Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine Bar

Husband and I sat in the bar area on a Wednesday after the DigBR Holiday Cocktail Competition and were in need of some food to soak up the fun drinks we had just consumed. I love the atmosphere and design of the bar. Our waitress was attentive and quick. We each got a drink (don’t know why, after we had just had quite a few, but it seemed appropriate), and food. I ordered the Fork and Knife Burger, which had spinach, caramelized onions, and a leek & cream sauce, and my husband ordered the Club sandwich, both came with fries and cute little dishes of ketchup. At about 8 or so, a young woman and young man started playing guitar and drums across the hall, and man were they good. It was slow and relatively subtle, the womans voice was lovely, and it added to the ambiance rather than overwhelming it. I’ve been wanting to try Tallulah since the Renaissance opened, and I’m glad we did. I would love to come back and maybe sit on their patio (when it gets nice and warm out again!).

As the bar of the hotel I spend 3 nights at every week, the place gets the job done. I think it is great in some areas and sorely lacking in others.
Things I like —
The ambiance, the live music on Wed nights (I think), the interesting people that show up (occasionally) and the food. I am a complete fatty when it comes to their truffle chips — I devour the whole plate by myself without a glance at anyone else, lol! The pepper dip that comes with these chips is also delish. I am a bigggg Caesar salad fan and I think theirs is pretty yummy — classic and simple. I have also tried the flat bread — decent, but definitely recommend splitting with someone.
Things I dislike —
The bartender are slow, show tons of attitude and can barely get together a decent cocktail — proportions are always off. I also think the service is SUPER slow and again with a side of attitude. I am also not a fan of their happy hour specials — honestly, the options are meager and happy hour is a joke!
Due to these reasons, I actually prefer ordering the same food from the same kitchen up as room service, lol. The only reason I come down sometimes is for the music — they always have great local musicians play

I have to preface this by saying that I only visited today for happy hour. But — Omg. If you haven’t tried the truffle chips with the garden pepper dip, you are missing out! Best deal in town — only $ 1 for a very nice portion. The homemade chips arrive sprinkled with fresh Parmesan and green onion. The dip is warm and flavorful. Perfect to share or keep to yourself! Service was nice and quick. Yum!

Four stars because of ambience and décor. Four stars because there is no reason in the world for fish tacos to be that bland.
The patio bar will keep me coming back. Next time, chargrilled oysters!

I was staying at the Renaissance Hotel for a week. I ate at Tallulah many times for lunch and dinner. The staff was always very friendly and helpful. The bar where aI usually sat had a nice selection of bourbons and they had a generous pour. As for the food. First bet the truffle chips for a dollar. Fresh potato chips with truffle and a pepper dipping sauce. My favorite was the new Orleans style BBQ shrimp. It came with six shrimp and they were good sized. I also really enjoyed the fork and knife burger. Its basically a burger without the bun with some added sauce and grilled onions. The meat was very flavorful but they were a tad heavy on the sauce. The crab cake burger was also pretty good and was a very large crab cake. They do a very nice Shrimp Poboy also. It comes on proper bread and the shrimp were crispy and there was a sauce on there with a little kick to it. I also had the cochon du lait poboy which was really great. Think pulled pork with a spicy non bbq style sauce. cochon du lait is basically a roasted baby pig. Couple of things I did not care for. The spicy tuna tartar was beautiful to look at but was absolutely not spicy and really I think the sauce that was supposed to make it spicy was not even used. It was fresh and light but just not flavored as described and they skimped on the fried won ton strips. The beef short ribs. This was a generous portion of meat but the vanilla bean braising really overpowered the meat. Really vanilla was all you could taste. That’s too bad because the meat was cooked nicely and was tender. I could not even enjoy the Gouda grits it came with because the vanilla overtook it as well. Really though the prices were fare and the food very high quality. I suggest giving this place a try.

A class act, replete with expert wait staff knowledgeable about the menu and deft enough to offer suggestions that match the mood. Wonderful live music by Jodi James, a local musician. All in all, a wonderful first visit.

Beautiful hotel in a very central location of Baton Rouge. The restaurant itself is located on the ground floor. Great atmosphere. Went here for brunch with a few friends. I was very satisfied with my crab cake Benedict. You also have the option for a breakfast buffet. I will have to revisit to check out the outside bar with the fire pits.

We tried the grilled oysters, salmon salad, and the redfish special. All were very good. We will be going back… it was a friday night, service was good, and it was not crowded. Turned out to be a great night with very good food.

The bartender did not know what vintage meant with respect to wine. Ummm… you work at a wine bar? Her suggestion to another patron that Riesling would be a good dry white wine may have been correct if that Riesling was from Alsace but I doubt that Washington State Riesling was going to be dry. At least the wine was half price on Wednesday.
The food didn’t help save the wine bar either. I think my chargrilled oysters were microwaved. The salad was a salad. The burger was forgettable but it contained beef so that was good.
Overall, unless you are trapped in this hotel I would go else where.

Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine is located inside the Renaissance Hotel, right off Bluebonnet Blvd. The atmosphere is simply mindblowing and the chefs are very talented. My favorite part is the outdoor area with 4 lit torches right over the water.
Once you check it out then you will know what I mean.

The good news is the food was delicious., beautifully presented. The bad news is the service was sub par. The wait staff was courteous and pleasant but… We were never offered more drinks, the water glasses were never refilled, we were never offered coffee with dessert, we had to wait over 10 minutes to get the check and then only after we flagged a server down. The restaurant was quiet and great for conversation which is a plus for us. Maybe we will try it again because the menu was interesting but for the price the service needs to up its game.

«Get ready to be dazzled by the ambiance and indulge in deliciously sophisticated dishes». I have enjoyed dining at Tallulah and think it is a perfect spot for a business lunch, girls brunch get-​together, celebratory dining, date night and more. The ambiance has a very modern and clean feeling to it. In fact, I can sit there and entertain family/​friends all day! Crystal chandeliers dangled down from the ceiling like I just walked into an elegant ballroom, but wait… it was brunch, not time for the Waltz.
Brunch… let me summarize… order the «Banana’s Foster French Toast» — definite crowd pleaser, very easy on the eyes and pleasures the taste buds! If you are looking for a purely decadent and sinful brunch item, this is an absolute must order! Don’t quite have a decadent and sinful in mind for your meal? Well, healthy options are available… eggs cooked anyway you like with your choice of a meat. So, feeling scrambled, over-​easy or sunny-​side up?
Lunch… it was kinda peppery and I am not talking about chili pepper kind of peppery… more like ground pepper peppery. The complimentary truffle chips was a lovely treat before the meal. They were a bit peppery (from the excess amount of ground pepper), but I still enjoyed eating them because they were so light and easy to pop in my mouth! I was craving oysters, so I ordered the Fried Oyster & Artichoke Salad, but sadly their seafood delivery did not arrive in time for lunch, so I had to choose grilled shrimp instead. The shrimp was a little off-​color… a bit opaque, but it was still tasty. Again, the salad was peppery… they really enjoyed the overuse of ground pepper that I kept on coughing. I went through several glasses of water because my throat constantly felt itchy-​scratchy… not fun! The restaurant was not packed with people, so it was favorable for me that I did not embarrass myself with my peppery-​induced cough!
Overall, I was impressed with my meal and the timeliness of the dishes arriving to the table. My only concern was that the wait-​staff was not overly informative. I wish they mentioned to us before ordering that their seafood delivery was not yet there. I would have ordered something different from the Fried Oyster & Artichoke Salad. The salad was mediocre and the presentation did not blow my mind!
* Brunch (bottomless mimosas) * Perfect for lunch * Perfect for Happy Hour * Date Night Spot * Great spot for dinner *.

First let me say this hotel is amazing!!! So modern and upscale you wouldn’t even know you were at a Renaissance.
However this 5 stars is for Chef Dennis at the omelette station. He convinced my husband to put some fresh seafood in his omelette and with caution my hubby agreed. Let me tell you my husband can be adventurous with lunch and dinner but don’t mess with his breakfast he never changes his omelette, however he said Chef Dennis had a demeanor that he knew what he was doing.
We both had omelets made to order at the breakfast buffet. I had every veggie you could think of with fresh crawfish, shrimp and egg whites.
This was by far the best omelette We have ever had in our life!!!
We had no cash, so my husband walked across the street just to tip Chef Dennis a generous tip for his amazing culinary skills.
The service overall was great, I come to Baton Rouge every month for business and I will always stay here just so I can have that mind blowing experience again!
Chef Dennis needs to go work for Emeril or John Besh in NOLA HIS FOOD IS THAT GOOD!!!

Food here is really good.. I went two nights in a row due to dinner meetings and it was the same both nights. Due to an ice storm kitchen and wait staff was not what it should have been and we had to wait along time for our meal. I cant hold them responsible for what Mother Nature gives us. The Manger explained this to me and I understood. I will be visiting here again and cant wait to try the food when they are fully staffed.
The bar was great and had a great lineup of local craft beers.

Definitely one of the better bars I have been to in a hotel. It has a nice vibe especially on a game weekend when fans are not quite ready to head up to the rooms.
Breakfast offers a nice buffet with the highlight being the omelette station. That dude at the station knows what he is doing and they have a plethora of options. The rest of the buffet was filled with the typical breakfast fare. The service in the morning was very good.
Dinner has surprisingly good food, but I sat at the bar and it was so slow. I had to ask the bartender to go check on the food. The grilled chicken was cooked well and I really liked the fries.
I definitely think this is a better hotel based restaurant and bar. They just need to work a bit on the speed.

This is a review of the restaurant.
On a recent trip to Baton Rouge I stayed at the Renaissance Hotel. Tallulah is located in its lobby and I had breakfast, lunch and dinner there over the course of my stay. Breakfast was very good, lunch was good, but dinner was not good at all. Service was poor for all three meals.
Breakfast
Breakfast was buffet style, but was very good. The food was hot, fresh and quickly resupplied as diners scarfed it down. The highlight of the buffet was the made to order omelet station. The omelet chef really knew what he was doing. They had the traditional omelet fixings, but the ingredients were all very fresh. My omelet from that guy was the highlight of my meal. Service was the best of the three meals, but was still very slow. Considering that all he needed to do was bring drinks, you would’ve thought service would’ve been prompt. Unfortunately it was not.
Lunch
For lunch the restaurant was completely empty. We had just checked in and wanted a quick meal. While the food was good, the service was absolutely awful. For my meal I ordered the grilled hanger steak sandwich. It was perfectly prepared, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What I didn’t enjoy was the time it took to come out or how the server abandoned us completely. This meal should’ve taken at most 30 minutes. 1.5 hours later we were finished.
Dinner
I made an open table reservation for dinner because reservations are for winners. The restaurant was again fairly empty so the reservations weren’t really needed. Service was once again painfully slow, but this time the food was just bad. Because the hanger steak was good at lunch, I opted for that as my dinner entrée. I ordered it medium rare, but it came out overcooked significantly. It’s my fault for not sending it back, but I always feel weird about that. Dinner prices were on par with high end restaurants, but the service and food were not.
In summary, if you’re heading to Tallulah, expect slow service and wide variances in food quality.

I visited Tallulah last night to partake in a Restaurant Week meal. Located in the Renaissance Hotel, the décor and ambiance was very swanky. (see how I used the low brow term swanky with «ambiance»? I call that funky juxtaposition. You can use it.) I did not really enjoy the singer, but it’s not her fault, I just didn’t like her style. The problem was that her mic was turned up way too loud, and with the modern, sparsely decorated architecture, the sound reverberated all over and was quite loud at our table.
The restaurant week prix fix menu items that we chose:
Appetizer: Oysters 4 Ways and Cream of Garlic Soup
The oysters were pretty good, although I find it’s hard to have a breakout charbroiled oyster unless you’re somewhere that specializes in them. I enjoyed the soup as well. Thankfully it wasn’t as garlicky as I expected.
Main course: Hanger Steak
The hanger steak is a cut that isn’t used enough these days. When prepared correctly, it can have the tenderness of a filet but with more flavor in the meat itself. This steak was cooked a little under the medium I requested which made it a little chewy. As for flavor, I didn’t like whatever rub they used because it imparted a sweetness that overpowered the savory of the meat. Served on top of mashed potatoes with a cute arrangement of baby carrot and fingerling potato, it was a good looking dish, I just wish it tasted better.
Dessert:
We chose the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding and a chocolate cake (the cake was not part of prix fix but they were out of the cobbler). The Bread Pudding was very good. No complaints whatsoever. The chocolate cake should never have been served. We each had a bite and agreed that it was too dry and wasn’t going to be eaten. The waiter agreed and mentioned that everyone has been saying that. (then take it off the menu… sheesh)
All in all I had a pleasant meal at Tallulah, although I’m glad it’s restaurant week b/​c the prices are way too high for me to gamble.

I would not suggest this place to anyone. The service is slow and poor, the drinks are overpriced – and that is IF you ever get one served, and the food is over rated. Our last visit took the cake though. We (three of us) were ordered the same drink/​cocktail however were charged three different ways for three different drinks. For example, we ordered the same ‘House’ Chardonnay four times. When the bill came we were charged three different wines at three different prices ($ 9, $ 12, & $ 10) – one of the charges was for a Cab. We brought this to the bartender’s attention.
He said, «are you sure you’ve only been drinking Chardonnay?»
We looked at each other and said, «yes, this ‘House’ Chardonnay that tastes like diesel.»
He said «well that can not be because we do not have a ‘House’. We’ve been real busy and I can’t tell who wrung these in.»
We were a little confused and a lot upset. We asked to speak to the manager who did nothing. $ 66 bar tab later, we leave in hopes of never returning.

The restaurant looks more like an extension of the hotel lobby than an entity in and of itself, and the only way to get to it is by parking in the back and walking through the lobby. So, while the location makes this restaurant seem like a shinier version of the standard bar in a Marriot Courtyard it most certainly is not. The food is great.
I had not eaten all day when I went, so I figured I would start with two small plates then adda soup if I was still hungry. I wasn’t. Two small plates, the artisan salad and the vanilla bean braised short ribs, had enough substance and more than enough flavor to satisfy me. The salad was fresh, well composed, and delicious. The ribs and grits were a nice play on sweet and savory.
There are two reasons this restaurant does not get five stars instead of four. First, there is the forgivable error of the grits cooling and congealing on the ribs before I could finish my salad. A little better timing, plating, and maybe some milk could have helped this. Second, I went to dinner early before the regular bartender was on, so a waitress behind the bar served me. She was great. Unfortunately, when the bartender came, he was rather aloof, I presume because he was not getting the tip (of course, I usually tip both servers when I have two, but not this time). The waitress continued to check on me, though less often because I should have been helped by the bartender at that point. Perhaps this was just a one-​time deal, though, or a misunderstanding. The service was still, on average, good enough, and the food was absolutely worth it. I just wish it had a separate entrance…

This is a cute little hotel bar located in the Renaissance Hotel.
From what I could gather, it a is fairly new. It’s nicely decorated with little sofa areas and tables. I didn’t try any of the food, but I did see some other people eating and it looked really good. They have a few beers on tap and they seemed to have a pretty big wine selection. This is definitely a cute little place to start or finish a night or just stop in if you want to do some work on your laptop and have a drink and a bite to eat.