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Has there ever been a restaurant to cause more hum and buzz than Galatoire’s Bistro? Loyalists to Galatoire’s New Orleans ranted, railed and ran their mouths about “the horror” of a second Galatoire’s, in Baton Rouge. The concept did not sit well, and a snit ensued. Typical. Oh, how New Orleanians hate change. In any case, those who own/operate the eponymous Galatoire’s of New Orleans opened this second location in Baton Rouge and smartly called it Galatoire’s Bistro. This clearly distinguishes it from the New Orleans 100-year-old mother ship, but maintains an essential tie. And a bistro it is—albiet less consistent.

Tasked to tackle the time-honored tradition of lunch at Galatoire’s, my dining companion and I arrived at Galatoire’s Bistro around 11:45. The restaurant is still in its infancy at just over a month old. In typically elegant Galatoire’s fashion, along with a bit of table shuffling, we were accommodated after a reasonable wait.

The essence of a bistro is its more casual atmosphere and approach to food. While Galatoire’s Bistro is part of an upscale strip shopping center in a former restaurant on what can be considered the edge of Baton Rouge, the space is comfortable, contemporary and charming, decorated in shades of gray, black and white—less formal than its New Orleans counterpart, but purposefully so. The owners know there is no re-creating the New Orleans experience. Pass through the small bar area in the front to a wide room filled with white tablecloth-draped tables. Without sitting elbow to elbow (as one happily does downstairs in New Orleans), every table is visible and just close enough for people watching and chatting with neighbors.

Reports are service is less polished than in New Orleans. We put our wonderful server, Jeff, through his paces, sneaking info out of him about whether the turtle soup au sherry had real turtle meat (it does) and seeing if he made excuses for the food being different from New Orleans (he didn’t). Lunch is table d’hote, three courses for $19.50—a choice of soup or salad, an entrée and a dessert. The salad maison is a fresh and light bed of mixed greens, tomatoes, crumbled bleu cheese and spiced pecans, dressed with a slightly tart, creamy and impossibly light mayonnaise-based dressing. The turtle soup, full of bright lemon flavor and gentle-flavored ground turtle meat was masked by a bit too much sherry—a difficult pour from a ramekin rather than a cruet.

Entrée choices are broad, ranging from salad to fish, chicken and more. The poisson (trout) meuniere amandine was as expected, a large pan-fried filet crisply fried to golden and sitting atop a small amount of nutty meuniere butter. Some diners have complained the trout was bland and swimming in too much butter. At the table next to ours we ogled the roasted chicken clemenceau, served here as a whole chicken quarter, skin crisp and golden, topped with a lush fall of potatoes and mushrooms. Every bite was eaten. The undisputed hit of the lunch menu, however, is the Bistro’s oysters en brochette po-boy. Flaky, tender, good quality French bread is swiped with meuniere butter and a slick of mayonnaise, then topped with six fat, juicy, bacon-wrapped, deep-fried oysters, shredded lettuce and tomato slices. It’s a heavenly combination of textures and flavors. Alongside the po-boy comes a hay-stack of crunchy shoestring potatoes for delicious accompaniment.

Desserts are still a work in progress, but the coffee is rich, hot and dark. We were left to sip and visit, while Jeff crumbed the table and the staff silently removed the bread plates. Departing an hour and half after we began, it is easy to say Galatoire’s Bistro is wonderfully independent. It still has some work to do if it is to become a luncheon landmark here.