10 Best Restaurants in New Orleans, Louisiana

This eatery wows diners with rustic Italian cooking and thin crust, wood-fired pizza. In the renovated Roosevelt Hotel—a 19th-century landmark—friendly and knowledgeable waiters happily help patrons with lesser-known ingredients, but it doesn't take a lengthy explanation to know that the fresh pastas and pizzas are a must. The restaurant departs from the hotel lobby's historic, gilded decor and opts instead for sleek black walls and chain-mesh curtains, warmed by jewel-box displays of house-cured meats. From 3 to 5 pm daily, all pizzas and wines are half off, so come hungry. A smaller, more casual PIZZA Domenica is located Uptown (4933 Magazine Street).

Rustic and charming, this cramped second floor dining room lords over Frenchmen Street and serves big plates of classic Italian-American cuisine with a Creole twist. Decadent seafood sauces are especially pleasing for garlic lovers. There are no reservations and the food and service is a little mixed, but it's always an experience here (and usually lots of fun). Put your name on the list and then head downstairs for some music and drinks at the Apple Barrel, which usually has live music, or wander Frenchmen Street as you wait for a table. The stairs preclude guests in wheelchairs.

Every dish on the short menu here shows an obsessive attention to detail. The main attraction are the pizzas, which follow Neapolitan rules and use only flour, water, yeast, and salt for their dough; they enter an 800°F oven—imported from Naples—and emerge a minute later charred and fragrant. The starters feature gnocchi, arancini, and house-cured meats that hang inside a glass-walled room in the back. Despite the seriousness of the kitchen, the vibe out front is casual and contemporary. This welcoming pizzeria, like many other places on lively Freret Street, suits the needs of neighbors but turns out food worthy of a visitor's attention.

This downtown outpost of the original Cvitanovich family restaurant in suburban Metairie serves the same famous charbroiled oysters in a hotel lobby setting. The oysters are an absolute must-order (you'll want extra bread to mop up the toothsome sauce), but the other local specialties on the menu like barbecue shrimp, gumbo, fried seafood, and shrimp and grits are also delicious. Families love the place, especially because of the kids' menu.

An evening at this corner restaurant combines a sophisticated night out with nourishing, down-to-earth food. Expect Italian classics like pastas, pizzas, and prime meats, with a respectable wine list. Try the spaghetti fra diavolo with gulf shrimp, or the spicy rigatoni amatriciana---and say yes to the panna cotta for dessert.

The walls here are festooned with enough snapshots, garlic braids, and crockery for at least two more restaurants, but it all just adds to the charm of this cozy Italian-Creole eatery. From Irene DiPietro's kitchen come succulent roast chicken brushed with olive oil, rosemary, and garlic; delicious, velvety soups; and fresh shrimp, aggressively seasoned and grilled before they join linguine glistening with herbed olive oil. Waits here can stretch to the 60-minute mark during peak dinner hours, which is just enough time for a bottle of wine in the convivial little piano bar.

Here Verona-born chef Samantha Castagnetti turns out sumptuous, authentic northern Italian pasta dishes, like fusilli with peas, shallots, and Italian prosciutto in an elegant white cream sauce, alongside meaty mains, such as veal osso buco over decadent polenta. This is the kind of place that turns first dates into lifelong affairs; you'll feel like you're dining at nonna's house. The all-Italian wine list is surprisingly affordable, with many glasses at $10 or less.

This is a charming little stop on the way down St. Claude Avenue. The friendly owner can fix you a cappuccino (or a hot-pressed panini), while you decide which flavor of freshly made gelato to choose.

This airy, industrial space has two identities, depending on the time of day. Weekend brunches are bustling and lively and feature their popular boozy brunch drinks and the to-die-for lemon ricotta pancakes; at night, dinner unfolds under chandeliers and pendant lamps when the open kitchen serves up house-made pastas and pizza. Tables of locals and dates unwind over wine and sophisticated comfort foods. Whichever you choose, it's best to make a reservation. Expect a lively, loud atmosphere.

Barbecue shrimp is an addictive regional specialty that involves neither a barbecue nor barbecue sauce, and Pascal's is considered the iconic dish's birthplace. The original recipe, introduced a half century ago, remains unchanged: jumbo shrimp, still in the shell, are cooked in a Worcestershire-soaked garlicky-butter pool enhanced with just the right amount of Creole spice and pepper. The rest of the menu here is taken up with regional seafood and Creole-Italian specialties, with the turtle soup, oysters Rockefeller, and eggplant Dryades all making for excellent starters. Arrive early to enjoy the atmospheric old bar---one of the best spots in the city to slurp raw oysters---and when it's time for dinner, don't turn down the bib: those barbecue shrimp can get messy.