Five Restaurants Coming This Spring 2017

With the whirlwind of Mardi Gras 2017 in the past, it’s time to take a look at what is budding this spring in New Orleans.

DTB

Location: 8201 Oak St,. Suite #1, New Orleans

Key Players: Carl Shaubhut (executive chef), Jacob Hammel (chef de cuisine), and Lu Brow (beverage director)

Projected Opening: Soon! Soon! Soon! March 2017

DTB, short from Down the Bayou, marks the return of bacobar’s Carl Schaubhut to this side of the lake. His newest restaurant is an approachable, modern, and sometimes playful take on Cajun and coastal cuisine, developed with his chef de cuisine, Jacob Hammel. While the chefs have no trouble reimagining Cajun food, they do it in a thoroughly thoughtful way. If the nontraditional no-meat, mushroom boudin did not indeed seem like a boudin, the team would have simply called it something else, Schaubhut says. The interior is light and spacious, with warm wood tones and found objects from along LA-1.

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SAFFRON NOLA

Location: 4128 Magazine St., New Orleans across from Shaya (UPTOWN)

Key Players: The Vilkhu family

Projected Opening: Late Spring (construction delayed the originally projected March opening)

Saffron Nola operated as a restaurant the last 5 years on Friday nights along with the occasional set-menu dinners and Sunday brunches in Gretna. With a huge following Uptown, they have finally answered their patron’s wishes with a brick and mortar spot Uptown open all week. The new restaurant will be located in the former Saveur space.

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French Truck Coffee

Location: 221 Chartres Street, New Orleans

Key Players: Geoffrey Meeker

Projected Opening: May 2017

Opening the popular coffee spots first location in the French Quarter, the Chartres Street iteration will serve the company’s signature small batch coffees as well grab-and- go sandwiches.

Palm & Pine

Location: Unknown

Key Players: Amarys and Jordan Herndon of Bayona and Ralph’s on the Park

Projected Opening: May 2017*

The masterminds behind Old Portage, a longtime French Quarter pop-up, will open a brick and mortar this spring.

*Not able to update and confirm opening date since last posting.

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StarBike Cafe

Location: Unknown

Key Players: Amy Frank

Projected Opening: Late Spring 2017

This motorcycle cafe plans to serve sandwiches, salads, local beer in cans, and basic, high-end cocktails. The space also has outdoor seating and a B&B.