Hold onto your taste buds, folks! New Orleans isn’t just jazz and Mardi Gras—it’s a culinary playground where Creole cuisine reigns supreme.
From century-old institutions serving gumbo that’ll make you weep to hole-in-the-wall joints where locals queue for hours, the Big Easy’s food scene is nothing short of legendary. Ready for a mouthwatering tour through NOLA’s best (and not-so-best) Creole kitchens?
Let’s roll!
1. Commander’s Palace
Tucked inside a Victorian-era mansion in the Garden District, Commander’s Palace is a New Orleans institution since 1893.
Their turtle soup poured tableside with sherry makes first-timers swoon. The bread pudding soufflé might just ruin all other desserts for you forever. Jazz brunch here is practically a religious experience.
2. Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
When Leah Chase fed both civil rights leaders and presidents from the same kitchen, she wasn’t just making history. She was making the best fried chicken in Louisiana.
The late chef’s legacy lives on through red beans and rice that’ll haunt your dreams. Photographs of celebrities and activists line the walls.
3. Galatoire’s
Forget what you know about lunch.Friday at Galatoire’s is part circus, part society event, and entirely outrageous.
No reservations downstairs means locals literally hire people to wait in line for them. The trout meunière hasn’t changed in a century, and thank heavens for that.
4. Willie Mae’s Scotch House
James Beard Award-winning chicken doesn’t just happen by accident. Willie Mae’s has been perfecting their wet-battered, crispy-beyond-belief recipe since 1957.
Located in Treme, this unassuming spot draws lines that wrap around the block. The butter beans will make you question everything you thought you knew about side dishes.
5. Brennan’s
Morning meals become theatrical productions at this pink Royal Street landmark. Bananas Foster, invented here in 1951, involves actual tableside pyrotechnics that’ll wake you faster than coffee.
Eggs Hussarde—their twist on Benedict with wine-infused hollandaise—should be illegal it’s so good. The lush courtyard feels like dining in a secret garden.
6. Cochon
Imagine your Louisiana grandma got a James Beard Award. That’s Cochon’s vibe. Chef Donald Link transformed humble rural dishes into culinary art without sacrificing an ounce of authenticity.
Wood-fired oysters slathered in chili-garlic butter disappear from plates at supernatural speeds.
7. Brigtsen’s
Housed in a converted Riverbend cottage, Brigtsen’s feels like dinner at your sophisticated friend’s home. If your friend happened to be a culinary genius.
Chef Frank Brigtsen’s seafood platter showcases five different Gulf treasures prepared five different ways on one plate. Butternut shrimp bisque has converted soup-haters into evangelists.
8. Upperline
Walking into Upperline feels like entering the eccentric aunt’s house. If your aunt collected museum-quality Southern art and made duck étouffée that could end wars.
Owner JoAnn Clevenger, a true NOLA character, might stop by your table to share stories spanning decades. Their fried green tomatoes topped with shrimp remoulade created a dish now copied citywide.
9. Antoine’s
America’s oldest family-run restaurant hasn’t survived since 1840 by changing with every food trend. Antoine’s invented Oysters Rockefeller and keeps the recipe more guarded than Fort Knox.
Fifteen dining rooms, each with its own history, host Mardi Gras krewes and generations of families. Old-school waiters remember your grandfather’s favorite wine.
10. Liuzza’s By The Track
Stumbling distance from the Fair Grounds racetrack, this neighborhood joint serves BBQ shrimp po’boys that should be illegal they’re so addictive.
Regulars debate horseracing tips over some of the city’s best gumbo, dark as bayou water and twice as rich. The no-frills interior with faded racing photos hasn’t changed in decades.
11. Coop’s Place
Don’t let the sticky floors and surly service fool you. Coop’s rabbit jambalaya supreme might be the best $10 meal in America.
This dive bar on Decatur serves food that puts white-tablecloth joints to shame. No reservations, no kids allowed (it’s legally a bar), and absolutely no attitude adjustments for tourists. Cash-only!
12. Toup’s Meatery
Chef Isaac Toups doesn’t just serve meat. He celebrates it with the reverence of a religious experience. His cracklins (fried pork skin) arrive still popping and sizzling at your table.
The charcuterie board featuring house-cured meats tells Louisiana’s culinary story better than any textbook.
13. Mother’s Restaurant
“Debris” isn’t typically an appetizing word. Until you’ve had Mother’s version: the roast beef bits, drippings and gravy that fall into the pan while roasting.
Since 1938, this cafeteria-style joint has served workers, celebrities, and presidents with equal indifference to status. The Ferdi Special (ham, roast beef, debris and gravy) requires both hunger and ambition.
14. Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe
Owned by the Baquet family—a New Orleans culinary dynasty—Li’l Dizzy’s serves fried chicken that could make angels weep.
The lunch buffet lets you sample everything from gumbo to bread pudding without committing to just one dish. It’s where locals go after church when they need spiritual sustenance of the edible variety.
15. Cajun Mike’s Pub & Grub:
Beware the restaurant with more plastic alligators than actual flavor. Cajun Mike’s commits the cardinal sin of New Orleans cuisine—substituting heat for technique.
Gumbo shouldn’t taste like a salt lick that fell into a pepper mill. Pre-made frozen appetizers arrive suspiciously faster than anything actually cooked.
16. Crescent City Cookin’
When a restaurant offers “Bourbon Street Nachos” alongside their jambalaya, run—don’t walk—to the exit. Crescent City Cookin’ embodies everything wrong with commercialized Creole food.
Jambalaya resembles soggy Rice-A-Roni with a few token shrimp tossed in. Bread arrives stale, cocktails taste like melted popsicles, and prices suggest you’re dining on gold leaf instead of mediocrity.