Compere Lapin in New Orleans is Nina Compton's James Beard winning Caribbean Creole room inside the Old No 77 Hotel on Tchoupitoulas, with goat curry and conch on a Bocuse trained plate.
Signature dishes: Curried goat with sweet potato gnocchi, Conch croquettes
Must order: The curried goat with sweet potato gnocchi, on the menu since 2015.
Tip: The bar runs walk-in; the kitchen sends the same menu and the cocktails are sharper than most of the city.
Address: 535 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Saint-Germain in New Orleans is the Michelin-starred ten-course tasting menu inside a Bywater double-shotgun from chefs Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith, with a natural-wine garden behind.
Signature: Ten-course tasting, Open-flame squab
Order: There is no choice; the ten-course is what they serve. Add the wine pairing.
Tip: Reservations open monthly. If you can't get a seat, the wine garden out back takes walk-ups and serves bottles with snacks.
Dakar NOLA in New Orleans is Serigne Mbaye's James Beard Best New Restaurant winning Senegalese Creole tasting room, relocated in 2025 to a Carrollton cottage near the levee.
Signature: Okra and crab soup, Gulf fish with jollof rice
Order: There is no choice; the tasting menu rotates with the season. The jollof course is the anchor.
Tip: Tickets sell out within days of release. Sign up for the newsletter for booking-window alerts.
Bayona in New Orleans is Susan Spicer's 1990 Creole cottage on Dauphine Street, a courtyard fine-dining room with the smoked duck PB&J that has anchored her menu for 35 years.
Signature: Smoked duck PB&J, Pepper-jelly glazed shrimp
Order: The smoked duck breast PB&J, the menu's longest-running dish.
Tip: Lunch is the better-value seating; book the back courtyard if the weather is kind that afternoon.
Coquette in New Orleans is the Magazine and Washington corner restaurant from Michael Stoltzfus, a 2008 modern-Southern room with rotating tasting menus and a long Louisiana wine list.
Signature: Tasting menu, Charcuterie board
Order: Whatever the Blind Faith tasting menu is running that week. Trust the kitchen.
Tip: Sit upstairs for the corner-window view; downstairs runs faster and louder.
Lilette in New Orleans is John Harris's 2001 Uptown bistro on Magazine Street, named for the Mauri family matriarch he lived with in France and serving bouillabaisse and duck confit.
Signature: Bouillabaisse, Hanger steak
Order: The bouillabaisse, on the menu since opening. Order a glass of Cassis blanc with it.
Tip: Lunch service is the most relaxed; the dining room is dim and pretty in the evening.
Shaya in New Orleans is the Magazine Street modern Israeli room that won James Beard Best New Restaurant in 2016, now under BRG Hospitality with its wood-fired pita oven still anchoring service.
Signature: Wood-fired pita, Lamb shawarma
Order: The wood-fired pita with hummus. Then the lamb shawarma.
Tip: Founder Alon Shaya now runs Saba up the road at 5757 Magazine; both rooms are worth a visit.
