Today I’m sharing my last travel post from my trip to New Orleans (don’t miss posts one and two), and I’m highlighting one of my favorite parts of the trip—the food! The New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau set us up with an amazing itinerary that included some of the best places to eat in NOLA. In no particular order, here are my top ten New Orleans restaurants:
Top 10 Restaurants in New Orleans
Palace Cafe. My brunch included a pulled pork benedict (omg), while other gals had the banana fosters waffles. Are you drooling yet?
Langlois Culinary Crossroads. This hands-on cooking demo restaurant is so much fun! And the food is to die for. We learned about the differences between creole and cajun cooking and enjoyed chicken and sausage gumbo. We also learned how to flip crepes (catch me flipping one like a pro at 1:25 of this video)!
Peche Seafood Grill. Peche is known for its amazing seafood in the Lower Garden District. Peche does not disappoint and even earned the James Beard Award. One of the bloggers on the trip declared that this was the best meal…of her life!
Loa. This bar at the International House hotel is where I tried my first Sazerac, a local NOLA specialty. Watch the bartender make this unique drink at 2:02 of this video.
Arnaud’s. We dined at Arnaud’s our first evening, and it was the perfect restaurant to kick off our trip. While, if I’m being honest, the food there was probably my least favorite of all the places we tried, the restaurant and the dining room is so charming, and there is so much history behind every nook and cranny, it’s absolutely worth it to spend an evening there. We enjoyed live jazz and toured the endless upstairs rooms, where they also feature a Mardi Gras Museum.
Cafe Du Monde. A trip to New Orleans isn’t complete without stopping at this famous French cafe! We ran into actor Robert Davi there and snapped a photo with him.
Upperline. Our final meal was at Upperline, a local New Orleanians favorite that features warm hospitality (especially from the owner, JoAnn). Btw, my foie gras was amazing.
Brennan’s. Brennan’s was probably my favorite meal in NOLA. It’s an iconic New Orleans brunch spot, and if you visit the French Quarter in this city and don’t come here for brunch, you’re doing it wrong! We sat and ate here for a good three hours. It was so delicious, I can’t even pretend to be embarrassed about all the food I ate here. We also got an incredible tour afterward of their wine cellar (lord knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars of wine is in there), as well as the gorgeous upstairs rooms. Visiting this restaurant would easily make the list of my favorite things to do in New Orleans.
Morning Call. Even though everyone talks about Cafe Du Monde, locals rave about Morning Call’s beignets. After doing a taste test, I can safely say that Morning Call’s beignets are better than Cafe Du Monde’s. But you should still go to both, to find out for yourself! Morning Call is situated by a beautiful park, perfect for sipping cafe au lait and enjoying copious amounts of powdered sugar.
Cure. I was totally blown away by this little cocktail bar. The decor is gorgeous, and the cocktails and small bites we had were fantastic.
Bywater American Bistro. This fine-dining restaurant just recently opened and their menu has a variety of dishes from pickled shrimp, fried gulf oysters, and rabbit curry. You can’t go wrong with having dinner here.
If you have any other restaurant recommendations in NOLA, let me know! Next time I visit I definitely want to try some crusted gulf fish, soft shell crab, fried chicken, red beans, and bread pudding. I also would like to explore more food in the warehouse district, central business district, and Magazine Street.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of New Orleans Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The opinions and text are all mine. Thank you again to the New Orleans CVB for bringing me on this wonderful adventure in your beautiful city!
Like this restaurant guide? Be sure to check out my other restaurant guides here.
FAQs
New Orleans is best known for its French architecture, French culture, food, music, and multicultural events.
– Beignets and Café Au Lait
– Fried Chicken
– Soft Shell Crab
– Jerk Chicken
– Gumbo
The cheapest time to travel to New Orleans is in July, August, and September.
New Orleans is considered one of the cheaper places to visit in the states, except during the Mardi Gras season.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
