The Big Easy NC

What a huge disappointment! I hardly know where to begin - poor or should I say nonexistent service, bland food, small servings, and ludicrously high prices! Picture this: after waiting for 30 minutes everyone in your party is served EXCEPT one person. Server says she is going back for her plate and never returns. Everyone waits until their food gets cold and then in desperation shares it with the forgotten guest. Eventually you are able to flag down your server who says she will check on the food. She walks around and doesn’t bother to let you know anything. Eventually the food is brought and when you inquire you are told, in a rude tone, that the food had to be remade because she found a hair in it! She pauses, seemingly waiting for you to thank her for noticing the hair, when all the everyone in your party is wondering how many hairs they already swallowed! Yuck! In a final bizarre twist your server storms out of the restaurant, seemingly quitting or being fired on the spot!! Never fear, though, the hostess brings your bill - no adjustment for the late meal - $85 for your trouble. Stay away from the Big Easy, if you are craving Cajun you’d be better off at Popeyes Chicken!

The meals were exceptional. The atmosphere was filled with the laid-back spirit of the Big Easy. Thanks to the wonderful staff for a pleasant experience.

Came in Saturday night it was so hot in there I bent the menu using it as a fan. We seated ourselves & it took 20-25mins for us to finally be greeted. When we were asked our order, they were out of everything we wanted. Highly disappointed when I’ve never had this experience here! All we could get was an extremely wet Caesar salad with w/ a nice waitress. And a bunch of street peddlers coming to us begging for money. The only reason I’m giving 2 stars because of the waiter when she finally came. She was very courteous

I went here on a Saturday, late afternoon. It didn’t seem very busy, but the bartender came thru by getting me seated and being my server. I was seated more towards the rear so the lighting was pretty dim, but it was okay with me. I loved the atmosphere and vibe. It was calm and very nice artwork- kind of gave a jazzy vibe.

I ordered crab cakes, green beans, and mac. Everything was on point. The crab cakes actually were meaty and not just breading. The freshly cooked green beans were garlic flavored. The mac and cheese was cheesy and piping hot.

On a future trip to Raleigh, I would definitely consider exploring more from their menu.

I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. I cannot recommend this place in good faith to anyone. Service was slow despite not being busy, and the food was the most “meh” experience I’ve had in Raleigh in a while.

Their service logistics need work, you can start by firing Chris. We arrived between lunch and dinner service when it wasn’t busy at all. At the door “Chris” told us to seat ourselves. Seems they should have a “seat yourself” sign because we watched many couples stand at the host stand and then decide to leave after no one greeted them. After being seated, it look at least 15 minutes before a man who looked like the manager brought us menus. The place was not busy at all and many servers walked right by us without making any attempt to acknowledge our existence. The manager and one other server both told us Chris would be our server. Chris walked by us several times and refused to make eye contact or acknowledge us at all. Finally Asia walked past and realized we didn’t even have drinks so she got us some waters. Again, said that Chris would be our server, who was completely ignoring us. After about 30 minutes of waiting, Caitlin, the bar tender, took our order and handled our service for the meal. We ordered our entire meal start to finish. A normal couple would have abandoned ship by now but we had time to kill and this place has been on our list for a while.

The food was entirely unremarkable. The pimento fritters were tasty but it’s hard to mess up fried cheese. The taste of Louisiana platter was disappointing. The jambalaya and fried gator were the best parts, the other two dishes tasted like sad flavorless bean paste.

We watched other tables get seated after us despite the fact that we were told it was “seat yourself”. We watched those tables get served, pay their checks, and leave before we received our final dishes.

Don’t waste your time or money, eat somewhere else.

The Big Easy is a popular full Bar & restaurant on Fayetteville St that offers a very lively atmosphere featuring a live DJ on weekends, 2 levels of seating and New Orleans style Cajun menu. I visited and ordered from their late night menu after 11:30 p.m. Staff was friendly and kind. We were seated near the bar and the DJ DVS was spinning throwback Hip Hop & R&B. He is excellent. He didn’t play a bad song.
I decided on the catfish platter and had a side house salad. I paired it with a old fashioned bourbon cocktail. Our waitress worked hard at bussing and serving tables. She was overwhelmed with work due to the lack of staff. Despite this, our food arrived quickly given the time of night. My catfish was the perfect amount of filet and nice and crispy. This is definitely a convenient stop for a Cajun style brunch or for some weekend fun while downtown. They offer all the vibes with DJ DVS and karaoke some nights.

I enjoyed this place! Nothing bad to say about it unless I nitpick. The waitress was very attentive besides the place being short staffed. Food was hot and drinks were cold. The atmosphere was very relaxed would recommend this for a date night or meet up with friends for drinks and good food. I'll definitely be eating here again!
Shout out to my waitress Asia she was putting in work on those stairs

Really enjoying the atmosphere here. Started with a whiskey sours for myself and a big easy Manhattan. The whiskey sours was 80% sours go 20 % whiskey. Order at your own peril. The Manhattan wasnt the best. We labeled it ok. No alternate notes. The Louisiana crab dip was exceptional. The wife ordered the salmon and was underwhelmed. Missed a lot of the notes described in the menu. Would skip it next time. I had the etoufee and was pleased. It does have a rice built in even tho the menu doesn't say so don't order a side of the rice. Jalapeno and honey cornbread on the side is nice. Both the brownie and bananas foster come in half sizes which is super rare and nice. Both satisfy.