Cross the Huey P. Long Bridge to the West Bank and keep going, and going, until you get to Mosca’s, an esteemed family-run Creole Italian roadhouse that sits along a dark stretch of Highway 90 West. Opened for business in 1946, the unchanged menu includes garlic-infused specialties like barbecued shrimp, baked oysters and of course the Chicken ala Grande, roasted with tons of fresh garlic, herbs and white wine.  

Chef Vincent Catalanotto opened the Metairie location of his fine dining Italian restaurant 30 years ago, followed by this Riverbend spot, with many of the dishes reflecting his Sicilian roots. Beyond favorites like veal parm and chicken Marsala, Vincent’s house special is seafood cannelloni, tender pasta stuffed with shrimp, crawfish and crab simmered in a delicate rosa sauce — think the love child of red sauce and Alfredo.

There’s nothing Creole Italian about chef Nick Lama’s upscale Avo, which means “grandfather” or “ancestor,” in Italian. The third generation Sicilian spotlights regional Italian cuisine and ingredients like figs, gorgonzola, Calabrian chilies and every manner of homemade pasta. The food is gorgeous and informed by passion and allegiance to pristine ingredients. Get the meatballs, get the charred octopus, get yourself to Avo.

A neighborhood staple since 1932, Mandina’s serves comforting, old school Creole Italian seafood and other New Orleans classics (like po’ boys, gumbo, and red beans). Get the daube spaghetti, or Thursday’s bruccialone (veal rolled and stuffed with spinach, egg, and seasonings) with shell pasta.

Josephine Estelle is an osteria from James Beard Award-nominated Memphis chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, their first foray into New Orleans. A season-driven menu includes homemade pastas (get the simply wonderful cacio e pepe), soft shells if it’s your lucky day, and the wagyu. Impressive cocktail and wine list too.

Warehouse District stunner Gianna, from the prolific Link Restaurant Group, serves smartly conceived regional Italian specialties — refined but homey versions of ribollita soup, spaghetti and clam, and veal saltimbocca. Although the menu is rustic, the setting is not — this is a stylishly modern restaurant. Take advantage if there’s a prix fixe option to get the chef’s choice from soup to nuts.

Long ensconced on St. Phillip Street, Irene’s moved to Bienville a few years back, taking its garlicky goodness along for the ride. Namesake and proprietor Irene DiPietro, in business since 1993, sets a high bar with specialties like the Sicilian antipasti — big enough to share — and oysters Irene made with pancetta and pecorino Romano. Regulars were happy to see that the piano bar survived the move.

This easy-to-miss gem in the French Quarter is a longtime favorite for Italian-American classics in a funky setting, complete with red and white checkered tablecloths and walls covered in hundreds of versions of the Mona Lisa. Expect huge portions of simple but satisfying garlic bread, calzones and subs, pizzas, and entrees like eggplant parm, shrimp scampi, and baked ziti.

Adolfo’s might just be the king of Creole Italian food in New Orleans. Situated above the Apple Barrel on Frenchmen Street, this no frills joint draws legions of loyal fans. Almost everything is tasty and sizable, rich with cream and slathered with cheese. Try the shrimp alfredo, mussels marinara over spaghetti and of course the cannelloni. It’s currently open Thursday through Sunday only, so plan ahead.

This noisy trattoria is a neighborhood gem in the Marigny, a reclaimed warehouse space perfumed with garlic, tomato sauce, and pizza. The Paladar 511 menu is inventive — charred okra with Calabrian chili, squid ink spaghetti with crab meat — as well as nodding to the classics. Get the pork saltimbocca.

Have your pasta your way at Arabella’s, a laid-back and affordable Italian spot where diners build their own, combining a pasta shape, a sauce (puttanesca, tomato cream) and add ons like meatballs, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and more. There are house specialties too, including the John Lemon, which tosses shrimp, arugula and lemon infused extra virgin olive oil in fettuccini, or the Yolko Ono, a riff on carbonara that includes pancetta, roasted garlic and lots of black pepper over spaghetti, all topped with a runny egg yolk.