07/22/09

I love drinking in the lounge area in the back.

by xicanista

Its easy to meet people here. You get a good mix of 20- and 30-somethings too.

• Pros: Waitresses don't disappear on you
• Cons: Too crowded sometimes

12/17/07

Great burgers, ahi tuna tacos, and mojitos!

by sparty

Nola is a place I can always reliably fall back on. Great burgers, ahi tuna tacos, and fabulous mojitos! Appetizers are filling and good and dessert is standard yum. The scene is loud Thurs-Sat night but quieter other days and John, the bartender, is great. Service is good and prices are reasonable. Great music on weekend nights though it's crowded with the single scene.

• Pros: Food, drinks, ambience, parking
• Cons: Noise level on weekend nights.

09/05/07

Great New Orleans style food, but you may want to take ear plugs with you

by valerie_voigt

This is the best New Orleans style food I've had outside the South. It's fresh and authentic and has a real blend of flavors: they don't cook stuff until it's all mushed into one flavor; rather, you can taste multiple different subtle (and, depending on the dish, not-so-subtle) flavors in each bite.

It's usually crowded and noisy. The servers are sometimes overworked: they're always on the go and I never see them lazing around, but it's still sometimes hard to get drink refills and so on.

I should make it clear that I'm a certified old fuddy-duddy and like to converse over dinner. For some young single folks the noise might be part of the excitement.

If you're looking for New Orleans-style food, this is the place to go.

• Pros: The chef(s) really know how to cook New Orleans style food right.
• Cons: The noise, the crowding

12/16/06

Great place to meet new people.

by psmith1975

Ok so I'm in Palo Alto with some friends and were looking for a place to eat and grab a few drinks. Our cab driver recommended Nola's after the normal questions about the establishment it self we told the driver to go ahead and drop us off there. It was beyond charming. Having never really tried Caribbean food before we were pleasantly surprised. The food was excellent. The drinks were exceptional and the service was great. It was a little on the pricey side but we expected that as Palo Alto is pricey to say the least. So I will rate it a seven out of ten. I will more than likely return and I know one of my friends has a couple times since then to chat up the bar tender that was there that night.

08/02/06

Manufactured, but good

by bbulkow

There's only two things wrong with Nola. First problem is the crowds - Friday and Saturday is rowdy and packed - and the second is the manufactured atmosphere. It's got a certain Chili's vibe across the board - New Orleans isn't this clean and pleasant.

Once you get past all that, Nola's is a hopping joint with amusing food and good drinks. I like the steak po'boy, great marinade on a bun. It's the livelest place in Palo Alto, and you'll have fun yelling over the 20 somethings.

06/28/06

A good place for good food

by johnserene

I was invited by a friend to Nola's and found it to be a great place. The atmosphere was fun and the service was good. I would recommend a dinner here for sure!

• Pros: food

02/19/06

Good for kids too!

by opakapaka

We were looking for a family friendly place where we could enjoy ourselves too and have found it. It doesn't look like it at first glance but they have a kids menu which comes with Shirley Temples and ice cream sundaes. The kids are happy. The food & drinks are excellent and the service superb. We've been seated promptly both times we've gone without reservations. I would recommend it to everyone - young, old, hip, not so hip with kids, etc.

• Pros: great food & drink, great service, great ambiance

01/27/06

great scene but poor food

by siakaramalegos

the scene and ambiance is great at this off-university drive restaurant/bar. however, the food tastes nothing like cajun/creole food, and the menu has such misnomers as "gulf prawn". if you are looking for cajun food, this is not the place. if you are looking for a nice drink in a great location, this is the place.

• Pros: decor, ambiance, bar scene
• Cons: food

10/31/05

Casual night out

by aptampol

I saw the advertisement for this restaurant inside The Metro and decided to check it out . My experience definitely met my expectations. Great food, excellent service and fabulous ambience. My boyfriend and I really loved the music and the setting. We'll definitely be back.

• Pros: Inexpensive, Spacious
• Cons: Parking

10/24/05

Great food, friendly service, but delayed seating

by misterwu

Althought seating took some time, it was understandable because I had a party of 18+. The staff was very accomadating because as soon as we walked upstairs, we realized that there was not enough space to seat all of us in the same section. The staff was nice enough to help us move tables from 2 different sections and combine them together to form a big one. The server was very friendly and had no problems taking our order. The food tasted great based on a consensus. The ambience was definitely cozy as it was a smaller version of New Orleans. This place was not designed for large parties, but the staff will definitely work with you to come up with a solution. If you are going to have a large party for dinner, expect a little bit of a wait time at the bar.

• Pros: Good food, friendly staff, cozy ambience
• Cons: delayed seating time