After nearly 8 years operating their popular Jamaican-Creole food truck Afrodisiac, husband and wife Shaka and Caron Garel have landed a permanent home in Gentilly, bringing a literal bright spot to Franklin Avenue that serves shrimp curry, jerk goat burgers, jerk chicken nachos, crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and more. Colorful and mural-adorned, the full-service restaurant and bar serves lunch, dinner, and cocktails inside the cottage or on the lovely patio Wednesday through Saturday, and lunch only on Sunday.

Queen Trini Lisa opened the doors to her eponymous restaurant in January, serving a concise menu of curry and jerk chicken, island stir fry cabbage, fried fish sandwich on coco bread, and doubles, which is one of several vegan-friendly dishes. Her jerk chicken won the Marley Festival in 2019, and her doubles became highly-sought after she began popping up at Portside Lounge, so don’t miss either.

Piece of Meat is certainly not new; it’s been locally and nationally acclaimed since opening as butcher shop and sandwich spot in 2018. Still, it has a significant new offering in its dinner service and a stylish, edgy new atmosphere as a modern steakhouse. Dinner begins with a beef fat candle served with grilled bread; steaks include rotating cuts like an 8-ounce filet; 16-ounce Mishima wagyu; 20-ounce prime ribeye; and 36-ounce bone-in ribeye for the table. Sides are served a la carte, like the Million Dollar Baked Potato, topped with crispy ribeye bits, herbed tallow, sour cream, cheddar, and green onions.

Bar Brine is the weekend only, “sister” restaurant to Sneaky Pickle — a longtime vegetarian-friendly favorite that relocated in Fall 2021 to the corner of Louisa and Burgundy Streets. While both concepts share the same space, Bar Brine is meant to be distinct from the lunch-only Sneaky Pickle, with a separate menu, bar program, and vibe — the atmosphere does transform significantly for dinner, when a good-looking bar is lit up in neon, the lights dim, and the candles come out. The exciting menu, which should change seasonally, includes vegan-friendly and meat dishes; Manila clams with smoked corn and grilled sourdough; a black eye pea cake; and a vegan bucatini dish are all delicious.

This small new bistro opened in Fall 2021, a restaurant with a modern, sleek aesthetic to contrast with most of the French Quarter’s more antique vibe. The narrow cottage’s seating runs parallel to the long, glistening marble bar, and spills out into a loungey, pretty courtyard that’s surprisingly sizeable. Longtime New Orleans chef Eason Barksdale leads the kitchen, focusing on small plates for a concise, globally-influenced menu; a hodge-podge of cuisines are explored in dishes like tom yum chicken, squid ink spaghetti, and tuna tartare.

Chemin a la Mer is the second restaurant to open in the new Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, and marks the acclaimed chef’s first restaurant partnership outside of Link Restaurant Group. French for “pathway to the sea” and centered around views of the Mississippi River, Chemin a la Mer serves a French-leaning menu with Creole influences and ingredients, focusing on seafood and select cuts of steak, including a a bone-in, cap-on cote de boeuf for four, sliced at the table.

Oak Street’s exciting new seafood destination is from Kim Nguyen and family, the owners of longtime modern Vietnamese cafe Magasin Cafe. Mukbang (the Korean word for “eating and broadcasting”) specializes in seafood with a Viet-Cajun spin; extravagant, overflowing platters of crab, lobster, mussels, clams and shrimp, sauced and served with a side of garlic noodles (a Bay Area staple at Vietnamese restaurants), as well as dishes like curry tamarind French fries topped with crabmeat or a traditional oxtail stew.

Chef Manish Patel opened his first restaurant in late March (after working as a pop-up and food hall vendor), breathing fresh life into the business-heavy neighborhood in between the Warehouse District and CBD. Patel’s contemporary takes on Indian street food with Tava are exceptional, from Chana salad to kati rolls, but diners can expect even more with the restaurant — new dishes like vegetable pakora and a version of Chicken 65, a spicy chicken dish hugely popular across South India, using chicken wings. Did we mention the restaurant is absolutely gorgeous?

Lengua Madre is Ana Castro’s modern Mexican tasting menu experience in the LGD, set in a dark, mysterious room accessed by a hallway lit up by bright neon pink lights — from there the lighting is sparse, giving it a sort of farm-chic vibe. Courses like a luscious fontal tetela, triangle-shaped corn masas stuffed with cheese and topped with charred avocado; Louisiana long grain rice with clams, shrimp, mussels, and roe; and cobia al pastor are served alongside an optional wine pairing, all excellent. Reservations are required, and it’s worth the price tag.

New Orleans’s sushi scene has changed considerably in the last few years, with the arrival of restaurants like Yo nashi, Nagomi, and most recently, Yakuza House. Bisutoro continues the trend, one that comes from chefs trained classically in Japanese sushi — elevated, but simple. It’s a promising new spot to try rare fish, specialty sake, and other traditional Japanese specialties.

A second location of Metairie’s inventive cafe and bakery is now open in Orleans Parish as of March, taking over the charming Uptown location of the former Cafe Luna. The wonderful Asian bakery and dim sum destination brings an array of exciting food to the address, from intricate custom cakes and desserts like green tea, durian, and taro crepe cakes; its fruit-covered Wishing Cake; and egg yolk puff pastries, as well as an array of dumplings: scallop and shrimp; crawfish; onion and beef; crispy fried chicken; and char siu tofu pockets. And that’s not to mention noodle dishes, and spicy soups; and hot pots...there’s much to try.