Louis XVI Restaurant

Towering ceilings and a decidedly formal air dominate the airy room. One full-window wall faces the hotel's lush courtyard, providing a wonderfully colorful atmosphere. Inside, the decor suggests a renovation done in "Miami Vice" '80s, but not distractingly so.

French influences on the menu (foie gras terrine, onion soup served gratinee-style, escargot) are balanced with continental takes on local specialties (oysters Rockefeller and Bienville, fish meuniere). The menu leans heavily toward seafood without neglecting the Franco-required lamb and duck dishes. The feuillantine du crustaces pairs rich local seafood (crab and crawfish) and delicate puff pastry with a creamy nantua sauce (bechamel with crawfish stock). The peppercorn-crusted tuna is accompanied by a sweet saute of red onions, pine nuts and raisins. A summer special, fish a la Marseillaise, employs Mediterranean flavors on a tender fillet of Gulf pompano.