Il Posto Italian Cafe

Cute coffee shop with light meals! Its a gourmet-​ish soup and salad or sandwish kind of place. Always fresh! We go back every so often.

I spend a lot of time here when I’m in NOLA. Too much time. It’s a great spot… it could be bigger that would take away from what it offers. It feels like a Brooklyn café. It’s a perfect mix of chill factor AND a little bit of snobbery. The folks who work are nice… definitely a little grit goes a one way. The espresso is a little too bitter for my taste… in the past I’ve had a decent glass of wine. They are known for their paninis and they are really, really good. Again, very Brooklyn-​esque. A great neighborhood find and worth the drive.

Truly awful! I chose this as my birthday lunch place with a friend. The counter clerk/​meal maker was disinterested, bordering on rude. This is a small place, so four dirty, unbussed tables are noticeable. After cleaning our own table, we waited and waited. There was no one ahead of us. Finally our paninis were served: both were badly burned. Who serves burned food, unless you just don’t care? The salad was bland. The coffee was fine.

I used to go to Il Posto for breakfast on a regular basis. I endured the rude person behind the counter until I couldn’t take it any more. Now I take my business elsewhere where the people are friendly and they welcome me! What a relief. So glad I made the break.

Eh.
I’ve been walking past this place since I moved to the neighborhood about two months ago, and I got mixed reviews from everyone I asked so it wasn’t very high on my priority list. Finally gave it a try this afternoon, and I can see why I got the response I did.
First off, this has nothing to do with the layout or interiors — I kind of like the funky coffeehouse vibe it gives off. Throw in the fact that there were college students at one table outlining some gender studies article, and a we-clearly-have-little-in-common-but-our-food-hasn’t-come-yet first date at another table. Cute and charming and neighborhood-​y
Really the first thing I didn’t enjoy was the counter experience. A purple-​haired girl who was making another order of food, taking a coffee order, and then barista-​ing was clearly working hard. The guy who kept peeking out of the back and pretending not to see me in line, and then giving snarky, rude answers to the girl in front of me who asked how the salad dressing was made, was not working hard. He took my order when the other counter employee asked him to help out, but not without throwing a bit of attitude first.
I mentioned two paninis which had caught my eye and asked him which one he would recommend. However, instead of saying «Caprese panini» I said «Bruschetta panini» by accident, and he gave me some wicked attitude about how something like that doesn’t even exist. Considering they are basically the same ingredients, I’d argue «something like that» DOES exist, but I digress. He was pretty rude about it, especially seeing as how asking for recommendations from a restaurant employee isn’t, like, outside the realm of normalcy.
Purple-​hair girl made my panini while I waited, and just when I thought «Man this is taking a while», she called me up to grab my food. Walked home, opened up the container… panini was pretty burnt. Like, one whole side was blackened, and the other side was pretty dark for what started out at ciabatta bread. Got through about half of it, but between the bitterness of the burnt bread and the carcinogenic aftertaste, I gave up. Ate about half the salad, but there was lettuce that had «gotten small» as my boss likes to say. AKA, wilted from age. Eh.
Dressing was good though. The girl in front of me was right about that.

Awesome place to go for coffee and a bite to eat. Music was on point, food was delicious. Service was awesome. Please go eat there when you have the chance.

The perfect kind of neighborhood café. Excellent coffee, lemonades, salads, sandwiches, etc.

I really like this place. It is a quaint (sometimes crowded) old house with an outdoor space that could be really nice with some care.
Espresso, panini, & salads are great here! The prices are reasonable, the ingredients are high quality, and the portions are generous.
If the owners or management could spend a little bit of money and effort on the courtyard, it could be really nice! It is in need of some grooming, better furniture, etc. When they spruce up the outdoor space, I would go here much more often!

BLUF: Cool little artisan eatery in cool residential part of Uptown. Good food and staff. Very chill place. If choosing meats/​cheeses I recommend getting help from the staff if you dont know what you are doing.
Went for their happy hour on Wednesday. $ 1 off wines and free appetizers. Appetizers were really good; sweet potato chips (soft not crispy) and bruschetta. Both were good. Their wines are pretty expensive $ 9 but you have to remember you are at a restaurant that has a happy hour and not a bar so the prices are standard.
Order at the counter; helpful staff. We split a pannini with procuito, cheese and basil pesto. It was good and a good size.
We also got a cheese/​meat tray. The meats and cheeses were average at best but that could be our fault since we chose them. The meats were very very thin with not much taste or substance. Not bad but not exciting. The cheese were just not a great flavor which is our fault for ordering and the fault of our palates. They were high quality and given in good proportion.***However, the extras they send with the cheese/​meat plates are awesome. Great multigrain bread, olive oil/​balsamic, fruits, walnuts, giant capers, peppers. Really great condiments for the meats and cheeses. I just need to do a better job ordering i think. I recommend getting suggestions from the staff.
Definitley a cute little place in a nice residential NOLA neighborhood. I’d go back but no rush.

Over priced, poor service, but a great courtyard. Good quality ingredients, but the small portions make it an unfulfilling experience.

This place is a fantastic, hidden gem! It’s definitely as good as st. James and you don’t get the crazy crowd! I will be back!

The food is REALLY good. I’ll start off by saying that. The bagels-​WOW! Don’t forget those homemade oreo cookies. oooh! The decorations are very cute, and the location is awesome. However, service is «meh». I went in on a Monday morning-​place was practically empty. The two employees weren’t friendly-​they didn’t greet us when we want in, and they didn’t really seem happy as we asked for recommendations on what to eat. In addition, we waited. and waited.for our food. Meanwhile, the woman stood there chit chatting with the guy while he made our food. at his leisure. Someone else came in to order, and the employee chatted for a few minutes more to finish what she was saying BEFORE helping the customer. Huh? This place is GREAT-​but you need better employees. They are totally screwing up your business.

Went with my boyfriend for a late breakfast /​lunch. I got a bagel with cream cheese tomato and avocado that I enjoyed. He ordered the caprese panini that came with a salad. I didn’t taste his sandwich but he said it was just ok. His salad came with some Dijon type mustard based dressing that I loved but he wasn’t crazy about. Coffee and tea were both delicious (I ordered raspberry herbal and he got a mocha coffee). Will definitely be back to try some more breakfasts items since it’s tucked in our neighborhood and will definitely be checking out the Tuesday and Wednesday happy hour.

I love Il Posto!
The food is amazing and the coffee is even more amazing. The staff are always super nice and helpful/​knowledgeable when asked about menu items. Make sure you come in on a Tuesday or Wednesday night for their happy hour– free appetizers (brussel sprouts and hummus crostini, yummy!!) and awesome drink specials. Definitely one of my favorite cafes to study in.

I’ve been coming to this place since it opened, and it was really nice and quaint. However, recently, it has gone somewhat downhill with high prices for food that you could easily make at your house.

I’m a little disappointed in this place right now. I like to stop there — good coffee and good scones. This morning I ordered a bagel and the woman behind the counter was not friendly. She looked miserable. I was sorta miffed about the service but didn’t think it was worth writing a review until I opened my bagel. I asked for it toasted and it’s not. I saw her put it in the toaster but it’s not even warm.
I know this isn’t a big deal but when you’re really looking forward to that one bagel on «treat day» or whatever lame first-​world thing we all do, you want it toasted!!!
And she skimped on the cream cheese, too.
They should care more about their guest experience. Coffee is still good, though.

The best coffee and scones in town. Hands down.
Sweet neighborhood establishment!

This place is a perfect lunch destination! I got the ½ soup (tomato basil) ½ sandwich (classic grilled cheese) and a lg café au lait. My lunch was perfect comfort food! Loved it.

Overpriced. $ 3 for ½ a glass of green tea? No! They charged me for ice! Are you kidding?! Tomato soup needs to be strained; We each, essentially, got a cup of tomato seeds. I paid for 2x meat on my panini and got 1 tiny sliver of extra meat compared to hers. Our sandwiches (not a panini, a sandwich) was a 4“x4“x3″ loaf of bread with about 1/​16″ of meat. So not worth $ 13. Dinner for 2 = $ 46 for lots of bread? We won’t be back.

Il Posto is a very interesting concept, simple, fresh good food in a nice space. The food was tasty, we had a tuna salad and a Hero panini. Everything was fresh and good. Unfortunately, the service is horrible. No «hello» when you walk through the door. The gentleman who works the counter has an odd holier than thou attitude. They need at least one server/​food runner. The guy running the show has such a strange attitude that I doubt I will ever go back again. The owner, who is also the chef, was pleasant enough, and they were pretty busy. I can’t stress enough how rude and unhelpful the guy at the counter was. Get over yourself, brah. A shame that the food was great, because I’ll never go back.

What is up with the grubby, smug young woman who works here? I’m tired of seeing everyone handle my money, their phones, their nostrils, and then my food. Really tasty food, though. But small portions and shockingly expensive. If they had one designated cook with clean hands and one smug service person at the counter, I may forgive them. But c ‘mon guys, at those prices you need to have standards.

I am thoroughly charmed by Il Posto, or as I am likely to mistakenly refer to it henceforth, «Il Postino.» I am *so* inspired. Now I just want to day dream at a corner table and rip off some of Pablo Neruda poems.
In all seriousness, once I stepped into this place I forgot I was in New Orleans. It was a dark and stormy day…
(yikes, that doesn’t bode well. Neruda would never be prone to such cliché!)
So, let’s just say that the overwhelming vibe of Il Posto is that of a rustic Italian café. Not unlike the café in the movie Il Postino. You may be overcome by the desire to just order shot after shot of espresso, but the sight and smells of the café’s offerings will convince you to do otherwise.
I admit I’m not at all a fan of half service. I prefer to sit down and order from a server, receive food from my server, ask them for whatever else I may need, and then tip them. It’s the whole anxiety of «will I get a seat after I order my food» thing, plus the fact that I just want to be served.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll just ignore all that, because Il Posto is worth that little annoyance.
The pastry on the counter is incredibly tempting. A bite of my friend’s insanely moist and decadent carrot cupcake proved that they might all live up to their expectations.
The menu is on chalkboards above the bar. For near sighted people like me, this proves to be a bit challenging, though I understand that perhaps the menu changes frequently enough to demand it. I was undecided between a choice of two vegetarian panini and a cold sandwich with hummus, avocado and veggies on whole grain (this sounds like the perfect sandwich on a hot day).
But then I saw the antipasti and all bets were off. We split a cheese plate with all five cheeses they offer and then opted for a garden salad. The cheese plate is divine and has just the right amount of each variety, my favorites being the goat and Brie. The bread that comes with is irresistible and fresh, rather than the typical crostini. The garden salad was good, albeit not very exciting. My friend added avocado to hers and I think everyone should follow her example, though I doubt I’d order the same salad next time with all the other options.
It had been a trying afternoon. Ordering a glass of Chianti just seemed the right thing to do, yes, right in the middle of the day. After all, when in Italy…