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Today, we’re excited to announce the winners of the 2019 Eater Awards, celebrating the best new restaurants that have made a major impact on the dining scene this year in New Orleans (as well Eater’s other cities).
Eater New Orleans, with the help of reader nominations, selected three finalists in three categories: restaurant of the year, design of the year, and casual restaurant of the year. Restaurants had to have opened in the past year (including the last few months of 2018) to be eligible. The winners will each be receiving a traditional Eater tomato can trophy and a feature story in the coming year.
Please join us in celebrating this year’s incredible group of winners that made 2019 a great year of eating in New Orleans. Without further ado, here they are.
Restaurant of the Year
Saint-Germain, Bywater
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In a town where prix fixe, multi-course tasting menus don’t typically fly, Saint-Germain has struck a smart balance — part casual wine bar, part 12-seat Parisian bistro. Sit at the wine bar or in the courtyard out back and one could be forgiven for having minimal expectations of the bar food menu; one would be wrong, though. From the vegetable crudités rolled in crispy wild rice to the caramelized whey to the chicken liver pate, each item surprises with its depth and flavor.
In the dining room, settle in for the ever-changing prix fixe, five course meal served by friendly, informative staff. Chefs Trey and Blake approach ingredients like white asparagus, venison, and geoduck artfully and ambitiously, and elevate more familiar components to surprising new heights.
Most Gorgeous Restaurant of the Year
Bar Marilou, CBD
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Cozy, elegant, and playful; the swanky bar attached to the Maison de la Luz is a departure from the typical New Orleans vibe. Eschewing all things muted and antique, Bar Marilou goes bold; with blood-red walls and ceilings, rich dark fabrics, and dramatic art. It’s distinctly high-design, luxurious, and special.
Casual Restaurant of the Year
Dian Xin, French Quarter
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New Orleans was severely lacking in dim sum options before Judy Ceng and family brought Dian Xin to the French Quarter. Luckily, after traveling the country and getting a sense of an evolving interest in Chinese and Sichuan in other locales, Ceng saw a need locally. And the result, a two-page menu of bao, soups, chive cakes, jianbing, shu mai, and much more is some of the best Chinese food to hit the city.
Agree, disagree, or think we missed a winner? Let us know.