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Red beans from Willie Mae’s.
Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Where to Eat Some of the Best Red Beans and Rice in New Orleans

These spots dish creamy, spicy goodness on Mondays and beyond

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Red beans from Willie Mae’s.
| Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

In most places, Monday is just Monday. In New Orleans, Monday is the traditional day to eat creamy red beans and rice, the ultimate comfort food made with slow-cooked dried Camellia red beans and spiked with ham hock and spicy sausage. Lots of local bars serve this home-style special Mondays as a lagniappe, but these are the restaurants that locals wait all week to visit for red beans at the start of the week, while some deliver the can’t-resist goodness all week long.

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Two Sistas 'N Da East

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This Chef Menteur staple kills it at all things New Orleans, but also straight-up Southern — chitterlings, potato salad, smothered turkey wings, smothered okra, smothered pork chops — all things smothered, basically. The ultra-friendly sit-down restaurant serves red beans and rice as a side with daily specials like oxtails and stuffed peppers, but the portion takes up most of the plate. It’s soupy and creamy with just the right amount of kick, just delicious.

Juniors on Harrison

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One of Lakeview’s favorite restaurants is Junior’s, a friendly neighborhood restaurant with a surprisingly chic interior and eclectic menu. But it also has daily specials that are Southern through and through, and on Mondays, that is $5 — yes, $5 — plates of just-right red beans and rice. Add fried chicken or smoked sausage, or better yet both.

A Metairie family-owned tradition since 1967, this straightforward Creole Italian and seafood eatery serves copious portions of the kind of food mama made. There are daily plate specials, so naturally Monday’s is Fury’s take on red beans and rice served with a choice of hot or smoked sausage, or — wait for it — a hamburger patty.

Sammy's Food Services & Deli

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If one can judge the quality of casual food joint by the number of trucks and police cars out front, then Sammy’s gets a gold star. Frequented by hungry tradesmen and officers of the law, Sammy’s is also loved by locals interested in good and fast cheap eats, always served with a smile. On Mondays, red beans come with hot or smoked sausage; add a buck and get a pork chop too.

Liuzza's by the Track

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Our favorite place to grab a bloody Mary on the way to Jazz Fest is also one of our favorite places for the Monday tradition, which Liuzza’s By The Track serves with a choice of smoked sausage, hot sausage, grilled chicken, or paneed chicken. Go with the hot sausage, then get a BBQ shrimp po-boy for good measure.

Melba's Old School Po Boys

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Melba’s is awesome 24/7; an epicenter of homestyle New Orleans cookery that dishes goodness fast, fresh, and hot. There’s a bar with daiquiris in the back; up front is where to order platters of stuffed bell peppers or pork chops smothered in gravy and every kind of po’ boy. Then there’s creamy but not too creamy spiced red beans with either wings or smoked chicken on the plate.

Mandina's Restaurant

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Rich, creamy, and thicker than some, Mandina’s Monday red beans serving is huge, and can be topped with Italian sausage, a grilled pork chop, or a veal cutlet. The classic Mid-City restaurant is just as good for other New Orleans staples.

Willie Mae's Scotch House

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Yes, we are well aware that Willie Mae Seaton created what many regard as the very best fried chicken in New Orleans history, and possibly in the world. Her eponymous Willie Mae’s restaurant also has some of the best red beans in town, to boot, which of course are a perfect complement to the golden-fried chicken deliciousness or a wonderful fried pork chop. NOTE: Willie Mae’s is temporarily closed due to a fire.

Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

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This family-owned cafe on Esplanade Avenue draws crowds of regulars for breakfast and lunch buffets, and red beans is always a go-to plate on Mondays. Smoky with sausage, and creamy but not too, no wonder Li’l Dizzy’s chef Wayne Baquet’s fans are legion. Say yes to adding fried chicken even for breakfast.

Dooky Chase Restaurant

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New Orleans food doesn’t get much better than at the hands of treasured chef Leah Chase and her family, who naturally treat their red beans with the respect they deserve. Oddly (well, not so much for New Orleans), Dooky Chase is closed on Mondays, but red beans are on the menu at the lunch buffet, (except on Fridays when it’s shrimp and limas instead).

Breakaway's Restaurant & Bar

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Run by two New Orleans natives, Paul and Olivia Artigues, Breakaway’s is a new spot serving New Orleans staples: gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and fried shrimp, as well as some vegan versions, and a small menu of sno-ball cocktails. The red beans and rice are just excellent, served with chaurice sausage for $12, local-made tofu, or fried Louisiana shrimp.

Buffa's

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Nothing fancy about this joint on the corner of Burgundy and Esplanade on the edge of the Marigny. That doesn’t stop regulars from piling into the back room for live music most nights of the week. And yes, Buffa’s red beans are good here, yes indeed — and free with the cover for live music on Mondays.

Frady's One Stop Food Store

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Frady’s is beyond old school, which is why it’s such a Bywater institution. Folks order inside and eat out, platters groaning with bacon, eggs and grits, Dagwood-sized po’ boys, and some of the best red beans in town. Cash only but so cheap it’ll cost under $10.

William A. Morgan/Shutterstock

Coop's Place

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Coop’s isn’t known for its service. And it’s definitely not known for its atmosphere. This gritty late-night French Quarter staple is revered for its cheap, tasty eats, bowls of rabbit jambalaya and chicken and sausage gumbo, fried seafood, and po’ boys, the kind of food that is necessary after many drinks. The red beans with a side of fried chicken, yes please.

Coop’s Place
Josh Brasted/Eater NOLA

Café Reconcile

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Try Cafe Reconcile’s hearty red beans and smoked sausage, some of the best in the city, for just $8, and add grilled or fried catfish and chicken for an extra $2 and $5, respectively. The dish from this important New Orleans institution is made with lots of love, and on the menu always.

Chubbie's Fried Chicken

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Chubbie’s looks like a fast food chain, but is actually just a legit neighborhood spot for fried chicken (and fried seafood) on the West Bank in Algiers. The Monday plate special is red or white beans, served with smoked or hot sausage, a salad, and a roll — and it’s great.

Joey K's

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The daily specials at this Magazine Street favorite are always a big hit, especially the dynamite lamb shank on Tuesdays. On Mondays at Joey K’s though, it’s obviously all about the red beans with smoked sausage, which are consistently voted a favorite by locals, and so good that they’re on the weekly menu and not held hostage by Mondays.

Chicken’s Kitchen

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Marlon “Chicken” Williams’s uber-popular lunch plate spot in Gretna is always packed, with up to an hour to wait for New Orleans favorites like smothered okra, stuffed catfish, stuffed pepper balls, and smothered turkey necks. It’s one of the West Bank’s favorite places for red beans on Mondays, but you wouldn’t know it based on the serving side. Best paired with the fried chicken or fried catfish, both Monday specials.

Two Sistas 'N Da East

This Chef Menteur staple kills it at all things New Orleans, but also straight-up Southern — chitterlings, potato salad, smothered turkey wings, smothered okra, smothered pork chops — all things smothered, basically. The ultra-friendly sit-down restaurant serves red beans and rice as a side with daily specials like oxtails and stuffed peppers, but the portion takes up most of the plate. It’s soupy and creamy with just the right amount of kick, just delicious.

Juniors on Harrison

One of Lakeview’s favorite restaurants is Junior’s, a friendly neighborhood restaurant with a surprisingly chic interior and eclectic menu. But it also has daily specials that are Southern through and through, and on Mondays, that is $5 — yes, $5 — plates of just-right red beans and rice. Add fried chicken or smoked sausage, or better yet both.

Fury's

A Metairie family-owned tradition since 1967, this straightforward Creole Italian and seafood eatery serves copious portions of the kind of food mama made. There are daily plate specials, so naturally Monday’s is Fury’s take on red beans and rice served with a choice of hot or smoked sausage, or — wait for it — a hamburger patty.

Sammy's Food Services & Deli

If one can judge the quality of casual food joint by the number of trucks and police cars out front, then Sammy’s gets a gold star. Frequented by hungry tradesmen and officers of the law, Sammy’s is also loved by locals interested in good and fast cheap eats, always served with a smile. On Mondays, red beans come with hot or smoked sausage; add a buck and get a pork chop too.

Liuzza's by the Track

Our favorite place to grab a bloody Mary on the way to Jazz Fest is also one of our favorite places for the Monday tradition, which Liuzza’s By The Track serves with a choice of smoked sausage, hot sausage, grilled chicken, or paneed chicken. Go with the hot sausage, then get a BBQ shrimp po-boy for good measure.

Melba's Old School Po Boys

Melba’s is awesome 24/7; an epicenter of homestyle New Orleans cookery that dishes goodness fast, fresh, and hot. There’s a bar with daiquiris in the back; up front is where to order platters of stuffed bell peppers or pork chops smothered in gravy and every kind of po’ boy. Then there’s creamy but not too creamy spiced red beans with either wings or smoked chicken on the plate.

Mandina's Restaurant

Rich, creamy, and thicker than some, Mandina’s Monday red beans serving is huge, and can be topped with Italian sausage, a grilled pork chop, or a veal cutlet. The classic Mid-City restaurant is just as good for other New Orleans staples.

Willie Mae's Scotch House

Yes, we are well aware that Willie Mae Seaton created what many regard as the very best fried chicken in New Orleans history, and possibly in the world. Her eponymous Willie Mae’s restaurant also has some of the best red beans in town, to boot, which of course are a perfect complement to the golden-fried chicken deliciousness or a wonderful fried pork chop. NOTE: Willie Mae’s is temporarily closed due to a fire.

Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

This family-owned cafe on Esplanade Avenue draws crowds of regulars for breakfast and lunch buffets, and red beans is always a go-to plate on Mondays. Smoky with sausage, and creamy but not too, no wonder Li’l Dizzy’s chef Wayne Baquet’s fans are legion. Say yes to adding fried chicken even for breakfast.

Dooky Chase Restaurant

New Orleans food doesn’t get much better than at the hands of treasured chef Leah Chase and her family, who naturally treat their red beans with the respect they deserve. Oddly (well, not so much for New Orleans), Dooky Chase is closed on Mondays, but red beans are on the menu at the lunch buffet, (except on Fridays when it’s shrimp and limas instead).

Breakaway's Restaurant & Bar

Run by two New Orleans natives, Paul and Olivia Artigues, Breakaway’s is a new spot serving New Orleans staples: gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and fried shrimp, as well as some vegan versions, and a small menu of sno-ball cocktails. The red beans and rice are just excellent, served with chaurice sausage for $12, local-made tofu, or fried Louisiana shrimp.

Buffa's

Nothing fancy about this joint on the corner of Burgundy and Esplanade on the edge of the Marigny. That doesn’t stop regulars from piling into the back room for live music most nights of the week. And yes, Buffa’s red beans are good here, yes indeed — and free with the cover for live music on Mondays.

Frady's One Stop Food Store

Frady’s is beyond old school, which is why it’s such a Bywater institution. Folks order inside and eat out, platters groaning with bacon, eggs and grits, Dagwood-sized po’ boys, and some of the best red beans in town. Cash only but so cheap it’ll cost under $10.

William A. Morgan/Shutterstock

Coop's Place

Coop’s isn’t known for its service. And it’s definitely not known for its atmosphere. This gritty late-night French Quarter staple is revered for its cheap, tasty eats, bowls of rabbit jambalaya and chicken and sausage gumbo, fried seafood, and po’ boys, the kind of food that is necessary after many drinks. The red beans with a side of fried chicken, yes please.

Coop’s Place
Josh Brasted/Eater NOLA

Café Reconcile

Try Cafe Reconcile’s hearty red beans and smoked sausage, some of the best in the city, for just $8, and add grilled or fried catfish and chicken for an extra $2 and $5, respectively. The dish from this important New Orleans institution is made with lots of love, and on the menu always.

Related Maps

Chubbie's Fried Chicken

Chubbie’s looks like a fast food chain, but is actually just a legit neighborhood spot for fried chicken (and fried seafood) on the West Bank in Algiers. The Monday plate special is red or white beans, served with smoked or hot sausage, a salad, and a roll — and it’s great.

Joey K's

The daily specials at this Magazine Street favorite are always a big hit, especially the dynamite lamb shank on Tuesdays. On Mondays at Joey K’s though, it’s obviously all about the red beans with smoked sausage, which are consistently voted a favorite by locals, and so good that they’re on the weekly menu and not held hostage by Mondays.

Chicken’s Kitchen

Marlon “Chicken” Williams’s uber-popular lunch plate spot in Gretna is always packed, with up to an hour to wait for New Orleans favorites like smothered okra, stuffed catfish, stuffed pepper balls, and smothered turkey necks. It’s one of the West Bank’s favorite places for red beans on Mondays, but you wouldn’t know it based on the serving side. Best paired with the fried chicken or fried catfish, both Monday specials.

Related Maps