We are in New Orleans and we are stumped as to which restaurant is the best. Can anyone help? We would like one that has a New Orleans flair. Thanks.

If you are near the quarter, I would suggest Mr B's (a Brennan family restaurant), NOLA's (one of Emeril's restaurants) or Palace Cafe.

All of these are a little pricey. If you want something simpler and less expensive, check out Napoleon House, Acme Oyster House or Mother's

There is no "best" restaurant. There are restaurants that meet many different criteria. Do you want the best tasting, lowest cost, best service, best environment, most authentic cuisine, best of the newest cuisine, best prices, or what? State what you really want and you'll get lots of replies.

You don't even need to wait for replies, there are tons of recent posts & trip reports on here, you should be able to find somethnig to suit your tastes. Many would argue that Commander's Palace, Cochon, K-Pauls & Arnaud's would be near the top of most any 'best of' list for NOLA. Also check the Fodors restaurant header.

I second tomms. Mr. B's is my favorite. Always excellent quality and atmosphere. Typically some creative twist on classic New Orleans fare.

Acme is the classic oyster bar experience. Super casual. All the traditional dishes. Very modestly priced.

If I were in New Orleans for a day, I would have lunch at the Acme and dinner at Mr. B's and be a happy boy.

I do like the Sunday Brunch @ Mr. B's especially. I always go to Acme or Masperos (for a Muffaletta) as soon as I arrive.

We would like a restaurant that has a nice evening feel with the New Orleans flair. Not hurried or loud and a "spend time to enjoy it" type atmosohere with the best food but not the highest priced and a varied menu. I would be willing to sacrifice some of these if the food was out of this world good.

For the money, MiLa in the Sheraton was one of the best meals we had in New Orleans. It's a little more modern in decor. K-Pauls and Commander's are both outstanding as well. The food at all three was roughly on the same level, but MiLa's prices were lower (I think- I went to K-Paul's in 2006, so it's kind of fuzzy at this point).

The Sunday Brunch at Mr. B's is special as SAnParis2 posted. I think New Orleans Flair probably means diffierent things to different people, so it's hard to suggest a place that would give you that. We had a very enjoyable meal at The Gumbo Shop www.gumboshop.com on our last visit. It's in an 18th century building, very casual, with a creole menu. I loved the way it was decorated, service was very good and so was the food. We were very comfortable there, not rushed and to us it has New Orleans flair.

On a previous trip we ate at a great restaurant, Irene's Cuisine. Not typical New Orleans but the food was wonderful. They prepared a dish for us that wasn't on the menu, and the bread pudding was to die for. I couldn't find an URL for the restaurant, but did find this http://www.frommers.com/destinations...ns/D41515.html.

One of the wonderful things about New Orleans, it isn't hard to find excellent places to eat.

Some really outstanding restaurants that give you a good evening feel, great cuisine, but not the best prices: Andrea's, Broussard's, Galatoire's would be my choices. As I said earlier, you'll get lots of recommendations.

Galatoire's was the worst expensive meal I've ever had by a huge measure. It had no redeeming qualities- the food was just flat out bad, the service was mediocre, and the "atmosphere" was just a loud crowded room. I've been in nicer VFW halls! I had to salt my own food (I've never had to salt anything in a restaurant before), my sauce was broken, and they screwed up sweetbreads.

I didn't want to mention it as I know we ended up at one place because I remembered seeing something about it online- turns out it was on the "To Be Avoided" list.

Commander's Palace Sat. or Sun. brunch is a must, and we enjoyed breakfast on a weekday at Adelaide in Loew's Hotel. The Camelia Grill is just wonderful, casual bar stool seating but great food for lunch and breakfast...ride the streetcar there for fun.

>>>Galatoire's was the worst expensive meal I've ever had by a huge measure. It had no redeeming qualities- the food was just flat out bad, the service was mediocre, and the "atmosphere" was just a loud crowded room.

What I said earlier holds true as shown by these postings--there is no "best" restaurant. Your original question might have been "what is your FAVORITE restaurant and why?"

Here is a quick list of the best New Orleans restaurants. Keep in mind the list is subjective so what may be the best for one person wouldn't be the best for another. This should give you some good ideas though.

http://what-are-the-best.com/the-bes...staurants.html

ttt for msc

I hate to hear about that experience at Galatoire's. It's always been one of my favorites. I love the place, but it can be a bit loud, especially downstairs. It's a bit quieter upstairs. If you want what I think of as quintessential N. O., for me it's Galatoire's. Every place can have a bad night. The soft shell crab there is outstanding, as well as everything I've ever had there.

Barona, also in the Quarter, is one not mentioned that I really like. Very quiet, romantic, and excellent food with
some typical New Orleans fare but some really excellent eclectic choices. I had rabbit one time there that was out of this world.

I'll also second the Camelia Grill for a great lunch spot. Expect to wait, and it's crowded and you eat at a counter, but the food is very good. Get the chili cheese omelet, if you have a big appetite. It's located a bit west of Audubon Park.

Did anyone notice that the original posted question was from a person who was in New Orleans in February?

Did you notice that this thread was topped by SAnParis for the benefit of another poster?

I don't know about "best", but for me New Orleans = a poboy at a hole in the wall place and the BBQ shrimp at Pascals Manale.

I've eaten (and entertained customers) at most of the pricier restaurants through the years, but when I go back I'll go back for those two.

http://www.nomenu.com/Reviews/index.html this site here helped me decide on which restaurants to visit. Tom Fitzmorris is a food critic which I listen to his show quite often. its worth a visit.