The 76 Best Restaurants in New Orleans
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The best restaurants in New Orleans, according to the experts: The 50, James Beard Awards, and AAA have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Dakar NOLA comes out on top.
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Emeril's and Saint-Germain hold the next two places. James Beard Awards shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Eater close behind.
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A personally signed welcome note from the chef arrives before the first course at this pescatarian tasting menu restaurant in Uptown, which pulls from the coastal cuisines of Senegal and South Louisiana in equal measure. West African masks line the walls, co-owner Afua Richardson works the room in spectacular fashion, and the kitchen holds a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. Seven courses, two seatings, and a cottage on Magazine Street.
The awards
- The 50 The 50: #4 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2024 · Winner · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2026 · Winner · Best Chef: South · Serigne Mbaye
- The 50 #4 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Winner · Best Chef: South · Serigne Mbaye
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Rank 2. Emeril's
Cajun & Creole
EJ Lagasse took over his father's legendary Warehouse District fine-dining room at 22, after stints at Frantzén and Core by Clare Smyth, and now holds two Michelin stars. The tasting menu threads Creole classics through a contemporary lens, BBQ shrimp tarts and deep-flavored gumbo alongside smoked salmon cheesecake. Floor-to-ceiling glass frames the kitchen like a stage, and the service team plays the room with genuine warmth. Emeril's, basically reinvented.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Five Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 2 Stars
- The 50 The 50: #20 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
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A hand-lettered sign out front promises natural wines and a garden patio, which undersells things considerably. Inside this Bywater spot, a Michelin-starred contemporary tasting menu unfolds across a series of small, precise courses, each one built around sauces that do real work. The chef earned a James Beard nomination for Best Chef: South, and the room is intimate enough that you notice every detail they put on the plate.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 1 Star
- Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast: Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Wine Enthusiast Forward 50 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith
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Rank 4. Commander's Palace
Cajun & Creole
The turquoise Garden District mansion has been turning out Modern New Orleans Creole since Ella Brennan and a young Emeril Lagasse were essentially inventing the genre together. Fine dining in the grand sense, white tablecloths and all, though the room skews festive rather than stiff. Meg Bickford runs the kitchen now, keeping the cooking by turns classicist and a little bodacious. Wine Enthusiast put the cellar in its Hall of Fame, and the weekday lunch martinis go for a quarter.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
- Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast: The Wine Restaurant Hall of Fame
- Esquire Esquire: La-Ti-Da · The Best Martinis in America
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Wine Enthusiast The Wine Restaurant Hall of Fame
- Esquire La-Ti-Da · The Best Martinis in America
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Rank 5. Dooky Chase
Cajun & Creole
The dining room walls, red and hung with African-American art, tell you this is a place with a history before you've touched the menu. A Creole fine dining institution in New Orleans, it holds a James Beard America's Classics Award and a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and the cooking, gumbo, fried chicken, peach cobbler, earns every regulars' loyalty. The matriarchs still walk each table personally, which at a certain point stops being service and starts being something else.
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Winner · America's Classics: South
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · America's Classics: South
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
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Rank 5. Molly's Rise and Shine
Southern American
Formica tabletops and vinyl chairs set the scene at this Garden District breakfast spot, which serves nothing but breakfast and takes that mandate seriously. The menu runs from yogurt and granola to loaded grits, biscuits and gravy, and a riff on the fast-food McMuffin with sage sausage and gooey American cheese. A James Beard semifinalist that manages to feel nothing like one, in the best way.
The awards
- Food & Wine Food & Wine: Hashbrown and Roe · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Bon Appétit Bon Appétit: America's Best New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Food & Wine Hashbrown and Roe · Best Dishes Our Editors Ate This Year
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Curried goat over sweet potato gnocchi is the dish that quietly explains Nina Compton's whole project here. This Caribbean-inflected restaurant sits inside a converted coffee warehouse in the Warehouse Arts District, all exposed brick and mosaic tile, and the menu pulls together her St. Lucia roots, New Orleans flavors, and stints in Florida kitchens. The bar holds its own, and the service runs warm enough that a James Beard Outstanding Hospitality semifinalist nod makes a certain sense.
The awards
- Eater Eater: The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Nina Compton
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Nina Compton
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 7. Zasu
Contemporary American
A quiet cottage in Mid-City that reads more neighborhood hideaway than Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant, which is a large part of the point. Sue Zemanick keeps the menu tight, maybe a dozen dishes leaning into Gulf seafood and French technique, and the room runs to dark green walls and warm gold tones. The kind of table where nobody rushes you and the food earns the silence. Zasu holds a Michelin star.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 1 Star
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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Rank 9. Brennan's
Cajun & Creole
This is the old-line Creole dining room on Royal Street where bananas foster was invented, and the servers still set it on fire at your table without losing track of your questions. It's fine dining in the jacket-and-good-posture sense, so you'll find yourself saying "powder room" without being asked. The bar program has James Beard attention of its own, and the Sazerac arrives the way it should.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- AAA Four Diamonds
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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A converted warehouse in the Central Business District, Cochon does Southern cooking with a Louisiana accent: wood-fired oysters, fried alligator, gumbo loaded with house-made andouille, and rabbit and dumplings pulled from the chef's family recipes. The cracklins with Steen's cane syrup make a strong case for arriving hungry. The whiskey and bourbon list is long enough to make the decision feel important. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski - Link Restaurant Group
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski - Link Restaurant Group
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
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Braised celery hearts with smoked beef tongue are a menu mainstay here, and they tell you everything: this is a French brasserie that means it. The chef owes more to Paris than to the French Quarter, though Gulf fish and red beans find their way in. His business partner runs one of the sharpest wine programs in town. The New York Times put it on their restaurant list in 2023, the same year Bon Appétit named it one of America's Best New Restaurants.
The awards
- Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast: Forward 50 Restaurants
- The New York Times The New York Times: The Restaurant List
- Bon Appétit Bon Appétit: America's Best New Restaurants
- Wine Enthusiast Forward 50 Restaurants
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 12. The Grill Room
Contemporary American
The awards
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Travel Guide: Forbes Four Star
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Rank 13. Herbsaint
French-Italian Cajun & Creole
The table by the window on St. Charles is the one to request, and once you're in it you'll understand why this place has been around forever. It's a full-service restaurant where French and Italian instincts run through Cajun and Creole cooking without apology or explanation. The house-made spaghetti fills tables every night, and the duck confit with dirty rice keeps people coming back.
The awards
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurateur · Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski - Link Restaurant Group
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 14. Fritai
Haitian
Pulled pork pressed between two fried plantains, dressed with mango sauce and pikliz, is a reasonable introduction to what this Treme restaurant is doing with Haitian cooking. Fritai is a bright, welcoming room where the Caribbean flavors run vivid and the bar leans on clairin, the Haitian cane spirit that most New Orleans cocktail menus haven't caught up to yet. A James Beard semifinalist two years running.
The awards
- Esquire Esquire: #37 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Esquire #37 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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The dining room at this Uptown restaurant is painted floor to ceiling in bubblegum pink and emerald green, which turns out to be an accurate preview of the food. The kitchen calls itself "inauthentic," leaning into Asian and Indian flavors with detours wherever it wants, and the results hold a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Weekend brunch draws crowds happy to order everything and share. The chef was a James Beard semifinalist in 2024.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit Bon Appétit: America's Best New Restaurants
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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This is a casual sandwich shop on Jackson Avenue where the menu reads like a dare: a collard green melt stacked double-decker on rye, wrapped in swiss and a pickled cherry pepper dressing. The place made the national circuit as one of Eater's best new restaurants in America and has since spawned a small empire of siblings. Order at the counter, eat fast, and expect the sandwich to follow you home.
The awards
- Eater Eater: The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Mason Hereford
- Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Mason Hereford
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Rank 17. Café Reconcile
Soul Food
A casual lunch counter on Oretha Castle Haley that serves New Orleans Creole the way the neighborhood expects it: red beans, gumbo, Gulf seafood po' boys, priced so that going twice in a week doesn't require a conversation. The staff includes students learning the trade as part of a job-training mission, so the meal comes with a side of genuine purpose. The chef behind the kitchen spent years in upscale rooms before landing here, and the cooking shows it.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
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VHS tapes line the walls and neon washes over the tile at this Magazine Street restaurant from the chef behind Turkey and the Wolf. Mason Hereford runs his kitchen the same way he always has, cooking loud, maximalist food that borrows freely across cuisines and somehow lands in harmony every time. A Michelin Bib Gourmand, and named to Bon Appétit's best new restaurants list. Subtlety fans may want to eat somewhere else.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit Bon Appétit: America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire Esquire: The Best New Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Bon Appétit America's Best New Restaurants
- Esquire The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 17. Paladar 511
Italian
Tuna crudo in charred green tomato aguachile is not the Italian that built this city's red-gravy reputation, and that's the whole point. This trattoria in the Faubourg Marigny does vegetable-driven antipasti, fresh pasta, Neapolitan pizza, and roasted meat with a lightness that locals treat as a minor civic relief. The New York Times named it among the 25 best restaurants in New Orleans, which feels about right for the neighborhood canteen that quietly rewrote the local Italian conversation.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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Rank 17. Restaurant August
Contemporary Cajun & Creole
Glittery chandeliers and wax candles do a lot of heavy lifting in this handsome fine dining room on Tchoupitoulas, where exposed brick and white tablecloths split the difference between grand and comfortable. The chef is a Louisiana native steering contemporary Creole cooking, and the kind of place where birthdays and anniversaries have been showing up for years. Friendly servers keep it from tipping into stiff-necked territory, which takes some skill when the room looks like this.
The awards
- AAA AAA: Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 21. Addis NOLA
Ethiopian
The handwashing station near the door is not decorative; injera this fresh demands clean hands and full attention. This Ethiopian restaurant on Esplanade Ridge fills its corner spot with wicker light fixtures, natural textiles, and wood tables with mustard cushions. The injera is made in house daily, the sambusas arrive golden and stuffed, and the vegetable combination platter is how you learn the menu before you know what to order.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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Platters of Ibérico pork and dry-aged txuleta arrive pre-sliced, Basque sidrería-style, which tells you everything about how Dolfy's wants you to eat. This Spanish pintxos and wood-fired grill spot on Freret Street was built for sharing, from passed gildas to charred leeks on romesco. The New York Times put it on their 2026 Restaurant List, and the room runs with the kind of easy energy that makes you order one more round.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: 2026 · The Restaurant List
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- The New York Times 2026 · The Restaurant List
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
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Rank 21. Saba
Israeli
The puffy pita comes out of a wood-burning oven with a char on it that makes the bread-and-hummus combination feel like a genuine argument. Saba is a roomy Middle Eastern restaurant on Magazine Street where Alon Shaya's menu reads casual, pickles, dips, salads, then lands on the table tasting brighter than the list suggests. The Michelin Guide has given it a Bib Gourmand, and the falafel, crackly outside and vivid green within, makes the case.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
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Rank 21. Saint Claire
Cajun & Creole
A fifteen-minute ferry ride from the French Quarter lands you in Algiers, where Melissa Martin's second restaurant occupies a century-old property that reads more Provençal farmhouse than Louisiana. The Cajun-French cooking leans into whatever the season offers, stone fruit and wild grapes drifting across duck confit and dark roux gumbo. A 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, it made both the Times's New Orleans and national restaurant lists in 2025.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: 2025 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 21. Toups' Meatery
Modern Cajun & Creole
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Isaac Toups
- Eater Eater: Chef of the Year · Isaac Toups
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Isaac Toups
- Eater Chef of the Year · Isaac Toups
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Rank 26. Clancy's
Cajun & Creole
A man in a tuxedo greets you at the door, which tells you most of what you need to know. Clancy's is an old-school fine dining room in Uptown New Orleans, white tablecloths and uniformed servers included, with a Creole menu that leans hard into seafood, French technique, and Cajun flavor. The fried oysters with brie have been a house signature long enough that regulars would riot if they disappeared.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
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Rank 26. Domilise's Po-Boy and Bar
Po'boy American
The shrimp po'boy here has been the only reason most people need to visit this cash-and-counter sandwich shop in Uptown. Order at the counter, find a seat, wait for your name. The fried shrimp arrive on Leidenheimer bread with hot sauce, lettuce, mayo, and a pickle, and the whole thing costs what a sandwich should cost. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and has been around forever, which in New Orleans means something.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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Evviva is a Mediterranean dinner spot in the Marigny, the kind you walk to when you've had your fill of dodging ghost tours. The menu shifts daily, but grilled Gulf shrimp and anchovy bread tend to show up. Gin martinis at happy hour draw the date-night set, and the servers have clearly logged time at other good kitchens around town. It was a James Beard Best New Restaurant semifinalist.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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The awards
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LUVI is a Japanese and Shanghainese restaurant on Tchoupitoulas, tucked behind a door that swaps the traffic for a colorful, hushed dining room. It was serving Shanghainese dishes in New Orleans before most of the city knew to ask. The move is ordering far too many plates, dumplings and the dan dan noodles included, then losing count somewhere around the fourth round. The chef was a James Beard semifinalist.
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Hao Gong
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Hao Gong
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Rank 31. Brigtsen's
Cajun & Creole
White tablecloths in an Uptown cottage near a bend in the river, which tells you something about how New Orleans operates. Brigtsen's is a Cajun-Creole restaurant where the chef spent years under Paul Prudhomme absorbing the bayou side of Louisiana cooking, then brought it back to the city and blended the two traditions into something that belongs entirely to this place. The room is unhurried, the menu is not trying to be fashionable, and that combination tends to fill tables with regulars.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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The awards
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The awards
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The awards
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Rank 31. Liuzza's by the Track
Cajun & Creole
The draft beer comes in a frosty goblet roughly the size of a young pumpkin, which tells you exactly what kind of place this is. Liuzza's by the Track is a barroom with a menu, the menu heavy on po' boys and Creole and Cajun stews that rotate as daily specials. The gumbo is a brothy shrimp version seasoned carefully enough that you probably won't reach for the hot sauce, though you will reach for that goblet.
The awards
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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Rank 31. Palm&Pine
Cajun & Creole
The awards
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Amarys Koenig Herndon and Jordan Herndon
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Amarys Koenig Herndon and Jordan Herndon
- The Infatuation The 27 Best Restaurants In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Amarys Koenig Herndon and Jordan Herndon
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Amarys Koenig Herndon and Jordan Herndon
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Rank 31. Queen Trini Lisa
Trinbagonian Caribbean
Doubles, the Trinidadian street snack of curried chickpeas on soft flatbread, landed in New Orleans largely because of this sunny Mid-City cafe. Chef-owner Lisa Nelson runs a compact menu of Trinbagonian cooking in a room that feels like it's been around forever. The fried fish on coco bread with plantains and hot sauce makes a strong case for the city's sandwich conversation. A neighborhood spot where you order at the counter and eat slowly.
The awards
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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Salt-and-pepper frogs' legs and claypot catfish steaks are the signal that this is not the Vietnamese restaurant where you order the same three things. Tan Dinh is a family-run sit-down spot on the West Bank, the heart of New Orleans's Vietnamese American community, and the menu goes well past crowd-pleasing pho into dishes that reward a little curiosity. Roasted quail shows up; so does banh mi. The room is unpretentious, the cooking is not.
The awards
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
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The awards
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Rank 39. Restaurant R’evolution
Cajun & Creole
The awards
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Rank 39. Shaya
Modern Middle Eastern
The awards
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Rank 42. Cochon Butcher
American
The house-made charcuterie case does most of the persuading at this beloved butcher and deli from Donald Link. Mortadella, head cheese, and a muffuletta stacked with house meats and olive salad run alongside a smoky Cubano and something called Le Pig Mac. The Michelin Guide awards it a Bib Gourmand, and the bread is baked in-house. Order more than you think you need; the muffuletta alone could feed two.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
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Rank 42. Lufu Nola
Indian
The name is shorthand for "let us feed you," which is a reasonable promise from an Indian restaurant that earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand. What started as pop-ups graduated into a proper brick-and-mortar in the Central Business District, where the tandoor turns out garlic-buttered naan and the dosa arrives golden, crisp, and served with sambar masala. The nonalcoholic Curry Nola-da, a pina colada riff with garam masala and curry leaves, signals that the kitchen has a sense of humor.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
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Rank 42. Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Cajun & Creole
A po'boy shop that has been around forever, Parkway Bakery and Tavern earns a Michelin Bib Gourmand feeding the neighborhood from a sprawling, loud, indoor-outdoor room built for Saints games and serious eating. The menu is long but the point is clear: fried seafood, specialty, and meat po'boys on New Orleans French rolls. Regulars don't agonize over the list, they just order the Creole barbecue shrimp and get on with their afternoon.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Bib Gourmand
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Rank 45. Chicken's Kitchen
Cajun & Creole
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: The Restaurant List
- Eater Eater: 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Marlon "Chicken” Chukumerije Williams
- The New York Times The Restaurant List
- Eater 38 Essential Restaurants in New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Marlon "Chicken” Chukumerije Williams
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Rank 45. Dian Xin
Northern Cantonese
The awards
- Chinese Restaurant Awards Chinese Restaurant Awards: Top 20 Honourees · Elite 12 United States
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Rank 45. Espiritu Mezcaleria
Mexican
The awards
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 48. Mosquito Supper Club
Cajun & Creole
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Melissa M. Martin
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Melissa M. Martin
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: South · Melissa M. Martin
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Melissa M. Martin
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Rank 49. Galatoire's
French-Creole Cajun & Creole
Friday lunch at this old-school Bourbon Street institution is a full-contact sport: pearls, suits, balloons, Champagne, and party hats arrive with the first seating and don't slow down. The mirrored, gold-accented dining room has been running French-Creole classics for generations, with tuxedoed servers and a menu that treats butter and cream as load-bearing ingredients. Come hungry and clear your afternoon.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 49. Killer PoBoys
Contemporary American
Killer Po Boys started as a pop-up, which explains why it still feels like a place that has something to prove. Order at the counter, grab a table, and find a bottle of Crystal hot sauce waiting for you. The bread comes from Dong Phuong bakery, and the shrimp are seared rather than fried, dressed with sriracha aioli and pickled slaw. Barbecue chicken confit and a cheddar omelet round out a menu that takes the French Quarter's most obvious sandwich seriously.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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The yellow facade and green doors on Magazine Street are a reliable landmark for this neighborhood bistro, where the room feels dressed up without demanding anything of you. The kitchen leans into Louisiana without becoming a greatest-hits reel: blue crab beignets are a signature the regulars order without looking, and the paneed rabbit is the kind of dish that makes you wonder why more places don't try harder.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 49. Osteria Lupo
Wood-fired Italian
The wood-fired oven does a lot of work here, from pizza through pasta and on to house-made ice cream. This wood-fired Italian spot off Magazine Street runs a menu broad enough that the table will agree on something, which in New Orleans is no small feat. Everything is made in house daily, and the room has that sleek-but-settled feel that suggests the place has been around forever without trying to look like it.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 49. Patois
French-Creole Cajun & Creole
A French-Creole neighborhood bistro set inside a cottage a few blocks from the river, Patois has been a quiet date-night fixture in Uptown for years. The room is cozy in the way that actually happens instead of being staged, and the kitchen keeps one foot in classic Creole while the other wanders interestingly. Deviled eggs finished with wonton noodles and furikake give a fair sense of how the chef thinks. Selected by the Michelin Guide.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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The dark blue corner building on Magazine Street turns heads before you even walk in, and the sleek dining room inside keeps the promise. This is a Garden District tasting menu spot where the chef pulls from across Asian cuisines, packaging the whole thing at a price that doesn't require a deep breath. Cocktails lean into Thai tea and lychee; the wine list chases small producers and back vintages. The Michelin Guide has it listed.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 49. Willie Mae's Nola
Southern
Fried chicken so deeply embedded in New Orleans lore that the Seaton family has been running this Southern lunch counter since before most food writers were born. The downtown dining room is sunny and spacious, a long way from the original Treme spot, but the bird hasn't changed. Order the gumbo with shrimp and blue crab first, then stay focused. First-timers who wander into the rest of the menu do so at their own risk.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 56. King Brasserie
Modern French
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The awards
- Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast: Top 50 New Restaurants
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The awards
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Rank 59. Mosca's
Creole Italian
Gravel crunches under your tires before you've even opened the car door, which sets the tone for this family-run Creole-Italian roadhouse across the river from New Orleans. The menu is short but the portions are not, and the table fills fast with baked oysters, housemade sausage, and crab salad. The house rule, learned the hard way by everyone, is to order more than you think you need and split everything.
The awards
- The New York Times The New York Times: The 25 Best Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now
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Rank 60. Afrodisiac Nola
Caribbean
The awards
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Anna's is a Marigny dive bar in a former 19th-century bank, which means the cocktails are better than the Gatorade cooler by the pool table would suggest. The jukebox works, the beer-and-shot specials are cheap, and the Tequila Daisy goes down easy on a hot day. Guest chefs rotate through for pop-ups, and upstairs there are DJs, film nights, and a balcony over Royal Street. The James Beard folks named the owner a semifinalist.
The awards
- Esquire Esquire: The Best Bars in America
- The Infatuation The Infatuation: The Best Bars In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Robert LeBlanc - LeBlanc + Smith
- Esquire The Best Bars in America
- The Infatuation The Best Bars In New Orleans
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Robert LeBlanc - LeBlanc + Smith
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The awards
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The awards
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Rank 60. Li'l Dizzy's
Cajun & Creole
The awards
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The awards
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Robert LeBlanc - LeBlanc + Smith
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Rank 60. Maïs Arepas
Spanish
The awards
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Rank 60. Origen Venezuelan Bistro
Venezuelan Caribbean
Fried corn arepitas topped with pork cracklings set the tone at this Venezuelan bistro tucked into Bywater. The chef spent years cooking other people's food across town before opening a place rooted in family recipes from home, and the menu reads like the argument he was building the whole time. Cachapa, tiradito, good cocktails, warm room. The kind of neighborhood spot that makes you feel like you found something before everyone else did.
The awards
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Rank 60. Rosedale
Cajun & Creole
Susan Spicer's Mid City neighborhood restaurant is the kind of place where the shrimp creole does all the talking. A casual Cajun and Creole spot, Rosedale keeps the cooking steeped in New Orleans tradition without any of the ceremony that follows a celebrated chef around town. The room is low-key, the food is direct, and the whole operation runs like it was built for the people on the block, not the people writing about it.
The awards
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The awards
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The awards
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Robert LeBlanc - LeBlanc + Smith
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Rank 60. The Munch Factory
Cajun & Creole
The awards
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Rank 60. Vyoone's
Cajun & Creole
The awards
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The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar Program
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Rank 74. High Hat Cafe
Southern
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: South · Allison Richard
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The awards
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The awards
- Bon Appétit Bon Appétit: America's Best New Restaurants