I love this place. The sushi is always good, and the staff is always friendly and patient. The prices are fair, and their miso soup is excellent. I also really like their honey hot tea. I tried to order a honey hot tea at Minato once after trying it at Chiyo and I was just given bland green tea, so try Chiyo's tea. I would highly recommend this place for childless adults (first dates, people who are dating, groups of adults or parents who have a night to themselves) because it has a nice, serene, calming vibe with a somewhat intimate setting inside, and nothing ruins the atmosphere like an unruly child or a crying baby.

My experience was great. The portions are huge, and well worth the money. The food was excellent. I was little annoyed at first that there were no salt and pepper shakers at the table, but once my entree arrived, I quickly found that they were not needed. The Caesar salad could have used a little S&P, but everything else was perfect. I had the short ribs, and my husband had the catfish, and we both loved our dishes. The House Merlot which I ordered was a perfect companion to my food, as well. The classical music and ambiance were wonderful. I would love to go back to Louisiana Restaurant. My husband and I were dressed down, which I felt weird about upon entering for the first time, but we still received great service.

I would like to share my experience at Clementine.

A group of us (party of six) went there recently, on a Saturday night, around 5 p.m. We entered through the expanded area entrance. We could see a table of people seated, but no other diners in the area. After waiting a short time for the hostess to come, we were told that since we did not have a reservation we would not be seated before 8 or 9 p.m. We did not see a clearly printed sign stating that reservations were preferred, nor is there anything on their website which we visited prior to our trek to the establishment. And, to add further insult, we were half-heartedly offered seating at a small piece of furniture right in the front walkway, across from the front door, that looked like a bureau with chairs placed around it. The bureau was so small that it did not seem possible to have enough space for six plates and glasses, and the way it was presented to us, we did not actually feel welcome to sit there. Of course, we left. Now, I must inject here that we had been to Clementine on several previous occasions, for breakfast and lunch, and had a pleasurable experience each time, which is why we decided to go there for dinner. We went a couple of blocks down from Clementine, to a Hamilton Tavern, which was much more crowded, and were seated for dinner less than 20 minutes after our arrival.

We understand the value of keeping to the previously scheduled reservations; however, to turn away 6 diners without making any kind of effort to accommodate them seemed pretty pretentious. My question to the staff of Clementine is when did they get to be so self-important?! I will now have to give considerable thought to ever going back.