Where To Eat

New Orleans has more world-class restaurants than any other place in the United States. So try a regional specialty at a local place and you'll be amazed what really good food tastes like. Nowhere else can you get great Louisiana specialties like grillades and grits, or crawfish etouffee, or crawfish and alligator jambalaya, or real Louisiana gumbo.

These restaurants are the ones we prefer, and are shown in alphabetical order. The ones shown with a symbol («) are considered among the best.

For restaurants outside the French Quarter we suggest you take a cab, unless the restaurant is on St Charles Avenue or Canal Street and then take the streetcar. We also suggest that you "Google" the restaurant you're interested in for more information than we can provide, or get restaurant listings from one of the sources below:

If you have any questions, please ask. The better restaurants require reservations and it may be a good plan to make them before you leave home if you want to dine at a particular restaurant at a certain time.

Restaurant	Location	Description
«Antoine's	713 St. Louis St, French Quarter	In business for over 150 years, the quintessential old-style New Orleans restaurant. Very, very good and pricey.
«Arnaud's Restaurant	813 Rue Bienville, French Quarter	One of the finest old-style New Orleans restaurants. Fine food, gracious ambiance, impeccable service. Coat and tie required, not cheap. THE PLACE to take a fine woman. Arnaud's French 75 Cigar Bar is there too!
«Bayona	430 Dauphine Street, French Quarter	Susan Spicer's fantastic (non-Creole) restaurant. Considered one of New Orleans' very best and most comfortable. Top class food, but 'taint cheap.
«Brigtsen's	723 Dante St.. Uptown New Orleans	Perhaps the very best regional cuisine in New Orleans. Consistently excellent. The ambiance is comfortable, the food is delicious, and the service is friendly and genuine. Definitely recommended. Two blocks from the St Charles Ave streetcar or take a taxi.
Cafe Degas	3127 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans	A very friendly restaurant with good food, nice atmosphere, and reasonable prices. Very close to Ashton's B&B.
Café du Monde	813 Decatur (Jackson Square), French Quarter	They claim to have invented café au lait and beignets for breakfast (or anytime, open 24 hours every day). Covered outdoor seating - best people-watching locale in town. Limited menu (beignets, coffee, tea, soda, water).
Central Grocery	923 Decatur St, French Quarter	The Italian grocery where they invented the Muffeleta sandwich. Get one and eat it in the park or the Mississippi River levee across the street.
«Clancy's	6100 Annunciation St, Uptown New Orleans	This uptown eatery is less formal than most that serve the higher stratum of New Orleans cuisine. This has been a favorite of locals for generations. The duck specials are the best choice, but fried oysters with brie appetizer or smoked fried soft-shell crab topped with crabmeat or veal topped with crabmeat and béarnaise sauce are some of the best in town. Take a taxi.
«Cochon	930 Tchoupitoulas St., CBD New Orleans	Skillful Chef Donald Link has married his Cajun heritage with southern specialties as well as French and American cuisine. The result is spectacular, if difficult to describable (click the "Top Ten" link, above). One of the best and most exciting food in town.
Desire and Le Boozé	300 Bourbon St., French Quarter	Desire is about the nicest Oyster Bar on Bourbon Street. Le Boozé is the only cigar bar ON Bourbon Street. Very friendly and great libations at competitive prices. At the Royal Sonesta Hotel.
«Emeril’s New Orleans	800 Tchoupitoulas, Warehouse District New Orleans	If you own a television, you know about Emeril Lagasse. Reservations weeks in advance are suggested unless you go for lunch. Not cheap, but hey, he's famous. Take a taxi and a pile of money.
Emeril’s Nola	534 Saint Louis St., French Quarter	Nola is an informal restaurant whose menu features fresh adaptations of New Orleans Creole and Acadian Cajun for which Emeril is renowned. Nice atmosphere and good service, a cut above the rest. Take a smaller pile of money that to his other two restaurants.
«Emeril’s Delmonico	1300 Saint Charles Ave., Uptown New Orleans	Serious dry-cured steaks in an elegant atmosphere. Also available are some of the best lamb, pork and other meats you'll ever taste. You can take the St. Charles Ave. streetcar, but if you're trying to save money, you don't belong at Delmonico's.
Fiorella's Restaurant	45 French Market Place, French Quarter	This little eatery represents a taste of what New Orleans cuisine has to offer. From fried chicken to fried oysters (and everything in between), Fiorella's has a dish for every craving. Its famous fried chicken is made fresh to order (it takes longer, but it's worth it). Located right alongside the French Market.
«Galatoire's	209 Bourbon St., French Quarter	New Orleans French-Creole standard, with lots of fresh local seafood and an abundance of butter and luxuriant sauces. If your grandfather came to New Orleans as a young man, he probably ate here if he had some serious dough to spend.
Gumbo Shop	630 St. Peter St., French Quarter	They do Gumbo & Jambalaya probably better than anyone in the Quarter. Moderate prices, touristy.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville	1104 Decatur St., French Quarter	LIVE Entertainment from 3PM each day, but no way it's New Orleans style. Caribbean food, and 20 kinds of Rum for all you Parrot Heads.
Liuzza's Restaurant	1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans	Walkable from Ashton's B&B (10 blocks) and adjacent to the Fairgrounds Racetrack, Liuzza's serves New Orleans neighborhood food. Nothing fancy, but great poboys, etouffee, and the like.
Lola's	3312 Esplanade Ave, Mid City New Orleans	The best SPANISH restaurant around (not Mexican). Very inexpensive and near Ashton's B&B. The paella is great, comes in various styles, and will feed two.
Mandina's	3800 Canal St, Mid City New Orleans	An excellent neighborhood restaurant frequented by New Orleans' families for generations. Both regional and Italian cuisine. Reasonably priced. Take the Canal streetcar or a taxi.
Matt & Naddie's	937 Leonidas, Uptown New Orleans	My favorite regional restaurant in town, moderate prices, informal imaginative french/creole. 5 blocks from the St Charles Ave streetcar or take a cab.
Napoleon House	500 Chartres St, French Quarter	VERY old, VERY romantic, average prices. Nice bar and a cigar-friendly courtyard (not in the bar).
Old Coffee Pot	714 St. Peter St., French Quarter	If you like the Gumbo Shop (see above) then you'll really like this place. Same basic creole menu and decor but better service and less "touristed". The quality of the food is good and the prices are competitive.
«Palace Cafe	605 Canal, French Quarter	One of the Brennans' restaurants, best service I've seen, fantastic lunch or breakfast. Less stuffy than the other Brennan's establishments and a good people-watching spot right on Canal Street. Not cheap.
«Stella!	1032 Chartres St., French Quarter	Inventive, fresh and meticulously prepared food with a touch of whimsy and surprising textures and tastes. The very imaginative and inventive chef has created one of the most adventurous high dining restaurants in the City.
Tommy's Cuisine	746 Tchoupitoulas St, CBD New Orleans	Irene's Cuisine's chef quit and started his own Italian/Louisiana themed restaurant. It has a menu similar to Irene's, better service, is less noisy and crowded, and has arguably better food. You can walk from the Quarter (6 blocks) or cab it.
«Upperline	1413 Upperline Street, Uptown New Orleans	Southern Living magazine said that "If you can eat at only one fine restaurant in New Orleans, make it the Upperline." We agree. It's one of the secrets that local folks cherish and visitors rarely know about. Not cheap, but definitely worth the price. Two blocks off the St Charles streetcar route.