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A view of a bowl of Creole gumbo and a bread basket on a table with a white tablecloth and red striped chairs. — Dooky Chase gumbo.

New Orleans's Essential Lunch Restaurants

The Crescent City's must-try midday meals

by Eater Staff Updated Nov 29, 2023, 11:37am CST

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Dooky Chase gumbo.

| Josh Brasted/Eater NOLA

by Eater Staff Updated Nov 29, 2023, 11:37am CST

It’s been said that New Orleans is America’s finest lunch town, and it’s no wonder, really — restaurants here take the midday meal seriously. A great number of lunch hubs have opened in New Orleans over the past decade — especially sandwich shops — but the city is still home to many classic midday spots for a more leisurely meal. Here, a swanky, booze-filled Friday lunch remains an institution, but it's just as appealing to saddle up to a counter or bar for a shrimp po' boy, muffuletta, or banh mi.

These essential lunch spots are places worth visiting whether from out of town or local — they include great options for everything from business meetings to midday meet-ups with pals, celebratory meals to damn good sandwiches.

Don't see an essential lunch spot that should be on the list? Hit the tipline and tell us about it.

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Toups Meatery

If meat is what you're after, head to this casual Cajun eatery in Mid City from chef Isaac Toups, where the chef's lunch (boudin, burger, and a beer) is a feast and the house signatures, like confit chicken thigh and the double cut pork chop with dirty rice, are not to be overlooked. The patio makes for a pleasant lunch setting.

Carrollton, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Toups’s chef’s lunch (boudin, burger, and a beer)

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Liuzza's by the Track

This horse tracks-adjacent neighborhood bar got its start in 1936, later evolving into a quintessential lunch restaurant and the unofficial gathering place for Jazz Fest. It’s best known for the garlic oyster po’ boy and barbecue shrimp po’ boy, both offering slight twists on the classics.

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Coco Hut Carribean Restaurant

Situated just off Broad Street on Bayou Road restaurant is this 7th Ward institution, serving heaping plates of Jamaican comfort food at reasonable prices. The jerk chicken is glorious, unsurprisingly, as is the goat and snapper; all come in platters for less than $15. Daily specials and a handful of tables out front make this a popular neighborhood lunch destination.

Open in Google Maps

2515 Bayou Rd, New Orleans, LA 70119

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Parkway Bakery & Tavern

This Bayou St. John po' boy staple is a favorite among locals and tourists in the know. The fried shrimp is a classic, but it's the Thanksgiving po' boy that has locals lining up around the block in November. Bonus: Excellent Reuben and gumbo.

538 Hagan Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

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Queen Trini Lisa

The island soul food restaurant from chef Lisa Nelson has solidified its essential status in New Orleans, particularly for a light but satisfying lunch in a pretty, mellow setting. The colorful corner restaurant Trinbagonian specialties like a coco fried fish sandwich, oxtail soup, curry chicken, and Caribbean-style spinach all standouts. Delicious doubles served with three tangy, fresh sauces are Nelson’s specialties.

Open in Google Maps

4200 D'Hemecourt St, New Orleans, LA 70119

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Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

Stepping into Li’l Dizzy’s at lunchtime is likely to brighten your day, when you’re met with a bustling dining room, friendly owners, and happy customers. Choose from fried catfish and chicken, gumbo and red beans, and po’ boys, all high quality and affordable.

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

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A brown takeout container holds two large pieces of fried chicken next to a styrofoam container of collard greens.

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Dooky Chase Restaurant

The buffet at this Treme landmark is legendary and one of the best ways to experience the late Leah Chase’s iconic restaurant. Try it all at once — gumbo, fried chicken, fried catfish, greens, lima beans — or order from the menu, which also includes salads, po’ boys, shrimp Clemenceau, and stuffed shrimp.

2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Frady's One Stop Food Store

Off-beat decor, longtime characters, and classic New Orleans eats define this Bywater corner spot. Known for po’ boys, muffulettas, and daily lunch plates like red beans and rice, jambalaya and catfish, and more, it’s a longtime essential for a mid-day meal. No seating inside, but the sidewalk tables make for great people-watching.

Open in Google Maps

3231 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70117

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Also featured in:

Bayona

Head to this Susan Spicer classic in the Quarter for a leisurely Saturday lunch on the intimate back patio, when themed, four-course prix fixe menus — wine pairings included — are a relatively good deal. The regular lunch menu is also available Thursday through Saturday.

430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Galatoire's

This Bourbon Street landmark is famous for its Friday lunch, where the drinks are strong and the menu is bursting with classics — oysters Rockefeller, eggs Sardou, Galatoire Goute, pompano with crabmeat. Show up early to snag a table (and bring a jacket, gentlemen).

209 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Inside a crowded main floor dining room at Galatoire’s for Friday lunch in 2015.

Also featured in:

Cochon Butcher

It's hard to go wrong at this Cochon annex, where Link Group shows off its incredible charcuterie skills and even more incredible sandwiches. The muffuletta is one of the best in town, but it's hard to go wrong with anything from a Cubano to a serving of boudin.

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Also featured in:

The High Hat Cafe

Relaxed, bright, and friendly, High Hat offers a taste of Louisiana cuisine in a relaxed Uptown setting. Daily lunch specials, po’ boys, and favorites like rich, dark gumbo; fried catfish with cornbread and greens; and pimento mac and cheese rule the day, but the menu also holds some surprises and the bar serves excellent cocktails.

4500 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

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Also featured in:

Lilly's Cafe

This LGD staple is where numerous locals go to get their lunchtime pho fill. Many consider the broth here to be the best in town, but the menu is also home to numerous Vietnamese classics that won't break the bank.

1813 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Stein's Market and Deli

A majority of Stein’s customers know their order before they go in, lest they get skipped over in line. There’s not much seating at this sandwich icon — a few more tables are outside on Magazine — but most people grab and go anyways, eager to savor a Rachel, Reuben, and any of the other fantastic sandwiches in the privacy of their own home (or car).

2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Stein’s storefront on magazine street with large windows next to a door. — Stein’s

Also featured in:

Pascal's Manale

This birthplace of New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp, Pascal’s Manale opened in 1913. Today, it’s a lunchtime destination for its friendly oyster bar, laid-back attitude, and old-school atmosphere.

1838 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

A nighttime street view of Pascal’s Manale Restaurant, name spelled in neon lights.

Also featured in:

Commander's Palace

This Garden District beauty made famous by renowned restaurateur Ella Brennan has been known for its twenty-five cent lunch martinis since introducing the promotion in the 1990s. For food, chef Meg Bickford offers an affordable three-course prix-fixe special for $48 (or two courses for half that), featuring the restaurant’s most famous dishes: turtle soup, lacquered quail, and bread pudding soufflé. The courtyard is always a nice daytime setting.

1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Commander’s Palace restaurant on Washington Avenue, a long, shotgun-style building with wood shingles painted in robin egg’s blue with white trim and lined with a blue and white striped awning.

Also featured in:

Turkey And The Wolf

This nationally acclaimed sandwich spot in the LGD might be New Orleans’s best lunch destination to open in the past decade. Distinctive eats like hogshead cheese tacos, a fried bologna sandwich, specials, and perhaps best of all, the collard green melt — slow-cooked collards, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and cherry pepper dressing served hot on rye — make this an essential lunch visit for locals and tourists alike. Just be prepared for a line, and try the Mountain Dew-tinged frozen margarita if it’s that kind of day.

739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Also featured in:

St. James Cheese Company

This cheese shop has dominated the casual lunch game since opening in 2007 with a menu of sandwiches featuring cheeses from French brie (on a baguette with ham) to Rogue River's Smokey Blue (with thin sliced roast beef), not to mention a Ploughman's Lunch of cheeses, paté, chutney, a green salad, and bread. Both locations also offer some of the best entree salads in town.

5004 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

St. James’s ham and brie

Also featured in:

Where to Eat New Orleans’s Greatest Sandwiches

Casamento's Restaurant

At the narrow, bustling Casamento’s, oyster-shuckers have been holding court since 1919, when this family-owned oyster classic opened. Besides raw oysters, Casamento’s is best known for its oyster loaf (like a fried oyster po’ boy, but on toasted, thick, white sandwich bread); and its Creole style gumbo, lighter in color and flavor and filled with tomatoes and okra.

4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Also featured in:

Domilise's Po-Boys

Domilise's is a po' boy institution dating back to 1918, and what many consider the classic po' boy operation in New Orleans. It's an incredibly delicious hole-in-the-wall experience, where you can't go wrong with a fried shrimp or oyster, dressed.

5240 Annunciation St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Also featured in:

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Toups Meatery

Carrollton, New Orleans, LA 70119

If meat is what you're after, head to this casual Cajun eatery in Mid City from chef Isaac Toups, where the chef's lunch (boudin, burger, and a beer) is a feast and the house signatures, like confit chicken thigh and the double cut pork chop with dirty rice, are not to be overlooked. The patio makes for a pleasant lunch setting.

Carrollton, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Toups’s chef’s lunch (boudin, burger, and a beer)

Liuzza's by the Track

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

This horse tracks-adjacent neighborhood bar got its start in 1936, later evolving into a quintessential lunch restaurant and the unofficial gathering place for Jazz Fest. It’s best known for the garlic oyster po’ boy and barbecue shrimp po’ boy, both offering slight twists on the classics.

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Coco Hut Carribean Restaurant

2515 Bayou Rd, New Orleans, LA 70119

Situated just off Broad Street on Bayou Road restaurant is this 7th Ward institution, serving heaping plates of Jamaican comfort food at reasonable prices. The jerk chicken is glorious, unsurprisingly, as is the goat and snapper; all come in platters for less than $15. Daily specials and a handful of tables out front make this a popular neighborhood lunch destination.

Open in Google Maps

2515 Bayou Rd, New Orleans, LA 70119

Parkway Bakery & Tavern

538 Hagan Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

This Bayou St. John po' boy staple is a favorite among locals and tourists in the know. The fried shrimp is a classic, but it's the Thanksgiving po' boy that has locals lining up around the block in November. Bonus: Excellent Reuben and gumbo.

538 Hagan Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Queen Trini Lisa

4200 D'Hemecourt St, New Orleans, LA 70119

The island soul food restaurant from chef Lisa Nelson has solidified its essential status in New Orleans, particularly for a light but satisfying lunch in a pretty, mellow setting. The colorful corner restaurant Trinbagonian specialties like a coco fried fish sandwich, oxtail soup, curry chicken, and Caribbean-style spinach all standouts. Delicious doubles served with three tangy, fresh sauces are Nelson’s specialties.

Open in Google Maps

4200 D'Hemecourt St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Stepping into Li’l Dizzy’s at lunchtime is likely to brighten your day, when you’re met with a bustling dining room, friendly owners, and happy customers. Choose from fried catfish and chicken, gumbo and red beans, and po’ boys, all high quality and affordable.

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

A brown takeout container holds two large pieces of fried chicken next to a styrofoam container of collard greens.

Dooky Chase Restaurant

2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

The buffet at this Treme landmark is legendary and one of the best ways to experience the late Leah Chase’s iconic restaurant. Try it all at once — gumbo, fried chicken, fried catfish, greens, lima beans — or order from the menu, which also includes salads, po’ boys, shrimp Clemenceau, and stuffed shrimp.

2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Frady's One Stop Food Store

3231 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Off-beat decor, longtime characters, and classic New Orleans eats define this Bywater corner spot. Known for po’ boys, muffulettas, and daily lunch plates like red beans and rice, jambalaya and catfish, and more, it’s a longtime essential for a mid-day meal. No seating inside, but the sidewalk tables make for great people-watching.

Open in Google Maps

3231 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70117

Visit Website

Bayona

430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112

Head to this Susan Spicer classic in the Quarter for a leisurely Saturday lunch on the intimate back patio, when themed, four-course prix fixe menus — wine pairings included — are a relatively good deal. The regular lunch menu is also available Thursday through Saturday.

430 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112

Visit Website

Galatoire's

209 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130

This Bourbon Street landmark is famous for its Friday lunch, where the drinks are strong and the menu is bursting with classics — oysters Rockefeller, eggs Sardou, Galatoire Goute, pompano with crabmeat. Show up early to snag a table (and bring a jacket, gentlemen).

209 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Inside a crowded main floor dining room at Galatoire’s for Friday lunch in 2015.

Cochon Butcher

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130

It's hard to go wrong at this Cochon annex, where Link Group shows off its incredible charcuterie skills and even more incredible sandwiches. The muffuletta is one of the best in town, but it's hard to go wrong with anything from a Cubano to a serving of boudin.

930 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

The High Hat Cafe

4500 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Relaxed, bright, and friendly, High Hat offers a taste of Louisiana cuisine in a relaxed Uptown setting. Daily lunch specials, po’ boys, and favorites like rich, dark gumbo; fried catfish with cornbread and greens; and pimento mac and cheese rule the day, but the menu also holds some surprises and the bar serves excellent cocktails.

4500 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Lilly's Cafe

1813 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

This LGD staple is where numerous locals go to get their lunchtime pho fill. Many consider the broth here to be the best in town, but the menu is also home to numerous Vietnamese classics that won't break the bank.

1813 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Stein's Market and Deli

2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

A majority of Stein’s customers know their order before they go in, lest they get skipped over in line. There’s not much seating at this sandwich icon — a few more tables are outside on Magazine — but most people grab and go anyways, eager to savor a Rachel, Reuben, and any of the other fantastic sandwiches in the privacy of their own home (or car).

2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Stein’s storefront on magazine street with large windows next to a door. — Stein’s

Pascal's Manale

1838 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

This birthplace of New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp, Pascal’s Manale opened in 1913. Today, it’s a lunchtime destination for its friendly oyster bar, laid-back attitude, and old-school atmosphere.

1838 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

A nighttime street view of Pascal’s Manale Restaurant, name spelled in neon lights.

Related Maps

Commander's Palace

1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

This Garden District beauty made famous by renowned restaurateur Ella Brennan has been known for its twenty-five cent lunch martinis since introducing the promotion in the 1990s. For food, chef Meg Bickford offers an affordable three-course prix-fixe special for $48 (or two courses for half that), featuring the restaurant’s most famous dishes: turtle soup, lacquered quail, and bread pudding soufflé. The courtyard is always a nice daytime setting.

1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Commander’s Palace restaurant on Washington Avenue, a long, shotgun-style building with wood shingles painted in robin egg’s blue with white trim and lined with a blue and white striped awning.

Turkey And The Wolf

739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

This nationally acclaimed sandwich spot in the LGD might be New Orleans’s best lunch destination to open in the past decade. Distinctive eats like hogshead cheese tacos, a fried bologna sandwich, specials, and perhaps best of all, the collard green melt — slow-cooked collards, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, and cherry pepper dressing served hot on rye — make this an essential lunch visit for locals and tourists alike. Just be prepared for a line, and try the Mountain Dew-tinged frozen margarita if it’s that kind of day.

739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

St. James Cheese Company

5004 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115

This cheese shop has dominated the casual lunch game since opening in 2007 with a menu of sandwiches featuring cheeses from French brie (on a baguette with ham) to Rogue River's Smokey Blue (with thin sliced roast beef), not to mention a Ploughman's Lunch of cheeses, paté, chutney, a green salad, and bread. Both locations also offer some of the best entree salads in town.

5004 Prytania St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

St. James’s ham and brie

Casamento's Restaurant

4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

At the narrow, bustling Casamento’s, oyster-shuckers have been holding court since 1919, when this family-owned oyster classic opened. Besides raw oysters, Casamento’s is best known for its oyster loaf (like a fried oyster po’ boy, but on toasted, thick, white sandwich bread); and its Creole style gumbo, lighter in color and flavor and filled with tomatoes and okra.

4330 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website