Restaurant Sage

After a long day serving with Mercy Chefs, the four of us chefs decided to enjoy a nice evening meal at Restaurant Sage. We met Chef Blake the day before as he came down to volunteer at our mobile kitchen. He brought out all sorts of food for us to sample from the grilled oysters to the sage wraps which were chunks of filet stuffed with cheese and jalapeño and wrapped in bacon. Absolutely unbelievable.
Another high point was the andouille and duck gumbo. Chef Blake told us how intricately it was prepared and all of that effort in preparing it was not in vain. It was incredible.
Finally, we fell upon the main course. A couple of us fawned over the short ribs, another had the blackened snapper, and I had the soft shell crab with alligator sauce piquant. Everything was great but I have to say the alligator stew was «on point» as one of my fellow chefs kept saying throughout the meal. Next time I’m in Monroe I may have to enjoy another unforgettable meal.

We ate here for dinner and had high expectations since the other reviews were great. The food was good the problem we had was more the atmosphere and service. There is a salad bar in the dining room which is a little strange. The servers could use some refinement our server was not overly knowledgeable about the wine list. We ordered the charcuterie plate and it was delivered but we had to ask what was on it the server did not explain when delivered and then she was not sure which cheeses were which. Also the bananas foster was more of a soup, it was delicious but the server did not let us know that it was not a traditional bananas foster.

Excellent! Seafood Cheesecake, my wife who isn’t a big eater was licking the plate. She also loved the scallops, and my Chilean Sea Bass was delicious.

Great concept and idea. Good stuff on the menu too. I recommend the crab cake cappers and the seafood-​cheesecake; however, the food was barely lukewarm. We had to send it back. The lamb burger was delicious! I want to try this place again, but they need to fix the oven.

Fine dining and fine food. Haven’t had a dish yet that wasn’t superb. Great place if you’re looking for a nice night out at a fancy restaurant.

Another find on Unilocal.Tried this place for lunch while visiting Monroe because of the positives on Unilocal and was not disappointed. Slightly higher prices than some of the other restaurants in the area but more than made up for that with great food and extremely good service.

Great menu with original dishes. Warm atmosphere, attentive service. The seafood cheese cake app is a must, and the pork chop was cooked to perfection. A great place for business lunches that will impress. Fine dining at its best, and meals that put Cotton in the rear view mirror.

The very best in Monroe. Never had a bad meal. Service is terrific.
The smoked salmon appetizer and the Caesar salad with oysters started what proved to be another special meal.

I had lunch here and the food is very good. The prices are very good for the quality of place The Sage is as an establishment. The service is very good and this place is great for a first date or business lunch/​dinner.

My husband recently took me to Sage for my birthday and I have to say it was the best dining experience I’ve ever had. EVER. We always start with the ahi app. Next time we will have to order 2 because my husband said it’s so good he does not want to have to share. The oysters on the half shell were so fresh. The star of the meal however was the sea bass! It was cooked perfectly and was the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted! Our waiter, Cameron I think was his name, was great. He made sure we had exactly what we wanted, was very knowledgable about the menu, and helpful with suggestions. Chef Mark even came out to our table several times to see how we enjoying our dishes, and presented me with a strawberry sorbet as my birthday dessert. I simply can not wait to make another trip to Monroe just to go there again!

Absolutely top-​notch cuisine & atmosphere! The only ‘Paleo-​Friendly’ menu options we’ve seen in Louisiana. We are San Diego CrossFitters visiting family in N. LA, so we were completely blown away when we saw GM/​Exec Chef Mark Smith’s Paleo menu.
So many amazing appetizer options that it was hard to settle on just one! Chose the wraps, which consisted of 5 skewers of bacon-​wrapped fillet with jalapeño and cheese filling! (read: «Awesome!»). Had the macadamia encrusted salmon fillet over fennel salad (by Mark’s recommendation) and my other half chose the bayou burger — grass-​feed beef burger smothered in crawfish fondue. Mark was happy to drop the brioche bun and serve it over pan-​wilted iceburg lettuce. The little one enjoyed the chicken & faro soup and the kid’s serving of mac & cheese (which was both huge & delectable!)
Atmosphere: The hostess & wait-​staff were very personable & extremely laid back, and had no problems seating us — (even though we were still dressed in very casual t-​shirts & shorts after a day out on the town). Chef Mark was very personable & happy to talk paleo with us for a large part of the evening — making several special recommendations & paleo modifications to our meals. It was truly a unique dining experience! Totally kid-​friendly venue, too! They maintain a large selection of micro-​brews on tap (though their tap cooler was broken during our visit :-(They did have a few craft beer options by the bottle.
I would easily rate Restaurant Sage above ‘Cotton’ for an upscale dining experience in Monroe, due to the friendly staff and the almost overwhelming number of locally produced farm-​to-​table & quality ingredient offerings on the menu. You cannot go wrong with Sage!

Had dinner last night, I had Sea Bass, one of the best I have had, tender, veggies well cooked, served with crab cakes. Salmon was also very good.
Had dinner last night, I had Sea Bass, one of the best I have had, tender, veggies well cooked, served with crab cakes. Salmon was also very good.

I travel around the world and eat at all the best restaurants. SAGE is WORLD-​CLASS. If you are in Monroe — GO!

This is fine dining in North Louisiana. This place and its counterpart (Cotton) are 2 of the best places I’ve eaten the past 2 years living in this area. But make sure to come with a fat wallet, fine dining costs a pretty penny.
Definitely recommend the sea bass, I splurged even though it was expensive and it was so worth it. I kept wondering how on earth they cook fish to taste so good. The oyster salad was really good too and when we mentioned we were sharing it, our waitress did the honors of splitting it for us in 2 bowls! The shrimp and grits tasted great too!
Now if you are wondering how this place is different/​better than Cotton — it is different but I’d saw equal to Cotton in deliciousness. The menu is different with different options (although coincidentally they have many of the same things on both menus). However, they both were equal in tastiness. I think Cotton has a better bar area, better appetizers, and better atmosphere though. Sage is more casual and you don’t need to be dressed as nice, the staff were more on-​top of things (in my opinion), and it was more private. Cotton you go to be seen and have a social outing or event, Sage is where you go to have a family meal or a date. If that makes sense. If not, check them both out and see for yourself! So good either way, you can’t go wrong.

The most expensive pork sandwich I ever had, unless you count my wife as a pork sandwich, and she is not a sandwich.

In all my years of searching for a perfect meal, I had only found one restaurant that literary dazzled my all my senses from the first bite to the very last. That restaurant was Frontera Grill in Chicago. Tonight, I am adding Chef Chris McKnight & Restaurant Sage to stand with Chef Rick Bayless on that list.
As soon as I took a bite of the Sage Wraps (bacon wrapped beef tenderloin w/​jalapeño slice & Creole cream cheese), I knew I this was going to be a, at minimum, a good meal. I really had NO idea how good this was about to get.
Since I’m a sucker for shrimp and grits, I placed my order and fought the urge to order a side of duck fat fried fries. («way too many carbs» –I kept telling myself). But, the bartender/​server, Heather (bless her heart), brought me out a small sample of these fries and I was floored! The flavor and crispiness of these fries were truly a culinary masterpiece! In all honesty, these duck fat fries were better than the truffle oil French fries I had at the Château Marmont in Hollywood. And those were amazingly good!
So, now the shrimp & grits… Last time I had S&G, was at the House of Blues in Houston. Chef Chris’ version of shrimp and grits made those from the HOB look and taste like store bought mac & cheese. And not even the good, Kraft mac & cheese. First off, the serving is not small and neither is the flavor! The shrimp were cooked perfectly. With every bite, I could taste the freshness of the cherry tomatoes and the Andouille sausage was absolutely a thing of beauty. Did I mention these were sweet corn bacon grits?
Yeah, Chef Chris has permanently seared this dining experience into my brain. Thank you for that. And thank you for sharing your secret with me on how to make the perfect duck fat fries. It was my pleasure to meet you and I’m coming back to try that pork shank I saw you bring out to the outside table. And this time, I’m bringing friends!
~Manny

Everything about this place is great. I was researching on Unilocal a good place to stop for lunch on our way to Florida from Dallas. For starters they are only open for lunch until 2. We got a late start leaving Dallas and called ahead to see if they would wait for us (we didn’t arrive until almost 3) and they happily waited for arrival. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff.
The food was outstanding as well. Some of our favorites were of course the chargrilled oysters which are very close to Acme and Drago’s in New Orleans. I thought they had too much lemon but that’s what my mom loved about them. The appetizer wraps were very good. The most amazing salad bar I’ve ever seen. Everything was fresh with a ton of options. We pretty much had everything on the menu. The only thing that was somewhat disappointing was the pulled pork PoBoy.
An absolute must if you’re in the area!

This place is a gem in a little city that does not have too much in regards to good eats. One bonus is that the bar staff is bar non one of the better bar staffs I’ve seen in a long time.
On to the food. the BBQ oysters are quite good. The steaks here are actually hearty and good. I would recomend requesting the steaks to be grilled outside by their girll master. The 3 times I’ve been there I have had him wood grill my steaks twice and he gets the heat just perfect.
A nice escape from Monroe.

I asked several locals what they thought of various restaurants in the area and without fail, every lady I mentioned Sage to instantly swooned. This was obviously the place to go in Monroe.
The dining options are vast with a fine dining room, a warm dark lounge with ample bar seating and tables (and a few TVs) and a covered patio. I was dining solo on a business trip so I opted for the bar. The bartender Kim and the GM Caleb were a blast to chat with. Caleb has been in the restaurant business for years be it in the kitchen to management.
I was impressed with the wine selection but played it safe with a malbec. For dinner a I ordered the Ginger Poached Shrimp and had no regrets. The dish came out beautiful and tasted as wonderful as it looked. The large shrimp were neatly placed on small bit of grits, covered in mango cherry drop tomato salsa and smoked Harissa jelly. I am not a fan of grits but theirs was excellent. They use bacon, salt and pepper in the grits and the consistency was great. The shrimp were delicious and the flavors of mango and ginger complimented the dish perfectly.
There are two places I adored in Monroe and this is definitely one of them.

Fab Fab Goose L’Orange Naturale !!!
Antebellum Grits Creole Menuiere with Louisiana Shrimp!!!
Fab fab fab!!!
Fabulous vibe of people awesome food exceptional service and the very best severely shaken Goose by Lauren!
Divine unlimited!