Reviews of Atchafalaya Restaurant At Idlewild

Disappointing Experience. <br/><br/>We took my grandmother to Atchafalaya at Idlewild for her 84th birthday lunch. I'd been to the establishment before, and enjoyed the food. I thought it'd be a great experience for my family, so I made reservations for us (a party of 8) to attend. <br/><br/>Upon arriving, the manager (Kevin) glanced up from whatever had his attention at the host's station as we told him our name and reservation information. He lazily pointed to a table in the middle of the restaurant, "We have y'all in the middle," and continued to (read? watch?) whatever had his attention. <br/><br/>We walked ourselves over to our table. <br/><br/>From there, the service only worsened. Our waitress continued to seat and serve every other table around us while we waited for about 20 minutes for her to take our food orders. Eventually, we ordered our food and proceeded to wait for another 30-40 minutes for our food. Our reservation started at 11:30 a.m. We didn't receive our food until about 12:40 p.m. <br/><br/>Throughout our time there, we asked our waitress what the hold up was and she told us repeatedly that "it [was] coming." I couldn't help but notice how inconvenienced she appeared by any request. For example, my mother asked her for a straw at the beginning of our experience. Not only did the waitress appear annoyed by the ask, she took about 10 minutes to return with the straw. This level of service continued throughout the duration of our time there. <br/><br/>The food was fine. Actually, it was more than fine. It was good, which is why I gave the establishment 2 stars here. But I couldn't help but feel like our patronage wasn't appreciated. It wasn't appreciated by Kevin (the manager), by the waitstaff, or by the owners of Atchafalaya at Idlewild.<br/><br/>I came to Louisiana from Texas very excited to bring my family to this gem of a restaurant I'd discovered in my hometown. Imagine my disappointment (and, frankly, my embarrassment) when I brought them to a place that couldn't even be bothered to walk us to our table. <br/><br/>I'll never go back.

I brought my family and a friend to Atchafalaya at Idlewild. I made a reservation, so being seated took a very short time. There wasn't an empty table in the room. No special dress code. Some formal while others were wearing blue jeans. Nice cabin style indoor decor with high vaulted ceilings in the dining area. Dining area was large with a nice bar, but still not overly noisy. Dining area probably comfortably sat 75 people with plenty space. Nice mellow atmosphere. Wide price range of dishes, but nothing overly expensive. Everything from $5 kids meals to $25 beef tenderloin. The drinks came out. I had tea. The lemon was slimey, but it seems like this is the case more often than not, just about anywheres I eat. Because of this, I completely avoid resaurant lemons/limes. Once ordered, it was no time before the food was coming. I lost track of time, but it seemed like 5-10 minutes. I had fried onion rings with beef tenderloin medallions and a avocado/tomato salad (kinda like guacamole add tomatoes without the cumin flavor.) It also came with canteloupe. The combination of the marinated beef, salad, and onion rings made it a little salty, but the canteloupe helped balance that out. My girlfriend had the hamburger steak, green onions, and mashed potatoes. She liked it and I also took a bite of each and it was spot on. My daughter had a fried shrimp kids meal. She liked it, but said the fries were salty. I tried them and she was right. I asked for a 1/2 order of replacement fries without salt and they promptly hooked her up, with a smile. A friend also had the fried shrimp. Tried one and it was good. She agreed. For dessert, I had the white chocolate Creme Brule. I love Creme Brule and have had bad experiences with people taking a traditional dish like this and completely changing it with chocolate or other additions. I ordered it and to my delight, the white chocolate flavor was very delicate and subtle. The consistency was as creme brule should be. I ate the whole dish. Everyone else who had dessert had the cheese cake. The dessert had a strong cream cheese flavor. No one ate more than 1/2 because of how rich and cheesy it was. I suggest more fluff, less cheese. Not drastic, just a subtle change. So, all in all, we were pleased with our dining experience, the staff's pleasant nature, and the food. I live about 20 minutes away, so I would say that you are unlikely to find more than a couple restaurants in a 30 mile radius as good as this. Maybe one in Morgan City, one in Franklin, and some in New Iberia. For a nice place to take your family, I would go here, if in the area. The hidden Pearl of Patterson, LA.