enough to catch the Jazz saxophonist playing there and it only added to the creole atmostphere. You should go.

Doesn't Recommend

nbells

Joined 2 years ago

Not 3.5 Stars. I went with another companion to this restaurant, because we both enjoy Creole food and she was looking forward to the fried oysters.



From the time we entered the restaurant, we had issues. The table we were seated at was dirty and the menu was stained.

We debated about leaving and I wished that we had left. I ordered the Taste of Louisiana so that I could enjoy all of my favorites. Unfortunately, I did not really enjoy any of it. The gumbo was very, very thick and the jambalya was not tasty. Unfortunately, oysters got mixed in with my shrimp. The best item was probably the red beans and rice.

My companion did not really enjoy her fried oysters which was the reason we came to this restaurant.

The restaurant has many of the traditional NOLA dishes that you like, like muffalettas. They have the right items on the menu, but they need a whole new set of recipes and to execute much better.

I would definitely not recommend this restaurant for dining. The music was good and maybe I would go for a drink there again. But eat there. I think not.

Doesn't Recommend

SBlaine

Joined 2 years ago

Over salted and over priced. I was not impressed, the food was not good, service was inadequate. If you are driving into Raleigh for dinner don't waste your time or money here.

Doesn't Recommend

decodame

Joined 8 years ago

Boring. I went there for lunch during the weekend. The place was virtually empty. The sandwich I had was boring/tasteless and lacked effort. Nothing special at all. We went out to eat 5 times that weekend and both my friend and I said this was the worst place that weekend. The server was too talkative, but the service was great other than that.

Doesn't Recommend

KatNCSU

Joined 3 years ago

Would Not Recommend. Alligator Bites were soggy, gumbo tasted old, smelled and tasted bad. Shrimp tasted like it was cooked in old oil. Soup was greasy. Would not eat here again.

Recommends

jbrnnn

Joined 3 years ago

Great Overall Dining Experience. Amazing food, great service, nice atmosphere. If you are looking for good cajun inspired food, this is the place to go. The restaurant is in North Carolina, not Louisiana, so you have to keep that in mind and don't go with any 'Ive been to New Orleans and I know everything' attitudes. I have been there to eat many times in the past year and have always had a pleasant experience. There is always a smiling hostess to greet you at the door and the servers are always polite and know the answers to the most detailed questions about the menu. Any fan of spicy food, as I am, will love this place, but they also have things on the mild side for the others. A lot of the criticism below doesnt really make sense to me. If you are a vegetarian you should not be eating crab because it is an animal, so the bacon in the crab pretzel should not be an issue, but if you inform the server about your eating habits I'm sure they can help you pick out something appropriate. As far as the specials "always" being the same, well they do monthly food specials not daily ones so I don't see what the big deal is. If you are looking to go out and enjoy yourself and are not too pretentious I strongly recomment giving this place a try, no restaurant is ever going to be perfect, but The Big Easy has earned its place as one of my favorite places to eat.

Doesn't Recommend

Ironpaw

Joined 4 years ago

Not even close to cajun.... This place pretends to be something out of New Orleans but in actuality, it's just a wanna-be as most other Cajun places this far east always are. Their daily specials are always the same and as one of the others posted, the artichoke crab dip has bacon in it! Veggie eaters beware... Everything there seems microwaved and the bar is so big, it takes over the whole downstairs dining area. The staff are nice but this seems more like a bar than a fine restaurant to me. If you are looking for some real Authentic and fresh Cajun dishes, I strongly suggest Battistella's New Orleans Kitchen on Glenwood Ave. near I 440. Their chef worked at Commanders Palace in New Orleans and worked under a chef who trained under Emeril Lagasse. Everything I have eaten there reminds me of home.

Recommends

deathpie

Joined 4 years ago

Great authentic cajun food. This place has all the staples - red beans and rice, gumbo, etouffee, etc. Great atmosphere, good food.