More often than not, tipsters, readers, friends and family of Eater ask us: Where should I eat right now? What are the new restaurants? What haven't I heard of? What's everyone talking about? And while the Eater 38 is a crucial resource covering old standbys and neighborhood essentials across the greater New Orleans area, it is not a chronicle of the 'it' places of the moment.
Thus, we offer the Eater Heatmap, which will change continuously to always highlight where the hungry crowds are flocking to at the moment. These spots cover high-end and affordable dining for both lunch and dinner, with the occasional addition of important bakeries and breakfast spots.
Generally speaking, the restaurants on the heat map have been around for 6 months or less and all of them are serving up some cuisine that has the city buzzing. The restaurants are listed alphabetically in this map and are not ranked.
This month, the Heatmap says goodbye to Tavolino, an excellent pizza spot and lounge conveniently located across from the ferry landing in Old Algiers. The list sees the addition of Briquette and Two Sisters on the West Bank.
Without further adieu, here are the hottest new restaurants in New Orleans right now.
Been to any of these restaurants and had a great or terrible experience? Let us know in the comments or by email. Editor's note:The Heatmap is arranged alphabetically, never by ranking or date of inclusion on the map.
Inside Port Orleans Brewing is Stokehold, a restaurant that puts the the beer pairing at the forefront of dish creation. The top of the menu is laid out to show diners exactly what to eat with what beers. For example, a lemon pound cake with rosemary buttercream frosting pairs with Test IPA Batch #1. Halloumi with red gravy and country ham goes with John Law Pilsner. Also find a quality Croque Madame and superb pretzel rolls. Plus, the restaurant is located inside the Port Orleans Brewery, offering guests a close-up view of the beer brewing process through large plate glass windows overlooking the large tanks and other equipment.
Queenie's on St. Claude serves up quality daiquiris (made with real juice), addictive pies, and chargrilled oysters, shrimp and grits, wings, and burgers. Try the ginger mint julep daiquiri and visit on one of the special dinner nights to get the chargrilled oysters. Cute spot that doesn't throw on airs, but charms diners with quality food and drinks.
A custom-built, wood-fired grill made of brick and iron turns out Brazilian meats at this new spot in Old Metairie. From Edgar Caro, the force behind Baru Tapas and Bistro and Basin Seafood and Spirits, the menu includes food similar to what he grew up with in Columbia. Whole fish, aged steaks, salt-cured potatoes in this cozy restaurant on Metairie Road.
A new pastry shop in the former home of Cleaver & Co from James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef Beth Biundo features custom cakes and ready-to-take sweets (like blueberry basil pound cake, malted milk ice cream sandwiches, and chess pie bars). Biundo's past as the award-winning pastry chef at Lilette for 10 years coupled with her eye toward aesthetics (she has a background in art history and recently returned from a stint as an interior designer) means she's got two tenets of dessert nailed -- flavor and beauty. Martin's Wine Cellar is just around the corner, and the bakery often encourages diners to bring their own champagne to go with cake.
The name of this new Dominican spot in Gretna refers to a common dish in the Dominican Republic made of boiled and mashed green plantains. The menu features the traditional version of mangú prepared with sides of fried eggs, fried salami, and fried cheese, but the dish is also offered with sides of braised chicken, fried pork chop, braised goat, and more. Additionally, the eatery serves a range of meals and sides including empanadas, mofongo (fried green plantains with salt, garlic, olive oil, pork cracklings, and sautéed shrimp), and tostadas.
Public Service, in the glittering, new NOPSI Hotel, opened in late July with a raw bar, an open kitchen, and a two-story glass windows that overlook Baronne Street. Public Service chef Dustin Brien describes the food as "comfort food done well," which means boudin stone-ground grits, veal cheek grilles, chicken-fried shellfish, and crab gnocchi. Currently open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
This tiny, Magazine Street ramen bar opened in mid-August with a menu of Japanese ramen in soul-warming pork broth and small bites, like pork steam buns and edamame tossed in yuzu and sea salt. The interior features graffiti-style murals, two six-tops, and a standing room only bar for slurping noodles -- all to the sounds of 90s hip hop. No reservations, so come prepared to wait during peak times Open Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. BYO.
After losing the iconic Brennan's restaurant to bankruptcy, this was supposed to be Ted Brennan's second act. He died before it came to fruition and the restaurant became a sort of tribute to him instead. It's more casual than Brennan's was during this branch of the Brennan family's tenure, but the air is still heavy with the scent of turtle soup and garlic bread. Plus, Lazone Randolph, who started as a busboy at Brennan's in the 1960s before working his way up to executive chef several years before the legal problems reached their peak, has made his grand return as executive chef at Ted Brennan's Decatur.
Pisco and ceviche have arrived on Magazine Street in the once ivy-covered building that housed Sue Zemanick's short-lived small plate restaurant, Ivy. After a renovation, Tito's Ceviche and Pisco is bright and airy with some outdoor seating, a perfect accompaniment to the fresh and light offerings from the menu.
This long-awaited Indian restaurant is as swanky as a restaurant comes, with smoky grey walls, copper accents, and burgundy velvet chairs. The food manages to outshine even this stunning restaurant design though -- with playful cocktails that use Indian ingredients (the old-fashioned gets a mango chutney treatment that tastes as if it should never have been any other way), curried brisket over grits, and traditional and non-traditional dosas. This creative Indian restaurant that combines the family's experience in India with the flavors of New Orleans is one of the most exciting and thoughtful restaurants to hit New Orleans this year.
Hayley Vanvleet's kitchen at Curio churns out West Coast style food built around New Orleans ingredients. She's also blended in a few twists on dishes inspired by her youth spent in the midwest. Perfectly seared scallops get topped with kalamata olive butter and paneed pork loin gets coated with a saltine cracker crust before being stuffed into a poboy at this Royal Street newcomer that has moved in among the famous antique shops that line the street. The large restaurant boasts a gorgeous balcony looking over the French Quarter, FYI.
New Orleans has been waiting 12 years for the return of this Greg and Mary Sonnier's iconic restaurant, which closed after Hurricane Katrina. Now located in the Treme neighborhood, the new building is painted the same bright blue and yellow as the original spot in Mid City. The menu marks the return of classic dishes like the famous duck and the peppermint patty, but it also celebrates its new beginning with new dishes like shrimp pie and Ponce de Lapin.
Le's Baguette brings banh mi sandwiches to Dryades Street in the location recently vacated by Italian panini hub, Il Posto. With a melding of Vietnamese and New Orleans culinary traditions, the cafe satisfies the neighborhood's itch for a comfortable and affordable cafe with killer food. The cafe specializes in coffee, breakfast, banh mi, pho, and steamed bao buns.
Located in an expansive space that once housed a molasses refinery, Briquette charms with its spot-on execution and creative turns on Southwestern and Louisiana cuisine and seafood. Housemade masa and chorizo tamales meet a lobster claw and fried egg in an addictive dish that teeters on decadence, but tempers it with bright acid from lime, for example. The interior is built for the guests with a couple large communal tables with charging stations for people who wish to linger over work, plus tables that all have a view of the inner workings of the kitchen (though thoughtfully separated by viewing glass to keep the heat away from the dining room).
A Westbank spin-off of the popular soul food restaurant, Two Sisters in Da East, this hot spot is serving up soul-satisfying plates like fried catfish, beans, greens, smothered catfish, turkey necks, and gumbo. The newest Two Sisters location is smaller than the one in da East, but it's serving the same robust menu. Take note: It's mostly a lunch place and closes at 5:30 p.m.
Inside Port Orleans Brewing is Stokehold, a restaurant that puts the the beer pairing at the forefront of dish creation. The top of the menu is laid out to show diners exactly what to eat with what beers. For example, a lemon pound cake with rosemary buttercream frosting pairs with Test IPA Batch #1. Halloumi with red gravy and country ham goes with John Law Pilsner. Also find a quality Croque Madame and superb pretzel rolls. Plus, the restaurant is located inside the Port Orleans Brewery, offering guests a close-up view of the beer brewing process through large plate glass windows overlooking the large tanks and other equipment.
Queenie's on St. Claude serves up quality daiquiris (made with real juice), addictive pies, and chargrilled oysters, shrimp and grits, wings, and burgers. Try the ginger mint julep daiquiri and visit on one of the special dinner nights to get the chargrilled oysters. Cute spot that doesn't throw on airs, but charms diners with quality food and drinks.
A custom-built, wood-fired grill made of brick and iron turns out Brazilian meats at this new spot in Old Metairie. From Edgar Caro, the force behind Baru Tapas and Bistro and Basin Seafood and Spirits, the menu includes food similar to what he grew up with in Columbia. Whole fish, aged steaks, salt-cured potatoes in this cozy restaurant on Metairie Road.
A new pastry shop in the former home of Cleaver & Co from James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef Beth Biundo features custom cakes and ready-to-take sweets (like blueberry basil pound cake, malted milk ice cream sandwiches, and chess pie bars). Biundo's past as the award-winning pastry chef at Lilette for 10 years coupled with her eye toward aesthetics (she has a background in art history and recently returned from a stint as an interior designer) means she's got two tenets of dessert nailed -- flavor and beauty. Martin's Wine Cellar is just around the corner, and the bakery often encourages diners to bring their own champagne to go with cake.
The name of this new Dominican spot in Gretna refers to a common dish in the Dominican Republic made of boiled and mashed green plantains. The menu features the traditional version of mangú prepared with sides of fried eggs, fried salami, and fried cheese, but the dish is also offered with sides of braised chicken, fried pork chop, braised goat, and more. Additionally, the eatery serves a range of meals and sides including empanadas, mofongo (fried green plantains with salt, garlic, olive oil, pork cracklings, and sautéed shrimp), and tostadas.
Public Service, in the glittering, new NOPSI Hotel, opened in late July with a raw bar, an open kitchen, and a two-story glass windows that overlook Baronne Street. Public Service chef Dustin Brien describes the food as "comfort food done well," which means boudin stone-ground grits, veal cheek grilles, chicken-fried shellfish, and crab gnocchi. Currently open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
This tiny, Magazine Street ramen bar opened in mid-August with a menu of Japanese ramen in soul-warming pork broth and small bites, like pork steam buns and edamame tossed in yuzu and sea salt. The interior features graffiti-style murals, two six-tops, and a standing room only bar for slurping noodles -- all to the sounds of 90s hip hop. No reservations, so come prepared to wait during peak times Open Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. BYO.
After losing the iconic Brennan's restaurant to bankruptcy, this was supposed to be Ted Brennan's second act. He died before it came to fruition and the restaurant became a sort of tribute to him instead. It's more casual than Brennan's was during this branch of the Brennan family's tenure, but the air is still heavy with the scent of turtle soup and garlic bread. Plus, Lazone Randolph, who started as a busboy at Brennan's in the 1960s before working his way up to executive chef several years before the legal problems reached their peak, has made his grand return as executive chef at Ted Brennan's Decatur.
Pisco and ceviche have arrived on Magazine Street in the once ivy-covered building that housed Sue Zemanick's short-lived small plate restaurant, Ivy. After a renovation, Tito's Ceviche and Pisco is bright and airy with some outdoor seating, a perfect accompaniment to the fresh and light offerings from the menu.
This long-awaited Indian restaurant is as swanky as a restaurant comes, with smoky grey walls, copper accents, and burgundy velvet chairs. The food manages to outshine even this stunning restaurant design though -- with playful cocktails that use Indian ingredients (the old-fashioned gets a mango chutney treatment that tastes as if it should never have been any other way), curried brisket over grits, and traditional and non-traditional dosas. This creative Indian restaurant that combines the family's experience in India with the flavors of New Orleans is one of the most exciting and thoughtful restaurants to hit New Orleans this year.
Hayley Vanvleet's kitchen at Curio churns out West Coast style food built around New Orleans ingredients. She's also blended in a few twists on dishes inspired by her youth spent in the midwest. Perfectly seared scallops get topped with kalamata olive butter and paneed pork loin gets coated with a saltine cracker crust before being stuffed into a poboy at this Royal Street newcomer that has moved in among the famous antique shops that line the street. The large restaurant boasts a gorgeous balcony looking over the French Quarter, FYI.
New Orleans has been waiting 12 years for the return of this Greg and Mary Sonnier's iconic restaurant, which closed after Hurricane Katrina. Now located in the Treme neighborhood, the new building is painted the same bright blue and yellow as the original spot in Mid City. The menu marks the return of classic dishes like the famous duck and the peppermint patty, but it also celebrates its new beginning with new dishes like shrimp pie and Ponce de Lapin.
Le's Baguette brings banh mi sandwiches to Dryades Street in the location recently vacated by Italian panini hub, Il Posto. With a melding of Vietnamese and New Orleans culinary traditions, the cafe satisfies the neighborhood's itch for a comfortable and affordable cafe with killer food. The cafe specializes in coffee, breakfast, banh mi, pho, and steamed bao buns.
Located in an expansive space that once housed a molasses refinery, Briquette charms with its spot-on execution and creative turns on Southwestern and Louisiana cuisine and seafood. Housemade masa and chorizo tamales meet a lobster claw and fried egg in an addictive dish that teeters on decadence, but tempers it with bright acid from lime, for example. The interior is built for the guests with a couple large communal tables with charging stations for people who wish to linger over work, plus tables that all have a view of the inner workings of the kitchen (though thoughtfully separated by viewing glass to keep the heat away from the dining room).
A Westbank spin-off of the popular soul food restaurant, Two Sisters in Da East, this hot spot is serving up soul-satisfying plates like fried catfish, beans, greens, smothered catfish, turkey necks, and gumbo. The newest Two Sisters location is smaller than the one in da East, but it's serving the same robust menu. Take note: It's mostly a lunch place and closes at 5:30 p.m.
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