Not long after moving to New Orleans to become restaurant critic at The Times-Picayune, a prominent local called me at the office — cellphones were still niche in those days — to inform me that he couldn’t take my opinions about local dining seriously until I “put down roots.”
Twenty-five years later — nearly two decades of those spent in the job that brought me here — I feel qualified to make two declarations to anyone who finds themselves in New Orleans this summer: You will be hot, and you will have difficult decisions to make about where to eat.
Our list of the 25 best restaurants in New Orleans, updated this week, can help with the second thing. You’ll find classics of various generations, from Commander’s Palace, Dooky Chase’s and Tan Dinh to Compère Lapin, Dakar Nola and Pêche.
The Kingsway and Saint Claire, which both opened last month, are too new to appear on the list. But they’re worth looking out for, as they are offshoots of two of my favorite local restaurants: Saffron Nola, an Indian-New Orleans bistro, and Mosquito Supper Club, a Cajun seafood restaurant that feels like a dinner party.
Here is a quick preview of the two new entries on our list:
Not all cutting-edge restaurants are new
Coquette opened in the waning days of the second Bush administration. All these years later, I honestly still think about a dish from an early menu: tempura fried Gulf shrimp smeared with sambal, resting against juicy slices of grapefruit. I don’t recall if that dish was served beyond 2008, but having eaten at Coquette for going on 17 years, I do know Michael Stoltzfus, the restaurant’s chef and owner, hasn’t stopped pushing himself to find harmony in uncommon pairings. Inside the 19th century brick-and-wood dining room, his intelligent, creative food still tastes like something new.
2800 Magazine Street, Garden District
One can’t live on po’boys alone
The best restaurants in New Orleans often come in the shape of affordable, informal corner joints trafficking in vernacular comfort food. (See Café Reconcile, Chicken’s Kitchen and Liuzza’s by the Track.) But New Orleanians, being human, also love pizza. And we really love St. Pizza. It opened last spring, as I happened to be traveling the country in search of amazing pizzerias. The restaurant stands out for being a number of things at once: a place for quick slices and takeout pies as well as an excellent Italian red-sauce tavern. Both are attached to Patron Saint, a smart retail shop and bar specializing in natural wine.
1152 Magazine Street, Lower Garden District
For your itinerary
It would be a shame to visit New Orleans without taking in some live music. The Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods, just down river from the French Quarter, hold a wealth of options. Consult the music schedules at Bacchanal, a beloved restaurant, wine bar and shop with live jazz in its backyard patio; Saturn Bar, where you don’t want to miss a Monday with BC Coogan on piano; Snug Harbor, a venerable jazz club; and D.B.A., a stalwart on the ever-popular Frenchmen Street. You’re Uptown? Check out Tipitina’s, the Maple Leaf or the Bayou Bar at the Pontchartrain Hotel.
Brett Anderson joined the Food desk as a contributor in July 2019. He was restaurant critic and features writer at The Times-Picayune, in New Orleans, from 2000 to 2019. He has won three James Beard awards, including the Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award, and was named Eater’s Reporter of the Year in 2017 for his reporting on sexual harassment in the restaurant industry.
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