Scored groupon and went for the Jazz brunch.
First, I expected a live jazz band, it was only streaming music playing, but it was entertaining and we enjoyed the tunes.
Second, expected some good New Orleans fare, but there were only a few native Nawlins dishes, the others go under "southern food" category. The red beans is on the vegetarian menu, but was informed it's cooked with turkey meat "we take the turkey out"...lol, that's not vegetarian sir! Â With the exception of the cabbage, which I had several helpings off, some of the food lacked flavor and seasoning. Mac was good, but bland.
Complimentary mimosas was great and the staff members are very handsome. I'm looking forward to trying the regular menu, hope it's more flavorful and has more Nawlins fare.
Tempered expectations due to some of the reviews here, but it looks like there haven't been too many in 2012.
We went on a random Saturday night and had a great time. If you're with the right people who have the right attitude, you're pretty set. Here's what you should expect:
1. Friendly staff. (esp. Cy Young)
2. Really good food. It may not be exactly NOLA, but it's definitely Southern Louisiana.
We tried lots:
Fried Green Tomatoes: ***
Red Beans and Rice: ***
Gumbo: **** (may have been okra based, not a lot of file powder)
Jambalaya: ****
Blackened Catfish w/MacNCheese & Dirty Rice: *****
Chicken and Waffles: *** (solid, but expected chicken pieces, not wings)
Sweet Potato Pie: ****
Cheesecake: ***
3. A little pricey for the neighborhood, but good food is good food.
4. Wasn't super packed, but the kitchen was slow. That said we were just hanging out enjoying the band and DJ. Our waiter, Cy, informed us a few times they were a little backed up and just kept us in the loop. A bit long, but proactive info is good.
5. Plenty of street parking.
Personally, I could care less if the place is empty as long as the food and service are good. Food good. Service good. Kitchen slow.
So, we'll def be back again w/the same expectations. Always need multiple stops to really know if we hit it on a high or low note. Maybe will try on a weekday night and see if the kitchen is faster when they're less busy.
Wow. This ended up longer than I thought. Must mean I hope they make it. Keep pushing to get better Fleur de Lis.
I went to Le Fleur de Lis where apparently the 's' is silent. Who knew (well, other than a bunch of native New Orleanians). Anyway, so overall I really enjoyed myself. Â The neighborhood is sporadically sketchy, but I can't rate a restaurant on what's happening a block away, plus hell, I live in Humboldt Park - who am I to judge?
I ordered the blackened catfish with spinach and mac & cheese and it was really awesome. The macaroni and cheese was a little bit spicy, but not overpowering (trust me - not only am I a mac & cheese snob, but I HATE spic food) so it gave it a deliciousness that set it apart from everywhere else. Â
I ate at the bar which could be better stocked, but my bartender was just like I like 'em - attentive without being overbearing and she had a heavy hand.
I'm eager to try their Sunday brunch, but I have to force myself to get out of bed on Sundays first
We went on a Friday night. Â It was before the late crowd. Â The environment is cute and wait staff and cook very nice. Â The drinks were good and strong. Â Recommend the Bob Marley. Â I had the fried green tomatoes. They were too thin and overpriced considering the portion, however, good. Â The Jamblay Pasta was okay but , would have liked for the shrimp to have been real Gulf shrimp and a lot bigger. Â I tried my friend's talapia and it was good. Â I tipped the waiter but didn't realize they add tips in the bill. It was only two of us. Â That doesn't make sense unless they are going on the realilty Black Folks don't tip.
Review Source:Went last Friday for a karaoke event, and was immediately turned off by the thug life surroundings. Â It felt like a scene out of The Wire outside; a desolate urban wasteland with a lurking cop SUV in an adjacent alley, just waiting for something to pop off. Â I pressed my car alarm button about 3 times before I entered, just so I could HEAR the sound of false peace of mind.
You know those edgy, indie movies where the hero enters a cold dark atrium and opens the door to reveal a hidden gem of a space, intricately adorned with lavish interiors, bustling with smart, engaging servers and laced with a warm inviting ambiance? Â This is NOT that place. Â This is a shim sham, piecemealed box with remnants of sad, depressing images of New Orleans and paraphernalia Command-Taped to the walls.
The Menu: several of the items on it were unavailable, even the beer. But of course they put the order in, waited 20 minutes, then told us they didn't have it. There were random notes on the menu saying that 18% gratuity would be added to the bill (note: not for parties of 6 or more, just added, regardless) and another that said there was a 2 drink minimum for $3 drinks. We made the mistake of asking our server for clarity. Never got to the bottom of that one.
The Service: "WHISPERS" was the name of our waiter, per the check. He got flustered easily and was unable to keep up with the growing demand of additional tables to serve. Â He even forgot to include one of our orders, and when everyone else's arrived, he finally gave up the ghost and told us he forgot.
By the time we got the bill the entire wait staff (of about 3) was overdone. Â WHISPERS could not count, so he fudged the change on everyone's check; he took it upon himself to round down all the change and kept the balance to himself. Â For example, my sister's change was $2.45. Â He decided to keep her 45 cents. Mine was 19 cents. Â He kept that too, plus an additional 8 dollars he conveniently forgot to bring back. I had to chase him down to get my money.
The Food: Well I wanted the famed Fried Green Tomatoes, but alas, they had none to share. Â I ordered the salmon croquettes, twice, because both times the fish was undercooked and mushy. The chicken Caesar salad was served piping hot over a bed of drowned-in-dressing lettuce, and the gumbo was cold. It took about an hour for everyone to be served their food, between the take backs, wrong orders and forgetting to tell the cook what we ordered in the first place. To stave us off, they provided complimentary day (or two) old and chewy corn bread bites, served with miniature Country Crock packets. Â
The Karaoke: So we went there for a karaoke event. Â They had a grand total of 8 CDs to choose from: Biggie, Tupac, Michael Jackson, Toni Braxton and Sir Mixalot, and a DJ who had no clue how to work the machine (he told us so). He also let people take the CDs to their tables and then stalked us like we were trying to steal them. Â The kicker was that the pull down projector screen was busted, and fell off the wall just before we got started. Â They had the waiters get a hand drill to put it back up, which was an exercise fraught with mismanagement and mis-measurement. But fun to watch.
This place is an absolute mess, from service to food to atmosphere to management (or lack thereof). Â I'm embarrassed for them. If I do go back, it will be because I am a sucker for train wrecks...
UPDATE!!
After a majority of our party left, a couple stayed behind [not I]. I was informed that later on that evening, the credit card machine broke, and the manager came out asking patrons to write down their credit card numbers to be charged later. Needless to say, there were several walk outs...
I wanted to write this review while I was there last night but I decided to cool off first and sleep on it. So here I am w a 1 star rating. First, it's a nice venue with a good idea. I went on karaoke night and it was packed in conjunction with a professionals event. Great crowd, good energy, good music... I was really surprised given the reviews I had read before going myself. But then I remember that the reviews were more focused on the service which leads me to point number two. If you own a restaurant and are in the service industry there are certain minimum thresholds that should be met. The staff was very nice... Check. But there weren't any systems in place in terms of seating or coordinating wait staff per section. We literally had to flag someone down and beg them to wait on us. He was apologetic so cool, I still had a positive feeling. After what felt like decades our drinks still didn't arrive. Then after another long while an announcement was made that the POS system was down. No orders could be placed in the system, no credit cards could be used, etc. One might be forgiving and say well that's not their fault. Well when your business 100% relies on that system I 100% say that it is your fault it failed. And don't suggest that patrons write down their credit card information on a piece of paper and trust in "what's his name" to only charge you for Le Fleur de Lis and not the new Jordan's he saw online! Get it together! So at this point we cancelled all hope of eating here but still wanted to drink because we were too irritated not to. The waiter kept saying the drinks were coming but I'm like a system being down should have effect on the bar tender pouring our drinks!! I mean seriously. And I politely made this very rational statement to him. Nevertheless We ended up getting two rounds at the bar (very quickly and easily) by ourselves before the waiter finally delivered the original drinks we order 2 hrs prior. Seriously? Lastly, I don't know under what circumstances I would go back again unfortunately. It had a good vibe BUT there are certain things I can't go without at a restaurant or lounge - namely food and drinks! I don't think that's too much to ask.
Review Source:I came here for a birthday party and I can't comment on much outside of the decor or the food.....so with that being said -
Its easily accessible off the interstate and close to an El. The area is very well lit and the police prescence was noted +1
The mural on the outside wall along with the red paint of the building are very tactful +.5
The bar costs are reasonable and the batender was very attentive along with the waiters/waitresses +.5
The place is not huge but its clean, well it was clean when I came. I recently heard they have poetry slams on Sundays @7 which I will be attending when the weather breaks. I had a couple pieces of chicken and some mac and cheeses.....-5 for the flovorless mac and cheese and fried chicken :(
What is better then biking to Sunday brunch with a friend? Not much if you ask me. We were not aware that they only had a buffet available for Sunday dining. But ah well. At least it took care of us having to make any eating decisions. The food was very good. The fried catfish was delish and my friend died and went to heaven on the gumbo. We sampled all of the food delights on the buffet. Though I skipped the familiar breakfast fare. Had to make room in my belly for more catfish. I was sad that the dessert selections didn't include the beignets although the bread pudding was still very good. Service was slow and confusing. We were supposed to have bottomless mimosas but couldn't get refilled fast enough to make it worthwhile.
Review Source:Came here with a friend last night to hang out. I am on vacation so I can party!   I will say this place is out of the norm for me but I was surprised.  The DJ was rocking good tunes.  The crowd was cool!  The service staff was excellent!  The space is divided into two parts---Bar and Dance floor.  The perfect spot for partying and dancing!   I had a blast!   My First night in Chicago  a big success!
Review Source:Please disregard all of the negative reviews, and the mean-spirited writing about this superb dining establishment. Â Walking into Le fleur de Lis, for me, was just like stepping into any homey restaurant that I frequented during my college years in Louisiana. Â To its credit, this place is not trying to be a "black Chicago establishment," nor a haughty, stuffy downtown or South Loop restaurant as is touted in previous posts herein. Â Le Fleur de Lis is just itself. Â Its identity is a rare slice of the beloved Louisiana that I miss, and that is enough.
Having sampled every pretender to southern cooking in Chicago over the past 30 years and been ritually disappointed, I didn't go here with expectations; just the anticipation of hopefully finding a small taste of my adopted home state. Â It's there in abundance. Â The cuisine is the most authentic that you'll find in this city--period. Â Each dish is expertly prepared and presented, the cocktails are well done and the service reminds me of of the people of the south: Familiar, warm, friendly and accomodating.
No, the wait staff here aren't falling over themselves trying to anticipate the whims of arrogant, so-called "expert" diners. Â Grown folk don't need that. Â And no, there aren't a large number of customers in the dining room (which is a good thing, and one of the main reasons I avoid downtown restaurants if at all possible). Â This rendered it peaceful enough to actually hear the guest across the table from me speak, while still comfortably enjoying our dinner and the ambience.
The artwork adorning the walls is incredible, and the music playing in the background is just like I remember down south: Old-school funk, soul and R&B (you mostly don't get Zydeco in restaurants in Louisiana, unless it's a Zydeco place). Â Again, Le Fleur de Lis is just like a painted scene from the old south--you know, that joint just across the railroad tracks--only it's conveniently situated on Chicago's south side. Â What they've clearly worked hard to create here touched me, and I left smiling.
I applaud the owners and staff for ignoring the know-it-alls here and doing their own thing. Â If it's downtown puffery and coddling that you want, go downtown. Â As for Le Fleur de Lis, I'm thankful, and a customer for life.
I did a quick Yelp check before heading to this new spot in the area to see what people were saying. Â After reading the early reviews for Fleur de Lis I was concerned, yet based on my experience the place has gotten over some of the growing pains. Overall the experience and food was good, but it's a little pricey for what it is.
Our service experience was good. Â The hostess and our waitress were very friendly and professional. Â Everything went smoothly and well there so I think the staff has gotten their act together.
The food was really good.  Everyone in our group enjoyed what they ordered and it was really filling.  The free cornbread appetizers were excellent and a nice touch.  However, it's nothing outside of what you likely expect of Creole.  So given no big wow factor there, that the decor is nice but not classy, and the location (I hope they negotiated a low rent), it is a little expensive for what it is.  Entrées are around $15 (give or take) and the limited beer/mixed drink list comes in at $4 - $7 per drink.  While that's not crazy, there was no wow factor with the mixed drinks (strong, yet not especially flavorful) so again slightly pricey for what it is.  It sounds like they just got their liquor license so there is probably a drink mix perfecting learning curve at work.
There were quite a few people in the bar area (which seems like a nice place to stop in for a drink and quick bite to eat) but the dining room was not busy. Â The large space makes it seem more empty.
Parking is really easy and free on this street. Â The art on the walls gives the place character.
Will I come back? Â Yes, but for the price for what it is probably not often. Â Sunday brunch sounds interesting so it might be for that.
Very bad experience. Walked in and there was no one to greet us we had to ask the waitress that was leaving for the day, if we should just wait on someone to seat us or if we ahould seat ourselves. She told us to sit wherever we wanted. The place was deserted. There were two other people in the entire restaurant.
I ordered the shrimp in a lemon butter white wine sauce and it was horrible. They gave me 6 small shrimp ( yes 6), the rice was gummy and there was no flavor what so ever. I waited over 50 minutes for this dish which should have only taken 15 - 20 minutes tops, we were the only other table in the restaurant. The dish had no flavor at all. I had to keep adding salt and pepper to get a little hint of something. Hmm, I could have sworn creole food should be bursting with flavor. My guy ordered the catfish nuggets, which we could have bought from the neighboring JJ fish.
The waitress came out after 40 minutes and told us that the chef had to remake my dish because they did not have any white wine. She said someone had to go to the store to get some. I asked her if the chef knows how to take inventory at the end of the day. She said obviously not. She said the chef was going to send the dish with out the wine anyway guessing I would not have known the difference, and she told him she would not serve it.
Well I would have known the difference. My palate is well refined. What if i were a food critic? That chef would have cost the owners their so called "reputation".
I came to this restaurant because it was highly recommended by a friend and i knew it was a new black owned establishment, which I was more than happy to support. As an entreprenuer, you have to watch the people you hire. Because at the end of the day, the bad service and food, lies on your shoulders not theirs.
You walk in to...nothing, you see...no one, so go on a small journey why don't you, track someone down, its ok to roam around in the back... you found someone, good for you! The waiter isn't rude, he asks about your day, he takes your order, a po'boy sandwich & fries? EXCELLENT choice! And in 30 FREAKIN minutes, out comes your sandwich...Is it good??? Hell YEA! The best tasting po' boy you've EVER freakin' had!!! Just needs a little ketchup for the fries...hey wait a minute, where the HELL is everybody!!! You go on a small trek again, ahh you find someone, ketchup is on the way...by the time it gets there both fries and sandwich are gone, WT???? must've been some ketchup huh? Anywho, nothing left to do but pay the bill...OMG, where the F is everybody??? The place is empty, no customers no employees, just you and tumbleweeds... Go trek again, no dont just walk out and leave 10 bucks on the table, GO TREK!!! Now you are in the kitchen (good for you) and you find someone and beg them for the bill... Oh please, please can i give YOU money (LOL, RuFreaKnSerious)... Out comes the bill and HUHHHH, the po' boy "ain't" so po at all, DEMANDING a whopping 12 bucks for itself!!!
PEOPLE, people, please......
If I frequent ONE more AA establishment that treats AA like invisible people or worthless scum bags, I'm going round up all my AA friends and others who'd like to join the cause (just so you know, I'm comps & dissertation only away from a doctorate, elite friends I guess LOL). Â We are gonna find an old, old school bus, load up, park in front of the establishment, wrap around the place with joined hands and rags on our heads singing old negro spirituals to both boycott the place AND drive the haints out!!!!
Le Fleur de Lis, I don't think so, more like Mauvaises herbes!!!!
UPDATE: The owner did make contact and seemed empathetic re: my experience and wanted the opportunity to make things right. Â I advised him that if I were ever back that way that I would certainly take him up on the offer.
I really don't think I should be reviewing this place right now. Fck it!!! I'm so pissed about this place. How come black folk can't open a decent upscale restaurant on the southside of Chicago. (I can say that cause I'm black. Get over it.) Â I was talking to a friend about getting some gumbo and I didn't want to go too far from Hyde Park and she mentioned this place. It just opened a couple of days ago, so I said why not. I checked out the website and I was ready to be transformed to Lousiana from just looking at the menu items.(since flights started at $350 roundtrip) Â So off I go for an adventure. (Yeah, Right!) If this place had opened in the south loop it would be closed in 3 months, but instead it will probably last a good 2-3 years because it's in the hood. This place is basically the old Negro League Cafe with a paint job and new name. I used to like the Negro League Cafe. It wasn't the greateast of places but from time to time I would stop in with friends and it was in the neighborhood.
  Anyway, so as I am really excited about my adventure to Lousiana I walk in to what looks like a regular ole' southside joint.  No atmosphere at all. No feeling of New Orleans or any part of Lousiana I've been to. Just the old Negro League Cafe with a new paint job.  The restaurant resembled nothing like the (now I know) stock photograph showed on the home page of the website. For a restaurant that just opened a couple of days ago there was no host at the front. Didn't know if we should seat ourselves. Ok so the waiter/bartender comes and seats us then hands us this 4 x 6 one sided menu. Huh! What the Hell?? Where's the real menu? Well, we're told that the full menu won't be ready til next week sometime. Why do people open a restaurant and they're not ready to open a restaurant. You can still smell the fresh coat of varnish slapped on the hardwood floors, or was it the fresh paint smell. Didn't smell like a Lousiana restaurant I tell you that much.
  So I order a bowl of gumbo because that's what I actually came there for. My friend ordered just some french fries because she was so turned off by the place she really didn't want anything to eat there. The waiter then says "Let me check to see if we have fries."  WTF, WTF two times. The place just opened a couple of days ago and from the itty bitty menu fries come with everything that's fried. How could you possibably be outta fries. Wow!!
   Here comes the gumbo and the fries (come to find out they did have fries), it was listed as chicken and sausage gumbo. Ok, first off really good gumbo doesn't have chopped chicken tenders in it. It has chicken that has been cooked in the stew and has fallen off the bone so it gives a shredded consistancy. The menu didn't state if it was supposed to be andouille sausage. Show didn't taste like any andouille I've ever had.  Now here's the biggest no-no. The gumbo had shrimp in it. What if I was allergic to shrimp. The description didn't say anything about seafood. It was supposed to be chicken and sausage gumbo, Really? Seriously? The discription did say and I quote "our gumbo is 'taste-explanatory'!". Must be some cajun ish because I don't know what the fck that means.
   Ok, so now it's time for the check. The waiter explains that the credit card machine is down and he'll have to write out the bill manually. He comes back with a post-it note to show me how much I owe. I thought that was funny. I give him my card and he comes back with the receipt for me to sign because the machine is working now. Whew!! thank God for that.
   Oh I forgot to describe the large block club party they had sitting in the middle of the restaurant. About 20 people discussing how to better our neighorhood. I really wanted to go over to the table and say "Excuse me, but could you use your inside voices, Please?"  That in addition to the radio playing was just ridiculous. It was like being in an auditorium with bad accustics. Where was the cajun or even Zydeco music. I think they had V103 playing on the radio. This was not the experience I was hoping for.  Shoulda paid $350 and flew to the Lousiana border and got my gumbo.
  To sum it up, this place is a "Not Ever Again" for me. Why didn't they just keep the old Negro League Cafe instead of trying to make it something that it's not. These dudes need to step their game up, this is Chicago and we don't play with our restaurants.. Take a trip to the south loop or to the northside to see what a real restaurant is. It's one thing to open a restaurant, it's another thing to open a restaurant and you're not quite ready to open.
  I will say and to the waiters defense that nothing was his fault. His name is Whispers and he's a pretty good waiter. Just a bad establishment and a poor representation of a new southside restaur
From Bourban St. to Bronzeville......ugh....I don't thing so!
I had really high hopes for this Black owned establishment, but like most others, it disappointed me.
Upon entering the restaurant, I expected to be greeted by a host since they have a small host stand near the front entrance, but lo and behold, my friend and I were not. Â After a minute or two of just standing there finally a waiter says hello and proceeded to take us to a table. Â Honestly, I expected more southern hospitality especially since the restaurant's tag line is "from bourban st. to bronzeville".
Once we sat down in the nearly empty establishment, with the exception of  what seemed to be a (somewhat loud) block club meeting in progress, I immediately smelled the unwelcoming aroma of paint and varnish which makes me believe this place was just opened on the fly without much care, consideration, planning or thought. Â
The waiter proceeds to bring us menus and glasses of water and my friend and I immediately look at one another because the menu we held in our hands was a much scaled down version of the menu posted/advertised on their website. Â Our main objective was to order gumbo for him and something light for me. Â Oh and by the way, the water had some flecks of something floating in it so we didn't drink it.
When the waiter took our order my friend ordered his gumbo and all I found interesting on the scaled down version of the "real" menu were french fries. Â As I ordered the fries, the waiter says he has to check to see if they have any fries....WTH???? Â Since the first two items on the menu came with fries I found this quite odd.
After a not so long wait (luckily), the food arrives and we dig in. Â My fries were okay....seems as if they were just sprinkled with with a cajun seasoning but hey....I really didn't expect much at this point. Â However, my friend's gumbo was not good at all (let him tell it). Â The gumbo had chunks of chicken as opposed to shredded and he mentioned he believed the sausage wasn't andouille sausage but some knock off.
And to top it off, what restaurant claiming to hail from Louisiana does not have Louisiana hot sauce???????????
Unless I hear something miraculously great happens to this restaurant, I won't be back.
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