The Best Restaurants in New Orleans - Suggestions & Tips Needed! Thank You!!

[Wendy31]

So, if anyone remembers my previous thread, our family did NOT get to go to Washington DC this spring. We had a couple of different family issues, & the trip just wasn't feasible.

HOWEVER, we have a family member that is getting married in Biloxi, & we are going to spend a few extra days in the area. Our whole family is looking forward to the trip!

We're driving down on a Thursday & renting a little cottage in Ocean Springs. I think, w/ the wedding festivities, we'll find plenty to do & see in Biloxi.

On Mother's Day, we plan to drive over to New Orleans, & I am beyond excited!! New Orleans has been on my bucket list for ages & ages!

I know we want to go to Cafe Du Monde.

How crowded will it be? What would be the best time of day to be there?

For dinner, I would love to try a very typical, quintessential New Orleans restaurant - one w/ atmosphere & lots of wonderful New Orleans flavors.

I've looked at several that have excellent menus. Many also have really interesting brunch menus. However, I also noticed that many require a dress code - which, usually, isn't a problem. But, since we'll be spending a lot of the day walking & touring, we won't really be dressed for dinner. From what I've seen, a lot of the famous New Orleans restaurants require jackets for the men - which, is, again, absolutely fine, & normally I would love that! LOL!

Our younger DS will also be w/ us, &, while he's well behaved in restaurants, he still very much has a child's palate & will need a children's menu.

Also, it will be Mother's Day, so I don't know how extra-crowded the restaurants will be - especially for brunch.

Our daughter wants to eat gumbo somewhere. I just want to be somewhere where I can soak up the atmosphere.

So, w/ all that in mind, I would love any suggestions for some great restaurants in New Orleans!

THANK YOU!!

 

[Elleshoodat]

So, if anyone remembers my previous thread, our family did NOT get to go to Washington DC this spring. We had a couple of different family issues, & the trip just wasn't feasible.

HOWEVER, we have a family member that is getting married in Biloxi, & we are going to spend a few extra days in the area. Our whole family is looking forward to the trip!

We're driving down on a Thursday & renting a little cottage in Ocean Springs. I think, w/ the wedding festivities, we'll find plenty to do & see in Biloxi.

On Mother's Day, we plan to drive over to New Orleans, & I am beyond excited!! New Orleans has been on my bucket list for ages & ages!

I know we want to go to Cafe Du Monde.

How crowded will it be? What would be the best time of day to be there?

For dinner, I would love to try a very typical, quintessential New Orleans restaurant - one w/ atmosphere & lots of wonderful New Orleans flavors.

I've looked at several that have excellent menus. Many also have really interesting brunch menus. However, I also noticed that many require a dress code - which, usually, isn't a problem. But, since we'll be spending a lot of the day walking & touring, we won't really be dressed for dinner. From what I've seen, a lot of the famous New Orleans restaurants require jackets for the men - which, is, again, absolutely fine, & normally I would love that! LOL!

Our younger DS will also be w/ us, &, while he's well behaved in restaurants, he still very much has a child's palate & will need a children's menu.

Also, it will be Mother's Day, so I don't know how extra-crowded the restaurants will be - especially for brunch.

Our daughter wants to eat gumbo somewhere. I just want to be somewhere where I can soak up the atmosphere.

So, w/ all that in mind, I would love any suggestions for some great restaurants in New Orleans!

THANK YOU!!

Cafe du Monde is almost always crowded, whether it's 10 a.m. or 3 a.m. It runs efficiently, though, and I've never experienced a wait there.

We mostly eat casual when visiting New Orleans, and some of my favorites are Cafe Maspero for muffalettas and fried seafood. They do have a gumbo, but I've never tried it. Another favorite is Mother's, but it's a little farther out from the Quarter. Their po-boys are outstanding, and I also love the bread pudding. Again, it's super casual.

I've heard wonderful things about Galatoire's and Brennan's but haven't been to either. I imagine they will be hard to get into on Mother's Day.

Have so much fun!

 

[Wendy31]

Cafe du Monde is almost always crowded, whether it's 10 a.m. or 3 a.m. It runs efficiently, though, and I've never experienced a wait there.

We mostly eat casual when visiting New Orleans, and some of my favorites are Cafe Maspero for muffalettas and fried seafood. They do have a gumbo, but I've never tried it. Another favorite is Mother's, but it's a little farther out from the Quarter. Their po-boys are outstanding, and I also love the bread pudding. Again, it's super casual.

I've heard wonderful things about Galatoire's and Brennan's but haven't been to either. I imagine they will be hard to get into on Mother's Day.

Have so much fun!

Thank you!!

That's just the kind of recommendation I was looking for! Cafe Maspero sounds like it might be a good option! I like that it's also located in a historic building too.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

The Simpsons kind of nailed it on their recent episode:

I would start at the French Quarter Cafe Du Monde as early as you can get there. Even when there is a line, it turns over pretty fast.

 

[Wendy31]

The Simpsons kind of nailed it on their recent episode:

I would start at the French Quarter Cafe Du Monde as early as you can get there. Even when there is a line, it turns over pretty fast.

Yes!!! Exactly!!

We're only going to be there one short day, & I want to try one of everything!!

 

[bananasplitkids]

We were just there in March, sooooo much to do. Here's where we went:
Cafe Du Monde - beignets
Ruby Slipper – very good brunch
Court of 2 Sisters - brunch
Commanders Palace – good but hard to get reservations and has dress code
Katies – good Poboys
Oceana Grille - this was recommended but we thought it was just ok
Willie Mays – good fried chicken
Neyows Creole Café – Very good
Cajun Seafood - very good crawfish and shrimp

Other places that were recommended but we did not get a chance to go to:
Arnauds
Muriels
Felix’s
Heard Dat Kitchen
Sassafras Restaurant

 

[gotomu212]

I love The Gumbo Shop and it works for a casual dinner. They can do a plain pasta for your son. The service is always outstanding. We actually usually have dinner at The Gumbo Shop and then stroll over to Cafe du Monde for beignet dessert.

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

Mr. B’s Bistro... AMAZING!

 

[angelbaby129]

I was there last year for a conference. We loved The Ruby Slipper. They had amazing eggs benedict. They had all different kinds of toppings for them. One option was called the peace maker so you could get two different kinds in the same order, so my husband and I ordered 4 different kinds and split them. So good! We also enjoyed the brunch at Court of Two Sisters. Their eggs benedict was very good and made to order. I also remember some sort of veal that I liked. We did dinner at Muriel's. It was pretty fancy, but the food was so good! I had their fried green tomato stack appetizer and it just melted in your mouth. It was also very neat to see their old seance room upstairs. I would recommend looking up Free Tours by Foot. We took a walking tour of the French Quarter and the Garden District. The fee was whatever you thought it was worth. It was fabulous to have someone tell us all about the areas in a condensed version quickly. We saw so much more than we would have just wandering around by ourselves. Both tours included a cemetary. The city was having vandalism problems in the cemetaries, so a tour is the only way to see them now. They pointed out specific tombs as well as giving general information about the cemetaries. I loved both walking tours that we took!

 

[Gary M]

A casual place with good food is Acme Oyster Bar in the French Quarter. Check the menu.
french-quarter

We have also eaten at and enjoyed Mother's, The Gumbo Shop and Galatoire's which have been mentioned. Galatoire's is expensive, but we have found the food to be excellent. They require men to wear a coat, but not tie. They also want the man to have a collar on his shirt. They always furnish me a jacket to wear.

I have had many trips over the last 50 years to New Orleans and really enjoy it. I hope the heat and humidity will be tolerable when you go.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Restaurant Stanley, which is right on the inside corner of Jackson Square, is a fave of ours. My husband would go out of his way for their eggs benedict poboy. The Rib Room in the Royal O has a lot of great things and I love that they offer eggs sardou at breakfast. We like Deanie's on Iberville near Canal, but I think some of it is that you get crawfish boil style potatoes instead of bread. I like Ralph Brennan's Red Fish Grill on Bourbon for a wider variety of seafood. Coop's Place up on Decatur is popular, but seating can be a challenge. Cafe Maspero can be a bit more touristy, but it's been reliable. There's this little market farther up Bourbon that is good for cheap eats...po boys, muffalettas, boudin balls, etc. I just can't remember the name of and can't get it to come up on the maps. Of course, there's also Brennan's brunch if you want super traditional.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We are close and visit New Orleans often. If you want iconic New Orleans fine dining that is not too touristy then you want Arnaud's, Galatoire's or Mr B's. The first 2 have dinner dress codes, so be prepared for that. If you are looking for a little more casual, Mulates is good fires seafood as is acme oyster house.

If you want something a little different that then typical, Domenica is an amazing non-traditional Italian. Galatiores 33 is a great steakhouse.

 

[bananasplitkids]

I was there last year for a conference. We loved The Ruby Slipper. They had amazing eggs benedict. They had all different kinds of toppings for them. One option was called the peace maker so you could get two different kinds in the same order, so my husband and I ordered 4 different kinds and split them. So good! We also enjoyed the brunch at Court of Two Sisters. Their eggs benedict was very good and made to order. I also remember some sort of veal that I liked. We did dinner at Muriel's. It was pretty fancy, but the food was so good! I had their fried green tomato stack appetizer and it just melted in your mouth. It was also very neat to see their old seance room upstairs. I would recommend looking up Free Tours by Foot. We took a walking tour of the French Quarter and the Garden District. The fee was whatever you thought it was worth. It was fabulous to have someone tell us all about the areas in a condensed version quickly. We saw so much more than we would have just wandering around by ourselves. Both tours included a cemetary. The city was having vandalism problems in the cemetaries, so a tour is the only way to see them now. They pointed out specific tombs as well as giving general information about the cemetaries. I loved both walking tours that we took!

Sounds like we had the same vacation! I also had the peace maker and it was so good. We also were going to do the Free Tours by Foot for the Garden District but had the grandparents and the tour time was a little too early for them. We found that they had an audio tour you could download for $1, so we hooked that up to our Bluetooth speaker. It was excellent gave us lots of information about the cemetery and the different houses in the Garden District and with the grandparents allowed us to go at our own pace.

 

[Erzengel]

In terms of Fine Dining, I would recommend GW Fins.

We celebrated our anniversary there. The food and service was outstanding and I'd definitely would go back there. I had the Bluefin Tuna and my wife had the Red Snapper. Dessert was the Salty Malty Ice Cream Pie.

We went around Spring Break, so we waited on several lines. But we really liked was the Oceana Grill. Had some blackened gator tail there. It was my favorite po boy. And I'll echo Cafe Du Monde but also Cafe Beingnet.

Couldn't get into Ruby Slipper.

 

[Wendy31]

Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful suggestions!!

I'm sad we just have one short day, & I'm trying to figure out if we could do brunch AND dinner plus Cafe du Monde... LOL!

We love gumbo & jambalaya & red beans & rice & fried shrimp & shrimp & grits & fried green tomatoes! And everything just sounds so wonderful! DH & older DS once went on a fishing trip to Louisiana & brought home lots of redfish, so we enjoy redfish too.

Commander's Palace has been on "my list" for such a long time, but I think it'll have to wait until we're there for more than one day.

 

[angelbaby129]

Sounds like we had the same vacation! I also had the peace maker and it was so good. We also were going to do the Free Tours by Foot for the Garden District but had the grandparents and the tour time was a little too early for them. We found that they had an audio tour you could download for $1, so we hooked that up to our Bluetooth speaker. It was excellent gave us lots of information about the cemetery and the different houses in the Garden District and with the grandparents allowed us to go at our own pace.

I'll have to remember the information about the audio tour. I just love taking tours of places when you have limited time there. I feel like it's the best way to see and learn a lot in a short amount of time.

 

[angelbaby129]

Thank you all SO MUCH for all the wonderful suggestions!!

I'm sad we just have one short day, & I'm trying to figure out if we could do brunch AND dinner plus Cafe du Monde... LOL!

We love gumbo & jambalaya & red beans & rice & fried shrimp & shrimp & grits & fried green tomatoes! And everything just sounds so wonderful! DH & older DS once went on a fishing trip to Louisiana & brought home lots of redfish, so we enjoy redfish too.

Commander's Palace has been on "my list" for such a long time, but I think it'll have to wait until we're there for more than one day.

Maybe do Cafe du Monde for a snack around 2 between brunch and dinner? We went to the Cafe du Monde behind our hotel in the mall on the riverfront instead of the one in the French Quarter. I know it's not the original, but we didn't have a lot of time and it was much less busy.