Cafe Orleans or Carnation Cafe?

[Frozen2014]

If you could pick just one, which one would you book? I'm leaning towards Cafe Orleans for the Monte Cristos and the fries that people rave about, but also notice that Carnation Cafe is #8 on trip advisor (Cafe Orleans is #14 so not far behind).

As a note on our tastes...DH is a meat eater, on contrast I don't eat meat, and my older one is a picky eater and likes typical kid food (even though technically he's past the kids menu by age)

 

[tzeitel]

Cafe Orleans. Loved it - the food (I had the Monte Cristo and we got the fries as an app), the service, sitting outside. Same trip we did Carnation Cafe and were very disappointed. Dark, loud dining room. Food was not great (kinda greasy) and service was the worst we have had at DLR. I think the server was stretched too thin or he just could not handle the tables assigned - we were completely ignored to the point that we had to ask runners and other servers for drinks, napkins etc. We saw our server when he took our order and when we got the check (which we had to ask a different server for).

 

[figment_jii]

My family would be happy at either place. We eaten at both Cafe Orleans and Carnation Cafe several times and haven't had a bad meal at either place. If I could only pick one, I would probably go with Cafe Orleans because I really like the gumbo, pomme frites, Crescent City Salad, and mint julep. Plus it's great for people watching and has a good view of New Orleans Square.

(That being said, on trips when the weather is iffy, we will often choose Carnation Cafe because half of the seating is indoor, which means either air conditioning (in the summer) or cover (in the winter when it might rain). Cafe Orleans has very limited indoor seating and if it's slated to rain a lot, they may close the restaurant.)

 

[ktlm]

Cafe Orleans is a must do for us. We like Carnation Cafe, but it is not on the must do list- although I do love their potato soup.

 

[LALA8971]

Another vote for Cafe Orleans!

 

[tarheelalum]

If you think you would like the monte cristo then cafe Orleans is it. For me it's to heavy for park food but a lot of people love it. The pomme fries there are phenomenal and I really love their gumbo. I get it every time we go. And make sure you save some room for the beignets. Imho they have the absolute best in the park.

But one area cafe Orleans does not excel in is service. It can range range from good to not so good and usually just fair. The service at Carnation is always fantastic every time. They just seem to hire a lot more servers there. You see them just standing around waiting to do something for you at Carnation. But at Cafe Orleans its just the opposite. But I've never gotten cold food or food that wasn't great at cafe Orleans. But if you need something from a server at Cafe Orleans it always seems to take forever. Seating also takes forever there as well so expect a wait with your reservations at Cafe Orleans. During busy times it can be an hour or more with reservations at Cafe Orleans. We have never had to wait that long at Carnation cafe. But even with cafe Orleans issues, it's still great food and a beautiful location to sit and eat outside and watch the crowds.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I ate at Carnation Cafe recently and thought it was just meh. I see a lot of people rave about it but I guess it's just not my style. The majority of the food on the menu is heavy (fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, etc). It was fine but I wouldn't choose to eat there again.

I haven't tried Cafe Orleans yet but I want to.

 

[tlovesdis]

Cafe Orleans if I had to choose! We love it a little bit more than Carnation!

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like if we do just one, then Cafe Orleans is the one to pick.