“The Grill Room exceeded my expectations of a modern 4 star dining experience while simultaneously transporting me back in time to my vision of New Orleans dining of old.” ~Greta Perry~

@WindsorCourt @WCTheGrill Room The Grill Room on Facebook

300 Gravier Street New Orleans. Complimentary Valet parking.

The Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans is one of those places that you hear about in passing conversation with ever person born and raised here. It is very much part of the history of the city and certainly one of those places that would share many stories with us if the walls could talk. Up until last night, I had never stepped foot beyond the palatial lobby. It was wonderful to have to cut through a second-line of a wedding party to begin my evening journey. My dining companion was Sir JJ Witmeyer, my World War II Veteran friend who has been telling me he wanted to take me to dine at this restaurant for a while now. It is his favorite and he estimates he has been there more than 100 times during his lifetime. When we arrived on the second floor by elevator, we were greeted by the host. We passed through the classic designed Polo Club Lounge en route to our table in in the elegant dining room of The Grill Room. We had an early seating at 6:30 and the dining room was fairly empty when we arrived. We were greeted by our wonderful server, Gabrielle. Gabrielle, her assistant, Sara Kavanaughand the Sommelier and many other staff catered to us throughout our 4 hour stay (we were in no rush to leave). The dining room gradually filled up over the course of the evening.

JJ usually drinks red wine, but because of my allergy, white is my only option (& I really should not drink that). With the low lighting in the room and the help of my iPhone flashlight, JJ studied the wine menu and settled on a California Chardonnay. It was a magnificent selection (don’t ask me what it was called LOL). We took our time ordering when a group of 6 fairly loud women sat next to us. JJ requested a setting change and we were nicely accommodated to a cozy corner dining seating.

JJ ordered crab cake appetizer, redfish with a side of collard greens. I chose the beet salad with feta cheese, the redfish without the shellfish sauce (which looked divine) and the mixed vegetables. Our meal, started with a special cream drink that was supposed to cleanse your palate. It was actually very tasty. The beet salad was one of the best and most creative dishes, with amazing presentation I have had the pleasure of experiencing. A sample of the crab cake impressed me enough to assure me that this was going to be a meal of complete decadence. The fish was cooked to perfection as was my mixed local vegetable dish. JJ said his greens were too salty for his liking so we shared my delicious vegetable dish.

JJ chose to order a dessert for us to share that was not on the the menu. He loves crème brûlée and were not disappointed. We casually sipped on French Press coffee, enjoyed the live music, watched the closed room party through the elegant doors off the dining room and enjoyed each other’s company. This was a night to remember and I am so grateful to have experienced my first time there with my Knight in shining armor!

I look forward to sampling their lunch, jazz brunch attending a “high tea” in the lobby and even staying a night in the near future.

Appetiizer: crab cake and beet salad

Redfish (without the shellfish sauce and shrimp) and mixed vegetables

Crème brûlée (was not on the menu)

Sir JJ was chatting with Sommelier Sara Kavanaugh and asked her if they still sabered champagne bottles. They no longer do that and the story he shared with her is most likely the reason why. JJ recalled one evening sitting on the balcony and saw the top of the bottle hit a patron. Since I had never seen this done, I still had no clue what they were talking about. Now that I have seen this video, I’m disappointed I did not get to see this in person.

Another recent review of The Grill Room can be found here.

If I may make a geeky social media expert opinion here on behalf of Yatmedia LLC, I would recommend adding the history of The Windsor Court and The Grill Room to the website. Denying the colorful history of the establishment to potential future patrons seems like a branding misstep.