Le Chat Noir Closes Abruptly, Citing New Orleans’s Slow Summer Season

Le Chat Noir firmly established itself in New Orleans’s dining scene upon debuting in late 2021, but even this hugely well-received restaurant couldn’t overcome New Orleans’s slow summer season. The downtown seafood destination has closed, reports the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate.

It was an abrupt closure less than two weeks ago, one that came with no public notice or announcement. Co-owner James Reuter, who also owns Bearcat Cafe, told the newspaper that this year’s “summer slump” became unsustainable given the restaurant’s high overhead. Eater has reached out to management about whether staff were given any advance notice of the closure.

Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Le Chat Noir was a partnership between Reuter and Gene Todaro, who owns the property at 715 St. Charles Avenue in the CBD (the space was previously Marcello’s restaurant and before that, a cabaret venue called Le Chat Noir). They brought in chef Seth Temple, a Louisiana native whose background at Michelin-starred restaurant Lyle’s in London was apparent on Le Chat Noir’s technique-driven menu. Temple focused on seafood and vegetables, using ingredients like sunchokes, Japanese eggplant, Creole tomatoes, spiny lobster, Ora King salmon, and littleneck clams in elegant, creative dishes. The crab fat agnolotti with scallops, oysters, and prosciutto was a customer favorite, and the oyster selection was a huge draw, offering one of the city’s finest menus with varieties from the Mid-Atlantic, West Coast, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and more. It won a 2022 Eater Award for fine dining restaurant of the year.

There are no current plans for a new restaurant in the address, Rueter told the newspaper, and Temple is considering restaurant jobs outside of the city, unfortunately for New Orleans.

Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA