The Flaming Torch has evolved farther than most French bistros hereabouts, its style landing about midway between those of the traditional La Crepe Nanou and the stridently nouvelle Lilette. The food has incorporated a lot of Creole flavors over the years, but the menu both talks and walks the French line. It's a shade more expensive than most Uptown bistros, but the plates are a bit more generous.
The present Flaming Torch opened in 2004. But its lineage began in Metairie in the 1980s, when a French-Moroccan chef named Pouri opened a unique restaurant called Scheherezade in Metairie. Chef Pouri had a gimmick: he cooked the entrees with a large blowtorch. He moved the restaurant first to Kenner, then to the French Quarter, where it picked up the colorful name. He got out of the business and sold it to his manager Hassan Khaleghi. The move to Magazine Street, fire codes and space limitations made the blowtorch bit impossible. Uptowners didn't know the history, and accepted the place as another good French bistro. When Magazine Street became the prime New Orleans restaurant row after Katrina, the Flaming Torch gathered a new following. After a couple of old French chefs and one younger local guy, the kitchen was handed off to Chef Nick Gile, who had a good ten-year run at the Bombay Club before turning up here.
The restaurant's entrance is a door off Magazine Street, making it a little secretive. The downstairs dining room has a clean elegance, low lighting, and (when the room fills up) lively acoustics. The upstairs dining room--used mostly for private parties--is a conversion of a nice 1890s townhouse, with tables not quite fitting into a pretty double parlor. The service style is friendly and personable, with no formality.
Order light. Everything here is served more amply than in comparable restaurants. Good to remember: they're open 365 days a year.
| Attitude | 2 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 1 |
| Hipness | 1 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 2 |
| Value | 0 |
| Wine | 1 |
