Bywater American Bistro

I was here solo as my wife was on a business meeting. The menu had several well thought out items. The appetizer, the main pasta offering, the pre meal drinks were all fantastic tastes. The restaurant is a gem with fantastic service. GREAT place to go!

If you haven't eaten here yet, do yourself a favor and go. Everything we had, from the grilled octopus to the burrata and cavatelli, was absolutely incredible. For dessert, we ordered the olive oil and apple cake and espresso which was also amazing🧑‍🍳😗 highly recommend. Service was also great. Very attentive.

Service was special the staff was super friendly and made you feel at home!! Food was great we had 2 apps and shared a pasta night special then although we we “not hungry” we managed to share ice cream. Everything was suuuuuuppppper yummy!!! Also they were playing the greatest music!!!!

Michael was a very thorough and attentive server. The food was outstanding. We hadn't been to BABs in a few years and it was as good as ever minus a couple menu items that disappeared. Bring back the rabbit 😋. Wonderful food, service and ambience!

Visiting New Orleans on vacation. Did a search on restaurants and came across BABs Booked a reservation, and then did more research and became more excited to dine there! Short menu, but well prepared food. The ricotta tart was beautiful and the flavor combinations were excellent. The Wagyu beef lasagna was more of a baked dish, more beef than pasta (no complaints from me!). Service was friendly and welcoming. Decor was well done as well. Very inviting, non fussy place with great food.

The 4% kitchen gratuity line item that appears on the check is a ridiculous concept. Just change the menu prices.

Pasta is very good and the sauces have unique flavors. Very dark inside and a little cold, but the food is excellent. The olive oil cake was delightful and not something you can get at many places.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Wagyu Beef Lasagna • Fontina Fonduta

Average food. Asked server for a wine recommendation to go with a red sauce pasta dish and he brought a sparkling white (?!).

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Fantastic food and Chef Nina was more than gracious to take a photo with us after.

I hope it's not a surprise that the chef who almost won Top Chef makes great food.

Although it's not a must must try in NOLA, I would recommend stopping by if you can.

I loved the jerk chicken! And the desserts are deliberately not that sweet.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Jerk Chicken

Love it…

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I really enjoyed my first experience dining here. I came with a group of new and older friends celebrating the chaos that we call life. I've been wanting to come here for a while now, but had not had the occasion. I for whatever reason did not want to come here solo. We enjoyed everything about our meals, and were even trying things we would not normally. We ordered several drinks and apps for the table. My Aviator was sublime, I could drink those all night. They had several glasses of white wine, mostly the Chardonnay. They also absolutely murdered burrata, the sample I had was good. The cheese was like really creamy fresh mozzarella. They raved about the warm olives, which are definitely not my thing. I did try one, they were more palatable than others I've tried, but they're only for show in my Martini. I ordered the Arancini, which was unexpectedly light. I was thinking more boudain in texture, but they were almost fluffy. And the lemon curd sauce provided a pleasantly sharp tartness. That octopus though, we were glad we ordered two. The most tender, melt in your mouth octopus I've ever had. And the sweet potatoes puree had us scrapping the plate. We got the squeamish one to take a bite, she didn't hate it. For entrees there was the Gulf fish, Cavatelli and the tomato gazpacho. The gazpacho came out early, so she had to watch us stuff our faces. She got to eat it with the burrata so score one for her. The Cavatelli (basically the reason we went there) was so rich. I can only describe it as creamy BBQ shrimp pasta, had my fish not been so good this would've been my favorite. The fish, which I forgot to ask the variety of, was perfectly cooked. So flaky and soft, it almost fell apart on my plate just looking at it. The only thing holding it together was the super crispy skin on top, perfection. The corn and gremolata keep things light but flavorful. We had just enough room for some desert. The chocolate cake was good, but no thanks on the mint ice cream. I didn't get a chance at the panna cotta, it was gone before I knew. The service complemented the meal and is equally deserving of praise. Sarah was attentive and knowledgeable. Who knew what a gremolata was, Sarah did! Our glasses were never empty, and she had wine and drink suggestions. Our plates were promptly cleared, so if you're aggy about that(you know who you are), you've been warned. Also the menus are paper and the tea candles are real, only you can prevent forest fires.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gulf Fish • Corn Crema • Hazelnut Gremolata, Arancini • Egg Yolk Jam • Paddlefish Caviar

Had this a few months back and just had an enjoyable thought about how amazing this place is and how perfect every minute of my experience was. It’s at the upper echelon of my dining experiences currently and cant wait to come back

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gulf Fish • Corn Crema • Hazelnut Gremolata

Food allergies beware. I have eaten here a bunch of times and it has always been good but after my last visit, I don't think I will be returning. When we checked in with the host, they asked if there were any food allergies, I said yes, I have a tree nut allergy. When our server came over and we ordered, I again said I have a tree nut allergy and to please let me know if I accidentally ordered anything that had nuts in it. Everything tasted good and it was fine until the dessert arrived at the table, it had some kind of crumple on top that looked like it had nuts. I waited until our server came back and asked if they could double-check. They went to the kitchen and returned saying it was safe for me to eat. I took a bite and immediately knew it had almonds in it. My partner got up and walked over to the bar/kitchen area and asked again at which point they said, yes it has nuts in it. The server returned to the table and very nonchalantly asked if I had an epi-pen or something to which I said no, but that I would be okay. They offered to take the item off the bill but because it was part of a prefix menu, didn't actually change the total on the bill. When asked about it, they took the gratuity off instead which seemed really weird. I feel lucky that it wasn't bad enough to be an emergency but thought the restaurant handled the entire thing very poorly.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2

What an absolute gem of a restaurant. It's not too far from the touristy parts of town, but feels miles away.

The restaurant is charming with a large open kitchen and a cocktail bar right by the front entrance.

The staff are warm, kind, and everyone is always pitching in to make sure your meal is perfect.

I came in solo and had the Happy Hour oysters, which were deliciously salty and fresh- with a gin martini. Both were perfect.

Usually, I get the Shrimpt Cavatelli with Rundown Sauce– which honestly I recommend for everyone always– but this time I went with the Gulf Fish, which came as a filet with perfectly seared skin on the top, and a delicious and slightly spicy soupy sauce underneath it.

Nina and Larry do such a great job running this place, it's not as crowded or popular as Compere Lepin, but that only makes it more charming and interesting.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gulf Fish • Corn Crema • Hazelnut Gremolata, Martini Service

My wife and I have been going for years. Somehow Nina keeps one upping herself, we’re so lucky to have her in Nola. The reboot to BABs was so scary, we thought we were losing them! But they came back more bright and airy, and all the great pastas.

I’ve been to most great restaurants open in New Orleans, when my family comes to town, I recommend babs. I always tell people I’d take my 100% Italian grandmother to eat her pasta and lasagna.

It’s not just the food either; the staff, the bartenders, the booking, it all makes BABs one of the top tier restaurants in New Orleans.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Gnocchi