Desperados Pizza

Closed but interestingly enough there is now a Desperados Burgers and Bar in Washington, DC; it is listed in Unilocal.It is definitely the same graphics and imagery. The burger emphasis seems to be a play on the one of kind New Orleans institution on Esplanade.

This place is closed now. Saw them loading kitchen equipment into a truck 2 days ago. Think they lost their liquor license and just served food for two weeks before the doors shut for good. By desperado’s, gonna miss ya.

Ok… I hate to see a business fail, but when I went here I knew they had the wrong mix. A temperamental chef and a wait-​staff that cow-​tows to his moods. No matter how good you think you are, you HAVE to listen to your clientele.

Woe is me… I think they’ve closed. Two weeks ago we went in and they had failed to renew their liquor license. Two days ago hub walked by to see stuff being hauled out.
More woe for not having one more taste of those fried green tomatoes.

And then I found a hair in my pizza and the love affair ended.

I’ve had every sort of experience in my visits to Desperados, from good to bad to ugly. I’ve wanted very much to like this place, to support it’s growth and see it live up to the potential that it promised in it’s early days. Alas, it just hasn’t worked out that way.
They’ve gone through an entire kitchen staff top to bottom quite a few times, which for the relatively short time that they’ve been open, is not a good sign. Our last meal there this weekend was served with an apology that everyone in the kitchen is brand new and they haven’t quite gotten the hang of it. The food reflected this and our attempts to give the benefit of the doubt ended in our leaving our meal half uneaten and us with a wish that we’d have given it less effort.
The salad we’d started with was wonderful. It was large and filled with ingredients that tasted fresh and had me optimistic that the meal was going to be a rebound from my last experience. The veggie sandwich though, squashed those dreams by coming out in pitiful proportion and lacking any flavor that impressed upon my memory. The worst offense however, were the onion rings, which were charred and amazingly still soggy, saturated with fryer oil. They tasted as though the fryer was in need of a cleaning.
We left the onion rings and they were removed from our bill as soon as the waitress saw the state of them, which was the right thing to do. What would have been better still is if they put the effort into making sure that the food is serve-​able when it leaves the kitchen, which has been the biggest reason that I don’t visit Desperado’s more often.
There is one redeeming reason to go back there though and that’s the bar and more specifically the bartender Jessica. I typically find myself stopping in only if I see her there and the times when she isn’t, I’ve been left wanting. When she is there, she’s funny, entertaining and capable of making us stay for another drink or two.
My hope for this place is that the bar will keep the kitchen alive long enough for it to finally work out the kinks, because it is a nice location.

The best option for pizza in an area that lacks any other decent options. Located a block past the heart of Frenchmen St., Desperado’s is a great eating option, particularly late night. I tend to frequent this place often for their $ 4 PBR and slice deal. The slices are actually really good and they offer a menu of about 15 different unique toppings you can add… my favorites include craw fish, eggplant spears, pulled pork, Italian sausage, prosciutto, and fried pickles (not all together of course). Place has a cozy feel and bartenders are awesome and friendly.
They serve only pepperoni and cheese slices late night and this is where quality sometimes does lack, but still a great late night food option..

Fried pickles on pizza?! Slices with custom and creative toppings?! It may be good «drunk food» on Frenchman but I even love their pizza stone cold sober. A great little joint with a great location and awesome deals like their slice and a PBR special.

Went here mardi GRAS night, nasty undercooked pizza, dirty restaurant, dirty pans and remnants of old pizza in fresh pizzas crust, greasy pizza, raw crust in middle, and $ 4 a slice for this nasty crap? It was supposed to be pepperoni but few pepperonis on it. I only ate the outside as the center was raw and i was sick the next day and another member of our foursome was feeling illl as well. Disgusting, nasty, this place should be burned to the ground to make certain it remains closed.

This place had a nice, warm, friendly look and feel from the street. We were greeted by the bar tender and given menus the second we sat down. Great giant screen for football watching. Then the dream bubble burst. The single server walked by us no less than six times, never once even glancing at us. It was just the two of us plus about four others in the place. Surely one of the other 10 staff members milling about would notice our abandonment, but alas nobody to the rescue. I swear we took showers earlier! Had to leave. Hotel clerk later confirmed it was a bad choice.

Seriously addicted to their «Thunder Chicken» pizza but have begun trying out the rest of the menu and so far always pleasantly surprised. When you fight over the last piece of pizza, you know it’s good!
Great and imaginative drinks with fresh ingredients like sangria too. The restaurant is beautifully done in local charm with a charming and attentive staff to match. Very clean and enjoyed some fun events upstairs. When we’re too tired to dine in, we appreciate the delivery!

I loved my pizza here! I had pepperoni with roasted garlic. Yum! The crust was super thin and they must have painted it with olive oil, because it tasted super light.
The staff is alot cooler than me, too. So, maybe I should go more often and have the coolness rub off on me. They’re friendly too!

Every time I go to Desperado’s Pizza I feel like I’m doing a public service, because it’s always, always empty and it seems that I may be one of the few people keeping this place in business. At most, I think I’ve seen maybe one other table with people in all the times I’ve been there. Granted, it’s only been a handful of times, and maybe it’s a coincidence — surely they get busy sometimes?
The food is good, prices are reasonable as I recall, and the service has always been friendly (albeit rather slow). On my first visit, it took foreeeevverrrr to get our food, but they’d just opened so we figured it was the result of growing pains, totally natural when you’re just opening a business. However, I’ve found that Desperado’s is highly consistent when it comes to two things: an under-​occupied dining room, and extremely slow service. (Which, of course, doesn’t really make sense, since you’d expect them to be slow if it was busy… But it never is.)
In any event, it’s more than decent pizza, and I’ll certainly go back periodically as long as they’re in business. Pizza snobs may not love this place, but I’d say it’s par for the pizza course in New Orleans. This is not NYC, people. Lower your expectations a bit, will ya? Cut us some slack and go have another drink. All pizza is amazing if you’re wasted.

My husband and I were in New Orleans for the week, and I can only vouch for their pizza, delivered. Though the delivery was quick and the guy was cool, as a Chicagoan, I just can NOT endorse this pizza. I know I know, what did we expect ordering pizza in New Orleans? I don’t know, REAL pizza sausage maybe? ;) Sorry Chicagoans, good luck with your NOLA pizza search!

Pretty good quality food for a decent price. I wouldn’t say it’s the best pizza in the city, but it was really good. (I think Slice is the best.)
A friend and I had an early dinner here. It was quiet and slow when we were there, so I don’t know how it gets on a busy night.
We split a House Salad and a Margherita Pizza. Both were excellent. For dessert, we split a featured special they were having that night. I can’t recall the name, but they were sort of like dark chocolate donut holes with raspberry sauce to dip them in. Yum.
Our server was very friendly and attentive.
Cool place.

I am updating my review because management has changed… Now, all their food is fresh made and 100% better. All new staff, and horribly cool bartenders that are quick and fun to be around. Go. Enjoy. C’mon, when was the last time you had fresh pesto?

I’ve been several times and never had the burnt cracker problem or a shorting of toppings as described by some of the previous reviewers. I do know that they recently changed their kitchen manager so hopefully they’ve smoothed out whatever speed bumps they had. Usually I get the «happy hour» special of a (large) slice of cheese or pepperoni and a beer for $ 5. A pretty cheap meal and that early your can sit at the bar or outside and people watch. The servers are always really sweet and attentive. I haven’t ordered delivery yet but they delivery to the FQ, Marigny, Bywater, and a few blocks on the other side of St. Claude which was good to hear since many delivery options are FQ only.

Yum! Had the El Desperado pizza and it was great. The place was clean and the staff friendly. We sat outside so we could people watch and the waitress was very prompt and attentive.

Cuban pork sandwich — 8.50. Pretty juicy and flavorful.
Thunder Chicken pizza — 14″ 18.00. The menu said fried chicken, but it was simply chicken strips on top of the pizza. Wasn’t that excited anymore when the pizza arrived… the sauce was good & it was extremely cheesy. You can tell that the dough was hand-​tossed b/​c the pizza came in a weird shape, but it tasted good.
Our server was kinda ditzy, she was all over the place. Came here on another night just to get a beer to-​go and the bartender was awesome.

I may have to try this place again, because I have heard that other people just love it, but my experience was not good and I am hesitant to spend $ 20 on a so-​so pizza. I work in the Quarter and am constantly on the lookout for places to recommend to guests, especially if they deliver to hotels. My co-​workers and I ordered The Cajun to split one night to try out the food. Delivery was fast, but the pizza was so disappointing. First of all, they must have been out of crawfish, but instead of telling us, they just stuck a few measly shrimp on the pie.
The pizza was cold, with a bland tomato sauce, crust that left no impression on me whatsoever, soggy fried green tomatoes, and red peppers that didn’t seem roasted at all.
I have never thrown away leftover pizza, but I did that night.
I am going to go eat at the restaurant next time, probably try a sandwich or a salad, and I will update this review accordingly, but for now I can not recommend that anyone eat from here, especially if it is delivered.