4 Best Restaurants in Carrollton-Riverbend, New Orleans

Nathanial Zimet's gutsy, down-home cooking, a unique blend of Louisiana and contemporary southern styles, fits right in at its cozy location in a converted Uptown home. The menu here is updated monthly, but it always kicks off with small plates, including multiple iterations of grits and memorable boudin balls. Large plates pack big flavors—smoked scallops, Wagyu brisket, and multiple duck dishes all deliver. Try the Krispy Kreme bread pudding, even if you haven't saved room for it. Next door is Bourrée, the restaurant's casual sister establishment, specializing in chicken wings, meat-based snacks, and gourmet daiquiris, like the top-shelf Hurricane and frozen gin and tonic.

Oak Street might look like any other sleepy urban thoroughfare by day, but once the sun sets, the half-block stretch containing Jacques-Imo's Cafe feels like the center of the universe. If you don't make a reservation (by phone, and only for groups of five or more), you might face a lengthy wait, but the bartenders are fast to get you a drink while you wait for a table in the swamp-theme dining rooms. No matter the wait, most agree the modest-looking but innovative food is worth it: deep-fried roast-beef po'boys, shrimp-and-alligator-sausage cheesecake, Cajun bouillabaisse, and fried rabbit tenderloin with Creole mustard cream sauce are among the only-at-Jacques-Imo's specialties.

This employee-owned bakery freshly mills all of their flour on-site, producing bread and baked goods for some of the top restaurants in New Orleans. A commitment to local and single-origin ingredients embodies the ethos of the whole operation. In 2019, they opened their first storefront where customers can purchase these baked delicacies for themselves, as well as get a glimpse into milling and baking process as they drink a cup of fresh-brewed coffee. Sandwiches, pastas, pastries, and more are available, but they sell out quickly. Classes are regularly offered so guests can improve their baking skills, as well.

Chef Frank Brigtsen's fusion of Creole refinement and Acadian earthiness reflects his years as a Paul Prudhomme protégé, and his dishes here represent some of the best south Louisiana cooking you'll find anywhere. Everything is fresh and filled with deep, complex flavors. The butternut shrimp bisque defines comfort food. Rabbit and duck dishes, usually presented in rich sauces and gravies, are full of robust flavor. But Brigtsen really gets to unleash his creativity on the Seafood Platter, consisting of extraordinary, creative takes on New Orleans seafood classics. Trompe-l'oeil murals add whimsy to the intimate spaces of this turn-of-the-20th-century frame cottage. Ask for a table on the enclosed front sun porch.