Atchafalaya in New Orleans is the Louisiana Avenue Creole room on the edge of the Garden District, known for a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar and the duck hash that draws the weekend brunch queue.
Signature dishes: Duck hash, Shrimp and grits
Must order: The duck hash with sunny eggs, then build a Bloody Mary at the bar.
Tip: Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday with live music; arrive at 09:30 or hold for the 13:00 turn.
Address: 901 Louisiana Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
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.
Signature: Turtle soup, Pecan-crusted Gulf fish
Order: The turtle soup with sherry tableside. It has been on the menu since the dining room opened in 1893.
Tip: Book the upstairs Garden Room for the live courtyard view; the dress code requires collared shirts at dinner.
Maypop in New Orleans is Michael Gulotta's Southern Asian room in the Paramount Building at O'Keefe and Lafayette, a 2017 spinoff of MoPho with hand-cut noodles and Vietnamese-Creole crossover.
Signature: Hand-cut noodles, Lemongrass-stuffed quail
Order: The hand-pulled noodles with crawfish; then the lemongrass quail.
Tip: Sit at the open kitchen for the noodle show; the bar pairs natural wines with the heat.
GW Fins in New Orleans is Tenney Flynn's Bienville Street fine-dining seafood room, with a daily-changing menu sourced from the Gulf and the docks of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Signature: Scalibut, Sizzling oysters
Order: Whatever runs as the daily catch. Then the warm biscuits, which arrive without prompting.
Tip: Reservations are easier on weeknights; bar dining serves the same menu with shorter waits.
Restaurant August in New Orleans is the 2001 modern Creole flagship in an 1830s Tchoupitoulas warehouse, originally John Besh's room and now in the 2025 Michelin Guide for the American South.
Signature: Gulf fish in lemon butter, Truffled potato gnocchi
Order: The truffled potato gnocchi, on the menu in different forms for two decades.
Tip: Tasting menu is the most-rewarded path; book a window-side table for the brick-arch view.
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.
Signature: Turtle soup, Pecan-crusted Gulf fish
Order: The turtle soup with sherry tableside. It has been on the menu since the dining room opened in 1893.
Tip: Book the upstairs Garden Room for the live courtyard view; the dress code requires collared shirts at dinner.
Galatoire's in New Orleans is the 1905 white-tile French Creole room on Bourbon Street, where regulars hold the same Friday lunch tables and tip the captain by name.
Signature: Shrimp remoulade, Trout amandine
Order: The shrimp remoulade to start, then trout amandine. Order souffle potatoes alongside.
Tip: The downstairs room is walk-in only and no reservations; Friday lunch starts at 11:30 and runs into the evening.
Antoine's in New Orleans is the 1840 St Louis Street dining room, the oldest family-run restaurant in the United States and the birthplace of Oysters Rockefeller.
Signature: Oysters Rockefeller, Pommes de terre souffles
Order: Oysters Rockefeller, invented here in 1899. Then the souffleed potatoes.
Tip: Skip the main dining room for the Hermes Bar on Bienville, the kitchen runs the same menu and the room is unstuffy.
