Gumbo is the city's defining one-pot dish: a dark French roux base loaded with the holy trinity (onion, celery, bell pepper), seafood or chicken-and-andouille, finished with file or okra, served over rice.
Gumbo descends from West African okra stews (the word gumbo itself comes from a Bantu word for okra), Choctaw file (powdered sassafras leaves) and the French roux. It coalesced into its modern form in 18th-century colonial Louisiana, where enslaved African cooks and French cooks worked in the same kitchens. By the 1830s it was on every New Orleans Creole menu, in seafood, chicken-andouille, and Lenten z'herbes (greens) variations. The Choctaw influence (file) and the African influence (okra) are still visible in the alternate thickening choices. Gumbo is rarely thickened with both. It is always served over rice, not noodles.
4 editor picks for Gumbo in New Orleans, ranked by editorial score. All New Orleans signature dishes · Gumbo across every city.
Commander's Palace ★ 4.8
garden-district · 1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
Commander's Palace in New Orleans is the 1893 Garden District grande dame on Washington Avenue, the Brennan family flag with turtle soup, jacket-required brunch and quarter martinis.
Brigtsen's ★ 4.6
carrollton-riverbend · 723 Dante St, New Orleans, LA 70118
Brigtsen's in New Orleans is Frank and Marna Brigtsen's 1986 Victorian-cottage Creole Acadian room near the streetcar terminus, a Paul Prudhomme alumnus with shell-bean stews still on the menu.
Liuzza's by the Track ★ 4.5
faubourg-st-john · 1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Liuzza's by the Track in New Orleans is the Bayou St John lunch counter near the Fair Grounds that invented the BBQ shrimp po-boy, still the room's anchor dish today.
Mandina's Restaurant ★ 4.3
mid-city · 3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119
Mandina's in New Orleans is the 1932 Mid-City Italian-Creole corner room on Canal Street, founded by Sicilian immigrant Sebastian Mandina and still serving trout amandine.