Porter & Luke

Restaurant Review

Anecdotes & Analysis

Operating a restaurant along Metairie Road is a challenge. Dozens have opened over the decades. Only five of the twenty-six currently open have been there over ten years--and that's an all-time high. Nearly every style has been tried, from gourmet bistros to seafood to French to Indian.

This is well enough known to potential operators that new restaurant openings are rare along the ancient highway (it is literally that; Metairie Road follows an above-sea-level bayou ridge). This year's entry is trying something old, but new.

Why It's Essential

If you heard the buzz emanating from early customers of Porter & Luke, you may have taken the impression that it's a more complex restaurant than it is. Which is a classic New Orleans neighborhood cafe, the kind with everything on the menu. Poor boys, red beans, seafood platters, grilled fish, boiled crawfish, fried chicken, grilled oysters, and a lot of Italian dishes--it's all here, in big portions at low prices. Think Mandina's.

Backstory

After over a decade spent cooking with the legendary chef Goffredo Fraccaro at the extinct La Riviera, Vincent Manguno was the explanation for the goodness of several other Jefferson Parish restaurants where he worked--notably the Creole Grille and Nuccio's. Porter & Luke's used to be Zeke's, a seafood place that was great until Zeke Unangst passed away, then dwindled and closed in 2012. Porter and Luke are the names of one of the two owners' young sons. The operating partner is Ricky Christina, who comes from the bar business.

Dining Room

The restaurant is in the center of an old, stark strip mall that happens to be surrounded by one of the city's most affluent neighborhoods. The three long rooms are, from right to left: the always-busy bar, the larger of the two dining rooms, and the smaller one. The tables are covered with tablecloths with white paper on top. The service has been good here since the beginning; there's nothing they won't get for you.

For Best Results

The initial flush of business has toned down a bit, but it's still a good idea to get a reservation on weekends. Order light: they really food you here.