The staff is top drawer. We had a large party arrive at prime time dinner hours with no advance notice and still got a wonderful table. It was a spur of the moment thing. The place was packed, and I was worried we would have to go elsewhere, but, no, NOLA was up for this challenge. We were assigned a feisty, diligent waitress who was everything you want in a server and were treated like royalty. 5 stars.
The food was not as sensational but agreeable. I started with the alligator tail appetizer--it was compromised to a certain extent as the batter had too much chili pepper--made it difficult to taste the meat. Once I pulled off the batter, the alligator was tender and of good quality.
We all shared our various main courses a la family style--so got to taste a lot of NOLA's entrees in one visit. Steak marchand de vin was excellent; blackened catfish was respectable; chicken and dumplings was below average; and seafood jambalaya had way too much heat (and was even ordered less spicy). Also partook of the NOLA salad and the smokey caesar salad and both were just okay. Nothing jumped out at me in terms of the desserts.
It's a fun spot with lots of charm and gaiety. There is live music, and that is a very nice feature however it was almost too loud for us. Perhaps reducing the decibel level during peak dinner hours might be a consideration.
NOLA is a place where "laissez les bon temps rouler" is for real.