New Orleans got its first Michelin Guide in 2025, with Emeril's taking two stars as the city's only starred restaurant of that level. The soul of the table is still Creole and Cajun cooking, po'boys and neighborhood sandwich counters.
New Orleans at a glance
What to eat
Beignets; Shrimp po'boys; Gumbo; Red beans and rice; Muffuletta.
When to go
Best: February–May. Also good: January and October–November. Hardest: July–August.
Top tables
Emeril's, Michelin 2★ (2025). This guide lists 10 award-winning restaurants in all.
Where locals eat
Local favorites off the prestige lists include Queen Trini Lisa, Tân Định, Li'l Dizzy's Cafe and Chicken's Kitchen.
10 award-winning4 local favorites2 hot right now1 markets6 walking tour stops24 critics' picks5 sandwich shops10 romantic dinners5 breakfast spots10 new openings18 dish spots
Food walking tour: French Market to Royal Street: a French Quarter eating day5.0 hours on foot, 6 stops, in eating order. Add the whole tour to your trip, then give it a day.
New places change fast. “Provisional” means a guide or directory lists it as new but we have not confirmed the opening date. Check hours and book ahead before you go.
Memorable breakfasts in New Orleans
The top pick here; the rest are on their own page.
Brennan's
French Quarter
Order: Eggs Hussarde
A leisurely Creole breakfast in an unmistakable French Quarter setting.
Picks come from romantic-dinner lists on booking and review sites. Confirm dinner service, menus and availability before you book.
Food walking tour
French Market to Royal Street: a French Quarter eating day
A covered market, muffuletta, red beans, a Pimm's Cup, chargrilled oysters and tableside Bananas Foster.
Start 9:00 at French Market, Decatur Street at French Market PlaceTime 5.0 hoursDistance about 2.5 kmBest days Daily for the French Market. Hours for most other stops are not in our sources, so confirm days and opening times, especially for Central Grocery, Coop's Place and Brennan's.
The French Quarter's old food counters are close enough that you can eat six places without taking a car. The route starts at the French Market, moves down Decatur for a muffuletta and a pot of red beans, then through Chartres and Iberville for a Pimm's Cup and chargrilled oysters, and ends with Bananas Foster flamed at your table.
Pacing: Share one muffuletta half, one bowl of red beans and a dozen oysters, and order a single Bananas Foster for the table. Skip the oysters if you have eaten a full muffuletta.
Plan B: If it rains, spend longer in the covered French Market and Napoleon House. If a stop is closed, swap in Cochon Butcher in the Warehouse District for a warm muffuletta (a streetcar or short ride away). Li'l Dizzy's Cafe in Tremé is a good lunch alternative, about 1.2 km from Coop's Place.
Avoid: Avoid Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest weekends and any weekend night, when the Quarter's lines are longest.
Bring: Cash for the small places, a bag for half a muffuletta, and comfortable shoes for uneven pavement. Water: the walk is short but humid.
Skip it if: Skip it if you want one big sit-down meal; this day is small plates and bar stops, none of which our sources confirm hours for.
Ends at: Brennan's, 417 Royal Street, French Quarter.
Walking times and distances are approximate, and opening hours change: confirm before you go.
Hot right now in New Orleans
What people are lining up for and posting about this month. Entries expire after about four months unless they are reported again.
Always a lineLast confirmed Mar 2025
Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Mid-City
The thing: Po'boys: fried shrimp and oyster, and roast beef in gravy; 'surf & turf' not mentioned in source
Crazes move fast. “Just spotted” means one report so far, and most entries rest on a single source: confirm hours and expect a wait.
The New Orleans food map
Every place in this guide, pinned. Tap a pin to see what to order, then add it to your trip.
Open the full New Orleans food map: every place on our lists too (pizza, ice cream, romantic, where locals and the famous eat, cooking classes), searchable by dish.
· Pins are placed by address or name and can be a little off; always confirm in your maps app.
Plan my days in New Orleans
Tell us what you like and we will line up the places on this page into a day-by-day plan. Only places from this guide, never anything else.
What to eat in New Orleans, and where
Each dish comes with the places that do it best. Tap Add to my trip on the ones you want, or find them on the map above.
Fried shrimp po'boy
hot-sauced and dressed, the Domilise's specialty since 1918
The 2 best places to eat it in New Orleans
1
Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar
Uptown · $
Order: Fried shrimp po'boy, or half-and-half oyster and shrimp
Family-run Uptown sandwich counter, a po'boy purist's pick for generations and named in every roundup.
PlanetWare (undated): best late Feb-May (Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, pleasant weather) but highest prices and biggest crowds on Feb-May weekends; late Jan cheaper with parades; July-Aug intense heat/rain/humidity; Aug-Sept cheapest; Oct-Nov nice weather and light crowds but fall is hurricane season (major storms rare); Dec-Jan fewest tourists. Lonely Planet says late spring and early summer are most pleasant for festivals. Month numbers are our mapping of the prose. Mardi Gras date moves yearly (Fat Tuesday 9 Feb 2027 per TableJourney).
In season
Boiled crawfishMar–Jun
Louisiana oystersMar
Brown shrimp
Ponchatoula strawberriesApr
Blue crabsMay–Aug
Creole tomatoesJunCreole Tomato Festival early June (6-7 Jun 2026, 40th edition); season months not stated
White shrimpSep–Nov
King cakeJan–Feb
Food events
Mardi Gras / CarnivalFeb
Louisiana Crawfish FestivalMarLonely Planet: late March or early April; not verified elsewhere
French Quarter FestivalApr
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest)Apr
New Orleans Oyster FestivalJun
NOWFE (Wine and Food Experience)Jun
COOLinary Restaurant MonthAug2026 ran 1-31 Aug; prix fixe examples $25 two-course lunch to $58 three-course dinner (neworleans.com). WWNO also mentions a mid-June restaurant...
Satchmo SummerFestAugEarly August, free (1-2 Aug 2026); LP says Aug 4
Closures to plan around
Summer is slow: WWNO reports many restaurants lose money in summer; some cut hours and staff, run promotions (COOLinary through August). No sourced list of full-summer closures.
No sourced weekly closing day (Sunday/Monday) pattern or holiday shutdown found for New Orleans.
Meal costs and tipping (USD)
Mid-range: COOLinary 2026 examples: 48-58 for three-course dinner, 25 for two-course lunch (neworleans.com); these are promotional prices, not typical menu prices
Tipping: No clean current norm found. Axios (Mar 2024): many restaurants add card fees (2-4%), automatic gratuity (usually 20%, often for parties), service charges (e.g. 18%) or kitchen/appreciation fees (3-4%) - check the bill. A 2014 NOLA magazine column cites a national 18% average and tips 20%+ (old, personal view).
From published guides and tourism boards. Months are our mapping of how guides describe the seasons; 2027 event dates are expected, not confirmed. Prices come from single sources of varying age, so treat them as a rough guide. Compare cities by month
What the city magazines named
Recent lists from New Orleans, with the date of each. These are the magazines' picks, not our reviews; our short descriptions are our own, and each list links to the original.
Time Out New Orleans · The best restaurants in New Orleans · Feb 2026 18 places
Locally loved places that are not on the big prestige lists.
family-run
Queen Trini Lisa
Mid-City · $$
Order: Chickpea doubles, BBQ jerk chicken, coco bread fish sandwich
Chef Lisa Nelson began with po'boys and plate lunches from a Ninth Ward corner store and now cooks Trinidadian food in a tiny Mid-City room with soca on the speakers. Open Tue-Sat, noon to 8pm.
Awards come from the guides named on each listing (Michelin New Orleans 2025). Researched October 25, 2026. Restaurants change; confirm hours, reservations and current stars before you go. Some addresses, phone numbers and websites come from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), so call ahead to confirm. Local favorites are editorial picks, not rankings.
