Discover 20 spots to eat great food in New Orleans restaurants. Restaurant options range from cheap eats to fine dining. Try one or try them all during your next trip to Louisiana’s Big Easy.
1. Commander’s Palace
Open since 1893 and located in the Garden District, Commander’s Palace is the grande dame of the New Orleans dining scene and the jewel in the Brennan family crown. Famous chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme have cooked here and thousand of diners have eaten inside its striped blue walls. And, yet, it’s a friendly restaurant that serves outstanding food for both lunch and dinner.
2. Brennan’s Restaurant
Open since 1946 on Royal Street, Brennan’s Restaurant has a rich history that dates back to a bygone era before celebrity chefs, gastropubs, small plate menus and online reservation systems. It’s also a restaurant notorious for serving rich, eggy breakfast dishes, flaming Bananas Foster and boozy Milk Punch cocktails
3. Willie Mae’s Scotch House
Located in historic Tremé, about a 20 minute walk or a short cab/uber ride from the French Quarter, Willie Mae’s is true to its neighborhood, city and owners. Crispy, spicy and slightly salty on the outside yet super moist and juicy on the inside, their made-to-order fried chicken is not to be missed.
4. Café du Monde
This popular coffee shop is open 364 days on a 24/7 basis, only closing for Christmas and the occasional hurricane. Frying beignets and pouring chicory coffee since 1862, Café Du Monde is a legend that lives up to its reputation as one of the best breakfasts in New Orleans.
5. Parkway Bakery and Tavern
Like many of the best New Orleans po boy shops, Parkway Bakery & Tavern is located slightly off the beaten track. However, it’s worth the extra effort to travel to this Mid-City institution by cab, uber or streetcar. However, just don’t order a po boy when you do. You also need to order debris fries and bread pudding for dessert.
6. Herbsaint
If you can find the St. Charles streetcar, then you can find Herbsaint. The popular Central Business District restaurant is literally adjacent to the tracks. Expect to eat elevated Cajun dishes as well as French and Italian fare at this popular New Orleans bistro. You need to drink a sazerac cocktail too.
7. Dooky Chase’s
Helmed for years by the late Leah Chase, Dooky Chase’s is well worth a trek to the Tremé neighborhood. It’s an elegant restaurant that serves down-home American food favorites like fried chicken and mac & cheese. A laundry list of famous people have eaten at this New Orleans gem and you should do the same.
8. Liuzza’s by The Track
With a full bar as well as a menu that features burgers, salads and a full range of seafood plates, Liuzza’s by The Track is more of a neighborhood restaurant than a bar. Despite its varied menu, Liuzza’s signature dish is its famous BBQ shrimp po boy. It’s a show stopper.
9. MoPho
MoPho’s fuses New Orleans ingredients and techniques associated with Vietnamese food. Like its name asserts, MoPho has pho on its menu and not just one type. The MoPho menu features veggie pho, chicken pho, Beef pho and a unique hangover pho. However, to be clear, MoPho has much more on its menu than just soup.
10. The Camellia Grill
Open since 1946, The Camellia Grill isn’t fancy or trendy. Food at this finer diner is solid and straightforward. It’s also cheap and tasty with multiple hot sauce options. Located in the Garden District, it’s an easy street car ride from Canal Street.
11. Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar
Owned by the Domilise family for more than a century, this down and dirty po boy shop excels at making sandwiches filled with roast beef, seafood and even meatballs. Hamburgers and hot dogs are also on the menu; however, while they may be good, a po boy is the thing to order at this cheap and cheerful establishment.
12. Port of Call
Located on the edge of the French Quarter, Port of Call has been slinging out top-quality burgers and baked potatoes for years. In fact, this restaurant has been in the burger business since the 1960s. These burgers are serious – each starts out with a half pound of ground beef and is served with a big baked potato.
13. Galatoire’s Restaurant
Galatoire’s isn’t new or trendy and that’s okay. The classic New Orleans restaurant started serving French Creole dishes like gumbo and shrimp remoulade on Bourbon Street in 1905 and earned a James Beard award exactly a century later for serving those same dishes.
14. Coop’s Place
Dingy and dark, the well-worn Coop’s Place looks more like a dive bar than a restaurant serving up good food. As it turns out, Coop’s Place is both. More important, the French Quarter joint serves some of the best crispy fried chicken jambalaya in New Orleans.
15. Bywater Bakery
Open since 2017 and managed by married owners Chef Chaya Conrad and Alton Osborne, Bywater Bakery has become a community hub. It’s also a destination for New Orleans foodies with an appreciation for tasty cheap eats, local culture and comforting desserts.
16. Turkey and the Wolf
Turkey and the Wolf forged it way into iconic status when the newbie restaurant won Bon Appetit‘s title of Best New Restaurant of the Year in 2017. Today, it’s a local cheap eats favorite that serves an interesting selection of re-imagined lunch food favorites.
17. Willa Jean
Willa Jean fulfills food wishes with its varied selection of belly-busting breakfast and lunch items. Top dishes include cornbread served with whipped butter and Poirier’s cane syrup as well ramped up BLT sandwiches filled with fried oysters and horseradish tabasco aioli. Go hungry!
18. Bayona
Bayona isn’t just a New Orleans restaurant located in a 200-year old Creole cottage behind a French Quarter courtyard. It’s helmed by Susan Spicer, a James Beard award winner who achieved national notoriety after opening Bayona in 1990. It’s also the best place to eat smoked duck PB&J sandwiches.
19. Shaya
Originally opened on Magazine Street in 2015, Shaya restaurant remains a standout for its pitas cooked in a wood-fire oven and a menu that incorporates both big and small plates. You can eat a lot of tasty Israeli dishes here but don’t skip the fried chicken hummus.
20. N7
Open since 2015 in a former tire shop, N7 is an ideal spot for a chill night in the Bywater neighborhood filled with al fresco dining, bistro food and natural wine. If you score a reservation, plan to eat dishes like house made charcuterie, escargot tempura and duck breast a l’orange.…