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Cacio e pepe from Avo.

Here Are the Tastiest Italian Eats in New Orleans

A wide-ranging sampling of the area’s best regional Italian, Creole-Italian, and American-Italian cuisine, from the West Bank to the French Quarter

by Beth D'Addono and Clair Lorell Updated Feb 14, 2023, 11:17am CST

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Cacio e pepe from Avo.

| Restaurant Avo

by Beth D'Addono and Clair Lorell Updated Feb 14, 2023, 11:17am CST

Creole Italian food has a particular slant in New Orleans, informed by a wealth of Gulf seafood and the local creed that more — sauce, cheese, cheese on seafood — is better. The city’s influx of mostly Sicilian immigrants in the late 19th century (an estimated 290,000 settled here) expanded the New Orleans table to embrace that island’s particular type of cuisine. That influence, which at one point transformed the French Market area into “little Palermo,” is still apparent on St. Joseph’s Day, March 19, when altars made of pastry, fruit, and bread honor the patron Saint of Sicily.

New Orleans diners can celebrate the city’s Italian roots any day with a visit to one of these restaurants, a wide-ranging sampling of the area’s best regional Italian, Creole-Italian, and American-Italian cuisine, from the West Bank to the French Quarter.

Looking specifically for pizza? Here are the area’s essential pizza joints, and find the area’s best pasta restaurants here.

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Mosca's

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.

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4137 US-90, Westwego, LA 70094

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A plate of chicken drumsticks and thighs served with a plate of spaghetti — Mosca’s spaghetti and chicken a la grande.

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Oak Oven

Oak Oven’s drag strip location may seem an unlikely candidate for traditional, expert Italian cuisine and Napoletana pizza, yet the menu was derived from experiences training under Michelin-starred Italian chefs. Visit for a taste of Sicily in Harahan, including wood-fired pizzas, warming soups, and lesser-found classics like veal marsala and penne diavola.

6625 Jefferson Hwy, Harahan, LA 70123

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Vincent's Italian Cuisine

Chef Vincent Catalanotto opened the Metairie location of his fine-dining Italian restaurant more than 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.

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7839 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

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Avo

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.

5908 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

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Rizzuto's Ristorante & Chop House

This family-run swank spot in Lakeview has date night written all over it. Rizzuto’s dishes the likes of shrimp fra diavolo and homemade crab and lobster ravioli along with an array of prime beef that includes a big ticket 14-ounce prime spinalis steak. Expensive but worth it. Executive chef Jason Caronna is third generation — his immigrant grandparents ran a small grocery store in the French Quarter.

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6262 Fleur De Lis Dr #1356, New Orleans, LA 70124

Visit Website

An eggplant parmesan dish is served on a white plate. — Eggplant Valentin at Rizzuto’s.

Venezia

Making up one of the city’s best blocks for true Italian cuisine, Carrollton Avenue’s Venezia is a Mid City staple, an old-school eatery serving red gravy, stuffed shells, and chicken marsala. The pizza is terrific, sort of a New Jersey-style pie, and comes in classic combinations. Angelo Brocato’s next door is a must-visit for a post-pizza gelato.

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134 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

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Also featured in:

16 of the Tastiest Pizzas in New Orleans

San Lorenzo at Hotel Saint Vincent

Chef Laura Collins is the chef behind the outstanding San Lorenzo in Hotel St. Vincent with its menu of coastal cuisine inspired by the likes of Le Sirenuse in Positano. The menu is seafood-centric, with an emphasis on seasonal, sustainably line-caught, and bycatch fish. Pasta is fresh — try fresh squid ink chitarra with its winning combination of jalapeno, sweet uni, and crabmeat bright with citrus. Revelatory.

Open in Google Maps

1507 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hotel Saint Vincent (@hotelstvincent)

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Josephine Estelle

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 shell crabs if it’s your lucky day, and the duck confit with Marsala sauce. Impressive cocktail and wine list too.

600 Carondelet St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Cacio e pepe from Josephine Estelle

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Sofia

If images of gorgeous Sophia Loren aren’t enough to inspire you, take a look at Sofia’s menu. The pretty and casual Julia street restaurant serves a menu of modern Italian, with an emphasis on salads, small plates, and pizzas. Those are delicious, same goes for the pastas and the blue crab risotto. Don’t miss the wagyu beef crudo with truffle aioli.

516 Julia St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Sofia’s margherita pizza, shrimp scampi, beet salad, and squid

Also featured in:

Where to Get Classic Comfort Food To-Go in New Orleans

Gianna Restaurant

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 clams, and veal saltimbocca. Although the menu is rustic, the setting is not — this is a stylishly modern restaurant. Lunch is about to expand to seven days a week, great news.

Open in Google Maps

700 Magazine St Suite 101, New Orleans, LA 70130

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Irene's

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.

529 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Irene’s

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Mona Lisa

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.

Open in Google Maps

1212 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

The Italian Barrel

Try a negroni — they are excellent here — and enjoy the Italian Barrel’s Northern Italian accent just steps from the French Market. Chef Samantha Castagnetti knows her way around the kitchen with dishes like veal meatballs in red sauce, penne a la vodka, and osso bucco. Sit at a sidewalk table and people watch or inside in the understated dining room.

1240 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

Fresh pasta with porcini mushrooms & truffle topped with a creamy white wine sauce and splash of extra virgin white truffle olive oil — Porcini & Truffle Ravioli.

Also featured in:

Adolfo's

The passing of chef Adolfo Perez Palavacini last August was a blow to the many fans of his rich Creole Italian cuisine on Frenchmen Street. His family is keeping his legacy alive at Adolfo’s, situated above the Apple Barrel, a no-frills joint that draws legions of loyal regulars. Almost everything is tasty and sizable, laced with cream and slathered with cheese. Try the shrimp alfredo, mussels marinara over spaghetti, and of course the cannelloni.

Open in Google Maps

611 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Paladar 511

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 trendy — Brussels with Calabrian chili, squid ink spaghetti with crab meat — as well as nodding to the classics. Get the pork saltimbocca.

511 Marigny St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paladar 511 (@paladar511)

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Arabella Casa Di Pasta

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 (there are seven, including puttanesca and spicy tomato cream), and add-ons like meatballs, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and more. House specialties include 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.

Open in Google Maps

2258 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mowgli Pierlas (@arabellacasadipasta)

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Tony Mandina's

This family-owned Sicilian restaurant has ruled in Gretna fore more than 40 years, and with good reason. Tony Mandina’s is wonderfully old school, the kind of place where bridal showers are big affairs and red gravy is serious business. Classic meatballs, veal Alfredo with crabmeat, and an awesome chicken parm. It’s 10 minutes from downtown, make it happen.

Open in Google Maps

1915 Pratt St, Gretna, LA 70053

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tony Mandina’s (@tonymandinas)

Rocky & Carlo's Restaurant & Bar

Famous for its macaroni and cheese, lunch specials, red gravy, endearing service, and enormous portions (seriously, has anyone ever left Rocky & Carlo’s without a to-go box?), this old-school, family-run eatery—opened in 1965 by two Sicilian families, the Tomasseos and Gios— is one of the most iconic affordable eats in all of the greater New Orleans area.

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613 W St Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, LA 70043

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Also featured in:

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Mosca's

4137 US-90, Westwego, LA 70094

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.

Open in Google Maps

4137 US-90, Westwego, LA 70094

Visit Website

A plate of chicken drumsticks and thighs served with a plate of spaghetti — Mosca’s spaghetti and chicken a la grande.

Oak Oven

6625 Jefferson Hwy, Harahan, LA 70123

Oak Oven’s drag strip location may seem an unlikely candidate for traditional, expert Italian cuisine and Napoletana pizza, yet the menu was derived from experiences training under Michelin-starred Italian chefs. Visit for a taste of Sicily in Harahan, including wood-fired pizzas, warming soups, and lesser-found classics like veal marsala and penne diavola.

6625 Jefferson Hwy, Harahan, LA 70123

Visit Website

Vincent's Italian Cuisine

7839 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Chef Vincent Catalanotto opened the Metairie location of his fine-dining Italian restaurant more than 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.

Open in Google Maps

7839 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

Avo

5908 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

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.

5908 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Rizzuto's Ristorante & Chop House

6262 Fleur De Lis Dr #1356, New Orleans, LA 70124

This family-run swank spot in Lakeview has date night written all over it. Rizzuto’s dishes the likes of shrimp fra diavolo and homemade crab and lobster ravioli along with an array of prime beef that includes a big ticket 14-ounce prime spinalis steak. Expensive but worth it. Executive chef Jason Caronna is third generation — his immigrant grandparents ran a small grocery store in the French Quarter.

Open in Google Maps

6262 Fleur De Lis Dr #1356, New Orleans, LA 70124

Visit Website

An eggplant parmesan dish is served on a white plate. — Eggplant Valentin at Rizzuto’s.

Venezia

134 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Making up one of the city’s best blocks for true Italian cuisine, Carrollton Avenue’s Venezia is a Mid City staple, an old-school eatery serving red gravy, stuffed shells, and chicken marsala. The pizza is terrific, sort of a New Jersey-style pie, and comes in classic combinations. Angelo Brocato’s next door is a must-visit for a post-pizza gelato.

Open in Google Maps

134 N Carrollton Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

San Lorenzo at Hotel Saint Vincent

1507 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Chef Laura Collins is the chef behind the outstanding San Lorenzo in Hotel St. Vincent with its menu of coastal cuisine inspired by the likes of Le Sirenuse in Positano. The menu is seafood-centric, with an emphasis on seasonal, sustainably line-caught, and bycatch fish. Pasta is fresh — try fresh squid ink chitarra with its winning combination of jalapeno, sweet uni, and crabmeat bright with citrus. Revelatory.

Open in Google Maps

1507 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hotel Saint Vincent (@hotelstvincent)

Josephine Estelle

600 Carondelet St, New Orleans, LA 70130

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 shell crabs if it’s your lucky day, and the duck confit with Marsala sauce. Impressive cocktail and wine list too.

600 Carondelet St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Cacio e pepe from Josephine Estelle

Sofia

516 Julia St, New Orleans, LA 70130

If images of gorgeous Sophia Loren aren’t enough to inspire you, take a look at Sofia’s menu. The pretty and casual Julia street restaurant serves a menu of modern Italian, with an emphasis on salads, small plates, and pizzas. Those are delicious, same goes for the pastas and the blue crab risotto. Don’t miss the wagyu beef crudo with truffle aioli.

516 Julia St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Sofia’s margherita pizza, shrimp scampi, beet salad, and squid

Gianna Restaurant

700 Magazine St Suite 101, New Orleans, LA 70130

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 clams, and veal saltimbocca. Although the menu is rustic, the setting is not — this is a stylishly modern restaurant. Lunch is about to expand to seven days a week, great news.

Open in Google Maps

700 Magazine St Suite 101, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Irene's

529 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70130

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.

529 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Irene’s

Mona Lisa

1212 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116

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.

Open in Google Maps

1212 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

The Italian Barrel

1240 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Try a negroni — they are excellent here — and enjoy the Italian Barrel’s Northern Italian accent just steps from the French Market. Chef Samantha Castagnetti knows her way around the kitchen with dishes like veal meatballs in red sauce, penne a la vodka, and osso bucco. Sit at a sidewalk table and people watch or inside in the understated dining room.

1240 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

Fresh pasta with porcini mushrooms & truffle topped with a creamy white wine sauce and splash of extra virgin white truffle olive oil — Porcini & Truffle Ravioli.

Adolfo's

611 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70117

The passing of chef Adolfo Perez Palavacini last August was a blow to the many fans of his rich Creole Italian cuisine on Frenchmen Street. His family is keeping his legacy alive at Adolfo’s, situated above the Apple Barrel, a no-frills joint that draws legions of loyal regulars. Almost everything is tasty and sizable, laced with cream and slathered with cheese. Try the shrimp alfredo, mussels marinara over spaghetti, and of course the cannelloni.

Open in Google Maps

611 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

Paladar 511

511 Marigny St, New Orleans, LA 70117

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 trendy — Brussels with Calabrian chili, squid ink spaghetti with crab meat — as well as nodding to the classics. Get the pork saltimbocca.

511 Marigny St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paladar 511 (@paladar511)

Related Maps

Arabella Casa Di Pasta

2258 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117

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 (there are seven, including puttanesca and spicy tomato cream), and add-ons like meatballs, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and more. House specialties include 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.

Open in Google Maps

2258 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mowgli Pierlas (@arabellacasadipasta)

Tony Mandina's

1915 Pratt St, Gretna, LA 70053

This family-owned Sicilian restaurant has ruled in Gretna fore more than 40 years, and with good reason. Tony Mandina’s is wonderfully old school, the kind of place where bridal showers are big affairs and red gravy is serious business. Classic meatballs, veal Alfredo with crabmeat, and an awesome chicken parm. It’s 10 minutes from downtown, make it happen.

Open in Google Maps

1915 Pratt St, Gretna, LA 70053

Visit Website

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tony Mandina’s (@tonymandinas)

Rocky & Carlo's Restaurant & Bar

613 W St Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, LA 70043

Famous for its macaroni and cheese, lunch specials, red gravy, endearing service, and enormous portions (seriously, has anyone ever left Rocky & Carlo’s without a to-go box?), this old-school, family-run eatery—opened in 1965 by two Sicilian families, the Tomasseos and Gios— is one of the most iconic affordable eats in all of the greater New Orleans area.

Open in Google Maps

613 W St Bernard Hwy, Chalmette, LA 70043

Visit Website

Related Maps