25+ Best Restaurants in New Orleans: A First-Hand Guide

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New Orleans is the best food city in America, and I will die on that hill. I've been going every year for over a decade, and this is my favorite article to write — partly because the city keeps giving me reasons to update it. After ten-plus years of visiting, I've built this list one meal at a time. My standing rule: try at least one new restaurant per trip before I'm allowed to revisit the classics. It's a rule I break regularly, and I regret nothing.

If you're looking for things to do in New Orleans, I have a separate post on 10 Things to Do in New Orleans, but if you're wondering where to eat, you've come to the right place.

Below are my personal favorites from the last decade — from James Beard Award winners to historic institutions to beloved holes in the wall. Some are notable for their food and atmosphere, others for one specific dish you simply cannot leave without trying. And yes, these are just my favorites — which should tell you something about what kind of food city this is.

The Classic Creole/Cajun Institutions

Brennan's is one of my favorite restaurants in the French Quarter — known for its bright coral-pink exterior, gorgeous courtyard, upscale Creole cuisine, tableside champagne sabering, and the legendary Bananas Foster, which was invented here. It's also one of the best places in the city to try turtle soup. Reservations open 60 days in advance and book up fast.

Commander's Palace is one of the true pillars of the New Orleans culinary community. Nestled in the Garden District since 1893, it's the definition of Haute Creole — vibrant, whimsical, and steeped in history. It's also where many of the city's most celebrated chefs trained, including Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme.

Brigsten's is what I recommend when someone wants Commander's Palace-level quality in an intimate setting. Where Commander's is a grand turquoise landmark, Brigsten's is a tiny Uptown cottage you could easily walk past without noticing. Chef Frank Brigsten has been at the helm for nearly four decades, and the food — roast duck, shrimp bisque, blackened tuna — is as good as it gets. If you prefer quiet, intimate, and deeply personal over grand and vibrant, choose Brigsten's.

Mosquito Supper Club is one of the most unique dining experiences in New Orleans and a dinner I will remember for a long time. The restaurant is inside a restored Victorian cottage in Uptown, made up of just two large communal tables set for ten, serving a multi-course tasting menu nightly. Chef Melissa Martin was raised on home-cooked Cajun food, and 90% of her dishes were passed down from her mother rather than a culinary school. Nearly all ingredients come from local fishermen and farmers, and the meal doubles as a history lesson in Cajun cooking and an impassioned case for the preservation of Louisiana's wetlands and coastal communities. Her cookbook, Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou, captures everything this restaurant stands for. Reservations are released 30 days in advance and go quickly.

Louisiana Classics

Cochon (all the meats): As the name suggests, Cochon is about meat — and specifically, about doing it exceptionally well. Chef-owners Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski, both James Beard Award winners, have built a menu around meat pies, fried boudin, hog's headcheese, cracklin, pork neck cutlets, and rabbit and dumplings. They also run their own butcher shop next door.

Pêche (seafood): What I love about Pêche — also from Donald Link and team — is that it offers something relatively rare in New Orleans: clean, vibrant, light flavors in a city full of heavy, saucy, fried food. The whole grilled fish is the star, but the catfish in chile broth has been a menu mainstay for years for good reason. Funnily enough, the steak tartare and 22oz ribeye are also outstanding.

MaMou (French brasserie): Opened in late 2022, MaMou has quickly become one of the most beloved restaurants in the city for both fine dining enthusiasts and locals. Chef Tom Branighan brings genuinely creative dishes to a beautiful Parisian-style setting — escargot tartlets, braised celery hearts with smoked beef tongue, poisson à la florentine in a caviar beurre blanc. Sommelier Molly Wismeier's wine list is equally exceptional.

For the Caribbean Soul

Compère Lapin (Caribbean-influenced): I had my engagement dinner here years ago at this Caribbean-influenced restaurant from chef-owner Nina Compton, who hails from St. Lucia. It remains a James Beard Award-winning institution and one of the most celebrated restaurants in the city. The Caribbean influence runs throughout — warm, bold, and creative.

Queen Trini Lisa (Trinbagonian): My husband and I always try to seek out Caribbean food wherever we travel, and Queen Trini Lisa in Mid-City is the real deal. Chef-owner Lisa Nelson's BBQ jerk chicken has earned some of the highest praise of any dish in the city. Unpretentious, soulful, and genuinely delicious.

Spicy Mango (Caribbean-Creole fusion): The newest and most exciting addition to New Orleans' Caribbean dining scene, Spicy Mango opened on Frenchmen Street in July 2025 and has already become one of the hottest tables in the Marigny. The space feels like it belongs in Miami: a giant faux mango tree anchoring the dining room, rattan details throughout, courtyard seating, and a DJ booth for the evenings. The features some of my favorite Jamaican dishes: stewed oxtails, curry chicken, jerk chicken, spicy stewed cabbage, etc. Note that the menu leans spicy across the board.

Fritai (Haitian): Tucked into the Tremé neighborhood, Fritai is Chef Charly Pierre's celebration of Haitian cuisine and its deep cultural ties to New Orleans. A three-time James Beard nominee, it's one of those places that rewards the curious diner. The Fritai sandwich — crispy pork or chicken tucked between two fried green plantains with avocado and spicy mango sauce — is the dish that built the restaurant's reputation, and it delivers every time. The whole vibe — colorful, lively, genuinely warm — makes it one of the most joyful dining experiences in the city.

Global Flavors

Dakar NOLA (Senegalese): When I first included Dakar NOLA on this list, I described Chef Serigne Mbaye as a James Beard nominee. Since then, the restaurant has become one of the most decorated in the country. Dakar NOLA won the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in 2024, earned a Michelin recommendation, and was named #6 on North America's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025 — the best restaurant in the entire South. The seven-course pescatarian tasting menu weaves together Senegalese tradition and Louisiana ingredients in a way that feels both deeply personal and completely transportive. Book well in advance. This is a bucket-list dinner.

Luvi (Japanese-Chinese fusion): Sitting in a small, colorful Uptown cottage, Luvi has been one of my go-to creative dining spots since it opened in 2018. Chef Hao Gong expertly blends Japanese and Chinese cuisines into something that feels entirely his own. It's remained just as popular as it was when it first opened, which tells you everything.

Mister Mao (Global flavors): Mister Mao calls itself a "tropical roadhouse" and that description is as wonderfully strange as everything else about it — the tropical decor, the Malort-infused cocktails, the roving dim sum carts during brunch and happy hour, and a menu that zigzags from kashmiri fried chicken to laotian pork fried rice to pani puri potato masala to lechon kawali. It's one of those restaurants that's impossible to describe and essential to experience.

Saffron (Indian-Louisiana fusion): One of my personal favorites to return to on every visit. Saffron brings Indian and Louisiana cuisines together on Magazine Street in a way that is both approachable and refined, and always bursting with flavor. Dishes like the curried seafood gumbo, pork vindaloo, and beef brisket masala are genuinely unlike anything you'll find elsewhere. There's also a chef's tasting menu for just over $100.

Saba (Israeli): Alon Shaya opened Saba in 2018 and it remains one of the best restaurants in New Orleans. The blue crab hummus, harissa roasted chicken, tabbouleh, and pomegranate braised lamb shank are all exceptional. A restaurant that's been a local favorite for years.

Acamaya (Mexican): Opened in July 2024 by chef Ana Castro and her sister, Acamaya has hit the ground running — earning a Michelin Bib Gourmand in its first year and generating serious buzz among the city's food community. The cooking is rooted in Mexican tradition but deeply creative, with dishes that feel both familiar and surprising. One of the most exciting newer restaurants in the city right now.

Athenian Bar & Grill (Greek): The only Greek restaurant in the French Quarter — and always a welcome oasis after a few days of heavy New Orleans food. Owner Vasileios Zarganis opened it in 2024 with one mission: serve the kind of traditional Greek food you'd actually find in Greece, not the American approximation of it. The result is a warm, colorful spot on Decatur Street where you can order a proper Greek salad with real feta, grilled halloumi, lamb chops or ribeye, grilled vegetables, and more — all full of flavor without a drop of deep frying or gravy in sight.

The Best Crawfish in Town

Bayou Beer Garden: The best crawfish spot I've found over the years, tucked behind what looks like a residential building in Mid-City. The back reveals two connected beer garden yards where locals come to watch sports, drink cold beer, and during crawfish season, eat the best mudbugs in town. Andy now serves up his crawfish not just on weekends, but all afternoons except Mondays (during crawfish season) — they're that good and that in-demand. I spend at least one full afternoon here every trip. Arrive right when they open to claim a spot.

Three-Legged Dog: My favorite dive bar in the French Quarter, and during crawfish season, there's a big white cooler full of crawfish starting around 6pm. Pay the bartender for a white box and fill it yourself. Stay until the crawfish run out.

BBQ Shrimp & Seafood

Deanie's Seafood / Mister B's: A quick note for anyone new to New Orleans — BBQ shrimp here has nothing to do with what you're picturing. It's a uniquely New Orleans dish: shrimp simmered in a lemony, buttery, garlicky, Cajun-spiced sauce. Don't wear white. Deanie's has been a New Orleans seafood institution for over 60 years, and I think they have the best version in the city — though I always encourage visitors to try Mister B's version too and make up their own mind.

Po'boys

Picking a favorite po'boy spot in New Orleans is nearly impossible — every local has a different answer depending on whether you're talking shrimp, oyster, roast beef, or hot sausage. If you're willing to drive or Uber: Domilise's, Parkway Tavern, Liuzza's by the Track, and Short Stop are all essential. In the French Quarter, Killer Po'Boys puts a creative twist on the classics and Verti Marte gives you the corner store experience every visitor should have at least once.

Hot Dogs, Done Right

Dat Dog: Dat Dog has a completely deserved cult following, and the bread alone is worth talking about — from a still-secret bakery, it's somewhere between a ciabatta and a Hawaiian roll, and it makes every bite better. Order the crawfish etouffée dog or the alligator sausage. Find it on Frenchmen Street or Magazine Street.

Brunch

Gris-Gris is one of my favorite brunch spots in the city, with a beautiful wraparound second-floor balcony on Magazine Street. The slow-braised chicken gizzards, the open-faced pot roast breakfast, and the shrimp & grits are all exceptional.

Bearcat Cafe draws lines down the street at both its Uptown and CBD locations, and the Louisiana comfort food is completely worth the wait.

Café Amelie is a beautiful courtyard oasis in the middle of the French Quarter. Get a table outside if the weather cooperates — it's one of the loveliest spots to sit in the entire neighborhood.

Ready to Plan Your New Orleans Trip?

New Orleans is one of those cities where eating well requires a little strategy — knowing which spots to book months out, which ones you can walk into, and which neighborhoods to base yourself in. As a certified travel advisor, I'd love to help you plan a trip that doesn't miss a single meal. Reach out here and let's get started.