Nola’s Tulsa Review – Where to Eat in Tulsa OK

During our trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, we were pleasantly surprised by a lunch time visit to Nola’s Tulsa. We discovered the restaurant by Googling around at places to eat near us. Nola’s is located in the Cherry Street district, which is a historic district with a nice variety of eateries, parks, and shops. Cherry Street used to be run down, but has been revitalized over the past two decades and is now a pretty cool place to visit.

This post is part of our Tulsa OK travel series

Click on the links below to read more posts about our trip and for guides:

• Is Tulsa Worth Visiting?
• Three Day Itinerary in Tulsa OK
• Day Trip to Bartlesville from Tulsa OK
• Nola’s Creole & Cocktails – Creole Food in Tulsa (Review)
• Woolaroc Nature Preserve and Museum (Review)

To be honest, when we first thought of Oklahoma and what they were famous for when it comes to food, we hit a dead end. Then again, maybe they’re like a shabbier cousin of Texas, but one with the same type of interests and specialties. The typical meal of barbecue, steaks, brisket, fried pickles, sweet tea. We decided to eat something else altogether to mix it up a bit, so here is our review of Nola’s Tulsa.

Note – if we mentioned a food item and a price, this was accurate at the time of publication. Menu items and prices can change!

Cherry Street and Parking at Nola’s Tulsa

Before we begin with the restaurant and food review, let’s talk about Cherry Street.This unassuming street is home to a few local shops and restaurants. There’s street parking, and there’s also parking in front of the plaza where Nola’s is located.

Something to note on your trip – the parking in the plaza is terrible and busy. We arrived at 11am and the parking lot was already almost full. We had to make a lap or two until we found a decent enough parking spot that would fit our car rental.

Second of all, the lines on the parking lot are laughable – it’s as if the people who painted the lines that depict the parking spaces had no concept of how big cars actually are. You have to cross the line if you are driving an SUV otherwise there is no chance of your car fitting into that drawn spot. The locals seem to know this so they just park in whatever spot that they can find. Hence, a chaos in parking. We were driving a Kia Soul and had no issues squeezing that car in the spot.

Atmosphere at Nola’s Tulsa OK

As good as the food is (more on that below), stepping into Nola’s is the most interesting part of the entire experience. In fact, even if there was no restaurant inside, I’d still be willing to visit inside and take a look around. The decor is intimate, with dim lighting and rich dark tones. It’s a very Prohibition-era speak-easy type of vibe. It’s the type of place I could imagine a mafia don having the occasional lunch with the mayor to see how things are shaping up.

It also has the feel of a classy jazz club. Interestingly enough, the building that Nola’s is in now used to be an elementary school. There is both indoor and outdoor seating, though you definitely have to eat inside to get the full experience.

Nola’s Tulsa OK Food Review

There is enough variety at Nola’s to please everyone. Want an old-fashioned po-boy with shrimp on crunchy bread? Check. Want a muffuletta with salami and relish? Check. Gumbo with Andouille sausage? Yes. Jambalaya? Etouffee? All there. There’s also pasta tossed with some creamy and spicy creole sauce, and why not? Everything tastes better with creole sauce, including pasta.

Below is a list of the items we tried, along with a description of the item, the price, and what we thought of it. So read on below!

Maque Choux from Nola’s Tulsa OK

Description: A famous Cajun side dish with bell peppers, onions, and corn.

Price: $3

We didn’t know what this was, or even how to pronounce it. The server told us that it is pronounced as “mag-chew.” Don’t let the name prevent you from trying this awesome side dish. It’s a mixture of sweet corn, peppers, onions, cajun seasoning, and cream. It’s a bit similar to Mexican street corn in terms of the creamy, spicy texture. However, it feels like there is a bit more going on in this dish in terms of flavor.

It was spicy, but not a “my mouth is on fire” kind of spicy. It was also not too creamy, and there was just enough to give you that texture, but it didn’t feel too overwhelming.

Voodoo Chicken from Nola’s Tulsa OK

Description: A Cajun-fried chicken breast topped with shrimp and jumbo lump crab in a mornay sauce. Served with cheese grits and choice of one side.

Price: $15

Not sure what mornay sauce is? It’s a bechamel sauce with cheese. Not sure what bechamel is? It’s a cornerstone of French cuisine, a sauce made with flour, butter, and milk. And it’s delicious, that’s really the main point I’m trying to make.

So you add cheese to the milky sauce, add some seasoning and heat, and you spread that over a perfectly crispy fried chicken. Oh, and then add a few pieces of shrimp and crab over the sauce. It’s a great mix of fried chicken, seafood, and spicy creaminess. The dish was served with cheese grits (cheesy, but not overly creamy) and my side, which was the maque choux I described earlier. Overall, a fantastic dish, very filling, with a great mix of flavors and a little bit of heat to warm up the stomach.

Bourbon Street Baby Backs from Nola’s Tulsa OK

Description: A half rack of Cajun-rubbed ribs cooked until they fall off the bone, glazed with our spicy New Orleans BBQ sauce. Served with cheese grits and choice of one side.

Price: $16

As far as ribs go, this was pretty, pretty good. The ribs were soft and fell easily off the bone. It was also more than enough for one person. The ribs came glazed with Nola’s in-house sauce, and the server also gave us two other different varieties of sauce. One of the sauces was a tangy, spicy in-house variety, and the other a sweeter, smokier flavor. We liked the sweeter, smokier sauce, but both were good. The ribs were served with a nice, creamy heap of cheese grits and the choice of side was the delicious maque choux.

Drinks at Nola’s Tulsa OK

We experienced the restaurant at lunch and we were about to visit the Philbrook museum. This means that we didn’t have time to partake in the fantastic variety of cocktails on offer and just had some iced tea. Honestly, though, we were also driving and just arrived after a flight from our second home town of Sarasota. Nola’s definitely has an incredible list of Prohibition-era cocktails, with modern twists. Definitely something to try the next time we visit.

Overall Review of Nola’s Tulsa OK

This was a truly fantastic experience, and more than a little surprising. The ambiance and interior of the place transports you to an earlier era, and the food lives up to its billing. Whether you’re in the mood for a little New Orleans in your life, or just a really good (and not expensive) place to eat, then this is a great choice.

Have you been to Nola’s before?

Here’s more food related posts we did:

• Virgin Voyages Restaurants and Dining on Scarlet Lady