Tope La

Tope La has a special place in my heart. I spent my first ever Valentines Day here. Say it with me now, daaaaaaaawww! This was a rather long time ago and have since evolved to spending Vday avoiding people at all costs by eating large amounts of Chinese food on the couch. OK, back to task here…
I have recently returned to Tope La and while a lot is different, much of it is still the same.
The interior is dimly lit, a little old school, but nice. It’s pretty casual during the day, but can feel a little nicer at night. Being that its smack dab in the middle of a college town, I think this restaurant draws more of an older crowd.
The menu is bigger than I remember and offered more variety in price points as well. The regular dinner entrees average $ 22 with a lunch menu offering a much lower price point. The menu has everything from sandwiches & salads, to seafood, to pasta dishes. They have a little something for everyone.
The appetizer that everyone raves about is the Bayou dip. It’s their take on the classic spinach and artichoke dip by adding pepper cheese and sun dried tomatoes. It certainly does add another flavor dimension. I found it to be very very creamy though, would have liked more spinach. It almost had the consistency of a thick queso. Still in all it was really good. I also like how they give you pita chips with it instead of tortilla chips.
For my lunch, I got the chef salad wrap, because I love chef salads and I love when things are wrapped up in a tortilla, so no brainer here! Perfect lunch grub! When the wrap came out it was huge. They make all their dressings in house and the honey mustard that came with it was awesome. I took half of it to go, and as embarrassing as this is to admit, I rarely have to go plates. (read: I eat like a 300 man)
It came with a broccoli slaw, which wasn’t my favorite thing, but liked that it came with a vegetable. If you aren’t a fan of rosemary I would sub it out for something else.
The service was just as good as I remembered. Attentive, friendly, with just good southern hospitality!

Very nice atmosphere. Ideal for a date night. All the food I’ve tried there is great.

I did contact management and he was very appreciate I did instead of not letting him know there was a problem. Tope la food is delicious and that was the first time we had a problem with the service but he assure me that it has been address!

I go for the $ 1 martinis on wednesday. Vodka quality isn’t the best but that’s to be expected for $ 1. Website advertises $ 1 martinis on Saturday but that’s not true. Went last week and they were $ 7 a piece, not $ 1. Best bread pudding in Hammond.

Last night some very good friends met my wife and I for dinner at Tope La. The atmosphere and food was outstanding. Because there was a parade going on, which we did not know about beforehand, made it a little hard to find a parking spot, but once inside, the soft music, ambiance and great company made for an outstanding evening. The chef had specials which let you make up your own special dinner from a sheet of copious selections. All 4 of us ordered something different, mainly seafood, and all of us had delicious meals. I would highly recommend this place and we do plan on coming back again. The service was great, and the meal was worth the one hour drive to get there. S.S.

It is a wonderful gem of fine Cajun cuisine. Friendly and fast service. Best I have had in a very long time. Worth the drive!

I grew up in the Hammond area and ate here only once that I can recall. I guess as a child, you don’t appreciate quality food. But as an adult, I eat at Tope La at least once when I’m in the area. I haven’t been to any other restaurants in the area with the same quality of food. I normally just order the special and have yet to be disappointed.

Boom! Hit the jack pot here! Tope La serves up a mean business dinner! The apps were great, loved the onion straws, cooked perfectly, lightly breaded with a nice sauce, and the Porcupine Potato Hushpuppies were divine! The local beers are great from the bar or table service. The service was excellent, attentive and friendly. I dined on the Crabmeat Stuffed Red Snapper which was done in a panko bread crumb and got into the juicy taste of the fish and crab and sauce. The other 7 plates delivered to the table were cleaned off as well as mine was by the time we were done. Excellent dining experience!

Crab cake. I’m in heaven!

I’ve been here a couple times for dinner, and I have always loved the experience here. Their atmosphere is more sophisticated and luxurious than the usual dining establishments in Hammond. The wait staff has always done a good job with ordering and touching base in a timely manner.
Today I went for brunch for the first time. I ordered the Tope La French Toast, and my boyfriend ordered the Surf and Turf. Both of us were extremely happy with our dishes.
The french toast were two big pairs of toasts with honey roasted pecan cream cheese in the middle. Fresh blackberries and a generous amount of powdered sugar adorned the dish.
The surf and turf was a biscuit and NY Strip cut in slices topped with a creamy peppercorn gravy that had andouille sausage and lobster bits.
All in all, I will definitely be coming back here — brunch, lunch, or dinner!

Food is great, service was abominable. Shrimp and artichoke stacks 5 stars, shrimp and grits 4 stars.
Waited 20 minutes for anyone to visit our table. Restaurant was 50% full and yet it took 2.5 hours to get our food and bill. Steaks were good but server with no steak knives. Servers appeared to have no clue. They were pleasant but very distracted.
A very nice ambiance great food, reasonable prices, terrible service.
Probably worth another visit.

This is definitely one of the few places I’ve been in Hammond that is really a «special occasion» level restaurant. Not to say you can’t go for any occasion, but when you want that special atmosphere and unique food, Tope La will deliver.
They have a good wine menu, fairly unique cocktails and on Fridays (I believe only in the summer) they have fish specials. Our latest dining experience was quite nice, though the food service was quite slow because they had a large rehearsal dinner there. Here’s what we had:
— Bayou Dip — This was pretty good. Great flavor, maybe a little too runny, but all in all a great appetizer to share. Unique twist on the spinach & artichoke dip you’re used too.
— Crabmeat & Artichoke Soup — I wasn’t so impressed by this. The bisque lacked complexity, so it kind of just tasted like white gravy
— House Salads w/​Sugar Cane Vinaigrette — Very interesting concept for a vinaigrette dressing, though a little sweet for a whole salad.
— Tabasco Speckled Trout (Fish Special) — Quite good. Simple, served atop a sweet potato, crab cake and topped with a Tabasco butter.
— Amberjack Alfredo (Fish Special #2) — Also quite good. The fish was prepared well and the alfredo was unique with sundried tomatoes and topped with fried oysters.
— Swordfish (Fish Special #3) — This dish had so much promise but I was a little underwhelmed. It was served atop a reduction of arugula, onions, portabellas and tomatoes, then topped with a walnut dijon sauce I believe. I thought the sauce was overly sweet, the fish overcooked and lacking flavor and the reduction lacked complexity. The arugula didn’t have it’s usual bite.
I very much enjoy coming to Tope La because they have all of the Cajun/​Creole classics but then also come up with unique specials that show forward thinking in the cuisine.

I found this place while visiting. That atmosphere was really nice. Very clean and classy. I sat at the bar on Friday 4pm. Mark-​the bartender was great. I told him I wanted something «Louisiana». He suggested Shrimp and grits. It was so delicious. Came back on Saturday night. Melissa-​bartender suggested lightly blackened alligator. I never tried alligator before. I loved it. I also loved the dollar martini’s. Met really great people at the bar and the rest of the night was awesome! The food and staff are really awesome here. I highly recommend it.

The food was delicious! I highly recommend the porcupine balls for an appetizer and the shrimp and grits. The wait staff was very friendly. My only complaint is that it took 2 hours from the time we were seated until the time the check came… And we didn’t order dessert. For that reason, we will save visits to this restaurants when we don’t have the children with us.

Great happy hours! The food is as good or better as any other place in town.(I’ve been to almost all of them.)
Friendly service too.

Have not been disappointed yet!
Shrimp and grits were great! It comes with an Edamame and Corn succotash that is awesome! Oyster artichoke soup is delicious as well!
Lots of variety on the menu.
It’s worth trying!

This is my favorite place to eat in Hammond. The food is an upscale Cajun menu. They have burgers and (very good) red beans with fried catfish if you aren’t feeling too adventurous. The bayou dip is my favorite appetizer. The porcupine hush puppies are great too. The alligator and grilled oysters are good… people not used to Cajun cooking may find them too salty. Every entrée I have had has been good. If you want a salad the grilled vegetable salad is great. If you want meat go for the injected pork tenderloin.
Not sure what is up with the negative reviews for this place… I typically stick with the entrees or salads and haven’t been disappointed.

Definitely one of the more random restaurants I’ve been in. It seems to have a pretty nebulous identity — it’s got a fancy atmosphere, but TVs on some walls and our table had «S loves M» scratched into it. Dinner was good, but expensive for what it was. I had the crabmeat-​stuffed redfish with jumbo crabmeat on top — it came to something like $ 28. I would definitely go again for the lunch menu if I were in Hammond. It looked like they had a lot of their regular options but for cheaper, and also sandwiches for around $ 10. Cocktails range from $ 6.50 to $ 8, which was reasonable based on the types of liquor they were using. I’m sure you could do well options, though.
Not a lot of light option, for the record. All of the fish had heavy cream sauces, and the menu didn’t have any vegetarian options beyond salads — not that I was really expecting it to, but it would have been nice to see.
The place is pretty large, and was fairly empty — we were eating dinner at 9:15 on a Saturday night in late April. They had a guy with a guitar playing acoustic covers of very random songs from the 90’s, but didn’t turn off the radio, so there was Cee-​Lo Green intermixed with covers that ranged from Radiohead to Martina McBride. Definitely not a romantic atmosphere, whatever they were going for. But, the fish and crabmeat were very tasty and the cocktails got the job done — overall, we were pretty pleased and just amused at the restaurant itself.

The appetizers are always good. If you like nuts in your entrees, the pecan crusted chicken or talapia are good. Don’t order the sandwiches… just not that great. The main negative to this location is sanitation. Always ask for a tablecloth. If not, you may have just had an old damp cloth wipe the worn tabletops… and they will absorb that wonderful smell. The bathrooms don’t look like they’ve had anything done to them except for changing the toilet paper. The walls, mirror, stalls and pictures seriously need cleaning! It makes one wonder what the kitchen is like if the tables and bathrooms are gross.

Drove up to Hammond to meet a friend for lunch and chose this place at her suggestion (close to her office). I thought the food was good, not great.
Our server was VERY young, but friendly and he did a nice job, all the orders were spot on.
Atmosphere was comfortable, sort of a tavern feel… don’t be fooled by their website, it’s not nearly as fancy at it appears on their website. «Tavern» really seems to describe it best.
One in our party ordered the crab and cheese pasta, she seemed pleased, but I had a bite and felt otherwise. Mostly pasta and cheese with just a hint of crab. Hubby seemed happy but not overjoyed with his selection, and my club sandwich was good, not great. Lacks the sophistication of sandwich mastery I’m accustomed to, but hey, after all, we were in Hammond.
I found the prices to be inflated for a Hammond tavern, maybe they’re trying to keep the local college kids out of the dining scene and bring them in for happy hour and college night only, but as «mature» professionals, I felt that the value of the meal definitely fell short as compared to the pricing.