It was a little concerning seeing this restaurant completely empty on a Wednesday night. Still gave it a shot and it was well worth it. The T Bone steak was cooked beautifully, very well seasoned as well as the fries that accompanied it. Definitely give this place a try whenever in NOLA.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
D P
Like the other reviews said, there are fruit flies lingering, and there is a hostess with not the most welcoming demeanor. However, the food is great! Please be wary they are Halal friendly and don't serve alcohol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Jean-François Mondon
Ordered too much food but ate every last, delicious bite. The chicken was superb. Will return the next time I’m in Nola.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shawarma
Vishal Shah
Went to Cleo's for dinner and there was nobody to attend, so we choose to sit by ourselves as the restaurant was pretty empty with only one other table occupied. The service was slow as there was only 1 girl who also working as the host. The food quality and taste was good.
When we received the bill which was split into 2 bills for a total of 4 people, we noticed a mandatory service charge of 22% for 4 people and then taxed on the total including the service charge. The attached bill is for 2 people. On asking the owner if the unadvertised mandatory service charge and the tax applied to it was legal, he replied rudely that he would like to get into legal trouble as that's how his system is configured to tax on the service charge as well, and has been doing the same for the past 5-6 years. And that the service charge is to pay his servers which happened to be only one person.
Although the food was good, we would not recommend this business with extremely poor customer service and blatant practice of hidden charges.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
James Thomas
I would give Cleo's 10 stars if I could! The chef is a master. High quality and tasty; the spices were just right. The portions were more than ample. The prices are very modest. It's the best meal I've had in years!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer Luo
Good food with friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Sharon Lezama
Excellent food and service! If you are in New Orleans you must eat there!
After you get tired of shrimp and grits, Poboys, gumbo and étouffée try some fresh new flavors.
The food was well seasoned and well prepared. None of the seafood or meat was overcooked. It was just right. The yellow rice and hummus are delicious.
Seating and service was fast. In fact I’m surprised this place isn’t more crowded. It would be a nice for groups.
There is a natural gas smell when you first walk in that they should look into. The first night the hostess was friendly attentive and fast.
However on 08/01 the beautiful long haired hostess took a while to warm up. She seemed distracted or annoyed at first. She was short tempered and seemed 2 when greeting 2 guests. They actually left about 10 minutes later due to the lack of attention they received. We knew the food was good and it was our last night in town so we decided to stay and hope things got better for us and it did.
This place is definitely worth a try but needs to be aware that first impressions are a big deal so the host needs to make guests feel welcomed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Maria Lukac
A food oasis for all and also those VEGAN & VEGETARIANS. Great location. Reasonable prices
My husband and I love the food at Cleo’s. We regularly get carry out from the Canal Street location, and we highly recommend!
Be aware that if you eat at the Decatur street location you will be charged a SERVICE FEE of $9.95 on your bill. The waitress informed us that it is a fee for the kitchen staff, and that customers have been complaining. Apparently the owners’ way of compensating for this is to LOWER the suggested wait staff tip on your bill. Our bill suggested tip amounts ranging from 2-6%, meaning they suggest we tip our waitress as low as 99 cents! We would never tip our server such a low amount, and I cannot imagine that they think this is a fair way to do business. Perhaps they should just raise their entree prices so that their servers and kitchen staff can earn a living wage without tacking surprise fees on your bill.
So unless you want to pay an extra ten dollars just for sitting and eating in their restaurant, I suggest you get carry out from the Canal Street location. This is disappointing because Cleo’s makes excellent food and I see no way that they will stay in business if they continue such practices.
We were excited for the Mediterranean food as my wife is vegetarian and we like this type of food.
We first the first in the restaurant for dinner and our experience was underwhelming.
- the menu has big section on seafood and asked the server for the local fish. She said all are fresh and local. I asked her to check with chef as many fish on the menu are not from NOLA. She came back and said they are not allowed to tell this. - I ordered Chicken Kabab and was too salty. - There were many small black insects flying around the food and we had to continuously fly them off. The server said sorry and these are coming from their next door store. They have to keep the doors connecting to the restaurant open.
They automatically added 20% tip so no option to give minimum as out experience was so underwhelming.
I hope they improve on these issues.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Anna Steele
Fruitflies all around the restaurant, rude service, and a 20% gratuity were taken from the party of three. Do NOT go there to enjoy your meal!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Altijani Hussin
If you are looking for a genuine humus and genuine beef kofta, then stop here. I ate in multiple halal restaurants in NOLA, and this one gets the full mark on food. I gave them 4 stars in atmosphere because the chairs were a little stiff.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish
Leroy
The food is ok, a little bland. Definitely french quarter prices, and no free refills on soda. My drink was half empty, and she topped it off but kept the rest of my can soda that I paid for.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Eliana Ampey
The sautéed vegetable platter was delicious and much appreciated in a city where vegan and vegetarian options are difficult to find. The service was lovely as well.
It was a little concerning seeing this restaurant completely empty on a Wednesday night. Still gave it a shot and it was well worth it. The T Bone steak was cooked beautifully, very well seasoned as well as the fries that accompanied it. Definitely give this place a try whenever in NOLA.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Like the other reviews said, there are fruit flies lingering, and there is a hostess with not the most welcoming demeanor. However, the food is great! Please be wary they are Halal friendly and don't serve alcohol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Ordered too much food but ate every last, delicious bite. The chicken was superb. Will return the next time I’m in Nola.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Shawarma
Went to Cleo's for dinner and there was nobody to attend, so we choose to sit by ourselves as the restaurant was pretty empty with only one other table occupied. The service was slow as there was only 1 girl who also working as the host. The food quality and taste was good.
When we received the bill which was split into 2 bills for a total of 4 people, we noticed a mandatory service charge of 22% for 4 people and then taxed on the total including the service charge. The attached bill is for 2 people. On asking the owner if the unadvertised mandatory service charge and the tax applied to it was legal, he replied rudely that he would like to get into legal trouble as that's how his system is configured to tax on the service charge as well, and has been doing the same for the past 5-6 years. And that the service charge is to pay his servers which happened to be only one person.
Although the food was good, we would not recommend this business with extremely poor customer service and blatant practice of hidden charges.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
I would give Cleo's 10 stars if I could! The chef is a master. High quality and tasty; the spices were just right. The portions were more than ample. The prices are very modest. It's the best meal I've had in years!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good food with friendly staff.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Excellent food and service! If you are in New Orleans you must eat there!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salad, Falafel Appetizer, Fried Eggplant Platter, Vegetarian Platter
After you get tired of shrimp and grits, Poboys, gumbo and étouffée try some fresh new flavors.
The food was well seasoned and well prepared. None of the seafood or meat was overcooked. It was just right. The yellow rice and hummus are delicious.
Seating and service was fast. In fact I’m surprised this place isn’t more crowded. It would be a nice for groups.
There is a natural gas smell when you first walk in that they should look into. The first night the hostess was friendly attentive and fast.
However on 08/01 the beautiful long haired hostess took a while to warm up. She seemed distracted or annoyed at first. She was short tempered and seemed 2 when greeting 2 guests. They actually left about 10 minutes later due to the lack of attention they received. We knew the food was good and it was our last night in town so we decided to stay and hope things got better for us and it did.
This place is definitely worth a try but needs to be aware that first impressions are a big deal so the host needs to make guests feel welcomed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
A food oasis for all and also those VEGAN & VEGETARIANS. Great location. Reasonable prices
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lamb Shawarma, Falafel Appetizer, Fried Eggplant Platter
My husband and I love the food at Cleo’s. We regularly get carry out from the Canal Street location, and we highly recommend!
Be aware that if you eat at the Decatur street location you will be charged a SERVICE FEE of $9.95 on your bill. The waitress informed us that it is a fee for the kitchen staff, and that customers have been complaining. Apparently the owners’ way of compensating for this is to LOWER the suggested wait staff tip on your bill. Our bill suggested tip amounts ranging from 2-6%, meaning they suggest we tip our waitress as low as 99 cents! We would never tip our server such a low amount, and I cannot imagine that they think this is a fair way to do business. Perhaps they should just raise their entree prices so that their servers and kitchen staff can earn a living wage without tacking surprise fees on your bill.
So unless you want to pay an extra ten dollars just for sitting and eating in their restaurant, I suggest you get carry out from the Canal Street location. This is disappointing because Cleo’s makes excellent food and I see no way that they will stay in business if they continue such practices.
Restaurantji Recommends
We were excited for the Mediterranean food as my wife is vegetarian and we like this type of food.
We first the first in the restaurant for dinner and our experience was underwhelming.
- the menu has big section on seafood and asked the server for the local fish. She said all are fresh and local. I asked her to check with chef as many fish on the menu are not from NOLA. She came back and said they are not allowed to tell this.
- I ordered Chicken Kabab and was too salty.
- There were many small black insects flying around the food and we had to continuously fly them off. The server said sorry and these are coming from their next door store. They have to keep the doors connecting to the restaurant open.
They automatically added 20% tip so no option to give minimum as out experience was so underwhelming.
I hope they improve on these issues.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Fruitflies all around the restaurant, rude service, and a 20% gratuity were taken from the party of three. Do NOT go there to enjoy your meal!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
If you are looking for a genuine humus and genuine beef kofta, then stop here.
I ate in multiple halal restaurants in NOLA, and this one gets the full mark on food. I gave them 4 stars in atmosphere because the chairs were a little stiff.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish
The food is ok, a little bland. Definitely french quarter prices, and no free refills on soda. My drink was half empty, and she topped it off but kept the rest of my can soda that I paid for.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
The sautéed vegetable platter was delicious and much appreciated in a city where vegan and vegetarian options are difficult to find. The service was lovely as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Vegetarian Platter
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