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$ | Uptown |
At the Company Burger, your order is simple: the amazing signature burger comes with two fresh-ground patties, bread-and-butter pickles, American cheese, and red onions on a freshly baked bun. No lettuce and no tomatoes, but you can load it up with homemade condiments like basil or roasted-garlic mayonnaise and Creole honey mustard. Other options include lamb or turkey burgers and hot dogs with franks from Nueske's Meat. A daily burger special adds variety to the menu and there is a daily happy hour from 3 pm to 6 pm. Owner Adam Biderman grew up in New Orleans, but first earned burger fame in Atlanta. He's part of the wave of young transplants and returning natives not beholden to local traditions, who have reenergized New Orleans since Katrina. There is a second location in the CBD (611 O'Keefe Avenue).
4600 Freret St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70115, USA
Known For
- Quality burgers
- Affordable prices
- No-frills local favorite
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$$$ | Garden District |
Every neighborhood needs a hangout, and the dwellers of the Garden District's elegant mansions tend to spend their time at this fabulous corner bistro, enhanced by elaborate chandeliers and a gleaming white-tile floor. The relentlessly creative chef changes the menu almost nightly, making every meal here a new adventure. The long bar downstairs fuels the lively scene, and the window seats here, looking out on Magazine Street, are always in demand. Those seeking a quieter evening head to the upstairs dining room, where chef Michael Stoltzfus has created a menu of seasonal modern-American offerings. The seafood dishes, in particular, are stellar. The kitchen opens at 5:30 pm, but the bar gets started at 4:30 pm.
2800 Magazine St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70115, USA
Known For
- Creative menus focusing on stellar fresh seafood
- Warm vibe
- Nice views over Magazine Street
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No lunch, Reservations essential
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$ | Uptown |
At Dat Dog, the sprawling stand is painted in primary hues, as if the work had been outsourced to a talented kindergarten class, and the Hawaiian shirt–clad staff bustle about with the enthusiasm of amateur actors staging a musical. The menu is all about hot dogs, and frank options range from standard German wieners to Louisiana alligator sausages. Even fish eaters and vegetarians have options (the apple sage "sausage" is deceivingly meaty). The long list of toppings includes guacamole, wasabi, and andouille sauce. And what goes better with a brat than an ice-cold brew? Luckily, the menu offers an exhaustive list of domestic and international beers. There are additional Dat Dog locations at 3336 Magazine Street and 601 Frenchmen Street.
5030 Freret St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70115, USA
Known For
- Creative hot dogs
- Rowdy crowds
- Local draft beers
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No credit cards, Reservations not accepted
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$$$$ | Central Business District |
With its elegant table settings and canvases depicting the lives of British nobility, the Grill Room on the second floor of the Windsor Court has always been a beacon of class and an elegant setting for special occasions (keep your eyes peeled: celebrities in town for local film shoots often snag tables here). The creative Cajun- and Creole-influenced dinner menu allows guests to customize a three- or five-course tasting dinner, with insightful and unusual wine selections by sommelier John Mitchell, who draws from a deep cellar with an extensive Bordeaux collection. There's also a $23 plate special offered at lunchtime weekdays, and jazz brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. If you're looking for a splurge meal in town, this is it.
300 Gravier St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA
Known For
- Elegant dining room
- Splurge-worthy tasting dinners
- Extensive wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential, Credit cards accepted
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$$$ | Bywater |
The latest project from chef Nina Compton, Top Chef contestant and owner of popular Compère Lapin in the Warehouse District, is a real neighborhood place, a friendly yet refined bistro where friends can get together to enjoy a good meal. The atmosphere here is upscale and dinner is on the pricey side, but there is a warm and homey quality to the experience.
2900 Chartres St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117, USA
Known For
- Pasta and curries
- Tasty shared plates
- House-bottled negronis
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No lunch weekdays
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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$ | Bywater |
This is everything you could want from a neighborhood coffee shop: delicious coffee, premium baked goods, and hearty sandwiches and comfort food for a quick breakfast or lunch. The pies are great around the holidays, as are the king cakes during Carnival season. The café often displays local art for sale on its walls, and hosts events and small concerts.
3624 Dauphine St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117, USA
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed. No dinner
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$ | Bywater |
This lofted space has great vegetarian options and hearty sandwiches that skew creative; think a BLT with kimchi and thick-slab bacon or smoked cauliflower, broccoli falafel, and braised beef with Bloody Mary seasoning. Cocktails are equally unique, utilizing shrubs, fresh juices, and kombucha. At night, the industrial space and romantic rooftop is used for private and community events.
3014 Dauphine St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117, USA
Known For
- Creative cocktails
- Great vegetarian options
- Industrial chic
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed weekends. No dinner.
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$ | Central Business District |
The house-roasted coffee here is delicious, but added takeaways are the cute alligator-themed mugs and memorabilia to take home (a "congregation" is the collective name for a group of alligators); the fresh pastries; and the hearty breakfast and lunch options, like the pickled greens and poached egg on toast.
644 Camp St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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$ | Faubourg Marigny |
The team behind popular Bywater wine garden Bacchanal opened this chic bar and restaurant at the Hotel Peter and Paul, where you’ll find dizzying walls of chartreuse and ochre, a generous apertivo hour, and a cavernous back bar that seems carved out of a fairy tale. Large plates like the chicken confit and grilled Gulf shrimp are perfect for sharing with a date, but plant-based small plates, like whipped ricotta with preserved mushrooms, are particularly satisfying.
2317 Burgundy St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117, USA
Known For
- Romantic interiors
- Apertivo hour
- Above-and-beyond bar snacks
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$$$ | Warehouse District |
Celebrity-chef Emeril Lagasse's urban-chic flagship restaurant is always jammed, so it's fortunate that the basket weave–pattern wood ceiling muffles much of the clatter and chatter. The ambitious menu gives equal emphasis to Creole and modern American cooking—try the andouille-crusted drum fish or the barbecue shrimp (one of the darkest, richest versions of that local specialty). Desserts, such as the renowned banana cream pie, verge on the gargantuan. Service is meticulous, and the wine list's depth and range mean that you shouldn't hesitate to ask your server for advice.
800 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA
Known For
- Barbecue shrimp
- Decadent desserts
- Long wine list
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch Sun., Reservations essential, Credit cards accepted
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$ | Bywater |
Both a convenience store and a lunch counter, this friendly neighborhood institution is the perfect place to stop for a cold drink and a delicious carry-out po'boy.
3231 Dauphine St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117, USA
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
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$ | Garden District |
In this second restaurant from Turkey and the Wolf chef Mason Hereford, attention is turned to the classics of breakfast food. Decorated with '80s and '90s pop culture memorabilia, Molly's Rise and Shine feels like a trip down memory lane, and so do its riffs on McMuffins and bagel bites. Though there is ample seating, be prepared to wait in line. Come early since the restaurant does sell out of its most popular dishes.
2368 Magazine St., New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Known For
- Nostalgic charm
- Greasy breakfast classics
- Running out of the most popular dishes, so coming early is smart
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. No dinner
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$ | French Quarter |
Here the house specialty Pimm's Cup can be enjoyed in the lush courtyard or in the cool interior, along with bites like pulled-duck po'boys. The residence was built in 1797 and was purportedly chosen as Napoléon's would-be New World residence in an escape plan hatched for the exiled emperor.
500 Chartres St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA
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$ | French Quarter |
Every night, no matter the weather, people wait for more than an hour outside Port of Call for fist-thick burgers made from freshly ground beef, served with always-fluffy baked potatoes (there are no fries here). For the classic Port of Call experience, drink a Neptune's Monsoon (their mind-bending house grog) while you wait, and order your potato "loaded" (with mushrooms, cheddar cheese, sour cream, butter, chives, and bacon bits). A juicy filet mignon is also available. In the afternoon and early evening, it's a fun stop for kids. Port of Call is open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 1 am on Friday and Saturday.
838 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70116, USA
Known For
- Rowdy locals
- Long waits
- Perhaps the best burger in New Orleans
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations not accepted, Credit cards accepted
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$$$ | Warehouse District | Modern American
The joke used to be that New Orleans had a thousand restaurants with only one menu. But today you'll find a dizzying array of culinary creativity, and nowhere pushes the boundaries further than Root. They serve, for lack of a better word, "molecular gastronomy" cuisine, the kind of food created by chefs who grew up admiring Mr. Science as much as Julia Child in a fittingly on-trend dining room accented with bright pops of color. The menu changes frequently but expect to find dishes like hot and sour lemonfish with horseradish "snow," sweet tea fried chicken wings, and scallops perfumed with actual Cohiba cigar smoke. A menu with plates of various sizes helps keep the cost in check. Does it always work? No. Is Root always an adventure? Yes.
200 Julia St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70130, USA
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch weekends
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$ | French Quarter |
Pick up a sandwich or a hot lunch to-go from this distinctly New Orleans take on a deli, open 24 hours, and a prime refueling point for the late-night bar crawl. If you're really hungry, try the All That Jazz po'boy (ham, turkey, shrimp, and two cheeses with grilled mushrooms and tomatoes).
1201 Royal St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70116, USA
