Frank Brigtsen has been delighting diners at his quiet, upscale Riverbend restaurant since 1986, with now-famous items like the (not fried) seafood platter, paneed (breaded and shallow-fried) rabbit, and Parmesean-crusted Gulf fish topped with crab meat, as well as soups that make New Orleanians wish for cold weather.

Alon Shaya’s Saba is the restaurateur and chef’s flagship ode to the Israeli culinary landscape. It’s a stylish and elegant, date-night destination on Magazine Street that seems to exceed expectations brilliantly, from every single spread with sourdough pita puffs to the frequent specials. It’s also a destination for desserts, thanks to refreshing ingredients like barberries, hibiscus, sumac, satsumas, and figs in olive oil cakes, semifreddos, and babkas.

New Orleans’s favorite catfish restaurant, Barrow’s (originally called Barrow’s Shady Inn), is still run by two generations of the Barrow family, whose cornmeal dusted fried catfish is light and thin, perfectly seasoned, and served piping hot. Along with catfish and the celebrated potato salad, Barrow’s location on Earhart Boulevard with exposed brick walls and vintage memorabilia serves delicious fried shrimp, gumbo, po’ boys, and more.

Luvi is continuously one of the most exciting restaurants in New Orleans, a petite and colorful Uptown cottage where chef Hao Gong wows with his mastery of Japanese and Chinese cuisines. Gong, who worked for years at Sake Cafe, nails dishes of raw and nearly raw fish paired with the likes of cucumber and yuzu vinegar and pink dragon fruit, as well as Shanghai comfort food like dumplings, dan dan noodles, and bam bam chicken.

Uptown’s secluded French-American gem is housed in a former pharmacy in the middle of a residential neighborhood, making a first visit feel like a discovery. Gautreau’s owner Patrick Singley runs the cozy dining room and sets the bar for New Orleans service and hospitality, with supreme duck confit, oxtail ragout, and seared scallops. A meal here can convert even the staunchest pub fare devotee to the glory of “fancy” food.

Charlie’s is a 1930s-era, working class steakhouse in the Milan neighborhood that’s held onto its status as a New Orleans institution throughout the decades. New chef Aaron Burgau has only improved on the old-school service, churning out high-quality steaks and classic sides, with favorites like onion rings, creamed spinach, and potato gratin, in the simple, throwback space. 

No surprise that Justin Devillier’s Uptown gem also has a spot on local, national, and international critically-acclaimed lists, known for dishes like crab beignets and turtle Bolognese. La Petite Grocery is a charmer that doesn’t disappoint for a business lunch or a special dinner occasion.

The upscale Indian restaurant’s debut on Magazine Street was years in the making: the Vilkhu family served chef and patriarch Arvinder’s (“Dickey”) modern Indian food to happy diners on the West Bank for five years. Eventually convinced by loyal customers to go all in, the result is a sleek, sexy space with a buzzing energy and dishes that at times fuse Indian and Louisiana cuisines, and others that fuse Northern and Southern Indian. Among the many standouts are the lamb chops, goat masala, any shrimp dish, and the Paneer Pudha, a zucchini lentil pancake with date and mint chutneys.

This butcher shop-meets-restaurant in Mid City is more than a destination for its namesake product; it’s a tribute to the craft, and home to some of the city’s most exciting food. Piece of Meat’s rapid rise to popularity can be attributed to Leighann Smith and Daniel Jackson’s commitment to sustainably-raised meat and old-school butchering, both of which bring a certain energy to the place. The result is a cooler filled with steaks, chops, ribs, brisket, charcuterie, and pates that everyone wants, and a neighborhood shop everyone wants to stop by.

Parkway is known as a contender for most-loved po’boys in town — especially the always-overflowing shrimp. Pre-pandemic, the line to order wrapped around the entirety of the dining room, but with the addition of a huge outdoor dining area, parking lot pickup, and strict social distancing guidelines, Parkway has worked to establish a comfortable and safe setting for its loyal fans.

Addis Nola opened in a small space on S. Broad in May 2019, bringing a welcome addition to New Orleans’s limited number of options for Ethiopian cuisine. Biruk Alemayehu developed Addis Nola with her husband Jaime Lobo, and along with chef Samuel Shiferaw offer a variety of stews and stir-fry served with inerja, the staple Ethiopian flatbread; traditional dishes like sambusas and kitfo; and vegetarian-friendly sides of red lentils, chickpeas, yellow split peas, cabbage with carrots, and more. Keep an eye out for Addis’s pop-up restaurant collaborations, from Vegan Wit’ a Twist to Turkey and the Wolf to Marjie’s Grill.

Jeffrey Heard’s Central City restaurant Heard Dat Kitchen is a favorite of the neighborhood and beyond for comforting, stick-to-your-ribs Creole-style soul dishes named after local landmarks. Heard’s blackened and fried seafood dishes, red beans, a traditional New Orleans combo of grilled cheese and gumbo, and plenty of seafood cream sauces fly out of the shop’s convenient takeout window on Felicity Street, Monday through Saturday.

The Garden District grand dame of New Orleans-style fine dining has a new head chef, a new takeout-only operation, and has expanded courtyard dining, so now’s a good time as any to revisit. Commander’s still nails “haute Creole cuisine” classics like turtle soup, lacquered quail, and pecan pie, whether served at the celebratory Victorian-era mansion or via takeout.

Every dish on the frequently-changing menu at Coquette is balanced and beautiful: from fancy-pants fried chicken and smoked beef short rib to complex vegetable dishes like summer squash with miso, Thai chili, and black garlic and charred eggplant with chanterelles. The two-story restaurant is sexy and romantic without trying to be, filled with dark wood and exposed brick on a corner of bustling Magazine Street. Be on the lookout for special dinners like the hugely popular no-menu Tuesdays and summertime fried chicken and Champagne dinners.

One of New Orleans most endearing restaurants (and there are many), Cafe Reconcile doubles as a successful job-training program for teens and young adults. Led by talented local chef Martha Wiggins, the old-school New Orleans soul food, like seafood stuffed peppers and fried catfish, stands on its own, served in a welcoming, art-filled setting in the heart of Central City’s Oretha Castle corridor.

This pre-Katrina favorite reopened in the Treme neighborhood in September 2017, and its customers returned as loyal as ever. The family-run restaurant serves indulgent takes on Louisiana cuisine in a white tablecloth, elegant setting, known especially for duck breast topped with fried duck skin cracklin’ (and for that matter, any of chef Greg’s duck dishes), barbecue shrimp pie, rabbit belly stuffed with grains, and a peppermint patty dessert.

A Treme landmark, Dooky Chase’s lost its matriarch when founder and food world icon Leah Chase died at 96 in 2019. The ‘Queen of Creole cuisine’ turned Dooky Chase’s into the legendary fine dining establishment it is now, and luckily the new generation is innovating while upholding her legacy. Mrs. Chase’s Paris-trained grandson Edgar Chase is nourishing bodies and souls with gumbo z’herbes, shrimp Clemenceau, and fried chicken in the homey, historical Treme building.

McHardy’s is a tiny, quick-serve gem on North Broad Street that’s been serving up some of New Orleans’s finest fried chicken since 2001: peppery, rich, and full of flavor. The sides are just as good as the chicken, especially the fried okra, rice and beans, and mac and cheese. Affordable and always busy, this family-run joint is a bright spot for its friendliness as much as its food.

This hybrid Jewish/Italian deli and crowded lunch destination on Magazine Street didn’t make the list due to its warm New Orleans hospitality, so stay alert and try not to hem and haw when it’s time to order. The reward is an affordable sandwich stuffed with perfectly balanced fresh ingredients that is so, so satisfying. Stein’s is famous for its corned beef and pastrami, so a shining example of the shop’s greatness can be found in the Reuben or Rachel.

This bright purple cafe sits on the Lower Garden District stretch of busy Magazine Street near quirky antique and curiosity shops. The interior is simple, clean, and inviting, and the rich pho broth simmered for eight hours imparts a decadence that puts it at the top of the city’s crowded pho list.

Longtime New Orleans chef Eric Cook pays homage to Southern comfort food at his restaurant Gris-Gris, honoring classics like shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, and chicken and dumplings with top-notch ingredients, skillful technique, and creative twists. Feeling equally neighborhood spot and special occasion destination, the elegant corner restaurant on Magazine Street is approachable and lively, never stuffy.

Herbsaint first introduced New Orleans to the now-prolific restaurateur Donald Link. Since then, Link has opened several more excellent restaurants — Pêche, Cochon, and Cochon Butcher, and most recently, Gianna — and helped build a new generation of New Orleans culinary leaders along the way. The French and Italian Herbsaint remains one of the most consistent, refined restaurants in New Orleans, with the bonus of romantic outdoor seating along the downtown portion of the St. Charles streetcar line.

Of the many historic, defining French Quarter restaurants, Arnaud’s has much to offer: Its James Beard Award-winning bar, the French 75, iconic dishes like the souffle potatoes with béarnaise sauce, and an ornate, dazzling setting that’s tough to beat, even in the Quarter. Also try the oysters Ohan, which are baked with eggplant and andouille, and be sure to end your meal with a fire show and order the cafe brulot.

New Orleans’s hip po’boy innovator Killer PoBoys expanded with a second French Quarter location, but the original kitchen in the back of bar Erin Rose remains the favorite for many. Both locations are back to serving up some of the most unexpected po’boy creations in town, all on banh mi bread, from chicken confit with coffee barbecue sauce and ranch slaw to seared gulf shrimp with coriander-lime sauce, as well as vegetable options like sweet potato with a spread of black eyed peas and pecans and braised greens. Of course, it’s obligatory to grab a frozen Irish coffee.

New Orleans nearly lost this Treme institution during the pandemic, but a third generation of Baquets came through in early 2021 to reopen the family-owned favorite. Li’l Dizzy’s serves grilled catfish and grits, gumbo, po’ boys, and top-notch fried chicken in a fun, low-key corner building on Esplanade Avenue; walls covered in New Orleans, Saints, and Baquet family memorabilia. The Creole soul food is affordable, and there’s a buffet offering a taste of everything.

Adolfo’s is a joy; a cozy and bustling Frenchmen Street institution with a slew of loyal regulars. The grouper with lemon, capers and artichokes is savory goodness and the herbaceous, peppery lamb rack is a tender, indulgent treat. In a city where Creole Italian is highly regarded and heavily debated, Adolfo’s emerges as a consistently pleasing and familial experience, evocative of a prior era in New Orleans.

Tan Dinh is not New Orleans’s only good Vietnamese restaurant located in a strip mall, but it is the one most universally-loved by East Bank and West Bank residents alike. The pho and banh mi here are excellent, but regulars swear by specialties like the goat curry and lemongrass chicken wings. Few New Orleanians either haven’t tried it or has a bad word to say about this Gretna gem.

Saint Germain is a standout in two ways: for wine and snacks in the backyard, or for a special tasting menu in the 12-seat dining room. Both menus offer Parisian-inspired dishes with uncommon ingredients featuring modern techniques, in ways that are appealing and satisfying. Like on the snacks side, where vegetable crudités are rolled in crispy wild rice or caramelized whey is mixed with olive oil, and in the dining room, where a prix-fixe, five-course tasting menu that changes monthly highlights ingredients like white asparagus, venison, and geoduck. The spacious back courtyard and reservations for the dining room are open Wednesday through Sunday.