Part of the experience of the French Quarter is the interplay of different energies. It’s the way timeless, Old World architecture frames the ephemeral social buzz, the way turning a corner can change the feel from languid to rollicking.
That’s a bit like what it feels to visit Holywater. This new restaurant and oyster bar is filled with New Orleans flavors and its own character across a progression of distinct spaces, all in a revived historic building in a particularly captivating part of the Quarter.
Holywater officially opens Sept. 23 after some test runs that packed its various spaces with curious visitors.
It’s meeting a need for more nice-casual restaurants in the Quarter, hitting that midrange between tavern and bistro, free of touristy cliché.
Time and place
The ground-floor oyster bar sets the scene. French doors open into what feels like a dockside saloon. A 40-watt glow shines on the mahogany and brass of a curving bar. Little nooks form coves around the handful of tables where people order from a shorter menu of bar snacks and oysters, displayed in chilled bins lining the bar.
A winding staircase leads to the second-floor dining room, where the full menu is served, and the feel is more like the bar and grill at a vintage seaside club…